The Northeast

Hello all. It's been almost a week since I posted an update and it's been a crazy week. Last Tuesday we played at Mr. Smalls which was a Catholic Church until about 6 years ago when it became a live concert venue. It also, as I said, has a hostel for bands coming through and a recording studio, it's a pretty amazing venue. The part of Pittsburgh we were in was really small and the town flooded a few weeks prior so a lot of the businesses were still cleaning out from that.

During the change over between Copeland and the Rentals the monitor engineer left the stage open. I'll backup a little here and explain. Monitors are the speakers on stage that point at the band so they can hear themselves. They are also much closer to the microphones than the house speakers so they are far more prone to feedback. During a changeover, one should always mute all of the mics on stage because people are moving mics back to where they were placed during sound check. This was not done and while Shon and I were on our knees one foot from a speaker re-arranging things on the stage a mic fed back into the monitor we were kneeling in front of. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard and made both of us deaf for about 20 seconds. After that we were walking around and had some hearing loss. I made a comment at the monitor guy and walked out. We did the show and it was pretty odd because over a certain volume things just kind of shut off in my head. I wore earplugs for the entire show and while I slept. After the show I went up to the monitor guy and yelled at him for a little while at which point he claimed that we had caused the feedback so that was annoying. The next day Shon and I made appointments with an Audiologist in Baltimore to get checked out. She said that we were both fine and after about 45 minutes of hearing tests she said that our hearing was exactly where it should be. It was great to have that assurance and also the record of the tests in case we need to take legal action. So that was a pretty crazy 2 days.

Club Sonar in Baltimore was an interesting venue, they have a brand new system that was bought partially to my specifications. I made sure to wear my earplugs again for the whole show and my hearing was back to normal by Wednesday night. Kyle and I took a walk around Baltimore for a bit. During said walk, we decided to make a bet. Kyle is going to go vegetarian for the rest of the tour. For every week he goes vegetarian, I owe him $5 and every week he "accidentally" eats meat, he owes me $5. We went down to the waterfront, he got some clothes and I took a tour of a WWII submarine. I also saw a holocaust memorial in my adventures. The show went well but since they had only gotten their new sound system the night before they were tuning the system which includes playing music really, really loud. So loud in fact, that we could hear it through out the walls of the club the walls of the tour bus and in our bunks so it was a little hard to fall asleep.

Thursday was the longest of the long days and, one of the biggest stops on the tour. Our day started off with an in studio performance at AOL studios. AOL does streaming video performances so we did four songs, an interview and a photo shoot. The load in started at 7:30 a.m. so it was a short night sleeping and then after the performance was done, Kyle drove me with the gear over to the Nokia Theater in Times Square around noon. That 10 block drive took us 45 minutes. Once I got there, I met with the NY stagehands union which is like working with disagreeable pre-schoolers. First, they don't listen to you, so you say, here's how we do this and they say, well....we're not gonna do it that way, we're gonna do it this way. Second, they are so strict about their break times that literally as soon as were were ready to do sound check, the monitor guy went on lunch and was replaced by someone who didn't know what was going on so then I spent 45 minutes explaining to him how things were set up some of which he insisted on changing because it wasn't how he thought it should be done and by then, the other guy was back and he had to be filled in. Thirdly, they make you take a break from the board for one hour before they open the doors so I couldn't do anything at the last minute to prepare for the show. I am convinced that the airline industry, cell phone providers, insurance companies, and large sections of the US government are all run by the NY stagehands union. After sound check the band asked me to meet with them and address any issues I had been noticing and we talked about them which was really cool. It's nice to work with a group that allows me to interact with them so much because not all bands are that way. We had 1800 people at the show and among them were my friends Ben, Nadia, Emily, and Sam. The show went well and a friend of the band, Paul was there to help me out with sound. Paul has done front of house and recording with Tracy Chapman, Los Lobos, numerous string quartets and other groups. He is a fantastic engineer and it was great to have his ears there as well. It was great to have that many people at a show and great to see my friends. Ben, Nadia, Sam and I went out for a while and the Ben, Sam and I got a bite to eat and met up with the band at a hotel where they charge you $9 for a beer and $18 for a Jack and Coke. Needless to say I didn't get anything to drink and then the band shared a cab back to New Jersey to the tour bus. We got there at 4:30 a.m. making it a 21 hour day. It was great to see all of my friends in New York, thank you all for coming out. It was great to see you, and thank you so much for your support.

Friday we were in Cambridge Massachusetts. We went from 50 foot ceilings and a ballroom to 10 foot ceilings in a basement. My Aunt Janet, Uncle Peter, cousin Tyler and Tyler's friend Hope all came out to the show so I got to have some dinner with them and then they stayed for the entire show even though we started a hour later than we had been. The show was the best of the tour we all thought. The energy at the show was great since the band did not play in Boston last year and it was great to have all of those people compacted into a small space, it made the show feel much more intimate. The crew there was great, everyone was really friendly and extremely helpful, it made the night go really well and Matt's voice was back in full swing for the first time on this tour. The Wardwells seemed to have a really good time and it was fantastic to have them out. I missed the Petersons but I know you were all there in spirit.

Saturday we were in Philadelphia where is was unbearably hot. It was in the 90s with around 85% humidity. The venue was really cool, three stories tall with 2 balconies. The system was not all that powerful but the band was sounding great at sound check. I had a Philly cheese steak and then took a walk down to Independence hall and the Liberty Bell. The entire sidewalk in front of Independence hall is blocked off by Rangers but I got some cool pictures and it was a great building to see. I mean, to think, right there is where Nicolas Cage found one of the final clues in the movie National Treasure was amazing...oh and the Declaration of Independence is pretty cool too. I have a whole new level of respect for the founding fathers after spending a day in Philly with weather like we had. If it had been me, I would have ripped off my powdered wig and split after the first draft. Anyway, the walk was nice and then we had another great show. The Rentals also skipped Philly on their tour last summer and we had the same kind of energy that we did in Boston. At times I felt like the system wasn't going to be loud enough for all of the people but that made the show even better for me knowing that we were pushing that hard to give these fans a great show. After the show I got another cheese steak and realized my iPod was still on the soundboard. Many of you know I have a bad habit of losing iPods so I was very relieved to learn that the venue is FedEx-ing it to me tomorrow.

Yesterday was D.C. and I got to have dinner at Ben's Chili Bowl which is a Washington D.C. institution. I highly recommend it the next time you are in D.C. My time with Sarah was short but sweet due to a fire in one of the Metro tunnels. We also saw a wrecked Police car on our walk. Not something you see everyday. My friend Laura Langmore and her boyfriend, Julian both came out to the show which was great. I grew up next door to Laura and her family, she is a very good friend who I have known literally, my whole life and it was great to see her and meet Julian, truly, a great guy. We had a drink downstairs at the 930 club and then went upstairs for the show. The 930 club is pretty awesome. Not only do they have 3 balconies, a basement bar, and a nice main room. They also have a mobile stage!
******************************************GEEK SPEAK******************************
The entire stage is on wheels and can be moved forwards or backwards depending on the size of the audience pre-sale. But wait, you say, how does that work for the lighting and the sound if you move the stage? Excellent question. Half the P.A. is stacked on the stage and the other half is hanging, with the lights, from a large box of truss work. This truss hangs from rails and is on what we call creepers so they can, with motors, move that roof with the stage forwards or backwards. It is amazing!!! While I am in geek mode I am also going to say that I am no longer a big fan of the Yamaha PM5D as a digital console. It sounds too digital and the Midas boards just blow it away.
***********************************END GEEK SPEAK********************************
The show in D.C. was good with a lot of banter from Matt in between songs since his sister was at the show. The crowd was small but that is typical of Sunday night shows. Laura and Julian stayed after the show for a bit to hang out and then the band retired to the bus to visit with each other.

For most of the people who have come to the shows to see me there has been a moment where they ask what the band is like. This moment always falls after the initial excitement of seeing each other and giving them a tour of what this life is like and involves a slightly panicked look that says wait a second, I should have asked this earlier...what have I gotten myself into? It has really happened with everyone from people younger than me, to people, well, not younger than me. I always try to ease their images of mohawk driven speed metal by explaining that there are 7 people almost half of whom are girls and that we have guitars and drums but also a viola and trombone. This usually sets people at ease but there is still a look of, a viola???? a trombone???? What did I get myself into? The band, I feel, does put on a great show and I have felt that everyone who has come to the shows has genuinely enjoyed themselves which is a huge part of what makes this such an enjoyable experience for me. I wanted an opportunity to be around people who were really enjoying themselves each night both on stage and in the crowd. Just being in that environment everyday is a great experience and to be someone who helps facilitate it is even better. There is a lot to do each day and not all parts of it are fun but to get to be around that positive environment each night for four hours is pretty great.


Today has been fairly uneventful, we got to Oxford, North Carolina around 2 this afternoon, got some food, Matt, Jon and I cleaned the bus and cleaned out the fridge, then Matt, Kyle, Patrick and I played Frisbee golf which involved a hole in one by Matt, Kyle, and Patrick. We played teams and Patrick and I lost but it was a great way to spend 2 hours of this evening. Now my longest blog yet is coming to a close and I do not want to go this long again without updating this. Tomorrow we are in Winston Salem, into the south we go, wish me luck!

Thank you again to everyone who has been coming out to the shows it is so wonderful to have you all there and it means the world to me.