12/09/2010 —

Right..

So I’ve been a little slack since my last entry, sorry bout that, it’s just that I’m really slow at typing and I’ve been busy “enjoying” the New York heatwave..

When we last left off, we had had one more gig in LA at Molly Malone’s.

That gig is a bit of a blur but I do recall eating an awesome In-N-Out burger on the way home, if you’re not familiar with In-N-Out then I must stress the fact that the name isn’t referring to a speedy digestion.. Not in my experience anyway. It’s like a “healthy” McDonalds chain or something that only exists in California and they’re ALWAYS packed.

We had to be up pretty early to get to the airport and I took it upon myself to do the driving on the wrong side of the road, I’ve driven over there before but I found it heaps easier this time around. I only got honked at a couple of times and one of those times was because I thought I was being pulled over by the L.A.P.D but they just wanted me to get the fuck out of the way.

The flight from LA to New York was pretty uneventful except that Steve drank about twelve bloody marys and showed the girl sitting next to him his hairy stomach whilst saying, “I’ve never had a six-pack before and I never will.” They then proceeded to talk about the sex scenes in Brokeback Mountain really loudly. Hmm.

We had a night off in New York on the 25th and I made the most of it by going over to Manhattan (we were staying in Brooklyn) to hit some bars. I ended up getting hammered really quickly though because they put so much booze in your glass with just a dash of mixer.. No measured nips over there and the bar tenders do shots with you, good times. I had some awesome Chinese food in this restaurant that’s been there since 1938 too. Exciting hey?

Our first two NY shows were at a place called Rockwood Music Hall in Soho, we’ve played there every time we’ve been to the States but they’ve recently expanded the venue into this amazing space. It was awesome before but a little too small for a loud band like us so we had a blast on the new stage and the punters loved us.

A bunch of people came back again on the 2nd night but I think we were better on the 1st night, I know I was anyway

We also played two shows in Brooklyn, one at Death By Audio in Williamsburg and one at the Rock Shop in Park Slope. Death By Audio is a strange but awesome venue, it’s just a warehouse in a residential area that has a bunch of different tenants and one of them puts on gigs. I was a little concerned that there wasn’t going to be anyone there but the place packed out right when the first band started and we had a great, hot, sweaty show. Good times.

The Rock Shop was awesome too, I don’t think it’s possible to have a bad gig in New York, the place is amazing. Go and visit.

Oh yeah.. Did I mention how hot it was in NY the whole time we were there?

Well, it was HOT, about 35°C (95°F) for a full week. I didn’t even know they had summer there, I thought summer was an Australian thing..

Minnesota is next, I hope you can contain your excitement!

Until then, bye for now.

Joel. x

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24/08/2010 —

Ok..

So, we’re three shows down with one more to go in LA before we head back over to New York City.

All the shows have been awesome so far but I think the first one in Mill Valley/ San Francisco is my favourite to date, we played at the Masonic Hall which is a beautiful old building with amazing maple floor boards.

The sign out the front was pretty amusing.. haha

Today’s lesson: “The original freemasons were itinerant skilled stonemasons of the 14th century, who are said to have recognized fellow craftsmen by secret signs. Modern Freemasonry is usually traced to the formation of the Grand Lodge in London in 1717; members are typically professionals and businessmen who are members of the international order established for mutual help and fellowship, which holds elaborate secret ceremonies.”

I snuck upstairs to their secret room. It was a bit weird, they had skulls and bones up there next to their sheet of “rules”. They also had one of those electric chairs for old people, the ones that you sit sideways on and ride up the staircase, but I couldn’t get the thing to work! That would have made a good photo for this tour diary thingy, spewing now, I should’ve just pretended it was moving..

Anyway, I mentioned we were a little nervous about that first show because we’d been apart for three months but I need not have worried, we actually played really well and the locals were mad for us. Good times.

Our second show was at a place called Cinespace in LA.

To be honest, it was a bit swanky for us, they were filming a bunch of models in the front bar when we arrived.

I accidently hit the camera man in the shin with my cymbal case as I walked past and he yelled “CUT!”.. Oops.

The show was fun though and I should thank Elmo Death Jams and the members of the band who were on before us (Fierce Creatures) for helping us out with loaning some gear. Cheers guys, we’ll return the favour if you ever come to Australia.

The third gig was at Crane’s Hollywood Tavern and it was ACE!

It was a bit quiet —as it was a Monday night— but we had a great gig and made some friends.

That’s the second time we’ve played there and I hope we play there again in the future.

Once again, good times.

We’re playing Molly Malone’s Irish Pub in LA tonight and apparently it’s a great venue so we’re looking forward to that.

Steve is currently watching an old episode of Law & Order while stringing his guitars on the bed adjacent to mine. Rock n’ Roll.

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18/08/2010 —

Hey folks,

We’re getting into the swing of things with this tour diary thingy..

I just received a message from Steve in San Francisco, he advises me to bring some warm clothes! I’m a little disappointed, I had visions of myself visiting Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf in the summer sunshine.. It’s nice of him to let me know though, don’t you reckon?

I can’t wait to get over there but I’m a little nervous about our first show, we haven’t even seen each other for 3 months (let alone played music together).. I guess we’ll be nice and loose and it will be really great OR we’ll be REALLY loose and REALLY shit! hahaha

Anyway, I’ll be sure to let you know..

Cheers,

JB

PS: Also, I’d just like to say, “Get well soon Ash!”

(Ash is our manager Tracey’s son and he’s not very well today).

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