Tour Blog

Apr 13
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4/10/09-4/12/09: Virginia

After a good rest in our own bed on Thursday, Friday night brought on a sold out show in Vienna. We got to play with a great band called the Downtown Fiction to a huge crowd, so thank you to everyone who came out! It was a lot of fun to see some friends and family, and we were stoked to have people who were singing along!

Saturday we went down to Richmond and played at the Canal Club… easily our favorite show of the tour and probably one of the best shows we’ve ever gotten to play! Lots of people there, all singing along (to many released AND unreleased songs…hmmm) and lots of energy. The sound was on, the crowd was on, and we had an incredible time!

Sunday’s charity event in Harrisonburg was fun, even though it was a smaller crowd, and now we’re hanging out and chillin in C-ville before the OAR tour starts on Wednesday!

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4/4/09-4/8/09

After a rousing show in Columbia at the Basement, we made our way up to Detroit for CokeFest! What an insane day. Got there and found our trailer waiting with a sign that said “Parachute/Slash”… we asked around and indeed it was Slash from G and R. Unfortunately, we were kicked out before he got there, so we didn’t get to meet him. Johnny did leave him a love note.. Played our set, and then got to meet the Gym Class Heros and RYAN SEACREST! Very nice man, but a lot shorter in person. Furgie was there, but we didn’t get to meet her. Too much entourage to get past before we could say hi! 

Finally left and played a few shows Lansing Michigan at Mac’s Bar and then Cleveland OH, both surprisingly fun for such a cold and rainy weekday!

Next we rolled on home, where our beds and some Virginia shows  awaited us…

Apr 04
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4/3/08: Chicago, IL

After a great show with Meg and Dia, Luke and I set out from our cheaply pricelined three star hotel in search of some Taco Bell. As always with those epic late night quests for sustinance, we ended up at White Castle ordering way too much food. Got home, slept and woke up early to get to Chi-city. (Chicago, for those not from the street.) I drove the whole way and the rest of the guys slept (thank you, thank you) and we made it to Reggie’s rock club. Played a rock show to an unexpectadly hearty crowd and met some cool peeps along the way. Said goodbye to our Chicago friends and made it back to Alex’s aunt and uncles house, where we are currently residing to catch up on Lost (both the show and our sleep).

Apr 02
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4/1/09-4/2/09: Driving to St. Louis, MO

So after a day of hiking, frisbee throwing, outdorrsy fun in Bolder CO, we spent the entire evening and morning trying to beat Super Mario World for Super Nintendo. We learned a lot about the game and ourselves along the way, but failed to actually beat it since we ran out of time. We literally played up until the last minute that would allow us enough time to get to St. Louis. What we didn’t realize, however, is that we lost an hour since we crossed the time zone. Whoops. We made it back along the way and cruised down the I-70, stopping along the way to look the 4000 pound groundhog (we think it dug it’s way out of it’s cage) and Pedro, the miniature Donkey. Got the motel at 2am and slept. Now we’re finally in St. Louis. It is warmer here, which we like. Johnny is currently playing fishing on his iPhone. Awesome.

Apr 01
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3/23/09- 3/30/09: NYC, LA, Las Vegas NV, Denver CO, Boulder CO Nate and I went to NYC for a few meetings with people. Ate some terrible Mexican food and met back up with the guys in LA, where we did some more showcases for film and TV folks, met some radio stations and had our FIRST west coast show at the Viper Room in LA. GREAT turnout. It was packed, and we had a really fun time.  Finally, it was time to go to Vegas. Got hooked up with a suite at the Venetian (faux Italiano) where we gambled our money away… at SLOTS O’ FUN. Yes, we found the tackiest place where we could make our money stretch the longest, and camped out there until 2 in the morning. We finally slept in ancipiation of a long drive to CO. The drive was epic. After getting through one part of a snowstorm in the early afternoon, all seemed well as we watched the sun set over the plateaus. Then, at like 6pm all went down the drain. It started sleeting very quickly, which suddenly turned into an epic night of creeping along at 15 mph along the snow covered mountain pass. After 14 hours of driving, we made it to the hotel where we slept. Woke up to more snow, and finally made it to Denver. Met with the great folks of Alice Radio and did an acoustic set for a live broadcast. Dropped our stuff off at my aunts house, played a show to a handful of people and then crashed into bed. Hard. Today we’re in Bolder, CO hanging out and doing errands, catching up on emails etc. Tomorrow we begin our drive to St. Louis. See you soon!

3/23/09- 3/30/09: NYC, LA, Las Vegas NV, Denver CO, Boulder CO

Nate and I went to NYC for a few meetings with people. Ate some terrible Mexican food and met back up with the guys in LA, where we did some more showcases for film and TV folks, met some radio stations and had our FIRST west coast show at the Viper Room in LA. GREAT turnout. It was packed, and we had a really fun time. 

Finally, it was time to go to Vegas. Got hooked up with a suite at the Venetian (faux Italiano) where we gambled our money away… at SLOTS O’ FUN. Yes, we found the tackiest place where we could make our money stretch the longest, and camped out there until 2 in the morning. We finally slept in ancipiation of a long drive to CO.

The drive was epic. After getting through one part of a snowstorm in the early afternoon, all seemed well as we watched the sun set over the plateaus. Then, at like 6pm all went down the drain. It started sleeting very quickly, which suddenly turned into an epic night of creeping along at 15 mph along the snow covered mountain pass. After 14 hours of driving, we made it to the hotel where we slept.

Woke up to more snow, and finally made it to Denver. Met with the great folks of Alice Radio and did an acoustic set for a live broadcast. Dropped our stuff off at my aunts house, played a show to a handful of people and then crashed into bed. Hard.

Today we’re in Bolder, CO hanging out and doing errands, catching up on emails etc. Tomorrow we begin our drive to St. Louis. See you soon!

Mar 22
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3/17/09-3/22/09: Austin TX/Las Vegas, NV/Phoenix, AZ After our long flight, we finally made it to Austin. We played at the Whrrl Party, where a lot of people were furiously typing on their iPhones. It was good, and after hottubbing it we slept. Nate and I flew to Las Vegas the next day, where we met some radio stations and promptly lost a lot of money playing craps. The other guys tried to go see the millions of bats in Austin (which Johnny said was more like 15 bats hanging out on the ledge) and then went to these cool swimming holes. We all slept soundly. The next day, Nate and I drove skipped the flights and drove to Phoenix, where we again drove visited radio stations and then flew back to Austin. The other guys had some good food and hung around downtown all day. We went to sleep in hopes that the first official day of SXSW would bring excitement and good cheer. And it delivered. We spent the afternoon doing interviews and hanging with some good folks from the radio station. Saw Gomez and Andrew Bird for a bit at Stubbs (he whistles well) and crashed out of sheer exhaustion from walking around so much. The second day was not much different. Lots of interviews and then checked out/hung out with one of our favorite artists, Greg Laswell after he played acoustic to about 50 of us in a small venue on the edge of the downtown area. so good. Saturday was our busiest day yet. Did some interviews before we loaded into Stubb’s. The show was great, there were a TON of people there and we had a great time. We then packed, did some laundry at 1am and slept. Now we split ways. Nate and I go to NYC, while the rest of the guys drive to LA and see many sights along the way. We meet up again on Wednesday!

3/17/09-3/22/09: Austin TX/Las Vegas, NV/Phoenix, AZ

After our long flight, we finally made it to Austin. We played at the Whrrl Party, where a lot of people were furiously typing on their iPhones. It was good, and after hottubbing it we slept.

Nate and I flew to Las Vegas the next day, where we met some radio stations and promptly lost a lot of money playing craps. The other guys tried to go see the millions of bats in Austin (which Johnny said was more like 15 bats hanging out on the ledge) and then went to these cool swimming holes. We all slept soundly.

The next day, Nate and I drove skipped the flights and drove to Phoenix, where we again drove visited radio stations and then flew back to Austin. The other guys had some good food and hung around downtown all day. We went to sleep in hopes that the first official day of SXSW would bring excitement and good cheer.

And it delivered. We spent the afternoon doing interviews and hanging with some good folks from the radio station. Saw Gomez and Andrew Bird for a bit at Stubbs (he whistles well) and crashed out of sheer exhaustion from walking around so much.

The second day was not much different. Lots of interviews and then checked out/hung out with one of our favorite artists, Greg Laswell after he played acoustic to about 50 of us in a small venue on the edge of the downtown area. so good.

Saturday was our busiest day yet. Did some interviews before we loaded into Stubb’s. The show was great, there were a TON of people there and we had a great time. We then packed, did some laundry at 1am and slept.

Now we split ways. Nate and I go to NYC, while the rest of the guys drive to LA and see many sights along the way. We meet up again on Wednesday!

Mar 16
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3/16/09: Burbank, CA/Phoenix, AZ/Austin TX Today we woke up late (10am) and got some donuts. Hit up the retro Burbank Airport (totally 70’s) and flew to Phoenix, AZ. We were supposed to stay on the same plane, but they took us off and then moved it to a different gate. It was there we found out that the toilet was clogged. Apparently the tried everything: multiple flushes, the snake. Finally, one of the pilots had a great idea: pressurize the cabin but leave the release valve for the toilet open, so whatever was clogging it up would shoot out of there. We waited in ancipation, only to see our efforts to watch this thwarted when they put us on another plane. Alas. I hope it worked, though. We finally made it to Austin, along the way meeting many a good people who we will hopefully see again on Saturday! Took a cab to the hotel, and upon realizing we didn’t have a car, hiked along the strip for dinner. The options: Chile’s, some mexican place (the obvious winner) and some seafood place. The later two were closed, so we ended up munching on a lot of well named, but oddly flavored chicken-based dishes. We finished up, hit the hottub, and finally got in bed. Only to discover that Alex had found the complimentary RELAXATION CD! Yes. It had a dude talking about breathing in and out, we’re heart beat sounds and some nature effects to go along with it all. We listened for a few minutes and were promptly asleep, ready to see what Austin will throw at us tomorrow when Das Lucas the Roadenbro comes to town with the van! Picture: Johnny and Alex watch the plane intently during the delay, hoping to see some type of action from the septic tank.

3/16/09: Burbank, CA/Phoenix, AZ/Austin TX

Today we woke up late (10am) and got some donuts. Hit up the retro Burbank Airport (totally 70’s) and flew to Phoenix, AZ. We were supposed to stay on the same plane, but they took us off and then moved it to a different gate.

It was there we found out that the toilet was clogged. Apparently the tried everything: multiple flushes, the snake. Finally, one of the pilots had a great idea: pressurize the cabin but leave the release valve for the toilet open, so whatever was clogging it up would shoot out of there. We waited in ancipation, only to see our efforts to watch this thwarted when they put us on another plane. Alas. I hope it worked, though.

We finally made it to Austin, along the way meeting many a good people who we will hopefully see again on Saturday! Took a cab to the hotel, and upon realizing we didn’t have a car, hiked along the strip for dinner. The options: Chile’s, some mexican place (the obvious winner) and some seafood place. The later two were closed, so we ended up munching on a lot of well named, but oddly flavored chicken-based dishes. We finished up, hit the hottub, and finally got in bed. Only to discover that Alex had found the complimentary RELAXATION CD! Yes. It had a dude talking about breathing in and out, we’re heart beat sounds and some nature effects to go along with it all. We listened for a few minutes and were promptly asleep, ready to see what Austin will throw at us tomorrow when Das Lucas the Roadenbro comes to town with the van!

Picture: Johnny and Alex watch the plane intently during the delay, hoping to see some type of action from the septic tank.

Mar 15
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3/9/09- 3/18/09: San Diego/Los Angeles, CA Nate and I flew out Monday to do some radio station visits out on  the West Coast. San Diego (all anchorman jokes aside) is very pretty. It was fun, met some really great people and we heard some great stories about hanging with Bono and how short U2 were from some of the station managers… insanity! (for real!) We met the guys on Wednesday night and celebrated Nate and Alex’s birthday by letting them ride shot gun, letting them pick what kind of dinner we get and letting Nate go swimming in the pool (even though it was closed! HAHAHAHA WE HAVE FORSAKEN YOUR HONOR BY FOOLING YOU YET AGAIN, OH GRAFTON HOTEL!) We visited some radio stations and did some showcases for some TV people, who were all very receptive, cool and not awkward when it was the five of us playing for one of them in a small room. and trust me when I say, that is a good thing! Played for a Digital College Network event and met a great, classic R & B group from our label (Brutha) who were incredible. Choreography, harmonies, the whole deal. It was great and they were extremely nice guys and easy to hang with!  Today we had a day off, so I woke up early and went to go get a haircut (note to self, haircuts are expensive in la) then came back and picked up everyone else. We drove through some GORGEOUS mountains and up the 1, which goes up the coastline to Ventura, where we met my mom and cousins who were visiting my Grandad and hung out on th ebeach. Johnny and I went surfing and sea kyacking, catching some gnarly waves in the process and freezing in our skimpy wetsuits. Johnny, Alex and Kit worked on their base tans, and eventually we drove back into LA to have a great rehearsal at a studio in town. After an hour and a half of refreshing the songs, we came home, packed up and are ready to fly to Austin for the craziness that is SXSW tomorrow. See you soon!

3/9/09- 3/18/09: San Diego/Los Angeles, CA

Nate and I flew out Monday to do some radio station visits out on  the West Coast. San Diego (all anchorman jokes aside) is very pretty. It was fun, met some really great people and we heard some great stories about hanging with Bono and how short U2 were from some of the station managers… insanity! (for real!)

We met the guys on Wednesday night and celebrated Nate and Alex’s birthday by letting them ride shot gun, letting them pick what kind of dinner we get and letting Nate go swimming in the pool (even though it was closed! HAHAHAHA WE HAVE FORSAKEN YOUR HONOR BY FOOLING YOU YET AGAIN, OH GRAFTON HOTEL!) We visited some radio stations and did some showcases for some TV people, who were all very receptive, cool and not awkward when it was the five of us playing for one of them in a small room. and trust me when I say, that is a good thing! Played for a Digital College Network event and met a great, classic R & B group from our label (Brutha) who were incredible. Choreography, harmonies, the whole deal. It was great and they were extremely nice guys and easy to hang with! 

Today we had a day off, so I woke up early and went to go get a haircut (note to self, haircuts are expensive in la) then came back and picked up everyone else. We drove through some GORGEOUS mountains and up the 1, which goes up the coastline to Ventura, where we met my mom and cousins who were visiting my Grandad and hung out on th ebeach. Johnny and I went surfing and sea kyacking, catching some gnarly waves in the process and freezing in our skimpy wetsuits. Johnny, Alex and Kit worked on their base tans, and eventually we drove back into LA to have a great rehearsal at a studio in town. After an hour and a half of refreshing the songs, we came home, packed up and are ready to fly to Austin for the craziness that is SXSW tomorrow. See you soon!

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BACK IN BUSINESS! Not that we were ever not. But we’re traveling again. No, better put we are BLOGGING again. Yes. A quick update: Finished the tour with Jon McLaughlin with a GREAT show in Chicago. Sold out, HUGe crowd and a great great time. It was sad to see them go! Made a treck up to NYC to do a showcase for the kind people of corporate America, and visit a few stations (radio and TV) and do some interviews for some websites. All very nice, easy going amigos who we had a grand time with. Did an hour and a half of phone interviews on the way home, and then packed for Florida. Thought we were going to FL for some radio promo, but weather had different plans. After our flight getting canceled the day before, my (Will’s) flight finally got off the ground the next morning 5 hours late. Nate’s plane, however, was canceled due to the crazy storm. So it was just me doing all the interviews and performances on air, with the help of the lovely Trina and wonderful Scott “Sacky-B” Backer. It was lonely. Made it out in one piece and home on time, and packed for the West Coast!

BACK IN BUSINESS!

Not that we were ever not. But we’re traveling again. No, better put we are BLOGGING again. Yes. A quick update:

Finished the tour with Jon McLaughlin with a GREAT show in Chicago. Sold out, HUGe crowd and a great great time. It was sad to see them go!

Made a treck up to NYC to do a showcase for the kind people of corporate America, and visit a few stations (radio and TV) and do some interviews for some websites. All very nice, easy going amigos who we had a grand time with. Did an hour and a half of phone interviews on the way home, and then packed for Florida.

Thought we were going to FL for some radio promo, but weather had different plans. After our flight getting canceled the day before, my (Will’s) flight finally got off the ground the next morning 5 hours late. Nate’s plane, however, was canceled due to the crazy storm. So it was just me doing all the interviews and performances on air, with the help of the lovely Trina and wonderful Scott “Sacky-B” Backer. It was lonely. Made it out in one piece and home on time, and packed for the West Coast!

Feb 19
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2/15/09- 2/18/09: South Bend IN, Madison WI, Minneapolis MN, Des Moines, IA  2/15: Waking up late, we did some laundry and other errands, and then got invited to the most awesome boxing match. Notre Dame has done it every year for the past 100 years or so, where beginner students fight each other. It was the opening night, so there were 50+ fights going on. They had the full deal: boxing rings, announcer, girls walking the guys out. It was amazing. Needless to say, we went and had a great time. Lucas was the bookie/promoter/cowboy for the evening, and the last fight of the evening for the heavy weights (200 pounds plus) was so epic… blood, sweat and a win by split decision. We cheered on our boy Bart, (randomly picked) all the way to victory and Luke was continually telling him ringside during breaks between rounds that if Bart won, Luke could “take him to the top!” FOOTAGE TO FOLLOW! We spent the night there with our good friends KC and Lori, whom were kind enough to let us sleep in there living room. 2/16: The next day brought us a trip to Madison WI, where it was A) freezing and B) very pretty. I liked it a lot. The venue was GREAT and the crowd was incredible. I think it was one of my favorite shows the entire tour. Would have loved to hang, but alas, we had to move on to Minneapolis, where some corporate meetings awaited us. 2/17: Woke up way early and finished our drive, where we met our new friend Chad at the Target headquarters. It was like something out of a movie. Huge, tons of people walking around in Target power suits, and a lot of bulls eyes all over the place. We played for some very nice people there, got some free lint rollers and CD’s and made our way to the hotel, which was right next to none other than the MALL OF AMERICA! I went shopping with Kit and Nate, while the other three decided to spend their money on the aquarium and roller coasters. After about an hour, we were all ready to go. It was nauseating, the amount of stuff in that one building. We played some more music for the good people of the Universal Music Group and then went and watched our friend Juli Guill’s first feature film, Friday the 13th. It was a rousing good scare, and we went to sleep satisfied that Jul’s had indeed died a hero in the film and made it through the majority of it. 2/18: Woke up and drove to Des Moines, IA. We thought we were going to go to the place Buddy Holly played his last show, but completely drove past it, realizing this only when we got to Des Moines and still hadn’t seen it yet. Whoops. Played a show at the Vaudeville Mews, met a lot of fun Iowa-ians, and then hung out for the evening with Jon and his band at a bar in town, singing karaoke and raising a chorus of “Sweet Caroline” into the frigid February night.

2/15/09- 2/18/09: South Bend IN, Madison WI, Minneapolis MN, Des Moines, IA 

2/15: Waking up late, we did some laundry and other errands, and then got invited to the most awesome boxing match. Notre Dame has done it every year for the past 100 years or so, where beginner students fight each other. It was the opening night, so there were 50+ fights going on. They had the full deal: boxing rings, announcer, girls walking the guys out. It was amazing. Needless to say, we went and had a great time. Lucas was the bookie/promoter/cowboy for the evening, and the last fight of the evening for the heavy weights (200 pounds plus) was so epic… blood, sweat and a win by split decision. We cheered on our boy Bart, (randomly picked) all the way to victory and Luke was continually telling him ringside during breaks between rounds that if Bart won, Luke could “take him to the top!” FOOTAGE TO FOLLOW! We spent the night there with our good friends KC and Lori, whom were kind enough to let us sleep in there living room.

2/16: The next day brought us a trip to Madison WI, where it was A) freezing and B) very pretty. I liked it a lot. The venue was GREAT and the crowd was incredible. I think it was one of my favorite shows the entire tour. Would have loved to hang, but alas, we had to move on to Minneapolis, where some corporate meetings awaited us.

2/17: Woke up way early and finished our drive, where we met our new friend Chad at the Target headquarters. It was like something out of a movie. Huge, tons of people walking around in Target power suits, and a lot of bulls eyes all over the place. We played for some very nice people there, got some free lint rollers and CD’s and made our way to the hotel, which was right next to none other than the MALL OF AMERICA! I went shopping with Kit and Nate, while the other three decided to spend their money on the aquarium and roller coasters. After about an hour, we were all ready to go. It was nauseating, the amount of stuff in that one building. We played some more music for the good people of the Universal Music Group and then went and watched our friend Juli Guill’s first feature film, Friday the 13th. It was a rousing good scare, and we went to sleep satisfied that Jul’s had indeed died a hero in the film and made it through the majority of it.

2/18: Woke up and drove to Des Moines, IA. We thought we were going to go to the place Buddy Holly played his last show, but completely drove past it, realizing this only when we got to Des Moines and still hadn’t seen it yet. Whoops. Played a show at the Vaudeville Mews, met a lot of fun Iowa-ians, and then hung out for the evening with Jon and his band at a bar in town, singing karaoke and raising a chorus of “Sweet Caroline” into the frigid February night.