Show Journal 2002-06-29
Well the Widmer Dock Rock actually kind of rocked! It was a big show sponsored by KNRK featuring 5 local bands who had previously appeared on the morning show. The venue was interesting … the stage was actually on the loading dock of a brewery! Pretty cool setup, nice weather, what more can you ask for? All the bands were very good today and it was a nice change of pace to see some different styles of music. Plus all of the bands were all really cool. We didn’t see any rock star attitudes that you might expect to find at an event like this and everyone was totally friendly. As for the performances most of my props are reserved for Longshot who absolutely tore through their set and left people begging for more. They are so good they make me want to quit. The show had to be wrapped up by 9:00 and since everyone was running late we were only allowed to play 15 minutes. We managed to squeeze in 6 songs and I think everyone seemed to have fun. Big thanks to the KNRK for finally taking notice of the bands in their back yard. There are plenty more good ones out there to choose from so they’ve got their work cut out for them. Thanks to all out friends who came out!
Show Journal 2002-06-26
Today was our second time on the morning show and it was much more laid back since we knew what to expect! Daria and Gustav were on vacation so Nik and Dan were the hosts of the show today. We watched ‘Fast Times At Ridgemont High’ on a huge projection screen to pass the time between music segments. It worked out that every time there was nudity on the screen someone on the NRK staff would walk by, do a double take and then stare at us disapprovingly. I’ll be surprised if Josh isn’t sued for sexual harassment by creating a hostile work environment.
Show Journal 2002-06-15
Day 9 – Today started with a round of sink showers (aka – whore baths) and then we pressed onwards. As expected the drive today was pretty uneventful … lots of movies, hamburgers at Dick’s and more movies. We did a little over 1000 miles today (a new record) and got into Portland around 2:00. All in all it was a pretty fun trip. I wish we had more shows but oh well. Thanks to everyone who helped us out, came to the shows and made this fun for us. Super big thanks to Derik, Damon and Adam … seriously you guys are one of the coolest bands we have ever played and hung out with!
Show Journal 2002-06-14
Day 8 – The morning started with a freezing cold shower but I got my money back, so it was cold but free shower. During the day we watched a few movies, listened to some new music, took lots of naps and pulled about 900 miles in the van. There were lots of cool storms and lots of movies to be seen so the time went by quickly. We did stop at the Space Aliens cafe in Bismarck but it was pretty gross this time and I don’t think I want to return again. At some point after dinner we drove through a swarm of moths and were hitting one on the windshield every few seconds. When you turned on the high beams it was like driving in snow. It lasted about 5 minutes and was so absolutely disgusting to scrape off. We crashed out in a rest stop outside of Billings.
Show Journal 2002-06-13
Day 7 – Today we started off with our trip to Six Flags which was totally what we needed for a day off and last day with STFS. The cool thing was that it was overcast and a little cold so there was hardly anyone there. On some of the older rides they actually told us if there is no one in line you can just stay on it! That’s almost unheard of at Six Flags. Usually you wait 30 minutes for even the crappiest of rides. We rode so many rides it was amazing, some we even went on 3 or 4 times. Awesome, awesome day. The only thing that kinda sucked was Derik getting sick. After the second ride he turned ghost white, started sweating and puked every time he stood up. He ended up sleeping in the infirmary for most of the day. Later he told us he was sweating for two hours and puked a few more times. God I really felt awful. By late afternoon he met back up with us and we all felt a little better once we saw he was doing ok. It was so much fun and I really can’t imagine having a better day to hang out with everyone. After the roller coaster extravaganza we went out for one final dinner with STFS. It was pretty cool reminiscing about the trip and the other stuff that happened. I’m a little jealous they still have two more weeks of shows but that’s how the cards fell. We had a great time with them and after so many truck stops, late night meals and conversations I almost felt like we were all in the same band. Huge thanks to them for the shows, the fun and just being cool as hell. We said goodbyes, wished them good luck and managed to get one last food projectile at their van. The unfortunate thing is that we now have to drive straight back to Portland from there which was a very, very long way. 2200 miles to be exact! After nearly 30 roller coaster rides and 300 miles of driving that night when the van finally stopped we all slept like babies.
Show Journal 2002-06-12
Day 6 – Woke up today, scraped the food off our van and got some breakfast. Before leaving Jim decided to buy some eggs to throw at our touring rivals. We all decided eggs were too messy and probably crossed the line of good humor. In a strange twist of fate about thirty seconds after saying that we hear the distinctive thumping sound of food products on our van windows. Those damn STFS bastards were bombarding our van with donuts and creamers! Throwing our morals out the window (sorry) we immediately retaliated with an attack of eggs on their windshield. Later they confessed that when it got hotter the eggs started to cook and smelled really bad. The drive today was really kind of boring. At some point Justin and I were throwing some kind of snack cake at each other. Trying to be funny I whipped it in the back seat and managed to smack Kevin in the eye. I couldn’t imagine feeling like any more of an asshole and can’t apologize enough. At another point during the drive we were sitting at a traffic light and Damon sneaks up beside our van and squirted a Capri Sun all over our windshield. At first we felt defeated and humbled but then remembered they were the ones driving around with a big dick on their roof. Finally we got to the venue (a house), met the owner and went out of dinner at some bar in downtown Milwaukee. After eating we headed back to the show to find that the first band had already played and they were waiting on us. Whoops! STFS set up real quick and rocked the small but vocal crowd. Meanwhile we got to see Lugs and Eric from the Shut-Ups and thank them for setting up the show. When we played there were a few more people and they all seemed to like us. During the set we decided to play a Misfits cover and out of nowhere comes the guy who owns the house, grabs the mic and sings the whole damn song. Amazing. It was the best I’ve ever heard anyone sing that song. Later he showed us his collection of Misfits tattoos which explains his amazing skills. Last up was the Shut-Ups. To this day I still swear that the first time I saw them play was the best set by an unsigned band I have ever seen. I think they were almost better this time. They are so loud and so bad ass and sound like a mix of Zeke and AC/DC. I was so stoked they played the show because they are so good. This was technically our last show of the tour which was a little depressing because we had really just started to get in the swing of things. However we still had one more day planned. We coiuldn’t get a show in Chicago so we had been planning on going to Six Flags for a little amusement park fun before heading home. After loading we pulled STFS aside and told them we wanted to treat them to Six Flags on us. They had been so cool to travel with and had hooked us up with two rad Montana shows it was the least we could do! They gladly accepted our offer and we headed out to a truck stop just outside of Illinois. After breathing all that smoke and being in that loud ass basement I was feeling like crap once we stopped. I bought some dinner but had two bites to eat and went back to the van to sleep.
Show Journal 2002-06-11
Day 5 – We started off the day with an amazing breakfast of eggs and pancakes by Carl. We were originally supposed to play in Minneapolis tonight but it ended up falling through. Amazingly we were offered a show in Aberdeen tonight. We actually have a few people there who like us (from the last 2 tours) but since we no one knew we were going to be playing we all decided to start the long haul onto Milwaukee. The drive there was really slow. Lots of small towns and 30mph zones. We did get to see the World’s Largest Ball Of Twine though which was a treat. At some point during the drive (right after cleaning the van) we were assaulted by handfuls of a green soupy substance that STFS was throwing at us. We jumped out and hit them with pudding pops and applesauce which we purchased just for this occasion. The best part is that it happened right in front of the truck stop restaurant! Everyone looked on in horror as we threw food at one another. We didn’t have much to do in Minneapolis so we checked out the Mall Of America. We had seen it before but it was still a worthwhile detour. A rematch of the air hockey game ensued and a karaoke video was filmed of the 2 bands singing the song from ‘The Wonder Years.’ It’s very, very silly. After the mall we decided to eat downtown. It was almost 10:30 on a weeknight so there wasn’t anything open. We were down by the 1st Ave which really isn’t the best neighborhood to hang out in. We couldn’t eat at a bar (since Adam is 19) so we were referred to the Olympic Cafe. It was a in a pretty sketchy neighborhood and we all felt pretty out of place. At one point this guy came in walked around us, left and came back with another person. They left and came back with two other people. Another group came in and was saying some shit to the guy working there about kicking his ass. Eventually the four that came in earlier came back with a few more people and we quickly decided it was time to get the hell out of there. Kevin laughed at us for overreacting but we were all pretty uncomfortable and were convinced there was going to be an ass kicking in our future. Anyway, we pressed on to somewhere in Wisconsin and hit up another truck stop. We all went in for a late night dinner. Eating so late at night was a bad idea because everyone got wound up and the food wars resumed. We all got settled in and then heard giggling outside our van. We looked out only to discover the letter ‘STFS’ written in catsup on the side of our van. We retaliated, they retaliated and at some point there was an actual foot chase that ended in Dave losing his shoe and falling down a grass hill. Classic.
Show Journal 2002-06-10
Day 4 – After cleaning up (i.e. – bathing in the sink in the restroom) and watching everyone in STFS get stared down by the management we drove on. A few minutes into the drive El Santo attacked the STFS van with an array of condiments and food products. The war has begun. At a later stop Damon was spotted behind our van affixing a sign that says “honk at us we’re morons”. Later Justin put mayonnaise under their door handles. They threw stuff, we threw stuff and I’m sure the drama will continue all the way to Wisconsin. The drive to Aberdeen was slow. There was lots of road construction and at one point we found a section of the highway that was going to be closed for “about 30 minutes”. We were pointed to a bypass that involved 5 miles on a gravel road. It was a very weird feeling to be in the middle of nowhere, no cars in sight, cruising down a dirt road going to show. Not very “tour like”. For this trip Justin decided to save money by bringing bulk foods. At one point he asked for his trail mix and as I went to hand it to him the bag ripped and spilled about a pound of mixed nuts all over the van. Ughh. Due to all the traffic and construction we were pretty late to the show. Matt booked our show for us in Aberdeen last year and since there weren’t any clubs available so he just had us play in his basement. That was so cool and we can’t thank him enough! During the STFS set Jim and Kevin “painted” an enormous penis out of masking tape on the STFS van. I can’t wait until they pass a trucker who sees a van with a huge penis on top of it! The turnout was admittedly pretty low, but we both got to play and sold a few things so it was all worth it. Thanks again Matt! After the show we checked out Carl’s collection of Harley’s (he owns a shop) and while some people played poker Dave and I stayed up discussing bands and music with Matt and his friend (who’s name has totally escaped me … sorry). We all crashed in the comfort of a nice basement with beds, thick carpets and couches.
Show Journal 2002-06-09
Day 3 – I had a real shower today and it was amazing. After two sweaty shows I needed one bad. Today we went out for breakfast with Bill and his roommate Helen which was totally fun. Afterwards we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up some extra foam for the back seat as well as a few forgotten items. It was cold and raining all day and feels like winter. Kevin proclaimed ‘just give me one day over 80 degrees and I swear I’ll wear out 3 pairs of shorts in one day’. We stopped in Livingston to reunite Adam with his band mates. That was where Dave used the toilet that he named “the sidewinder”. The drive to Billings was real short which was kind of nice. We kept smelling something bad in the van and later realized we are burning transmission fluid. Swell. The club in Billings was nice and they actually gave us free food. It sounds so trivial but a free meal the greatest thing in the world. The show tonight was great. Quite a few people from Bozeman made the drive to see the show which was totally cool to see. We gladly let STFS play last this time which was wise as they had pummeled us with rock the night before. Tonight they busted out a cover of ‘Wish’ by NIN. It was so awesome sounding I can’t even describe it. I love the original so I am surely biased. After the show we witnessed the most intense air hockey game I’ve ever seen between Justin and Kevin. I want to describe it more but I just can’t. Amazing though. Absolutely amazing. Oddly enough it got kind of warm after the show. Not for long though because by the time we stopped to sleep it was damn cold again. At some point during the trip Kevin began impersonating Cobra Commander. It’s sounds very ridiculous … and well it is. Our parking lot of choice this evening was beside a free dirt pile in the back of a truck stop. Unfortunately everything on the floor of the van got coated in mud. Before we slept we watched a few episodes of Sealab 2001 and we all impersonate the BeBop cola machine.
Show Journal 2002-06-08
Day 2 – Woke up in Idaho and ate a big breakfast. We had a real nice waitress who took our order. She went on break and was replaced by a really rude one who messed up our orders and accused us of lying. The old bait and switch routine again. During breakfast we got a call from STFS saying they had driven through the night all the way to Livingston. Crazy bastards. I hope this isn’t the norm for their driving excursions. We are getting too old and lazy for that. It was actually snowing on the pass into Montana. I can’t believe it’s snowing in June. Some tour. On the drive music highlights included the appearance of Body Count (which we all loved and loathed at the same time) and later the playing of Dee Dee King. If you aren’t aware of Mr. King, do some homework and see what you think. Justin’s belching has repulsed us all. He can burp pretty much non stop for sometimes 5- 10 minutes at a time. It’s loud, it’s gross, and as mad as we all get at him it’s still a little amusing. $5 says his throat will burst open one of the days. The show was cool because we knew quite a few people. Lots of people from last year’s Livingston show including the return of “the loadie” as well as O.G. Bill. We missed the first band tonight but did get to see Coldsnap 9 again. My god they were even better than last time. I was embarrassed to play after them as they are so good. I thought STFS was good last night but they were even more rocking tonight. It was cool seeing everyone sing their songs. After the show everyone hung out for a while careful not to be assaulted by Coldsnap 9’s “hackey sack to the balls” trick. Derik and Damon from STFS drove on to Livingston to stay in real beds. We however stole Adam and crashed at Bill’s house where they had a few people over. I was the bastard of the group and stole the only free bed for myself.
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