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4-7-07
Detroit, MI
I've been psyched to come here all tour...just for a good ghetto dance
party. I was told that the venue is It was effing freezing
here today. I just tried to load in as fast as possible
and stay indoors to keep warm. There were kids out early this morning
lined up again and Anthony was kind enough to go play a mini acoustic
set for them to warm them up for the evening! Before the show, Scott,
Josh, Chris and I walked down the street to grab some dinner before
the show at some greek joint. It was a great show yet again.
Apparently this venue is upstairs from The Shelter, where some of 8
Mile was filmed. The kids seemed psyched to see all the bands
and get to meet them for hugs and autographs.
4-6-07
Cincinnati, OH
We're in freezing Cincinnati today! It was a long load in today and set
up. Again trying to stay warm. kept it pretty chill during the day. It was snowing,
so there wasn't much to do really. After the show, we just chilled on the
bus, watched movies and stayed up late listening to music and checking out art
online....we were having so much fun we didn't even realize that it was 6:30
in the morning! Then it was nap time before the Detroit show!
4-5-07
Chicago, IL
I have never been to Chicago before so I have been super excited to
come to this city for ever. I have some of the best friends I cold have asked for
that live in this city and all of them came out to the show today! In
the morning I got up early and went down to the Pick Me Up Cafe just down the
street from Wrigley field. The breckie was off the charts ...they even made
a little chocolate sail boat in my morning bevy!! I went back to the Metro
to set up. After set up, Scott, Jacquie, Anthony and I went to Scott's old
roommate's bar just down the street to hang out. Then he took, Anthony, Jacquie
and I to run erronds and back to his house to load us up with little gifts
to bring back to the posse...like my new little plant for the bus!!! I
have been wanting to see a show at the Metro forever as well. So all in all
I was just super excited about the day!!!I was only able to catch part of the
Envy set today and the rest of the time I was stuck in the merch area. I love
hanging out with all of the merch homies but it was a super screwy set up and
they regulated how many people could be in the area at a time. There was constantly
a line to get into the merch area, so many kids didn't get in when they wanted
to...especially for the Cute Is What We Aim For signing. After the show
was over, I loaded out quick and met up with my friends, Morgan from Flower
Booking, Stank and Nicole for bevy's. Shortly after Anthony met up with us
and shortly after that two good friends from Warped Tour last summer, Zack
and Dan came and hung out. This was seriously the best night I have
had n tour thus far. Such great people with good hearts to surround myself
with.
4-4-07
Minneapolis, MN
We rolled into the show today and it was sooo effing cold! Luckily
for us, Steve's lady friend, Ellen, lives here so she had a car and
took Anthony, Spanky and me to the local Whole Foods and to run a
couple of erronds before the show. Set
up was easy today and the show was great. I feel so fortunate to be able
to see some of the best bands out there right now...and I get to do it every
night! After the show, a couple of Anthony's friends took us to the Tripple
Rock...best venue/bar/restaraunt in MN! We had the yummiest late night
snack attack and the best company! I met one amazing lady, Tiff, a good
friend of the Circa guys. She is amazing..so much fun. Also,
Scott's girlfriend, Jacqalin (sp??), got into town tonight and is going
to spend the next few days with us. The night was so great! I can't
wait to make it back in this city again!!! Chicago tomorrow!
4-3-07
Omaha, NE
Pretty effing cold here in Omaha! Dang. It was a rad venue today though.
I was psyched to be at a venue that I am pretty sure some of my favorite Saddle
Creek bands in Omaha have most likely played at....Azure Ray, Son Ambulance,
The Good Life, Bright Eyes...The show was great. Circa's lights looked incredible
tonight. When you all are at their show, make sure you pay attention to this...they
spent over 200 or 300 hours editing this for your viewing pleasure, so do not
let it pass you by. Seriously amazing! We all just hung out on the bus
and listened to music all night, rather than watch a movie. It was rad but I
dipped out a little early and went to bed.
4-2-07
Denver, CO
So good to be home. I immiditley called my dad when I woke up and he
came to pick me up so I could do laundry and go meet my mom for lunch. It's always
wonderful to come home to family. In the afternoon after set up at the Gothic,
I went over to visit my good friends, Stephanie and Virgil and their little
boy, Logan, at Suburban Home Records. They are some of the most
wonderful people I know. I only had a about and hour or so before
I had to get for doors so it was a quick visit. Tonight's show was awesome.
Circa headlined and the kids in Denver got a special little treat tonight. Anthony
came out and sang Montauk solo...it was so rad and the kids were so psyched. After
the show, my friends Kelly and Ryan took me to a bar I roll to often
when I am back home, The Hi Dive. A few of the dudes came as well, Spanky,
Scott, Chris and Adrian (Cute's tech) and they were lucky enough to see me
sign karaoke...something I have not done in five years! I sang Build Me Up
Buttercup by The Foundation and it was amazing...at least in
my eyes!
4-1-07
Rock Springs, WY - Day Off
I haven't been here in Rock Springs for five years (yes, I actually
have been here before. wierd? yes.) It was on the same tour with
my girls from Denver and our van broke down for three days. I was
on a mission to relive my last time spent in Rock Springs with games
of Yatzee and some karaoke! Unfortunately the karaoke bar was closed
on Sundays...boo. We ended up having a good
time anyway even with the crap weather...raining and hailing all day pretty
much. There was a lot of time spent on the bus and in Starbucks today. When
the Envy guys rolled up, Steve, Richard, Nick and I all jumped in their van
and they drove us to the mall and and movie theater. Before we went to see
movies, we walked into the mall and found the Easter Bunny and pretty much
had to take a photo with the little guy then we were off to the movies. Most
of us went to see Shooter and some others went for Blades of Glory or 300.
Since it was April fools, some of the guys took it upon themselves to play
a little prank. So Brian from Envy moved their van while the rest of
us were finishing up. When Larry (Envy's TM) came outside to find that
their van was missing, he about had a heart attack. Super funny to the rest
of us, just not Larry :)
3-31-07
Salt Lake City, UT
I have only been to Salt Lake City
once about five years ago when I was on tour with my friends in Hemi
Cuda and I didn't really get to check out the city not see the beautiful
mountain scape surrounding the city. I wish we had time to go play
in the mountains...next time. Josh and I got up fairly early and went
on our usual walk to find breckie and a cup of coffee. Where
the venue is there is absolutely nothing around except for a giant
mall so we just walked around for a bit and headed back to the bus.
I got a hold of my girl Caroline after load in and she came to pick
me up and we went to here house for so I could get all cleaned up and
visit her parrot, Benito!!! She was having a party that night, so I
just helped her clean up and she got me back to the venue. It
was kind of a crazy venue. When we first loaded in there were cages
up in the main room...Spanky and I were talking about having a cage
dance off....would have been off the charts! There was some wierd see
through floor in the venue too...that crap sketches me out sometimes.
The show was great tonight! The kids were super into all of the
bands. That evening after the show, we all just hung out and a a super
sweet photo shoot with all of the Lions and Envy guys. This was our
last night to hang with Jack from Cute too since he is leaving the
tour. We have a day off tomorrow so it was a late night
of hanging out...especially because there was nothing really around
our area...and the few things that were in the mall all closed super
early.
3-30-07
Boise,
ID
This morning I woke up and went for a walk around town. I found a coffee
shop and talked to some ladies to find out where the good vintage
clothing boutiques are. Lucky for me, there were three within walking
distance. After a bit of browsing, I returned to the venue for
setup. It was a fairly large venue, and everything looked great
for the show. After setup, Anthony and I walked around town some
more and did a little bit more window shopping, looked at some
street art photos and then we went to grab an early dinner at PF
Changs. The show was pretty mellow tonight because it was not packed,
but these are the shows that I think people treasure more than
others. Kids had the opportunity to really take in every set and
enjoy every last bit of everyone’s set. Those are some lucky
kids to be able to see these bands in such an intimate setting.
I was able to get some closer pics today. Usually, I can't make
it anywhere close to the stage to take pics. Cute Is What We Aim
for signed today, and after their set, Shaant wandered about the
venue to meet and hang with their fans. Circa closed out the show
this evening, and Anthony jumped right off the stage and into the
crowd to meet their fans—just one more thing to add to such
a rad night for so many show goers. After the show and load-out,
we got together and a posse of us went walking around town and
ended up at some dance party club. I figured it would be only seconds
before I had to get up and shake my booty. I actually surprised
myself and made a swift little sneak exit with Anthony, and we
walked down the street to another small and much more mellow watering
hole where I had a night cap and we walked back to the bus, trying
not to get lost. We had a visitor on our bus tonight, too! Rob
from As Tall As Lions came for an overnight, but I kind of wimped
out and ended going to bed.
3-29-07
Pendleton,
OR
Day Off! I seriously could not have been more pleased with this day,
and it was totally unexpected. We rolled into the parking lot at
Wal-Mart and set up camp. Josh and I were up pretty early, so we
decided to take a walk to Denny’s for some breakfast. On
our little journey, we ran across transvestite cow/bulls (have
you ever seen a bull with utters? I haven’t, but here in
Pendleton, they attract a weird breed). We rolled back to the bus,
and Spanky (best merch dude ever; tipmeplease.com) was reorganizing
the trailor and Anthony walked up with a new soccer ball. I grabbed
a chair and set up shop in the parking lot and began my new embroidery
project—a lovely little Circa tee, finished product soon
to be seen! After a few minutes, all of the guys were outside playing
a little kick. While the guys were playing outside, Scott was preparing
a feast! He bought a hot plate, pots and pans and heaps of scrumptious
food to fill or bellies. He made the most amazing eggplant parmesean
that I have ever had in my life, it was so effing good! After dinner,
I started cleaning up (if you don’t already know, if someone
is cooking for you, they should never have to clean up the mess
and dishes), and then we popped out and walked to the bowling alley
down the street. I was so psyched! I love bowling! I used to bowl
every week and went to two bowling tournaments a year. Unfortunately,
my skills did not pull through this evening…bummer. I don’t
think I even made it over 100. Awful.
3-28-07
Seattle,
WA
I haven’t been to Seattle for a few years now. I love this city
and the people in it. I wanted to go check out their library because
it is one of the most awesome buildings I’ve ever been in (definitely
go check it out when you are in the city). Unfortunatly I was unable
to go. I was fortunate enough to have been able to meet up with my
good friend Phaedra that moved to Seattle from Denver a while back—so
great to see her! Then I rolled back to the bus to meet up with Brendan
and go up to Capitol Hill to get massages by Katrina at Suite India
(www.suiteindia.com). I haven’t gotten pampered since the holidays
in December, so I was stoked to get some work done. I popped into a
record shop down the street, Sonic Boom, while Brenden was getting
his massage, and I ended up spending another $75 on music and a book.
Let’s see, what did I purchase... Silversun Pickups, the New
Modest Mouse, Metric (because I lost my old one) and Lavender Diamond,
all of which are amazing! After our lovely treatments and shop-a-thon,
it was time for me to set up. I had another great view of the stage.
When the kids rolled in, they charged the stage and the line for
the Circa Survive signing filled up. The venue was completely packed
shortly after doors. I was lucky to be where I was so I could sneak
around the back of the stage, otherwise I would have been stuck in
the corner all night because there was literally zero room to move.
After the show, I met up with my girls, Phaedra and Shae, for dinner.
After filling up our little bellies, we rolled over to a bar around
the corner that the guys from Band Of Horses own for a couple of
beers and a peanut fight.
3-27-07
Portland,
OR
I have been looking forward to checking out Portland forever! I’ve
heard nothing but wonderful stories and good times had here. I got
up early today and walked around the street and found a rad little
record shop and bought a couple new albums: Common's Be, and the Knife's
Silent Shout—both of which I have been wanting forever now. I
was referred to go grab breakfast at a little joint down the street
called Cup And Saucer. I went, and it was amazing! I found a couple
little boutiques that I wanted to check out as well that had cute little
vintage frocks. I then went back for load-in at the Hawthorn Theater.
I got a prime spot for viewing at this venue, straight in the back
but in the center of the stage. After load-in, I kidnapped Brendan
and we went to meet two of my good friends that moved to Portland from
San Diego. We dropped back into Cup And Saucer for another bite to
eat and then went to a rad little toy store that had all kinds of Kid
Robot stuff and all kinds of random collectables. I knew that when
I saw this shop that Scott had probably beat me to it and spent heaps
of cash already. When I got back to the bus, there he was with a bag
full of goodies from that shop. (Good thing his girlfriend is meeting
up with him to take all of the goods that he has purchased back home
for him!) On our way back to the bus, we snuck into Ben & Jerry’s
for a little fix—and a lovely photo-op for Brendan and I. After
doors opened, kids poured in with so much freaking energy! They didn’t
stop rocking from the second that Envy On The Coast stepped onstage
till Circa Survive ended the evening. The room was steaming all night,
and everyone seemed to have had a wonderful night. The guys in Envy
On The Coast and As Tall As Lions both did a signing with me today,
and the ladies went wild for these guys. A couple even were pretty
much trying to crawl over the table just to get a touch of one of
their sweaty little bodies. After load-out, we met up with the guys
from Portugal. The Man and went to their local watering hole the
Tripple Nickle. It was so much fun! Joe from Portugal. is quite possibly
the raddest guy ever! So stoked to have met him. I think pretty much
everyone that knows him feels the exact same way.
3-26-07
Medford, OR – off day
Day off number two! There was not a whole lot around except for the mall
so I spent much of the day there. I heard that there was glow golf inside the
mall and I had to check it out! So Josh, Anthony, Nick and I all rolled in to
check it. About 10 minutes later we were already split up and Josh and
I were shopping and we lost Nick and Anthony in the food court. Finally
got to shower today as well…which was much needed! It feels sooo good
to just chill today. After got all fresh and clean, Brendan and I ventured
in the mall again to grab some food and swing by to get a manicure….something
I had been looking forward to since before this tour started!! May sounds stoops
to do while n the road, but when you are surrounded by dudes al of the time,
any little bit of femininity that I can involve myself in is amazing. We
just ended up chillin and watching movies on the bus in the evening until Spanky
and I got some energy up to go to the karaoke bar. No one else had the
balls to get out of the bus and walk to the bar until Spanky and I tested out
the scene there. As soon as we walked in, there was the raddest woman getting
weird with the mic! Within about 20 minutes, the whole posse came to join
us at the bar (Scott, Chris, Brendan, Anthony, Steve and his girl Ellen. Everyone
was pretty mellow so I took it upon myself to sign up Scott and Spanky to sing
Mother by Danzig. There were about two songs then they got called up to
spread their vocal love. I was trying to get up the guts to sing Walking
After Midnight by Patsy Klien…Anthony said that f they had it, he would
sing it with me. I found it and he wimped out…actually, I
kind of wimped out too. Spanky and Brendan finished off the evening
with a duet of Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet! Simply amazing!!!!
3-25-07
San Francisco, CA
We rolled into SF pretty early today. Colin and I took a little walk in the area
to find a Starbucks…he’s always down to go find coffee in the early
AM. I love this city…sooo excited to be here. Shortly after we arrived
I realized that I couldn’t really load in until later in the afternoon
so I had a girlfriend pick me up and we went to Golden Gate Park to see the Vivienne
Westwood exhibit at the de Young museum. She is one of my biggest inspirations
in the fashion industry so this was an incredible visit for me! When I
got back to Slims, I set up my goods and realized that there was hardly room
for any of my stuff so I kept it pretty minimal tonight. We had to do the
Circa signing after the show so I went outside and hooked 50 kids up with wristbands
so they could meet all of the guys in person. The show was good tonight! I actually
got to see most of show again tonight except for the very end. After the
show load out went super smooth, then we just chilled on the bus and watched
movies until bus call at 4am.
3-24-07
Los Angeles, CA
We arrived tat the Avalon a little after noon and again, there were kids lined
up and ready for a packed, sold out show! I was outside throwing up some
posters and girls surrounded me with about 5 billion of the same questions…mostly
consisting of “where’s Jack? Is he coming out here?” and
then they all got a glimpse of Shaant trying to sneak in the back entrance for
sound check and ran to surround him for a little photo sesh. The
LA show’s are always the craziest in the sense that it’s one of the
main dates that all of the industry people are out and ready to be impressed. The
venue was awesome…tons of character and packed with kids. I was lucky
enough to have an amazing view from right behind the sound board. Every band
sounded awesome and on point. After Circa’s set Colin came out in the main
lobby area to be surrounded by fans waiting for a photo opp and hugs. Shortly
after Anthony stopped by my table to say hi and see what we were going to get
up to after the show. Following him was about 20 girls waiting for their
chance to meet him and get an autograph. As soon as the word was out that Anthony
was out in the lobby, about 30 more kids came over to meet him. He was
pretty much posted up until after the show ended and security kicked everyone
out. I was psyched tonight because there were several of my friends in the area
that came to the show and snagged me up after and took me to a party in Silver
Lake. All of the Silverstein guys were in town and heaps of other friends from
Warped 06’ were in the house which made for a nice and unexpected reunion.
Anthony ended up cruising to the party for a short time as well but dipped out
pretty early. I actually got back to the bus pretty early as well. SF is
tomorrow, so I passed on and made it a night.
3-23-07
Las Vegas, NV
I LOVE Las Vegas!!! I come here far too often but still love
it just the same every time. My master plan was to give some of the
Circa guys a lesson in Craps..it’s absolutely the best game
to play in Vegas! My craps lessons turned into me walking around
the shops in between Mandalay Bay and The Luxor with Steve’s
girlfriend. It’s nice to have another lady to play with…especially
when I am surrounded by men most of the time (not that I’m
complaining). The set up for the show was a bit wacky today
since it was in a casino. All of the merch and the signing
with Cute was out in the main casino area so I was not able to check
out the show at all, so unfortunately I don’t have any words
to say about the performances tonight. Lucky for me, I still had
several visitors this evening. Chris from the Lions crew cam and
chilled as well as Bryan from Envy. Several of the Lions and Envy
guys had their families in town for this show. They seemed super
excited to see their boys perform! After the show, breakdown
went super fast. There was a crazy cover band that played after
the AP show…so effing good! A girlfriend and I partook
in a bit of the dance party then we all decided to go ride the roller
coaster on the Stratosphere. I peaced out part way into the
walk and Chris joined me to go find a craps table to make my winning
table! It was a weird night…I wasn’t feeling any of
the tables, ended up playing anyway and losing 100 dollars…so
bummed. We just ended up walking around, having a couple of
bevy’s then I decided to call it a night. When I got
back to my bus, Brendan and I decided to venture back into the casino
and ended up on the dance floor in HOB again….well, I ended
up on the dance floor. I don’t think Brendan was going
to budge his feet for a second. So there I was jumping into random
middle aged women’s dance circles and tried to get them to
dance with me. This didn’t last long because I didn’t
find anyone that could handle my incredible dance moves. ? So that
became the end of my evening…tomorrow’s LA, so I peaced out
and went to sleep.
3-16-07
Austin, TX – SXSW @ Emo’s
I
have been psyched for this show for a while now, especially because
I had never been to SXSW before! There are so many amazing bands
playing everywhere! The streets were filled with eager fans and
musicians. This day was extra special for me because I was also
able to represent Keep A Breast (www.keep-a-breast.org), a non-profit
breast cancer awareness organization. We raised close to $1,000
with the help of Michelle, another KAB volunteer, and the security
guys at the venue. There were three stages, two in the main building
and a tent across the street with the third and about 20 bands.
The line was a couple blocks long before we even arrived at the
venue and continued to fill 6th street…it was crazy!! When
the clock hit 12 o’clock, the kids rolled in and the bands
rolled out on stage. There was high energy throughout the tent
where I posted up, and the same at the main building where Michelle
set up her camp. The bands were great! In addition to the bands
that are on the AP Tour, we were joined by The Photo Atlas, The
Devil Wears Prada, Olympia, Spill Canvas, The Deer Hunter, Weatherbox,
The Horrors, and Hot Cross just to name a few. After the show was
over at around 6pm, we had the rest of the night to play! I went
to see some friends bands play down the street from Emo’s
and grabbed some good old fashion Tex Mex…which I will probably
never do again unless there is absolutely nothing else to eat.
Texan’s are not to keen on catering to vegetarians. I met
up with some friends that I had met on Warped Tour last summer
and I rolled out to the Pure Volume Party that night. There was
an open bar and some great bands and MC’s to entertain us
in a warehouse setting off the main strip of SXSW. There was just
the right amount of people at the party. We stayed for a few hours
and hung out, then the As Tall As Lions guys drove me back to our
hotel so I could crawl into bed for nap time.
3-15-07
Houston, TX
Hey,
my name is Erica and I will be doing my best to give you a day-by-day
update of the AP Tour and a behind the scenes stories. So with
that said…Hello Houston! Day number one of
the AP Tour down….
thirty some odd dates to go. I was excited to meet everyone and slightly
nervous. My nerves were only eating at me a bit because I had never
met any of the guys I am touring with. To my delight, I ran into
Aaron at the airport and we headed over to the venue together for
set up. Pretty much as soon as I walked into the venue, Anthony from
Circa Survive spotted me…not that it’s too difficult
since I am going to be the only female on this tour. He was kind
enough to send me an email before I arrived just to say hello…which
was so sweet and made my entry on this tour so much easier. He took
me around, introduced me to the rest of the Circa guys that were
also my bus mates for the next 5 weeks. They were all very welcoming
and super nice. Anthony took me to the bus and showed me around so
I could get my things organized and finish setting up for the evening.
The Rock Star guys bought everyone pizza before the show…which
was great! It was a pretty rad venue with two large rooms; one for
the show and the other was a huge room for merch world and tables
and such for the show goers to chill out. We had our first signing
tonight with Circa Survive and the kids lined up eager to meet the
guys that inspire them. The first night was pretty mellow, just chilled
in our bus and got to know everyone a bit better.
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