Tour Diary #4: White Wives

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based White Wives (featuring members of Anti-Flag, Dandelion Snow and American Armada) recently wrapped up their first extensive American tour in support of their debut full-length Happeners, and they've been periodically sending us diaries from the road throughout the run. Here's the fourth and final chapter.

A lot has happened this past week. Chris Stowe, bass player, tour manager, doesn’t remember any of it because he’s a lunatic. However, our California stay was a breath of fresh air for all of us.

12/09. After the Reno show the previous night, it was decided to drive to San Francisco. Chris 2 and Tyler had a hockey appointment with Eric Melvin of NOFX in the morning, so we drove all the way to Martinez, CA to crash out with Sean of AMP magazine. Most of the crew was out cold in the van upon arrival so Chris Stowe and KOJI were the only ones to make it into the house. In the morning, 2 and Tyler met up with Melvin as Josh, Chris Head and Roger made their way back to Martinez to scoop up Stowe and KOJI. From there we were given a small tour of the AMP Magazine headquarters. A quick stop for coffee afterwards, and we were off back to San Francisco. We made it to our venue, the Sub-Mission Art Space, with plenty of time to spare so the four of us went off to score some Mexican dinner while we waited for 2 and Tyler to return. Once the gang was all reunited in the van, all of the past week’s travels and stress had finally caught up with us. The morning’s confusion was the proverbial straw on the camel’s back and tensions were running a little high. It happens to every band and ours is no exception. All one needs though, is to talk it out and get it in the open so that it doesn’t linger around for the rest of the evening and ruin the show. So we did just that, and by the end of the night, San Francisco was out in force showing us a great time! By the end of the night, spirits were high and we celebrated our first California show with close friends and new ones, to date, the best show of the tour. The next day would find the band in the hustle and bustle of the City of Angels.

12/10. We decided to make the trip to LA overnight since we had a place lined up to stay at on the Boulevard. We arrived at sunrise and were greeted by longtime friend, Louie Bones. He was housesitting for some friends and offered the space he had as a sort of day room. Unfortunately, the owner’s cat was none too thrilled to have its territory invaded by a bunch of dirty punks, and in a fit of demonic anger, attacked Chris Stowe. So now that Stowe has Satanic rabies, it was time to meet our dear friend, Missy Worth. Missy plays a big role in the behind the scenes department of the organization that is White Wives. That afternoon, we met her for a nice lunch at The Newsroom Café in downtown LA. The meal was great and the discussion of the future for White Wives was exciting. After our meal, we bid farewell to Missy and routed our way to Aladdin Jr’s in Pomona, CA. Arriving a bit early, there was time to kill at the nearby art walk and antique stores that neighborhood around Aladdin’s. The only downside to tonight’s show was when we unloaded all of our equipment only to find that Tyler’s entire drum set, excluding the kick drum, was missing. Turns out it was left in San Francisco, so after figuring things out with our hosts, Matt and Mondo, we managed to get the blessings of the other bands to borrow drums. Regardless of the drum fiasco, the rest of the evening went off without a hitch and Pomona’s locals provided a rad atmosphere for us to perform to. After the show, we were being set up by our new friend, Kayla, who works at SideOneDummy. Again, getting all rested up and showered off in Kayla’s more than accommodating home breathed life back into the crew. The next morning, we had another meal set up for us by our friends at peta2 at a local Veggie Grill.

12/10. We were already in LA where our show would be that night at The Echo, so we spent some time catching up on sleep at Kayla’s. Needless to say, the meal at Veggie Grill was great and after we piled back into the van with bellies full of food, it was off to The Echo. The promoters hadn’t quite arrived yet so 2, Roger and Josh took time to check out nearby thrift and guitar shops while the rest of the gang digested their meals. It wasn’t too long before we were loading into the venue, and once doors opened, we were soon accompanied by a slew of old friends from tours past. It made for a more personal atmosphere and the show was great. Afterwards, we walked next door to the Brite Spot diner for a late night meal with our friends. Among the group was Eddie from Adeline Records, SideOneKayla, Tiffany of Warped Tour Pit Reporter fame and our dear friend and amazing photographer, Megan. Josh and 2 indulged in their first ever plates of veggie chicken and waffles. As dinner raged on, we made plans with Megan to meet up the next morning and get a quick photoshoot in the books. The rest of the night came to a close much too quick as we bid farewell to our friends to spend the night one more time at Kayla’s.

12/11. The next morning and our final day in California brought about a solemn state of mind. The rain outside didn’t help. However, to keep spirits high, we made a quick stop over by SideOneDummy to return Kayla’s keys and catch up with a few more old friends. The visit was short and sweet and after goodbyes, we made our way around the corner to help ourselves to lunch at the 101 Café. The rainy weather followed us all the way down to San Diego. Reuniting with our friend Lorrin, we walked down to a nearby outdoor Mexican food joint. Ordering some filling meals, we also stopped to sit and eat at the donut shop across the street. Soon it would be showtime which put us back in route to the Soda Bar, our venue for the evening. This night also marked our last night with KOJI. The rainy weather kept about a colder evening so we all gathered close inside to enjoy our last show together. The San Diego crowd treated us very kindly and once it was all over, we were bound up a few blocks to part ways with our buddy, KOJI. After taking the traditional end-of-tour photo, we said our last goodbyes and were soon back on the road, and with ten shows left, we began our journey back across America and back home…