April 22, 2010 - Part One : Bye Bye Canada and Kingdoms

I'm in Detroit right now, backstage at St. Andrew's Hall. It's the first time I've ever been to this venue. It seems pretty cool, so far. Everyone that works here is nice. The backstage almost looks like a place where Janis Joplin would have hung out in a big coat with a furry collar. Or maybe that's just me. You decide:

 

I feel like a lot has happened since my last little bloggy. We finished up the Canadian tour with Kingdoms, saw Niagara Falls, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, AP Magazine offices and began the Alexisonfire tour. That's a lot, right? Maybe I'll turn this little entry into a two-parter.

The last entry was from Oshawa, so that leaves just two shows to report on for the Kingdoms tour. The first being Sudbury, ON at the Alder Hall. Plenty of kids turned out for this show, which was awesome. The promoter who booked the show was actually an 18 year old guy, which I thought was pretty impressive. Here's a little photo from Therefore I Am's set when Hutton joined in on vocals:

 

Tour sickness is pretty much inevitable for band doods in vans. It especially stinks when it's the vocalist. Al wound up putting himself on vocal rest for a few days, meaning no talking whatsoever with the exception of performing. Sign language and sketchpads, that's all I have to say.

 

After the show in Sudbury, we drove back to London, ON to stay at Brett's house. Most of Kingdoms stayed there as well so that we could all hang together for one last night. It turned out to be a lot of fun and a new band was born by the name of "Bison Rifle." 'Twas pretty sweet. Bike Rack made a little cameo on vocals.

 

 

 

 

The next day was the last day of the tour in London, ON at a club called The London Music Hall Lounge. We had to wait a while for someone to let us into the venue to set up, so everyone killed time hanging out playing with a soccer ball and gambling for change.

 

First band of our last night, Counterparts.

 

Jim and Chuck like Counterparts.

 

... so does Bike Rack.

 

Therefore I Am played second.

 

Brendan from Counterparts hopped on stage to do the vocals for an American Nightmare cover.

 

And then it was Kingdoms' turn.

 

 

This is my favorite shot of Paul playing live from the whole tour.

 

Bike Rack stage dove... sorta.

 

Kids in the audience were going so crazy that some girl in the crowd actually lost her weave! The thing literally flew onto the stage from out of nowhere. It was hilarious!

 

... Of course, everyone had to play with it.

 

... and then, just like that, the show and the tour were over. So sad! Many hugs were exchanged, and tender lovins all around. Paul was feeling particularly affectionate... Weirdo. :)

 

I made everyone pose for the obligatory "last day of tour" photo.

 

So that was that! We camped out for the night at Brett's again in London, and hit the road to return to America! But before crossing the border, we made a stop at Niagara Falls. It was the first time that any of Therefore I Am or I had ever been.

 

We almost lost Alex. Fortunately, Brian was there to prevent catastrophe.

 

Travis and Jim discovered new lands.

 

Chris and Alex found dinner for everyone.

 

It was a great family trip. Who's cuter than us? Aaaaand why do I always look like I'm drunk when I flip the camera around to be in the picture?

 

... and then we crossed the border back into the United States, thus concluding our Canadian adventure. I didn't know what to expect out of the trip, but it was such a blast! Good crowds, short drives, and epic hangs with some awesome new friends. Kingdoms, I miss you guys already. Hooks. Deece. Snipe the tendy. Rattle your bucky. The best. :)

Stay tuned for part two, when I will fill you in on our trip to Alternative Press and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... And Thrice. It's going to be a good bloggy!

Until then...

April 16, 2010

Hello from inside the van! We're parked behind the venue in Sudbury, ON because this is the only spot with a little wifi action. Well, at least it's quiet, right? No, I take that back. Chris, Brian and Jim are here and they're talking and I can't concentrate. Ugh!

So where did we leave off in the last blog? Ah, yes, St. Catharine! Pretty good show, and some very hilarious moments on stage and off. Chris really loves Kingdoms.

 

I have no idea where it came from, but someone had this magenta toy guitar and it became the greatest thing ever on our walk to find food before leaving town. Hutton, Bike Rack and Chuck from the Kingdoms camp were tossing the guitar back and forth, leaping off walls and rocking out in the middle of the empty road, squealing "MEW-WAAAW!" I haven't laughed that hard in a while!

 

We stayed in Mississauga, ON with Bike Rack's family after the show. I loved hanging out with his mom and sister.

 

I also LOVE their cat! Look at this guy!

 

From there we drove to the show in Guelph, ON, where a few of the Kingdoms kids are from. It was there that Jim and Hutton fell in dood love.

 

Cool photo of little Brett during sound check. I made him pose.

 

Hutton was on vocal rest before show time, so he was communicating by typing things out and showing them to whoever he was talking to. This particular statement was very true; it says, "My personality is not conducive to silence."

 

When I found out a little while back that Paul has a baby I made him promise that when we had a show in his hometown (Guelph) that I would get to meet and photograph him. I was so excited to finally see the wee one!

 

Brett was considering stealing the baby. I don't think he was really into that idea.

 

From Guelph, myself and a few of the doods in Therefore I Am opted to drive back into Toronto to go to a 90s hip hop night at Sneaky Dee's. Free drinks and some serious jams... Would you pass that up?

 

We stayed that night with our friend Travis. He's the guy that hooked us up with the free drinks and fun times. I was definitely glad we made the trip back.

 

As luck would have it, our friend AJ, who we know from Warped Tour, lives in Toronto and our other friend, Dylan, who we also know from Warped just happened to be in town on a different tour. So we all met up back at Sneaky Dee's for brunch.

 

There are few things I love more than unexpected hangs with friends who just happen to be in the same place at the same time.

 

After our little family brunch we headed off to Oshawa, ON for a show at The Groove Lounge. There's always plenty of time to kill before showtime. This is what it looks like:

 

... and then it's showtime ...

 

Check out the kid freaking out in the front. He's actually the drummer from Counterparts, one of the opening bands. A good American Nightmare cover can have that affect, I suppose.

 

And then Kingdoms played their set... just for Brian.

 

 

I was a little concerned when I went to check on Alex at the merch table and found this guy hanging around:

 

I know, he made me nervous, too. But I decided to just leave him be and keep an eye on him. Merch sales weren't too badly affected. Ha!

From there, we headed back into Toronto again to try to meet back up with Dylan, and some other friends of ours on the same tour, Larry and the Envy On The Coast doods. They are all Warped Tour friends of mine and I was sooooo excited to get to see them! Even if it was just for an hour. No photos to share, unfortunately. It was such a whirlwind visit, but it really made my night!

So yes... I am really enjoying this Canadian adventure. Making new friends, bumping into old friends, creating all new memories. Life is good. Only a few shows left before this leg of the tour ends and we have to say goodbye to Kingdoms. I'm not really looking forward to that, but I am stoked for the Alexisonfire tour... ah, bittersweet.

Alright, time to go back indoors. It's actually getting pretty cold here in the van!

Until next time...

April 11, 2010

We're in Barrie, ON at our new friend Kristin's house settling in for the night. Chris and Trav have been playing Super Mario Bros. on the Wii for a couple of hours now and giggling like a couple of 8 year-olds. I just edited and uploaded a TON of photos!

When I last posted, it was Thursday morning just before we left for our long drive to Montreal, QC. On our way, we stopped off at the Sabian cymbal factory in Meductic, NB. Kingdoms' tour manager, Bike Rack called ahead and arranged for both bands to take a guided tour. We had to wear safety glasses.

  

 

Our tourguide has worked for Sabian for 24 years tuning the cymbals.

 

This man actually has a sharp tool that he uses to shave off the top layer on the cymbals and makes that swirly, grooved design. Pretty cool to watch, actually.

 

We couldn't go into that room. I think it has something to do with top secret alien stuff... maybe?

 

It was a great little stop to break up the drive, and an educational adventure. Yeah!

 

The next day we made our way to Montreal, QC. First order of business, find wifi.

 

Later, Alex dabbled in the arts when he drew Chuck and Paul.

 

...then he drew Bike Rack. (sorta)

 

The show went well. Lots of people, lots of energy.

 

Tender moments.

 

Alex stole a fry off of a couple of ladies in the front row. Gotta keep that energy level up.

 

Hutton from Kingdoms hopped up to do some guest vocals.

 

The boys in the front row were very into synchronized thrashing. They cracked me up, too.

 

The guy in the green here cracked me up as well. He was so stoked during Kingdoms that he couldn't stop leaping into the air and paused only to snap the occasional photo. So awesome!

 

That night we drove straight to Ottawa, ON after the show and stayed with our new friend Kiki, and her mom Suzanne. None of us had ever actually met them before, but they welcomed us with open arms and even made us breakfast in the morning: pancakes, coffee and eggs benedict. I love Kiki and Suzanne.

 

The show that night was in downtown Ottawa at a club called Cafe Dekcuf.

 

Travis and Brett agreed the night before that they would have Hutton use some clippers and give them both haircuts. We set up shop in the boys bathroom, since that was the only place with enough light, an electrical outlet and semi-private. Brett went first.

 

 

Travis had to wait a while for his turn.

 

Brian wanted to play, too. Ummmm, no.

 

Travis finally got his turn. I only stuck around to snap a couple photos. I had spent long enough in the boys room.

 

Back in the club, the rest of the guys were warming up. I like this shot a lot.

 

The show was sold out. Can't ask for much more than that, eh?

 

Unless your name is Bike Rack and you possess a Mosh Meter!

 

Don't worry, the Mosh Meter made a steady rise to a whopping 101% - woo! It looked something like this:

 

After the show we went straight back to Kiki's to crash for the night, since we had to get up and go pretty early. The drive to Barrie was about 6 hours and we had to be there for 4:30pm, so we were up and out by 9:30am and spent a good chunk of the day on the road.

 

I'm apparently very into shooting black and white photos these days.

 

Here is my favorite shot of the night:

 

That about wraps it up for this blog entry. Kind of a big one, but I had a little catching up to do. Tomorrow we'll make our way to St. Catharines. It's 3am. I'm calling it a night.