Click here to check out a bunch more photos from the trip!
Monday, June 8, 2009
6/7/09
Well, this would have been a posting on the second night at Mountains of the Moon Festival, but the show was unfortunately canceled. Don't ask why, I'm just the bass player. So instead, please enjoy some more photos from beautiful Nelson, British Columbia, and feel free to click the link at the bottom to view more.
Click here to check out a bunch more photos from the trip!
Click here to check out a bunch more photos from the trip!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
6/6/09 Mountains of the Moon Festival, Nelson, BC
My day started off with 11 awesome hours of sleep, and I awoke wondering if the rest of the band had made it OK. (Steve, Johnny, and Charlie were traveling on later flights than Brian, Melvin, and me). Not only did they not get to the hotel until 10am that morning after traveling all day and night, I find out that Charlie was not admitted into Canada and was stuck at a hotel just across the border. What could have possibly caused this snag?
(a) Charlie is a Russian spy
(b) Charlie is a registered sex offender
(c) Charlie tried to smuggle in contraband everything up his butt
(d) Charlie could not pronounce "out" and "house" or "eh" properly when grilled by the border patrol
I quickly rebounded from the shock of the absence of my usual tour/meal buddy, and spent the afternoon exploring Nelson alone. I had some great breakfast at a local restaurant recommended by the promoter and then took a long walk around the town and down by the lake. The city is very quaint, and the scenery is breathtaking.
Later that day, the promoter took us and Portable Payback (Jurassic 5 offshoot) out for an early dinner at a Greek/Italian restaurant. Still slightly disgruntled from the previous evening's ridiculously long wait for food, we were all pleased to find the salads/appetizers arriving after 9 minutes and the entrees after 22 minutes. Woohoo! I became a little chummier with the Jurassic 2, and learned that Soup has a weakness for Dawson's Creek, and Mark has a weakness for whipped cream (stealing all of it off of his neighbor's dessert plate).
We headed over to the festival around 6pm, driving about 30 miles (err, 48 kilometers) to Salmo. The festival site was located on a sort of plateau, surrounded on all sides by mountains. As a resident Midwesterner for the past 7 years, the scenery around here never ceases to be completely and totally entertaining to me! Not to mention, there were dogs everywhere, so I upped my dog-pet count in a serious way!
The production was running late and by the time we got on stage, the sun was almost down and it was insanely cold...."Cold as a witch's tit," to quote Mr. Steve Kimock. We hit a further delay when Melvin realized that his Hammond organ was not playing in the proper key due to a weak power generator. We spent a few minutes troubleshooting before finally deciding to just tune the guitars and bass to match the organ, which was almost an entire whole step down. I wasn't prepared for the impact this would have on the music, as every song sounded totally strange and slightly off center from where my ear wanted it to be. But it was definitely interesting!
The show went well despite cold toes and fingers and strange tunings. We had a fun "Footprints" and another exploratory "Long Form Part 4" that melded into a samba-type groove at the end. (Apologies, but given the absence of Charlie, I don't believe this show was recorded!).
After the show, we hustled back to the hotel to thaw out. Round 2 at the festival is tonight and the weather is forecast to be just as cold. I think I'm going to go out and find some hand/toe warmers!
(a) Charlie is a Russian spy
(b) Charlie is a registered sex offender
(c) Charlie tried to smuggle in contraband everything up his butt
(d) Charlie could not pronounce "out" and "house" or "eh" properly when grilled by the border patrol
I quickly rebounded from the shock of the absence of my usual tour/meal buddy, and spent the afternoon exploring Nelson alone. I had some great breakfast at a local restaurant recommended by the promoter and then took a long walk around the town and down by the lake. The city is very quaint, and the scenery is breathtaking. 
Later that day, the promoter took us and Portable Payback (Jurassic 5 offshoot) out for an early dinner at a Greek/Italian restaurant. Still slightly disgruntled from the previous evening's ridiculously long wait for food, we were all pleased to find the salads/appetizers arriving after 9 minutes and the entrees after 22 minutes. Woohoo! I became a little chummier with the Jurassic 2, and learned that Soup has a weakness for Dawson's Creek, and Mark has a weakness for whipped cream (stealing all of it off of his neighbor's dessert plate).
We headed over to the festival around 6pm, driving about 30 miles (err, 48 kilometers) to Salmo. The festival site was located on a sort of plateau, surrounded on all sides by mountains. As a resident Midwesterner for the past 7 years, the scenery around here never ceases to be completely and totally entertaining to me! Not to mention, there were dogs everywhere, so I upped my dog-pet count in a serious way!The production was running late and by the time we got on stage, the sun was almost down and it was insanely cold...."Cold as a witch's tit," to quote Mr. Steve Kimock. We hit a further delay when Melvin realized that his Hammond organ was not playing in the proper key due to a weak power generator. We spent a few minutes troubleshooting before finally deciding to just tune the guitars and bass to match the organ, which was almost an entire whole step down. I wasn't prepared for the impact this would have on the music, as every song sounded totally strange and slightly off center from where my ear wanted it to be. But it was definitely interesting!
The show went well despite cold toes and fingers and strange tunings. We had a fun "Footprints" and another exploratory "Long Form Part 4" that melded into a samba-type groove at the end. (Apologies, but given the absence of Charlie, I don't believe this show was recorded!).
After the show, we hustled back to the hotel to thaw out. Round 2 at the festival is tonight and the weather is forecast to be just as cold. I think I'm going to go out and find some hand/toe warmers!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Greetings from Canada!
Here's how a "typical" band travel day goes when you have to cover 2000 miles and cross 2 time zones and an international border to get to the next shows.
Little Rock, Arkansas > Nelson, British Columbia
6:00am - Wake up after 4ish hours of sleep from gig the night before
6:45am - Lobby call for the Little Rock airport for an 8:20am flight.
7:05am - Transported to airport, checked in, security screened, already at gate for 8:20am flight (really would have loved that extra 45 minutes or so of sleep)
9:30am - (Mountain Time) Arrive in Denver for 2+ hour layover
10:30am - Breakfast at an airport cafe with Melvin and Brian
12:00pm - Fly from Denver to Spokane WA (first time in WA...cool!)
1:30pm (Pacific Time) Arrive in Spokane, meet up with other festival band (featuring 2 members of Jurassic 5!) and take 3.5 hour shuttle bus up to Canada
4:45pm - Middle-of-nowhere border patrol detains us for an entire hour
6:45pm - Finally arrive at hotel in Nelson BC
7:15pm - Sit down to dinner with the Jurassic 2 and promoter at a hip restaurant in Nelson.
8:00pm - Still waiting for food to be served...
8:15pm - Still waiting....
8:30pm - Salads served. Musicians getting grumpy.
8:50pm - Entrees finally served. Musicians scarf like animals.
9:30pm - Pet dog outside restaurant!!
19 hours later, I'm finally going to bed. GOOD NIGHT!!!
Waiting at the Canadian border. Will they let us stupid Americans in?
View of some Nelson mountains from the hotel doorstep:
Little Rock, Arkansas > Nelson, British Columbia
6:00am - Wake up after 4ish hours of sleep from gig the night before
6:45am - Lobby call for the Little Rock airport for an 8:20am flight.
7:05am - Transported to airport, checked in, security screened, already at gate for 8:20am flight (really would have loved that extra 45 minutes or so of sleep)
9:30am - (Mountain Time) Arrive in Denver for 2+ hour layover
10:30am - Breakfast at an airport cafe with Melvin and Brian
12:00pm - Fly from Denver to Spokane WA (first time in WA...cool!)
1:30pm (Pacific Time) Arrive in Spokane, meet up with other festival band (featuring 2 members of Jurassic 5!) and take 3.5 hour shuttle bus up to Canada
4:45pm - Middle-of-nowhere border patrol detains us for an entire hour
6:45pm - Finally arrive at hotel in Nelson BC
7:15pm - Sit down to dinner with the Jurassic 2 and promoter at a hip restaurant in Nelson.
8:00pm - Still waiting for food to be served...
8:15pm - Still waiting....
8:30pm - Salads served. Musicians getting grumpy.
8:50pm - Entrees finally served. Musicians scarf like animals.
9:30pm - Pet dog outside restaurant!!
19 hours later, I'm finally going to bed. GOOD NIGHT!!!
Waiting at the Canadian border. Will they let us stupid Americans in?
View of some Nelson mountains from the hotel doorstep:
Friday, June 5, 2009
6/4/09 Wakarusa Festival, Ozark, AR
The Crazy Engine journey reconvened today at Wakarusa Festival in Ozark, Arkansas. I flew into Little Rock last night, checked into the Holiday Inn, and enjoyed some in-room dinner, TV, and a long night's sleep. Recharging with Waffle House in the morning, I was ready to reconnect with my bandmates and rock Arkansas!
We were scheduled to have festival-provided transportation leaving the hotel at 2pm today. But apparently, some genius decided to combine our ride with not one, but TWO, different airport pick-ups, both of whose flights were delayed, and we ended up leaving over an hour late. I thought to myself, "These better be important people we're picking up at the airport." Turns out it was just the girlfriend of a fairly small band on the bill, and another musician who wasn't playing till latenight. With a 2.5 hour ride to the festival, this wasn't leaving much room for production preparation and made the day start out very hectic. Brian was livid. I was annoyed, but glad that I wasn't in charge and didn't have to deal with the mess and consequences.
The weather in Little Rock was cold and threatening to rain, but 2 hours away at the festival site, it couldn't have been more perfect. Sunny and warm, virtually no humidity. We arrived only about an hourish before showtime, and once again, I was thankful I didn't have any setup to worry about. I attempted to grab some dinner backstage, but no vegetarian choices amongst the 5 or so trays of meat entrees, with the exception of fruit salad. Worst. Catering. Ever.
Setup and monitor check were brief, but I think we got things dialed in OK. The first tune was a little shaky, but we all eventually settled back into our groove. The "Long Form Part 4" at this show was particularly adventurous, and kind of precarious at the end, but we made it through. The crowd was fun, and it was nice to see familiar faces out there and have some Midwest FGC representation, with lots of "Janis!!" calls. (Thanks guys!!!) George Porter Jr. showed up and sat in for the last 2 songs, and I hung out side stage with Charlie and enjoyed watching the crowd.
Post-show, I was immediately whisked away with Johnny on a golf cart, with the promise of a better dinner at the destination. We arrived at a huge house at the edge of the property, a secret house serving better dinner than backstage. I sat at a long table with Warren Haynes and his band and crew at the other end, while a bunch of servers brought us several courses of food with more substantial veggie options this time around. I got to hang with Jason and Travis from EOTO for a few minutes before once again being whisked away, this time by the van leaving the festival for the hotel. Another long 2.5 hour drive, and now I have to wake up in 5 short hours for our trek across the country to British Columbia. Worst. Routing. Ever.
See you in Canada, eh!!
We were scheduled to have festival-provided transportation leaving the hotel at 2pm today. But apparently, some genius decided to combine our ride with not one, but TWO, different airport pick-ups, both of whose flights were delayed, and we ended up leaving over an hour late. I thought to myself, "These better be important people we're picking up at the airport." Turns out it was just the girlfriend of a fairly small band on the bill, and another musician who wasn't playing till latenight. With a 2.5 hour ride to the festival, this wasn't leaving much room for production preparation and made the day start out very hectic. Brian was livid. I was annoyed, but glad that I wasn't in charge and didn't have to deal with the mess and consequences.
The weather in Little Rock was cold and threatening to rain, but 2 hours away at the festival site, it couldn't have been more perfect. Sunny and warm, virtually no humidity. We arrived only about an hourish before showtime, and once again, I was thankful I didn't have any setup to worry about. I attempted to grab some dinner backstage, but no vegetarian choices amongst the 5 or so trays of meat entrees, with the exception of fruit salad. Worst. Catering. Ever.
Setup and monitor check were brief, but I think we got things dialed in OK. The first tune was a little shaky, but we all eventually settled back into our groove. The "Long Form Part 4" at this show was particularly adventurous, and kind of precarious at the end, but we made it through. The crowd was fun, and it was nice to see familiar faces out there and have some Midwest FGC representation, with lots of "Janis!!" calls. (Thanks guys!!!) George Porter Jr. showed up and sat in for the last 2 songs, and I hung out side stage with Charlie and enjoyed watching the crowd.Post-show, I was immediately whisked away with Johnny on a golf cart, with the promise of a better dinner at the destination. We arrived at a huge house at the edge of the property, a secret house serving better dinner than backstage. I sat at a long table with Warren Haynes and his band and crew at the other end, while a bunch of servers brought us several courses of food with more substantial veggie options this time around. I got to hang with Jason and Travis from EOTO for a few minutes before once again being whisked away, this time by the van leaving the festival for the hotel. Another long 2.5 hour drive, and now I have to wake up in 5 short hours for our trek across the country to British Columbia. Worst. Routing. Ever.
See you in Canada, eh!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
5/1/09 Tipitina's French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
Day two in New Orleans was quite uneventful unfortunately. Having gotten to bed well past dawn the night before, I ended up sleeping most of the day and my lofty plans of experiencing the city and festival were thwarted by the snoozage.
The other Tipitina's seemed to be a slightly classier joint, and we were glad to have ample time for set-up and soundcheck. It was probably the most packed house of the tour. The crowd was bumpin', and we had a pretty rockin' version of Coles > Tangled, with a cool funk riff developing in the latter. Toward the end of the show, Bonerama trombonist, Mark Mullins, swung by and sat in on a few tunes. He had great tone, picked up on things very quickly, and added a nice dimension to the band.
After the show, the band bid each other farewell for the end of the tour, and I took a short nap before my 8am flight back to Chicago for a show with FGC. Thanks to everyone for an awesome tour!
To distract you from my fairly lame final post, here are a few more NOLA pics for your viewing pleasure:
The other Tipitina's seemed to be a slightly classier joint, and we were glad to have ample time for set-up and soundcheck. It was probably the most packed house of the tour. The crowd was bumpin', and we had a pretty rockin' version of Coles > Tangled, with a cool funk riff developing in the latter. Toward the end of the show, Bonerama trombonist, Mark Mullins, swung by and sat in on a few tunes. He had great tone, picked up on things very quickly, and added a nice dimension to the band.
After the show, the band bid each other farewell for the end of the tour, and I took a short nap before my 8am flight back to Chicago for a show with FGC. Thanks to everyone for an awesome tour!
To distract you from my fairly lame final post, here are a few more NOLA pics for your viewing pleasure:
4/30/09 Tipitina's Uptown, New Orleans, LA
We hit the road from Birmingham at the crack of noon for our 5 hour trip to New Orleans. Our show that night was a late one, so we weren't in any type of rush to get there, which was nice.
During the drive, I was all excited to break out the unopened veggie tray which we had ganked from the green room at the show the night before....a little happy hour of sorts to enjoy on the bus ride. Within seconds of peeling the plastic cover off the veggie tray, the entire front lounge of the bus was overcome with the most foul rotten veggie odor I have ever smelled. Everyone wretched and ran for cover, but there was no hiding from this olfactory onslaught. Melvin, who had been in a deep slumber on the couch, suddenly awoke, screaming for mercy. 
Steve came rushing from the back of the bus, where the smell had quickly infiltrated, thinking we were under some kind of nuclear or biological attack. Robin pulled the bus over at a rest stop and we quickly ditched the toxic veggie tray outside and did our best to air out the bus. I think it will be awhile before I can eat raw carrots and celery without being haunted by this incident!
We pulled into New Orleans in the late afternoon, and unloaded our gear at Tipitina's. It was my first time in NOLA, and I was diggin' the quaint little neighborhood of Uptown. After the quick load, we made our way over to our hotel, a cool highrise with a giant clarinet painted on the side of it.
I grabbed a nap (in preparation of our very latenight gig) and some dinner, and then headed over to the Howlin' Wolf to catch some pre-gig music. Soulive and their family of bands was playing there, and road manager Tony Hume (decked out in a sweet kilt) got me in to enjoy a band called Dr. Claw, a Lettuce/Soulive supergroup of sorts with one of my favorite drummers, Adam Deitch. Just as the band started to really cook (with Ivan Neville joining in on keys!), I had to split and head over to Tipitina's for my show.
Tipitina's was fairly quiet when I arrived, with the crew scrambling to set up in the short allotted window. I enjoyed some hang time with Ken Swartz, an old friend from PA who I hadn't seen in 10+ years and who is kicking ass on the NOLA music scene. I also pet my 13th (and final) dog of the trip and unexpectedly ran into Bobby D, a FGC fan from Iowa whose birthday party we played a number of years ago.
Our 2am start time ended up being more like 2:45am, but we made up for it by raging one long set with no breaks. Right around 4:20am, George Porter Jr. showed up, and I was booted off stage for this bass legend to play a few tunes with the band. George plowed through "Merle's Boogie," "You're The One," and "That's What Love Will Make You Do." It was fun to watch the band from offstage, and even more fun to have a much-needed break at that late hour!
George relinquished the bass chair for the end of the night, and we played till well past 5am. Post-show, we raided the hospitality spread in the green room. Not to be foiled again with saving food for the next day, Charlie made the most of it with quite the hefty sandwich. We didn't hit the road until close to 7am, and it was kind of surreal driving back to the hotel in daylight, with the streets eerily quiet. I was beat, but an all-nighter seemed fitting for my intro to NOLA!
During the drive, I was all excited to break out the unopened veggie tray which we had ganked from the green room at the show the night before....a little happy hour of sorts to enjoy on the bus ride. Within seconds of peeling the plastic cover off the veggie tray, the entire front lounge of the bus was overcome with the most foul rotten veggie odor I have ever smelled. Everyone wretched and ran for cover, but there was no hiding from this olfactory onslaught. Melvin, who had been in a deep slumber on the couch, suddenly awoke, screaming for mercy. 
Steve came rushing from the back of the bus, where the smell had quickly infiltrated, thinking we were under some kind of nuclear or biological attack. Robin pulled the bus over at a rest stop and we quickly ditched the toxic veggie tray outside and did our best to air out the bus. I think it will be awhile before I can eat raw carrots and celery without being haunted by this incident!We pulled into New Orleans in the late afternoon, and unloaded our gear at Tipitina's. It was my first time in NOLA, and I was diggin' the quaint little neighborhood of Uptown. After the quick load, we made our way over to our hotel, a cool highrise with a giant clarinet painted on the side of it.
I grabbed a nap (in preparation of our very latenight gig) and some dinner, and then headed over to the Howlin' Wolf to catch some pre-gig music. Soulive and their family of bands was playing there, and road manager Tony Hume (decked out in a sweet kilt) got me in to enjoy a band called Dr. Claw, a Lettuce/Soulive supergroup of sorts with one of my favorite drummers, Adam Deitch. Just as the band started to really cook (with Ivan Neville joining in on keys!), I had to split and head over to Tipitina's for my show. 
Tipitina's was fairly quiet when I arrived, with the crew scrambling to set up in the short allotted window. I enjoyed some hang time with Ken Swartz, an old friend from PA who I hadn't seen in 10+ years and who is kicking ass on the NOLA music scene. I also pet my 13th (and final) dog of the trip and unexpectedly ran into Bobby D, a FGC fan from Iowa whose birthday party we played a number of years ago. Our 2am start time ended up being more like 2:45am, but we made up for it by raging one long set with no breaks. Right around 4:20am, George Porter Jr. showed up, and I was booted off stage for this bass legend to play a few tunes with the band. George plowed through "Merle's Boogie," "You're The One," and "That's What Love Will Make You Do." It was fun to watch the band from offstage, and even more fun to have a much-needed break at that late hour!
George relinquished the bass chair for the end of the night, and we played till well past 5am. Post-show, we raided the hospitality spread in the green room. Not to be foiled again with saving food for the next day, Charlie made the most of it with quite the hefty sandwich. We didn't hit the road until close to 7am, and it was kind of surreal driving back to the hotel in daylight, with the streets eerily quiet. I was beat, but an all-nighter seemed fitting for my intro to NOLA!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sleepy Engine
Stay tuned for the report from New Orleans, coming soon (hopefully!).
In the meantime, check out these photos from the road. My goal on the tour was to catch a photo of every band and crew member snoozing (in the tour bus bunk was off limits...too easy!). I didn't nail everyone, but I guess I'll revise this to be an ongoing project. Enjoy!
Melvin Seals:
John Morgan Kimock:
Charlie Miller:
Skyler Kimock (guest percussionist):
And the big daddy....Steve Kimock. Photo courtesy of Johnny and his Polaroid camera. The jury is still out as to what exact chord Steve was fretting while he dozed off...
In the meantime, check out these photos from the road. My goal on the tour was to catch a photo of every band and crew member snoozing (in the tour bus bunk was off limits...too easy!). I didn't nail everyone, but I guess I'll revise this to be an ongoing project. Enjoy!
Melvin Seals:
John Morgan Kimock:
Charlie Miller:
Skyler Kimock (guest percussionist):
And the big daddy....Steve Kimock. Photo courtesy of Johnny and his Polaroid camera. The jury is still out as to what exact chord Steve was fretting while he dozed off...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
