notes from the road...day nine

This is Sean and Alex reporting for blogging duty!
The day started for Alex when he was awoken by Lee in his long johns. How was that Alex?
"It was very pleasent, I said 'Hi Lee!' in a cheerful manner."
Lee then put on the 'Rock n Roll High School' soundtrack to wake us all up, it worked!
Brian (from the Fevers) came down with his camera in hand and took us to a snow-filled park where we began our goofy photo shoot. We played on this four-person see-saw and Alex and I sat on these baby rockin' horse things. We were too big for them so we fell over. We took more pictures on the swings and on the slide and then Lee made out witha giant turtle. It was fake, but still weird. Then we ran through the snow like we were The Monkees or something. Fun times!
We were all pretty much tired of the snow so we headed back to the apartment where we waited for Travis to pick us up and take us to the studio. We got to the studio really early because Travis thought we were going to take pictures with him so we sat in the parking lot for an hour or so throwing snowballs at eachother. Well, mostly at Lee and Brian in the van. The day will forever be remembered as the Great Minnesota Snowball Fight of 2007. Travis, Dan and us built up a stockpile of snowballs and bombarded Lee and Brian with a hail of snowy projectiles. Even more fun times! Travis built the largest snowball of all time and heaved it onto their windshield, but we don't talk about that.
Dave (the engineer and guy who owns the studio) arrived promptly at 11:30 and we completed the rest of the basic tracks. They sound pretty good! We also ate at Capps BBQ, I had a steak ($20!) and Alex had a pork chop and chicken dinner which was delicious in a so-so way ($12.50 too much).
So we came back to the studio and Dan started his overdubs for the guitars, they sound REALLY good! A lot of baritone guitar which we just found out was used heavily on many records (like The Fevers and the Beach Boys!).
While Dan was sprucing up our songs, we went downstairs to watch one of the greatest episodes of Battlestar Galactica! Kara!? We look forward to downloading tonight's episode.
We were pretty much down for the day by the time Battlestar had ended, so we packed up and headed back to our pad where Alex ate the rest of his chicken and he cut his gum on a piece of pork chop bone. Then we watched a Little Girls DVD that Travis had (Little Girls is a band, dick. We're not pedophiles...well not all of us anyway). After Travis hit the hay we watched some more of MST3K, the episode was Overdrawn at the Memory Bank.
Fingle doesn't dopple? Woah! Slam on anteaters out of nowhere! Good stuff.
After that it was night night!
Alex went to go sleep with our snoring kitten otherwise known as Brian Flores.
P.S. Alex is complaining of dandruff problems, also known as "Tour Head."

notes from the road...day eight

This is Seaaaaan Bohrman!
Sorry for the lack of updates, we've been busy recording our debut album in Minneapolis!
Anyway, here's a rundown of what's happened...
We made it here alive, for starters. We saw many more cars flipped over on the side of the road, some with people inside! It was scary! My knuckles were white as I clenched the steering wheel on the ride here. So we finally made it and Travis showed us to the apartment we're staying at while we record. It's very nice, in the basement of Georgia's mother's house. Beds for all, shower, the works. So we all cleaned up after our 30 hour drive and went to Travis and Georgia's house for turkey time! The dinner was dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-delicious! After we filled our bellies, we mulled over ideas for the album with Travis. We also drank all their vodka, sorry! But most importantly, we washed our dirty, dirty clothes. Much needed. Then we went to this club to watch Georgia and her friend play in this club with only one mic. Unfortunately we missed her performance because she went on early. Brianna and Brian came to the show too, so we said hello and then quickly said goodbye because we were REALLY (very) tired.
The next day Travis woke us up and took us to eat at the Neighborhood Cafe. He payed, t'was good. There was also a beautiful waitress who had a thick Russian (Soviet?) accent. Nice! We went to the studio afterwards and it's huge! Alex was in awe of all of the instruments laying around. We set up the drums and all of our equpiment then we were off! We layed down some basic tracks for about 7 hours. It was nerve racking, but we had fun and got a lot done. And if anyone asks, they were all first takes.
By the end of the night we were all pretty exhausted, but not too tired to watch the new episode of Lost. Booo! Not a very good episode.
We then climbed into our sleeping bags and tried to get enough rest for day two in the studio.

notes from the road...day seven

Hello friends, Sean here.
It's a driving day! We left Seattle at 8 am yesterday on our way to Minneapolis to record our album and we're still on the road. We've been driving for about 26 hours straight and we've got 4 or 5 hours to go. Old man Lee drives slow (cautiously he says) so it's taking a bit longer than planned. None of us have really slept and we're being introduced to temperatures we've never experienced before. It's so cold. Delerium is starting to set in and Lee is laughing hysterically. He keeps rolling down the window and saying "I need some air!" Alex, Dan and I are fearing for our lives in the backseat. As usual, Brian is sleeping like a baby.
After Washington we started our drive through Montana and it took forever. That's a pretty big state. I drove first, from 8 am to 6 pm, and then Lee took over until midnight. We stopped for dinner in Montana at this hip little cafe thing. The food was OK, much better than any fast food. So that settled Lee for awhile. I had cheesecake with homemade berry sauce and it was mmmmmm.
I had the night shift and it was pretty uneventful. I saw a bunch of jack rabbits and nearly hit one, but the little bugger made it out alive. I drank a Red Bull and got bipped. I don't usually drink caffine so my eyes were wide for the next 5 hours. Then I started to crash (mentally, not literally), so I put in my Weird Al CDs and sang along to those for the next few hours to get me through the night. Around dawn the roads started to get icy and I was getting sleepy so I pulled off and gave Lee the wheel around 7 am. I moved to the backseat and fell asleep for a few hours until we stopped at Al's Oasis in South Dakota and ate breakfast. Alex told us of his harrowing experience sleeping on the floor of the van. His head was right next to the heater so he got a face full of warmth every time I turned the heater on. He didn’t appreciate it. We were all deliriously laughing as we ordered our food. Then the conversation switched to Lee's grandpa-driving and it got a little hairy. It sounded a little like, "You're an asshole!" "No, YOU'RE an asshole!" I was ready for Lee to jump over the table and start strangling Dan or I. But we're good now.
We just stopped for gas in Salem, South Dakota and it was 22 degrees outside. Too cold for our thin California skin. We're surrounded by snow, it's beautiful, but Lee is a bit swervy and he's making us nervous. Travis (who is producing our album and is in one of our favorite bands The Fevers) is putting us up in an apartment while we record and Georgia (his girlfriend) is making us a turkey dinner! Turkey time!
YIKES!
We’re driving through southern Minnesota listening to The Lovin’ Spoonful and we just drove passed five cars in various forms of disarray on the side of the road. Three were upside down and the other two were just stuck in a few feet of snow. All of them had the word “OK” spray painted on the window. Worried glances were exchanged all around.
Everything is white here. It all blends together. The ground and the sky are the same color. To our friends and family, we are starting to appreciate Lee’s cautious driving in the hopes that it will get us through this strip of highway in one piece.

notes from the road...day six

thee lee! here...wowza!
...im finally in the back seat chillin out w/dandano..crusin' through ritzville ..sumwhere ,usa..i dunno..where were we?..oh,yea..seatle,wa.
goodtymes! we started the day at a couple record shops..jive time records being very hospitable giving us all discounts on grass roots,knoxville girls,burt jansch,records etc and free buttons(banana splits,moby grape,flamin groovies,only one's,dolly parton,etc)..we even got bargains down the street with 50 cent-$1records from the strawberry alarm clock,the naked truth/bubblegum comp,& 1910 ..1,2,3, red light!!!
after that we simply loitered around a block er 2 radius and umm,i personally went to a bank to get $$$ and then i bought $1 side of rice and vegetables..i may of over did the rooster sauce to sum..but,thats how i roll...HOTT!!...so,after a few hrs. of waiting around and people watching/saying,"hi!"
to strangers we finally made it to vanessa's place to chill in peace and eat real food (not pbj!!!) w/ adult tastes..
sean was takin' care of with a quesadilla and heaping scoop of sour cream w/NO tapatio!!
the rest of us ate yummy buttered garlic'd zuchini w/a soup with yummy stuffs like bell peppers!,corn!, beans!,onions! etc....really really really great food.really!..were growing boys so vanessa continued to slave for us in the kitchen until the wee hrs. in the morn. making us potatoes,eggs,avocado,tomato& juice..yumm breakfast!! she soon retired to bed for a few more hrs. of sleep..we ate and ran.i even let her drive my van!
we rocked the town..drank pints of pabst on the cheap played songs (t-rex,slade,the la's,prince,donovan,ramones,big star..)on the juke box.on our way back to the comet tavern where we would be soon playing. we ran into our pal good ol' connor (theNOiSE! fan)of h.g.r fame...he was eating the best pizza in town apparently..sean ate a slice..we made it to the tavern..
we rocked..my amp is broken again!...so,all that fluff ive been blahin'sharin is carin'..well fuk that! over it..never again..not a chance,but the tall birds were understanding and lemme share..awww..thanx guys!i was sad not to see leo formally of the tall birds but i guess he just quit the other day...
everyone seemed to enjoy 'em selves by the time we got thee party started..people actin a fool and shimmy/shoutin'& what not...funfunfun!!!..even sold records!!!!!
we'll be back soon..the booker, michelle loves us and wants us to play her berfday sooo,ya know we ll be there with bells on..ding dong were here!let's party!!!!
cool cool town..nice folks..
davey bird told us bout sum stuffs ya put on yer windshield called rain x er sumthin and it's alcohol based that beads the rain er snow what have ya too gently glide off the window w/out usin windshield wipers..pretty pretty pretty psychedelicstuffs to klnow bouts' ..thanx fer the tip, homie!
were still truckin' trough wa. beautiful landscape..i could live here,mosdef.
well,sean and alx are rockin' the "weez"pretty loud and i fergot what i was here ramblin' bout anyweys...hope all is well..it's fun , only 20 hrs to go till we make it to minn. to record our debut lp!!!!!!!!!!w/thefevers travis & brian...i hope that our delirium trip will be in full swing by that time and we can truly enjoy our insanity..
...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ! ! !

notes from the road...day five

Alex...!
Ah, the smell of freshly polluted air - "It's no LA" some might say. To them, I say, "You're absolutely right." But still me no likey.
I write this as buildings pass and we head to Seattle. Fun! Fun! Fun!
What happened yesterday...not too much. After a terribly heavy night (thank you Dan), everyone was pretty exhausted from a lack of sleep. The only two to actually go anywhere during the day, were Lee and Sean. They brought back some spiffy records and the smell of burgers and french fries that we love oh so much. Dan, Brian and I hung around the motel watching Deadwood and Police Academy 2 while eating peanut-butter and jelly sammiches all day.
Night rolled along and we headed out to our show at the Town Lounge in Portland. The gig consisted of a singer/songwriter under the name of Ocean Floor who Lee eventually buddied up with, Thee Party, and some dance dance dancey band called Oh No Oh My. We were well received for the first three or four songs then the people decided that they wanted shorter hair I suppose. Fun nonetheless. After I finished drumming I headed out to the Van of Love for some much needed sleep (sorry Oh No). Woke up, tried to get some more drinks, failed, then loaded up.
Afterwards we headed to the motel where we watched a downloaded version of Heroes. Oh yes, I'm sure you all were wondering...Hiro DID end up taking the sword. totally rad.
Until my fingers meet the keys, I love you all.
luv, Alex

notes from the road...day four

DAN!
Last night we played at Dunes bar in Portland and had a great show, hung out with the bartender Mark and had a great time and saw our friends the Unit Breed play. Then Joe from Unit Breed offered us a couch to sleep on at his house. He wouldn't be there, but his roommates (all girls) kindly offered us access to their home. So I laid down on their couch and fell asleep as people hung out upstairs, listened to music and generally mulled about. Then I woke up to screaming. Angry screaming. I heard a girl yell something about "spray paint," a "refrigerator" and "get out of my fucking house!"
It seems Dan was spray painting one of the housemates' stencils on the back of his jacket (it said "cock rocket" with a picture of a penis) in their kitchen. Unfortunately the spray paint can exploded, paint was spilled and when one roommate came in they saw spray paint on the floor and the refrigerator and they assumed Dan had been adding a bit of his flair to their kitchen. She was no happy. No one was. I laid in my sleeping bag while everyone was screaming at eachother, roommates said "fuck this! I'm moving out!" Meanwhile Dan attempted to scrub the paint off the floor and fridge, while the girl who was REALLY pissed (pictured with the refridgerator in question) yelled "You're lucky we don't crack your heads open!" Then she punched the wall, knocked over something big and stormed out of the house with a slam. That was the point where I got up, rolled up my sleeping bag and got ready to spend the night in the van. I apologized and hearded Dan and Brian (who had paint all over his hands) out the door.
So we were kicked out of the house at 3 or 4 am and forced to sleep in our van on the streets of Portland. I slept in the drivers seat, Brian slept in shotgun, Lee slept on the back seat and Dan and Alex shared the middle seat. I woke up around 8am and we drove to The Holiday Motel, where I'm writing this from. We slept till 1pm and then Lee and I drove to some record stores and ate some delicious hamburgers. Tonight we're playing at The Towne Lounge with Oh No! Oh My! and The Ocean Floor. Should be a good show, I think.
CURRENTLY WATCHING: Deadwood; then Lost, Heroes and Battlestar Galactica.
P.S. Dan says he's sorry.

notes from the road...day three

dan bush here, alex says hello. what happenned yesterday? we saw a huge and big mountain of snow and got exited, so we pulled over and had a lil snowball fight. it was adorable. alex is off the meds and doing alright. thank bob almighty for the noni juice. that was not an innuendo. so we drove a while and then drove some more and after that we drove on. eugene oregon. i love you gene! we played at a restaurant/bar called the samurai duck, which of course is a variant on the duck theme pervading the whole town. this one refers to the somewhat japanese food on the menu. we got hamburgers, but Lee's teriyaki looked delicious. he said it was ok. the samurai duck is a heavy metal bar. we kind of stray from the typical "accepted" metal style. they clapped politely at the end of each song. it was weird. before the show there were some local kids hangin out spitting from the balconys, which of course is what they do there. they bought 10 bucks worth of badges and were too young to get in to the show. im sure we will be myspace freinds forever. ummm there was another pancake house here but we did not eat there. also we made Brian go in like 5 motels to haggle for the cheapest price. it was somewhat cruel but effective nonetheless. a nice lady talked to us about law for the people and her dog over breakfast this morning and we spent the day shopping at the record house, eugene jeans and the eugene flea market. i got an original red crayola record on the cheap, bitches! its easily the most important thing thats happened all day. so we drove to portland where alex and i quickly got lost on the streets while Sean, Lee and Brian shopped at jackpot records which was hmmmm, overpriced and 2nd avenue, which had some good records but was way overpriced. thats just what i heard. now were sitting outside the club waiting for anyone to show up and i'm bored enough to write this thing forever. but mst3k is on, and i've been converted.