Ok that was a little dramatic maybe, but the tour is over (by the way if this is the first thing you are reading on this site, you should probably read this one and this one). And the ride was wild. Usually when I write these blogs there is a direction I have in my head. This time I honestly don't know where to start...
Editor's Note: I do know where to end though. Check out the bottom of the blog for a nightly set list from the tour and then buy the tunes on the Internet because they are all good.
How about the fact that rock musicians who don't shower and tend to eat at terribly greasy (but tasty) restaurants never get fat while rarely smelling bad or getting an acne break out?
Or I suppose I could talk about how we played five shows for five completely different audiences. We had the reasonably uninterested crowd that sat at tables in Cleveland. We had the drunk and high basement show fans with lots of energy but not a lot of numbers. We had the dedicated localish record store fan base at Luna Music in Indy (filled out with several of my friends and family from Indy-- nice job guys). There was the big headlining gig in Grand Rapids at Founders Brewery (huge room, lots of people, loud, not a ton of intensity or interest). And then there was the polite, attentive people peppered with some enthusiastic friends of the band at Kalamazoo's The Strutt. Each time we played for a different crowd, and each time we rocked just as hard if not harder than the previous time.
The discussion could also center around the insane end to the tour that was Saturday July 9/Sunday July 10. I had to DJ a wedding in South Bend till about 9:45 then drive my brave Scion Box car to Grand Rapids (about a 2 hour drive) to play the biggest show booked on the tour. It helped that the speed limit in Michigan is 70 mph versus Indiana's 65 mph (My original thought was that everyone wants to get out of Michigan faster, but after seeing the great towns of Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo my opinion has changed a bit on those Spartan wolverines.). I arrived to a very large venue with stage lighting! We went on at midnight, and I was on stage ready to play with time to spare (making that show possibly the first ever show at Founders Brewery where the bass player was wearing a striped dress shirt, Banana Republic slacks, and Aldo dress shoes with Argyle socks-- not even a hipster could make that look cool). The show went well; though, I am not entirely certain that lighting treated me all that well. And it was one of the first shows where I got some audience love about my playing (to be fair some of it was about my floppy hair, just like in the old IU Pep Band Days). After getting to mingle with the other bands and goofing off, we got news that our co-lead singer had to leave suddenly for personal reasons.
Now I don't remember if I said how much I had to look at the tunes we had been playing during the tour. But we had to stick with about 10 song options during the tour because of my limited time practicing with the band. Now with the co-lead singer gone most of those songs except three were out the window. The remaining band members had to talk about what we wanted to do; the idea of not playing the Sunday show at all was thrown into the mix. At first I agreed with the idea of canceling that show, but I decided later that it would be lame (maybe even major-lame). The good news was our fearless (and buzzed) leader Tim wasn't havin' that (probably because this is the millennium of Aftermath). We soldiered on and realized that Tim is the co-lead singer and has more than 10 songs (great songs actually-- just a little more moody), and we could practice with the amazing Lewis Rogers from Sleeping Bag (new album out August 9) to get through 6 or 7 songs. Of course by the time we figured some of these things out it was 4:30 in the morning, and there was some random dude running for Lansing City Council who downed to big Checkers burgers then fell asleep in the room we where we are talking (I can't make this stuff up-- vote for the guy).
The next day we lazied around till about noon then found a studio in Grand Rapids to do some rehearsing. Lewis had to learn all of the songs in one practice, and I had to learn or relearn four new tunes. The practice went well, and we reluctantly started gaining confidence for the show that night. In addition to these new tunes I would also be relied upon to sing some backup vocals (something I am technically capable of but have never been very comfortable or confident actually doing live).
We showed up for the show (indie rock and randomly marching band says show; anyone pop, jazz, or the like that gets paid says gig; art music says concert or performance) in Kalamazoo tired from the dramatic running around and actual thinking. We would later get shafted on the free food we should have gotten and the air conditioning was out. Not exactly a warm welcome (the potential pun there is lame but you can tell it to yourself if you wish) we were hoping for, but we went on.
Of the five shows we played, I can honestly say the Sunday night show at The Strutt was my favorite and most memorable. We were a band of men having faced adversity, and we actually had to work to overcome it. We played the set well. Tim sang a solo tune to start that set the mood for what was going to be a more intense experience than audience were prepared for. The entire set was a slow crescendo into the last song where Lewis just went flippin' nuts. My vocals were perfectly mediocre, which was what we needed for that night (I heard nicer things from the crowd, but mediocre sounded less self-indulgent). We only had a couple of small issues, but they would have been normal problems without the different lineup and different songs. Other than that, it was a hit (as much as a band can be a hit in a town wear hardly anyone knows you and the headlining band features an old balding tenor sax player). All we could do is leave a pint of blood on that stage (why is Jimmy Fallon in Almost Famous anyway?) and we did that.
Show over. Time to go home.
The experience of going on tour with Husband&Wife will leave a major imprint on my life. There was some drama, but we always played music for music's sake. There was hardly any doubt that no matter what happened, we were there to play music and entertain an audience. One of the more frustrating things about making music in the educational universe is all the riff-raf that is considered important. I'm not saying there wasn't riff-raf on the tour, but all of it purely lead to the music and was identified as riff-raf. I don't know if the band made any money on the tour (I know I certainly didn't), but I know they loved playing. It came out every night on stage. And I got to hold down the low end of it.
It has made me think if there is an opportunity here that I should chase. Maybe this was the realization of my dream. But then I think about not showering, being away from my lady and family, and the potential of not being able to teach kids because of having to be gone all the time. But after all those important things, the dream still doesn't completely die. Maybe I'll tour again. Then again, maybe I won't. But it was definitely worth it. Even if I started in Cleveland.
The Happy Dog in Cleveland:
Mulberry Squeezins (from Dark Dark Woods)
Market Fresh (from Proud Flesh)
6 Little Indians (PF)
Not Every Bird Can Fly (PF)
Be Gone Long One (PF)
Haven't Got a Friend (DDW)
Proud Flesh (PF)
The Purple Room in Columbus:
Noise Jam in C Into...
Be Gone Long One
Not Every Bird Can Fly
6 Little Indians
Market Fresh
I Have Been Made Huge (PF)
Proud Flesh
Luna Music in Indy:
Be Gone Long One
Not Every Bird Can Fly
6 Little Indians
Market Fresh
Don't Change (from Operation: Surgery)
I Have Been Made Huge
Proud Flesh
Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids:
Comp Jam (DDW)
Proud Flesh
Not Every Bird Can Fly
I Have Been Made Huge
Market Fresh
Don't Change
Haven't Got a Friend
I Got Fat (DDW)
Be Gone Long One
6 Little Indians
The Strutt in Kalamazoo
Supersize Me (OS)
Thanks for Understanding (DDW)
Support Yourself (DDW)
6 Little Indians
I Have Been Made Huge
Class War (PF)
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