Sunday, June 14

wow.

at this point it's starting to feel like "where do I start." srsly.

Baton Rouge: interview at KLSU radio went great. Gracie Lou was awesome and offered us a place to stay that night/shower. found a CD laying around the studio from this hidden gem of a band: Steel Panther. sample lyric: "eminem can suck it, so can dr.dre, they can suck each other, just because they're gay." can you say, POETIC GENIUS?!?!?!



seriously listen to all their songs. incredible. later, we played at Roux House. neat little spot that we were way too loud for. baton rouge downtown is a ghost town in the summer but lovely bar staff @Roux showed us a great time.

popped some vicodin, drank till we passed out. climbed in the van and drove to NOLA.

New Orleans: saw the best and worst of this city for sure. always thought of Austin as a laid back city but for realz, "big easy" ain't no joke. NOLA is laid back as fuck. played an in-store at Peaches Records. that went well, people walking in off the street checking out the tunes. can't complain. met a random dude who wanted us to go play a show in Slidell, LA at some bar called The Dock. seemed fishy (literally) but he offered us $200 and crawfish. gave it a shot, said we'd see him there tomorrow.

later, we played with what may well be the best band we come across all tour: Silent Cinema. to me this band is exactly what I would expect an indie rock band from New Orleans to sound like; basically, indie rock kids who grew up around second line, jazz, etc. the club we played at was called Circle Bar and it was literally a 120 year old house that had been completely developed around yet remained essentially unchanged. as the neighborhood around it grew, this place just stayed a hole in the wall bar. instantly reminded of home. inspired, we played our best show yet. so good that Cadger blew out his voice. this could be a problem. will update his health later.

the boys have a good friend in New Orleans named Tessi who convinced her friend Kristin to let us stay with her. 4:30 AM roof top pool party @ downtown condo of Kristin's boyfriend away at Bonnaroo. yes plz.

oh but before we get to that... the worst of new orleans. let's just say the woman working at TigerMart wasn't stoked with our boy Blue and allegedly called the cops on him. resulting in an APB for "dat tall white boi." apparently it's cool to walk around the streets of NOLA with a beer in hand, but try and buy a case of Miller High Life and pack of smokes at 3:00 am and the cops WILL be called. odd.

Slidell, LA: beachside retirement community. hot as balls. 2 hour practice session = $200. that's an equation i can get down with. boiled shrimp = van of hot stinky dudes who now smell like sealife. can't get down with that. got the fuck outta dodge with a quickness.

Tallahassee, FL: note to self - time zones makes trips longer. shit! oh well, what can you do. Engine Room is a sweet little spot and the band Only Thieves was a lot of fun. also on the bill was a sick instrumental metal band whose name was uberlong and thus i have forgotten it. my buddy Matt from Look Mexico booked the show and I was super stoked to learn that he and his band are planning on relocating to Austin in January, when they get back from touring Japan. fuck yes! can't wait to show 'em around town. currently at Matt's house listening to the varying pitches of Scooter and Deadweights snores.

bought this shirt:


final summation: the south is hot. real hot. can't wait to head north. Gainesville tomorrow then Georgia then eastern Tennessee. more to come. and now some pictures...

Cadger works on the van a lot... ...



and hides the rest of the time... that little black dot is him...



(((later... Deadweight and Cadger decide to climb to the top of Lee Tower. why? because Cadge remembered reading in a book that you could do this. supposedly this is some legendary NOLA shit and Cadge and Blue were instantly accepted by the locals for this tall-tale worthy feet.)))

Baggage sleeps a lot... pretty much anywhere...



see...



Scooter makes friends... this dude was awesome ... Gene's pretty lit...