Atlana, GA: i have a new found love for ATL, GA. wow - this town is fucking amazing. we started the day with an in-store at Criminal Records. the shop is located in the uberhip 5 Points area of Atlanta. this part of town was NUTS. hopped out the van while the guys went to park and immediately set to exploring. immediately this little kid comes running up to me. 8, maybe 10 years old tops. looking fly as fuck with his cap to the side and a backpack on. "say man, let me holla at you for a minute." kid starts spitting me a rap. shit was HILLARIOUS. Lil K: "you gonna buy my CD?" me: LOL, "yeah man i'll buy your shit. you gonna buy my CD." Lil K: "you rap?" me: "naw man I play the blues." moments later he got Gene with the same hustle. there were artists all over the block trying to hustle their art. real dope.
grabbed a couple of beers at Porter Beer Bar. they had the most INSANE draught beer selection. Coney Island Lager - get down on it. good shit. after getting a couple beers in us there was only one thing to do. BUSKING. ah, the fine art of street performance. grabbed our acoustic guitars (me, my tamborine and shaker) and proceed to serenade the passers by with acoustic renditions of "Unemployed," "Holden," "Dumpster" and more. made a whole dollar. fuck it. grabbed some pizza at Little 5 Pizza. Gene spit water through a straw at Blue (not sure why, other than to be an asshole). Blue poured a cup of water on Gene. Gene pushed Blue out of his chair. big fucking scene. royally hilarious. pizza was intense. so good. crust you WANT to eat.
Criminal in-store was alright. the boys got to play on sick Orange stacks. not many people there. staff seemed like they didn't even want us there. they've had in-stores from Mastodon, MIA, Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Bankrupt and the Borrowers was pretty lowdown on their radar, to say the least.
had to hustle to get to Smithe's Olde Bar for our next show. again, bar was in a great little neighborhood and had a total neighborhood-bar feel to it similar to our beloved Hole in the Wall. small crowd, sold some merch, played a good set (thx to an amazing soundman). Civil Twilight headlined. really good 3 piece from Nashville by way of South Africa. totally epic brit-Pop a la Coldplay, Elbow, Travis, etc.
didn't get paid.
Johnson City, TN: Blue got in touch with a friend of a friend who lived just outside of Johnson City, TN (Greenville, TN) and we decided to drive all night to her spot after she agreed to cook us breakfast when we got there. chick had never even met us before. talk about southern hospitality. fuck man.
Eunice didn't disappoint on the breakfast promise. eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and french toast. and... goodnight. woke up later that afternoon and went to eat at the restaurant Eunice manages. fell in love with the hostess, stuffed our faces with spinach and artichoke dip, eggplant parmesan and $1 high lifes, drove to Acoustic Cafe near the Eastern Tennessee State campus and got some work done. bought a sweet sweater at a thrift store next door.
can't help but feel like we've found a hidden gem in the middle of the mountains with regards to Johnson City. turns out EVERY band metal/hardcore band i love has played at Hideway Cafe (Irepress, Trash Talk, Skeletonwich, Kylesa, Wolves in the Throne Room... the fucking list goes on). sick place with a great staff. Eunice invited a bunch of friends from her restaurant so there was a decent crowd and some people wandered in off the streets. sold some merch, drank $1 PBRs.
side note: fuck Pabst Blue Ribbon. in what goddamn county was this shit awarded the "blue ribbon." i can't fucking WAIT to drink a Lonestar and go to a bar that doesn't charge $5.75 for some goddamn Jameson. needless to say, i don't think i can i drink another Pabst. but i will.
Charleston, SC: we were told that the drive down I-26 from Johnson City into South Carolina is "one of the most beautiful drives in America." wouldn't know, as we once again drove through the night. actually, i think we got the gist of the beauty - even in the shadows of moonlight, mountains look cool, and wearing a sweater in July is kinda awesome. not to rub it in! hit some rain on the way, so it's humid as fuck now.
currently @ one of the most gorgeous houses i've ever seen in Charleston, SC (kid "Pettis" and "Chris" grew up with in Mass, his parents house). we have two days off coming up. seriously seriously bummed we don't have a show but tomorrow we're going to the beach and Saturday we're hitting up Gene's brother's lakehouse in Columbia, SC before we head to Raleigh for a show on Sunday. sorry for the lack of humorous storytelling - as the tour goes on our exploits seem to become more debaucherous and less suited for public viewing. HA. not really. that or i'm just forgetting things.
pictures (not much... never have my camera out and Scooter takes the worst pictures, so don't expect many live shots):
it gets cold in the back of the van
doesn't do it justice, but rain + mountains + Gary Clark, Jr. = AWESOME!!
Cadger the Navigator
hat rack
No comments:
Post a Comment