Ah, the fresh scent of a new blog. MySpace was beginning to reek.
For those of you who are new to the show, this is me:
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THEN PERHAPS THIS WILL JOG YOUR PUNY HUMAN MEMORIES
Look familiar? Of course it does, you don't forget something as pro as that.
I left for tour with TVF as a merch boy, and I came back as a Merch Semi-Man. What can you do when it's time to go home? When you're not going to sleep in a van at night? When Joe Brown won't give you his phone number so you guys can hang out while you're home?
On to the next great adventure.
You could describe my current position as something like back-up singer/guitarist/number-muncher/driver/beat-boxer for singer-songwriter Julia Nunes.
Above you can see her and boyfriend Kyle at the famed Medieval Times after our first tour stop in Manhattan.
We got the Green Knight.
We might have been disappointed at being designated followers of the evil knight, but after he slaughtered his first few opponents, we were on board for the long run...right up until he died.
My nightmare.
What we're going to be doing for the next month or so is a bunch of weekend tours, which are pretty much just regular tours with Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off.
The Hi-Hat in Providence, RI
We've left the high vanflip ratio of the 15-passenger TVF van for the slightly less-high vanflip ratio of a Dodge Caravan.
Still able to grab headliner parking.
Most--if not all--nights we've been staying in hotel rooms. WITH BEDS.
To not be sleeping on a van-bench or Spookyland (the bottom bunk of the van, n00bs) is a pretty strange thing. It's almost like the comfort's a little too much. Our food situation is similar, in that we actually have food. Sometimes we even get to sit down in a restaurant and eat it.
All in all, though, being on the road is still being on the road.
We're still traveling relatively long distances in a confined space with a non-rotating cast of characters.
Trips are long. We listen to tunes. Weird things still happen.
We played a festival in Bethlehem, PA called Riverfusion. The show was in the hills of Pennsylvania, right on the bank of a river. Kyle was such a hot guy that day that he felt the urge to go swimming.
Tons of fans came out for us, as well as for the headliners Matt and Kim. Our show ended up being a picnicking sing-along, while Matt and Kim put on an all-out dance party.
The next day might have been the biggest treat of all, as we made the trek back to my hometown, the GOOOD OLEEE BEEEAAAANTOWWWN!
(That's Boston.)
We lucked out bigtime in terms of our venue in the city, as some important water-carrying circuit had exploded, leaving most of Boston and its surrounding suburbs with ass-water. Cambridge water, however, was clean and according to one questionable pizza shop window "safe to drinking."
My friends and I have been frequenting the Middle East in Cambridge since we were but wee babers, even getting to perform at the upstairs venue on a few occasions. For the first time, though, I got to take the stage in the downstairs venue.
The crowd was crazy, and certainly the most energetic of the tour thus far. The last few shows have been sit-down-and-eat-while-we sing-in-your-face kind of events, but in Boston the crowd was right up against the stage, singing louder than I could and probably more in tune.
The Middle East might not be the most historical of venues in the greater Boston area, but I have fond memories of watching some of my favorite bands there. All in all, a stage might still be a stage, just a place to stand where people can watch you. I don't really want to romanticize us being there too much, but it was still a nice step up, a sign of forward progress.
Plus, my parents got to finally see what I'm doing with my life.
Julia, Kyle, Kezia and I are currently in the van, in the middle of this weekend's tour. I'll update you on how it went once we're done. Just know that we're on our way to eat some Philly Cheese-Steaks and find Paddy's Pub.
TALK TO ME PLZ
Julia Nunes
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