KYLEs tourBLOG

Holiday Shores and Evangelicals, just before the tearful...

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:54:56 -0500

Holiday Shores and Evangelicals, just before the tearful goodbyes.

Homeward bound!

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:03:29 -0500

Homeward bound!

Monday 11.23.09 - Bloomington

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:59:38 -0500

Sorry about the late post! The WiFi Drought Tour 09 has come to a close. We finished up the tour in our label’s homebase, Bloomington, Indiana.

We also have so much fun in Bloomington, and it was a great place to wrap up the tour. This is in no small part due to the wonderful SC folks, including but not limited to Chris, Coombs, Abe and Jackie.

It was sad to leave the Holiday Shores AKA Shadows, however. We had such a good time with them, between the hacky sack matches, NBA trash talk, Byrds covers, and bro-ing down in general, it was a treat to hang with them night in and night out. Fantastic people!

Tour picture recap on the way! That’s it for the tour blog for this trip! Thanks for reading!

From Oklahoma with love! KD

Mid-hack conversation

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:37:00 -0500

Todd: One of my legs is shorter than the other one.
Kyle: How'd you determine that?
Todd: That's what my massage therapist told me.
Kyle: You have a massage therapist?
Todd: I did until she stopped returning my calls.

Our host, Matt, has an adorable puppy. Meet Huxley.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:32:00 -0500

Our host, Matt, has an adorable puppy. Meet Huxley.

Distractions = awesome!

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:30:49 -0500

Distractions = awesome!

Sunday 11.22.09 - Chicago

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:29:35 -0500

We got to Chicago early and had time to check out the neighborhood around Schuba’s Tavern. I headed to the original Powell’s books where I picked up a book about rock n’ roll tee shirt design and a Michael Chabon novel. Great place! And so cheap!

Schuba’s is one of our favorite venues—a lively room with excellent sound and especially receptive audiences. Next door is their restaurant which is one of our favorites. And Evangelicals were treated to a great meal there.

We played with our friends in Light Pollution and Holiday Shores, who both put on great show! Big thanks to ex-Normanite Paul for coming out to hang. He’s one of the funniest guys I know and was true to form, especially when he explained to the bartender how he was out of drink tickets, yet thirsty. And it worked!

After the show Todd and I joined our friends from both bands at an amazing loft where the Shores had played and caught an excellent set by Distractions, an insanely good Chi Town seven-piece.

Great night! On to Bloomington and the Secretly Canadian HQ!

"I think I ate something bad out of the trash."

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:31:00 -0500

““I think I ate something bad out of the trash.””

- Todd Jackson

Brothers!

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:44:39 -0500

Brothers!

Breakfast is served!

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:43:56 -0500

Breakfast is served!

This cow had one too many soy lattes!

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:43:00 -0500

This cow had one too many soy lattes!

Saturday 11.21.09 - Cleveland

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:41:24 -0500

I awoke at Marty and Susan’s after a great night’s sleep and headed downstairs to help Marty get breakfast going.

Another great perk of staying with them is Marty’s cooking, and this morning was no exception. I cracked and beat two dozen eggs for a giant breakfast scramble that would eventually include cheese, avacado, tortillas, salsa, onions, peppers and tomato, which was paired with homemade tortillas, refried beans and roasted potatoes, along with coffee and juice. What a terrific breakfast!

We were joined by Holidays Shores as well as Marty’s son, Alex, and his girlfriend. Afterward, Josh got a few record recommendations from Marty and we talked about the chances of impending doom based on a Palin presidency.

Then we headed to Cleveland! There, I got to hang with my brother, Casey, who is working on an accelerometer for a Mars probe with NASA… seriously. He’s working hard in Cleveland and even purchased a t-shirt in the downstairs vintage shop that expressed his sentiments on the city of Cleveland - “You gotta be tough!”

We had so much fun hanging/hacking with Casey and it made me wish we could take him out as a guitar tech on a future tour. Though he’s a bit overqualified.

The Beachland Ballroom is a super cool place and the sight of the Obama rally we happened to play on a little earlier last year—with Arcade Fire. A little more low key this time, but we still had a great time!

Onward to Chicago!

At the

Marty and me.

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:28:20 -0500

Marty and me.

Friday 11.20.09 - Buffalo

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:34:00 -0500

Ahh! Refreshed in a big way! Last night’s destination was Mohawk Place in Buffalo, which is a city that is always kind to us.

After the long hike from Boston, Austin, Josh and I went in search of food. Everything around the venue was closed but we found a nice gallery holding an art show with tasty finger food—meatballs, roast beef and wasabi sandwiches and a nice selection of cheese and crackers. More on that in the posts below.

After the show we joined some super nice locals for some Greek food, and then headed back to Marty and Susan’s house with Holiday Shores. Their hospitality is absolutely unbeatable!

We met Marty and Susan through our BFFs Headlights and we stay with them every time we pass through town. Their house, a gorgeous place out in the country, is like a rock n’ roll hotel of sorts. They’ve got six extra beds, wifi, drinks, and in addition, are just the sweetest and most fun people to hang out with in general!

To top that off, Marty’s cooking is second to none. But I’ll save the epic breakfast for tomorrow’s post.

Headed to Cleveland now! Excited to see my brother, Casey, who is currently interning with NASA there!

Til then!

Snacks! Don’t mind if they do.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:26:55 -0500

Snacks! Don’t mind if they do.

After the quote below, in a crowded art show with free finger food.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:26:06 -0500

After the quote below, in a crowded art show with free finger food.

Kyle: Can I quote you on that?
Josh: (belching) YESSSS!

"I love the freedom to act completely inappropriate."

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:22:00 -0500

“I love the freedom to act completely inappropriate.”

- Josh Jones

Ever wonder who shoots the street view from Google maps? These...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:11:11 -0500

Ever wonder who shoots the street view from Google maps? These guys!

Thursday 11.19.09 - Boston

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:29:00 -0500

Though listed at about three hours, the drive from NYC to Boston can easily take six hours. Though our personal worst is eight.

Luckily, my day started out wonderfully. This is in a big part due to dear dear friend and ex-Okie Amanda. She owns those crazy eyes on the front of our last record. She took me to brunch at Roebling Tea Room and proceeded to order all four of the specials!

This included a traditional beans/eggs/cheese biscuits plate, meatballs with cabbages, potato pancakes stacked under poached eggs and sausage gravy, as well as a steak sandwich loaded with carmelized onions and horseradish. All this plus Mountain Water tea and fresh squeezed orange juice! Amazing!

Afterward we made the drive to Boston with Tom along for the ride. He’s a Mass native and helped us with our Southie accents, which basically amounted to cursing like the locals.

Great Scott was the destination and we had a nice time there. “Jumping Jigawatts!” was quoted more than a few times as a result. Excellent sound, staff and brews. Holiday Shores played another great set as well.

Special thanks to Jenn and Dave who always put us up in Boston and usually look the other way when we raid their fridge. Todd cooked up a late night snack, dumpster style: sweet potato cooked with onion, bell pepper, apple, garlic, vinegar and Asian noodles. I passed.

To Buffalo!

Wednesday 11.18.09 - New York City

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:43:24 -0500

Hey!

Another great NYC trip! We got into town late and stayed with our manager Tom. In the morning it was bagel sandwhiches and some hacky sack in Prospect Park. Todd’s signature move—the Toddy Tango—was in full effect.

We returned to Union Hall after a two year absence there. The bar has a nice menu and a bocce court upstairs with the venue below.

The show went well and I even got to return onstage with Holiday Shores for the Dylan cover. Afterward I got to hang out a the Two Syllable Records HQ with The Shores, Todd and Brian.

Goodtimes! To Boston!