Renminbi

New Cumberland: End of the line ... or not

2009-07-20T16:11:00.002-07:00

We had a very long slog to New Cumberland: 7 solid hours. It was the longest trip of the entire tour, and maybe somehow fitting, seeing as how it was the last that would end with us playing a show.

Lisa hadn't been feeling well since the day before, so it was up to Jenny & I to handle the whole drive. Luckily for me, Jenny likes to be behind the wheel and seemed up to the task: she put in close to 5 of the 7 hours.

We had to go to extreme measures to stay awake, though: unlike other drives, the conversation for this one mostly revolved around "lighter" topics, such as cable TV stars we'd like to bed, etc.

Somehow we made it through to PA and finally to New Cumberland. NC is a tiny little town with four bars and only a couple of regular live music spots. The venue we were playing, The Local Beat, is a welcome addition to the landscape: it's an alt coffeeshop/bistro, a gallery space, a performance space, and something of a community gathering space. We learned after the show that a group of people had traveled 45 minutes by car to come out and see us. It seems in small-town America, it's not uncommon for people to go out of their way for the arts without even thinking about it. Quite different from the big city, where people often can't be bothered to leave their apartments.

The venue had kindly printed up flyers for the show, and posted them in every window:

The crew who run The Local Beat were incredibly gracious, and even treated us to a scrumptious free dinner, including a shrimp bisque for me (yes, shrimp bisque!).

I must admit I had reservations about playing at our usual ear-splitting volume, as a few folks seemed to be on hand just to grab a quiet meal and enjoy the solo acoustic guy who went on first. Plus, the space is just kind of nice, at least compared to what we're used to: it's a new spot, well-decorated, with crafts and artwork available for sale and, for god sakes, shrimp bisque!

I think I may have even gone so far as to say, "This is gonna be a disaster," to the rest of the band shortly before we took the stage -- which, by the way, looked like this (notice the flowers on the tables):

I actually went around the room prior to our set to give out earplugs, but to my surprise was turned down by almost everyone, including one-half of the well-dressed couple still eating dinner as we were about to start.

For all my fears, our performance turned out to be a strong one and the crowd very responsive. The sound was good and we all played quite well.

That said, Jenny & I agreed afterward that the set was oddly non-emotional -- cerebral, in fact. Being it was not only the final show of tour, but also the final show we'd be playing with Jenny for the foreseeable future, we were all a bit astonished by our own stoicism.

Jenny later commented that perhaps it was a sign that this wasn't the end of the line, that we'd be working together again in the future.

I don't tend to get caught up in thinking about the future too much, but I'd like to believe Jenny's explanation for why the set affected (or, rather, did not affect) us in the way it did was spot on.

In the meantime, here's to much success for all of us in the next phase of our artistic careers, whatever they look like.
**

As an aside to J&L, here are some things I won't forget:

Sharthouse
Footsie's
Somebody ...
Arlette
Shiets/Copp/Pickle/Fangboner
Dukes
Are you close?
Is this Waffle House?
What about the ...
Buffalo Face
Bye now!
Bad

Toledo Pride?

2009-07-20T16:11:00.001-07:00

We hit a lot of traffic getting out of Chicago. 5 hours later, we finally pulled into Toledo. We saw a sign hanging on an overpass as we entered the city that said Toledo Pride, which seemed fortuitous. You see, we were all really excited about the prospects of this show because it was taking place at OutSKIRTS, the local gay bar in town, and we were ready to get some love from our community.

When we first arrived at the club, it all looked promising. The club had a bar and tables, and a mid-size dance floor. Blank CDs were hung all over the walls, creating a cool shiny effect, and Tori, the bartender, was really sweet. There was also a huge outdoor patio. We did notice that the first band had already set up their gear. They decided to play in a corner of the club that is boxed off with railings, probably where the go-go dancers do their thing on a bumpin' nite. We didn't think anything of it at first, and we went to grab some more 5 dollar footlongs for dinner.

When we came back to get ready for the show, we met the first band, Cheap Celebutantes. They were very nice and explained that they tried setting up and playing in different spots around the club, but decided that playing in the go-go pit was best because they could play to the audience sitting at the bar and in the tables section.

Before their set, a few dudes drinking at the bar were complaining to the bouncer about having to pay the $3 cover charge. The bouncer explained that there were bands playing tonite, and hence the cover. One of the drunk dudes was getting sore about it and said the music hadn't started while they were there. The bouncer tried to aplogize, but the drunk guy cut him off, saying, "Thanks for nothing." Perhaps that was foreshadowing.

Cheap Celebutantes soon got going, and we realized they were a cover band. They opened with Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone." The only reason I know that song is because I had to play it for a benefit concert.

Anyhow, they played a solid hour of cover songs, and then we were up to bat. I asked if we could play out on the open floor, but the mic lines couldn't stretch the distance, so we had to play in the go-go pit. I kind of had a weird feeling since I don't like playing in caged-off areas, but there was nothing I could do about it. I also was a little wary because I noticed that there were only 2 outlets, and everything was being powered by them (lights, mixer, PA).

We got started with our set. After our first song, a few people said, "Rock on, play them drums!"

Shortly after, however, most of the people moved outside to the patio. We played the best we could, but during the set, my fear about the shortage of power outlets came true. My guitar amp was not getting enough steady power and my volume was cutting in and out. It's hard to focus and give 100% when one is having technical difficulties, but I trudged on through it as best as possible.

While we were playing, I heard a lady yell out, "Everyone is outside!" By the end of our set, we were playing to the bartender and a couple of courteous people.

After the show, someone slinked behind the mixer and turned on the stereo with hip-hop, and the bartender yelled out, "Turn that shit up!" SMV, J and I felt a bit confused as to what had happened. I felt abandoned by the audience. It hurt even more because it was from our own community, and we all had such high hopes for the show. But then SMV made a keen observation: most of the people in the club just wanted to drink and have a good time, and they all probably listen to mainstream music. They are not interested in a band doing edgy, noisy, envelope-pushing art rock. This theory came true when, moments later, a group of ten people started line dancing to a hip-hop song. I really felt like a fish out of water at that point.

I wasn't feeling too hot, so we opted to stay in a hotel that night. SMV and Jenny dropped me off so I could settle in, then they went back out, hunting for beer. Nothing was open, so they decided to go back to outSKIRTS. Tori was still hooking them up with free drinks, and then they played pool. Right before 2am, Tori gave Jenny one last Bud and said, "You better drink all that right now." Jenny was a bit confused by what she said, but moments later, rent-a-cops barged in and literally started taking drinks out of people's hands. Wow.

Finally, SMV and Jenny headed back to the hotel, but ended up continuing the party in the Prius in the hotel parking lot. Eventually, they got busted by more rent-a-cops when Jenny cranked the stereo on a Tracy Chapman song!!! Ah, the many ironies.

Interesting times in Toledo, no doubt.

Last show of tour, New Cumberland, PA, next.

Trippin' in Chicago

2009-07-20T16:10:00.002-07:00

Our 6-hour ride from Ames to Chicago was one of our longer stretches of the tour. Turned out I did most of the driving because SMV and Jenny didn't get a whole lot of sleep the night before. I really wanted to get to Chicago as fast as we could because I wanted to see our good friend Mark:

SMV and Jenny were getting really hungry for lunch so we stopped at a Subway in Illinois. SMV asked for the 5 dollar footlong, and the Subway lady said they didn't participate in the program. It was funny to watch this exchange. SMV was really confused and was saying emphatically that she still wanted her sandwich! Turns out, instead of being 5 dollars, her footlong was 6 bucks.

SMV and Jenny ate their subs in the car while I powered us through to Chicago. We finally made it and Mark met us on the street. M and J go way back, but hadn't really talked in a long time. Mark apparently had no idea that Jenny was touring with us, and was shocked to see her. His mouth fell to the floor.

We finally made it up to the apartment and it was nice to have a few hours to chill before the show.

We then dropped off our gear at The Darkroom and we all grabbed dinner at a local pub in the next hood, Wicker Park. I called up my friend Joe to join us and it was great to see him:

Joe played bass in my first band (Danger, Giant Ranger!). It felt really good catching up with him. Really glad to hear that he's still playing, and is doing a bunch of reunion shows with his old hardcore band, Supertouch.

We went back to The Darkroom to get ready for our set. It was a very cool club (seats with red vinyl) and the stage and soundsystem were top-notch. We were the last band to play for the night at midnight, and we still had a good crowd watching us. As a band, we played a really solid set. As a personal experience, the Chicago set was really magical for me. It felt like I was floating away -- I knew I was playing but it felt so effortless, I could see myself outside of myself. I wasn't concerned if I was rocking or not, I just knew that I was. My self-awareness was at its peak, and I had no fear, no desires, I was just existing. It was a religious experience for me; after the set I felt so cleansed, like I had just fasted or come out of a deep, long meditation. I felt at peace.

The audience loved our set. A lot of people came up to us after the show and thanked us for playing. That was really amazing: even on a random Wed night at midnight, there was so much love for us. Some guy offered to comp dinner for us if we came to his restaurant the next night. Wow. Meanwhile, Arunas, who booked the show for us, was such a sweetheart and invited us back to play whenever we return. Yeah! RENMINBI has big Chicago love!

But really, Chicago has always had a special place in my heart, since it was where I was born.

After the set, we went back to Mark's apartment and he told us to park in the lot behind the building. I was pretty tired from the day of driving and playing, so I hit the sack shortly after we got back. SMV and Jenny kept the party going into the wee hours of the morning since our next day was a day off.

SMV went to the bathroom around 8am the next morning, and I couldn't fall back asleep. I decided to get dressed and get something to eat. Since Mark doesn't keep any food in the house, I had to venture out. As I was walking down the stairs, I noticed that our car was missing. I frantically ran back up to the apartment and asked Jenny if she moved the car, and she of course said no. Our car had been towed during the night! I told Mark about the news, and he was furious about it because our parking space had been approved by the landlord. We were all pretty pissed about it -- to bail our car out would be $170! The landlord talked the private towing company down so we only had to be pay $85 in the end, but it was still a stressful situation involving heated negotiation. Mark illustrates our feelings here:

We finally made our way over to the tow lot, payed the $ and left. Crisis averted, I guess -- it could have been a lot worse. It it had to happen, thank god it happened on our day off.

We were all really exhausted by the situation, and slept most of the day away. By night, we decided to eat locally in the hood at a Mexican restaurant. SMV and Jenny ventured out to a bar afterward, but I was pretty tired and decided to kick it in the apartment. I watched one of Mark's DVDs, a French movie called "Grand Ecole." It was a classic French movie where there are mind games galore, and everyone is competing to sleep with each other. Not so far from real life.

SMV and Jenny came back shortly after, and we all crashed out since we were all exhausted from the drama of the car towing.

Toledo next!

Amped up in Ames

2009-07-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

The drive from KC to Ames was another stunner, skies big enough to swallow you whole:

We ultimately pulled into Ames a few hours before load in, so we tried looking around for a place to eat. We had our eye fixed on an Indian restaurant, but we had an hour to kill before that opened, so we decided to kick it in a coffeeshop so SMV could get her WiFi fix. Finally the Indian restaurant opened and we were really excited to have a change of pace; as much as we appreciate Subway's 5 dollar footlong, we needed a break! There are only so many "veggie delights on honey oat" I can take.

It was time to load in, and we met the first band (Datagun) in the parking lot. One of the band members looked really familiar to me, and it turned out to be Andre! Andre booked a show for us last year in Iowa City, and I had no idea he was playing on the bill with us. It was a pleasant surprise. Nate, who booked the show, finally rolled up to open AP:

Nate's a really cool, chill guy. Apparently hula-hooping is all the rage in Ames right now, so while we were setting up he would chat to us while practicing his moves on the hoop. The Ames Progressive space was awesome -- it felt like a living room-cum-recording studio: couches everywhere and an upright piano!! It had a really warm vibe to it.

Datagun went on first, and they were a great opener. They are 2 keyboardists and 1 guitar, no drums. They played a compelling set -- kind of reminded me of Joy Division and Interpol.

We went on second, and we played one of the best sets ever on tour. I felt we were really locked in musically, and there was a lightning, magnetic energy in the air. It was another transcendental set, akin to Nashville.

The room was filled to the brim with people -- a lot of them were sitting on the floor, gaze fixed upon us, and I could feel they were so focused on what we were doing and tuned in. There was one tall guy who was dancing right next to me during the whole set and getting really into it. That was awesome! I could definitely use more noise dancers!

After we played, one girl came up to me and said that we were the first all-female noise band to play in Ames, and she really appreciated us being there. At first I was kind of shocked to hear that; living in NYC there are so many female musicians that I sometimes take that for granted. But her comment made me realize just how few women musicians there are when you get outside the major metro areas. Hearing that made me feel really good about my work. After all these years, there are still so many more walls to break down for women.

Between sets I ran out to the bodega to get some water. Lo and behold the waiter from the Indian restaurant was working the counter, and gave me a huge jug of water for $1.50. Score!

The last band was Porno Galatica and they were two dudes: 1 on a laptop and the other on a Microkorg. They played instrumental dance music, and they got everyone in the room dancing and pumped up. The lights were turned off, and it reminded me of the secret all-night dance parties I used to go to when I was living back in L.A. It was really awesome to see all the people grooving -- it felt really pure, no posing -- they were just getting down to the music.

After the show, Nate said we could stay and crash at the space. We were super stoked about that. Before we settled in for the night though, Jenny was still really hungry and we got some tacos down the street.

When we got back to the space, however, the place smelled like a lot of sweaty bodies. We didn't notice it before, but for some reason it was really rank when we got back. I found a couch where it didn't smell so bad and passed out. But SMV and Jenny had a real hard time falling asleep. Jenny made the mistake of looking in the fridge and got freaked out by the food that had turned into science projects, and SMV was having a hard time with the smell. When I woke up the next morning, I found my jug of water filled will soap next to the fan. Apparently SMV soaked paper towels in the soapy jug and hung them on the fan as a form of ghetto air freshener.

Somehow we survived. Nate came promptly at 8:45a the next morning to pick up his keys. Then we were off to Chicago!

Kansas City here I come

2009-07-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Gotta find a friendly city
And that's the reason why,
I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
They got a crazy way of loving there
And I'm gonna get me some.
-Wilbert Harrison

Before we left St. Louis, Matt cooked us an amazing breakfast of eggs and toast. We then said goodbye to him and his hyper dog Roscoe and got on our way to Kansas City, MO. SMV drove most of the way there. As ever, the drive was filled with many stretches of gorgeous scenery.

We got into town plenty early, so we went straight over to Tara's white-picket-fenced house:

Tara lives right on the border of Kansas and Missouri on a street called State Line Road. (Right on!) The house is really beautiful -- it's an old house with a lot of character that creaks whenever you walk around. We met her lovely 2-year-old daughter Lydia, who is a sponge for knowledge, and her awesome dog Ninners and cat WC (World's Coolest -- yeah!).

Tara's band Ste. Simone was originally supposed to play on the bill with us that night, but their guitarist quit the band only a couple weeks earlier. We were super bummed that they weren't playing with us, and it was clear that the wounds of the band breaking up were still fresh. Nevertheless, Tara was a gracious host and cooked us an amazing dinner of tofu and vegetables.

It was time to leave for the show, and we pulled up to The Emerald in the "West Bottoms" district of KC. West Bottoms has a very industrial feel to it that actually reminded me of home: the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. A little desolate with a lot of abandoned buildings and tons of railroad tracks criss-crossing the area. It felt very peaceful there -- a lot of open space to breathe and think. Recently a lot of art/DIY spaces have opened up in West Bottoms, which also highlighted the Williamsburg connection.

KC band Mr. History set up the show for us and they were there to greet us with open arms. Matt and Patrick are awesome!

SMV was pretty exhausted, so she chilled in the car before the show. Meanwhile, J and I hung out on the street kickin' it with the local folks. It seemed like a lot of people were on some powerful intoxicants that nite, lending to some very interesting conversation.

Restless Breed, a trio of guitar/keys, keys, and drums, took the stage first.

They played a strong set of experimental/ambient music. However, their down-tempo tunes felt more suited to an after-party: even though it was totally solid, we were a little sleepy by the time we had to go on.

We roused ourselves and took the stage. It was another really solid set of the tour for us. We felt a connection with the audience, who were really diggin' us. It felt raw and raucous.

After the show, Joe (who runs a DIY space called The Pistol down the street) came up to us and said, "That was some of the best feedback I heard in awhile." I felt honored. The soundguy also came up to us after and said that he saw Thurston Moore play the week before, and our set was better! Woah! That went straight to the heart. Better than Thurston?!?!?! Wow. I was floored by the compliments.

Jenny, meanwhile, attracted an entourage of gay guys who were really diggin' us, too. One said the music made him feel like he should just lay down and die.... KC has definitely got some interesting folks!

Mr. History were up to bat last. When we saw them last summer, they had around 7 members in the band. Now, they were stripped down to a trio. I actually prefer them as a 3 piece -- I felt their music was more raw and pure. They played an honest, touching set. Matt is a really great guitar player -- he was throwing in some jazz voicings/chords that I was really getting into.

After Mr. History's set, there was some more hanging out outside the venue. We met Nate, who was one of the founders of The Emerald. I felt a real connection with him. He said he was inspired by the scene in NYC, and he actually tried to start a similar DIY space on the Lower East Side of NYC, but couldn't afford it, so he came back to KC to do it instead. I felt really at home at The Emerald, and it's clear why!

Joe (from The Pistol) was awesome to hang out with, too. I have a lot of respect for these folks who run DIY spaces. They're trying to put on a pure musical experience for everyone, where money isn't the bottom line. It's just about art and the connection with people. Right on!

After the show, we headed back to Tara's place to crash for the night. Her bathroom was upstairs and we had a hard time navigating her baby-gates. I felt so bad because our fumbling about eventually woke Tara up, and she had to give us a tutorial on how to open the baby-gate!

The next morning, Tara recommended we have breakfast at one of the classic diners in KC, Mama's. It was right next door to a gay bar, my kind of diner!!! We treated Tara to the breakfast because it was her birthday. We had a sweet transvestite serving us, and the place even made Mickey Mouse pancakes for Lydia. So sweet.

After breakfast we went back to Tara's and she talked more about being a Doula (someone who helps coach a mother through the birthing process) and the important and awesome work she does for pregnant mothers. I really don't know anything about childbirth, but somehow Tara was able to explain the magical, transforming experience of it in a way that made it seem more tangible to me. Childbirth is so clinical in mainstream culture, and Tara broke it down to a personal level where I could actually connect and relate to it, even though I have never experienced it. She also had a sticker on her car that said "Rock 'n' Roll Doula." Rock on!!!!!

After breakfast, we came back to the house and had some more intense and meaningful conversation. I felt that I was really getting a sense of who Tara is, and just how deep, edgy, and amazing she is.

Sadly, it wasn't long before we had to pack up and hit the road.

Ames, Iowa next!

St. Louis Blues

2009-07-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

On the way to St. Louis we had an experience similar to the one we had last year while driving from KC to Omaha: we got caught in a massive downpour and had to pull off the road for a while to sit the worst of it out. Luckily, it finally started to abate and we were able to continue merrily on our way.

Our show in St. Louis last summer was a bit weird, but this one was unspeakably so. Somehow we ended up on a bill with two very offensive, testosterone-bleeding bands. One featured a twisted and creepy lead singer whose lyrics were frighteningly violent and misogynistic. The other was ostensibly a "joke" band, but that didn't make their use of a blow-up doll for part of their show any less reprehensible.

We were appalled to share the stage with bands who devalue, objectify and -- worst of all -- seem to promote aggression toward women, but on the other hand we knew it made our set all the more important. All we could do was let loose on stage and hope to open a few minds. The crowd actually seemed quite taken with our performance, and we received many compliments following -- including quite a few from members of the two aforementioned bands. Of course, one guy made it a point to say he was "really surprised" by how good we were, seeming to imply he didn't expect to be impressed by an all-girl trio (although, to be fair, maybe he was just surprised to be impressed by an experimental indie rock group from Brooklyn -- who knows?).

Obviously it was hard not to have extremely mixed feelings about the entire evening and the response we got -- but it did feel necessary on some level to be there and to do what we always come to do: blow people away.

We also bonded with the one band on the bill that was made up of a bunch of very decent guys making very solid music: My New Knife.

Guitarist Matt actually put us up at his place that night, and drummer Phil took some fantastic photos of us during our set.

Matt's place was about 25 minutes out of the city, but was worth the drive. He's in a quiet neighborhood and has a great shower! The only complication was his sweet but overly rambunctious dog, Roscoe. Only a year old, Roscoe has way too much energy and not enough training. He was bouncing off the walls all evening and made it difficult to relax.

Still, it was great to hang with Matt and his girl Ani, who is a musician in her own right and also an active participant in the underground noise rock and experimental scene in St. Louis. We were glad to find out there IS such a scene in STL, and hope next time to be playing on a much better bill with a much better crowd!

Next up: Kansas City!

Nashville Skyline

2009-07-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

We got into Nashville a little early, but were able to load right into the large, multi-roomed DIY space we were playing that night, Little Hamilton. There was a zine lending library/store in the front area of the space, and Jenny picked up a great little zine called "The Yeast of Your Worries: A Yeast Infection Survival Handbook." It has great girlie pictures throughout.

Two little boys were riding their skateboards in and out of each room as we started to stash away the gear in a corner of the performance area. Jenny decided not to set up her kit until it was closer to showtime in case the boys got "curious."

We asked Ryan, who helps run Little Hamilton, for some recommendations for food and we jetted off to a funky cafe near Vanderbilt University called Cafe Coco. The place has a great alt vibe and lightning-fast WiFi, which allowed us to catch up on the blog and other things. Plus, the food was tasty. We had the "hippy dippy" hummus bagels and spent about two hours hanging out.

Believe it or not, from there it was onto a shabby Mexican place called La Hacienda for dinner. Yes, it was only two hours after lunch, but we knew we had a long night ahead of us (four bands) and likely would not get another chance to chow.

La Hacienda was awesome -- kind of grubby, but in a good way -- and we thoroughly enjoyed the basic, authentic fare.

Returning to the venue, we met up with Jenny's old college friend Laura, who had just arrived from the airport via cab. Laura lives in California but had been in NYC for a retreat and decided to "stop by" Nashville for a couple of nights on her way back to L.A.

The first band, Looks Like A Snake, started around 10. The band consists of three brothers (Caleb, Luke and Samuel) and their good friend Patrick. We knew Caleb from his days in Poet Named Revolver, a band we had played with years ago and whose music we hold dear to our hearts. (Look them up and download what you can!)

Not surprisingly, Caleb's new band was top-notch. Samuel sings and plays guitar and he projects a compelling Tom Waits meets Dylan vibe while the rest of the band tears it up with their outlaw country meets shambling rock.

Next up was a young band by the name of Gnarwhal. They played an ass-kicking brand of alt-thrash that had the crowd headbanging and moshing all the way through.

We followed and played a set none of us will ever forget. It's hard to put your finger on all the elements that must combine to create just the right mix of energy, emotion and precision needed to catapult a show from good to transcendent, but those elements came together in Nashville on this night. We played our hearts out, working up an industrial-sized sweat the industrial-sized fan just couldn't combat. The audience was with us from start to finish, and we felt the momentum of that feedback loop lifting us all and propelling us forward. We kept the set fast and furious so there would be no opportunity for the energy to sag. It didn't, and by the end we'd acheived that rare experience of ecstatic peace brought on when music reaches down from above and moves through a room full of people. Rad.

An excellent '60s garage rock-styled band closed out the show with a solid set of tunes that put a nice cap on the evening. The only thing the guys need to change is their name, Natural Child -- seems a bit too quaint for their Stonesy stomp.

After the show we dropped Laura and Jenny off at a hotel in downtown. They were planning to spend the next day -- our first free day of the tour -- together, catching up and reminiscing about old times. Lisa and I were staying with Caleb, Luke and Patrick, who rent a great little house (with great art on the walls -- see below) that's a short ride outside the city center (Samuel lives nearby and dropped in and out over the next 24 hours).

The next day was all about country music, rockabilly, juke joints, homemade ice cream, the Cumberland River and a little more WiFi.

We had a great time ambling around Music City and learning more about its rich history. Some highlights included a tour of RCA's "Studio B" (a recording studio on Music Row where Elvis recorded more than half of his catalog), a Williams Family (as in Hank, Hank Jr. and Hank III) exhibition at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and learning that Nashville has more than 700 churches -- the highest per-capita density in America. Hello, Jesus!

Next up: St. Louis.

Not Hot in Atlanta

2009-07-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

When we first rolled into Atlanta, things seemed promising. The city is quite pretty and has amazing architecture in its residential districts. Plus, we started the day by visiting a cool local record shop (picked up MJ's "In the Closet" single on cassette tape, a Jackson 5 compilation, and some homemade tape that had intriguing, old-school-typed liner notes) and a favorite restaurant of Jenny's called The Flying Biscuit (the original location). The meal was top-notch and we were feeling all right.

We then arrived at the club, a funky and ginormous joint called the Drunken Unicorn, things were still looking up. The place has amazing unicorn-centric art all over the walls, some of it downright hilarious:

But we got a rather indifferent vibe from the other bands, especially the one we were supposed to crash with after the show. Both bands seemed a bit pissy due to the fact that a free show was going on just down the street, headlined by a local band with a good draw that overlapped with the audience for these bands -- which of course meant the crowd at the Unicorn would be thinner than everybody had hoped.

The bands were so frustrated by this that very few of the individual members even bothered to watch our set, even though we were courteous enough to sit through theirs. We played a solid show and got a good reaction from the folks who were in the crowd, but we were left cold by our interaction with the other bands and decided to skip crashing on someone's floor for a hotel room instead.

The hotel we chose was an independently-operated place built in 1927 called the Highland Inn. Again, it looked promising, clearly having a lot of character and charm. But the guy at the desk freaked us out with his odd and aggressive manner as he gave us instructions for filling out the form for our room. He kept repeating over and over, "Just fill out your name, address and signature. Don't fill out anything else." When we accidentally dated the form after signing it, he sneered, "I said only name, address and signature." We offered to re-do the form, but he blew us off and said in a dismissive and angry tone, "I will correct it." Weird.

The room was pretty nice, and included a love seat and full kitchen. The bed was fairly comfy, too -- check out Lisa kickin' it before sleepy time:

But the shower was extremely claustrophobic and for some reason reminded us of a penitentiary shower (not that we have any first-hand experience). Plus, Jenny had to construct her bed out of the pillows of the love seat:

We couldn't wait to get the hell out of Atlanta the next morning, and decided to peel out and get breakfast on the road. The good news? We ultimately ended up in some small Georgia town at the very best Waffle House any of us had ever been to. This was as gourmet as a greasy spoon gets, and we ate till our bellies were full.

The friendly waitress even sent Jenny home with a free Waffle House mug after Jenny expressed interest in buying one. Score!

Next stop: Nashville!

Beer-Soaked Brasheville

2009-07-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

We pulled into a gas station outside of Richmond on our way to Asheville and noticed a trashy-looking white shack across the way. On closer inspection, we noticed a red neon "ALL GIRL STAFF" sign in the window and what looked like a Pontiac Grand Am in the lot. Awesome.

As we drew closer to the Asheville area, the little Prius we're packed into started to struggle a bit -- we were heading up into the mountains. The landscape became increasingly lush and full, and an apropos misty light rain started to fall.

We wanted to drop our gear off at the New French Bar, the venue we were playing that night, but they weren't ready to transition from eatery to rock club just yet.

Although we could've grabbed food there, we decided to try a little place right around the block from the club called Salsas. It looked promising on first glance -- the sort of place where you could scarf down sloppy $3 tacos and $2 Coronas. Turns out, despite its shabby appearance, it had a fancy-schmancy, overwrought menu featuring things like $15 sweet potato quesadillas and $17 glazed carrot empanadas! We were dubious, but decided to eat there anyway since we were tired and starving. It also didn't hurt that we could keep an eye on our gear-packed car, which was parked across the street. But the too-eclectic-for-its-own-good food had some weird ingredient combinations and, while it initially tasted all right going down, an hour later we all had stomachaches! Jenny had it the worst.

After dinner, it was time to load into the club. We helped the waitress move the tables and chairs outside (they were heavy as all get out!) and then started setting up our gear. Shortly after, Cyrus and Dave from the first band, Klustafuck, arrived.

We'd been talking to Cyrus via MySpace and were planning to crash with him after the show. We immediately clicked with him and Dave -- genuine down-home Southern boys with charm and personality that just doesn't quit.

Their music was not unlike the guys themselves -- quirky, often hilarious, no-bullshit spaz-rock. Dave (bass) was dressed in overalls, red checked shirt and red cowboy boots. Cyrus (guitar) wore tight-as-fuck zebra patterned jeans with short leg warmers, a beat up T, and a July 4 party hat. They were backed by an incredibly talented drum machine named Juanita Pride. Yeah!

We were up next and played a passionate set that got the crowd seriously worked up. People were generous with both their compliments and financial support following -- we ended up having our biggest merch-selling night of the tour to that point, CDs flying off the table. One guy told SMV the music hit him straight between the eyes and said he felt there was "meaning" in what we were doing. Cyrus said Asheville's got some "art rock" bands trying to do a similar thing, but "they don't do it nearly as well as you guys do."

Of course, there's always someone who doesn't get it. That guy asked me why I was "so into noise" and told me I should "reign it in." We were a little taken aback at first, but then realized that the fact that he was engaged enough to comment was just another sign of how good the crowd was that night. It's good to have people *respond*, whether positively or negatively.

Following us was a handsomely-attired, beer-soaked punkabilly band called the Go Devils. They were loud, brash and ballsy and worked the crowd into a lather. At one point, an over-eager fan poured an entire bottle of beer on the head of the bassist, who accepted it with a shit-eating-grin on his face and then used the soaking as an opportunity to style his hair into a greasy pompadour.

After the show, SMV rode with Cyrus and his gal Gwen, while Jenny and I took on Dave. We headed over to Cyrus' place, a few miles outside of town in a quiet little oasis, while SMV and her crew made two stops: one at the grocery store for some ginger root soda and one at Gwen's place so she and Cyrus could steal beer & vodka from her roommates!

Cyrus had a great little house, with a terrific sound system, lots and lots o' vinyl and CDs, and some great decoration:

We hung out late into the night and finally had to beg off. Cyrus, Dave and Gwen continued to party on the back porch, while SMV and I hit the floor and Jenny took the couch. We slept well. What a night.

Next up: Atlanta!

Camel Ridin' in Richmond

2009-07-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

We pulled into Richmond around 6pm and set straight to loading in. We were playing a venue called The Camel, which we highly recommend for cheap beers, good grub and a great atmosphere.

The bartender was playing great tunes on the stereo and chatted us up about all sorts of things, including the Michael Jackson Memorial, which he had watched before coming into work that day. He said he arrived at The Camel with red eyes.

We had all day to get our gear together, as we weren't going on til 9:30. We were supposed to be the third of four bands, but two bands bailed without giving the venue any warning, so we ended up opening the night. Here's what the stage area looked like:

Luckily, some people had filed in by the time we were getting ready to hit the stage, including two of Jennny's cousins, whom she hadn't seen in at least 20 years! It was awkward when they first "reunited," but as the night wore on and the alcohol flowed, it became all in the family.

We played a very solid set and got a lot of compliments, especially from the band who followed us (and closed the night): Yardwork.

After the show, we decided to crash with Jenny's cousin Lauren, who it turns out lives about 25 minutes out of town in an opulently decorated mini-mansion located within a Country Club! Check out her master bathroom (and shy cat):

The drive to her place was completely bizarre, especially since we ran into 30 different streets with the name Muirfield Glen in her development as we tried to GPS our way to her house. There was a Muirfield Glen Place, a Muirfield Glen Road, a Muirfield Glen Street, a Muirfield Glen Terrace, a Muirfield Glen Circle, etc., etc. -- all interconnected in some surreal maze-like configuration that reminded us of The Shining, which we'd just been talking about in the car earlier that day.

Once we unloaded everything, Jenny decided to hit a local bar with her cousins and Lauren's boyfriend. [And now Jenny is writing.] Yeah, we peeled out of the Muirfield Glen Shining-maze around 12:30a, drove fast through some twists and turns and ended up in a cozy neighborhood billiards bar shrouded in smoke, the sweet smell of draft beer and flavored vodka, and the friendly laughter of old friends. My cousins and their entourage could not have been more hospitable--hooking me up with endless refills (I couldn't quite hack the Creamsicle shot, the blueberry vodka, or the Jager bombs, but the cold pints of Sam were a welcome treat after a sweaty show!), cracking me up with stories from our childhood (apparently I was the one who broke the news to my cousins that there is no Tooth Fairy? WTF?), and introducing me to the colorful folks at the pool tables--including a guy with the words "BEEF CAKE" tattooed across his torso. It was quite a time.

After last call, we headed back to Lauren's sweet pad and hung out on the full-room sofa. I think it was about 4am or so before I finally started to crash, but I do remember being introduced to the pet racoons out on the back porch and seeing some of the amazing visual art Lauren has collected over the years. I'm still blown away--despite the fact that it's been this long since we've seen one another, I can still feel some fundamental family connections: the love of art, music, and raucous good times. Thanks again, y'all. Cheers. [Jenny passes the laptop back to SMV]

The next morning, we tried to shower, but surprisingly the mini-mansion seemed to be out of hot water! It was a little rough, but we couldn't really complain after getting to sleep in big, comfy beds in a quiet, giant house the night before.

Then it was time for goodbyes and we were off to Asheville!

D.C. Doldrums

2009-07-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Every tour comes with at least one show where the audience consists of the other band and not much else. This time around, that show was in D.C. at the Red and the Black. Too bad, too, because the bar had an exciting old-school brothel feel, with tin siding on the walls, very worn wood floors, and nice detailing.

As for the lack of a crowd, in our defense, the other band was also from out of town, and it was a Monday night. In fact, D.C. as a whole seemed pretty dead. There wasn't much going on at the bar downstairs and the streets were quiet.

But the stage at the club (pictured) was warm and welcoming and we tried to make the most of it.

We were lucky to have Jenny's pal Rob there to cheer us on -- especially since the other band didn't seem much into clapping or hooting or anything else between our songs.

We decided to use the low-pressure evening to our advantage by treating it like a band practice. We threw out a song or two we hadn't played yet, and it was good to keep those tunes warm. We also had Rob come up and tell a joke at a particularly low point of the set. He delivered big-time with a hilarious penis joke that we won't get into here, but which perked everyone up.

After the show, we headed back to Rob's. He was a perfect host and we slept in relative luxury.

The following morning it was off to a very good breakfast at Mark's Kitchen in Rob's hood, Tacoma Park -- highly recommended.

Next stop: Richmond!

Short, sweet and sweaty in C-ville

2009-07-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

We didn't roll into Charlottesville until 7pm, because we lingered over brunch in Philly and stopped along the drive a couple of times for grub and driver switch-ups.

We went straight to the venue, The Bridge, and were surprised to see all the bands had arrived on time for load-in.

After a half-hour of set up, we rolled out again to hit an amazing nearby Mexican place called Guadalajara that Jenny recommended. We met up with J's gf Tes and a bunch of pals and had a delectable meal of quesos and fajitas and chalupas, etc., etc.

After that it was back to the Bridge, a very cool not-for-profit arts space that hosts live music and other events. The art and photography on the walls was inspiring and established the perfect vibe for our set.

But it was Hilarious Posters (pictured) and Wanli up first. The former were a quirky pop trio and the latter were an atmospheric but dramatic Tortoise-esque rock quartet with tense vocals.

We only had a half-hour for our set, but managed to edit the setlist down just right. Once again we were not miked, but we struck a good balance between the three instruments and rocked the crowd with a brief but fiery, down-and-dirty performance.

That night we stayed with the very accommodating Wendy and Carey, who put us up in their great house a few blocks from the venue.

In the morning it was tasty bagels at Budos, and then back on the road, this time to D.C....

Freedom in Philly

2009-07-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

We kicked off our "Beneath The Surface" tour in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. It was July 4th, Independence Day, and Philly seemed like the center of the universe, with a huge street fair raging in the Museum district. It took us almost a half-hour of circling to find parking near our eternally gracious host Nandi's house.

We arrived to find a BBQ already fired up in Nandi's yard and, as the afternoon wore on, the crowd swelled and the food and drink were flowing freely.

We were told that the Roots, Sheryl Crow and others would be playing the big July 4 party that night, but we had a show of our own to put on....

We made it out to The Tritone around 9pm and old friends Seizure 17 and Radio Eris were already in the house. Seizure 17 took the stage first and, as always, we enjoyed their grungy-punk snarls. Their new(ish) drummer rocked it behind the kit.

We took to the stage second. We were anxious about how it would sound as the acoustics of the room were bouncy and we weren't going to be miked. But things sounded surprisingly good and we got a great reception from the lively crowd. Thanks to Moni, John and Rich for the extra loud claps and hoots.

Radio Eris was third and passionately laid down their raw and primal poetry-rock, which sounds something like early Patti Smith mixed with Beefheartian weirdness. They freaked the crowd out a bit when they suddenly donned shockingly realistic Monkey masks for a tune or two. But we had $3 whiskeys and beers to ease our nerves....

After that it was back to Nandi's for a great night's sleep, followed by a big diner-style brunch in the morning. And, with that, another successful trip to Philly was in the bag.

Next up: Charlottesville!

Leave Cleveland as fast as you can

2008-06-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Our drive from Ann Arbor to Cleveland was less than 3 hours, but it felt like the longest drive of our trip. We were all feeling the imminent end of the tour, and we weren't sure how we felt about it. We pulled into Cleveland and went straight to the venue, Tower 2012.

As we were pulling into the parking lot, we saw Nick (the guy who booked this show for us) biking onto the property. Nick quickly welcomed us, as did some friendly people hanging out on the rooftop.

Tower 2012 is a DIY art-performance space. It's really a house that happens to have a very large open room on the ground floor. Nick and a few roommates live upstairs, and another two guys sleep in the basement.

Four bands were slated to play the show. During the first band, Dom's family -- who'd driven an hour and a half from Brookfield, OH to see us -- arrived at the club. It was good to chat with the lot of them, which included Dom's little sister, his parents, his aunt and his "cumad," which is an Italian word that basically means "good friend of the family."

We went on second, and started our set off really strong. We had a great crowd and they liked us right off the bat. However, after the first song, SMV's keyboard batteries died. The song "2012" is usually saved to close the set, and we had especially wanted to end with it at Tower 2012 (!), but because it is solely a guitar and drums song, we decided to revamp the set and play it second. This allowed SMV to attend to her keyboard.

Unfortunately, in the repair process, which was taking place in a darkened room, SMV knelt down in a pile of puke, and covered herself and part of her keyboard in it! She was a trooper, though, and made no mention of it upon her return. She miraculously got her keyboard working by the end of "2012," and all three of us resumed playing the set.

We put on a strong show, but it definitely felt bittersweet. Last shows of a tour usually do. We played our hearts out and the crowd was eating it up, and yet it felt like we were in a state of suspended animation, watching it all happen from above, from outside of our bodies. It was an eerie experience of disassociation.

There happened to be a bench inside the venue that had the words "Leave Cleveland as fast as you can" spray-painted onto it.

It felt very synchronistic to see that at our last show of the tour. It reminded us of how touring is a constant process of change and movement. It also spoke to the ambivalence we were feeling: partly, it was clear we were all ready to get back to home, that it was the right time for this whole thing to be over. But it was also a reminder of how important it is to enjoy each moment as it comes, because nothing ever lasts, no matter how much you might want it to.

We spent the ride back to Dom's house that night mostly in silence.

Anarchy in Ann Arbor

2008-06-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

We had it all planned out perfectly -- we would leave Chicago at 2pm to get into Ann Arbor at 6pm for load-in. Halfway through the trip, one of us happened to look at a cell phone to check the time -- it was an hour later than expected! We forgot to take into account the transition from Central to Eastern time when you leave Illinois!

So, by the time we arrived in Ann Arbor, the first band was already mid-set at the anarchist punk house where the show was being held. The house has been dubbed "Raw Haus" and has a sign on the front porch announcing itself as such.

Six bands were scheduled to play that night. By the time the fourth band went on, it was about 10pm and we were chatting with some locals outside. All of a sudden, a police car rolled up to the house. A nice (and, yes, good-looking) police woman approached and issued the house a noise warning. She could have written a ticket right on the spot, but said she was willing to work with us if we promised to bring the volume down. The fourth band had to be cut short because they were simply too loud. But members of the house, the remaining bands and the audience came together to put up extra sound proofing so that we and the 6th band could still go on.

Even after pillows, blankets and foam were added to all the windows surrounding the performance area, we still had to play our set at half the volume we normally would, and also had to limit our usually frantic onstage movement. Dom later jokingly referred to this as our "jazz set." Perhaps not the best venue for a subdued, polite set, but we still had fun.

After the show, we crashed over at our friend Karen's place -- right next door! While eating some much-needed pizza that we had delivered, we watched a documentary about Karen's band, The Pussy Pirates. They are fantastic -- sort of like early Erase Errata meets the Slits. Check them out!

The next day we had some time to kill, so we did a little sightseeing around Ann Arbor. It's a very quaint college town, and the U. of Michigan campus is quite pretty.

Up next: Cleveland -- the last stop on the first leg of our summer tour!

Chillin' in Chi-town

2008-06-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

We left Iowa City as soon as we got up and hit the road to Chicago. We were eager to get there as soon as possible. All of us were getting a little stir-crazy and needed some big city love. SMV was so restless she took more than 50 pics of the endless fields and old barns that dotted the landscape between the Mississippi River and Chicago.

Finally, the big city came into view.

Our good friend Mark (pictured below) greeted us at his apartment when we arrived in town. His place is gorgeous, and Mark gave us the 5-star treatment all weekend long. We completely took over his space and thoroughly enjoyed his spacious, sparkling-clean shower.

Mark showed us around town for a bit before our show and we had a scrumptious dinner in the quickly-gentrifying but still cool Wicker Park 'hood. Then we headed over to Ronny's Bar for the show.

There, we met up with the ladies from Lemmy Caution, who helped organize this show with us. LC have not been together long but played a killer set of classic riot-grrrl punk -- if they come through your town, check them out! Members of the band are also part of Girls Rock Camp Chicago.

We played next, and it was AWESOME (video to come when we have access to faster Wi-Fi!). We had some old friends in the audience including Joe Graziano, who played bass in Lisa's first band, Danger, Giant Ranger! The whole crowd was enthusiastic and full of energy. Ronny's is kind of a dive, but that's what's so great about it. The vibe is very DIY and people were genuinely excited to see non-mainstream music.

After us, Team Band and Coltrane Motion played. Team Band is a good party band -- they rock out in matching mechanics' uniforms and just have a lot of fun onstage. Coltrane Motion (pictured below) is a guitar/keyboard duo that meshes sampled drumbeats and hip-hop-esque vocals with indie rock soundscapes. They are really innovative and put on a great show.

After the music ended, our good friend Conor (originally from Ireland) and his pal Elisa took us to an incredible speakeasy-style bar called The Violet Hour. It's a very classy but unpretentious joint that serves delectable old school cocktails. All the waiters and hosts are dressed to the nines, and you really feel taken back in time to the '20s or '30s.

Sunday was our one and only day off from tour, and we needed it. We spent the day gallivanting all over Chicago, including a trip up to the top of the Hancock building for an incredible -- and sometimes dizzying -- view of the city.

After an excellent brunch Monday morning at Bongo Room (you must go there if you are passing through town -- the pancakes are heavenly!), it was off to Ann Arbor for our second to last show....

Iowa City

2008-06-23T09:37:00.001-07:00

We left Omaha pretty early. The drive east through Iowa was a another very pretty one, at least for the first few hours (by the time you hit Des Moines the landscape flattens out a bit and the roads become slightly more congested). There were some threatening and impressive storm clouds out in the distance, but it never did rain.

Other than the landscape itself, we also enjoyed watching the Kum & Go gas station pop up every so often.

We rolled into Iowa City around 5pm or so. We've been using Google directions the whole tour, and we took exit 224, Dubuque St., to get into town and head over to the club. However, as soon as we got off the exit, we were stopped in our tracks. We witnessed first-hand the extensive damage the flooding has done to Iowa. It was pretty eerie walking down to the flooded area -- it had a terrible smell of decay. The reflection of the trees makes it hard to discern at first, but try to spot where the road ends and the water begins in the pic below. (That's Dom walking back after having a look at the damage.)

We obviously had to find another way to The Mill. We called up the club, and the door guy, Seth, gave us alternate directions. We finally arrived and met up with the band Mannix! who helped organize the show. It was bass player Sarah's birthday, and she was preparing balloons and streamers for the festivities. She also made stellar cupcakes for the occasion.

The Mill gave us band prices for dinner, which was awesome -- half-off! We had a little time to kill before our set so we walked around town. A street festival was going on nearby the club in support of flood relief efforts, and the band that was on was doing some great covers and had attracted quite a crowd. Also, the University of Iowa is in Iowa City, and the campus is sprawling and beautiful. The main buildings have a very imposing, classical design.

We played a good set at The Mill and sound guy Sam did an amazing job with the mix. Two out of three of us actually thought this was our strongest show of the tour to this point. The Puritanicals followed and they had a classic '80s alt-power trio sound with great vocals. Mannix! closed the show and put on a very drunken and very fun set to celebrate Sarah's birthday.

Afterwards, Andre from the Mission Creek Music Festival kindly housed us at his apartment. He's a terrific guy who writes about music and organizes shows in Iowa City and San Francisco. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with him, but he was definitely a very cool guy and good people.

Chicago next!

Omaha, somewhere out in middle America

2008-06-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

On the drive up to Omaha from Kansas City, we ran into a bad rainstorm. We had to pull off the road several times because the rain was so heavy that we could barely see the road in front of us. However, when the light did break through and the storm calmed, the landscape we saw was magnificent. The I-70 might have had some lovely backdrops, but driving up the I-29 was an entirely more affecting experience -- one we won't soon forget. It was one of the most beautiful drives anywhere in America we've ever done. It was desolate, pristine, quiet, sublime. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We rolled into the Saddle Creek Bar to play our set around 9pm. We were a little late because of all the delays on the road. The bar was pretty dead as the rain was still falling and kept the crowd away. There were a few diehards having beers and shooting pool, however.

Mike, who runs the bar, is a very cool guy and can talk your ear off about guitars and effects pedals. He's a great guy and did a terrific job on the sound for us.

We played a really good set, but it was more like band practice than a show. All was not lost, however, because it was good to tune up on some songs we hadn't been playing much.

The bar was a dive, but had a lot of quirky character. Check out the soap dispenser in the ladies bathroom.

That night, we headed out of the center of the city to stay in a motel. It was nice to be back in real beds. Unfortunately, though, we saw almost nothing of Omaha, but the beauty of the landscape surrounding it made our trip more than worthwhile. It was almost like discovering America for the first time.

Iowa City next.

We heart Kansas City!!!

2008-06-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night we rolled into Kansas City. A good friend of ours, Ashley Weaver (on the far right in this picture), convinced us to come all the way out to to the heartland, and we were not disappointed! Ashley took us in and fed us a yummy homemade lasagna, then we were off to Crosstown Station for the show. There, we met up with the other bands, Ste. Simone and Mr. History.

Mr. History had an impressive visual show. They were a big band (7 people), and had a huge sound. Ste. Simone were on second, and they helped organize the show with us. Tara, the lead singer, is awesome! Her voice is dark, ala PJ Harvey, and she gave an amazing performance. In her non-rock star life, Tara is a birthing coach. Rock on!

We headlined and closed the show. The sound onstage was amazing, and we played one of our best sets. Ashley captured this cool pic of SMV rockin' the keys.

After the show, we met this woman named Jen. She saw us four years ago at Ladyfest Columbus. She happened to see a writeup about our KC show in the local weekly (The Pitch), and came out to see us again after all these years. How awesome is that?

People really dug and got us in KC. The folks there were edgy and cool. We *heart* Kansas City.

After the show, we got down and partied with the other bands and Ashley. Good times!

We then headed to Ashley's to crash, and she was an incredible host. She let us take over her apartment and computer, and let us do laundry. She also carted us over to The Hen House, an awesome local grocery store.

Omaha next!

The Kids are alright in St. Louis

2008-06-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

Heading from Indianapolis to St. Louis, the fact that we were in the heartland really started to sink in. Cruising down the I-70, which is an east-to-west route that covers two-thirds of the U.S., the grandness and vastness of middle America's open spaces became ever more apparent. The scenery, though fairly constant, is breathtaking in its scope, and even sometimes overwhelming. We saw lots of crops being tended to by farmers in massive machinery, old barns barely managing to stay upright, farmhouses both modest and impressive, and endless fields of grain.

Some funny things we saw along the route: a sign for "Lu-Bob's Home Cooking," a "cow mobiling" vehicle packed with live cattle, and a sign for "foot-high pies -- actual size!"

Pulling into St. Louis, the famous Arch looked spectacular. Pictures don't do the structure justice. The Mississippi River was also a sight to behold. Mighty, swift, mysterious. You could see the effects of all the recent rain on the Midwest, though, as the river had spilled over into areas along the shore where it clearly didn't belong.

Our show that night was at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, a community center geared toward teenagers that offers workshops, exhibitions and a safe place for kids to hang out. They also put on all-ages, alcohol-free rock shows on a regular basis, and some fantastic bands have come through there, including Xiu Xiu. We got to play with an incredible all-instrumental band from Asheville called Ahleuchatistas. If you're into out-jazz and progressive styles of rock, make sure you check this band out. They've got stuff out on John Zorn's label, Tzadik. A heavy local band called Dhat also played, and the kids in the crowd really got into their sludgy thrash-core.

We were a little disappointed that there weren't more girls in the audience, which was dominated by metal-listening teenage boys (no offense at all to metal-listening teenage boys -- Dom was one of them not too long ago, and we love Dom to death -- but it would have been cool to have a more mixed crowd), but we were thrilled that most of the girls who were there went home with CDs of ours that night. The guy who runs the center, Mark, was also extremely gracious and treated us to a wonderful homemade meal before the show.

We were supposed to crash on the center's couches that night, but opted to upgrade to a hotel. Four nights in a row of floors, couches and aero-beds were finally catching up with us.

The hotel, just a basic, bare-bones, one-star joint, was like the Taj Mahal for us. We slept well!

Next up: Kansas City!

Boozin' in Indy

2008-06-18T08:21:00.001-07:00

Monday night we played an *AMAZING* house party in Indianapolis at our friend Steve Molyneux's house. Steve just moved in two weeks ago to this lovely spot.

Steve is a phenomenal artist and musician himself; he was a member of the now sadly departed band A Poet Named Revolver (find their music any way you can!). Steve and his gal Marisa took us in and cooked us an awesome tofu curry dish. They also had a beautiful cat named Isha who was very shy and very seductive.

We played the house party with a great band from Bloomington called Dust From 1000 Years (pictured below). They were so quiet they didn't have to mic vocals, but their whispers drew you in seductively. You wanted to lean in and hear every note.

We were up next, and played one of our best sets ever. The energy was through the roof, or in this case the basement, and a lot of dancing was taking place.

We also met this local fellow named Jake who ran to his house twice to pick up an extra mic and boomstand for us. Thanks, Jake!

Before the show, neighbor Enos came and chatted with us for a bit. He introduced himself as an alcoholic and was sipping his own bottle of "Dark Eyes" vodka. He brought over a photo album and showed us pictures from throughout his life as a mechanic and as a military man. He also told a lot of great stories, especially one about being the only guy to ever get let out of jail on July 4th weekend in some small, notoriously tough town in Alabama because he was slightly less drunk than everyone else in the car he'd been driving and the cops wanted them all out of there. But Enos eventually ran out of vodka and had to interrupt his storytelling to run out and get another bottle! Hilarious.

Lights out in Columbus

2008-06-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

So we forgot to mention that after our show in Pittsburgh, we drove back to Dom's parents' house in Brookfield, OH. The drive is only supposed to be an hour, but it took almost two because there was heavy fog. At some points, we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of the van. And, because we were driving through some very rural areas, it was totally dark on the roads. We were kind of freaked out for a while, but we decided to embrace our fate and just roll with it. It was very zen. Next day, we woke up to the smells of a busy Italian kitchen. Dom's mom was making us a feast.

It was a classic Italian meal starting with pasta, then meats and sides, and then ending with salad. We hobbled into the van!

We arrived in Columbus, OH around 8:30pm and loaded into Carabar. It's a big space with a good PA, but being Father's Day Sunday, the joint was pretty quiet. It was still a good show though, and it was good playing with Paper Airplane and Animal Cubes.

After the show, the kindly Kyle Sowash (of the excellent band The Kyle Sowashes) put us up at his house, but the power was out. To get around, we had to wear head lamps (yes, head lamps!) -- we looked like cyclopses! With all the stumbling around in the dark, we didn't end up going to bed until 3:30am -- for the second night in a row. Just look at the weary face of Lisa.

Indianapolis tomorrow!

Steel Town USA

2008-06-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last night we played an amazing show at a rockin' venue in Pittsburgh called Brillobox. Notice to touring bands: make sure you go there! It was opened a couple of years ago by some ex-pat New Yorkers, and it's a super hip spot with a great jukebox. The downstairs is a killer bar/restaurant area and the second floor has another bar and a large performance space with a kick-ass stage. They also gave us a discount on the dinner we ate, and noted that by calling us "NY Band" on our bill (see below).

We had the fortune of playing on a great bill with two bands we really dug: Medic Medic and Red Team Blue Team. Seriously, these bands blew us away. RTBT (pictured below) have only been together for four months and are better than most bands that have been around for four years. They've got the double bass guitar attack of Umami, but add two guitars to the mix, and have a maniac drummer. These guys are going to turn heads wherever they go! They are also a genuinely nice bunch of guys. Medic Medic have been together longer and just realeased a new full-length that was recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn. They put on a highly energetic live show: it's a lead female singer with a feorcious voice and great stage presence; a killer guitarist who goes through a bass amp and a guitar amp; and a sick drummer. Think Bleach-era Nirvana, but led by a woman. Pretty bad ass!

All the people we met last night were friendly and kind and the crowd was terrific. Special shout-out to Eric the booker and Nick the sound guy. This show reminded us why making music is what we want to do.

Philly Cheesesteaks

2008-06-14T14:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we played an in-studio at Drexel University's WKDU in Philly.

It's a very cool radio station and the peeps who work there are super nice. We recorded 4 songs in the studio which will be archived and played on later radio shows. We also did a short, live interview. A huge shout-out to Caitlin and Sam for having us in.

We then met up with some good friends of ours, Nandi and Moni. They took us in, fed and housed us and showed us where to park the van. We also got to hang with Zoe and Max (pictured below). What more can you ask for? It was great to kick off the tour in a city where we had friends to help take care of us. Felt like home.

Next it was off to play a show at The Fire in the Northern Liberties section of Philly, which is sort of an artists/musicians haven. The Fire is -- har har -- next to a Fire Station. It's a decent joint with a surprisingly good sound system and -- even better -- a large private hangout area upstairs for the bands called the Green Room. It wasn't exactly a VIP lounge (no Hennessy was being sipped, let's put it that way), but it was nice to have a quiet place to hang and chat before the show. But some weird scheduling mishap resulted in us going on at midnight instead of 10p, which -- worse -- meant we had to suffer through a band that consisted of four middle-aged, suburban-dwelling white dudes who apparently still think it's 1975 (and not in a good way). The perils of rock and roll!

We were pretty tired after our first day of tour, but it's off to a good start.

We're on the road to Pittsburgh now!

parkingtix.jpg

2008-06-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

Before we even left Brooklyn, we got a parking ticket while we were loading up the van. I guess it's NYC's way of saying goodbye and good luck.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Gettin' ready

2008-06-12T18:13:00.000-07:00

This will be our ride and home for the next two weeks:

Obviously, we're traveling in style!

And yes, we really did drive all the way to Ohio to get the van and then back to NYC to get our gear!

In fact, our first stop after we picked up the van in Ohio was the Guitar Center in NYC, where Dom picked up his brand spankin' new Gretsch drumkit. He bought it specifically for this tour.

It's elegant and pretty. Just like Dom.

We kick off our tour tomorrow in the city of brotherly love.

Renminbi Tour Blog Is Born!

2008-06-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

So, we're preparing to push off for our first tour in a while and have decided to do it up right this time by launching our very own tour blog to accompany the journey. We will have pics, vids and of course our thoughts from the road coming straight to a computer screen near you. Watch as we make $100+ gas fill-ups and curse Exxon-Mobil; watch as we try to prepare PB&J sandwiches in a moving vehicle in an attempt to save money for those $100+ gas fill-ups; watch as we make wrong turns and end up in Idaho instead of Omaha; watch as rivers of floodwater attempt to sweep our van away in Indiana; watch as we swerve to avoid tornadoes just outside of Chicago; watch as we fight off falling asleep at the wheel on the seven-hour drive home from Cleveland after 12 performances in 13 days leave us exhausted and malnourished. Amid the mishaps, will there be triumphs? Tune in and see. . . .

(pic by Meg Wachter)