Last Day of the Horn Band Tour

If only they could all be like this. We played at Downtown Disney on a Friday night, the first day of Christmas at Disneyland. Great crowd. We probably had about 500 people at any given time in the crowd. The band was on, and Niko was just eating up the crowd. We also had a film crew there to document the whole thing from start to finish, so I'm anxious to see that. It feels good to play for a large crowd of people that are genuinely digging what you're playing. One day, they'll all be like this...one day.

Pics from Palm Springs

If you know Lou...

you will know that this smile is not a smile of happiness, rather a smile of complete anger and frustration. We get to the gig at Palm Springs, which is potentially going to be a great gig. The stage is huge, the power is awesome. Everything is going our way. (So something has to go wrong, right?) Right...We're setting up and getting ready for sound check, when we hear a snap, crackle, pop. (Not a good sound, unless your sitting down to a nice hearty bowl of Rice Krispies.) It turns out, Lou's monitor console tanked right before the gig, hence his mood described above. Needless to say, we did pull the gig off. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but thanks to our tech savvy sound guys, we were able to give the audience what they came for. (oh wait, they came to hear a 50's band, because that's what the radio promoted us as.) So, we didn't give the audience what they came for. We gave them something better!

Part Deux

PEOPLE BEING PUNCHED WHILE DRINKING SHAKES

Punched!

Please enjoy this video. I found it to bring me much joy while on the road. I think that Lou and I are the only ones who truly appreciate its beauty.

Nov Tour - Day 1

Off to a great start! First gig: Glendora, CA. Playing the first set, my pant leg wraps around my kick drum beater, so I try to get the sound guys attention. How do you tell someone that has happened? I was at a loss...so I just motioned for him to come over, so I could show him. Remedy: He put gaff tape around my pant leg. Worked like a charm! Crisis averted.

The rest of the gig went off without a hitch. They had pasta set out for the band afterward, and it was awesome. After the load-out, I jumped in my van, and the others try to get in theirs, but couldn't find the keys. So, after a lot of searching, someone has the bright idea to look IN the van. EUREKA! They had locked the keys inside. Luckily, one of the windows was cracked, so they were able to get a hanger in there to push the unlock. Needless to say, the person who did it (who shall remain nameless) is no longer allowed to have the keys.

We'll see what happens next...

One mo' 'gen

So...tomorrow I leave for another 10 day tour, and am going to miss Heidi's Birthday for the 8th year running. I don't know what it is about touring in the middle of November, but apparently it's a great time to do it. Just once, I would like to actually be home for her Birthday. Maybe next year.

Anyway, this tour has the potential of being pretty hip. We're playing at Knott's Berry Farm and Downtown Disney. So, I will post some blogs while I'm gone if anything fun, or crazy happens. (There's always something that happens on the road.)

Raiders Game - 4 Nov 07

Today I played the National Anthem for the Texans @ Raiders Game. No offense to anyone in the Raider Nation, but being around that made me never desire to be a Raider Fan. It's a bit scary. I walked into the Wal-Mart next to the Coliseum, and it was just a sea of crazy Raiders fans. We then made our trek over to the Coliseum and proceeded to do a rehearsal out on the field while the Raiders were doing some warm up. (That was pretty cool.) We also got to see the Raiderettes warm up. =) Then we went back up to the green room until it was time for us to play. (Plenty of time to grab a bite before the game.) The Anthem went off well, and the Raider fans cheered us on, which gave e a little more respect for them. (Still wouldn't be a fan though.)

After we played, we ran back up to the room to change and piled back in the bus to go home. I was on a mission, because I had to get back to go to High School Musical: The Ice Tour with my family. Wouldn't you know it? Out of 30 people, 4 wanted to stop for lunch, and we did! Lame. At least they got it to go. Anyway, I got back in time to make to the "Ice Capades", and all was right.

Oh yeah. THE RAIDERS LOST!!