#tourblogs

[vixen-visuals-blog]

Tour Blog # 7- Phoenix, AZ; El Paso, TX; Austin, TX; San Antonio, TX; & Final thoughts on the road

I’d have to say our stop in Phoenix was the one I was most excited about. While I didn’t have much time to show the guys the places I normally hang out, I was at least able to relive the breathtaking views of AZ.

After a long day of driving, we killed a bit of time at a Starbucks and loaded in. The show went well, but wasn’t exactly well attended. Unfortunately, the show at Rebel Lounge was 21+, so none of my friends were able to come out.

The Rebel Lounge, however, is generally pretty cool with press, even if they’re underage. I simply told the manager I was underage, and he X’ed my hands and told me the rules. At other venues, I’d 100% be kicked out, but I’ve covered shows at The Rebel Lounge before and I knew that they tend to be more relaxed.

Luckily for me, we were staying with one of my friends from school, and he invited several of my other friends over for a small after party. It was so awesome to see everyone and catch up, albeit a little strange to have two worlds collide. I was already excited for school to start back up, but now I can’t fricken wait.

 After staying up way too late chatting, we hit the hay and woke up early the next morning. Our host, Frankie, whipped us up an amazing breakfast, and we packed up and headed out to El Paso.

El Paso hosts this amazing little stop called The Outpost. Specifically created for musicians on tour, it’s a convenience store, studio, lounge space, and I believe a future hair salon—all for free for those who stop by. We were scheduled with two other artists, and it was great to get to know them and look around the space. I also did some of my favorite portraits to date there.

With new goodies and a spring in our step, we grabbed dinner at a bar, and one of the girls who runs The Outpost met us there. It was fascinating to hear about the concept and logistics behind the place—it’s under the same management as the Patch houses, which are like The Outpost, but artists can stay there as well.

We didn’t have the highest of expectations of El Paso, but it turned out to be a really cool little spot. Eating dinner at a rooftop bar, grabbing ice cream, and crashing at the hotel made for a pretty good night in an unexpectedly fun city.

After getting a painfully early start, we traversed a nine-hour drive to Austin and crashed at Cory’s brother’s apartment. Along the way, we learned that a band we all like, Vesperteen, was playing a show in Austin that night. The guys and I both have industry contacts who are involved with Vesperteen and have all been meaning to see them live for quite a while, so we hit up our contact and went to the show after dinner. Vesperteen put on a fantastic show, and I got to shoot with their photographer, who I hugely admire.

We decided to call it a night, with the blissful notion of not having to set an alarm the next morning.

Because the drive to San Antonio was only an hour and a half, we had a little time to run around Austin. After grabbing breakfast tacos, I had every intention of getting in some pool time with the guys, but ended up taking an hour-long nap instead. No ragrets.

We arrived at Cory’s future in-law’s and set up in the backyard for a wonderful little house show. The boys were dying in the heat, but it was a great temperature for me (although I was laying across chairs and they were assembling heavy equipment, so that may have had something to do with it). Kristin’s dad and stepmother were wonderful hosts, and I leaped at the chance to have my own room.

The show went very well, and our merch sales were through the roof. We also made about the same amount in donations as we would if we’d been paid for a club show, which is certainly a rare phenomenon for TNS. We walked away feeling very good about the last show, which kind of packaged a weird mix of highs and lows up with a nice little bow.

This tour blog is a little late because I wanted to include some reflections and final thoughts on the tour. I’m back home in Indiana and I’ve had a few days to chill out and catch up on the things I’ve neglected over the past three weeks. 

The last time I left the boys at the end of a tour, I had a prepared response to the question from family and friends: “How was tour?”. This time, I’m a little more lost. I’ve had the time of my life, but there were things that dragged me and the crew as a whole down. I loved running around the country and spending three weeks with some of my favorite people, but by the end of the run, we were exhausted, lacking five laptops, and out of money.

This run was a lot. It was entirely different in nature from my first tour, which was ten shows in ten days. We had days off, we didn’t freeze to death, and we were able to actually explore the cities we played. But we also had frequent 8 hour drives, almost twice as many dates, and a ton of ground to cover.

My casualties currently stand at a phone charger, two pairs of socks, any chance of my hair looking okay for the next two weeks, at least 10 pens, quite a bit of money, and my sleep schedule—may they rest in peace or find happy new homes.

[Kansas City, MO]

I couldn’t talk about this tour without singing the praises of Jessica Lamb. She was a fantastic addition to our crew, and I was so glad I had the opportunity to get to know her better. We all miss her dearly, and I hope our paths cross sooner rather than later.

[Costa Mesa, CA]

Tour really is a roller coaster. There are highs and there are lows, but even the lows seem pretty damn high. Even when you get robbed, you get to see the beautiful lights of San Francisco on the way home. Even when you pop a tire, you create giggly memories in a Jack in the Box drive thru. And even when you’re too tired to function, you get to crash with some of your favorite people.

[Seattle, WA]

I’ve been from New York to California with these boys, and from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon. I’ve cried in front of them at least 20 times, and they haven’t ditched me yet, so that’s some real comradery. They’re some of the kindest, most dedicated, most thoughtful, and funniest people I’ve ever met. I’m not sure I could pick a better group to split a van with.

It’ll be a hot minute before you hear from the tour blog section of my website. I’ll be going back to school at Arizona State in just a few days, and winter tours are very, very hard to come by. If you’re on the East coast, TNS are heading out there in September, so make sure you check those shows out, even though I won’t be with them. But no matter where I am, just know that my heart is on the road. It may be awhile, but stay tuned for what’s to come.

[vixen-visuals-blog]

Tour Blog # 6-  2 Days Off & Los Angeles, CA

I feel as though we needed these days off in the same way I needed tour to begin, which is certainly ironic. After going so hard for so long (7 shows in 7 days), we were all starting to feel burned out.

It was during this time that I kind of came to a harsh realization—over the summer, I’d worked too hard. From a basic standpoint, I was alright, meaning my health didn’t plummet, I wasn’t making huge mistakes, my affairs were generally in order, etc. etc. But I wasn’t creating anything. I was shooting, yes, but I rushed through everything to snag an extra hour of sleep and nothing received my best work in the end. I’d planned to have a head start on a creative project that’s going along with the tour, and I really didn’t by the time I left. Now that I’m more relaxed, I’m still worried about the quality of work I’ll be producing at the end.

This is all just to say that you need to take care of yourself. Let yourself be your priority, even if it means taking a break, especially if you’re an artist of any kind. My art gets me through the day, and I neglected it. I’m going to take care to not let that happen again.

On that note, my break from tour with The New Schematics was a great time. We spent both afternoons at a couple beaches, and I took full advantage of the hot tub that was a short walk from Cory’s parent’s house. I was also able to grab lunch with a friend from school, and Jessica and I had some girl time while the boys went out to see a movie (meaning we watched a different movie).

Cory’s parents were phenomenal hosts (not that all of them aren’t, but these guys put up with us for four days), and we ended our time off feeling refreshed and ready to head back east.

We also had a show in L.A., which the guys were eagerly anticipating. It was well attended, and despite having some issues with the sound, the guys walked away feeling pretty good. The other bands we played with were hugely talented, so that made the whole night more fun.

 So far, my strategy of just not leaving 21+ venues has been working (knock on wood), and while I was grateful that I didn’t get kicked out, I could’ve done without the bartender hitting on me. Unfortunately, that’s one of the realities of touring for a girl.

After a long day of walking around Los Angeles and playing a super late show, we were all ready to get to bed. Sadly, L.A. was our last show with Jessica Lamb. She’s been an absolute joy to be on the road with, from her In-N-Out spidey senses to her hilarious stage banter. We bid her goodbye and already felt the weight of her absence on the way home. I hope our paths cross again in the very near future.

There’s an empty spot in our van and in our hearts—we’ve filled both with naps.

We didn’t leave the venue until very late, and didn’t get home until around 1:45 a.m. We were exhausted, and I immediately starfished into (a now Jessica-less) bed and passed out.

Tour is starting to enter its final days, which is simultaneously a relief and a bummer. I’m tired, I’ve been living out of a suitcase for three weeks, my bank account just laughs at me when I check it, and I’m outrageously behind on business matters. But I love touring and seeing these fantastic places, and it’ll probably be quite a while until I get to see the guys after this summer. In fact, due to my school schedule, the earliest I could go out is a full six months away, and it’s incredibly difficult to find December tours, so eight months is more realistic. This winding down is certainly bittersweet.

Only a few more days of this rollercoaster of a run—stay tuned!

[vixen-visuals-blog]

Tour Blog # 5- San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; and Costa Mesa, CA

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZOzLnBF4TeA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>We awoke the second day of San Francisco to a text from Shanan that his Mac was used to log into wifi in the city—after waiting for the window repair guy to fix us up, we grabbed breakfast and headed to the police station. They had us park on the corner while they went around knocking on doors. Unfortunately, no one had recently purchased a laptop, and no one matched the description of the thieves from the photos we have. Worth a shot but ultimately a bust, we called the operation quits.

Defeated and still sore from the loss, we were just a few hours away from load in. We decided to try to find a coffee shop, and some of the others just wanted to sleep in the van. Unable to find a shop, Jessica and I gave up and just headed to the library.

After loading in, we decided to grab some Thai food, and we were unfortunately carded at the door on the way back to the bar. Luckily, they let me shoot, but it was another night of sitting in the van (although that did make us feel better about the chances of not getting robbed again) the rest of the time.

 The show was fairly difficult to shoot, just because the light was inconsistent, meaning very intense in some areas and nonexistent in others. I thankfully didn’t have the problem of not having enough light, however. The bar was decently packed for a Thursday, including some faces from the previous night’s SoFar.

Luckily, security let me stay in the venue to work merch and help load out, so I didn’t feel quite so useless. The show was so late, however, that people were just eager to split, rather than buy merch, which was rather unfortunate, given the financial disaster we’re in the middle of.

We called it a night and trekked back to our host’s, where we all NEEDED a good night’s sleep.

 Because San Jose is only an hour away from San Francisco, we’d planned to stay in the city a little longer, given that we’d spend most of the previous day with police. We were all getting bad vibes, however, and decided that perhaps we should just close the chapter on SF.

A hop, skip, jump, and hour drive away was a coffee shop where we set up camp. I let the other guys use my laptop (hence the late videos), but Cory ran to Best Buy and grabbed a used laptop that he’ll pay himself back for when he gets his insurance check. Shanan also received some good news that could lead to him getting a functioning computer for at least temporary use. 

The dark cloud is beginning to lift from the group. I’m dealing with a little survivor’s guilt, but obviously I’m super thankful I can still function. We’re starting to realize how much worse it could have been, and seeing it as a lesson that really frickin sucks.

The show in San Jose was at Cory’s cousin’s house, so we got to meet a little bit of his family and their adorable dog. Ironically enough, our stage was a garage. The guys found the whole production a bit odd, but it seemed as though everyone had a good time.

They also had a ton of fruit trees in the yard, and I ate so many plums I nearly threw up.

We then crashed at the house we played at, with Cory and Shanan actually sleeping in the garage they played in.

We left early in the morning on Saturday, but the blow was softened when our host brought us a fantastic breakfast. With a seven hour drive to Costa Mesa, we wanted to account for LA traffic and get there a little early so we could settle into Cory’s parents’. The drive started off with an amazing view of a lake, and eventually leveled out to be less interesting, prompting naps and work time all around.

I’d also like to take the opportunity to plug the Foster the People album that was released yesterday—I listened to it three times today. Absolutely fantastic.

 We’re staying at Cory’s parent’s house, so we dropped our stuff off and hit the pool for a few hours before we packed up for the show.

 The show, of course, was 21+. I used a new tactic this time (hiding behind the merch table) and managed to not get kicked out, so that was great. I also met for the first time in my life, and the boys the first time as a band, a sound GIRL. Her name was also Kelly, and in addition to running sound, she also ran lights that were gorgeous.

The guys pegged Costa Mesa as their favorite show of the tour—Seattle had the best crowd, but Orange County was better overall, in terms of venue, lineup, me not getting kicked out, etc. The house was pretty packed, and we sold more merch than usual.

After swinging through Del Taco, we were all ready to crash, so we ended up in bed roughly six minutes later.

 This seven day leg was decidedly the biggest hump of the tour, that also came with additional humps, barbed wire, and road spikes. Now, we have two days off before starting another stretch, which will be pretty laid back. We desperately need a break after going so hard for so long, and California certainly seems like the place to do it.

We’re getting back on track and back to ourselves, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the rest of these dates. Stay tuned!

[vixen-visuals-blog]

Tour Blog # 4- Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA

After driving for 8+ hours for multiple days in a row, the three hours from Seattle to Portland felt like nothing—we even got to the venue early. As soon as we got there, however, I realized I’d left my camera battery and charger at Shanan’s friend’s house in Seattle. I got into contact with our host, and it’s on it’s way to Cory’s parent’s house in California, but I had to inconvenience Spencer (huge shout out to him for being so nice about it) and it was money I didn’t want to spend. It’s a bummer, but I have one charger and two batteries, so I’m not hosed by any means.

I try to keep these blogs as honest as possible, so I’m going to be real and tell you that the show at The White Eagle was pretty rough. The bar was sparsely populated, and although the people who were there were engaged, TNS and Jessica were essentially just interested in getting in, playing their sets, and getting out. It’s hard to be optimistic when you spend more on gas than you get paid.

To top off a less-than-perfect night, we realized we were quickly losing tire pressure as we drove to the place we were crashing. When we stopped at a gas station, we found a screw in our tire that we had apparently run over. Cory had hitched a ride with our host, so they turned around, and picked Jess, Jeff, and me up to go home, while Michael and Shanan dealt with the van.

We also stopped for some Jack-In-the-Box tacos, which has become a pretty self-destructive running joke.

Michael and Shanan ended up filling the tire up twice and driving it back to our host’s house, and we had to call a tow truck to get a new tire the next morning. While the guys do account for these kind of things, they make it really hard to stay on budget, especially when our merch sales have been abysmal (don’t worry, it only gets worse from here).

Once we got the van back, we left Salem and headed back to Portland. We wanted to try a recommended brunch place, but we knew there would be a line, so we stopped at a fantastic donut place to hold us over. Both the donuts and the brunch were so good that I cried.

After we ate, the guys just wanted to chill out or nap in the van, but Jessica and I wanted to explore Portland a little more. We took a bus to a different part of town, where we visited a famous, massive bookstore and a coffee shop, along with running a few errands.

Having JLamb along is really a blessing. She adds a rad new dynamic to the group, and she totally gets the struggle of being a young, female creative on the road, and all the baggage that comes with it. 

We met the boys at the venue, which was the first real SoFar show of the tour. The space was unlike anything I’ve ever shot for them—the “stage” was a garden, with the yard as the seating area. The boys seemed to like it, and were able to bring it into their stage banter pretty effectively. While it wasn’t the first time I’ve shot through plants, it’s the first time I shot through a tomato cage and was concerned about stepping on basil leaves.

Nevertheless, I was really happy with the photos from Portland. I’ve felt like my photos have been mediocre for the past two or three shows, so it’s putting a spring in my step to get some solid ones. This one is probably my favorite from the tour so far:

We packed up and went back to Salem, where we were staying. After devouring a plate of cannolis that were so good that I cried, we crashed hard, knowing we were going to have to be out the door at 7:30.

Which was easier said than done, considering we weren’t out the door until around 8. Oops.

The drive to San Francisco was a long one, and I slept for a healthy portion of it. By the time we got into the city, we had to immediately load in for the SoFar show and scarcely had time for dinner. We managed to scam some Chinese food from our hosts, Couchsurfing (which is a super cool company you should totally check out).

There was a miscommunication about Jessica being on the bill, so we managed to figure out a way to divide our set and share with her—it was different and harder for me to shoot, but people seemed to really like it.

As soon as the set was over, however, we received news that no musician ever wants. This is the blog post I never wanted to write.

Shanan ran into the venue as we were working merch and told us the van had been broken into. Thieves had smashed the passenger side window and taken all the backpacks they could reach. We later learned a lawyer working late in his office heard the glass break, took a few photos, and scared them off, and thank God he did. 

Thinking my zoom lens (which was the only thing I had in the van other than my duffel bag) had been lost, I burst into sobs and ran outside, which I realized in hindsight was probably very unhelpful to the situation. By some miracle (or a San Francisco lawyer who wasn’t afraid to yell), the lens was still there. The backpacks of the other five, however, were gone. The only reason I’m able to give you this tour blog is because I had my backpack inside the venue with me.

During the next set, I got a call from two wonderful women who found our bags. The laptops and a wallet were long gone of course, but they went out of their way to deliver our stuff to the venue, so we got some of the important things—medications, notebooks, and Jessica’s favorite flannel—back. We owe so much to these ladies, and I wish we could’ve given them more than just a thank you.

With that act of kindness saving our butts, I was shocked to go back into the venue and hear our SoFar MC announcing to the audience what had happened, and passing around a bucket to collect donations. You could hear the wind being sucked out of the room as soon as she said it—the joyously good time of hearing music intimately ruined by a few shitty people. Seeing everyone pitch in so generously to help us was mind-blowing, and brought tears to my eyes. We ended up collecting enough money to fix the window, plus some extra. 

With a bottle of tequila donated from the venue to ease our pain, and a police report filed, we had no choice but to pack it up and head to where we were crashing. Our hosts for the night helped us put cardboard over our window and we hit the hay. 

I’d love for these tour blogs to just be a fun chronicle of my adventures, zipping across the west coast without a care in the world, but tour just isn’t like that. There are highs, and there are lows, and this one knocked the breath out of me. We’re all heartbroken. The incident could have been a million times worse—we had music gear in the back, and more stuff even in the cab that they could have grabbed. We’re trying to stay optimistic on that front, but it’s hard to do when you feel so violated. 

Something that’s helped to ease the pain is the outpouring of support from strangers and fans alike. We are so grateful for all the kind words and offers to help.

To those of you who are asking what you can do to help: To the best of my knowledge, no kind of GoFundMe has been started, and we don't plan on starting one. The best thing you can do is just to support the band. Look at our tour dates (thenewschematics.com/tour) and encourage your friends, family, acquaintances, blood enemies, and friends of friends of friends to head out to the shows, buy merch, and spread the word. This is certainly a nightmare for all of us, but we will recover, and your support in this decidedly more difficult journey means the world to us.

I hope we have happier trails ahead of us, and that karma will come back to those who did this. On that depressing note, stay tuned!

[vixen-visuals-blog]

Tour Blog #3- Denver, Co; traveling; & Seattle, WA

This blog is a long one—it covers four days, so buckle up!

Our drive to Denver was long and uneventful. Many of the people in both KC and Denver said the trip was one of the worst drives they knew of—it’s only about seven hours, but the landscape is flat and bleak. And this isn’t to say that I’m complaining, but rather expressing gratitude to the guys for getting through the trek.

We also made sandwiches on the ground at a truck stop in the middle of Kansas, so if anyone thinks touring is all glamour all the time, I’d like to present that as Exhibit A.

We arrived in Denver a little earlier than we thought (not factoring in the time change—oops), so Shanan and I went to a coffee shop while the other guys shopped around.

After sound checking and getting some bad vibes from other sources, the guys were not expecting an especially great show, and were mentally preparing themselves for the worst-case scenario. Cory and Michael’s friend Lauren came through, which was an awesome morale booster. She was super fun, and kept me company while the guys got ready (which can be the loneliest part of shows).

The crowd was decently sized for a bar on a Thursday night, but many people filtered in during The New Schematics’ set, which made us think that perhaps the other band hadn’t encouraged their local fanbase to come out to the show early. This is a problem I’ve noticed throughout the tours, and even at shows I cover for press—bands often forget to support openers by telling their friends and families to come to the shows for their set specifically, or fans just choose to skip openers. Obviously people have busy schedules, but it helps small bands tremendously if fans come half an hour early.

We then headed to a cabin that belongs to a friend of Cory and Jeff’s. To say this place was beautiful is the understatement of the century—three stories tall and nestled in the mountains, the cabin made us all reluctant to leave Colorado.

Cory ran to a grocery store and brought back ingredients for a fantastic breakfast, which we enjoyed while looking into the mountains. A lot of tour is floor sandwiches and 30 mile expanses of corn fields, but there are weird moments of luxury that are somehow peppered in that make us remember how lucky we all are.

Friday was completely a travel day, and our first day off on the tour. The journey from Denver to the hotel in Salt Lake City was long, but the landscape was so gorgeous that I was never bored.

Dairy Queen’s “Grill and Chill” has been an ongoing joke in the van—Cory will point it out every single time we pass one. So this time, we finally stopped by a DQ for dinner. We all reveled in junk food and promptly all made resolutions to never do it again as soon as it hit our stomachs.

We finally checked into the hotel and immediately crashed—with a 12-hour drive ahead of us, we were all ready to be done for the day.

Getting an early start, we took full advantage of the hotel’s continental breakfast (RIP to that buffet) and went on our way.

The drive to Seattle was long but gorgeous. I was absolutely transfixed as we drove through the mountains and lakes and seas of evergreens. Everything here is aggressively green—as if all the plant life is trying to out-do each other.

We stopped at a Cuban-style restaurant that rocked our world, then killed some time at a local Irish pub. Exhausted by the day of driving, we turned in early—Shanan and Michael stayed separately from Jeff, Cory, and me.

Sunday Morning, Cory and Jeff woke up early to work out, but I’m not about that life and slept in until 10. We grabbed brunch, where Michael joined us and drove us to the market known as Pike Place.

On every tour, there’s a concept known as “Cory luck,” in that Cory is able to find outrageously good parking spots every time. Cory and Michael switched spots at a stoplight, and roughly ten seconds later, Cory found an amazing spot. We’re honestly still not over it.

We spent the day roaming around Seattle, including Pike Place, the Space Needle, and some of the various shops around the venue. As someone who’s a bit of a shopaholic, I had a blast. We also met like at least a few million adorable dogs.

In Seattle, Jessica Lamb is joining us for a week of this tour, which I’m super pumped about. I love the guys, and they go through great pains to make me feel like I’m part of the family, but it’s going to be great to be on the road with another girl. JLamb and I get along great (I shot one of her house shows in Indy a week before we left), not to mention that she’s a fantastic musician and puts on an awesome show.

The Sunset Tavern is a cute little bar with weird bathrooms and cool stage lights. It was at this place, however, that we ran into a very frustrating situation. The show was 21+, and apparently, the signs were more than suggestions at this place. As I tried to leave to grab food, my ID was checked and I was told I was only allowed to be in the bar for Jessica’s and TNS’ set. This meant I couldn’t work merch and couldn’t help load out, and I had to sit outside the venue during the sets of the other bands. We always knew this could be an issue, and I was lucky that they allowed me to shoot the set at all. But it was hard to not be annoyed at the whole situation.

The show in Seattle was, in my opinion, the best of the tour so far. Both Jessica and Shanan brought close friends, so the people there really cared about the music. TNS always puts on an amazing show, but when the crowd is feeling it, they’re able to feed off that energy. I haven’t talked to them yet, but I have a feeling they’ll feel the same. 

Also, guys-- can we have a disco ball at every show? Thanks.

After getting dinner with some of Shanan’s friends (at another restaurant/bar that I was booted out of, despite the fact that we were just ordering food), we loaded up and went back to our respective couches. I felt pretty useless not being able to help much with the loading, but I was able to finish this blog, so that’s cool.

You can also see my video recaps below!

This tour is truly amazing, and I feel like I haven’t taken time to express my gratitude for being able to be here. I’m seeing more of this country than I ever have before, all while hanging out with some of the coolest people I know. I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of contentment and belonging while I’m out here, and I hope you feel a sense of responsibility for it-- without you, the reader of my blogs, the supporter of my craft, and the follower of my journey, I wouldn’t be able to do any of it. Thank you, and stay tuned.

[vixen-visuals-blog]

Tour Blog #2-- St. Louis, MO & Kansas City, MO

Note: due to our schedule, I decided to do St. Louis and Kansas City in one blog, and I’ll do four days in the next blog—I want to keep it interesting despite having two travel days in a row.

This trip, like the last, has quite a few cities that I’ve never been to—St. Louis being one of them. The band originally reached out to Sara, a former SoFar Sounds host (see previous blogs if you aren’t familiar with SoFar), to see if we could crash with her on our way to Kansas City. She had the idea of hosting a house show for them, which was largely like a SoFar show, but a little different.

My grandparents graciously drove me to Nashville to meet the boys, and I had to make a quick stop at Best Buy to get a tripod. I’d accidentally left mine at home, but I needed a new one anyway (mine was held together with wire ties), so I’m not too upset.

Last time, JT was our drummer, but this time we hired a wonderful guy named Jeff. Jeff is really cool, and has a fantastic neck pillow. I think Jeff and I are going to get along very well.

After we loaded up, we hit the road and made it all the way to St. Louis without incident.

The house show at Sara’s was super cute—people brought blankets and chairs and just chilled out in her yard. The best place for the guys to play was the back deck, but the entire square was blocked off by railings. Luckily, Sara’s significant other, Josh, is in the construction business, and he simply unscrewed the railing and took it off.

The show went very well, but it still didn’t feel like tour yet. The set was unplugged and fairly short, so perhaps it’s because I didn’t get the full experience. The photos turned out well though!

After the set, the show turned into a bit of an after party, which isn’t exactly my speed. But because it was 7/11, 7 Eleven was giving out free slushies, and obviously I wanted in on that action. The boys walked three quarters of a mile to the nearest station—only to find out that THE PROMOTION HAD ENDED. So we walked the three quarters of a mile back. They band did it without protest or complaining, and that’s like, real friendship, guys.

We crashed at Sara’s after eating an obscene amount of Jack in the Box tacos, and I had a little grey kitty to cuddle to sleep.

The next morning, we were out the door by 10 and drove the five hours to Kansas City. I’m not sure if everyone is aware, but Missouri is FLAT. Driving through it honestly reminded me of Indy.

KC happens to house Alexa, one of my good friends from school. She recommended a fantastic pizza restaurant where we met before walking around the city. After we popped into a record store and crashed at a coffee shop for awhile, we packed up and headed to the venue.

TNS was the second act of the night, the first being a spoken word poet and the last being our hosts for the night. I’m sure it doesn’t do the band any favors, but for me, personally, I enjoy shows that we don’t headline. We’re able to get everything loaded up and get out (and to bed) sooner when we can get things done during the headlining act.

The KC show went very well, although my photos weren’t my favorite. The lights were inconsistent—hot on certain parts and virtually nonexistent on others. This makes it very difficult to properly expose the photos. The band seemed to like them, and that’s all that really matters!

We then stayed with the frontman of Run With It, Miguel, and his two great danes (and the rest of his family, I guess). He was an excellent host for the six hours we were there, but we had to split at 7am to get to Colorado.

Tour is finally starting to feel like tour, which is really great. The long drives haven’t totally wiped me out—something I thank my parents and the endless road trips they took me on a child for. I’m learning that I love the west even more than I thought I did, and that I really should have packed bug spray.

I’ve also been making short video recaps of every city—check those out below, and stay tuned for more!

[vixen-visuals-blog]

Tour Blog #1: The Pro-blogue

Sorry for the title. I mean, a little bit.

I’m not sure how I can adequately describe how much I needed this tour. That sounds like I’m stuck-up or lazy, but I’ve heard tour compared to a vacation, and that’s what it feels like at this point. The best way I can describe it is waiting for Spring Break or vacation after working too hard for too long. 

Since these tour blogs last graced your screen, I finished up a very successful freshman year, moved back home to Indiana for the summer, and began working a total of five jobs, which I’ve been doing for the past two months. No, that’s not a typo. I’ve been doing roughly 40-50 hours a week, the majority of which was a food service job that left me physically and mentally drained every day. It was just too much, and over the past few months, I’ve just burned myself out.

But that’s all over! We leave for tour today, and I couldn’t be more thrilled (or relieved). The dates certainly snuck up on me, but I’m even more excited for this tour than the last, for several reasons:

-       I won’t be cold

-       It’ll be warm

-       The west coast is my ish—I love it out there

-       I have SOME kind of handle on what I’m doing now

-       The band and I discussed some new projects and such I can try out—be on the lookout for those!

-       A distinct lack of snow

-       We’re bringing a girl!

-       We’ll have real days off

-       I had to pack a swimsuit

-       It won’t be as cold as last time

 As I’ll be graduating three years from now and am a big fan of planning everything out to the letter, I’m also looking at some of these cities as potential homes in the future. The east coast was great last spring, but there’s no way I could handle that weather. West coast is much more my speed, although Phoenix in the summer may change my mind.

Speaking of Phoenix, I’m outrageously excited to get back to my happy place, even if it’s just for a day. I’m hoping I get to reconnect with some of my friends that stayed in AZ, and one of my friends graciously decided to host us for a night!

You’ll notice we have quite a few days off, and because I assume even the most loyal reader of these blogs (which I’m pretty sure is my mom) doesn’t really want to read a blog for every day of the tour. So, I’m planning on posting these roughly every three days. They’ll be a little less current and a little more like a recap, but hopefully everyone will enjoy them just the same.

 I’ve been working like crazy for the past few months, and it’s about to pay off! This tour is going to be amazing—as always, stay tuned!