The Olympics (band)

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PRESS PHOTOS: Asmaa Elkeurti

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The Olympics - Who Are You?

Check our brand new song + music video for "Who Are You?" off our forthcoming album "Halfloves" out early 2015.

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Tour Days #5, #6 (Chicago X2)

We barely beat the sunrise back to home in Iowa City early this morning around 5:30 from a great couple of days in Chicago to finish off our little run of the Midwest. It was a super fun week and we can't wait to come back around again soon.

Night #1 in Chicago was started off right with a stop at Enso, a great sushi place on the six points. Our good friend, Zach just started working there last month and our stomachs thank him even now for hooking us up with one of the best meals we had on this tour. Sadly, that meal was paired with a close Hawkeye defeat to the Cyclones. However, our spirits weren't down for long due to a trip to Reckless Records where Trevor picked up a couple classical records: Beethoven's 4th Symphony and Ravel's Daphnis et Cholé. I snagged "Strange Mercy" by St. Vincent and both "Broken Dreams Club" and "Father, Son & Holy Ghost" by Girls. After a coffee stop at Intelligentsia, we headed over to the venue, Gallery Cabaret.

Not long after we arrived, a comedy show began. We watched several comics do stand-up and our bass-boy Miles even got up to play a trivia game and scored a copy of an SNL 'best-of' DVD. Our dudes Dana and Curt arrived as the comedy was wrapping up and music began shortly after. 

Will Wholesome (Teenage Rage) kicked it off with some angsty tunes, going from his acoustic guitar and finishing his set over at a house piano which, after noticing it when we arrived, I had hoped someone would use. Following Will's set, the Curls arrived, bringing beautiful gifts of pizza with them. (Thank you so much). Dana T set up and, with the addition of a 3rd member, they straight kicked booty. I also gotta add that Dana's banter and story-telling was probably funnier than every comic that was part of the stand-up earlier in the evening. Heck yeah, brother.

We played 3rd and rocked n rolled on the good vibes of the evening. At one point, I was doing a lil guitar-solo-boy balanced between a couple different chairs and Curt upped the intrigue by holding a big ol lit candle right under my bum which I didn't realize was there until I was getting down from the chairs. Threat level midnight.

It was great to see some friendly faces of several post-Iowa peeps at the show which has proved to be one of the really nice things about this run of shows. We love seeing our buddies who've moved off to other cities a whole lot so thanks to all the friends who came out to the shows this past week. It was great catching up and hanging with you.

We crashed at Miles' new apartment and felt right at home surrounded by tons of instruments strewn across the floors. After waking up on Sunday morning, we lounged around and played tunes on the piano, keyboards, bongos, upright bass and several other fun toys before Miles took us to a truly fantastic Polish restaurant called Staropolska. We ate sausages, sauerkraut, zucchini pancakes, pieroges, dumplings, pasztecik, pork tenderloin and more. It was the best. Also, our waitress was beautiful and I am going to marry her as soon as possible. 

We played some frisbee in the park, snagged some snacks at a hispanic market and watched Lords of Dogtown before heading to the Whistler for our last show of the week.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that since our last time playing the Whistler back in August 2013, a nice patio out back had been added. We all had a few great mixed drinks that the staff had special made for us that night which were delish. James Swanberg (of Trip Tapes Records) opened up the night with a solo acoustic set and we finished off the night and had a blast playing to a room of friendly faces.

Abby, Ariel, Michael, Austin, Gina, Isiah and Jake, we love you guys. Also, a very heartfelt shout out goes to our good bud Hunter who has been so supportive of us in many ways and is such an all-around solid dude. Congrats to him on finding the love of his life and putting a ring on it - we wish him and his soon-to-be bride the very best.

After a couple rounds of hugs, we loaded up the trailer and did a quick hang out with our boy, Isiah at his place where we watched some of a Pussy Riot documentary and tried to decide if they’re idiots or kinda cool. I think the general conclusion was somewhere between the two. I instantly fell asleep, was awoken, walked to the van, got in, fell asleep again and before you know it, we were back in Iowa City before the sun had even risen. Big ups to Noel and Lucas for driving back and not killing us by driving into a ditch or off a bridge or something cause if I were behind the wheel, we would all be goners for sure. 

Well, that about wraps it up. Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows, hung out with us, gave us places to stay and food to eat. Thanks to the bands we played with, the venues who hosted our shows and to you for reading about our little escapades. We love doing what we do and we can’t wait to get back to making this record and sharing it with you all.

Love you guys,

- Jeff + The Olympics

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Tour Days #2, #3, #4 (Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee)

We got a little behind on our tour blog due to me having forgotten almost everything I was going to bring with me this week, including my laptop. We are currently in the van on the way to Chicago but I’ll give a recap of each of the past three days in this entry.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN

After a sparsely attended show in Des Moines, the Kitty Cat Klub in Minneapolis was a great night. So many friends came out, we were blessed with some other great acts that played great tunes and, as I mentioned at the end of my last entry, the venue itself was one of the most memorable, unique places we’ve ever played. 

Chalk played first and they blew my mind a little bit. It’s common courtesy to tell the other bands at shows that they had a great set and that you liked it but I try to make all my comments as honest as possible and not just dish out empty compliments cause most people can tell when a compliment is heartfelt or not. All this to say, I genuinely loved Chalk and believe in what they’re doing musically. One of the best bands in Minneapolis. It was great to play with them again and see how their sound has progressed.

I won’t talk much about our set but we played next and had a blast. Exactly what we needed that night. Such a fun show.

Our good pals Danger Ronnie & the Spins played after us. They have a residency at the Kitty Cat Klub each Wednesday of the month of September and curate the events for each Wednesday. Since these guys moved to Minneapolis from Iowa, they’ve done a great job of becoming incorporated into the local scene in so many awesome ways. They crank out lots of music live at shows and in the studio. Most of them are involved in at least one other music group or artistic outlet and their passion for what they do comes through when you’re hanging with them. They’re some great dudes and it’s always a treat to watch them play. One last thing I’ll say about them is that they’re also some of the kindest people we’ve met through music and they’re always so willing to help people out in various ways. We <3 Danger Ron 4 ever.

A version of the group Nice Beaches rounded out the night with an acoustic set due to their drummer’s recovering broken arm. He was decked out in basketball clothes including a Chris Paul jersey - shout out to you, Connor! With duel acoustic guitar melodies and some pretty boy/girl vocal harmonies, Nice Beaches’ set was a nice cool down from three upbeat, sweaty rock n roll acts.

After leaving KCK, we crashed at Danger Ron’s new house, (thanks so much, guys). We met up with our ex-Iowa City rockstar boy friend boy, Dan English for lunch at the great Vietnamese restaurant, Quang. It was fantastic food and great to catch up with a good pal. We love you, Dan.

We then hit the road for Madison.

MADISON, WI

That night we played at the Wisco for the Bubble Music Festival. In lieu of writing an actual account of this night/show, it’s probably more fitting to communicate our sentiments this way:

LOL

Chris Ford.Also, shout out to our boy, Chris Ford.

MILWAUKEE, WI

After crashing at Lucas’ relatives’ house which is just outside Milwaukee, we woke up with our bodies rested and bellies full of hot dogs. We lounged around, went on a hike through some woods, busted out a bunch of cowboy hats and took it easy until we took off to the city for our show at Breman’s Café. With plenty of time before the show started, we took advantage of the free drinks at the bar (thanks to the owner, Dave) and I took a little walk down the block with my dudes Curt and Dana where we snagged some Kabob wrap sandwiches and got super psyched. 

Back at Breman’s, we hung with our buds, Staci, Josh and Cody, (thanks Josh so much for making the posters). All three of them totally rule and it was great to see them. Dana and Curt kicked off the tunes and played a cool, stripped down version of Dana T jams. Those two boys are very cool and I’m even more psyched to play with them again tonight in Chicago than I was about that Kabob wrap.

We played next. With a very small stage, we stuck Noel, Trevor and Miles onstage and Lucas and I set up below, directly in front of the peeps. It was a small room but was pretty full and vibes were on point. My parents even came in from Cedar Rapids, IA, (love you Mom and Dad). Some of Lucas’ family was there too which ruled. We had a great time and I took advantage of the intimate setting to venture out past the show room into the hallway of the bar to rip a solo while a drunken and bewildered stranger poured beer into my mouth before I crossed back past the pinball machines into the room. This was a great show because it was intimate and interactive while still containing a high level of energy. We really had a good time. We also met a cool Australian girl named Pip and that ruled, so s/o to her too.

Some last thoughts:

1) Trailer Park Boys season 8 is beautiful.

2) Highway tolls suck.

3) I have clothes again.

4) Lucas has this big a$$ chain.

[theolympicsband]

Tour Day #1 - Des Moines, IA

Yesterday we kicked off our weeklong Midwest tour in one of our favorite cities, Des Moines, IA. Our good boy, Miles came in from Chicago to fill in on bass (heck yeah, Miles we love you) and we ran some tunes before taking off in a lil rainstorm. Upon arriving in Des Moines, we popped over to Fong's Pizza (classic spot) and got 3 large pizzas: the "Fongolian" (not recommended), "Shoomin", (4/5 stars), and the "Crab Rangoon" (5/5 stars *chef's note* add Sriracha).

Iowa music all-star, Nate Logsden played a killer intimate solo set to start the night off at Vaudeville Mews. If you haven't heard Nate play solo before, please stop messing everything up and go catch him live sometime. Also, his band, Mumford's rules so hard. 

Next up was Love Songs For Lonely Monsters. Straight Des Moines guitar rock that hits you hard in the chest and makes you keep looking back and forth from the dueling guitar melodies to the grooving bass and drum rhythms to the perfectly placed girl vocals that bring it all together. They're a treat. 

We finished the night off with mainly new tunes we've been working on for this upcoming record which was fun. We even debuted a brand new song which was fun x2.

We took off and drove up to Ames where we stayed the night with Miles' sister and her fiancé (newly engaged - congrats, guys!). As we were taking our stuff up to their apartment, I came to the sad and tragic realization that I had completely forgotten my computer, phone charger and all of my clothes and toiletries for the week. If you read our tour blog from last summer, you may remember I wrote about my misfortunes of forgetting to bring underwear. I guess the whole "forgetting-everything-besides-my-music-gear" was just the next natural step. 

We stopped at Wal-Mart and I snagged some really tight threads and some bananas and we took off, direction Minneapolis.

We're now currently hanging at the club where we are playing and it's the coolest place ever. It's called the Kitty Cat Klub and is jam packed full of old couches, dimly lit chandeliers, oriental rugs, art deco prints on the walls and other one-of-a-kind artifacts. It's gonna be a good night. Especially cause we just gorged ourselves on Five Guys burgers and fries (their cajun fries are to die for). 

Love you guys.

PS: We're gonna release our first single/video from our upcoming album pretty soon and it's super dark and good. Can't wait to show it to you guys.

[theolympicsband]

September Midwest Tour Dates

9/9 Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews

9/10 Minneapolis, MN - Kitty Cat Klub

9/11 Madison, WI - Bubble Music Festival

9/12 Milwaukee, WI - Bremen Café

9/13 Chicago, IL - Gallery Cabaret 

9/14 Chicago, IL - The Whistler

Supporting acts and additional show info coming soon. Looking forward to hitting the road and seeing you guys out there!

[theolympicsband]

A New Album Is On The Way!

We've been in the studio in Des Moines for 6 days working on tracking for some new tunes and will be heading to Omaha to do some mixing next month as well further trips back to Des Moines to keep tracking more songs. Things are sounding great and we're really excited to share the new music with you all. We have just launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund our upcoming album! This is an open invitation to be a part of making this new album by donating. Check out our page and video to learn what this album means to us and what kinds of rewards we're offering to donors. Thanks so much, - The Olympics KICKSTARTER PAGE: http://kck.st/1hkYT4s

[theolympicsband]

We're Making A New Album

Hey guys, it's been in the works for a while now but next month we'll be hitting the studio to start cranking out tracks for our second full-length album. WE'RE PUMPED. We hope you are too. One really big reason we're pumped is because Imagine Dragons' producer Brandon Darner will be producing this album. Any band wants their music in the hands of a producer who can take their tunes to the next level and we're excited to have the chance to work with him. Our band loves music so much and it's a big part of our lives. One thing we decided was that, for this album, we wanted to have it reflect our lives in a more specific way than before. Some of the best artists are able to craft their work in a way that really reflects who they are in very specific ways while still containing the power to connect to a wider audience in equally significant ways. That is something we appreciate and aspire to. This album isn't going to be a hip shoegaze jangle pop record that says "we're just hanging out in the summer and trying to get laid at Bonnaroo." It's going to be rock n roll, it's going to groove and it's going to explore some new territory. We generally fall under the category of "indie rock" which is fine but even a vague term like that seems to carry an implicit rule book of social norms that can't be broken. We're gonna push the envelope a little here and there. It'll still sound like The Olympics but it’s going to be more in your face and urgent. Love you guys. -Jeff

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Mission Creek Festival starts today in Iowa City! We play tomorrow at The Mill for KRUI's annual pizza party show (FREE PIZZA) w/ Sleepy Kitty and John June Year. Come on out!

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Check out our new music video for "Mind"

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1. Gypsy Blood (Miles Kean Remix)

2. Gypsy Blood (Dr. Edmond Remix)

3. Gypsy Blood (DxW Jxnes Remix)

4. Gypsy Blood (Frankie Teardrop Remix)

5. Gypsy Blood (Is Home Is Remix)

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Erasure Poem by Eric Roalson

Eric Roalson, (boy on right of the Young Braves EP cover art) wrote a hilarious erasure poem, (erasing words from an existing text (in this case, our August tour blog) in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem) and we had to share it. Enjoy!

DAY 1. Ames, IA We kicked off yesterday and threw down our underwear. If only dreamboats  reminded me. Oracular songs resurrected one war bride. One of the nicest, slinging  and working the door. Cranberries going across train tracks with some battle wounds.  Three HD cameras  filming the action.

DAY 2. Cedar Falls, IA We enjoyed some chill time for the first 20 laps, taking an over-glorified phoenix  from the past.  My chemical Saudi burrito liked that guy’s feelings about nouveaucroon progressions. Love lost precious time. Felt the power of cardboard cutouts I snagged and some wild fog machines in an  empty van.  I was walking my amp with some good cause.  My underwear be ready  soon.

DAY 3.  Minneapolis, MN

We arrived in sound. Some killer pork taco was a rebel and ordered the Cuban to  kick everyone back into one modest mouse show.  The lonesome Chalk had life’s  troubles while keeping minor undertones.  Cheering dads reminded Chalk about  printing money. Danger took us to the promised grooves.  It’s been far too long since we crammed  cars and zoomed way fast.  Always makes me feel I’m home wearing underwear.

DAY 4. Madison, WI We were led out in a tiny alley.  We looked glorious. Wild rose chemistry: which is  saying cool cats jiggled the jams after harmonic got in the zone.  We’re totes gonna  tang them one of those days as cities burn with beaming charisma.   Don’t look back as if it were a full house.  Trailer park boys on Italian sausages  watched donuts. Maybe with all this luck, underwear, too!

DAY 5. Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee showed us a great taco. Left the waitress in our gear.  Groups of artsy  FBI inhabitants were operating a heavy hand. Kicked hard the punk graffiti.  Exactly  what Milwaukee needed.  As has been the custom, we kept the stage banter without ripping my skinny jeans.  I  jumped up and snagged gypsy in the temple.  Being fun that doesn’t scream.   Real-life winky faces enjoyed some Irish dancing.  A round of Smithwick’s wasn’t  enough.  We climbed a mountain every time.

DAY 6. Chicago, IL We hung around eating basketball in the packed streets of Chicago.  Bicyclists falling  to their doom under the weight of a fun juice mix drank. Before painting weird stuff,  we took up this killer just to get a big sugar high. Really pumped up for this one day  of no underwear. Progress happens.

DAY 7.  Des Moines, IA We rolled the beautiful fireball right to the river’s edge. A small boy was scared  about squid god and killer ice cream.  Envy threw down acrobatic fire.  A gentleman ran into our very cool shower at the  riot. I’ve been wearing underwear since Milwaukee.

DAY 8. Kansas City, MO Zombie burger reminded me of things funky and light-hearted.  We played a venue  where we stopped one last bomb before driving home.  Bob Dylan was chirping,  although exhausted.

DAY 9. Iowa City, IA The scar tissue peppers were fantastic!  A brass moose was bro-bonding on the  retro groove.  Barefoot blondes tried jumping the Midwest.   If you aren’t familiar with buzz, feed each other. Lucas was warning us about the  dangers.  Remember to wear underwear.  That is the key.

[theolympicsband]

Tour Jamz | Day 9 (Iowa City, IA)

Last night was amazing! After getting some rest from the late night/early morning drive back from Kansas City, we got together at Trevor’s new place around 3:00 and spent the rest of the afternoon working on some older songs and a couple covers for last night, (“Breakneck Speed” by Tokyo Police Club and “Scar Tissue” by Red Hot Chili Peppers).

Speaking of Chasing Shade, they were fantastic! One of the most talented groups in Iowa and on top of that, very nice dudes as well. Really wish we would have connected with them a year or two ago but better late than never. With the addition ace bassist Blake Shaw and of a couple brass boys throwing in excellent harmonies and accents to the already crisp croons of the core duo of Griffin and Elliot, the five piece cranked out top notch tunes that set the perfect mood for the evening.

The end of their set could very well have been the highlight of the night when we joined them for a nearly improvised rendition of “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac which we had gone over once or twice together before heading over to Blue Moose. From a musician’s standpoint, it was very rewarding to see a last minute collaboration come together so well and to be able to play off each other during an extended jam with everyone on stage together. Very cool bro-bonding, (plus the dads in the crowd were way pumped on the retro groove!) Collabs rule. Dads rule.

Although Lucas’ pedalboard crapped out directly before our set, he was a total champ and sounded as good as ever. We had a blast with the covers, old jams and a couple new ones that we’ve written post “Barefoot Blondes.” We cranked out a 17 song setlist which was probably the most songs we’ve done before which left us in the sweaty embraces of the many friends and family who came out for the night.

The night wasn’t over until we finally loaded up the trailer one last time and started up the van. Sadly, the van didn’t start up. We tried jumping it with Noel’s car. Nope. We tried waiting and jumping it again. Nada. We had made it all over the Midwest the past nine days and it seemed that the old van had finally sensed it was back home and clocked out a little too early. I bid my farewells with Chasing Shade and our friends in the Locavaux Project who had made it to the show on their last night of a summer-long tour of the entire country. If you aren’t familiar with their project, you should look them up and keep your eyes out for their documentary which will be coming out this December! Meanwhile, Trevor called AAA and we waited till they came to save us around 3:30. We unloaded our gear at Trevor’s place and all headed back home.

That’s basically it. Tour summer 2013 was a blast and I couldn’t be happier with how everything came together. I could go on forever about how blessed and excited we feel at the friends we got to see and reconnect with, new friends, the people who housed and fed us, the people who came out to the shows and supported us, and all of you on the interwebs who could be streaming Workaholics or sharing Buzzfeed articles with each other but instead chose to read about what our band did for nine days. YOU GUYS ALL RULE AND WE LOVE YOU.

Keep in touch and be on the lookout for our new music video for “Mind” which will be coming out later this month and a fall show schedule which will be posted soon as well. 

We thought about posting a cool group photo of all of us hugging or something as the last note of this daily tour blog but instead, here’s a picture of Lucas talking to a small, terrified black boy who was warning us about the dangers of sea creatures and water a couple days ago in Des Moines.

Also, remember to wear underwear. That is key.

Peace out guys,

-Jeff

[theolympicsband]

Tour Jamz | Day 8 (Kansas City, MO)

Before taking off from Des Moines yesterday, we made an obligatory stop at one of our favorite spots, Zombie Burger. Goodness, that hits the spot every time. Comfortably in a coma, we hit the road and made our way to Kansas City. We arrived and made 3 spins around the block where The Riot Room was located before deciding on a point of entry. It was one of the tightest squeezes we’ve made but our van and trailer rested between the brick wall of the venue and some smelly garbage bins of the adjacent Mexican restaurant.

A soon-to-be friend, Sam, (aka Steady Breather) played a solo set which was split between piano and acoustic guitar. Sam played heart-felt songs that were decidedly a cut above the average Joe who is seen doing acoustic sets around most bar scenes. Next came on the Hillary Watts Riot. Hillary was accompanied by her drummer, bassist and guitarist (the later two of which were wearing matching jumpsuits, belts and shoes). They played a high energy brand of rock n roll which reminded me of the B52’s or Leslie Hall. With songs about tube tops and spacy guitar and bass groves they kept things funky and light hearted while the growing crowd danced and had fun.

The beginning of our set was offset by some technical difficulties during the first song or two but after some help from Jeff, the sound guy, we finished off the night with what was markedly better than our expectations had been for playing a brand new city and venue where we had no friends or fan base. We didn’t hang out for long after the show however, because after our lodging plans had fallen through, we decided we’d truck it back to Iowa City that night instead of trying to find another floor to crash on.

Although our time in Kansas City was cut a little short, we’d love to come back and perhaps head over to include Lawrence in on a future weekender or even head further south and play in Nashville with our new friends in Chalaxy. Just outside of the city, we stopped at Taco Bell and did one last gut bomb all together before driving the 6+ hours back home. After many rounds of “would you rather...” and God knows what else, we rolled into Iowa City around 5:45, just as the sun was coming up. Bob Dylan was singing songs through the speakers and the early birds were chirping. Although exhausted, it was pretty awesome. 

Tonight is the last show of tour and we’re happy to be with all our friends in Iowa City again! PUMPED!

[theolympicsband]

Tour Jamz | Day 7 (Des Moines, IA)

We rolled into Des Moines yesterday afternoon and unloaded our gear at the beautiful Simon Estes Ampitheatre for the Fireball event which was put on by the Des Moines Social Club. This past year, they’ve put on some great events and we were very happy and honored to be a part of this one. 

Following Envy Corps, we did our sound check and then hung out right next to the river’s edge and enjoyed some pizza and beers before kicking off the night at 7:30. Before hitting the stage, however, we were entertained by a small boy who was very scared about the dangers of the 99 jellyfish, squid, (squid god?) sharks, crocodiles and octopi which live in the river. After several frantic warnings, we assured him we wouldn’t jump in the water. We aren’t scared, bro.

We played a quick 25 minutes of tunes which seemed to be well-received. We certainly had a blast and enjoyed the festivities following our set. We got some killer ice cream and cotton candy while Envy Corps threw down. They hadn’t played Des Moines in almost a year, according to Luke, their frontman who lead the band through a great set of songs (many of which we had listened to earlier yesterday in the van). 

After the music, a pyrotechnic group from Chicago performed a series of acrobatic feats and other fire-related displays in and around the stage as darkness set in. We hung out with friends in John June Year, Envy Corps and the one and only Chris Ford before leaving the ampitheatre and heading over to The Lift with our bro, Mickey and company. Mickey works for the Des Moines Social Club and was a big part of setting this event up and even lodged us for the night. What a gentleman! We had some good hangs at The Lift and ran into a woman volunteer from earlier who seemed to have thrown back a few drinks since I had helped her set up some signs around the apitheatre earlier. She was the entertainment for our post-show afties and was full of nick-name giving, butt grabbing, laughs and being married and ten years older than everyone else at the bar. She ruled. 

We crashed at Mickey’s place have been hanging out here this morning. I have heard word of a very cool shower head that I’m about to tang. We’re in Kansas City tonight at The Riot Room. Looking forward to it! As I’m typing this, I’m getting in trouble with my wife because I’ve been wearing a pair of Trevor’s underwear since Milwaukee. At least I’m wearing underwear though, right?

[theolympicsband]

Tour Jamz | Day 6 (Chicago, IL)

We hung around Milwaukee until 6:00 which felt more like 2:00 or 3:00 after becoming nearly nocturnal this week. Most of our afternoon was spent eating hot dogs, playing basketball (FINALLY) and watching about a dozen episodes of Adventure Time. It was great.

As we drove our big van and trailer into the packed streets of Chicago, cyclists screamed and dove for cover, some falling to their doom under the weight of our gear and fat butts. To our surprise, we found street parking directly in front of The Whistler which was a relief. We finally broke with our ways of always playing 2nd in the lineup and kicked things off first. With some good buds who had come out to hang and see us, we had a blast, despite some problems with monitors and levels. 

Admittedly, we don’t know too much about Chicago neighborhoods but according to some of our friends and people we talked to last night, this was one of the “cooler” neighborhoods that was friendly and safe. We hung out at the bar and ordered PBR’s and a special cocktail they prepared for the bands called “The Presbyterian” which was some sort of whisky + ginger + fun juice mix drank.

Knyfs went on after us. They’re a two-piece instrumental group that took lots of influence from old school metal. Using interesting technical grooves and big breakdowns, they were another unique group that I’m glad to have seen and chatted with during this tour. 

Before taking off to Crystal Lake where Noel’s relatives live, we chatted with our friend, Hunter about black people being in debt and painting weird stuff when they’re sad. We took off and hit up this KILLER 24 hour donut shop in Crystal Lake called Country Donuts. Trev, Dan, Lucas and I split a dozen just in time to get a big sugar high as we tried to quietly enter our home for the night without waking Noel’s family. 

We woke up early today and hit the road around 9:30 so we can get to load-in at the Simon Estes Ampitheatre in Des Moines by 4:00 where we will play with The Envy Corps and a pyrotechnic performance group, aptly named Pyrotechniq. Really pumped for this one!

-Jeff

PS: After 3+ days of no underwear, I have now properly clothed my nethers for nearly 24 hours. Progress happens one day at a time, guys.

[theolympicsband]

Tour Jamz | Day 5 (Milwaukee, WI)

Another great day yesterday! Milwaukee has been so good to us. More specifically, there have been some really cool and generous friends and people who have helped us out and showed us a great time. Yesterday, we hung out at Lucas’ family’s place until we headed downtown to meet up with our friend Staci and her crew for taco Tuesday at The Rio Cantina. Needless to say, we drowned ourselves in tacos and left the slightly incapable waitress quite confused by the time we left and headed over to Borg Ward where we loaded in our gear a little after 6:00.

Milwaukee has a very interesting dynamic and feel to it. We were driving through areas of the city which each seemed to be fairly segregated and which carried their own particular vibes and ended up in an alley behind Borg Ward Art Collective thanks to Jesus and GPS.

After talking to the guys in Heavy Hand, one of the two other local groups who played last night, we learned that Borg Ward has been around for quite a while and has gone through many transformations and ownerships, (mainly groups of artsy hippy kids who play music). Apparently there was an FBI raid on the place a while ago because they thought the inhabitants were operating a weapons and/or drug trade out of the building. Heavy Hand cautioned us to not leave the building unless we were with at least one other person (#scared). All this being said, everyone there that night was so friendly and excited to make friends and have a blast.

People started showing up around 8:00 and we all hung out in a back room and shared some brews and conversation for a while till the Heavy Hand kicked off the tunes. They went hard in the paint! I love it when an opening act is heavy and sets a high energy level for the rest of the night and they definitely delivered. With raspy vocals, fuzzed out bass low ends and driving drums, they had people bopping their heads and filled out the “punk rock, graffiti house show” vibe. After the first few shows of this tour being in bars, a no-stage, DIY house show was exactly what Milwaukee knew we needed. 

As has been the custom this week, we went on second and ripped through our set in about half an hour, keeping the stage banter to a minimum and the stage antics to a max! After doing the splits (or at least as much of the splits as I could do without ripping my skinny jeans), I came back up back to the mic an inadvertently tacked the mic stand. Landing to the ground laughing, I jumped back up and snagged Lucas’ mic for the rest of the song (thanks Brucas). We finished off the set with our two anthems, “Gypsy Blood” and “As She Sweetly Hums” and shared many hi-fives and hugs while loading our gear out into the alley as the boys in Temple sat up shop. 

Temple was great! With hard-hitting yet very well thought-out progressions and breakdowns, they came through with one of the most enjoyable performances we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this tour. It’s tough enough to deliver an agnsty sound while being fun and pulling it off in a way that doesn’t scream “We’re teenagers who have a lot of feelings and just bought guitars” but Temple was spot on and sent the good vibes all throughout the quirky, graffiti covered walls of the Borg Ward. More hugs and hi-fives were exchanged as well as a few CD’s, tapes, emails, snap chats and real-life winky faces. So good.

We took off and met back up with Lucas’ family at an awesome Irish pub in the historic 3rd ward area. We all had a drink or two and enjoyed some great Irish tunes, dancing and laughs. As if housing us for two days, coming to our show and buying us all a round of Smithwick’s wasn’t enough, we came and were almost immediately greeted with tacos and more drinks. We finished off the night with some great political and spiritual conversation that was headed up by our very own Trevor Polk, (who you can also see by this picture, found a rad bicycle!)

Today, we woke up by the one-of-a-kind troubled respirations of Tek, the household doggy dog who sounds like he just climbed a mountain every time he enters a room. We’re hanging here for most of the day and get ready for what’s sure to be a killer time tonight at the Whistler in Chicago tonight! 

-Jeff