November 26, Cincinnati, Ohio. Bogarts - Last Official Show
November 28, 2003 04:52 PM
Last Official Show of the Tour, but Eisley plays tomorrow night in NYC.
Meanwhile....Bogarts. What a night. If you were there, you
know what i'm talking about. I still don't believe that was 1,500 people. It
looked like 2000+ to me...packed wall to wall. I couldn't even get from
back stage along the side wall to the back. Though it was cold outside,
the air inside the venue was so hot from human fumes, it was choking
me almost to the point of gagging.
For those of you who came just to see Eisley perform their 6 songs, I
apologize. Well, sorta. In one regard, it was like the last day of high
school for the bands on this tour...on another level, it was similar to the
hazing one might expect at the beginning of a school year. I'm
referencing Phil's (Jesse's guitar tech) entry and dance throughout their
last tune - Tree Tops - which cracked the girls up and interrupted the flow
of the song.
It got worse back stage; directly after eisley's set, a hired male stripper
(of course, with instructions not to really strip) posing as a cop came in
to their dressing room reporting that he'd heard that minors were being
served alcohol and were drinking. The entire crew of both the other
bands were in on it and playing up to it....you know, like...hide the beer,
etc. (though eisley doesn't drink, there's massive glugs of beer iced down
in their dressing room at every show) (wait...did someone ask why Eisley
doesn't drink? oh... i thought so; that's a different question for another
post)
Anyway...it was sorta lame, because the fake cop totally blew his cover
by saying, "it's just a joke"...but that was after handcuffing Sherri - which
totally turned her into a psycho-crazy person; she yanked and bucked
and freaked and tried to squirm out... (that's my girl) The buffed out bozo
then tried to get Chauntelle to do weird things and finally said, "hey...do
not interact with the kids..." and he was like, "what?!" i repeated - "do not
interact with them at all, dude...that's not cool". And then I said, "they're
my kids"...and he was like..."oh, they're your kids? oh...ohh..." The kids
all ran out of the room and he left. He only took off his shirt and that was
sick enough. Everyone else laughed and had a hoot. The girls were only
slightly traumatized and ran off to recover emotionally. Jesse said it was
by far the most bizarre thing he'd ever seen.
Though it had been planned for several days, Jon and Weston certainly
got the Brand New guys back. They paid Casey from Hot Rod $50.00 to
run and jump around on stage with them in their boxers on Brand
New's last song. I think I have video of it and will post a clip. They looked
so dorky - these tall, lanky 6'4" white guys lumbering around like goony,
glowing mutants on stage...and Casey pretty much ripped off Jesse's
shirt, so eventually, it was 4 white bodies jumping around on stage. I was
in the back hanging out with fans waiting to talk to eisley (since they'd
missed their chance because of the poser cop incident) when one of them
said..'do they always do that? it's hilarious" My mouth dropped open and i
quickly turned on my camera and started filming. I was in the very back
of the auditorium, so it's probably lame.
Anyway, the evening was pretty fun and the last song surely punctuated
the end of this tour with a fitting bizarre finale. That's all I can say. It was
fun for us...and certainly, Brand New said touring with Eisley was their
funest tour ever. Of course, you guys should stay tuned into the virtual
tour, because we have our own headlining show tomorrow night at
Sin-e's in lower East village. (only 250 capacity - better get tickets
through ticket master if you want to go. It's only 8 bucks)
Brand New plays another show Friday night (having nothing to do with the
previous tour) at Roseland Ballroom to a sold out 3000+ venue - where
Eisley will sing back up to one of Brand New's songs. (the girls finally
ave in after weeks of prodding) Of course we'll be there just to hang out,
upport the other bands and promote our show tomorrow night. In fact,
esse is going to announce their show and is printing flyer I created to
pass out tonight. (sorry, we're in downtown New York City right now
trying to find our hotel...this city is crazy. How can anyone live and
survive here?)
Back to Cinci': Eisley's show was very decent. The fans I talked to loved
it, but all agreed there were lots of feedback problems and you couldn't
hear the vocals very well. Oh well. Sorry. it was great talking to all you
forum peeps; seriously...and all you guys who said you heard about them
on MTV....or saw them with Coldplay...thanks for coming just to hear 6
songs; some of you drove for hours from different states. That's crazy.
Also, great to meet gRegor who helps me so much with the forum...dang
an all his friends....and Nate...so many we talked to i forgot already...and
fans who waited outside forever in the cold. Gosh. Great talking with you.
I'm sure we'll definitely be back to Ohio.
After the show, we were supposed to go back to the hotel down the street
and get some sweet sleep before the long drive to NY the next day...but
at some point in the evening, we realized that if we were going to have
Thanksgiving dinner at Jesse's house 11 hours away, we were going to
have to bite the bullet and drive through the night to get there in time.
So, after we counted out the merch and settled, we headed into the night
- (left at 1:30am) for NYC.
Daniel took the first shift - 1 tank that lasted till 5:00am when I took the
wheel; My tank ran dry around 9:00am the next morning and Jesse
finished the final grueling stretch through NY and out to Long Island
where his family lives. Since we hate driving through this area, it was
great to have the veteran driver along. I'll post about our day today
(friday) on the next entry in case you want to hear about our sleep over
with Jesse's family.
Pics coming. I'll try to work on it tonight...but for sure, tomorrow. We're
about to leave to go to the Brand New show...(in our Hotel, the
Washington Jefferson now) Cheeries. boyd
Novermber 25, Detroit Michigan
November 26, 2003 09:15 AM
Hey everybody. We're about to wrap up this tour. 2 more dates.
Everyone is waiting on my down in the lobby so I have to hurry. We just
downloaded rough cuts of the Marvelous Things video and gave it a look.
I don't have time to comment or whatever...later.
The show last night was...mediocre, the crowd was mediocre, the
experience was mediocre... Got to meet Matt from the forum and talk to
some cool people, so that always makes it seem ok. I'll have to check in
later. Just wanted to say hello and I'll follow up.
On to OH - HI - OH.
Boyd
----------------------------
HEY. I'm back. Well...I'm not really back...I'm sitting on the first bench of
our van watching Daniel drive and listening to a bootleg of Guster
that...was it Tom?... gave me from Phoenix. So far, we've listened to the
new Muse record - which, I must say - sounds like Muse. My new favorite
new record is The new Deathcab record. But that's not just me - you can
ask the same question to Stacy, Sherri, Daniel and others in the van. We
met those guys at the Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge... or rather, some
of them...the ones who knocked on Eisley's dressing room door to meet
them. Super nice guys.
Anyway, let's carefully talk about Detroit if we can. I'm not sure I can...or
should. We came with no pre-conceived ideas. Everything went ok. There
was no real downside...but for the sake of journaling, I'll download my
thoughts - First off, there were more beggars per square block than any
place I've ever been on the planet. I felt bad for them, so I emptied out
my pockets so many times that throughout the night, I finally started
saying, "dude, I already gave to all the other guys before you...you're
late...sorry". Some of them would cuss you if you didn't give; and
somebody told me they almost got pulled into an alley and mugged.
There was a guy who could barely talk helping us unload - who I thought
worked for the venue. Later Daniel found out he didn't and was
demanding money.
Inside it was much warmer - i dunno...everyone had the same reaction
from dealing with the security and venue crew; they were sorta rude and
sharp with us, while running us in and out like cattle, never a smile or a
kind word...they just barked at us; there was never a contact or a
connection with anyone. Everything is NO in most of these venues. I
understand, it's just a job and they probably hate their jobs, but...I still
find no reason for existence if you can't love the people you come in
contact every day...no matter who they are. So, we tried to spread our
cheer in a cold, ruff place; I just don't think it was received.
The college radio station guys were awesome, and fans were awesome...
Matt Rowell was awesome. The guy I gave my coat to outside was
awesome. (he got kicked out because he and friends were trying to move
up closer to the stage and one of the security guards yelled and
screamed at them; after turning around, he muttered the "b" word
(wups), thinking she didn't hear him...and got kicked out in the cold. We
tried to get him back in, officially and unofficially, but they yelled and
screamed at us and him...and the 2 girly-men security guards thought
the whole thing was funny. I pleaded his case to no avail. Since he was
freezing and was an eisley/brand new fan and he helped us load out, I
gave him my coat so he wouldn't die. 
I'm rambling...and I sure don't want to diss Detroit. Somebody told me
that MnM filmed some of his movie in the bathroom at this venue - which
I had the pleasure of being in for a brief moment. I dunno...maybe it was
just the weather, or maybe because eisley's mix wasn't so great and the
crowd felt it; maybe it was because they only sold 45 cd's, or maybe
because just a handful of people came to talk to them afterward... It
wasn't like the band didn't sound good. Sherri said she had some vocal
trouble, but overall, it was good; I just don't think it was a very
productive night for the band....and for the first time in a while, I kept
pushing back the feeling: "what are we doing on this tour?" Matt said
there were hecklers all around him. That sucks. It's not their fault really,
they came to see rock with testosterone. oh well.
After the show, we checked in to some far too luxurious hotel with a suite
and quickly darted back into the night over to the venue, then to Brand
New's bus to hook up with everyone who was hungry. We all ended up at
some greek place not too far away (Brand New, Hot Rod, Straylight and
some x-tra's) and returned with Jesse back to our rooms where much
noise making and fun went on for way too long. I worked on posting
Lawrence, Kansas pics and crashed at 5:00am.
This morning, I downloaded the first rough edit of Marvelous Things
(video). It's ok. The band looks awesome, the song is good, it's basically
just a performance video outside in a back yard with a few simple
vignettes that don't really add much or subtract much. It's nothing
anyone is going to get excited about, but it'll give peeps a chance to see
the band. It's not very defining - creatively. It really says nothing about
the band - other than, they look great and write great songs. I can only
imagine that many might think they didn't play their parts and there was
much pitch bending. You guys know different.
Sleepy on the road. We passed through Indiana and now we're in Ohio.
Sold out show tonight. cheers.
boyd
-------------------
We made it to Cincinnati early so I had time to run up to the room, stab
the phone chord in, dial up aol only to find the hotel uses 90+ for local
calls instead of everyone else on the planet who uses 9+.
Anyway, it's great to be here on time for one of the few times on this
our. Mostly we arrive just a tad late - enough not to piss anyone off, but
to stress us out. So....I'm uploading the Lawerence, Kansas pics right
now in case anyone wants to see them. Gotta go. Boydout.
p.s. I miss Kim and Collin. Be home soon.
To the loyal friends of Eisley's music:
November 23, 2003 08:20 PM
Note: I purposely tried to used another word beside "fans". I can't bring
myself to use it...even though i say i am one. Maybe it's just me, but
somehow that word seems to frame the relationship in an improper,
inflated context - inferring some relational hierarchy... astatus...
which has no place among the Eisley Queens and the subjects in her
Kingdom. (just kidding...there are only Kings in the palace)
Anyway, I'm sorta ok with the word friends...but perhaps that could
come off insincere - seeing how we don't know many of you; and
lately, I guess it's "most" of you... Speaking of "most", this is growing
really fast; the forum, the response to the band's music, the media, the
opportunities, etc. I thought it was time to mostly just say thanks; and
whatever else pops into my incoherant head.
None of us ever really expected this to expand beyond our little coffee
house/rock venue in Tyler... and certainly not ever to this point. I'm not
sure how it is with other bands...but we're dang thankful; I suspect that
many dream of being on stage before thousands - living the rock star
life, etc. Honestly, that's never remotely been a part of Eisley's dream.
I'm not judging those motivations...I'm just telling you it's not the
motivation of this band. And I'm not trying to craft out some false
"position" of humility. It's simply the truth.
The events and opportunities that have unfolded in the last year - starting
with the Coldplay tours, signing with WB, Rolling Stone/Filter/Blender/
MTV, (dozens more national lifestyle pub's) etc. - seem as surreal to us
as it might have to you. Nobody would have ever predicted this outcome.
And I just want to go on record right now as saying how utterly thankful
we are... how humbled we are over the kind words you guys squirt out of
your heads onto this forum. Reading some of the posts makes me cry.
Not because I think the reaction equates to ultimate success. Nobody in
Eisley's camp equates success to dollars. Dollars are a someone else's
end goal.
The only thing dollars means to the band is: hopefully it lessens the
chance of interruptions or setbacks; the hope of long term survival (yes,
paying bills and eating food and staying warm in the winter) is always a
concern for any band... and that's all tied in with song writing and record
making and touring and selling merch, etc. Since the fragile balance of
this band's survival is tied into our family's full time involvement,
it's a riskier path. Our commitment is anchored in an early decision that
we weren't going to turn our offspring over to the wolves (the record
industry) I mean, what the heck - young, attractive girls in sleezy bars?
No freaking way. And besides, parenting doesn't stop when they turn 14
or 17 or 21.
Anyway, I'm not sure which way I'm going with all of this. I just wanted
you to know that it's not about fame or money; occationally, it does have
to do with survival, but...we're ok. Tours like this for an opening band are
surely not about money. It only costs money; the label shells out
thousands to put us on the road. It's all recoupable...that is to say,
somehow, the band has to pay it back. Obviously, they believe in Eisley
or they wouldn't risk the money. That's cool. Still, there are no guarantee's...
No matter what happens with this small blip (eisley) on the rock music
radar, we just want you guys who have been so amazing in spreading the
word and being such a huge part of what's happening with the band. You
do realize that this relationship is vital to eisley's existence. One is
no more important than the other... I mean, I guess the music
came first...but, without you, it would have stopped in their bedrooms
and never been heard. Art doesn't require a response to be fine,
but commercial art, no matterfine, must have an audience. Plenty of
bands create art but never find a market. Few bands ever even make it
to the stage where Eisley is at...even fewer move on to succeed past this
phase; it's fragile, volatile; the path paved with setbacks, disap
pointments, failures...(spears, pipebombs, landminds); you guys know
this.
Everybody knows that the big thing today is the big thing of the past
tomorrow. We live in an age where we discard everything. Nothing
satisfies... everything is a fast-food fix. "On, on...on to the next one".
So, I just wanted to say right now - thank you...to those who are good
friends, to those we'll meet on the road...thanks for taking time out of
your day to encourage Eisley along the way...thanks for spending your
hard earned money to come to shows...for driving across the country to
see them...for buying the ep's, for subscribing to the email list, for
spreading little bits and samples of eisley's music in your workplace's,
high-school's, colleges; thankyou for the interviews and journalism, and
radio shows and all the clubs...and to the press you've created, thank's
for writing stories and featuring them...and thanks to you guys who have
helped me personally and volunteered to help me do things I don't know
how to do or don't have the time to do; to those who help us load and
unload, helped us with merch, burned CD's, and I can't forget Dave and
Darin from Nettwerk or Craig at WB who've become great friends,etc.
One never knows what tomorrow brings...that's why we live one day at a
time... and be thankful for what's happening today. It could all vaporize
tomorrow; I wanted to say thanks while there's a method and opportunity
to say it.
An insightful label-mate said it this way: "...Let them know you realize
that life goes fast; It's hard to make the good things last; You realize the
sun doesn't go down; It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning
round."
If it all goes away tomorrow - or the next day - or in a year, we just want
you to know how much we are amazed...and talk about you guys, your
love, your faithfulness to this cause...(I guess it's a kind of "cause")...how
shocked we are to read the responses to eisley's music on the forum,
etc... gosh. Just want to say, "thankyou". I feel vulnerable and stupid to a
degree, but what's new.
Oh, and I should say thanks to Brand New and Hot Rod Circuit for making
this tour so amazing; they're encouragement and support is 100 times
more than we ever expected. It doesn't really matter if you guys like or
don't like their music or genre' - or understand why we keep talking
about them. Love transcends genre'...eisley is all about relationships.
There guys are amazing. We're very thankful to be on this tour - whether
or whether not their fans like eisley or not.
That's all I have to say now. Understand for newbies, I write whatever
seems right to me...this is like my Xanga. It's not some label approved
publicity or whatever. It's a vehicle to connect with people.... and to
inform people as to what's going on with Eisley - both from an honest,
inside view and a global, informational view. I'm a total hack, don't
profess to know how to spell, punctuate, write decently, etc. I just write
stuff I'd want to know about this band if I were you. And, I am you. I am
he, also...and we are all together.
Thanks and God bless.
Boyd