Drive Day. Tyler to Birmingham. 10.14.04
October 14, 2004 09:13 AM
I really did leave my camera at the Tea Room. It's the first thing I've lost
on this tour besides a drum key. I blame it on Dallas. I've never had so
many conversations with so many friends and aquaintences and fans and
whoevers in my life long life. Wonderous distractions. I blanked. Sheesh,
after the giant entourage of like 30 people wafted down to Cafe Brazile, I
yacked and yammered but had to dash back out to settle and do sound
scan...never having eaten.
Anyway...luckily Scot (promoter) and Ed (manager) and gang were still
there...an hour after we were Eastward...and will fedX it to Birmingham
hotel for me. But that means I'm even further behind in posting pics.
Thankfully, I had Houston almost cooked so I got up xta early this morn
to get them on-line.
We leave for the Deep South in an hour. I don't hear anyone up -
upstairs. Wow. I got to sleep in my own bed again. And now, I think I'll
go make a pot of coffee from my Prize winning, Boyd-0-Matic coffee bar
O-rama. yes.
drive safely.
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Today, I drove from Tyler to somewhere deep in the depth of the deep
South... I think middle to East Mississippi where Mr. Clark took over. Now
we're somewhere in the depths of deep, deep Alabama - only 70 miles
from Birmingham... we left at noon and it's 8:30. Mapquest lied again.
We're supposed to be there but it's 60 more miles. We've stopped just a
few times and didn't waste time. oh well.
We're kinda like... "man, this tour feels over"... Why are we still driving?
Don't get us wrong Alabama/Louisiana - if there are any of you out there
that even know who Eisley is; it's not like we don't care... I dunno. Last
night was like the finale'... like when they get to the end of the fireworks
display; then you walk off to your car smiling and saying, "that was
amazing... now let's go to the house".
So we did...(go to the house)... and that's the problem. We slept in our
own beds and woke up to a beautiful mid-October day in Tyler, Texas;
the wind was whisping through the tree's, the brittle, cobalt sky cast her
Fall folly upon us as we ate cereal on the deck. My home brew never
tasted so good. It was never harder to leave home than this morning.
The tour seems over but it isn't.
Everyone wants to know what's happening after the tour. It's my worst,
favorite question to answer. I usually say, "I dunno...they never tell us
anything until it's happening". We found out about this tour from you
guys. Remember? But...hey, it was a good idea, so who cares.
After the tour, Eisley will return to their bedrooms. I'll return to the office
and work like a half-brained, one-armed gizzard-goon on a greased
monkey bar - with robot legs and tube eyes.... um, and humbucker
electrodes sticking out of my double neck. Translated into algo-ape
rhythms, that's means I'm in over a quart of doo-doo. But don't worry. I
bought a saddle for me so I can saddle me up. No worries. I can't really
talk about all the things of concern. I'd need a private xanga that was
password protected so nobody could go there.
Back to the question: "what will happen"? They say Eisley will make a
video before the end of the year...based on the single - which is unknown
at this time. Petah from this forum liked the new Telescope Eyes... I
actually agree with him, but Dallas, I'm warning you - cover your ears
and don't turn the radio on for a year. If it's Telescope Eyes, play like
Eisley is one of your favorite bands that never got radio play. But I might
be wrong... Phil Costello, the radio dog daddy at the label loves, "I
Wasn't Prepared"... but admits it may not work as a first single. So, I
have no clue. Maybe there are no singles on the record.
I will go on record as saying, "My Lovely" should be a big, fat, hit. I'm
sure it won't, but that doesn't change my opinion. And, I agree with Phil.
They say - when the record comes out "we'd probably want to let it sink
in for about 6 weeks and then put the band out.... that way, fans will be
familiar with the new songs at shows..." If that resembles the truth, my
math says they tour in March. I may not be with them from this point....
not sure; glad I got to meet some of you on the last few tours. We'll see.
Either way, you will get plenty of opportunity to see the band if you
missed them on this tour.
In fact, I think touring will be relentless... unceasing, never-ending,
perpetual... but let's speculate as to what kind of tour? I've told you guys
many times, if it was me... if I were in charge, which I am not, I would
put them out as headliners for 300-500 seat venues, except for in Texas,
where I'd book them at clubs like Tree's which is 1000 - and I'd let them
pick 2 bands of their choice to open. I suppose at some point it's better to
start building their own fan base rather than trying to make converts
from other bands. I think label/management will have a good feel for
what should happen. Perhaps.
--------------------------------
We're here at the Best Western. It's not totally a roach hotel, but we read
an article that said there's more traces of fecal material in hotels than
any other place on earth or something similar. gross. ANYway, we
checked in, laughed at Weston, headed out to find a Walmart to find
some products to buy. (bored) Stacy needed toothpaste, so we bought
TV dinners. Now we're heating up our food in the microwave and
watching an old Mel Gibson film where he's in some Aussie war. It's really
good. I don't usually do play by play; my camera should be here
tomorrow. sorry.
We realized tonight that tomorrow is really the last show. Because. Think.
The Voo-Doo fest isn't a Snow Patrol/Eisley show. They play at the same
time on different stages. It's over tomorrow. My Mexican TV dinner is
now heated. I will go. bd.
Gypsy Tea Room (ballroom). Dallas, Texas. 10.13.04
October 13, 2004 09:48 AM
pics added.
The Dallas show awaits us. Good times. Friends. The first place to really
embrace Eisley's music... There's no place like Dallas. Can't wait. See
you guys tonight. Will try to get there early to load in. Make sure you get
there early for tickets if you don't have one. The line last time wrapped
around the block and tons of Eisle fans never made it in before doors.
------------------------------
Dallas wins. No contest. At no other venue did fans start clapping in unison for
Eisley to come out...and then beg outloud for an encore. The enthusiasm and
interraction and connection between the band and the audience was amazing. Add to
this that the sound was the best of the entire tour and you have a solid Dallas
victory that can't be rivaled. I applaud the Dallas fans and those who drove from
nearby markets to see the opener.
Also - The Tea Room... managers, staff, crew, sound, security... everyone, as usual,
was so sweet to us. (there, i used the best word to describe the reality). Scott Begs,
the promoter, told me over and over how much they enjoyed the band, how the kicked
A___.... even an hour after we'd gone ( I left my video cam in the kitchen where we
broke down the gear) that the crew and everyone was still talking about Eisley...how
amazing they were and how nice. I'm not bloating; I'm just telling you what kind of
people work at The Gypsy Ballroom.
And a separate paragraph of cheers for Tommy - who is a huge eisley fan....and ran
sound tonight. I... I... I can't continue. I'm losing medulic data through my dorsal
port.
We leave for Birming the ham at 11am. I'm beat... bd
-----------------------
The Dallas show was like a big family renunion. Hundreds of friends who've been
coming to this bands' shows - reaching as far back as 1999. Layers and layers of
friends and boardies spanning the band's history. It was so great.
Talking to Nathan from S.P. after was refreshing... he watched the show from the
back of the room; he was so amused that Texans were demanding an encore...
thought the crowd was amazing... and was so thankful for their response as well. We
were reflecting on the tour... how it's gone by like wildfire... but when we think back to
Atlanta, it seems like a month ago. Strange.
Thanks to everyone who came out. I mean it. ok then. Pics up in a few days... bd
I did mention that Eisley is headlining the New Years Eve party at Trees right? ok.
The Meridian. Houston, Texas. 10.12.04
October 12, 2004 02:12 PM
Hi yawl. We're getting ready to head out to the Meridian. I hear it's a
new, really nice, venue. I hope the sound is good.... I hope they'll let me
get involved. Real involved. That's making a difference; I just need to
start mixing the band live. I did it for years. You just have to find the
right space for every instrument, know the vocals and how to produce it
live.... it's simple but you have to have my brain. If you're brain has
never heard the band, how can you're brain make sense out of Eisley?
So... we're excited about tonight. Houston is...well, where we came from.
In case you don't know, all of Eisley was born in Houston except for Jon.
Maybe there's some , kindred, phenom - right? I felt it last time when
Eisley headlined the Engine Room. We'll see. Our family that lives here
says that the radio has been pumping Snow Patrol like crazy so I imagine
that will be evident. Either way, look forward to meeting you guys and
hanging out a bit. Take care.
------------------------------------------
THE MERIDIAN
I find it refreshing that life often provides us with interesting
juxtapositions, contrasts, disparities, contradictories, etcs...and
sometimes I can't figure it all out.
What I can tell you is: that was Eisley's worst show of the tour.
What I can tell you is: the band said it was their best response.
What I can tell you - it was the band's funnest show.
I can also tell you that it was the Meridian's first sell out show.
How do I pull all of this together?
Troubles at the Meridian:
Everything was going perfect. The load in, the venue, the elevator (to get
the gear up to the second floor that wasn't working when Snow Patrol
arrived hours earlier), the people, etc. Everything was going so smooth.
Snow Patrol finished their sound check party (select people get a vip
laminate to get in to see them sound check) and Eisley loaded on to
stage.
1.5 hours later, there was still no mix in the f.o.h. and some of the
monitor issues weren't worked out. Input problems, feedback
problems...on an on. Without closure, they pulled the band off stage,
doors, food next door at Subway, an interview with The U of H Cougar
newspaper and it was showtime. I was worried so I stayed in the sound
booth with their very nice sound guy - Troy.
The band got on stage but Weston couldn't hear anything in his in-ears.
This is a major problem since he has to hear his click for the show to
work. Back tracks are synched to a click in his ipod... Without the signal,
he can't play the show. Major problem. They sat on stage for about 7
minutes while they solved the problem.
I won't go into detail but the entire show was a struggle... it wasn't good.
It never sounded good. It sounded bad. The technical problems bit the
band hard. After the show, Weston said he couldn't hear his click and
wasn't even sure if they'd been playing to their layered keys and
melotron tracks.
Sherri had NO monitors. Do you know how hard and lame that is? It
means you can't hear what's coming out of your voice and head. grrrr.
We work so hard to make this happen... so much work goes into making
their live show work... it's important to have a performance that merits
the anticipation and the money you guys lay down to see the band.
Did I mention that Sherri dropped her pick and stopped "Plenty of
Paper"? She totally can't play the song without a pick... she reached into
her back pocket, her front pocket... pulled out a dollar bill and... stopped
the song. Read posts here to find out more details about what she said.
Craziness. There were so many problems... monitors were cutting in and
out randomly. They thought they were being sabotaged.
I vow that Eisley will never have to use a house sound guy at a venue
again after this show. That takes nothing away from Troy - who was
super nice and did the best he could. Sometimes the technical just "bites"
you. In his defense, the Meridian is new and they are dealing with d.j.'s
and in-house gigs that happen around the big, planned shows like last
night. Apparently, those small shows reak havok on the system. Things
get out of wack. So... I'll get over it because everyone was so amazing at
the Meridian and we loved the experience - except for the sound. I would
go back tomorrow. The promoter (Clear Channel), the owners, the
production managers... everyone were super cool.
In fact, they said that they loved Eisley, loved our family... and that they
were going to call Eisley's agent today to talk about getting them back.
They said they got hundreds of calls from Eisley fans who knew nothing
of Snow Patrol... so, they assumed we had hundreds of fans represented.
I'm rambling. I have to get going. We have to drive to DALLAS!!
