El Paso, TX 9/17/08 Zepplins

So we finally arrive in El paso, our final destination. We all talked about how much we'd love to keep touring at least for another couple of weeks. The problem is when you are an indie, diy, hipster band the money runs out. I'm telling you, the value of everything has gone up except for the value of a touring band. If you are not already blowing David Geffen or getting serious tour support from a large indie than it's tough. I'm not complaining either I'm just being honest. The gas moidoid us.




So at the last show tired as fuck but happy to be headed back to ATX we just get drunk and blow up the stage one last time. We had a full page write up in the university paper so I'm sure that helped because we had a nice audience this night.



When we started making stops in El Paso a couple of years ago people were against it. We would hear El Paso doesn't have a scene and the bands suck. Bullshit. Everytime we stop it gets better. The bands and fans in El Paso are working hard to make a scene happen. People genuinely enjoy music there. Please keep pushing forward EP. We heard some cool stuff in your city.



Next morning, we got up and went for a swim in the lovely pool. Just kidding! It did look cool though.





We ate at this bad ass diner everyone recommended inside the Budget Inn. Damn! The best Machaca plate I've ever had.




We saddled up and said good by to El Paso and to our road experience. We laughed. We sang Billy Joel songs loudly and we even fought over a three dollar hamburger at DQ. That's what I like about Texas!





Home sweet home.

Phoenix, AZ 9/16/08 Hollywood Alley

Mi familia. I love my family. everywhere we went they were there with open arms and open houses. Aaron and his family are special though. Every time we stay with my primo, people in the band comment on what an awesome bunch they are. I couldn't agree more.



I always feel extra secure in Phoenix because my little cousins are such big boys.





Next time I go to Phoenix I want to go see them fight in the cage matches they compete in.



After enjoying some catching up with my family and one of Keith's good friends.
We pulled our yawning band together and plowed through the set.



This night we were not playing last. Thank God. We got to drink and enjoy the sounds of my friend Chris's band The Cremains. They rocked! Even in the impaired state I was in I really had fun watching these Krank Amp fiends.



I met Chris in Austin at one of our shows. He was in town for the NAMM show. Not only did he hook me up with some passes to the convention, that guy came out to three different shows we had that week. He's a great guy.

Las Vegas, NV 9/13/08 Dive Bar

Back to work kids! Time to play some down home.....metal? Yes I said metal.




Well not us of course but every other band on the bill was that. What a freakin blast we had that night. When we first arrived we were told that we weren't even on the bill. This bullshit always happens at least once when you tour. Anyway, it turns out we could play but only if we headlined after The Sin City Sinners. This band is ran by a former Faster Pussy Cat member, Brent Muskat. What a thrill! I remember watching those guys on Head Bangers Ball when I was a kid.

After they played to a packed house full of Suicide Girls we got on stage played possibly the best set of the tour.



We got so drunk that night hanging out with our new Canadian friends we made at The Mirage show that I guess we just didn't give a fuck that people were there to see metal. Lets see. I broke my guitar after tossing it over my back. I fell into Terry's drums and oh yeah! Keith showed his nuts to the crowd at the end of the set. Somebody yelled "look at those little balls!" That was some funny shite. I can't forget to mention that some drummer of ours had a really cute make-out session in the middle of the dance floor. What happens in Vegas......I'll blab about in our blog. =:)>

Las Vegas, NV 9/16/08 Day Off

The day off in Vegas was much needed. Imagine drinking every single night for several days with only a couple hours of sleep. Actually, thats the fun part. The tough part is driving several hours a day from one city to next with a hang over.



Anyway, Calida and I took in some sights and a $50 hamburger.



We roasted are asses off in the 150 degrees weather while taking a tour of old casino neon signs. I'm sure most people don't look for this kind of stuff in Vegas but I gotta tell you it was very cool despite how hot it was.

Leave the hookers alone for an hour and look up sign graveyard next time your in Vegas.



The rest of the day was just a whole lot of lousy casino buffet and sleep.

Las Vegas, NV 9/15/08 The Beatles Revolution Lounge

Leaving LA without much sleep and without a shower was rough but when we finally got settled into our rooms at The Mirage we were big pimpin.



Las Vegas was most definitely my favorite part of the whole tour. Not only did we get to spend three days there, we tore some shit up. The show at The Revolution Lounge was awesome!



We were treated like royalty by the staff and got to hang out with our
buddy Tommy Marth.



We were put in a VIP area with a table that featured some amazing interactive art. It's hard to explain. The moving pieces of art were themed on The Beatles cirque du soleil, Love. This was all very shaggadelic. I'd better not forget, we also had bottle service handled by a lovely waitress.



After getting pretty saucey with Keith's woman, Marissa, we did the rock-n-roll deed.






While we enjoyed LA band Beatmo, some magician came along and some how tossed our name from the magic table on to the wall. I think he was a witch.



In the wee hours I got so drunk I became a baby in Terry's arms. Wa!
Terry I know you wanted to change my diaper.

Los Angeles, CA 9/13/08 Knitting Factory

Yes. Jimmy Hendrix is probably my favorite guitar player of all time . It was amazing to finally meet him. I hope the tip I gave him went to a burger not bomber.



The Cluster fuck that is Hollywood Blvd.



I can't really say much about LA with enthusiasm. I always have a great time when I go there but this time was not so. I did get to see a couple of friends though. Frank our buddy from the Ninja Cheerleaders movie showed with his really nice associate. Oh yeah the sound lady at the club, Oh my God, she looked miserable. She was watchin movies on her laptop through the entire set. It was freakin hilarious and sad equally. At one point, I went up to check on her because she had her head in her hands and looked liked she was weeping.



Ok. I guess I do have a couple of cool things I can mention and one of them was that we slept in the X1FX office. They worked on our "New One" video. The office rocked! We all had seperate leather couches and the boys and girls had seperate bathrooms. Keith could finally squeeze one off without getting busted. The best part about this office was the Tron arcade game. Keith and I could not stop playing that fucking thing. I was so tired I thought my eyes were gonna pop but I still kept playing Tron.



Here you go Calida. Del Taco. Yay!

Stockton, CA 9/12/08 Blackwater Cafe

Stockton, California was a trip! We booked the eighth show of the tour here simply because the venue we had lined up in San Jose backed out on us just a few weeks before we hit the road, leaving us with our pants down. The Blackwater Cafe in Stockton was the best we could do on such short notice. Lucky for us, because this place was cool as fuck. Stockton felt like having one foot in Gary, Indiana, and the other in the Twilight Zone.



Stockton doesn't seem to belong in California. The whole nine hours we drove from Portland, we saw some gorgeous country. Northern Cali: mountains, rivers, ocean, greenery, vineyards. What we saw of Stockton seemed entirely incongruous with it all.



And then, we pull up to the Blackwater Cafe without a second to spare. By the time we loaded into the tiny coffee shop with hardly a stage to mention and a PA smaller than some boomboxes we've seen, the opening band was finishing their last song.



Most places you play in America, the audience does one of three things. They ignore you, they dance, or they stand around with drinks at their chest like highschoolers around a keg. At the Blackwater Cafe in Stockton, California, they sit and listen at full attention. All eyes on the band. And then they clap between each song. Strangest thing, man. They were enthusiastic, no doubt, but they had an odd way of showing it. Like you're performing for your family in their living room. That's it--that's exactly how it felt. Not ideal, but strangely comforting.



We made a few friends, and my best friend, Matt did the long-ass commute from the pretty part of Cali to see us. We drank, ate some of the food they make at the cafe, which was delicious. We met a gradeschool teacher who asked us if we had a joint. (She didn't ask us for marijuana. She wanted a joint.) And during the following band's set, her best friend screamed out, "I love this place! If it weren't for the Blackwater, Stockton would suck!"



Hell yeah. If it weren't for the Blackwater Cafe, Stockton would probably suck. We'll definitely be back.

Keith

Portland, OR 9/11/08 Red Room

We noticed right away that even though Seattle's less than 150 miles away, Portland has a completely different flavor from the Emerald City. It seems a little less polished and a bit smaller. Definitely the type of place we could see ourselves coming back to.

One of the highlights of our stay here was hanging out with my friend from the days of yore, good ole Erin Leben. She took us to this restaurant/hotel that'd been built in an old high school. And while she seemed to think the place was cheesy, Frank, Calida and I were impressed.



The show that night at the Red Room was awkward. One member of the band that was supposed to open for us apparently felt that they were wronged by their place in the lineup, and dealt with it by storming out of the club before we even arrived. We played our portion of the show to about a dozen or so people and were paid $6. That's right. $6.



By the time we'd driven into Portland, some cracks were starting to appear in the machinery. Frank's amp was exhibiting some voodoo side effect of being on the road, Calida's keyboard had been acting up, and I'd lost the cable running between my head and cabinet. Luckily, a fine young local was kind enough to donate one to the Dirty Hearts cause.



Portland was the only city where all four of us knew someone. Terry had some friends she stayed up all night with. Erin put the rest of us up at her place. And Frank and Calida had a friend at the show who'd recently moved to Portland from Albuquerque.



This is a picture of Erin and I on her porch. After the show, she and I spent the rest of the night catching up at a local joint she frequents. And then I crashed out on the most comfortable couch in the world right there on her porch. It was like camping, but without the bears.



Keith

Seattle, WA 9/09/08 - 9/10/08 The Fun House

You can tell by this photo that it's my first time in the North West. We had to stop a few times to admire the beauty.



When we arrived in Seattle we attempted to camp in a KOA but it turned out to be a costly endevour. Before finding this out we had some great food that sent me to the crapper faster than....I'll stop there before it gets ugly.



So it turns out that with my fabulous iPhone I was able find us a great deal on a nice hotel a couple of blocks away from the club and all the cool tourist stuff.



We gotta good nights rest and after a day off it was time to hit the town. Seattle was gorgeous that day. We enjoyed Pike's Place, The Space Needle, the Monorail and Experience Music Project all in just a few hours.



Keith was always trying to pick up on the fattest chicks. He swore he was only trying to make friends. A picture tells a thousand words. Liar!





Later that night it was back to work. We rolled into the club rolled up our sleeves and did the work. I really liked this club. We had a nice turn out considering it was a Wednesday. Seattle people definitely love their music just like us Austinites.

Boise, ID 9/08/08 The Smoke House

When driving to Boise, ID we passed through WY. Wow! What a beautiful place even with all the gay cowboys passing us on the highway.



It was about this time that our healthy diet started to go down the shitter. Literally.



The show in Boise was a blast. We met some really cool people and just rocked the fuckin casbah. It didn't matter that it was a BBQ joint in a strip mall.