February 16, 2016 - 3:50am ... I'm in the van so I'm not sure how long this will be... we're on our way back to Calgary to avoid hotel rooms and also avoid burning one of our days off driving back when we could sleep all day tomorrow... then possibly go party. ... there's been a lot of half joking about people wanting to go party in Calgary. Nothing too crazy today. Woke up at 5:50am to be back in the van for 6:20am to drive to Saskatoon. It was a late night for me and a rough start this morning. I slept for a couple hours but didn't feel rested at all. ... and I'm still not quite sure how the time math made sense for the stage/show to get moved from Lethbridge to Saskatoon over night... safely. We arrived a little late around 3:30pm. There's a time change too we didn't really factor in... it's fine though... we got a message from management the trucks/rigging were running late... meaning we'd be standing around waiting for direction anyway. SaskTel Centre is a decent size arena. The layout is easy to get around and the dressing rooms are nice... I wish I got a pic of the shower stall though.. instead of having all the facets on the walls, it has a main one in the middle, that sprayed outwards. Pretty awkward setup if you ask me... I'll skip ahead right to the good part.. the show. There were no handlers to help us load so we ended up helping Saint Asonia's techs get their gear up and then we loaded it up on top of them... it's organized chaos but we're getting the hang of it... we had 15 minutes before doors opened I think. .... back to the stage for a second.. they were hustling to get the stage built and lighting/pyro together... and Disturbed had a very quick sound check. The thing is though... you can't rush putting the stage together... assuming if something goes wrong... people will die. There's a lot of gear/lights... and the pyro alone is dangerous. Rushing is how accidents happen! We did a quick line check and were off the stage 3 mins before doors opened... do the math. That's all you should need though...there's no need to stand on stage playing random chords checking your guitar. Play when you're asked... otherwise...be quiet... people are doing something else... your guitar works. We hung out in the dressing room and handed back to the stage at 7:15pm... 10 mins before heading on stage. The tour/[production manager came over and made a few jokes about the days off... we haven't been yelled at today.. so far so good! It was 2 mins to show time... 1 minute... "Is that your intro?" I guess the intro started up prematurely and the cues got mixed up... regardless we ran up the stairs and got on stage. ... it was quick... and we were not really ready... but still hit the downbeat on time after the intro ended... I'm sure nobody noticed but it was a crazy start for us... was like jumping off the back of a moving truck while you pray your legs are moving fast enough. (... I'm so tired right now... I'm actually typing with my eyes closed and hoping I don't fall asleep like this... although it is comfy.) The crowd was awesome (again)... quite rowdy actually... and I got some great pics of the crowd... it was the end of the set when I noticed Dane having problems. Dane is a super solid guitarist so I was fairly certain it was a cable problem since he was crouched over his pedalboard... not uncommon in guitar world. He missed the intro of the final song and I started thinking it was either a brain fart or motor skills.. which would be odd. We finished up... 2 mins under set time... and backstage Dane was pretty upset about the show. "My guitar started tuning itself mid song!!!" The Les Paul's Gibson lent us for the tour are "robot guitars" they are motorized and self tuning. ... and the robots wanted it tuned to E... which is a massive problem when you're playing a song in E-flat. This made way more sense since I remember the tuners flashing while he was messing with his pedal board... and that's what they do when they're self tuning. I know found this somewhat hilarious and told him it was Skynet sabotaging the show... and saying he got John Conner'd. ... Terminator 2 reference. I don't think many people even noticed though... lots of bands are out of tune but not many bands actually hear pitch (that well). Seb said he noticed it was a little "jazz" but the audience couldn't tell. Just keep playing, keep smiling, and deal with it later. (This is really hard to type in a bumpy van right...not to mention being pushed against the side of the van... I keep closing my eyes and feeling like I'm waking up after a coffee... not that I really drink coffee... but I imagine that's how alert people are after drinking coffee. I'm probably going to have to post tomorrow morning when we arrive... cell reception is bad out here.) The crowd was definitely into our set by the time we were done... or maybe just cheering for Saint Asonia for being up next. Gotta be careful though...sometimes doors lock. (<-- re-reading this at 9am, I have no idea what I'm talking about here) I'm craving pomegranate right now... too tired to eat it but I don't care. (<-- same ???... really tired...) We loaded out and went back to catering for dinner... braised beef was amazing! Caught the intro to Disturbed's set and watched until the end of "Prayer", such a good tune. Hung out in the dressing room for a bit then headed side stage. I can't even read what I'm typping... thera read liins all the place... since we don't konw what we're doing! I can barely read any of this... Besides I need WiFi for internet;. (I left that last bit as-is so you know how brutal this was to edit this morning) Oh... we hung out at merch after Saint Asonia's set....we probably posed for 40 pics and signed a ton of tickets and couple T-Shiirts... posed for another 30 after the show was over. We had like 12 bottles of Gatorade in the dressing room and somehow they're all gone.. I had one. There was a blogger/photographer at the show who asked to do an interview.. Tim and Reid ended up doing it. I wish they gave some more specific answers... the questions were pretty basic (music influences, favourite song to play, how the band rights, etc). Sometimes "real life"answers aren't glamorous but I think people would rather hear it... it's more interesting at least... maybe Dane and I can do the next interview... we both have some media training... and no filter. *cough* .(.. I'm so tired... I keep leaning over and closing my eyes... almost falling asleep.... if I don't write things down now though I'll forget... and then my journal/timeline gets screwed up.) ... I wanted to shower at the arena but opted to just go for a complete change of clothes... I'll last 6 hrs. I took the first shift with Seb on the drive to Calgary... 2 hrs then switched up and I started writing... Matt and Dane have second shift... we had our eyes peeled for wildlife... nothing... they've seen tons so far though... lots of deer... I hope we don't hit anything... we really don't need an accident... things have been going so well this far. I need to sleep... I just feel asleep again. I'm going to try to upload this (tethering off my phone) but I'll upload pics tomorrow... wifi. Again... we have a couple days off but then I think it's drive, play, drive, etc... it's going to be a grind but it's what we signed up for... and they're good markets... and a casino... finally. Mike :-) P.S. ... turns out I don't have enough bars to use my phone for data/internet... I can't even proof read/edit this either... I think that's a sign. Bed time it is! February 16, 2016 - 8:50am
... we made it to Calgary. I got a couple hours sleep but after we switched off drivers (and I'd finished/accepted not being able to post this) our GPS wanted to take us in a circle and GoogleMaps quickest route wanted to take us on backroads. I woke up to Matt declaring "there's no way I'm taking this on a dirt road." Totally understandable... if anything happens you might be kinda screwed this late at night (4am) and that far off a major highway. We drove on a dirt road for a half hour... ... just so people know, when following GoogleMaps... yellow lines are good... grey lines... try your luck. Stay on the highways! I've left some more nuggets about the day I forgot about in the picture/slideshow comments. It was a long day. Everyone is asleep... I need sleep... ... sleep time!
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February 15, 2016 - 1:32am ... I have to make this quick today... I'm so tired... and bus call is 6:30am. We have a 6hr drive tomorrow to Saskatoon (8hrs), and it's a show day. We're supposed to be there for 2pm... and then wait until probably 6pm until they're ready for us... but regardless what time we're supposed to be there and what time we're actually needed irrelevant... it's going to feel like a long drive tomorrow since everyone feels tired today. So today... woke up a bit later for breakfast... around 8am... I actually slept through my alarm and Matt woke me up. I'm sorta sick of the "free" breakfasts already... the novelty of hotel waffles has worn off... and I think I'm gaining weight with all the sitting around. After breakfast we did a quick load of laundry and bugged Tim in the gym to pass the time... good times. I was bugging people to go for a walk or something... it was so nice outside... I just wanted to stand around in the sun... I feel like it's been a while since we've had actual sunlight... I cut my hair this morning and everything! I was ready for it! It's glorious rays! It's warm outside too!!! 10C!!!! We headed to the venue for 1:30pm... lots of crew said hello to us when we came in. I wouldn't say we're all best friends but it's nice having them acknowledge you... although we know where we stand in the pecking order and what cog we are in the machine. ... it's such a crazy stage setup. We've seen quite a bit of it put together but there's just so much... really curious how it looks the first couple hours... since they rip it apart so fast at the end of the night! I chatted with Saint Asonia's guitar tech (Hoogie) a little today. I'd heard his name several times over the years (18 as a tech apparently!) and figured we'd have some common ground with Evans Blue. Turned out to be the case... said he's toured with them (teching for other bands) many times over the years. It's such a "family" environment... something I've watched from the outside over the years, working in a pretty small circle (or solo) in the studio. I may be quiet but I do enjoy people's company! I really do! lol. I chatted with Saint Asonia's drum tech as well... his name is Sal... I asked him how long he's been teching for... seems like only a couple weeks... turns out he's the drummer for Stained... I felt like a bit of an idiot for not realizing that but also how it makes sense since the guitarist from Saint Asonia is from Stained. Keep it in the family. ... I've had a handful of friends over the years offer to be my drum tech if I ever needed one... I joke there won't be much to do since I have such a small setup... but I think that's the point... it'd be more of a hang... not that Sal isn't working hard (because I see how hard techs work!) but it's more fun bringing your friends out... especially when they have a gap in their schedule. Again, cogs in the machine... everyone pushing in the same direction... music isn't easy. It was a good chat though... I may not be a "musicians" musician, or a gear guy... but I love checking out peoples setups... there's a lot of character and personality in everyone's setup. ... we waited by our gear for a while today. I've accepted we will be yelled at for something new each day... and in Winnipeg it was not being ready to load our gear... so once Disturbed started their soundcheck, we went to our gear pile.. and waited. ... and waited... waited some more. Not complaining, but we were gonna be ready. ... waiting... I think we went to our gear at 5:05pm and loaded it on stage at 6:20pm... and we loaded it fast... Saint Asonia only had/needed 15 mins to get their gear on stage and wired up... and we were loading up half on top of them. It's stressful... again... trying to do your job but not step on the toes of anybody above you. There is an order and we're an opening act. We did get a little soundcheck though... off stage by 6:53pm, doors at 7pm! ... success. Waiting again now... we go on at 7:50pm. I love the little intro music/clip I put together. I love it when the lights go down and it fires up. ... I have 45 seconds to get to my kit, get my (in) ears in, click on my iPod, and start the set. The heart rate gets going though when it fires up... the crowd... the nerves go away... time to throw down. Our set went well again tonight... I only missed one drum fill... had a bit of a brain fart making rock faces with people in the front row... it happens. ... was sorta crapping my pants though once I checked the time... our set is 30 mins, and can't go over... just assume going over means a fail. You can get 99 questions right on the exam, but if you get that one wrong... you fail the course... and everyone hates you. So we had 10 mins left going into the last 2 songs... 4 and 3 min songs... all good... but we ran a bit long on some crowd participation parts... and while it's fun having people sing along... we only have so much time. The last breakdown part in the last song I'm free to take a couple pics of the audience... we had 2 mins left... we gotta finish this up asap! It's hard to signal to Tim we gotta hurry up while I'm playing drums... so I killed the click and just played it faster. No joke... this needs to end asap! ... ended the set at 8:19pm. #pass ... too close for my comfort though. We'll talk about it in the van tomorrow since I know where things went long. Finally saw some video of our set too... sounds pretty good in my opinion! Good job Seb! He said he thought it sounded pretty good out front... I told him he was biased. ... so I was sitting in my typical spot at shows to watch Disturbed's set... sitting... at the back of the venue. I noticed my wifi connection was pretty good (been great all day) so I thought I'd see if my parents were around on Skype... "you around?" "hi" ... I called them, turned on my video and pointed the camera at the stage. I'm sure my mom was trying to figure out what was going on and trying to talk to me... although I couldn't hear here anyway over the crowd... so I just messaged them again that Disturbed's set was about to start. ... and start it did. I'm not sure how much they were really able to see over Skype video but there's a lot going on lighting and pyro wise on the opening tune. Hopefully it looked alright... I'm sorta weird about having friends and family come out to shows, but I thought this was a happy medium... and I wanted them to see it. These are awesome shows... we're playing hockey arenas... it's sort of a big deal for me and I'm sure my parents get a kick out of it. They've been super supportive since the beginning... they've never (really) told me to get a (real) job. I let them watch the second song as well and then had to turn my Skype off... partially because I'm sure what I was doing broke some laws but also because my hand was cramping. "Ok thanks, nice surprise! Sounds good. Pretty exciting. Enjoy every minute. It's a treat for us too. Thank you!!" Technology. *tear* Prayer is my favorite song in their set... such a good tune. Rich (Saint Asonia - drummer) popped in our dressing room after Disturbed finished their set and mentioned maybe going to a bar after... if we were interested. ... we were all "sure! yeah that sounds great!" on the outside... but on the inside we're all "fuhgg!?!" We really need to sleep and get on the road early. It's one thing to have a bus driver... driving your bus to the next city... but we have to drive ourselves... and we still need to sleep. ... it didn't turn into a thing luckily enough and we were out of the venue by 1am. ... couldn't make it past McDonald's though. We've decided "no day is official until Reid has consumed a hamburger of sorts". ... I also accidentally guilted Reid into buying me a Cadbury Cream Egg McFlurry. I totally didn't want it... but I totally ate it... it was totally awesome. ... shower... blog... bed time. It's going to be a long couple days coming up... drive, play, drive... then we have a couple days off I think to sleep... probably do a photoshoot once we're in Calgary... if I know Tim. Mike :-) P.S. Reid put some duct tape on the stage and we got yelled at for that... so that's what we were yelled at for today. February 14, 2016 - 12:11am ... travel day! Probably a short(er) blog for a change... plus I'm pretty tired... despite sitting in the van for 14hrs today. I set my alarm for 7:30am... plans to shower, grab breakfast and be on the road for 9am... but I barely woke up at 8am, pulled on my adult winter boots and walked over to breakfast... love the layout of this hotel *cough*... figured I'd grab a shower after I eat then get ready for a full day of sitting in the van. It was so cold in Winnipeg... can't stress that enough. The air hurts your face... hurts your lungs... and instantly dries you out... it's awful. Apparently it's just as cold in Toronto right now... but I am (I was) in Winnipeg and I'm associating Winnipeg with attempting to stop all molecular motion. We managed to get on the road by 9:30am. Again, it was a bit of a late night after the show yesterday and a later night for me because of "this"... ah well. It's better to leave early and hopefully get to the hotel before midnight. The hours can add up quick if you leave at 9am vs 12pm... and again, things can happen on long drives to really push back your arrival time. We plugged Lethbridge into the GPS... 12hrs... + 30%, I'd say 15hrs. Not much to really talk about... we hit bad weather a couple times... felt the van skid/slide for the first time when we stopped for food in Swift Current. It wasn't scary or anything, but we were wondering how the 3-season tires would do in a little bit of snow... there really hasn't been much snow at all so far. Most of the day I either rode shotgun, played Hearthstone (iPad), or tried to sleep... wasn't able to sleep much though... it was pretty loud in the van today... we dragged out a few jokes for a long time... laughing can get quite loud... which is a good thing. ... I'll say it again... this is a really fun group so far. There's been a bit of a revolving door for guitarists over the last 4+ years I've been playing with Age of Days but this is a solid line up and the chemistry is really good so far... good times! So... highlights... ... the temperature going up! We drove out of -35C in Winnipeg into -3C in Lethbridge. It's amazing how awesome -3C is when you step out of the van. *tear* ... Tim's "bus battle". For some reason, when Tim is driving... weird shit seems to happen on the roads. Seb and Matt drove 90% of today... Tim drives for 10 minutes and we have this "Carefree Bus"... like... a huge bus... constantly trying to overtake our van and trailer on the highway... then slow down. Of course Tim isn't having this... so he'll pass the bus... granted the bus is passing us and slowing down... we aren't exactly speeding and this bus isn't exactly speedy... so while it's annoying... Tim's reaction is priceless... and hilarious. We... softly raced with it for a few km's... then the bus just took up both lanes... maybe the bus driver was a bored... or not a fan of how much fun was going on in the van (again, van is basically transparent with the amount of windows it has)... eventually an off ramp gave us the ability to part ways... and Carefree Bus will be forced to make a new friend... or enemy. So long Carefree Bus. ... Reid was practicing the set in the van... our guitars are in the back so he pulled one out, threw on his headphones and went through it. Nobody said anything which was cool... Reid's new and he cares... I'll say he played great last night and I can tell he's more comfortable with the tunes (live) considering how much he was moving around. It's not easy going from jamming along at home to... here's 3,500 people watching you! Go! Go be good now! I have a method of mentally running the set (against my clicks/tracks) so I do that daily... I hope most people run the set daily in their own way... not just in AoD but in their own band too. It's funny because you think playing often will keep a set tight... but you don't really get to warm up on tour as an opening act... you just "go"... and I know how I play when I get to warm up for an hour or 2... but that's just not possible sometimes... and a practice pad doesn't cut it. The limbs feel different after you loosen up and really play for a bit... you can pretend stretching is going to help but unless you warm up, stretching is useless... more for mental show... my opinion at least. We had McDonald's for dinner... think about what you want... order 2/3... you feel less bad. ... another thing... I'm noticing my energy level dropping already. Sitting all day and not getting my typical amount of exercise takes its toll. There's a "fitness center" in the hotel we're at tonight... but it's not the same as my daily amount of cardio. I'm going to try and figure something out asap... there's a lot of "hurry up and wait" so far... I need to find an hour... I brought proper footwear for that too! ... so the hotel we're staying at... I'm usually the first to explore it and report back what we have and how good (or not so good) we have it. The basement... ... the only way I can describe it is The Shining meets Blair Witch Project. ... this place gave me the chills... I say "gave" because I've excepted it has a personality and I'll just stay on it's good side. ... seriously though, whoever designed and built this place... nightmare fuel. I took a couple pics... they don't do it justice... the place has a "vibe"... if you see anything in the pics... ghosts... etc... let me know... there's something going on with this place... I swear! I showered... finally... oh yeah I forgot to mention... not showering this morning (post show) and then sitting in a van for 14 hrs... horrible idea! I smelled "me" all day... and felt the grime. It's obvious in hindsight and I'm sure the usual suspects will be all "well duh" and "eww" but sometimes you don't have time... you seriously don't have time... and/or run out of time. There are 6 people who all run on their own schedule during a fixed amount of time. Sometimes you just deal with it. ... and there are some tough drives coming up where we might not really have a hotel for 2-3 days... play, drive, play, drive, etc... you do what you can to stay hygienic... but sometimes you're just... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ... and get back in the van after the show... they're long nights too... these are the lines in the sand though... you either want to be here or you don't. Either you want to do this (for the right reasons) or you don't... it's not for everyone. There's a dream being sold to fans sometimes... but when you take a photo with your favourite band then think about the fact they might not have showered in 3 days... or haven't washed their stage clothes in just under a week... it happens though... we ignore it... focus on the good, silence the bad... for as long as you can... that's why we all wear hoodies... they keep us warm (and keep in the smell!). ... anyway... showers are awesome if you've been regretting not having one for 10 hrs. So I'm sitting in the lobby/breakfast area of the hotel. Breakfast starts at 6am so I will be destroying it in 5hrs and 15min. I'm so hungry right now but all that's available is junk... sometimes it's better to just sleep off being hungry. There was trouble brewing at the front desk when I started writing this... sorta glad I was here but also wish I wasn't... I hate confrontation... since things can get out of hand quickly. Two sorta drunk/aggressive guys showed up to book a room... the lady at the front desk... I can't remember what happened but they started getting on her case about how they were going to pay for the room or something...? ... sounds bad but I was waiting for one of them to either punch her or push the computer monitor off the desk. I positioned myself to keep an eye on the situation but still... I sorta assume everyone has guns or knives now too... she stood her ground and convinced them (that it was their idea) to leave. ... after they left the lady at the desk started talking to (at) me about it... she was shook up a little, as was I, it is tricky dealing with drunks though... since the world they're in is different than everyone else who is sober. ... and yes I'm aware they'd been drinking and drove here/away, but we're in Lethbridge... and I'm not about to tell Lethbridge how to Lethbridge... I'm just passing through. Bed time for me though... Snortallica be damned, I'm getting a full nights sleep! ... well... until I wake up to binge at 6am, then go back to sleep! Mike :-) February 13, 2016 - 3:13am ... lost my house keys, trailer lock key, and my main iPod to run my clicks... not a good start to the day. I always figure I'll lose things... you will lose things on tour... but 1st show in? I don't want to blame all the stage hands but they're like vultures... really helpful vultures after the set. They want stuff to do but I can pack up my kit in 15 mins by myself... so having to explain to people what to do actually slows me down. I'm thinking either it got lost because it has velcro on it and stuck to something... or it was still on my iPod tray... and it's in my hardware back... and if that's the case, it's definitely destroyed. Image a 80lbs bag of hammers with a tea cup thrown in... that tea cup would be my iPod. I'm assuming nobody stole it... ... anyway... way she goes... I've made peace... back to how the day went. Dane was up early too (8am) so we went over to the lobby part of the hotel to explore a bit... find something to do and stay out of trouble. There's a mini games/casino room here... let's avoid that... and there's a restaurant area... ... we sat on the lobby couches and talked about life for an hour. Breakfast was good... $4.95 for basic bacon and eggs. We killed some time in the hotel room before heading out... had to stop by Long & McQuade to drop off some rentals we didn't need. I ripped apart all my luggage before we left trying to find my iPod but not dice... Matt borrowed my trailer lock key and I forgot those on the table.. or so I thought. ... ok I need to say one thing before I go on. It is fuuhgging cold here. I took a picture of our hotel room door this morning... there's a bit of ice build up... you could blame the draft around the door... but it's really that cold. You open the door... the cold busts in. We've been spoiled in Toronto so far this winter... it's apparently cooled down there a lot as well... but it's like -35C here. It's instantly cold. It was cold last night coming home from dinner but today/tonight... it's instant. I heard on the news, exposed skin has 10 mins. I believe it. It's so dry too... horrible combo. ... ok... just wanted to mention that and please factor that into anything I talk about doing throughout the day. Anytime I have to go outside, it sucks. ... way too cold. Long & McQuade was fun... I like that store a lot... always comparing every L&M we visit across the country to my "home base" store in Toronto... it's the best one! I thought about buying some more sticks but I think I'm decently stocked for the trip. They had these 2 tiny drum kits so I moved them together to great an awesomely huge tiny drum kit. The guy working in rentals looked at me like I was a loser... then thought it was cool we were playing MTS Centre tonight... Tim dropped the venue causally in conversation. ... about that. ... when we got to the venue I was bottling up some emotions.... We played an NHL arena tonight... I got to play drums in an NHL arena tonight! I half jokingly respond to people who poke fun at what I do for a living and/or the idea of playing in a band... since I'm not getting any younger... but I tell them life is short and if something happens tomorrow (aka "hit by a bus"), I feel like I'll have spent a lot of my life chasing goals and experiences others have given up on... if it ends tomorrow... I put in a good effort. Music has taken me across the country, ocean to ocean, and hopefully to Europe eventually... but today was another milestone. Age of Days has played a couple arenas in the past but this was the biggest... MTS Centre was pretty big! ... home of the WInnipeg Jets! ... and their AHL affiliate! The Manitoba Moose! I'll be honest, I spent a good part of today abusing my "all access" pass poking around anywhere I saw hockey equipment... and as difficult as it was, I didn't touch anything. I never know the limits of my willpower until I saw a full stick rack... unsupervised... I hopped a couple barriers and took some pics of the stage setup from the back of the venue. It was 2pm and they still had a lot to do... it's crazy to see how much goes into a show this big... and say what you want about Disturbed as a band... but they have an intense light show and pyro. There's work to do to set this all up. I checked out the production schedule on the wall: - Disturbed 4:30pm soundcheck - Disturbed 5pm dinner ... - Doors at 6:30 - Age of Days 7:30 ... during lunch I thought about this... we're not going to get a soundcheck... basically line check... if that. Saint Asonia is super pro but I'm sure they still would like a basic sound check.... there's still a lot to set up stage wise though. We tried doing as much as we could to prepare all afternoon for when we got the call but it's tough when you feel like anywhere you go, you're in the way. People are being nice to you but you still feel like you should just get out of the way... we ended up loading out beside one of the dumpsters backstage. I joked with one of the organizers in the area if it was fine there... if it was out of the way... beside the dumpster... he laughed and patted me on the back and said it's ok there... and don't worry. ... I just mainly wanted my gear out of the trailer... it was freezing! You know your hardware is cold when you open the bag and it instantly frosts up since it's now inside... in warmth... and forget about actually picking up anything metal... it burns your hands. So cold! ... side note... another reason, especially on tours like this... two words... rental... drums! I've seen people drag everything in for security reasons, but really, if you park correctly, you can trust your gear is safe (we still bring in guitars though). Treat your gear like tools... with respect but also realize they aren't precious... and again, with drums... they all sound the same through a PA if someone knows what they're doing. $500 or $5,000 kit. ... this rental is $66/month... call it $2/day! ... I'm serious... if you can tune them decently... you'll be fine. ... more worried about my cymbals... the idea of hitting them and instantly breaking. Oh... I ripped apart my bags and cases again and ended up finding my iPod in the bottom of my stick bag... felt much better after that! I like having 3... 3 is safer than 2... and 1 is just unsafe. I think it was around 5:45pm we got yelled at to load our gear on stage. It was a very hurry up and wait day so when we saw Disturbed finish their sound check we assumed Saint Asonia was up next... ... nope. ... we both are up next. ... we loaded on stage right on top of them basically. It was kinda crazy but we tried our best to get set up and also stay out of Saint Asonia's crew's way. "Doors in 9 (minutes)" We were almost ready to soundcheck by that point. I was hoping we could finish our quick line check then get off stage... I feel like a bit of a loser sound checking when the crowd is coming in. "2 minutes to doors." ... well there goes not feeling like a bit of a loser. A steady stream of people came from all entrances to the floor. Some people really wanted to be up front... it was similar to how things feel at outdoor festivals... they've committed to not drinking, eating, smoking, or peeing the next 4 hrs. We finished our line check at 7:10pm... on at 7:25pm. ... back to the dressing room. "5 minutes til you're on boys" ... fist in the middle then we were off to side stage. "... there's 5 of you, I see 4 of you... where's the other guy?" ... where the frig is Reid??? He was just here!?? I figured he ran around to stage left but I had to be sure he wasn't in the bathroom in our (awesome) dressing room. I ran back 20ft opened the door and yelled for him... no dice... ran to the bathroom doors... yelled... no dice... ... I ran back to stage right and heard the intro music starting... oh shit... I ran up the stairs jumped on my throne, put in my in ears (monitors) and then the rest was a slow motion blur... ... there's a lot of people here... and oh there's Reid... good... everything is good. Despite not feeling like I played my best... after the first song, hearing the crowd cheer... it hit me... I'm playing drums in an NHL arena... a legit rock show in an NHL arena... this is awesome... this is sooo fuuhging cool! I'm mean muggin' a lot when I play but I was ear to ear grinnin' on the inside. ... everyone felt it too... we talked about it after. There are times when you think "yeah... this might be a highlight" opposed to a milestone... but I was trying to think about what could be better... direct support instead of opener"? Yeah that's fine... I'll go with that... always need goals! And the best kinda goals are NEW goals. :-) Saint Asonia ripped it... they're so good. "King Of Nothing" is my fav in their set. The jury is still out for my fav song in the Disturbed set... I'll decide after Lethbridge. ... speaking of Disturbed though... they had at least 30% more lights and fire tonight. It was intense... the audience loved it though. Great crowd! My phone ran out of storage so I couldn't take more pictures... I took a video during "The Light" and that ate up the rest of the space. ... oh, Dan Donegan introduced himself today when Matt, Tim, and I were watching the set up... curious if our Evans Blue connection will come up during the trip... It was cool though... said we sounded pretty good... Matt replied with "yeah we've been away for a while... about a year now"... blanking on hor Disturbed hasn't really played live in around 5 years... classic (Matt) McLaughlin. It was funny though. ... Dan seems pretty nice... everyone seems chill so far. Anyway... I was really hoping to get out of the venue by 12:30am since we have a 12hr (or 16hr) drive tomorrow to Lethbridge. It's a day off so it's not super bad, but still better to get to the hotel as early as possible. Getting in at 4am sucks. ... our dressing room turned into a bit of a party and... well... now it's 4am. ... all I can say is some chicks tried to steal our fruit tray... but I shut that down. I should get to bed... breakfast at 8am, "bus call" for 9am. ... I also said no to McDonald's on the way back to the hotel... forgot to mention but we had our full rider today... we had tons of food in our dressing room... it was a pretty awesome day... - Mike :-) P.S. I'll proof read this again in the morning... soooo tired. P.P.S. I found my keys when I got back to the hotel. I clipped them onto a different part of my chain... Matt handed them back to me this morning when I was ripping apart my luggage so I thought I put them on the table... couldn't find them when I got back then noticed them near my laminate... so stupid... this is why I have grey hairs! P.P.P.S Shout out to the drunk guy who waved off security, telling them he's ok... when 3 minute later he was barfing his face off in the stands. You sir, were not ok. February 12, 2016 - 11:47pm The lady taking care of the hotel breakfast area was nice enough to leave the room unlocked well past 9am for us... mind you we got there at 8:30am... she could tell we could use the extra time... plus we did a good job cleaning up quite a bit of what was left... we raided it "zombie apocalypse" style. ... I guess there's a skating competition going on in the area. We saw a few girls with their parents (in team jackets) pushing around luggage carts with garment bags... those jackets that have no business being in -20C weather. We got on the conversation (a few new parents I know have joked about it), about how they hope their kids are either really good at sports or have no interest at all since it's so expensive. I think team sports are great for kids but unfortunately some kids turn into lottery tickets/retirement plans for some parents. It's one thing to be supportive, it's another to be insisting. We related it to music but really... there isn't much money in music anymore... as people know it at least... the model has changed too much for most to recognize it as a career choice... or a retirement plan for their folks. I'm not saying you can't make a living in music, being proof of that, but the money isn't is insane as it was 20 or even 10 years ago. It can be a living wage though... regardless how many people poke fun at the idea you do music for a living... or play in a band... a band they probably haven't even heard of. ... back to the sports thing though... I think it's a very delicate balance when it comes to support. You want people to give you the nudge when needed but not force you to stay the course. Music, like sports, is a choice... and if your heart isn't in it, it's better to walk away... and either find something else to fill the void or... I guess... carry on with a smaller heart... slightly jaded and bitter. ... but I always think things are going to work out (one way or another) in music... which creates drive. We got on the topic of concussions and I half joke to myself about maybe hitting my head too hard when I was younger... and that is the reason I haven't "grown up" and grown out of music... the way I see music as a career at least. ... still... seeing them walk around the hotel... is the luggage cart following their daughter, or is their daughter following the luggage cart...? ... ... I took a lot of fruit before we left. Today is basically a travel day... 3.5 hrs to head to Winnipeg and pick up Seb (our FOH = front of house = "sound guy") at the airport. Gas is so much cheaper in the US... so is food. We tried to going to some place... Culver's(??) for lunch. We walked in... I looked at the pictures of the food on the menu and my gut said no... the way I see it... if the food needs that much colour correction to look appetizing... it probably tastes awesome but will leave you feeling like garbage soon after... and I'm doing my best to eat somewhat well... since McDonald's at 2am takes you downhill fast when you're already getting barely any exercise. We ended up at Subway... I had a craving for pickles and olives so it worked out alright. Crossing back into Canada was easy. We have nothing to hide but we are also not complaining one bit it's been so smooth... 2/2! Oh... just before, Tim mentioned we couldn't bring fruit back with us... again, I'd taken quite a bit from breakfast... so I consumed as much as I could to avoid having to toss it... I was pretty fruited up. Tim brought it up to the border officer and he said fruits/vegetables are ok (aka "it don't matter"). Just a heads up if anybody needs cauliflower... let me know... I'm back the end of the month. There was some blue sky today on the interstate... it's been grey for a while now so it was refreshing... getting to Winnipeg though... I don't know why the GPS insists on driving through it instead of around it... and by the time you realize it, it's too late. Same thing, every time we're here. We picked up Seb and headed to the hotel. The girl at the front desk (and I use the term girl for a reason) had a bit of an edge to her while dealing with Matt, Tim, and I. She had that "slightly bitchy older sister" vibe about her... which was fine... I thought it was funny... but she didn't think we were too funny unless it was at our expense... and once she found out we were from Toronto (Matt, always assuring people he wasn't born there), she said it (we) all makes sense now... whatever that means. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ *cough* The hotel is the kinda hotel that didn't put the hotel rooms in the hotel. The girl at the front desk was laughing at us for trying to find how to get to the rooms. "Sorry, you have to go outside to get to your rooms." The rooms are fine though... it's actually really good to be getting to bed somewhat early tonight... although I wish I was able to sit in the lobby... I like hanging out in them... and I don't feel like I'm buggin' people who are trying to sleep. We ended up going for dinner at a pretty good restaurant across the street... the Jets VS Bruins game was on AND it was wing night... terrible combo for my diet... Reid and I split an order of wings to pre-game our entrees... they were super good though... could've easily eaten 3lbs... $3.99/lb... dangerous! Dinner was awesome actually... pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw, and fries. I had a good chat with Reid and Seb on the way back and stopped by the front desk (in the hotel) to grab some more towels. ... queen sassy pants seemed to be in a better mood now when I asked her for more towels... although her sass flared up when she asked how many and I said 3... as if 3 is just a dumb ass number of towels for someone to ask for. I asked her name (no name tag... or maybe her name tag is in the desk drawer... considering this is the type of place that didn't put the hotel rooms in the hotel) and thanked her by name. She then asked where we're playing in town. ... I looked over at the TV on the wall showing the Bruins Vs Jets game. "Oh, uh... MTS Centre..." She was caught off guard and I'd known what'd I'd done... but I thought it was pretty funny. The timing was too good. She asked the band name and said she thinks she's heard of us... I'm going to assume she hasn't since she said she "thinks she has". I said we're out with Disturbed and Saint Asonia (who she has heard of)... she said that sounds like a pretty awesome tour to be on... good luck and have fun! ... I assured her we certainly aren't doing it for the money... it is pretty fun though... Pretty low key at the hotel tonight though. A bit more post-mortem on the show last night but mainly just enjoying sweatpants, TV, and convo. ... and now Snoretallica. Aiming to be at the venue for 1-2pm tomorrow... hopefully the van starts... it's friggin' cold outside. ... got to wear my legit adult winter boots to dinner though... glad I brought them! Mike :-) February 11, 2016 - 12:51am ... so after posting yesterday's blog... I took a quick shower and then raided the hotel breakfast... at 6:15am. I thought I could rope Dane into going with me but alas, I was by my lonesome, eating waffles and watching CNN. ... I slept like a baby afterwards though until 10am. We had some good convo going on in the hotel this morning... we were killing time until going to the venue but we also had a nervous/anxiousness to our vibe. Age of Days hasn't really been on stage in a year (not that we're concerned)... but you're curious what the hiccups will be and how much rust needs to get knocked off... and considering the venue is called "Fargo Civic Center" and it's close to sold out... that's where the anxiousness comes from... nobody wants to go on stage and suck in front of 12 people, or 1,200... although if you suck in front of 1,200 people... you learn to stop sucking a lot quicker... or quit. The venue is super close to the hotel... we were told to be there at 2pm... we showed up at 1:45pm and scouted the venue. ... yeah it looks like a basketball arena... too small for hockey. It's still big though. Saint Asonia was just beginning to set up... I've seen them headline in Toronto so I knew what to expect. ... yup... they sound pretty thick. ... people can say what they want about Adam Gontier but he walked on stage and killed it... off the bus in soundcheck. I say it all the time... with singers... you have the tone, or you don't... it's harsh but true... it's a thing that can't be taught... you just learn how to control the gift you've been given... or smoked your vocal chords upon. It was very hurry up and wait... and we're all nervous to make sure the crew in the building like us... and to let us know whatever we should be doing (or not doing!) to make their lives easier. ... 3 major things I find make these situations go smoothly: 1) Never assume. If you don't know, ask. Even if it's a stupid question, I just say "sorry, possible stupid question..." and ask. Assuming is how you get yelled at. 2) Don't go over your set time. If you're supposed to be on 7-7:30, then that is your set time. Going over 1-2 minutes can ruin your relationship with the stage/production/tour manager... and that's a basement couch you don't want to sleep on. 3) Common sense and common courtesy. Sounds simple right? Idiots fail this test first chance they get... and when you're an opening band, you are not equal to the headliner or anybody above you... and that's ok! It's their show, it's their ticket. It's their fans. You're along for the ride... or less. Introduce yourself and ask them what they want you do to. Don't worry, they'll let you know about your rider, food, soundcheck time, etc. They will tell you... I promise! Soundcheck went well... my drums were pretty cold from being in the trailer the last 36hrs... well my rental drums... all the hardware had frost on it. Yes, I rent a kit when I can... why? Because I don't want my main kit bouncing around in a van/trailer for 70 hrs the next three weeks... or to have to drag it all into the hotel room every night... and also because 90% of drums sound the same once mic'd up and through a PA. Argue you all you want but once you've tuned up the kit, the tone comes from the player. I can confidently say this because a) I've mic'd up a lot of kits the past 10+ years and b) I've listened to multiple people play my kit during several shows and have noticed the difference. A few years ago I had a FOH guy come up to me and tell me my kit sounded completely different (better) when I was playing it... and it was now official in his mind that there's only so much he can do on his end... the source/player can make a huge difference. ... so we finished our soundcheck but forgot to check this intro/walk-on thing I made. ... our monitors tech took my "intro iPod" over to his station, plugged it in, hit play, and I think most people in the venue pee'd (or worse) themselves a little. ... the subs work! ... it was pretty loud! ... like... the loudest. ... 20 minute story short... it was patched in wrong and... almost blew the system.... and that would've been a bad start. ... it got sorted though... it's pretty cool hearing a piece of audio on a system that large... curious to hear something I've recorded (music/song wise) through it. ... finish sound check... it's dinner time... there was catering. ... yes! I just wanted to eat piles of meatloaf and mashed potatoes... but I knew my limit... and my limit wasn't anywhere near how much I wanted to actually eat... It was now 6:30pm and I hadn't really eaten since 6:30am. Finish dinner, and anxiously pace around our dressing room... which is like locker room... which I'm cool with. I'd typically be at hockey Wednesday nights so this is sorta close... except it's 5 on 2,000+ (I think) ... 9 minutes to stage time. I head down to stage right... the rest of the guys follow. ... 1 minute to stage time. We put our fists in the middle and decide to go throw down... it's good to be back. ... intro music cues. ... I walk on stage. ... I forgot how dark darkness is when you're in the dark and everything is dark black. I have 3 things to do: 1) not trip over anything 2) plug in my iPod (which was charging) for my click tracks 3) rock ... 1 was fine... but I could NOT find the cable for my iPod anywhere... black cable... in the dark... not good! I hear the intro music about to wrap up... I make a game time decision... I can either delay and awkwardly get it plugged in once the house lights come on... or put my inears in, and just go for it ... my gut said I'd be fine. We rolled the first two tunes without the click and it was fine... we/I rehearse all the time with it so I know the feel... so does everyone else too so it's easier to lock in. That being said, I couldn't hear much on stage... it's a big stage so Reid being so far to the left of me... without him in my monitor, I can't hear him at all... and he was just barely in my monitors. We have a break after the 2nd song so I plugged things in and we're back to normal. ... holy smokes do the songs feel slow... which means my adrenalin is running things right now... which I hate the feeling of... but another reason why I love playing to a click... sometimes it's slow, sometimes it's fast... but I know it's always right! The set went well though... we had a spot we wanted to try and snap a pic of the crowd so I grabbed my phone and took a couple. Good times... great crowd! Off stage we went through our usual motions where everyone is riding high on the fun of being on stage but also apologizing for little mistakes. ... I think you should allow yourself 3-5 minor mistakes only you'd notice... any major train wreck (or bed shitting) stuff should be addressed the next day... in short, enjoy the evening since it's too easy to beat yourself up when there's nothing you can do about it RIGHT NOW. I packed up (we had tons of stage hands and I didn't know what to do with them) and went over to merch... which was busy. Selling CD's, signing stuff, and taking pics with (new) fans. Good times! I missed all of Saint Asonia's set but made sure to catch all of Disturbed's. I had to see it... the stage setup looked pretty nuts... the lighting is top notch! They didn't disappoint. This is a great tour to be on. We're very grateful and I hope we're able to maintain any momentum we gain the next few weeks. We all want to play... and I hope we can count to 3 and jump. ... music is a choice. There is a Perkin's beside the hotel... there's also a McDonald's... we went with Perkin's... although it took forever to get our food, it was a good chance to chat about the show and have that "come down" period. There were a few people there who recognized us and asked for guitar picks and more or less, to sit down at the table with us... which is a little awkward. I'll make sure to carry picks from now on. ... pretty tired though... and we don't have to leave til 12pm tomorrow to drive to Winnipeg. I miss wifi and I miss my normal data plan. Reid and I are sitting in the 2nd floor lounge area with our laptops... and cherry coke... because as Reid pointed out... there's no Cherry Coke in Winnipeg after all! ... you don't have to twist my arm about that. Mike :-) February 10, 2016 - 4:20am ... I set my alarm for 3:40am yesterday... 4am "bus call" outside the house (Reid and Dane were there since midnight)... finish packing up the trailer and we're on the road by 5am to cross the border as close to 8am as we can. Toronto (ON) to Fargo (ND) is a bit of a drive... we're use to (unfortunately) the drive from Calgary to Winnipeg (13 hrs + 30% = 17hrs), today was a Googlemaps 18 hr trip... then add on the 30% real world driving time = 23.5 hrs... so let's call it a 24 hr drive... we're supposed to be at the venue tomorrow for 2pm... ... lots of time! lol. *tear* ... but yeah... monster drive. All things considered our van/trailer set up is pretty awesome. I call it the "fishbowl". It's more a shuttle van opposed to a typical cargo van but there's tons of space (compared to what we're use to) for us to be comfortable and actually have space... you can stand up in it! If you've ever tried to put your pants in a GMC Safari van... and I'm sorry if you have... you'll understand. Just the fact all of us can stretch out in the van is great. So in short, the 24hr straight drive wasn't awful... we're here now... spirits are good... tea station at the Travelodge has been raided. So how do we pass the time? Again, if you've read my past tour blogs, we're an odd band in the sense that (not that we had the ability in the past) we don't really listen to music or the radio. We talk. We read. We play games on our devices... but we very, very rarely blast music or watch movies. Maybe that'll change someday but even with a fully functioning radio, it rarely gets used. One game we did play today (whoever is up front), the GPS obviously tells you how much time is remaining... so every hour that passed, we tried to attach a memory to... yearbook styles. Remember the good times we had with the "hours remaining" about to pass... 21 hrs - border crossing, which was VERY smooth. Then again most of us have had/have visas so we were in and out in maybe 20 minutes. 19hrs - snow storm/accident. We knew there'd be traffic somewhere and had our fingers cross the weather would hold up. We didn't see much of the aftermath of the accident since clean up was mostly done, but we had a 1.5hr delay where traffic was slightly rerouted. 16hrs - Bob Evans (I think)... oh Bob Evans... we love your warm, sodium infused embrace. *tear* ... yeah it's a blur now... 10 was remembered as the last of the double digits, 7 was driving for 45 mins without the trailer lights on, 5 was exit 112 and McDonalds, and now we're here. I'll admit... when I wasn't up front riding shotgun, I was asleep. Stay ahead of the sleep game if you can! Your eyes will thank you!!! I'm definitely going to sleep after I'm done this (then up at 6 to eat if I'm not still awake, then sleep more), but I feel alright... some people can sleep in the van, some can't... I definitely can... I could probably sleep in the chair I'm sitting in... but that'd be weird... mainly because this guy is watching me... Oh... weather wise, I held off saying anything all day in the van about "the weather not being bad" or "having good luck with the weather!" We drove out of a slight blizzard this morning and hit traffic once. Even with 6 hrs left I held my tongue... since things can go wrong very quickly on road trips. There were a couple times the roads were bad (bumpy) were you think you have a flat... which can screw up the plan when it's 20 hrs into a drive and -20C (or something) outside (my hands were freezing trying to get the trailer unlocked). Imagine trying to change a tire or make a call for help... that sucks... and being honest, time wise, today had to go smoothly. ... my thoughts... don't talk about how great things are going when you can wait and talk about how good things went! ... the weather was pretty great today overall. ... similar reason why I didn't start writing this in the van. I had time... but even with 3 hrs left, I'll wait... just in case... and sleep. ... so I think there's only one more big drive on this tour...we'll know it when we see it (the day before, like usual) I guess.... We're all looking forward to getting into the venue tomorrow to see what Disturbed has going on stage wise. Most of the venues are pretty large so my guess is they're going to fill it... with production and fans. ... fun times so far... I'm serious... even after a entire day in the van... a lot of laughs already. Mike :-) P.S. ... cherry coke!!! (I haven't got into it yet... but I will... I'm not a big pop drinker but this... this is my jam.) P.P.S American Hockey Players!!!
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Mike Langford - Official BlogBeing on both sides of the glass, I get the chance to wear many hats in the music industry. This is a place to share my thoughts, views, predictions, rants, stories and news! Categories
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