October 13, 2013 ... we made it out of the hotel parking lot at 5:57am. I slept most of the drive to Minneapolis today. Tim nudged me in the van to wake me up once we got close to the border... the officer there seemed pretty easy going... didn't make fun of us too long about our van and sent us on our way. ... I think we drove a couple more hours until we stopped for breakfast... breakfast at IHOP! We've been trying to hit up one for a while now but finally... we made it! Pancakes! Pancakes with everything! Pancakes with a side of Pancakes! ... you'd think the highlight of IHOP would be the pancakes but it wasn't... it was Marvin our waiter... he was awesome. A lanky black gentleman with a tight afro and a peppy line for every single question you could throw at him... always delivered with a straight face. Wanna know about drinks? Marvin will fill you in. Sides? Marvin has the inside scoop. Can't decide what you want? Marvin knows what you need.... and above all that... he will tell you how many pancakes your meal comes with. ... IHOP... known for their fluffy pancakes. The food was good... I really liked all the berry flavored syrups they have on the table. Marvin brought us out hot maple syrup but go with the berry stuff... it's all sugar anyway. After we finished eating... Marvin kicked into high gear. "Lemme get that outta yo' way." As if our empty plates and dirty cutlery were mobs of people crowding our space... Marvin took care of them... he cleared the path... and every time he leaned in to take something off the table... "Lemme get that outta yo' way." "Lemme just get that outta yo' way fo' ya." "Lemme get that... make some space here... get that outta the way." I thought he was amazing. He was working hard. When I was at the cash breaking a bill for the tip, I noticed everyone there was working pretty hard. I also noticed some people were treating the employees like crap, and some were treating them as what I'd consider "normal" (aka politely). Work hard, be polite... the rest is up to everyone else. ... in short... again... Marvin was awesome. After breakfast we were back in the van and once again en route to the legendary First Avenue. Speaking of driving... I totally missed something yesterday. Mike Mascioli (Age Of Days - Manager) met up with us in Winnipeg to catch a couple shows and he was travelling with us today. When I came out for "bus call", he was already in the drivers' seat... ready to go. He drove the entire way today (7 hours). It might not seem like a big deal, but it allowed everyone to sleep/pass out. Something we all very much needed... especially Matt. He does the bulk of the driving and has been a tank regarding the "grinder" work overall. These kinda jobs take their toll after a while and if you toss in something like a head cold... the grind really wears away at you. Matt might argue he only slept a couple hours today... but being able to sit shotgun and sleep/rest most of the day while Mike drove makes a big difference. Matt looks healthier today. lol. Thinking about it more... at this level... the balance between good/not good is very sensitive. Minor inconveniences can snowball into major problems just as a minor hand can be a huge help. I'm pretty sure Mike will read this, but seriously, thanks again for driving today... it's going to make a big difference this week (6 shows in a row) with everyone getting some rest today. Minneapolis was pretty neat on first impression... except all the sad looking Vikings fans wandering the streets. Being a Leafs fan, it was kinda like seeing Leafs fans the last decade except in purple football jerseys. The venue is amazing. I wish I took more pictures... especially the outside. Seems like everyone has played there. They have the names written in these silver stars on the outside of the building which is super cool. In behind the stage they had some old set lists. There were two I had to snap pics of... I'll be honest... I touched them. ... I had to... it's The Hives! ... and friggin' Soundgarden... well probably just Cornell now that I actually read the song titles... but still! Show went well... crowd was awesome again. I ended up running merch a bit more tonight... I think I'll end up doing that until we have a full time merch person. It's easy for me and I enjoy it. I did sneak off during Pop Evil and Papa Roach to take some pics though. ... apparently there was a guy in a wheelchair crowd surfing during Papa Roach... I wish I had of seen that. That is definitely something to see! lol. Pop Evil did a meet and greet/signing after Papa Roach's set and the merch area was buzzing for quite a while after the show. We are selling a ton of CD's and many of the people buying are saying they had no idea who we were before tonight... but were pleasantly surprised. ... it's awesome. We're now back at the hotel... 2 queens tonight... big upgrade! Breakfast too! I'm hanging out in the front lobby/lounge area... the front desk guy probably thinks I'm nuts since I'm still up click-clackin' away on my laptop at 2:30am. ... well... nuts or "important". It was a good day though. Day off/travel day tomorrow to Flint. Laundry is a must tomorrow. I'm out of clean shirts... although... I wonder how far I could get tomorrow just wearing track pants and a tie. - Mike P.S. That guy's body language tells me he might have accidentally set that ginormous fire behind him. I'm tempted to sharpie in some whistling notes to make it official.
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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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