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 :-)
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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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