February 3, 2017 - 4:37 pm ... stuck in rush hour traffic in Dallas/Ft Worth, TX!! Good times... I know... so I figured now is a good time to crank this out... Reid and Dane are playing some songs and live streaming from the van. #technology ... side note, I tried hard to do this last night before I went to bed but there was still more paperwork and logistics to take care of in the morning... tour managers... totally understand their gig now! lol. *tear* So yesterday... finally got to play again! Even though it was only 2 days off, it's felt like a long time in between. ... my morning was like groundhogs day... woke up at 9:20am, hotel breakfast, emails and a couple calls, gym, then we were out the door to the venue around 4:30pm. ... which we couldn't find the entrance to. Googlemaps is pretty good and locating things... but when there's a parking lot the size of a city block, it's not entirely sure what to tell you. ... so we drove around... and around... and around for a bit. Finally zoomed in enough so we could virtually walk ourselves from the Hooters over to Thunder Alley (venue). #technology Met at a couple guys from Lullwater outside... we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the next couple months. Inside the venue... quite a few tables and chairs... this will be interesting. Reid has hopped off the stage quite a bit during our set so... I'm wondering if he'll make use of "the props"... and how sturdy said "props" are. ... there was an opening band... and I don't remember their name... but would feel worse skipping them altogether. I am sorry... you were good though! ... awkwardly fast forward... LullWater is pretty sweet! They're in the realm of Monster Truck for those of you back home... big riffs and big cymbals... me likey. We were up next... If there's one thing we're going to get good at... it's referred to as "throw'n go". Where you get your gear on stage, set up, and ready to go... within 15 minutes... everything... preferably 10minutes. This is something to keep in mind when bands have elaborate stage setups (lights, track rigs, in-ear rigs, etc). All of this stuff takes time to set up and the quicker and more efficient you are, the less stage managers for larger tour will hate you and make your life miserable. There were times on the Age of Days tour with Disturbed when we had literally 3mins to set up. Granted we had stage hands helping... but that was fast... oh... and Saint Asonia was setting up at the same time behind us. ... if you don't know what you're doing... it can be stressful. So we throw our stuff on stage... and get going. I've been starting our intro from the stage for these shows and I kinda like it... I really like our intro... and I like having control over when the button is pushed and it's rippin' time. ... speaking of throwing... Reid... Reid on stage is consistent... but also involves an element of spontaneity and danger... which I think its great... it's definitely fun to watch (I have great seats for it!) but sometimes things happen... like the Jackson guitar in Berkley (WV). We have a half hour set... we decided to try and cram another tune in, maybe squeeze it to 32-35mins. We got about halfway through and I realize the time wasn't sitting right at all. Reid plays guitar in there but he took his guitar off so I was going to skip one of the tunes and we can start wrappin' it up. He went back to pick his guitar up again and I'm like "ok... too late, I guess we'll play it." ... we start the song and Reid did a sort of somersault and I'm like "well that probably knocked his tuning out... or maybe Brendan forgot to tune down... or up... I don't know... I'm just the drummer... 1, 2, 3 , 4, 1, 2, 3, throre, etc" Into the 1st verse he takes his guitar off and drops it on the ground... and I'm like "ok... probably out of tune... Reid gets mad when things aren't in tune... godspeed guitar.." ... not because I'm afraid he'll smash it... he loves that one... but the stage is kinda weird in that it has a raised portion at the front and it's a bit of a drop if you aren't paying attention and take a step back. Dane continues playing one handed, grabs Reid's guitar and moves it back by me... ... we safely finish the set and throw our gear off the stage asap... we're way over time and I feel bad... even if people say they don't care... I/we care! It's annoying when shows run late because of this stuff. "My guitar broke." ... Reid said with a sadden post-show adrenaline filled smile. Somehow the headstock cracked which would explain the sudden massive tuning issue. ... sorta hard to keep string tension when the part that holds the strings on is able to do the "royal wave". ... so that's 2 guitars. I'm not sure Dane has broken a string yet... or Brendan. ... so Reid might need a guitar endorsement and at this pace, and we might need to cave and get a trailer. The rest of the show was good... Clinton (Another Lost Year) is pretty funny on stage... super comfortable in front of the crowd. He ribbed us a few times about being Canadian... made a couple references to Bryan Adams... to which we responded "we just call him Bryan". (Not sure if he could tell if we were joking... or serious.) They have a couple songs that stand out already for me which I look forward to... certain songs do it for me... so I'm curious if that feeling goes away. Solid band though... actually... I feel like the crappy drummer on the tour too! lol... again!! We stopped by the Clown on the way back to the hotel... 2 McDoubles, small fries, under $5. There was some footage from the show so the guys were watching in our McBooth. "... is that live?" Asked another fellow late night Clowner. "... no... but it was a couple hours ago." "Are you guys in a band??" It's fun when people ask... not entirely for ego reasons... but when you play to a "smaller audience", it's nice to hear someone sound excited to meet a band... followed by "tell me when ya'll are coming through next!!" (... baby steps.) Back to the hotel... I use the force to convince the guys to go to bed before 3am... I stayed up in the lobby a couple more hours... before purchasing a new toothbrush from the front desk. (someone may have used mine... and I can't handle the thought maybe someone did if I'm brushing my teeth....but maybe someone simply toothpasted it up before noticing... anyway... yes I went the entire day without brushing my teeth... and it was awful.) in bed by 3am.. alarm set for 9:20am. 3hr+ drive to Dallas/Ft Worth.... and we need to figure out a hiccup with our guitar situation. - Mike P.S. Forgot we went to Olive Garden for dinner... super tasty but I'm afraid of too much pasta before playing... since it's one of my favs... and I can't stop... won't stop.... all you can eat breadsticks and salad too.
*tear* P.P.S. Yes, I'm finishing and posting this at the show tonight... we have WIFI! P.P.P.S. I'm still working on getting an endorsement/printed sticks from Los Cabos... this guy wasn't taking no for an answer so this is my work around for now. ... 20 pairs left.
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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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