January 25, 2017 - 12:05am I have a confession... ... I took the pen. I discovered we had a similar but not the same pen in our hotel room... so I took it down to the business center, and swapped it out. I think Dane was with me when I did and I think he knows me well enough to not question it. There are a lot of things that can appear similar but don't feel the same. If you play an instrument... you understand... 10 guitars that are "the same" but certain ones just feel better... same with (I Am Canadian) hockey sticks... there can be 20 on the rack... I'll pick up every single one and put the ones that feel good off to the side. ... anyways... it wasn't about the guilt of taking the pen, it was the guilt of someone in the business center not having a pen if they needed... meanwhile in the room, the cleaning staff would replace it. ... this is how my brain works. I got the pen though. ... although, I think I traded my gym shoes for it... or at least I think that's what happened. #karma We were up at 6am to do radio in Harrisonburg/92.1 WTPA for 10am. It was a few hours drive but a big part of this tour is being able to stop in at stations to chat and pass our record along. We made it there in record time (no pun intended) to find the radio station was run out of a house... like, the rooms had been converted... it was pretty cool! We met with Bob Waters, he put the album on and we chatted about the past, present, and future of Never Say Die. Some of these are quicker and/or unnecessarily longer than other, but getting up at 6am, driving 3hrs, then chatting for 10-15mins about your music in a legit radio station is totally worth it. Both sides get it, but also both sides want to support each other. There were plaques and posters from bands like Halestorm and Disturbed on the walls so there's some common ground to chat about... and good company to be in! Does this mean you'll get spins? Not necessarily... there's still a lot of things that play into whether you might get a feature or an add... but regardless... you want to try to get some ears on your music... and they hear a lot of great music... but even then, I think they want to give a helping hand to bands and artists they like and feel deserve it. ... and what we're doing sounds sorta crazy on paper... new band, release a record 3 months later, then head out on tour for 2+ months. ... we're making a statement though... bold actions and big risks... we came down here to grind it out and support our music... building the wings on the way down. Bob complimented us on the hustle. I'm glad we made it... mad props to Brendan for forcing himself to sleep in order to get the drive done. We went to Jimmy John's for lunch... sandwiches/subs are $5.. we don't have these in Canada. I'm in love. You order, they make it, and almost before you finish paying, it's ready... no picking additional toppings or waiting for your number to be called... you have a sammy in your hands before you know it. ... so in love. *tear* Hotel's in Staunton, PA to help break up the drive... I passed out a couple times the rest of the way... I really hate falling asleep in the passenger seat... it's a pet peeve of mine... your job should be to be a second set of eyes for the driver... my eyes were too heavy though... and I'd realize I'm asleep after it's too late. About half way through the second leg of the drive, I realized I didn't remember packing my gym shoes... and odds are if I didn't grab them, nobody else did. ... frig. On all the trips I'd brought them, this was THE FIRST time I'd actually used them. My guess is they got knocked under the foot of the bed... and missed on the dummy check... since I didn't check under the beds. ... way she goes. For bands out there, one of the things I do, is keep moving "our" things towards the exit when we're packing up... that way things don't get left behind. It's one thing to take care of your own stuff, but in the chaos, try to be that second set of eyes. It's always better someone asked "who moved my..." opposed to "Did anybody see my..." Anyway, I made peace with it quick... again... don't bring anything on tour you aren't prepared to lose, destroy, or have leave you. Godspeed gym shoes... I hope you find yourself in a donations big... you are in good shape... while I am not. *cough* We hung out at the hotel for a bit working our socials... discovered we were added to a new poll for a station in Minnesota... if we win, we're put into rotation so we went into beast mode to get our numbers up... we started at 1.27% or something... went out for dinner at 60%. ... it's a blessing and curse having competitive people in a band... the blessing is when we work as a team... the curse is when we challenge other over stupid things... like running up a hill. *cough* There's a mall across the street and looks like I might find some gym shoes there... I'm determined to spend at least 30 mins in a gym on off days... and I'm determined to return home in better shape than I left for a change. Made it into the mall just before they were closing the doors/gate. ... it was quite a search for men's running shoes. ... found some... salesman tried to upsell me a little but I settled on a pair of black and red Nike's for $50... or so I thought... he rang them up and I saw $41 come up. (... start the car.) Then the question came... "... so are you guys in a band or something?" We definitely look like we're in a band. I will say, of all the years with Age Of Days, we were never asked as much if we were in a band as we have in a week... then again, maybe it's because Age Of Days usually had access passes/laminates on. Yeah we're in a band. ... there was the other time we were asked if we were "political activists" but that was more funny than anything... because we totally look like it when we're in our stage clothes... dress code... black/grey. So post shoe buying... we were trying to decide between Clown and Applebee's. I just wanted a salad and something quick in order to hit the gym before they closed. It's funny how much you can talk about not wanting to go to McDondald's as you're walking to McDonalds... it was closer though... and we haven't really been yet on this trip... aside "awesome Walmart parking lot day." ... 2 double cheeseburgers, and salad. $5 Made it back to the hotel and gym in time... I sorta like the gym because I can listen to music, audiobook, or watch youtube game reviews for a bit. So far it's where I can "not work" for an hour. I'm now sitting in yet another hotel lobby... finishing my day... bed by 1am. Oh! I should mention incase you're wondering... YES! Yes we do intend on playing shows on this tour. Seriously. There was a hiccup at the beginning and ALY (Another Lost Year) requested to push back the start date a week. Being Canadians, we had to cross on the 18th so booking found a couple short notice dates. Is it expensive for us to be out without any shows? In short, yes... but we're out for a while anyway... so it's the same as if we played some horrible shows to nobody... you just don't have the knock to your ego or get to (at least) practice. I don't mind... mainly because looking at the schedule, we're pretty much "go, go, go" the next 3 weeks. ... and that's where stories come from. - Mike :-) P.S. Oatmeal again for breakfast. P.P.S Dane wanted to do other things at McDonald's.. but we compromised on this... he was allowed to wear this McWreath for the duration of one burger... or 45 seconds... whatever came sooner. We love you Dane.
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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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