2008-04-29
2008-04-27
dog
The final sprint. It was St. Louis to Fort Worth yesterday in a grueling drive managed mostly by Marshall Galactic. The tour is over - 11 shows, 2 tickets, 3400 miles, and sixty shots later - my back from all the driving!
We started the tour unsure of what to expect. It was our first extensive run as a band and we were naturally nervous. Luckily, the whole thing was a big hairy success. We discovered, to our great pleasure, that The Frontier Brothers are already well known around the country. Our music is moving people in the very ways that we have hoped for. Marshall, Travis, and I - we want to make authentic music. We're uninterested in trends, as they have a habit of passing. Instead, we simply write songs that make sense to us. I think its going to take off. I really do.
We started the tour unsure of what to expect. It was our first extensive run as a band and we were naturally nervous. Luckily, the whole thing was a big hairy success. We discovered, to our great pleasure, that The Frontier Brothers are already well known around the country. Our music is moving people in the very ways that we have hoped for. Marshall, Travis, and I - we want to make authentic music. We're uninterested in trends, as they have a habit of passing. Instead, we simply write songs that make sense to us. I think its going to take off. I really do.
2008-04-24
yawn
six hour drive. seven hour drive. eight hour drive. when I'm not in a car am I dreaming? show. show. show. tour.
2008-04-23
New York City
New York City was a major success. We played Sullivan Hall, an awesome venue on Sullivan and Bleeker, right by Washington Square Park. The show was part of the multi-venue, city-wide Green Apple Music Festival. The Hall has been renovated since last time we played there three months ago, and they added a sweet underground greenroom with a stocked bar. Unfortunately, the band that played before Calhoun, a jam band called Heavy Petters or something like that stole all the beer. Thanks guys! They also have created an uber-hip underground dance club (the kind that are cool because they don't have a sign) underneath the hall. The greenroom shared a back exit with the dance club, so I got to go stand in there for a little while, and get stared at, and feel really Texan and un-hip. However, I was wearing my spandex suit, so it's possible that I was just too hip for everyone there to handle.
Calhoun played an awesome show, to the crowd's dancing pleasure. There were some interesting conversations during the soundcheck, courtesy of the former Motorhead roadie sound guy, who later fondly reminisced about staying up for six days straight on speed. The levels eventually got somewhat figured out, and we put on a really tight, intense show. I had a really good time. Almost every song was at a pretty urgent tempo, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, when the crowd needs to dance.
It was awesome to see a lot of our friends from high school at the show who are now living in NYC, making a place for themselves in the city. I got to see Steph, Kristin, Laura, Edward Landreth, James Gorski, as well as a lot of our NYC friends who I only get to see every few months like Emma, Sarah, Graham, and, most of all, the incredible Emily Skipper who always lets us wake her up at 530 in the morning to come downstairs, let us in, and give us a place to stay.
Lowpoint of NYC? Driving in with a trailor is INSANE. We also parked the van in a parking garage which was INSANE. Most frustrating experience ever, check! The parking garage also had a magically increasing price scale. The initial quote advertised on the outside sign said 12 dollars for 12 hours, plus 5 for oversize vehicles. However, the shift manager at 5:30 in the morning when we arrived in the city from the overnight drive from DC, informed us that our trailor qualified us for Extra-EXTRA Oversize status which meant that we had to pay 37 dollars for overnight. I thought this was kind of bs, but said I would pay in the morning when I could talk to the main manager, since we already had the van halfway in the garage, and I was about to pass out from exhaustion. In the morning the main manager couldn't understand how the night-time manager could have possibly quoted me such a low price, since the the trailor and the van together meant TWO extra-extra oversize charges, adding up to 67 dollars for the night. We ended up paying 48 dollars. I'm not really sure how we got to that number, but I'm pretty sure I got screwed.
We received our second parking ticket of the trip, although the sign appeared to say everything was totally legal, and the club managers encouraged us to park there. Calhoun also got a ticket.
Good news is, we are making way more money at the shows the past few days. At least half of it is going to parking tickets and towing companies, but we actually have a pretty nice stash of gas money going. Our success in not getting a single hotel room the whole trip, and frequently crashing in the car, has saved us a lot of cash. So despite the HUGE hassle of driving our own van and trailor around NYC, the show was awesome, there was a great crowd, and it was totally worth it.
Travis
Calhoun played an awesome show, to the crowd's dancing pleasure. There were some interesting conversations during the soundcheck, courtesy of the former Motorhead roadie sound guy, who later fondly reminisced about staying up for six days straight on speed. The levels eventually got somewhat figured out, and we put on a really tight, intense show. I had a really good time. Almost every song was at a pretty urgent tempo, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, when the crowd needs to dance.
It was awesome to see a lot of our friends from high school at the show who are now living in NYC, making a place for themselves in the city. I got to see Steph, Kristin, Laura, Edward Landreth, James Gorski, as well as a lot of our NYC friends who I only get to see every few months like Emma, Sarah, Graham, and, most of all, the incredible Emily Skipper who always lets us wake her up at 530 in the morning to come downstairs, let us in, and give us a place to stay.
Lowpoint of NYC? Driving in with a trailor is INSANE. We also parked the van in a parking garage which was INSANE. Most frustrating experience ever, check! The parking garage also had a magically increasing price scale. The initial quote advertised on the outside sign said 12 dollars for 12 hours, plus 5 for oversize vehicles. However, the shift manager at 5:30 in the morning when we arrived in the city from the overnight drive from DC, informed us that our trailor qualified us for Extra-EXTRA Oversize status which meant that we had to pay 37 dollars for overnight. I thought this was kind of bs, but said I would pay in the morning when I could talk to the main manager, since we already had the van halfway in the garage, and I was about to pass out from exhaustion. In the morning the main manager couldn't understand how the night-time manager could have possibly quoted me such a low price, since the the trailor and the van together meant TWO extra-extra oversize charges, adding up to 67 dollars for the night. We ended up paying 48 dollars. I'm not really sure how we got to that number, but I'm pretty sure I got screwed.
We received our second parking ticket of the trip, although the sign appeared to say everything was totally legal, and the club managers encouraged us to park there. Calhoun also got a ticket.
Good news is, we are making way more money at the shows the past few days. At least half of it is going to parking tickets and towing companies, but we actually have a pretty nice stash of gas money going. Our success in not getting a single hotel room the whole trip, and frequently crashing in the car, has saved us a lot of cash. So despite the HUGE hassle of driving our own van and trailor around NYC, the show was awesome, there was a great crowd, and it was totally worth it.
Travis
2008-04-21
Our Friends
My stomach hurts after last night. We picked up a six pack of what Philadelphians simply call "lager" (yeungling) and a half dozen shots of something. The show was - well - we ended up playing very late. Dipping into some TFB history, we performed Space and Christmasville. I'm reluctant to call them rarities but whatever - we have rarities!
So I was thinking about our friends. Here are some.
Our tourmates and a very very good band:
Calhoun's Myspace
A phenomenal music venue with very hospitable staff
The Fire - Philly
The best band at Duke University, according to me.
Smooch and the Big Hug
The restaurant that made me sick. Even thinking about those chili cheese hot dogs...
The Varsity (Gross)
A multinational music broadcast powered by a half-broken 80's Peavey Mixer.
CNN Espanol
Rock.
2008-04-20
I fall asleep at the bar.
Philadelphia, arguably the hardest city to spell. We're here playing "The Fire," which is so named because of the firehouse next door. I'm writing this post from the green room, a second story apartment which will be our lodging for the night. Yes - we are sleeping at the bar. Whats more, we have tomorrow off. Lets take a look at the situation.
Apartment above the bar - check.
Tomorrow off - check.
Drink tickets - check.
Yes, it looks like the ingredients are all there. Its time to get bibulous.
Apartment above the bar - check.
Tomorrow off - check.
Drink tickets - check.
Yes, it looks like the ingredients are all there. Its time to get bibulous.
DC - The Iota Club
We arrived in DC at the same time as the Pope, but surprisingly didn't have much trouble with traffic. Amazingly enough, although we made no attempt to get there on time, we actually made it to the venue at exactly 6:01, when we were supposed to be there at 6. If we had spent 1 less minute yelling obscenities at the front of Turks Towing, then we would have been there exactly on time.
There was a super small stage at Club Iota, with awesome onstage sound, leading to a really tight energetic show. I like being close enough to see Brett's hands on the keys. Screw big stadiums, I'm all about the basements.
Club Iota gave us free food before the show. They had bowls of pasta, and seriously the best cauliflower I have ever tasted in my life..for free! My compliments to the chef.
After our show I met Tim from Calhoun's Aunt who was super nice.
Also after the show, a couple came up to tell me that our set had inspired them to go home and rent the movie Willow. I deemed this the highest compliment that we have ever received after a set, considering that Mad Martigan from Willow is my lifetime hero, as well as the greatest swordsman of all time.
Right after the show, we decided to drive straight through the night to New York City at midnight cause we didn't have a place to stay in DC. Nick, the keyboard player for Calhoun, and the Polyphonic Spree, decided to roll with us to get to NYC a little bit earlier and was great company on the allnighter drive since Brett and Marshall passed out soon after we got on the road. I saw the Washington Monument off the highway, driving out of the city at night after the show. I thought it would be bigger.
It was an intense, but fun, all night drive. We got to NYC at 5:30 in the morning, and watched the sun rise over the New York skyline from the roof of our friend Emily Skipper's apartment building. It may have been the greatest moment of my life so far. It was really beautiful.
There was a super small stage at Club Iota, with awesome onstage sound, leading to a really tight energetic show. I like being close enough to see Brett's hands on the keys. Screw big stadiums, I'm all about the basements.
Club Iota gave us free food before the show. They had bowls of pasta, and seriously the best cauliflower I have ever tasted in my life..for free! My compliments to the chef.
After our show I met Tim from Calhoun's Aunt who was super nice.
Also after the show, a couple came up to tell me that our set had inspired them to go home and rent the movie Willow. I deemed this the highest compliment that we have ever received after a set, considering that Mad Martigan from Willow is my lifetime hero, as well as the greatest swordsman of all time.
Right after the show, we decided to drive straight through the night to New York City at midnight cause we didn't have a place to stay in DC. Nick, the keyboard player for Calhoun, and the Polyphonic Spree, decided to roll with us to get to NYC a little bit earlier and was great company on the allnighter drive since Brett and Marshall passed out soon after we got on the road. I saw the Washington Monument off the highway, driving out of the city at night after the show. I thought it would be bigger.
It was an intense, but fun, all night drive. We got to NYC at 5:30 in the morning, and watched the sun rise over the New York skyline from the roof of our friend Emily Skipper's apartment building. It may have been the greatest moment of my life so far. It was really beautiful.
2008-04-17
More Tour Madness
Last night we played The Map Room in South Carolina with Calhoun, and a jam band with approximately three hundred members. Their name had something to do with Fungus I think, and they had THREE saxophones. Pretty impressive.
The Map Room was a cool venue, with great sound, and our good friend Chris Darden brought some of his friends to the show, so it was a good time.
After the show, we went back to Chris's fraternity house, where we gave his brothers some lessons in how to play Halo, Texas style. That means triple kills, followed by brutal trash-talking. The Frontier Brothers possibly have a career waiting for them as professional Halo players if this whole music thing doesn't work out. Joining us for the post-show hangout was Brett Favre's daughter, who was intoxicated, but very friendly. She also, not surprisingly, looks like a female Brett Favre which was pretty funny.
Saving the best for last, we woke up this morning to find the space where we had parked our van and trailor completely empty. I almost passed out when I saw the empty space waiting for us, thinking that ALL of our gear and my car had been stolen. However, (relatively) fortunately, it had only been towed by Turky's Towing, who's slogan on their business card is, "If you need a jerk, call the Turk!"
Our brief experience with them indeed confirmed that they are trying very hard to live up to their slogan, by being humongous assholes to everyone they meet. However, 200 dollars later, our van and trailor were free, whereupon we proceeded to pull up to the front office, honk the horn, and flick off the morbidly obese front office clerk.
After this latest misadventure, Marshall Galactic summed it up best, by coining our new mantra, "If you can't kill us, don't try to stop us!"
We have been through a lot on this tour already, but we ARE going to finish this tour!
We are now well on our way to Raleigh, Durham, where we will proceed to spread the gospel of space to the students of Duke University, and hopefully they will pay us thousands of dollars. That's pretty much the only way this tour has a chance of breaking even.
We will continue trying to keep you guys updated on this crazy adventure we are having...at least until someone steals our computer.
Travis
The Map Room was a cool venue, with great sound, and our good friend Chris Darden brought some of his friends to the show, so it was a good time.
After the show, we went back to Chris's fraternity house, where we gave his brothers some lessons in how to play Halo, Texas style. That means triple kills, followed by brutal trash-talking. The Frontier Brothers possibly have a career waiting for them as professional Halo players if this whole music thing doesn't work out. Joining us for the post-show hangout was Brett Favre's daughter, who was intoxicated, but very friendly. She also, not surprisingly, looks like a female Brett Favre which was pretty funny.
Saving the best for last, we woke up this morning to find the space where we had parked our van and trailor completely empty. I almost passed out when I saw the empty space waiting for us, thinking that ALL of our gear and my car had been stolen. However, (relatively) fortunately, it had only been towed by Turky's Towing, who's slogan on their business card is, "If you need a jerk, call the Turk!"
Our brief experience with them indeed confirmed that they are trying very hard to live up to their slogan, by being humongous assholes to everyone they meet. However, 200 dollars later, our van and trailor were free, whereupon we proceeded to pull up to the front office, honk the horn, and flick off the morbidly obese front office clerk.
After this latest misadventure, Marshall Galactic summed it up best, by coining our new mantra, "If you can't kill us, don't try to stop us!"
We have been through a lot on this tour already, but we ARE going to finish this tour!
We are now well on our way to Raleigh, Durham, where we will proceed to spread the gospel of space to the students of Duke University, and hopefully they will pay us thousands of dollars. That's pretty much the only way this tour has a chance of breaking even.
We will continue trying to keep you guys updated on this crazy adventure we are having...at least until someone steals our computer.
Travis
2008-04-15
Throwing up all over Smiths Olde Bar
We played Smiths Olde Bar in Atlanta, Georgia last night with Calhoun and an Appalachian music band from Athens called Sweet-Tooth Simpleton. It was an exceptional show all around, with both Calhoun and Sweet-tooth playing the best shows I have ever seen from either band. Of course, that was the only time I have ever seen Sweet-tooth, but still, great show.
Some notable moments from the night:
1. Noticing the extreme dedication and hard work that someone had put into writing different band names with a reference to poop in the title ALL OVER the green room backstage.
Examples:
Frank Crappa
Rage Against the Poop
Kenny LOGgins
Sgt Peppers Lonely Poop Club Band
These are merely 4 of the literally HUNDREDS of references to poop backstage. We salute your dedication to your craft, whoever you are, strange poop obsessed weirdo.
2. Brett accidentally poisoning himself with gas station amphetamines.
Due to the extremely long hours we have been driving, Marshall picked up something called "80 Hour Energy" from a gas station. It is a spray container that you spray under your tongue, that claims to give you limitless energy with no twitching or crash.
I would dispute those claims, as just prior to the show, I found Brett sleeping in his keyboard case backstage, both twitching AND crashing from taking some 80 hour energy just prior to arriving at the venue. It looked like the show might be doomed, but Brett pulled it together big time, and put on an awesome show - dancing and jamming through the sickness.
Only after the show, did I find him on the back staircase of the venue puking his brains out. He claimed he threw up 6 times, but personally it looked more 16 or 17 times to me. He got a good nights rest last night though, and hopefully will recover for the rest of the tour. Way to be a badass Brett!
3. Me decorating my drumkit in my own blood.
At some point during the early part of the show last night I must have hit my hand with a drumstick, because I looked down at the end of Everyone's A Neutron Bomb, wondering why my hands felt really slick on the drumsticks, and noticed that they were literally covered in my own blood. It's strange, because it appears now to be a minor wound, but it would NOT STOP bleeding. I had to run offstage after the next song to get some towels from the bathroom, so I could wipe myself off between songs. Marshall then told the crowd that I have aids (I don't have aids, ladies), which I am not sure was the best way to make them stick around. It all worked out though, because we played a great show, and now my drumkit looks like some sort of modern art masterpiece.
When the other guys get up, we will head out to South Carolina, to see what tonight has in store for us. We will try to keep you updated, thanks for following us on our adventures!
-Travis
Some notable moments from the night:
1. Noticing the extreme dedication and hard work that someone had put into writing different band names with a reference to poop in the title ALL OVER the green room backstage.
Examples:
Frank Crappa
Rage Against the Poop
Kenny LOGgins
Sgt Peppers Lonely Poop Club Band
These are merely 4 of the literally HUNDREDS of references to poop backstage. We salute your dedication to your craft, whoever you are, strange poop obsessed weirdo.
2. Brett accidentally poisoning himself with gas station amphetamines.
Due to the extremely long hours we have been driving, Marshall picked up something called "80 Hour Energy" from a gas station. It is a spray container that you spray under your tongue, that claims to give you limitless energy with no twitching or crash.
I would dispute those claims, as just prior to the show, I found Brett sleeping in his keyboard case backstage, both twitching AND crashing from taking some 80 hour energy just prior to arriving at the venue. It looked like the show might be doomed, but Brett pulled it together big time, and put on an awesome show - dancing and jamming through the sickness.
Only after the show, did I find him on the back staircase of the venue puking his brains out. He claimed he threw up 6 times, but personally it looked more 16 or 17 times to me. He got a good nights rest last night though, and hopefully will recover for the rest of the tour. Way to be a badass Brett!
3. Me decorating my drumkit in my own blood.
At some point during the early part of the show last night I must have hit my hand with a drumstick, because I looked down at the end of Everyone's A Neutron Bomb, wondering why my hands felt really slick on the drumsticks, and noticed that they were literally covered in my own blood. It's strange, because it appears now to be a minor wound, but it would NOT STOP bleeding. I had to run offstage after the next song to get some towels from the bathroom, so I could wipe myself off between songs. Marshall then told the crowd that I have aids (I don't have aids, ladies), which I am not sure was the best way to make them stick around. It all worked out though, because we played a great show, and now my drumkit looks like some sort of modern art masterpiece.
When the other guys get up, we will head out to South Carolina, to see what tonight has in store for us. We will try to keep you updated, thanks for following us on our adventures!
-Travis
2008-04-14
Tour is for Frontier Brothers.
Atlanta Georgia -
We performed Kickstand Woman at CNN Headquarters this morning for CNN Espanol (yes..). If you subscribe - viva! - check us out Thursday on the entertainment show. Ahhh, apparently we're late for our load in. Come check us out if you are in town tonight at Smith's Ole Bar. We're jamming at 8pm.
More soon.
Brett
We performed Kickstand Woman at CNN Headquarters this morning for CNN Espanol (yes..). If you subscribe - viva! - check us out Thursday on the entertainment show. Ahhh, apparently we're late for our load in. Come check us out if you are in town tonight at Smith's Ole Bar. We're jamming at 8pm.
More soon.
Brett
2008-04-10
MTV Blogs us. Thanks.
MTV's Subterranean music blog mentioned us today in a clever piece called "A&Ring MySpace Friend Requests." The editor picked four interesting bands off of myspace and reviewed them through the lens of an A&R exec.
Ehem: "They like country music and they like yacht rock. So they mushed them together and sprinkled some Ben Folds style piano rock on top. See that’s what we got out of it but they think their influenes are ELO, Bowie and Wilco, apparently. At any rate, we are not opposed to it. It makes our toes tap.
Verdict: Friends indeed."
Where did they get the idea that we like country music or yacht rock? I don't even know what yacht rock is. As for our influences - its true - we don't sound like any of those bands. But we don't really sound like anybody else so how do we address that ubiquitous query? Luckily, we make the editor's toes tap. Groovy!
PS. We were the lucky ones. The editor calls one band, "Not our friend," and another a 30 Seconds To Mars ripoff.
Subterranean Blogs TFB
Tough love? With friends like these...
Ehem: "They like country music and they like yacht rock. So they mushed them together and sprinkled some Ben Folds style piano rock on top. See that’s what we got out of it but they think their influenes are ELO, Bowie and Wilco, apparently. At any rate, we are not opposed to it. It makes our toes tap.
Verdict: Friends indeed."
Where did they get the idea that we like country music or yacht rock? I don't even know what yacht rock is. As for our influences - its true - we don't sound like any of those bands. But we don't really sound like anybody else so how do we address that ubiquitous query? Luckily, we make the editor's toes tap. Groovy!
PS. We were the lucky ones. The editor calls one band, "Not our friend," and another a 30 Seconds To Mars ripoff.
Subterranean Blogs TFB
Tough love? With friends like these...
2008-04-07
2008-04-06
a dog on the dancefloor
So we're back in the studio mixing the rest of "Space Punk Starlet." We've mixed Space Punk Starlet, Everyone's A Neutron Bomb, and Take It For Love, which are all available as free mp3s (just right click the song names in the sidebar). Now its Get Up Go, Magazine Soul, and Jump Blues - but you won't hear those until sometime in September, when we release this thing. In the mean time, you should come out to one of our shows - we will play all of your favorite songs and more.
Speaking of shows, we're leaving to go on tour next week. Can we sleep on your floor?
Speaking of shows, we're leaving to go on tour next week. Can we sleep on your floor?
2008-04-03
2008-04-02
2008-04-01
Victoria Bar Dispute
Victoria, Tx. Where? The simple answer for Austinites is that it's to the right and down a long way. We recently returned to Victoria amidst much fanfare to a play our second show at Fanelli's. It was a situation of sorts that could've turned ugly, that's what I wanted to share today.
As usual, the gig is over. I become pumped, spaced, and ultimately really nervous again. I always want to pack shit up as soon as I walk off stage. The other guys prefer to mingle a bit.
I was at the car standing guard over my Boogie and I over hear a heated conversation outside of the place. A white guy, a black guy, and a mexican girl are there. All speak in ebonics.
Apparently this old black fella was given the girl a hard time and her boyfriend steps up. Now I assumed this would be a fight. I had a purple cape on so naturally I wanted to watch the fight, maybe jump in. But to my surprise, the gangster white dude made some pretty good points.
"From what I hear, you been hollerin' at my girl all night"
"(Mumbles something)"
"See I got a problem with that. You know I don't mind having a joke wit chew, but my girl does. It's simple stop hollerin' at my girl. I won't step on your toes, you don't step on mine."
It was a very pragmatic approach to bar dispute. So afterwards I walk up to the guy, careful not to appear in any way like a person who might spontaneously holler. I explained to him that I overheard the dispute and appreciated his peaceful resolution of the conflict. He offered me a menthol and I accepted in the spirit of goodwill.
As usual, the gig is over. I become pumped, spaced, and ultimately really nervous again. I always want to pack shit up as soon as I walk off stage. The other guys prefer to mingle a bit.
I was at the car standing guard over my Boogie and I over hear a heated conversation outside of the place. A white guy, a black guy, and a mexican girl are there. All speak in ebonics.
Apparently this old black fella was given the girl a hard time and her boyfriend steps up. Now I assumed this would be a fight. I had a purple cape on so naturally I wanted to watch the fight, maybe jump in. But to my surprise, the gangster white dude made some pretty good points.
"From what I hear, you been hollerin' at my girl all night"
"(Mumbles something)"
"See I got a problem with that. You know I don't mind having a joke wit chew, but my girl does. It's simple stop hollerin' at my girl. I won't step on your toes, you don't step on mine."
It was a very pragmatic approach to bar dispute. So afterwards I walk up to the guy, careful not to appear in any way like a person who might spontaneously holler. I explained to him that I overheard the dispute and appreciated his peaceful resolution of the conflict. He offered me a menthol and I accepted in the spirit of goodwill.
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