We partied over at the Panarchy house after our show at Dartmouth.
Panarchy is a giant former fraternaty house that has a basement room that looks like it was used by some sort of secret society for rituals back 100 years ago or so. It has concrete seats lining the entire room with names of people and groups and dates engraved in them. In the middle of the room is a box with a combination of fake and real bones in it. Awesome but creepy.
This week Marcos and Brian of Surfer Blood joined the TurboStache Competition. Marcos is clearly winning and a blogger in Toronto stated that his moustache alone was worth the price of admission. Hearn is coming in second with his handlebars/prison-break look. Brian, Dave and Jonas are all fighting for third. Only time can tell.
We played Market Hotel last week in Brooklyn and an estimated 900 people came out. Our show with Surfer Blood broke the record for the most people to ever attend the Market Hotel. It was a badass time except that it was about 1000 degrees on stage.
Before….
During…
Photos by Jonathan Lyman (for New York Magazine)
Photo by Emilia Brock (for Nicky Digital)
We’re posting all of our SXSW shows HERE.
We’re going to be playing a shit load of shows that week so check back before SXSW to get a full list of venues and times.
Across from the home of the Fat Blunt is Meat Towne, one of the basement show houses that’s hosted bands from all over the country including JEFF the Brotherhood and Screaming Females. You might hit your head on the ceiling but you’ll see the most enthusistic punk rockers you’ve seen in a long time.
Dave had one too many 9% Chimays at The Engine Room and passed out mid after party. He sat like this while we partied right next to him for another 3 hours.
We crashed over at Jordan’s from Tam Tam the Sandwich Man & the Magical Sugar Cookies. His girlfriend works at Seaworld and got us all in for free. Fucking awesome.
Dave, Matt and Dylan went on a roller coaster with a nice Chinese woman.
Right when we arrived in New Orleans we got a call that the show was cancelled. The City of New Orleans shut The Treehouse’s power off and when a local art gallery owner decided to host the show they got a call warning them not to support The Treehouse. Polical and weird but we’ve heard weirder shit on the road.
We decided to make the best of New Orleans and went first to Frankie & Johnny’s in New Orleans where Jonas ate 3 lbs of crawfish.
Some crazies on Bourban St and a blacked out frat guy.
Matt got crunk…
When we got to Mobile, AL it was Mardi Gras all over again. Some locals told us that Mardi Gras as we know it with floats and all actually started in Mobile. Who knows. May have just been some proud Mobilers making shit up.
One of Jonas’ high school best friends, Dylan Mire, has been traveling with with us since we headed to New Orleans last week. He’s filming our next video for “On the Road.” We’ll post it here and on YouTube in a few months.
DeLand, FL: We drunkenly decided to start a Mustache competition. Don’t know what in the hell Jonas was thinking, he has a few facial hairs and a lotta peach fuzz.. this will be his first attempt. Returning champ, Matthew Hearn, will be bringing his A-game….. he already is destroying the competition. Mr. David McCowen is gonna put up a good fight… although not as much facial hair as Matt, he has the exp points. Two months to go.
Our shows in Atlanta (Drunken Unicorn), DC (DC 9), Chicago (Schubas) and New York (Murcury Lounge) sold out during presale.
Thanks to everyone who bought their tickets early!
And if you haven’t already gotten familiar with Surfer Blood check them out HERE.
MAR 24 Phoenix, AZ – Thunk Space
……..25 Claremont, CA – Pitzer College
……..26 San Diego, CA – Bar Pink Elephant
……..27 Los Angeles, CA – Echo Plex
……..28 Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
……..29 Isla Vista, CA – Biko Garage
……..30 Visalia, CA – Howie & Sons
APR 1 Santa Cruz, CA – Cafe Pergolesi
……..2 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
……..3 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
……..4 Seattle, WA – Vera Project
……..5 Vancouver, Canada – Biltmore Cabaret
……..6 Missoula, MT – The Palace
……..8 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
……..9 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon (also w/ Mission of Burma)
……..10 Fort Wayne, IN – Brass Rail ( *** not with Surfer Blood *** )
……..11 Columbus, OH – The Summit
……..12 Ithaca, NY – The Shop (Ithaca College)
……..13 Buffalo, NY – Big Orbit Soundlab
……..15 Princeton, NJ – Terrace Club (Princeton)
…
For all upcoming tour dates click HERE.
Get your copy Feb 20 at The End in Nashville, TN when we play with Surfer Blood, Cy & Holiday Shores…
or buy it HERE now!!!
***** UPDATE (2/3/10) *****
We just got our copies to take out on the road with us and they have Special Tour Sleeves on them.
This one’s #57…. CASS only pressed 400 of them and we’re only bringing a couple dozen on the road.
Make sure you get one while they last.
—– with Monotonix —–
JAN 24 Chattanooga, TN – JJ’s Bohemia
—– with Quintron & Miss Pussycat —–
FEB 13 New Orleans, LA – NOLA Art House aka The Treehouse
—————————————-
…….14 Mobile, AL – Alabama Music Box
—– with Surfer Blood & Holiday Shores —–
…….16 Orlando, FL – Backbooth
…….17 Deland, FL – DaVinci
…….18 Tallahassee, FL – Engine Room
…….19 Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
…….20 Nashville , TN – The End
—– with Surfer Blood —–
…….22 Charlotte, NC – Snug Harbor
…….23 Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
…….24 Washington DC – DC 9
—————————————-
…….25 Baltimore, MD – Otto Bar
…….26 Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes
—– with Surfer Blood —–
…….27 Brooklyn, NYC – Market Hotel
…….28 Manhattan, NYC – Mercury Lounge
MAR 1 Philadelphia, PA – The Barbary
……..2 Allston, MA – Great Scott
……..3 Providence, RI – AS220
……..5 Montreal, Canada – Il Motore
……..6 Toronto, Canada – Sneaky Dees
……..7 Geneseo, NY – Suny Geneseo College
……..8 Meadville, PA – Allegheny College
……..9 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
……..10 Chicago, IL – Schubas
……..11 Bloomington, IN – The Bishop
……..12 Columbia, MO – Mojos
……..13 Lawrence, KS – Replay Lounge
……..14 Oklahoma City – The Conservatory
……..15 Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre
……..16 Austin, TX – Scott Inn (SXSW)
……..17 Austin, TX – Side Bar (SXSW)
……..17 Austin, TX – Hotel San Jose (SXSW)
……..17 Austin, TX – Longbranch Inn (SXSW)
……..20 Austin, TX – Spiderhouse (SXSW)
……..20 Austin, TX – Mohawk (Panache SXSW Showcase)
Keep checking back because we’ll be posting more tour dates very soon….
We went into every show we played not knowing what to expect. The last night turned out to be one of the best. Cargo is a venue, bar and restaurant and it was fucking packed the entire night. This video is the 50+ person line that was waiting out in the freezing rain to get in one at a time as people left because the venue was at capacity.
We enjoyed the hell out of it and hope to come back to England really soon for more of this.
Thank you, England!
We got to go up to BBC 6 and do an interview with Andrew Collins (standing in for George Lamb) the morning after our XFM interview. Andrew was a really cool guy and we did a quick interview and were in and out before we knew it. Matt and Dave got their first taste of high profile radio. It’s a lot of fun but fast paced.
Before and after we did the interview Jonas and Jamie took on Matt and Dave for a couple of foosball games.
Foosball seems to be more popular in England than pool in the States. It’s pretty much everywhere.
While we were in London we got to do a couple of interviews.
Our first one was with John Kennedy on XFM Radio. John and Jonas were already familiar with each other from Jonas’ BYOP days but he was new to Matt and Dave. We had fun shooting the shit about Echo Kid and then Dave ended it by announcing, “I tend to think the male figure is more attractive than the female figure” to win a bet against a new English friend for a bottle of wine. John Kennedy almost didn’t know how to respond. Pretty hilarious.
Before we went in for the interview Jamie of Ark Recordings showed us what the male and female figures look like.
I think this is when Dave decided he was going to win the bet.
For about the last month Dave’s been told every single day that he looks like the guy in Twilight.
Just about the time he thought he was going to punch someone he realized the ladies like it.
Dave in the Honesty Bar???
How can you be dishonest when you don’t remember how much you had to drink?
Dave approves this message.
Dave was disguising himself so he didn’t have to sign any more autographs.
We’ll get to that in the next post.
[Paul] McCartney Publishing Limited:
Tate Modern:
You aren’t supposed to take pictures in museums but that’s what iPhones are for.
We also went to the National Gallery but the guards there are a little more intense.
Harrod’s:
The craziest motherfuckload of stuff you’ve ever seen in your life.
And at prices so high you’ll be glad your father gave you a credit card with an unlimited credit limit.
Pink Floyd’s Animals:
You can see the building from the Animals record cover as you come and go on the Gatwick Express between the airport and central London.
London skyline by the River Thames (w/ the London Eye):
So admittedly, we’re a bunch of fifth graders. But it was still funny to us how many cock references there were around town.
Our friend, Matt, said he met his ex-girlfriend here.
Looks like a nice place to meet your next ex.
…and so on….
This one had us all wondering.
Is it some kind of pudding or is it a serving of “galloping knobrot?”
This brings me to our next point.
Brits use so much slang that it can be hard to keep up.
Here’s a little story I was told by this bloke i ran into at a bar:
“Last night i was stubbling down the street, been on the piss since Tuesday and I was gagging for a Donald. I was lookin’ for some right birds when i came up on a real minger. I yelled at her, “Show me your rut!” Didn’t get an answer out of her so i told her to sling her hook. The crazy bird bottled me! When i finally woke up i wanted to ruck but about five minutes later i wanted to get titted up again. At half three in the morning I took a slash on the sidewalk and had a crap on someone’s doorstep and then figured i’d get some fish and chips because i was feeling a little peckish. Eating in the downstairs restaurant wasn’t looking good and i headed to the loo first for a little five knuckle shuffle. I was tired of all the manky minges in town and i’d lost my dog and bone so I was out of options. About that time I set my eyes on some nice bangers and realized i still had about 40 quid on me. Got my hands on her and pulled out in time to give her a pearl necklace but I’m still afraid I might have brought home the galloping knobrot to my trouble and strife.”
What the fuck did he say??
I had a tape recorder on me so I transcribed it directly from our conversation.
Here’s the classic double-decker bus which has become increasingly less popular over the last few years as they’ve begun to replace them with longer single level buses. The newer buses are supposed to carry more people but that are also more known for getting stuck at turns.
Because of the intense amount of traffic in central London, drivers are charged a daily rate for driving into the center of town. Even if they leave their car parked and ride the tube instead, they have to pay a “congestion tax” that encourages people to either keep their cars out of the city or not to have one at all. This law is monitored by a video system that clocks your car in and out as you come and go from central London.
CCTV, english for video surveillance, is on almost every street and makes it feel a bit like 1984.
These signs were everywhere.
Note to self: Don’t get drunk and piss on the sidewalk.
On our way to the tubes we passed a lot of subway musicians who were working for change.
Here’s a guy who’s playing some kind of upright guitar.
Sounds pretty nonsensical but it kind of fits the insanity of everyone rushing to their next tube.
Yes, that’s a vacuum cleaner playing a saxophone on the left.
The vacuum was working harder than the guitarist.
The guitarist was talking to people most of the time while the vacuum worked its ass off for the change that was going to get them both home.
Three orders of business upon arriving in London at 7am on the day after you left home:
First: figure out where the fuck you’re going.
(Dave had never been beyond North America before so he wasn’t sure what to expect)
Second: swing by the Ark Recordings office, take a nap in a chair, strap some merch on the first thing that makes sense and head out for drinks.
Last: get drunk on some fresh Guinness.
Nothing washes away jet-lag like dinner in a glass.
By the time we finally got to bed we’d been awake for over 36 hours straight.
At that point you’re literally seeing stars and it’s still hard to sleep. Jet-lag’s a bitch.
Thanks so much to everyone who took their time to vote for “Naked With You” to be played on the Radcliffe & Maconie Show on BBC 2 Radio!! “Naked With You” will be featured every evening this week. We’re really excited about this and the release of Echo Kid in the UK and Europe next Monday (thanks to Ark Recordings)!!!
Our last show in Puerto Rico was in Moca, a small town in the mountains on the west end of the island beyond Isabela. It’s very rare for an American tourist much less an American band to find themselves here. The crowd was amazing and very welcoming.
Sadly this kick ass rock n roll show was our last with Davila 666… for now.
We started off the last day with Johnny Walker Black Label and Coconut Water.
Doesn’t get much better.
It was really hard to believe we were doing this.
It’s hard to show in a video but a lot of these waves were coming in at about 25 feet high.
The little people at the top give some comparison.
Fofe (of the Puerto Rican pop group Circo) was our host in his hometown of Isabela. Fofe tied with Angel for best host on the planet. These guys took us in and treated us like family. We owe them big time whenever they’re in Nashville.
Isabela is one of those places that makes you double-take. It’s the paradise you see in movies.
This beach next to where we stayed is a surfers’ paradise.
A lot of professional surfers train here before traveling to Hawaii for the Pacific surfing season.
Sergio, drummer for Davila 666, is the cool looking guy in this video.
Angel of Davila 666 is not only one of the best hosts we’ve ever met but he’s also a 5 star chef. Every meal was unbelievable.
Aloe Vera, Oranges and Grapefruit. Great for mild tour sickness.
This is a very common and super delicious Puerto Rican dish called “arroz con pollo habichuelas y amarillos.”
Puerto Rico in a nutshell.
This batch was called Ironman.
A local in Moca told us that they call cronic “Krypti” or in other words “Kryptonite.” The kind of stuff that comes from this island “will keep Superman down.” True story.
We hung out at Cafe 103 for our first two nights in Puerto Rico. The first night we watched a local dub band and the second night we hung out with Carlito of Davila 666 while he DJed some dirty rock n roll. Pretty awesome.
Río Piedras is right next to San Juan and is where some riots broke out just a few weeks before we arrived. They started when local club-goers were drinking out in the streets and prevented cars from passing. When a police officer hit a civilian with a baton a riot broke out and some people got their asses kicked. We didn’t realize until the second night that we were hanging out exactly where the riots broke out.
The “Guadia” or police have a pretty heavy presence here.
Check out this dog and cat fight. These little guys were running around Angel’s (plays tamborine and sings in Puerto Rico’s Davila 666) place while we were crashing on his couches.
It looks like the cat’s going to win until Pocho teabags her!
When we arrived in San Juan we didn’t realize how tightly connected Puerto Rico and the States are.
The bridge leading from the airport into Metropolitan San Juan is lined with alternating US and Puerto Rican flags.
