           |
|
 Your Hey Mercedes weblog. The Cast: Robert Nanna Damon Atkinson Todd Bell Michael Shumaker Dan Keehn Chris Bickert Norman Arenas Ryan Snyder 
Ebay: Bob Damon Todd Mike Ryan Go Clock Go: absolute punk all music guide alton brown art of the mix awkward pirouttes bipolar braid heaven c & c drums cadmium chicago shows! critical darling dullest dvd file ebay google news grandtheftautumn invisible city kempa look like kenny michael moore my friend goes left the new top ok plus three panaphobic pirate smiles pitchfork punk news quoc machinery recwreck rocket fuel the scout theme park thieves trouble vagrant weasel manor who would buy work of fiction you look good hallelujah it's the indieblogs webring list random previous next |
March 24, 2001
Robert: 283 It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork Last night our table got a personal harmonica solo. That's right... And this afternoon the entire tour will be involved in Karaoke at our favorite all-vegetarian Chinese Philadelphian restaurant... My goal is to have the entire tour diary done by our recording start date: April 14... so i can start the recording diary! March 23, 2001
Robert: Firstly, I am insanely curious about Zach's run-in with Mr. Wallace. Blog. Blog. Inquiring minds want to know. I want to know. Ninthly, it seems like everyone and their grandmother has a blog nowadays. My grandma's blog got over 1000 hits last week! ... This is good. It's refreshing to see... HOWEVER, they all look the same! This is bad. We all need some interior design work, and i'll be the first to admit it. So this is my open letter to Blogger (hello jack?) - Please give us some new template choices! Or, fellow blog readers and secret web designers - come up with a few... It shouldn't be too difficult, right?
Robert: 284 Mary - All Feeling good, considering i was forcefully coerced into a late night at the lovely Philadelphian bar known as Tattooed Mom... where Courtney and i chatted about Jeff Buckley, where Chris and i chatted about Elvis Costello and the Weakerthans, and where Josh downed many large cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. There is a few scrolls worth of info concerning last night's show. If you were there, you know what i mean! Just woke up. It is a beautiful day in Cherry Hill. It's spring now, i guess... A walk down the street, a bathing suit purchase, and a leisurely day poolside before we trek to Camden... March 22, 2001
Robert: 285 Cherry Bomb - John Cougar Mellencamp Let it be known that the first 2 CDs i ever bought were Def Leppard "Hysteria" and John Cougar Mellencamp's "The Lonesome Jubilee". Maybe i felt nostalgic when i made this list. Maybe i actually like this song. I'm a hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ. After our great show at CBGB's, we (actually i) drove the hour and a half to this Holiday Inn, chock full of amenities, just outside of Philadelphia and Camden, sites of our next two shows. I'm feeling pretty good. No more sore throat, just a whole bunch of coughing... I'll be back soon... but for now it's off to email. March 21, 2001
Robert: 286 Only of You - Greenday From yesterday: The time is 2:31. We are cruising at a mean speed of 70 miles an hour. Barreling 90 east to Clark University at Worcester. We have just finished watching The Big Lebowski, which gets better every time i see it. The status of my health is pleasant. Feeling a good 80% and on par for total recovery by the time we get to Philadelphia. Perhaps then we can finally bust out our most vocally demanding song, "A-List Actress"... So i see that i'll have some blog competition now from none other than Tommy Shaw of Styx (info courtesy of the lovely Nanette). I'm sure he has the luxury of blogging from a tour bus. I myself do not. For instance, this most likely won't veen get posted until tomorrow! You see, my thing is to condense and present once i get all of the facts, ma'am... So i apologize if it seems a little thin around these parts for the time being. Believe me, you will be repaid tenfold in this region once i get home. What else am i going to do at work for that week before recording, right? Now, speaking of recording, that's when the blog explodes. Dan Dan will be back at home, and we'll be developing mad cabin fever up at Pachyderm. Optimum conditions for blanket blog. That's it for now. Domo Arigato. March 20, 2001
dan: Are we having fun yet? eight hours of driving pleasure...over the woods and through the mountains. I don't know what else to say except that poltegeist is on hbo and it's at the part where the clowny clown clown grabs the kid in the bedroom..scary. Thanks to all for your attendance..hold on a second..this is too scary.. peace out-
Robert: 287 Regina - Sugarcubes On the TV: "Repiratory Distress also on the high side." Something i wrote yesterday: 1:49 PM We are en route to Buffalo and i think i'm going to make it. It's all about the positivity, right? Upon Adrienne's recommendation, i purchased a personal Vicks steam inhaler this morning, with the Vaporous insertable pads to boot. Let's just hope there is a backstage up at Cloud 9 so I can use this monstrosity in peace. It looks kind of ridiculous. I'll try and get Dan to take a picture... I also secured two gallons of Poland Spring water for road consumption... Something I am writing now: We are about to embark on an 8 1/2 hour trek to Worcester. Please, it's spring already. Enough with the friggin' snow. March 19, 2001
March 18, 2001
Robert: I am laying in bed in a Holiday Inn in Pittsburgh. I wanted to sit alone here to write without distraction, however the TV is on and it is showing the most disturbing distracting documentary you could ever imagine. I don't even want to mention it... And there is someone in here watching it... So i am listening to Chet Baker to try and soulfully drown out the distraction. It's working at about 75% efficiency, which really isn't enough. I'm speaking a little better which is good. I haven't tried to sing at all tonight. It's 9:30 here. I just had a cup of flu and cold medicine. I'm drinking Pure American Spring Water. I had a conversation with Adrienne of the Anniversary last night as i was in the van's back seat with my head in my hands secretly wishing the cops would come and break up the show so i wouldn't have to sing. (As you'll see in future tourblog, that came awfully close to happening. Breadsticks, Baseball Bat, Gun.) We talked voice talk. She is actually in school for Voice and apparently sings opera! She gave me a lot of good tips for the impending show, minutes away. But what affected me the most about our conversation was her statement that vocal teachers are notorious for contradicting each other... It makes sense, really, because each singer is a unique case, and the best course of action for vocal upkeep is to find a routine that works (for you) and to stick with it. However, it put the fear in me that perhaps my routine has suddenly become all wrong. For jeebus' sake, i bought 8 packages of Soken Plum Candy before i left - on the advice of a vocal teacher. Was this just her personal remedy that i've mistaken as one that could work for me? ... I'm getting distracted. I knew i was getting sick two days before we left. And now two straight nights of beating my throat to death... It really feels bruised in there. If i wake up tomorrow and nothing has changed, I'm going to ask Dan to take me to a hospital. I need to get this worked out now, and i've tried everything i can on my own. In spite of all of this chaos, I still love being out on the road and i am SO looking forward to all of the upcoming shows. One can get the impression that i'm a big fat complainer out here... but seriously, i do love it. We joked around tonight (at an Olive Garden) about having Dan come on stage with subtitles on cards for all of the parts i wouldn't be able to sing. That ploy may still come to its fruition. It's just a shame that nobody knows half of the songs! ... But at least i'd be saving myself for recording, when i really need the strength. I am laying in bed in a Holiday Inn in Pittsburgh. I am listening to Chet Baker. The television is off and i am going to sleep. Goodnight.
Robert: I tried to make the hot tub sound all swanky, but in reality, we're at a Holiday Inn in Fort MItchell, Kentucky, and the pool area is filled with about 55 screaming kids. Ain't it the life? On a serious note, I am sick. I was sick when i left, but it's much worse now. I can't sing. I can barely talk. Hence, after last night's show, which went alarmingly well, given about 100 variables working against us, we knew we would be forced to make a difficult decision in the morning. The truth is you can only pummel sick vocal cords so much before they start working against you. Given that we have over 20 shows left on this tour and a whole month of recording to follow, we will NOT BE PLAYING tonight at Club Laga in Pittsburgh. We apologize sincerely, but it's really the only course of action we can take. Today will be super medicine day and fingers crossed, i'll wake up tomorrow morning feeling better. I have an interesting anecdote about a Braid show in El Paso, but i'll save it for when i can really let loose... It sucks when you have so much to say but are stuck with zero voice. We made this decision early so you will know before you get to the club and hear the news. Please pass it on... Obviously you should still go... Dashboard Confessional and Anniversary are absolutely incredible, and we wish them luck tonight. While they're rocking the show, I'll be in some other hotel room, silent, writing to you... We'll see you in Buffalo. On the hotel TV right now: "Ferris, you're sick. Don't go pushing it and making yourself worse."
Robert: 289 In the Mouth a Desert - Pavement Again, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to fully disclose... right now there's a hot tub calling my name. |