           |
|
 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 |
August 25, 2001
August 24, 2001
dan: How in the hell much slower can this day be going? I've been sitting here for god-knows-how-long trying to find myself..sitting, thinking, pondering about life and what exactly it is that I'm supposed to be doing here..I really can't say I love my job but does anyone really love their job..? And I don't see myself doing this forever.. I've been working on some projects that are strictly top secret to assure that my plans will not become jinxed because of the talk about said projects..it's better to not tell anyone what your plans are, It's kinda like saying, yeah the cars runnin' great only to be hit in the face with a flat tire or a burning transmission. even typing about my ideas are bothering me so I'll stop talking about it..notorious is here looking at me type, I'm standing up at the front counter blogging and gretts is on the floor to my left..her eyes are slowing falling down and finally her head rests on her curled over paw..If only my life could be that simple..I've cut back on the adult beverage and started working out a little here and there..but it just feels like I'm missing a whole shitload of stuff..and I'm wasting time..is it the feeling of getting old or is it a little wake up call to get me moving..? I nornally wouldn't be so personnal about my feelings here but it's so damn dead that I don't know what else to talk about..I really need to go out and buy a bunch of cd's and get with the times again but then you have the money factor playing in..I went out last night and stayed out till 2pm talking with friends and puttin a couple new castles back..Maybe it's the town I work in..it's stuck in time no offense but lets face it, I think I need a change I mean a whole lotta change maybe the lottery..but like I'd win..the people that win the lottery usually have another weight that balances out the winnings I mean If you win the lottery then maybe the person you care about most gets hurt some how or If you have a successful lifestyle on tv and then your son gets shot by gangbangers or you're the most well known basketball player and your father gets killed by some scumbag..then when you have all that money you still have something to be sad about..when you don't have a lot of money you seem to be just getting along or whatever I don't mean to bum anyone out but it's wierd ya know.. I just looked outside at the cruisers and thought what are those people thinking about? will I be able to SHIT gretta just floated the raunchiest biscuit prompting me to light a match ...SHIt girl put a cork in it..there that got me out of my slump.. well it looks like my day is coming to an end..better cruise outta here..I'm hungry..!!
Robert: 130 I Won't Share You - The Smiths 131 Antagonism - Will Oldham Just in case you were unaware... "I'm only the lead singer." is a quote from Almost Famous... from the scene when the bus leaves a truckstop without Jason Lee. Not sure everyone got that. We're outside Fitzgerald's in Houston. It's 8/23. It's 4:51 PM. We just ordered pizzas, since there's not much food available near the club. Aside from the barbeque down the street... My sans cheese extravaganza was wonderful, and there's plenty left over to share. Dashboard isn't playing tonight. Chris has blown out his voice. I know the feeling, brother. Take it easy. No talking now. Hopefully there's not a riot tonight in his absence. If only I knew how to play the songs, I would have gladly led the crowd in a Dash singalong. Now I understand why he didn't sing any karaoke last night. Karaoke Last Night. After the show, we met a group of cool gals involved with www.stickerslut.com (you deserve the link. thanks for the CDs). They coerced Damon to rile up the troops for a swingin' karaoke night at Club Red down the street. Damon, being the NA-drinkin' party animal that he is, was all over it. I, on the other hand was a bit skeptical. Number one, I was thorougly enjoying showing off the Beastie Boys DVDs for Andrew (tour photographer and schwartzneggar imitator). Number nine, I had sworn off the drink for the evening, given the non stop mayhem that started somewhere in LA on the 16th. And ten, I guess I was a little shy about getting up on stage and singing in front of a bunch of strangers. (Ironic, huh?) Ten minutes after Damon and the posse left, Andrew and I decided to head down there, to get outta the bus and take some photos. We walk in and are greeted with a group of about 5 cowgirls on stage warbling through some song i've never heard. The place is pretty empty, yet Damon is whooping it up in the corner, clapping along. Bless the kid. I wanted to leave, but since Andy was buying the drinks, I decided to stay. Fast forward an hour. I'm on stage singing Bad Company's "Shooting Star" with Jeremy and Max from No Motiv. Birthday boy Dan Bonebrake is taking turns dirty dancing with Heather and falling off chairs. Chris Carrabba is laughing in the corner at the chaos. (Perhaps it was the laughing that doomed the cords?) Damon is dancing with Dan's sister and Mary. Andrew's camera is snapping away... We close the place with a rousing rendition of "I Want You to Want Me". I watched and clapped along. Brilliant... I also seem to recall a 2:30 AM trip to the Metro Diner for some breakfast. When we got back to the Holiday Inn Aristocrat, I bid farewell and went right to sleep on the ol bus. The party moved elsewhere. Woke up here at Fitzgerald's at 2:30. For some reason, the staff of all three Texas clubs has been giving us the business. And I can't even comment about last night's bizarre Tennis Ball incident... but there could have been a madcap rumble featuring the whole tour, a-la Cannonball Run racers vs. the bikers. That would have been a great section of the book.
TBELL: Hello everyone. i know i know.. long time no blog. it's been a busy tour and recently I've been caught in the schedule of being on a bus. Using my time unwisely and being bummed the only way to get around is by walking or pricey cab rides.. Boo!! I mean, really, how many movies can a person watch a day? ugh.. Things today where better, the heat is still pretty bad though. Houston today was hot though not as hot as it's been in Austin or AZ for that matter.. Thanks to all the kids for totally rocking out in Houston. Hey Mercedes had a really good show overall, thanks for being a part of it. See you tomorrow in New Orleans!! August 22, 2001
Robert: Good news: OP906 - Dominick from Flickerstick. Bad news: odd $400 charge on credit card from crappy LA hotel. I'm finally going to make it to the post office today. Praise be.
Robert: 132 Fingertips - They Might Be Giants 133 Two Promises - Sunny Day Real Estate Back to central standard time. 7:24 PM. Austin. 8/21. I may be developing this fear of the heat. Where there is no relief anywhere. Where even a mega-grocery store is too hot to hang out in. I suppose that's what we get from touring the deep south in the middle of August. This is what you get... Luckily, as I've said before, the back of our bus is much like how i'd imagine Greenland or Vladavostok in the summer. Really cold. So cold that you need a jacket. So cold that after the show, when you come back here all sweaty and gross, you instantly get that feeling like you have a fever. I'm starting to turn sour on bus life, though. *** Today, we spent way too much time dilly-dallying at a hotel in the middle of nowhere. I woke up at 4 PM, expecting to be at the club. Nope. We ended up staying at the hotel till damn near 6:30! And when I say "at the hotel", i really mean "in the bus outside the hotel." Since we all thought the bus was leaving at 4, no one dared to venture inside for fear of getting left behind. I'm only the lead singer!! Remember that Operation Ivy song called "Left Behind"? Killer. Plus, the lack of a smaller, more mobile vehicle is a serious drag. We all wanted to go eat today, but we couldn't because all that was in walking distance was a gas station. Terrible. And think of all the great food that Austin has to offer just a quick car ride away? So I'll be playing tonight's show (courtesy of Exxon) on a cup of coffee, a plain bagel, and a banana... and a few handfuls of Vanilla Almond Crunch that was in one of the bus cabinets. (The soy milk i bought is long gone, after someone decided to cut all power to the refridgerator during our days off in LA! Wish they would've warned me.) I'd eat now, but it's too close to showtime (10 PM). Yes, that's right. I think about that stuff... Man... It has been eons since i've actually seen a GOOD movie at the theaters. What in tarnation is up with Hollywood films today? They all suck. I wanted to see Ghost World in El Paso, yet my best options at the Sunland Park Mall were Osmosis Jones & (gulp) Rat Race. (Spoiler alert, as if you really care about Rat Race. If you do, you shouldn't.) You know how Osmosis Jones had too much Kid Rock? Well Rat Race has WAY too much Smashmouth. Nothing against those two artists, but they instantly kill a movie's chance for longevity. I mean, I bet back in Sixty-whatever, the super long Lovin' Spoonful sequence in What's Up Tigerlily was groovy, but now it makes for an instant roll of the eyes and a fast forward. Dumb. It makes me feel extra stupid sitting there watching Whoopi Goldberg sing along to one of the worst, most pandering songs ever written ("All Star") and then stagedive. This movie was just crappy all around. And the sad thing is, there were a few funny parts. But the end just killed it. Looking for a modern day Cannonball Run? Look elsewhere. If you think Jon Lovitz is at his best when he is singing along straight-faced with Smashmouth, then by all means, your $9 will be well spent. I just don't like movies where the happy end sequence is a care-free romp, showcasing all of the principal characters dancing and hamming it up. Yuck. Cases in point: Saving Silverman, Rat Race, Cradle Will Rock, The Great Outdoors, and i'm sure countless others that i've blocked from my memory (including movies that I generally liked, such as Keeping the Faith). Attention budding screenwriters: find another way to have a happy ending, if you want one. Austin. You will most likely see our ugly mugs again on October 22. Attention all in Japan: our album gets released there tomorrow. Let us know how it goes. We may be seeing all of you sooner than we had anticipated. Another refridgerator / freezer casualty: two packages (10 count) of the tastiest little treats I think I've ever come across: Soy chorizo and potato rollups. Oh how I miss thee. Come back. You could have been m'austin din. I hope you are enjoying work. Know that I am still hard at work, as well! Bix?!? Have you changed those guitar strings yet?? *** what? a footnote? ... Don't think i'm getting sour on tour life. Hell no. I just wish I had the van every now and again! August 21, 2001
August 20, 2001
Robert: Yo. Hanging at the hotel in El Paso. Just saw Osmosis Jones. My diagnosis: Not enough Chris Elliot and too much Kid Rock... We have organized a tour wide field trip to Olive Garden tonight. 6 PM. Be there.
Robert: 134 Innocent When You Dream - Tom Waits 135 Lopsided - At the Drive In 3:45 PM - Mesa - yesterday It's 3:45 PM, and again I'm in the back of the bus. Mesa is hot. Real hot. And I have to wear a jacket back here cause it's seriously freezing. No Motiv is up in the front watching Requiem for a Dream. Damon is back here playing the Play Station. The Nile Theater is heating up to an uncomfortable 115 degrees just out the door. Our LA show was incredible. After the first night, the entire entourage went to a swanky after show shindig with free drinks and a grand piano. Immediately a semi-inebriated Mike Stroud made his way over to the keys and wowed the crowd. Todd sat next to him in awe for about an hour. The boy's a genius. "Name a song off of the White Album." Halfway through a gorgeous interlude, the boy stopped, took a sip of wine and admitted that he was drunk. Wow. Just imagine what the doctor can rock sober. Speaking of Shane MacGowan, I saw some new Pogues box set while cruising Melrose Ave. It contained: CDs of Red Roses for Me and Rum Sodomy & the Lash and a shirt! So I asked to see it. Pretty disappointing. I mean, who really wants to wear a shirt that only advertises the cheap box set? Nothing really extra except for a flimsy cardboard packaging with generic art. Blah. I did get to flip through that new "biography", A Drink with Shane MacGowan. It looked pretty interesting for a straight Q & A operation. But at the moment I had to pass. I need to buy some books for tour, but a nice hardcover one would just get moshed. I'm still trying to devise a plan to get my Old Ramon double LP back to Chicago in one piece. Two pieces... So the Jimmy Eat World show at the Metro is sold out. Hopefully you got tickets if you wanted to go. There is a flicker of interest about adding another show, so if it happens, you may want to jump on it like an abandoned trampoline. Actually, that's probably not the best idea. Remember the trampoline / cousin / Blink 182 story? We spent the day of the second show raiding the Vagrant warehouse and playing the Punch Out arcade game. None of us could get past Bald Bull. After our show, a smattering of us went to a nice little bar called The Roost. I saw the singer of Harlow there. Didn't have the project in tow, however. It's so cold back here. It's a wonder that we're not all sick from these drastic temperature changes. Everybody email Mark and congratulate him. Last night he lawfully wed our good friend Susanne at the lovely Graceland Chapel of Las Vegas! It was a whirlwind ceremony, with the (newly) reverend J.P. Gnewikow doing the priestly honors! The whole thing was captured by the Vagrant America video crew, so if it shows up on the DVD, perhaps we can get Mark to do some commentary. A funny thing: the Graceland schedule said "Mark Donovrask". Not even close. So I copied it for the happy couple. Can't wait for that reception! The show in Vegas was just too cool. None of us had ever played there before, so we weren't sure what to expect... but everyone just blew us away. Thank you. Also, some cousins decided to stop by for the gig. Just so happens that they're big No Motiv fans and didn't even know I was playing the show until a few days before! And i hate casinos. Let it be known. And everything there is a casino. It is due in no small part to me being an unlucky bastage. I dropped 40 bones. And i didn't even hit any of the tables. It's a headache I don't need. Sort of like this mornings 1 PM hangover. Sorry for the contradiction. 1 PM is still morning when on tour-time. I heard this commercial the other day for a TV show based upon a band on tour who somehow develop secret powers or some stupid shite like that. Brilliant. Not at all. Tomorrow I'll be sending out a ton of merch from El Paso! Thanks for your patience. The absolute worst part about being in a bus is not having the instant mobility. Especially annoying when the club is in the middle of nowheresville. So it is an ultimate priority to comb the desert for a post office. We've got the whole day off there, so it shant be an issue. And there you have it. More odd coincidence with today's song. I swear I didn't plan this!!
dan: I'm posting via cell phone..... good day... it's hard to type everything from your phone..sunny and cool.. August 19, 2001
dan: irish fest...I'm soooo there.. still nursing this hung feeling..last night at the garage was filled with lots of suds and buds.. arrgh..going to pick-n-steel- for more beer.. head is hurting..more ibu..? or water..maybe gatoraide or red bull... what else...? saw a fire today a block away from me casa..threee fire trucks..smoke everywhere..so I decided to jump in and save this little dog that was trapped and managed to escape with little to nil harm done.. and on another note: it read: lets keep it together huh..? |