TBELL:

Rocking Mezcal Head.

A good spacey soundtrack for such a dull day. I'm not complaining though about the overcast rainy day, when you are'nt too rushed and have little plans to drag yourself out into such conditions it's quite pleasant. It is a soup day. I just got back from lunch at a cute little place (very little!!) in downtown Milwaukee I frequent now and then called The Soup House.. it has'nt been open a year yet but it's quite tasty and they always have a few good veggie soups. This weather is also making tonight a movie night, any suggestions?

I saw The Gift the other night. The best movie I've probably seen in 4 months. I love me some Sam Raimi, I think he's an amazing Director, and Giovanni Ribisi is steadily making his way into my top three actors. He just gets better and better. Hopefully he'll start ending up more and more in better movies.

Anyone out there who knows of a cool person that lives in the Manhattan/Brooklyn area that is needing a roomate, please get in touch with me. A very close personal friend of mine just got a job out there and needs a nice place to live pretty soon. Advice?


posted by TBELL at 3:05 PM ***

dan:

I've got my black coveralls on that I got from christmas..first time wearing them..I feel like I really need to do some hands on labor here people..!

I agree with todd, It's a beautiful autumn day here in washington county..not too cold, foggy and colorful..
SoUP's on, come and get it..today's a good day to make chili..

After we split wood of course..
posted by dan at 11:33 AM ***

TBELL:

Another overcast day in Milwaukee. A good day to sit inside, get stuff done on the computer and sip some of Milwaukee's finest. Todays selection is Ethiopian Harrar.

Listening to the new Lassie Foundation album The El Dorado LP. I've been waiting for this one awhile. Their swan song they say.. and it's a good one.

More later..




posted by TBELL at 11:07 AM ***

Robert:

80 Golden Slumbers - The Beatles

Huevos Rancheros comin' my way.
posted by Robert at 11:00 AM ***

Robert:

Create your own Guided By Voices song title. I came up with Caged Foreign Queens.
posted by Robert at 5:25 PM ***

dan:

hey do you think the price on film is gonna go up now..? whatcha gonna do now bob.?..
posted by dan at 4:17 PM ***

Robert:

81 Waxie's Dargle - The Pogues
Spider by Brian

Starring in my dreams last night: Elvis Costello, Luis Guzman, and Darth Vader.

Added a new tour date. Cinci!
posted by Robert at 1:23 PM ***

TBELL:

Speaking of Tofurky, I just had a revelation... what the hell are we going to do on Thanksgiving on tour in the middle of NJ?

If anyone is interested in the short interview Bob and I did at Fiction Funhouse, it's right here!

More later..



posted by TBELL at 11:00 AM ***

Robert:

82 Chumming the Ocean - Archers of Loaf

Please direct all turkey-related questions to Dan. And if you happen upon any tofurky out there, don't feel shy about hooking a brother up. I love me some tofurky jerky.
posted by Robert at 9:47 AM ***

dan:

I made the coffee this morning and let me tell you.. it's wonderful..It's amazing how you can turn the same grinds into something so deliciously magical that it jacks you right up in the mornin'..I guess it's all that coffee drinkin' i did in the corps. except those guys made it like syrup that either gave you a heartattack or a kickstart when you thought your last engine had failed...check out this hen

no I really haven't lost it, yet. That's why I'm going hunting...therapy...don't worry, I eat everything I kill, is this too harsh in the morning for yous guys..?
posted by dan at 8:21 AM ***

dan:

It looks like brian is having some issues with some people..lemme know if you need me to take care of the pink robot..
the chicken is in the bread box....pickin' out dough..
posted by dan at 8:11 AM ***

dan:

wake up, grab some coffee and your shotgun, don't forget the dog and your box of shells and you're ready for a day on the range...supposed to be nice today too...
frEEzE Gofer..!
posted by dan at 8:05 AM ***

dan:

publishing is unavailable..go figure.
posted by dan at 5:49 PM ***

dan:

so..rainy and crappy outside but still find time to appreciate it..boring day today not much happening here at work, can't wait for tomorrow that should be fun thanks for reminding me todd...haven't drank anything in a few days but I'm thinkin' about it tonight, but then who wants to feel like shite in the mornin'..I don't need that right..?

tomorrow I'm gonna open up the drop and then go out by my brothers and shoot a 10 gauge until my shoulder falls off..3 1/2" magnums..gettin' ready for turkey hunting ya know..other than that everythings pretty normal..
posted by dan at 5:46 PM ***

Robert:

A few things...

Why am I letting an instinctively nocturnal 6 month old kitty cat alter my sleeping patterns, huh? No more being pushed around. Ninthly, I'm feeling a lot better today with my recent Barnes & Noble purchases, including a big blank book and a nice new pen. There is some funny stuff o'er the Onion.
posted by Robert at 1:17 PM ***

TBELL:

Well, I was going to expalin about the vinyl for the album earlier before Blogger got all uptight and bumped me off. Grrrr! Now then, after several test pressing evaluations last week, I think the vinyl sounds pretty darn good. It was a long and laborious job that included 4 Hey Mercedes records, two of which where test pressings from different plants, several cups of coffee, and two turntables (no microphone included..). Hopefully things will run smoothly and those puppies will be manufactured quickly and in stores right along side the cds on October 23rd, we are cutting it a little close on giving them the thumbs-up, so keep your fingers crossed. I'm not going to let some crap test go to press though.. no sir.

Luckily those people i've been yelling at on the horn everyday have'nt sent someone over here to break my kneecaps.... yet.

Also, this just in:

For all you vinyl fans, like myself, the initial pressing will be special. I have'nt the final word as of yet, but I think the first press will be limited: I'm leaning towards the idea of 180 gram vinyl. That's a heavy slab folks. It would make any record collector/listener sweat.

Is it hot in here?



posted by TBELL at 12:41 PM ***

TBELL:

Testing.. testing..
posted by TBELL at 12:34 PM ***

Robert:

83 You Are Invited - Dismemberment Plan

13 more days until ENFW. Excitement. You can preorder it from CD Now!

Anybody remember when this song was called "Invitation" ?

Bought The Fuck Up and Still Life With Woodpecker, so we'll see how those treat me.
posted by Robert at 12:10 PM ***

TBELL:

Good morning everybody!

Here's a little news. I will get around to doing another mailer before we leave for tour next week, promise! The only thing is, it will probably have nothing new to offer any of you who check the blog here. All of you guys are updated daily (you're so spoiled!). The e-mailer is for all of those who spend their time surfing elsewhere.. who are not quite up to par with Hey mercedes current events. Anyways, if you want to join said mailing list, if you have'nt already, send us an email with 'subscribe' in the title. For those of you who have signed up, and have'nt gotten anything yet, sorry. It's our fault in the chaos of tour and record release problems. Don't sign up again! You don't need to and it'll just making things harder for us, thanks..

I actually did a mailer at one point in July but did not send it cause the record street date was hopping around so much. In short, you will recieve something next week. Did I mention our record will be out in less than two weeks?!? Exciting to say the least.

Listening to Chapterhouse. One of my favorite record covers of all time on that one too.

Also, everyone should go to Rocket Fuel online zine and sign up. There is going to be a fun Hey Mercedes contest popping up over there soon, and you'll need to register with them to play. Just go to there site and click 'account' and sign up, you won't regret it. Details on this contest will be revealed in the mailer next week. Prizes. Wonderful, free prizes.. that's all I'm gonna say... whoo hoo!

posted by TBELL at 12:07 PM ***

TBELL:

Listening to side two of Ben Lee.

I'm tired and I feel ashamed. Like I have'nt done my part in keeping all of you wonderful people that browse our site happy. I've been a bad blogger, and i'm sorry. Partly due to my tiresome weekend and for some crazy lack of sense I went back to work last week. It's pathetic. Rise and shine. 6:30 am comes way too soon no matter what time you go to sleep.

What in God's name was I thinking?

I've been nothing but stressed and tired ever since and my blogging has dropped to nil since starting back to work last Friday. It'll soon be over.. I have promised to work but one more day before leaving for tour next week. I'll be back folks.. with a vengeance. Plus, I'm off tomorrow so except more rants and an actual some-what low down on the vinyl details for our album. I think I've got it all worked out... and i'm excited..

Stay tuned.


posted by TBELL at 5:57 PM ***

Robert:

OK. It's 4:04 PM and what have I done? Woke up at 11 with a sore throat. Made coffee. Checked email. Knocked around Billie the Kitten. Ate some egg sammiches. Did 2 interviews. Read the news. Recorded 2 songs. But I'm feeling pretty bad now for some reason. I'm tired and cranky and considering simplifying my self-imposed responsibilities. Maybe I'm just looking for big words to say I'm bored.

I think it's a symptom of the evil post-tour-depression. I always get it, and from talking to people, i've found that it's pretty common. There are lots of ways to combat it. The best and most satisfying route is known as socializing. Try it. It works. It's just that when one finds oneself in such a PTDepressive mood, it's a hard thing to do. Add "being alone in Bloomington for most of the day" to the mix and the woes multiply exponentially.

Luckily, I know all will be well in an hour or so, when I get up and go eat some dinner with an actual person...

Koalas. They sleep for 20 hours and then eat when they're awake. PTD makes you feel exactly like this. You are a koala. You crave eucalyptus. You find humor in the shenanigans of one Paul Hogan.

Speaking of notorious Hogans, whilst moonlighting on the STD (not to be confused with PTD) bus, i was introduced to the amazing Hulk Hogan CD, featuring Hulk himself "singing" such "songs" as "I Wanna Be a Hulkamaniac" and something about his "Pythons". Every song mentioned eating vitamins, saying prayers, and of course, wrestling.

A possible cure for PTD, courtesy of the HHCD in the STDB: Saying prayers, eating vitamins, and fake wrestling.

And speaking of fake wrestling... Why did I ever think that garbage was real? One look at the Cyndi Lauper video "Goonies R Good Enough" (courtesy of the new excellent Goonies DVD) should have tipped me off years ago. If Nikolai Volkoff, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Iron Shiek were so darn dangerous, how did anyone get them to lip sync to that cheesy ace song? Wasn't anyone concerned that they might actually try and body slam Cyndi, or even worse, one of the actual Goonies? Or did Richard Donner provide them with Body Slam Insurance?

Another symptom: rambling to nobody in particular about nothing in particular.

My digital camera is broken. This is terrible. It eliminates a few possible OPs I could tackle on our 2 upcoming tours. But then again, maybe this is a good thing.

Sweet Marie, there's a hole where your heart should be...

Marc of Panaphobic did the unthinkable last night by defeating me in a hard fought round of darts. I blame it on the terrible micro-brewed "honey ale" I was choking down during the game. My next round was a lovely wheat variant, complete with lemon... and I won. The third game was won by a third party who thought it a good strategy to stockpile points early in the competition. It worked for her. I think I will buy dinner tonight.

14 days until the release of EVERYNIGHT FIRE WORKS. Hot damn.

A few people said I reminded them of Ben Stiller. And some say Ben Folds. But I mostly get Ben Kingsley.
posted by Robert at 4:27 PM ***

Robert:

84 68 - Jawbox

There's just too much happening and too much to get done at the moment. I will be back.
posted by Robert at 11:22 AM ***

Robert:

Re: the radio station. They've got songs on a loop. Same as this morning. Don't like it. Need to play darts.
posted by Robert at 9:07 PM ***

Robert:

Here's the website for that radio station, although, soon after I blogged about it, things started to get a little weird. I heard the same Ben Folds song that I heard an hour before and then they played a Stone Gossard / Pearl Jam extravaganza. And then The Strokes. What's up?
posted by Robert at 4:19 PM ***

dan:

ok theres talk about a damaged tank on this yellow frieght truck so we are investigating and until further notice will you know more..jedi master i am..
so dave and I start playing foosball. The 2 foosball games that we did play proved to be the most exciting games in the history of dan & daves pro series, or the beer really helped, come on I only had 1 and a half..so it's getting down to crunch time and I have to get ready to head south to the windy city, at this point I'm primed and ready for action except I had to drive..BOO..that sucked big time because It felt like we wern't making any time, so we get to bobs and I'm feeling like crap, I don't know what it was but I was drained, I kinda felt like fainting and then I presumed I would pass..We go to "the greatest food joint in chicago" per bob and I do manage to make a wonderful stir-fry and ate that and drank a bunch of water the whole time I was there..then we go back to bobs and I rest on the crouch while chris farley is on the tube waiting to fall asleep but it doesn't happen..get up, walk to the empty bottle and say hi to everybody and smile then I ordered a pint of honkers and figured if I drank that swiftly I would be cured..nOpE made me feel like crap still, switched to $1 bottles of huber and that didn't work..then my friend mike suggested I switch to rasberry stoli and 7-up for the fix..I did that and several stolis later I was feelin' fine..played pool a lot and lost a lot watched some great bands perform and walked back to bobs and slept great..! I was fine the next day and had some french toast @ toast and proceeded to drive back up north, home..sweet home..I painted this moring at eight and I'm back at work now..I'll have to tell you about my up coming turkey hunt..soon..
posted by dan at 1:48 PM ***

dan:

somebody is up early, thanks for the futon mattress bed once again borb..*
well well well, what have we here? a little story about my weekend..? I think so..It all started on a blustery fall afternoon when my girlfriend (joyce) left and my neighbor (dave) just got home at the same time. So now theres just dave and myself and the dog (notorious) with the whole house to our selves..I offered dave a refreshing beverage and I also took advantage of the moment with a 'blue moon'

hold on a second..I'm at work..


posted by dan at 1:34 PM ***

Robert:

This cat is nuts.

85 My Old School - Steely Dan

i'm up too early. And to top it all off, I woke up in Bloomington yet again! How the heck did I get here? How do I get out?

I got a few things going for me, though. Coffee brewin', cat jumpin', and by far the coolest radio station I have ever heard. One of the 5 things I actually enjoy about this area - this amazing station. In the past hour, I've heard Owls, Ben Folds, Death Cab for Cutie, 2 hip hop songs, and 2 songs I didn't know, but liked. The song they're playing now sounds like Siouxie & the Banshees. Incredible. 88.1. I believe it's an Illinois Wesleyan station. Perhaps they have some internet stream. If so, get it...

Wow! They just had a station ID by Eli from (when he was in) Smoking Popes. Unfortunately, this song they are playing immediately afterwards sounds dangerously like Limp Bizkit.

So yeah, I put up some new tour dates yesterday. I didn't get any solid confirmation from the powers that be, I just went straight from such "reputable" sources such as Pollstar & Ticketmaster... But most of them check out, so we're all good. Here's some more info I can let you in on regarding this here tour of tours. It's stretching all the way to the west coast taking the Northern route (boo! snow!) and it ends up somewhere near Phoenix circa December 17th. Then the plan is: drive home and shop quick. And you are correct about D... I'm just letting the cat out of the bag. Just because.

And this cat is nuts.

Have you seen this crazy week of shows at Pittsburgh's grilliest/no monitor stage, Club Laga? It's Vagrant week. Monday (11/5) is us. Tuesday is Hot Rod Circuit (and Hot Water Music & Rival Schools). Wednesday is Dashboard Confessional (and Seville). Wow. If I were Vagrant (hint), I'd perhaps work out some special buy-all-three discount.

If someone knows a website for this station, let me know, cause it's hot hot hot.

Speaking of Vagrant, I'm psyched that they put up some of those new MP3s. I don't think that HRC record is completed yet, but if I was Vagrant (hint), I would send Hey Mercedes a few copies of that Anniversary record. Or better yet, perhaps I'll beat one out of Josh on Wednesday. Make sure I get an all access pass so I can get within punchin' distance.

This sounds like They Might Be Giants, but I'm not 100% sold on it. OK, now I'm sold. The cool (but sometimes annoying) thing about this station is you have to figure out the songs and the bands on your own. I haven't heard a DJ yet. I want another first kiss... like this. And now some reggae?

How many coffee mugs can I leave in your car?

My mind is in shambles. Racked with new Obsessive Projects. If anyone wants to take a few over, be my guest. I've got 2 going on full speed right now: op906, which as over 300 people know, concerns my favorite photographic media. Polaroids... and op907, the 100 cover songs, of which I have to complete about 40 or so in the next week to compensate for when I'm on tour. (Speaking of which, hopefully you'll enjoy my Eddie Van Halen today)

Here are some OPs that I've been kicking around...

Firstly, I was going to do reviews of all of the restaurants that I visit on tour. Given my obsession with food.... here are some samples I was working on:

***

George Webb - Milwaukee WI - 7/27/01

It took us a good 20 minutes and blocks of seemingly endless searching to find this downtown location at a sultry 2 AM. There was about 10 of us, so I was certain that the wait staff would have multiple heartattacks once we arrived, but alas, they were pleasant as can be, even cracking some dumb jokes.

George Webb is a chain of 24 hr diners that I’ve only seen in Milwaukee. They’ve got this cheeseball thing going with 2 clocks set a minute apart so that legally they can stay open 24 hours or something like that. Damon told me the whole story once. It was so fascinating that I forgot it once the pancakes arrived.

After 12, you have to pre-pay for all your food. Odd for a dineresque place, but you get no argument from this bunch. We may look rowdy, but we’re really just 10 guys on a couch. I’m guessing that they have had ten too many dine-and-ditches. For the time and the price, it just hits the spot. I had the old diner reliable - two eggs scrambled with wheat toast and hash browns.($3) I then create a mega-sandwich... One warning: They butter the toast themselves and they are not stingy. It’s pretty disgusting actually. If you forget to ask them to lay off the butter, you’ll surely be scraping off gobs of it... Like I was.

My service was great, but others at my table weren’t so pleased. A few food items came late and some didn’t come at all. Hence, you may want to keep it short and sweet, especially at such a late hour!

Food: * * *
Service: * * *
Price: * * * *

--

Pizza Luce - Minneapolis MN - 7/28/01

Walking distance from every respectable Minneapolis club, this good looking bar / restaurant is a virtual super magnet for every rock band that comes through. Why? Because it’s just one of the greatest restaurants on the planet, I’d say.

My first experience was before our 7th Street Entry show, before the recording of the Everynight Fire Works album. We decided on a nice dinner / meeting with our wonderful producer J, and Mark suggested Luce. The menu is a sight to behold, especially for us vegetarians and vegans. You can get your pizza with mock duck, soy cheese, and not to mention a bunch of meat items as well! On the side, how bout some Veggie Drummies (Chicken-like) with hot mustard sauce? And if you’re not a tour pizza eater (like me), yes you read it right: Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs! What the?

And to top it all off, we landed there right in the middle of happy hour. J ordered a Newcastle and our waiter informed us that you get one free with that. J replied that he’d only like 1. The waiter said, “Ok, but I’ll bring out a second one and just leave it on the table then.” Brilliant. Of course, someone drank it. I knew you were concerned.

This time around, I ordered a 12” riNOTta cheese pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes, and garlic ($8). Oh man, it was amazing. I nearly ate the whole darn thing. The service was great, except for our man Bix who showed up late, ordered, and then waited. Once we were done with our food, our waitress came by and apologized to him. She had forgotten to put in his order!

Never fear, his pizza was on the house and she knocked a little off of our bill as well. Big tip. Return service. Hell yeah.

Food: * * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price: * * * *

--

Jerry’s J-Boy - Clarksville IN - 7/29/01 - 12 AM

What happens when the only restaurant around your Louisville hotel is a White Castle? You have to drive up 65 north to Exit 4 and go to the 24 hour haven known as Jerry’s J-Boy. I have to admit, I was a little scared when we pulled up. Their marquee advertised a special on T-bone steaks.

The inside was decked out with a ton of movie artifacts, including a downright creepy full size statue of the Blues Brothers. We slithered by Jake and Elwood to our corner table. The menus resembled circus programs, and it was plain to see that it was going to have to be a late night breakfast once again.

Our waiter was amazing. He was a young guy that helped us through all of our odd vegetarian twists on their meaty dishes. For example: I wanted eggs, pancakes, and browns. He suggested I just get the Heftyman Breakfast and substitute the browns for the bacon. How accomodating. The price at $4 was just right as well.

Again, my service was impeccable, but others at my table were not so lucky. Katie, next to me, had to re- order her BLT twice before they finally got it right without any mayonnaise. In fact, our waiter was so mad at the cooks, he actually said to us, “They got it wrong again? Hang on, I’m going to go beat some ass.”

Never fear, that BLT was on the house, and the sassy waiter lifted J-Boy into the OP909 win column.

Food: * * * 1/2
Service: * * * *
Prcie: * * * *

--

... So as the D-Plan says - "It could have been good. It could have been something all right." But I'm giving it up. It's all yours. Going on tour? Let us know about these exceptional eateries!

A similar project that I had on the horizon was the Western Ave Bar Crawl, whereupon, over the course of a year, my compadre (funniestmaninchicago) and I would start at the very south end of Western Ave and have a drink in every single bar all the way up to the tip top north end. It passes through so many different neighborhoods! ... And then write a little something on each - atmosphere, bartender, service, etc... It would be a great little study. If anyone wants to finance this "massive waste of time" for a book or something, please contact me. Otherwise it may have to be put on the backburner.

I'm just getting ancy because we're nearing the first of 2002. The most perfect opportunity to begin a new project. I'm sure I'll think of something totally ridiculous by years end.

Now I'm going to check some email... While they play Death Cab again...
posted by Robert at 9:34 AM ***

Robert:

86 Equalized - Jawbreaker

And another thing. Our Nov/Dec tour with Saves the Day begins in Portland, Maine.
posted by Robert at 1:07 PM ***