Sweet Carolinas
Last night’s show at the Guitar Bar in Savannah was awesome. It’s continually bewildering and wonderful that the Evangenitals manage to connect and communicate with folks beyond our own backyard. We had a nice helping of SCAD students in the crowd last night, and once we got a sense of their sensibilities, we started to cut loose with some Fuck ‘em All/Gasoline action. We had such an awesome sing/play-a-long for “Home” that we decided to throw in the Vagina Song as well. That was a big hit. Many copies of Everlovin’ were sold simply so that folks could have Fuck ‘em All on hand as the new theme song to their lives. I got lots of good hugs. A great show, a great night, and a great city. At least the few blocks that I saw.
I loved the Southern Gothic feel, the low-handing moss off the trees, and the fountains. There seems to be a strange merging of deterioration and growth going on there -- lots of old historical buildings, lots of construction, and lots of vacant spaces/buildings for sale. So far Austin, New Orleans, and Savannah have been my favorite towns, as far as look/feel/vibe/scene/etc.
That morning we played at a Veterans Memorial Nursing Home in Daytona, Florida. And yes, we played those old, dirty war vets Gasoline! ☺ They wanted to hear something spicy, and we gave it to them. We got some great footage of our “Home” sing-a-long/play-a-long there as well. This should be one EPIC music video!
The night before we were supposed to play at the amphitheater in Port Orange, FL… however the park security had other plans! We were told that we couldn’t play there, so during all the discussion and commotion the Evangenitals shot an impromptu music video for “Not Quite There” with some local skaters. Huzzah! The young skater boys were super-sweet and helpful and really excited to be in a movie. When we get back from this trip Brett will be able to start editing all this footage and we should have a steady stream of videos coming out on YouTube, right about when Everlovin’ becomes available on iTunes. That synchronized marketing, baby!
The night before THAT we were in Tampa, Florida playing the Skatepark of Tampa (SPOT) which was an awesome experience as well. We stepped up on the stage to play for a bunch of shirtless, angry, mohawk-wearing, punker skate kids that were TOTALLY won over by the Evangenitals joy. My sister Jaimee and new brother-in-law Tom came out to the show, as well as my old friend Dwayne from High School..
So much is happening it is all blending together and difficult to explain. I’m so glad there will be video tape and photos and a lifetime to keep writing songs and telling stories about it all.
I’m in love with the land and the sky and the trees. This land was made for you and me.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Kyle MacDonald and Juli Crockett Trade!
This was a geeky highlight of the Road to Oprah tour for me so far. I got to trade Evangenitals' CD's and some stickers for Kyle MacDonald of One Red Paperclip fame's new book, a patch, and some stickers. It was pretty awesome.
He and his wife, Dom, tagged along from our Tallahassee show at The Warehouse to my mom's house in St Pete and The 1 Second Film's presentation at St Pete High. He and Dom came out to the Evangenitals' show at the Skatepark of Tampa (SPOT) Transitions Art Gallery before heading in the opposite direction than us... to New Orleans, where we had been just days before. It was really cool to cross paths with them on the Road to Oprah!
He and his wife, Dom, tagged along from our Tallahassee show at The Warehouse to my mom's house in St Pete and The 1 Second Film's presentation at St Pete High. He and Dom came out to the Evangenitals' show at the Skatepark of Tampa (SPOT) Transitions Art Gallery before heading in the opposite direction than us... to New Orleans, where we had been just days before. It was really cool to cross paths with them on the Road to Oprah!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
I love this poster that the local bands we're playing with made. It's awesome!
Hopefully some of my old friends and family will make it out to the show tonight. It would be great to see everyone.
After the show, we're off to Satellite Beach High School, driving through the night, for a 9am presentation for The 1 Second Film. Creator/director of The 1 Second Film Nirvan Mullick actually went to high school there, so it should be cool for him to visit his old alma mater and share his story with the kids.
After that we've got a show in the park in Daytona, stopping by the Veterans nursing home for an acoustic set in the morning, then off to Savannah for our gig at the Guitar Bar. Exciting stuff all around!
Hopefully some of my old friends and family will make it out to the show tonight. It would be great to see everyone.
After the show, we're off to Satellite Beach High School, driving through the night, for a 9am presentation for The 1 Second Film. Creator/director of The 1 Second Film Nirvan Mullick actually went to high school there, so it should be cool for him to visit his old alma mater and share his story with the kids.
After that we've got a show in the park in Daytona, stopping by the Veterans nursing home for an acoustic set in the morning, then off to Savannah for our gig at the Guitar Bar. Exciting stuff all around!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Austin, Houston, and beyond!
So much has happened in the past few days, it’s hard to find time to write about it all! Nirvan’s sister Dream surprised us in Austin by flying down to the show to lend a much-needed hand. The venue in Austin – The Brentwood Tavern – was really homey and cute. Outdoor wooden stage with an Oak Tree growing right through the middle of the stage, adjacent playground and you can even bring your dog there. I loved it. I could totally see myself moving to Austin someday, especially if I was going to have kids and needed to get them to some fresher air than Los Angeles has to offer.
Our hosts, Brian and Jeremy (Jeremy is his wife, and a woman… confusing, no?) were AWESOME!!! They fed us, bed us, and took such good care of us it was silly. Brian has some connection to SXSW and is going to try to pass some copies of the Evangenitals new album Everlovin’ (which is about to be available online at CD Baby and iTunes!) into the right hands. That would be awesome, as I’m eager to get back to Austin very soon. It is a great, great town full of music lovers and warm southern souls.
We also got to meet Chad there, who was an Evangenitals fan from Myspace. It was wonderful to have cyber-friend turn real-time friend and have the opportunity to play a live show for him… though we didn’t play “Never Again” which was the song that first made him fall in love with us. I think the “Work Song” made up for it, though, as both he and his friend Kelly, an Austin artist who works at Apple in customer service, were feeling the message of the corporate grind. There is a social revolution afoot and those two are hip to it. It was really nice to get to sit and talk with them for a bit.
Dream surprised us again by accompanying us on the bus to Houston, where Nirvan and her dad, Shaman Mullick, was spearheading our event at Lucky’s Pub. We decided to keep that on the down-low and surprise both her dad and Nirvan’s grandmother with her presence. En route she helped us with hammering down our production schedule, set-up/break-down procedures, etc. In a bus full of artists, organization and punctuality are not proving to be our strong suits. However, we’re getting pretty good at faking it!
Open, honest communication and frequent check-ins are critical when living in a bus with 8 people, 4 bunks, 2 couches, and a whole lot of driving to do. So is being as clean as you possibly can. ☺
Houston’s event was big, loud, and drunken. We performed like we were doing a stadium show, and it seemed to break through the ruckus and transmit the message. I was wearing one of The 1 Second Film’s “I’m on top of Christina Ricci” shirts and it made me feel pretty tough. Our group version of “Home” for the epic music video that is developing was incredible – we had Brett’s grandmother on stage dancing a jig with Nirvan’s dad, grown men playing tambourines, xylophones and slide whistles, and I was playing the bass. This video should be awesome in the end.
Early in the day, Lisa and I did an Evangina version of Home for Nirvan’s grandmother, which was quite an experience. The tender quite of the whole thing got me all choked up and I almost cried mid-song.
New Orleans deserves it’s own entry, as so much happened on Freemen street last night it’s going to take me a while to process it all. In fact, I’m still enjoying the experience on the inside, so I don’t want to muck it up with articulation just yet. I’m going to snuggle up with it for a while longer.
We’re about to pull into Tallahassee where we’ll set up for tonight’s presentation and show at FSU, then we’re driving all night to my mom’s house in St Pete, where we will pass out for a few hours before doing a show at St Pete High. After that, we get to have an evening off and some much needed sleep. And a hot tub! Woo hoo!
More to come... the bus don't stop till Oprah.
So much has happened in the past few days, it’s hard to find time to write about it all! Nirvan’s sister Dream surprised us in Austin by flying down to the show to lend a much-needed hand. The venue in Austin – The Brentwood Tavern – was really homey and cute. Outdoor wooden stage with an Oak Tree growing right through the middle of the stage, adjacent playground and you can even bring your dog there. I loved it. I could totally see myself moving to Austin someday, especially if I was going to have kids and needed to get them to some fresher air than Los Angeles has to offer.
Our hosts, Brian and Jeremy (Jeremy is his wife, and a woman… confusing, no?) were AWESOME!!! They fed us, bed us, and took such good care of us it was silly. Brian has some connection to SXSW and is going to try to pass some copies of the Evangenitals new album Everlovin’ (which is about to be available online at CD Baby and iTunes!) into the right hands. That would be awesome, as I’m eager to get back to Austin very soon. It is a great, great town full of music lovers and warm southern souls.
We also got to meet Chad there, who was an Evangenitals fan from Myspace. It was wonderful to have cyber-friend turn real-time friend and have the opportunity to play a live show for him… though we didn’t play “Never Again” which was the song that first made him fall in love with us. I think the “Work Song” made up for it, though, as both he and his friend Kelly, an Austin artist who works at Apple in customer service, were feeling the message of the corporate grind. There is a social revolution afoot and those two are hip to it. It was really nice to get to sit and talk with them for a bit.
Dream surprised us again by accompanying us on the bus to Houston, where Nirvan and her dad, Shaman Mullick, was spearheading our event at Lucky’s Pub. We decided to keep that on the down-low and surprise both her dad and Nirvan’s grandmother with her presence. En route she helped us with hammering down our production schedule, set-up/break-down procedures, etc. In a bus full of artists, organization and punctuality are not proving to be our strong suits. However, we’re getting pretty good at faking it!
Open, honest communication and frequent check-ins are critical when living in a bus with 8 people, 4 bunks, 2 couches, and a whole lot of driving to do. So is being as clean as you possibly can. ☺
Houston’s event was big, loud, and drunken. We performed like we were doing a stadium show, and it seemed to break through the ruckus and transmit the message. I was wearing one of The 1 Second Film’s “I’m on top of Christina Ricci” shirts and it made me feel pretty tough. Our group version of “Home” for the epic music video that is developing was incredible – we had Brett’s grandmother on stage dancing a jig with Nirvan’s dad, grown men playing tambourines, xylophones and slide whistles, and I was playing the bass. This video should be awesome in the end.
Early in the day, Lisa and I did an Evangina version of Home for Nirvan’s grandmother, which was quite an experience. The tender quite of the whole thing got me all choked up and I almost cried mid-song.
New Orleans deserves it’s own entry, as so much happened on Freemen street last night it’s going to take me a while to process it all. In fact, I’m still enjoying the experience on the inside, so I don’t want to muck it up with articulation just yet. I’m going to snuggle up with it for a while longer.
We’re about to pull into Tallahassee where we’ll set up for tonight’s presentation and show at FSU, then we’re driving all night to my mom’s house in St Pete, where we will pass out for a few hours before doing a show at St Pete High. After that, we get to have an evening off and some much needed sleep. And a hot tub! Woo hoo!
More to come... the bus don't stop till Oprah.
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