6.16.2007

DAY ONE.

hi there.
i guess this is the first real post of this new blog, which i decided to set up, and update as much as possible, documenting my day to day life on the road and at home. we just started a three month tour with our friends rise against and comeback kid, and i couldn't be more excited about a tour. i recently got into riding a fixed gear bike, which i have brought on tour to aid in urban exploration, as well as my usual search for vegan eateries, record and clothing retailers. i decided to buy a new camera (more on this later) to assist in my hope to capture more of my life on the road in this very blog medium.

we arrived home from europe sunday afternoon, and i packed the next three days in with plenty of friends, riding and good food. tuesday night, i picked up my good friend joe foster from the airport, as he is taking over as our "retail executive supervisor" (or some other ridiculous job title we all came up with after a 30 hour drive to texas). i brought joe downtown, where we met a bunch of friends at sneaky dee's. i was really happy to see a lot of my friends all in one place on my last night in town, and was surprised at the large turnout. i think we upsized our table three or four times!

wednesday morning joe and i headed to burlington, and after spending some time with christie hurlbut over some bagals, we headed to the mall parking lot early to meet the bus. we were definitely the first to arrive, which meant first bunk dibbs. i brought along a trusty tape measure so that i could ensure i was maximizing my sleeping quarters. i found, as per usual, there is one row of bunks that are slightly longer than the rest, and the middle bunk usually has the most room vertically, so i definitely snagged the largest bunk on the bus, and couldn't be happier.

like i said before, we started the tour in texas, which meant a 30 hour drive to get there. i spent most of the time soorting things out for this blog, and planning some activities for my first few days. when we finally arrived in dallas, i hopped on the bike right away, en route to walmart to purchase a camera. i road something like 10 miles on some borderline highway roads, which were mostly infested with pot holes or construction, and indefinitely uphill for the majority of the ride. i arrived at what i had directed myself to thinking was a walmart, only to realize that i was at a walmart market, which is strictly a grocery store. luckily, just down the road, across a highway, i saw a best buy. even though i had done my homework a little on the camera i was looking to purchase, only to find that walmart had the lower price, i decided to bite the bullet and get it at best buy. i am now a proud owner of a canon powershot SD750 compact digital camera. it's pretty nice for what it is, real small, with minimal manual features, and a real big view screen (which is nice). i also picked up a nice, simple nylon soft case for it that has a clip which i have found clips well onto my messenger bag or belt loop. as i was leaving the best buy, i looked the other way across the street only to find that the walmart i had been searching for was right there. i headed over, and quickly learned that they did not have the camera i wanted in stock. luckily best buy had a bit of a sale, so i split the different between what i expected to pay at best buy, and what i wanted to pay at walmart. seeing as i didn't feel like it was safe for me to make the ten mile trek back to the hotel, i called my friend scott, who i had aleady semi-planned to see that evening. it worked out perfect that he picked me up at the walmart with my bike, and we went to the olive garden near the hotel to meet the rest of the guys. i met scott on this past summers warped tour, where he was driving the trailor that oliver peck had out on the tour, which i was tattooed in. scott's other hobbies while on the tour included sleeping during the day, playing poker from the minute he woke up until bus call, and growing a sweet beard. scott and i became great friends at the poker table, and have kept in touch through the year. if i'd have to guess, scott is well over 35, yet we seem to have hit it off real well, and have built and maintained a lasting friendship. this is one of the reasons that i love punk rock.

so friday morning, we arrived at the palladium ballroom in dallas, which was a beautiful new venue. the afternoon went by great, reuniting with friends in rise against and comeback kid, and getting things organized for the tour. to this point i have yet to mention that we also brought on a new tour manager with this tour, a young fellow from st louis by the name jon kenna. jon is a great guy, and really seems super ontop of his game, double and tripple checking that things are already running smoothly for us on the tour, and ensure that he is here to take care of our utmost needs and concerns. i really look forward to watching comeback kid play every night, as there seems to be nothing better to get me stoked on playing the set. really stoked to just be out with some amazing, friendly, positive bands for the next few months.

onto some photos:

cheapie and rich taking advantage of the bus internet.


kevin....being kevin.


my bunk.



bus.


another classic kevin moment. also testing out my shutter options on the new point'n'shoot.


this backdrop made me want to listen to BOY SETS FIRE - AFTER THE EULOGY on repeat.


jon kenna and i venture to the mall for a new cell phone (for him) and a pair of vans authentics (for me).




shane finally arrives from las vegas.


paul koehler is my guitar hero.


joey streetpunk, in all his glory.


so yeah, hopefully i stay motivated enough to update this regularily.

PLAYLIST.
01. MODERN LIFE IS WAR: witness.
02. THE CONSTANTINES: tournament of hearts.
03. GASLIGHT ANTHEM: sink or swim.
04. FLEETWOOD MAC: rumors.
05. RYAN ADAMS: 29.

2 comments:

Aileen Burns said...

fleetwood mac - rumours <3

a) i miss you guys.
b) i miss hanging out in toronto.
c) i knew you'd manage to get the best bunk.
d) the rise against backdrop is SICK.
e) please send my love to the rest of the team!

love, jsf

CBP said...

sweet blog man!

Hook me a link cameronbrioux.com

If you guys even make it to alaska, let me know! haha