Random Tour Footage

some random tour footage I took while on the road...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rU-zTKKy7c

A Day In The Life Of...

Here's how it typically goes on a tour like this...It's early in the morning and the sun is bearing down on your crowded van and trailer, which is parked in a Wal-mart parking lot or a similar location... Hard to sleep-in when the inside of your van suddenly becomes a humid, smoldering sauna on wheels...We wake up and start driving to the venue...If the next show was only a couple or few hours away, then we've probably made it to the same town the venue is in and it will be a short drive...if the next show is very far away then upon awaking we may have a lot more driving to do...usually we make it to the venue really, really early and nobody is there to let us in yet...most of the time we go all day without eating, because we depend on the "catering" or "buy-out money" to eat...we pass the time by walking around and sight seeing, playing hackey-sack, skateboarding, kicking a soccer ball around, taking "hobo showers" with baby wipes or rinsing off in a sink at a gas station, etc., etc...When the promoter finally makes it to the venue, they open the doors up and we load all our gear (drums, guitars, speaker cabinets, merchandise, etc.) into the venue and try to find a good location for it until the show starts...Most of the time we will set-up our gear and merch table early so we can have everything ready to go for the show that night...Some more waiting around...While waiting for the venue to officially open and start letting people in, we usually have time to grab a loaf of bread and some lunch meat from a nearby store or some value menu from McDonald's, Burger King, or Taco Bell...some of us will take naps in backstage areas and such...bands and people slowly start showing up so some of us will talk with other bands and fans and just kind of mingle and wait for the show to start...When it's our turn to perform we throw out gear onstage and try to setup as fast as possible so we don't cut into our set time...We play the show...There are a million and one variables that could cause a show to range from being awesome to down right horrible...some of these factors include: nobody there/no turn-out because of bad promotion or maybe it's a Monday or Tuesday night or maybe nobody knows about the bands in that particular town...maybe the venue has a poor sound system or they don't have the right equipment to suit our needs...maybe the people working there aren't properly skilled or trained to run the equipment properly to make you sound good...maybe they don't have air conditioning and it's five thousand degrees onstage...maybe you break a string or a drumstick during your set and have to stop the show or quit playing during a song...you get the point...after we perform we try to get offstage as fast as possible because there may be bands playing after us...now you have an extreme juggling act of activities to participate in and you must try and prioritize: watch your gear like a hawk to ensure none of the local bands steal anything or walk off with a guitar or something? go to the merch table and meet some of your fans and sign some autographs? watch the other bands? talk to interviewers or media people that are there specifically to see your band and talk with you after the show? start packing up your gear and putting your instruments in cases so you can load out as soon as the last band is done playing? There's so much to do, but it usually all just kind of falls into place somehow...after the show, if your lucky enough to have a decent and professional promoter than you will get paid your door percentage or guarantee agreed upon before the tour...We load all our equipment back into the trailer...We enter our next destination into the GPS and determine how far we must drive that night...we start heading toward the next venue and we usually try and find something to eat on the way...something cheap, fast, and not always nutritious...and you just repeat this whole process night after night after night...drive, unload gear, set up gear, play show, pack up gear, load up gear, drive....so on and so on...It can be difficult to find a place to shower, find your next meal, find privacy, find time to relax and get a breath of fresh air, the van starts to smell horrible, usually don't get to wash your clothes and they start to smell horrible, especially if you wear the same outfit on stage every night, which a lot of bands do...blah blah blah...life on the road is tough, but none of us can complain because it's the life we chose and we wouldn't want to be doing anything else...this is what I gave up a normal, comfortable life for...my love and passion for music...I'd rather be broke as hell, living this rough life on the road playing my drums every night - than sitting in an office doing paperwork, working 9 to 5 and all that comes with a "normal" life...sure it'd be great to have a steady, decent paying job and have insurance, and own a car, and have my own apartment or house, having the means to buy things...but then I wouldn't be truly happy because I love playing music and performing in front of people way more than having all those things...when you die all your stuff doesn't matter anyways...it's all about your life experiences and the people you meet and the relationships you build...those things are what truly matter in life...

Ah, the life of a musician...

Well, I got my Netbook fixed...it went something like this...took my netbook into a computer store and asked how much a diagostic test was. They said free. So I left my computer with them. I go back into the store to see what the problem is, and they say it's already been fixed and I owe them money. Okay? Anyways, so it's working and I can...do stuff...on the internet...I'm sitting here at a Mcdonalds/Truckstop/Travel Plaza which is awesome by the way. Free WiFi, showers, and all that...The showers cost money though, so no showers for us...the rest of my band is asleep out in the van. That's what we've been doing this whole tour. We just drive until we get tired...pull over in a WalMart Parking lot or something of the sort and pass out...The tour has been great so far. It's rough, but we love what we do so I wouldn't ask to be doing anything else. It's rough because your constantly driving and driving. And our Van has no Air Conditioning! So hot and muggy and humid all the time! Very hard to find showers and places to bathe. We usually end up using baby wipes, which is what most people call a hobo shower...but all the hobos I've encountered smell of death, so I'm not sure how accurate that is considering that most homeless people don't even ATTEMP to clean themselves in anyway...Hard to eat healthy, if you get to eat at all, on the road! Mostly value menu and the like...I try to go to a grocery store every chance I get and get bananas and apples...I order salads when I can too so I'm not just eating burgers and tacos this whole tour...Most people think that when you are in a touring band or if you're signed to a label that you've suddenly got it made and that you are touring in a huge bus, playing to thousands of people every night...well for a slim number of bands in this industry that has been true but most of the time you still have A LOT of work to do...we are just barely starting out, so we've got to pay our dues still...

I really wanted to blog a lot more and post videos on this tour but my netbook crapped out on me! Bummer...

No a/c in the van really sucks...barely been eating on this tour...5 dudes trying to sleep in a van every night is rough...3 days with no shower...

Last night was Indiana...one of the smaller shows on this tour. It went good though...we play columbus ohio tonight...

In the van driving...no A/C! Its hot but we got the windows down. Driving through Illinois...Ironically we found a cd of the first live show we ever played...

This is a test of the National Blogging From My Phone Broadcast System. TESTING 1 2 3

Leave for tour tommorrow...

Well, we got the van out of the shop today...seems to be running okay...keeping our fingers crossed! We are going to pack up all our bags and gear in the van and trailer tommorrow and hit the road. First show is in Indiana, so it's a long drive from Missouri! We are stoked though. This will be our first tour after being signed to Earache Records and Outerloop Management! Let's hope the van makes it all these dates...Well the album is finally mixed now and we have been listening to all the final mixes today!!! IT SOUNDS INSANE! I really can't believe how good this album sounds! Can't wait for everyone to hear it...Well I have to pack my stuff and get ready to leave...

Summer 2010 Tour Footage

Here's some footage from our touring last summer 2010:

http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=1655092102#!/video/video.php?v=1289254165516

The Tour

Here's the tour announcement from Earache Records! http://earachenews.blogspot.com/2011/04/browning-confirm-us-tour-with-like.html

the first two dates of the tour got switched so the first tour date is now Indiana and the second tour date is Ohio...or something like that...

Transportation?!

We recently traveled to Michigan to record our newest full-length album with Josh at Random Awesome Studios and the results were spectacular! The album sounds great and I can't wait til everyone hears it. It was a long, long trek though and our tour van definately had some issues making it back in one piece...a head-light literally just fell off the van, our radiator went out, and on the way back home from Michigan the oil pump starting acting up and there were clicks and clatters coming from the engine...we thought the engine was a goner and we didn't know what we were going to do, but we recently dumped some oil in that beast and rev'd 'er up and miraculously it sounds fine and is running good?! So we may take a chance and see if she'll run the whole tour for us...keeping our fingers crossed! C'mon Claire you can make it!!! Anyways, we are having a mechanic here in Missouri check 'er out and we can only hope for the best...

Gettin' Ready for the tour...

Alright, so I've decided to start this tour blog to keep track of everything that happens on the road, post videos of what's happening on tour, etc. Right now I am in Missouri with my band The Browning, rehearsing for the upcoming tour which starts June 4th...We are out at Sean's house in the middle of nowhere, with our gear set up in his garage. Sean is the owner of Redemption Clothing and used to be in a band with Jonny and Jesse...he's a really cool dude and it's awesome he's letting us stay here and practice! It's been a while since we have rehearsed but we're getting back into the swing of things fairly quickly...but my hands are really taking a beating! I already have blisters and my hands are all taped up!!!