September '05
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Old Shit
9/29/05
It's been awhile since my last post...
Let me recap...
Lets see... rock show, rock show, rock show... arena, shed, arena, shed... chicken, fish, potatoes...
All I really remember is the last show of the last leg... Kelly Clarkson showed up. Yeti used to work for her band and invited her down...
Here's me, Kelly, and some girlfriends of hers.
Here's some other pics from the last couple shows of the last leg... not sure what pics from what show... sorry.
My time off was blissful. Hung out with friends... went to the gym every day... played alot of pool... played my own rock show. No pictures or audio from the FOB show... sorry. You'll just have to come out and see it next time... if there is a next time. I'll tell ya... every time I play a show... the work versus fun factor gets slimmer and slimmer. First off... scheduling rehearsals is a pain in the ass... juggling six peoples schedules is enough to send me over the edge. Then there is the actual rehearsal part... my rehearsal space is barely to small for six players... plus once we get in there and start making noise... even if we keep stuff turned down it's still gets out of control quickly. Vocal mics start getting turned up and pretty soon it's a feedback nightmare. We have rehearsed a few times at the Aladdin theatre... which is nice but then I have to hire a sound guy for the day and we have load out of my space and into the theatre then out again. Promo is another thing... press releases, advertisements, flyers. Thankfully Tara ( DJ at local alterna-station) was cool and plugged the FOB show on her show and spun one of my songs. Then there's all the little shit like... lyric sheets, burning CD's for everyone, set lists, arrangements, t-shirts, ... and fuck, practicing my own parts. Then show day... Thankfully I hired Paul O'brien to do FOH sound and my good friend Andy Banton (Everclear) to do monitors. So I wasn't worried about sound...Also thankfully Libby and Joanne came down to sell shirts (not a single one sold) so I didn't have to worry about that, but there's load outs and ins, parking, set changes, guest lists and other crap that makes it really hard to relax and have fun. We played good... couple of gear problems, a couple sour harmonies, and a forgotten word or two, but all in all a good performance for only a few rehearsals. About two hundred people showed up at the door. I think folks enjoyed our last song the best...hehe... for other than the obvious reason... my fiddle player, Marilee Hord and I did a duet. The song from "the Jerk"... " Tonight, you belong to me". We did it county style but with full ukulele and trumpet leadership. Thanks to all that showed up to see me.
Finished our second show of this next leg of "in your honor" yesterday in Phoenix. First was San Diego. Didn't take pics... feeling lazy coming off break. But the new opener... Kaiser Chiefs, are awesome. The other new thing that's good is our new bus... I love it. It's a pop out... which means when we're stopped, a section of the front lounge slides out making it twice as big. That, in addition to a 42" plasma makes it the fanciest bus I've ever been on. I've been told stories from friends on a 311 tour about a blow up kiddie pool and hot oil wrestling in the pop out crew bus front lounge. I don't think we'll get that going... but it's nice to think about.
Which brings me to this... now all our band guys are married and stuff... but most of the crew guys are not. Our crew guys have had a hell of a time finding fun girls to come backstage and party. They've pretty much walked through the crowds... with passes in their hands and no one notices... It use to be that gals that wanted to come backstage would hang by the ends of the barricade and grab the first roadie that came by... give him a kiss or flash their boobs... watch the show from the side of the stage, then have a few drinks and laughs on the busses afterward. I like to call those "the good ol' days".
So ladies... pay attention... some of our finest crew guys are wandering around with backstage passes to give out to troublemakers.
...and as portrayed by the pictures below, who wouldn't want to party with Sean...
9/11/05
Nappy time Sean and Geof on our trip from Portland to Atlanta.
Uhhhh.... well, Sorry I haven't been keeping up on the posts.... we're a few shows in to our US tour and what I thought was gonna be a Foozer / Wee Fighters nightmare is actually really awesome. Both bands and crews getting along well and kicking ass. When I used to work for Weezer, the drum tech was Adam Willard, who is currently the drummer of Offspring... and Brian Bell's guitar tech was Bobby Schneck who is still thankfully working for the band. Bobby used to play with Eddie Money, Green Day, and still plays a pile of songs with the Weez. Bobby, Adam and I used to have the best roadie rock band on the planet. I'm really looking forward to doing some sound check jams with him again.
The first show Atlanta was a great kickoff show. Although the load in took for-fucking-ever. It started the day before and still wasn't ready for band gear to roll on the stage at 2pm on show day. I should probably explain the order of things that happen during an arena load in.
Let's see... We've got 9 tour busses and 5 semi tractor-trailers to carry all our shit. We're carrying Lights, Sound (FOH and Monitor for two bands), Lasers, Video, Sets, two bands worth of production offices and dressing room cases like wardrobe and stereos and ambiance and lastly two bands worth of band gear. Now, sometimes on big tours... bands will carry their own stage or stage pieces... like U2's heart "ego thrust" or the Dixie Chicks video sidewalk (which was really cool). In the event of carrying a stage... that is the first thing to load in.... but since we aren't carrying one... the production manager, Rodney, advances stage dimensions with the venue and it should be built by the time we start loading in.
The first guys in the building in the morning which starts at about 7am are the production manager, stage manager, and departmental heads for sound, lights, video, and riggers. Sound, lights, and video are hung from the roof with chain motors by the riggers... it's alot of trussing and crap up there and every roof is different, so everybody has to get together and measure out and plan how they're hanging stuff so that all the trusses fly without hitting each other or blocking each other.... for example... you wouldn't want to fly a video wall behind the speakers of the PA system or a lighting truss in front of the speakers of the PA system. To make matter a little more complex... our show has cues for moving trusses... which means that during a song, parts of the light rig will raise or lower or flatten out to create a different lighting look or effect. So those moving pieces of trussing have to easily clear all the other shit around them... which can be tricky sometimes... seeing as we've got so much stuff up there.
Back to load in... the riggers measure it all out and mark the floor where chains will be hung from the ceiling and attached to the trusses. Rigging is a science... there is a lot of math that goes into it if done properly. What if directly over one of the points there is no place to attach a chain motor to the roof. A bridal is configured... which is two pieces of steel cable attached to the roof that connect to each other at a point that the chain motor also attaches... the rigger should know how much weight the chain is supporting... what the roof is rated at... then be able to work out what the particular angle and length of the bridal will do to the load bearing rating of the roof and the steel cables that everything is hanging from... Too many riggers have no idea how to make these calculations... I certainly don't. This is thousands of pounds of deadly crap hanging over your head... fuckers should be rocket scientists as far as I'm concerned. Riggers are usually drug addicts that aren't afraid of heights. Riggers are usually the guys you ask if you're looking for illegal substances.
After the points are all marked out on the floor. the chain motors are wheeled out to the marks. Riggers climb up into the roof and lower ropes. The chains are tied on to these ropes and then pulled up to the bridals and attached or to the points to be dead hung. While this is going on, trusses are wheeled out into position and bolted together. The chain motors... now hanging from the ceiling are attached to the trusses. The trusses are raised to about chest high and lights, banners, backdrops, and video crap are attached. Every light is tested to make sure it works and is patched correctly before the truss is raised into the air. While this is going on... sound is busy rigging their line array speaker system that flies above the downstage right and left of the stag corners. Not only do you have to think about the trussing but you also have to think about what to do with all the sound, light and a/c cabling that's going to be hanging down from all the shit in the air. The lighting cables have to end up at a huge amount of dimmers that require immense amount of power and space. Control cable runs from the dimmers out to the middle of the floor in the arena where the lighting console and the sound console live. We call that area "Front of House" (FOH). The sound cables go from the hanging speakers into amplifiers under the stage and signal cables run from the amps to the FOH sound console. Video cable runs to video control way backstage. Lastly, all the cables that control the chain motors are run into a fancy computer that controls their movement loaded with safety features that sits on stage right. All of these thing require shitloads of power... in inadequate venues we have to bring in generators to fill any possible gaps in power needs.
After all that stuff goes in the air.... the monitor system goes on stage. 8 mixes... two side fills, two drum fills, wedge mix for Shifty, wedge mix for Nate, and two wedge mixes for Dave. All of those mixes have cables that run to amps on stage left where the monitor console and processing lives.
Backline gear (band gear) and set pieces get wheeled on stage now. Drums get set up and guitar and bass cabinets are plugged in. Lasers, video cameras and more fucking lighting is strewn about the stage. Once band gear is set up... sound guys wire up the stage for sound... plugging in mics and DI's (direct inputs). All the mic cables run into a splitter that sends all the sound to the monitor console and the FOH console. Once everything is plugged in we commence with line check. This consists of an orderly making of noise or tapping on mics to make sure that every input is working and patched correctly. After that our monitor guy tunes the monitor system and dials in perfect mixes for the boys and the FOH sound guy tunes the PA for y'all. This is why most sound guys like roadies that can actually play... preferably like the performer that they are taking care of. We get to jam so the sound guys can get shit just right so when the band shows up for sound check... they walk on stage and it's perfect.
Before, during or after sound check... the lampies and LD (lighting designer) are focusing (aiming) the conventional lighting. The laser guys are busy focusing their lasers... and the video guy is dealing with cameras and video screens. T-shirt guy AKA merch guy or cotton tech has been counting in thousands of t-shirts and other crap with the venue hired sales staff... Wiley is busy setting up dressing rooms with all the stuff the band likes, Catering is busy cooking food for all the hungry touring staff and local crew... and our production staff is busy overseeing this whole mess and most importantly, working on advancing and planning the next few shows down the line.
That's a very simplified synopsis of the ingredients of an arena rock show.
In the middle of the day in Atlanta we were told that the band had agreed to play a benefit TV show for Katrina victims in NY the next day. It was to be a day off / travel day. There was no complaining or even questioning... a very important cause. We had to be at the airport at 5am for a 6am flight. We left the venue at 2:30am and got to our airport hotel at about 3:15. I managed about an hour and a half of sleep... some of the other guys weren't that lucky.
After landing in NY we packed ourselves, luggage and guitars into ONE van like sardines... (my biggest pet peeve) and rushed to Sony studios. As expected... the TV show was a total clusterfuck. We were using rental backline... which is always terrifying. Especially for such a high profile event as this. You just never know what you're gonna get. Such was the case with Shifty's stuff. He was probably already stressed cuz of a straight up noodly guitar solo in front of millions... and after two different rental amps weren't functioning properly, he was pretty bummed. We finally got something worked out for him and they soundchecked / camera blocked fantastically. As is per usual at these kind of things there is alot of waiting around... which doesn't work really well for a bunch of guys on an hour of sleep.
The boys fell asleep in the fancy ass green room that they had set up for all the superstars. People would walk in and see the crusty, scary roadies and turn around and walk out.... it was pretty funny to watch.
I got a picture with one of my favorites... Garth Brooks... Seemed like a nice fella, down to earth, like Dave.
The performance was awesome... they nailed it... the best of the night I thought.... and that's my unbiased opinion.
We finished loading out and checked into the NY hotel about 11pm... I wanted to go right to sleep... but funny, as tired as I was... I tossed and turned till about 1am.
Woke up and left the hotel three hours later at 4am to catch another early flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Upon arriving at the arena we loaded straight on stage and did a little roadie rock... After which I went straight to my bunk and slept for a couple hours. At the top of the show a curtain conceals the stage.. and as the band starts playing this curtain is supposed to rise up and reveal the band... spinal tap moment... the motors that lift this curtain up kept tuning off probably due to some over sensitive safety feature. So it took a very long minute or so to get the curtain out of the way of the band. NOT the way you want to start a show. The show was really good however...except for Dave fucked up his calf muscle... right one I think. He said that during the show something just popped. I noticed him limping around the stage and got worried... but once again... he rocked despite any pain, problems or distractions.
Loaded out, piled on the bus and hauled ass to Tampa.
Tampa... the third show, everyone seemed to be getting their shit together, working out the kinks and settling into a groove. The load in went pretty fast compared to the previous days... but still need to be faster. Luckily no sound check for the Foo's as I don't think there would have been time to check both bands... Taylor did come up on stage and jam with us roadies for a sec though. Always fun to play with him.
After line check and roadie rock... I threw on some sweats and ran the arena stairs again for exercise... I gonna try and do this every damn day... it's like wind sprints... really kicks your ass.
The show was good despite Dave's still fucked up calf... no technical difficulties.
After the show a party fired up in the dressing room to celebrate Nick Flynn's birthday. So one of you Foo psycho fans should start a thread for him... he's a great guy and really takes care of your band. Amazing guy. One of the best.
Hopped back on the bus for a long drive to Houston. We were told is was gonna take anywhere from 20 to 30 hours depending on traffic and routing through Louisiana. It actually only took about 16 hours thank god. I slept as much as I could. We arrived at our hotel at about 6 pm. I went straight to the gym and got sweaty for a couple hours. Then back to the room for spanktra vision... a shower... and typing this long boring post.
Sean's birthday is on Friday... the big 40... He really is the best guy and I love him dearly. Not sure what to get him... any suggestions?
9/7/05
6am plane departure to Atlanta this morning... which means I had to wake up at 4am.... gnarly. I was up till 3am packing. Whatever though... I had such a great time at home, there's absolutely nothing that could ruin my mood right now... my tail is a waggin'. Slept all the way to Atlanta... got her at about 2pm. Our hotel is right next to the Venue. I walked over and watched the slow as death load in. I said my hello's then got some exercise running the arena stairs. I'm gonna try and do that every day.... up and down each stringer of stairs around every arena we hit.
Backline loads in at 9 am tomorrow with a mid day sound check. So I'm just gonna relax at the hotel this eve...
9/4/05
I had the best day yesterday...
Woke up early and went to skate at the Nike skate lab with Nate and best old buddy Kris Jamieson... it's so awesome... like our own little private, old guy skate club. After skating I drove Nate home and saw his new Portland house and hung out for a few with his Girl Jessica and and they're new little boy Noah. I rushed from there over to My pal AJ's house. His girlfriend Etta owns a Motel in Milwaukee and they needed some help moving some furniture around.... now normally, moving furniture around is not my idea of a good time but I really love these two. AJ is one of the most patient, hardest working, best hearted guys I know... and I love Etta cuz she is one of the most honest people I know. She has a huge personality and makes no excuses to anyone. There's no chameleon to this girl... A smokin' hot Jewish princess that used to own the best punk rock bar in Portland what you see is what you get with her... It's rare to find humans like this... people are always acting one way or another depending on who they're with, ( I'm guilty of this as well) but not Etta. She's one of a kind. Moving furniture with these guys was a pleasure cuz it's always an adventure with those two. Once that mission was accomplished... I hurried over to Glendoveer Golf Course to meet up with my best friend and drummer, Tommy, and our pal Scotty, who plays in great band called the Wags. We knocked out 18 holes of tears and joy... birdies and triple bogies... but all fun and relaxing. After golf, a little dinner at a great steak house for me and Tom... then it was back to the skate park to meet up with Kris, Nate, and the best skater on the planet Sean Donnell. This guy oozes style. Sometimes I feel so lucky... I'm surrounded by the best people in the world... and damn, I love skateboarding... after skating I always feel so high and relaxed and clear... skateboarding saved my life.
This is Sean and Kris and I... and then me throwing down an old guy smith grind.
After the second skate park visit I cruised home, showered (I needed it bad after this fuckin day), played some guitar, watched some tube, then drifted off and stared at the back of my eyelids and dreamed of all things good.
Man... what a great day.