Hung Over

We arrive in Kansas City, I rise slowly and am I hung over as shit. Those killer beers killed me.
I catch up on the blog and make my way into the venue for catering. Chicken, orzo with mushrooms and peas and pecan pie was tonights meal. It cured my hang over and made me feel somewhat normal. Nick (AILD) is hooking me up with use of his camera so I can forge on with the blog, he rules! Tonight's show goes well considering were on God Forbid's equipment (again!). Those guys have really helped us a lot. After the set, I shower and I'm semi worn out on routine and I head out for local stimulation. I walk into a bar called Out of Bounds and realize upon entry that I'm instantly recognized as "fresh meat" by everyone in the bar including the lone karaoke singer. It's a gay bar. I check the taps out and make a quick u-turn to find another spot. I walk into The News Room pub order a Peroni and start shooting the shit with Ryan (bar tender) and Scott (Art Teacher). We talk everything from George Brett shitting his pants, George Brett having a record setting batting career before creatine and the Kansas City Mafia. I sip a Makers Mark and Scott convinces me to try a Hamms.
Afterwards I head back over to the venue and LOG is killing it, best show of the tour for me personally. A few beers later and Chris says "Hey...Britny Fox is playing down the street, let's go!". We go and they rule, totally out rocking today's musical youth by a long shot and even close with a cover of Judas Priest's You've Got Another Thing Coming. Back to the Bus! The AILD crew is transporting me to St. Paul, MN. We stop at Walmart and I'm let down 'cause they don't carry frozen White Castle Cheeseburgers! Bummer!

Denver

Del Taco's fish taco's reign supreme. Each time I'm on the west coast Del Taco is a priority tour stop. I order 3, consume them and get back into the van. God of War on the PSP propels me for a few hours until I notice we're stopped on the side of the road for 20 minutes before I make an inquiry. The wheel bearing come loose and hault our progress. AAA comes, we connect the dots (Steve of Cephalic Carnage bails us out) and we make the show, without canceling! The show is great and catering is even better. I stuff my face with Tofu, squash, green beans and one of the best cheesecakes I've had. I had a great devil's food cupcake as well and this is all before the set of course 'cause I'm still on my "food before playing" kick. Hanka, Frankie, Moe and I head over to
The Cheeky Monk for some beer, I had an Orval and it was awesome. En route we discovered a killer beer store and I scored a Gulden Draak, Rochefort 10 & an Avery Mephistopheles Stout and those came in handy on the LOG bus as they were nice enough to transport us to Kansas City so we wouldn't miss the show.

DAY OFF!

Taco Cabana is where we started the day off. We drove forever and ended up in Amarillo, TX at The Big Texan home of the Free 72oz steak. If you can eat it in an hours' time that is. Joey Chesnut holds the world record clocked in at 8 minutes and 52 seconds for everything. 72oz steak, 3 shrimp, salad, baked potato and a roll. The unofficial record for the fastest time belongs to a 500 pound Bengal Tiger, less than 90 seconds.
We watched 4 people take the challenge while we were there and no one could could do it. One contender changed his name to "ralph" as the staffed rushed a garbage can over to him. It was hilarious.
I had a measly 16oz filet mignon w/fried onions, Rochefort salad, mac & cheese and a HUGE beer. I had trouble finishing mine and wondered how the hell the guys going for the 72oz could try that. Fuller than full we drive off into the night to find a hotel hours later.

Dallas

At this point, I'm playing catch up and the catering in Dallas wasn't my favorite. Blackened catfish that seemed not cooked all the way, broccoli and mashed potatoes. The chocolate cake was just ok.
The crowd was great at this show, Tony got spit on, you gotta love the haters. Speaking of haters, let's rewind to Houston. I head to the Balcony to watch LOG from a nice relaxed point of view in the row seats amongst the crowd. I take position, the intro starts and the crowd was like boiling water within seconds. "In your words" the lead track off of "Wrath", Lambo of God's new album follows and the all man, all muscle, no brains slurred drunken fan besides me knows all the words in his own way, which is at the top of his lungs to the point of almost loosing his voice. The song ends and he's still going, high fiving me and everyone around him in all his glory. A few songs in Randy (LOG vocalist) shouts out Municipal Waste and the same drunken fan reacts the same drunken way, only negative. "They fuckin' suck", "that band fuckin's sucks", "Municipal Waste...fucking suck" at peak volume along with high fives to everyone in his area, including me and I respond "Fuck yeah man..you're gay" and he goes "Yeah man" with all the veins in his head/throat bulging. He's soooo pumped up he missed the fine print. It was great. I escaped with my life and laughed to myself the whole way to the dressing room for my Samiclaus treat.

Corpus Christi

Home of real metal fans and good ass food. Sour Cream Enchilada's, cheese quesadillas, some of the best grilled chicken I've had on this tour, deep fried poblanos and two amazing desserts. A dark chocolate cup filled with mousse, whipped cream and raspberries AND a pineapple brulee concoction. Yes and of course I had them both. No visual evidence today, my Nikon S600 is in the shop for the second time for a lens malfunction and sometime's I feel like a panhandler asking people to take photo's. At the end of the night I Dos Equised myself into bed for another overnighter.

Hunan Village

Houston, TX home of Hunan Village. I love this place. Todays' catering was no joke either, chicken parmigiana super lightly egg breaded, green beans with onions and mushrooms and linguine & clam sauce. The chicken parm was once of the best I've had, the breading was supreme.
I've been on this kick of eating before playing and I'm told this is a "no no" or "man....I'll puke if I eat before I play", so I'm wondering if this is just a mental thing or my new habit is giving me the extra fuel I'm needing to pull off a good performance. I have noticed a positive difference in my playing since I've started this routine. My playing seems more consistant and balanced. I'll keep on this until it proves me wrong. Oh..Hunan Village has some the best mock meat I've had in my travels and always keeps me coming back. The mock General Tso's is unbeatable and great everytime.

Yee Haw!

We’re playin’ a Rodeo Ring today, yee-haw! There is dirt and dust everywhere and it’s more or less a shock to the tour system compared to yesterday’s plush and spacious back stage area. June Bug’s hospitality and food quickly boosts everyone’s moral and the show seems more like a hang out/bbq. Everyone involved with the show, from the runners who crammed Nick, Kenny, Joe and myself into the back of their car for a comfy Starby’s run (and Cane’s secret sauce), to the local gargantuan college football players hired as security were all friendly and accommodating. Beef brisket, crawfish, andouille sausage, crawfish etouffee stuffed brisket, potato salad, dirty rice aligned themselves in my stomach harmoniously and provided and excellent base coat for drumming and drinking. After our well received set I opened an Avery Quad only to be lit up like a Christmas tree and find inspiration for a duel “Soy Bomb” attack during As I Lay Dying’s set. Magically marked with “Soy Bomb” Tony and I stormed the stage taking the risers and monitors like Normandy Beach answering Columbus’ set soy bomber (Josh/AILD). There was love in the air as the crowd roared in favor of our infiltration. We exit triumphantly, consume multiple beverages and our jubilation mutates into tribulation as we get our asses handed to us in Arena Ball later that evening. Can’t win ‘em all I suppose.

Ria's Bluebird

I had the biscuits w/pepper milk gravy and a side of bacon. The biscuits were homemade and awesome! The menu at Ria's was pretty diverse and everything looked great, but I wanted some comfort food. Phil (AILD) and his fiancee Shannon hipped me to this great spot and Phil did some shooting for me. I really need a camera again! After brunch I had my friends Suzanne and Sam help me on my hunt for the "truly golden moment" only to be denied on my quest again.
Waste grabbed Atlanta by the balls tonight with a great set. Drunken Unicorn attendee's were even present. Last time Waste was in Atlanta, we played the Drunken Unicorn and there was a couple practically having sex on stage during our set, wild times indeed.

Two More Sips!

Patton Oswalt sums it all up with that line on "Feelin' kinda Patton". I counted at least a dozen people limping or nursing some kind of injury (broken arms, legs) in the crowd at the beginning of the show.
The catering was great...lunch was sausage lasagna w/salad and desserts and dinner was a taco/burrito assembly line w/chicken/tofu/shredded pork and Tres Leches cake that kept me going back and back again, even taking one off the loading dock after they cleared catering out.
The crowd also marveled the catering as each person that supported us at the merch table questioned Moe's half eaten burrito. Moe is our merchandising queen who sometimes suffers from what she refers to as the "everyday crazies". Here she is "mid-crazy"
feel free to tip her, she keeps it real.

DAY OFF!

The first day off where something didn't go wrong and I actually get to go home and surprise my girlfriend. It's Monday and just happens to be her (Amy) day off. (some sappy details; I met her while playing in Richmond, VA with Burnt By The Sun in 2002, we've been together ever since and she truly is the greatest person I've met in life through thick and thin) So, we have a nice time together, run some errands (buy some killer beer and coffee for the road), relax and have some Eddie & Linda (our cats) time before we head out to Osaka for some killer sushi. Osaka is my favorite place in RVA for sushi. The day off was like a bolt of lightning and before I knew it I was back on the bus on the way to Columbus. Lamb of God was nice enough to offer me to ride home for the day. After a Dogfish Head barley wine, a Weyerbacher Heresy followed and then came the sheep.

Electric Factory (part 1)

"Man, I smell like shit", "yeah...me too and I feel bad for whoever's suckin' my balls tonight". Ahh..you gotta love dude band banter, dick and fart jokes on steroids. The jokes and the catering are what saves my moral from the lead balloon low rent show goer. Positive, the catering was a home cooked Thanksgiving feast, with some the greatest turkey and stuffing I've had. Everything was on point and of course the desserts as well. (I am missing my camera big time) Negative, we can't use our own equipment, we can't really sound check and we can't seem to shake the boo's. Yes, we were booed but! The crowd tug-of-wared with one another trying to out loud the other.
So some people "had our backs", and afterall this is Philly and we do great in Philly. The Church embraces us with open arms each time and is practically our second home, but these are a different pack of peeps, were talking rabid sports fans who throw D batteries at unwanted athletes and snow balls at Santa Claus. Ryan and I got some interaction satisfaction with our haters. "You guys fuckin' suck...Municipal Waste fuckin' sucks" was being yelled repeatedly and when the lights were in our favor Ryan pointed and yelled "I know who you are now" and the naysayer was silenced. Mine, a Flyers fan tried to be inducted in the Guinness book as he gave me the finger as long as he could, haha. It was great and when we were finished I stood up and smiled at him while "sporting" the double thumbs up.

No Problem!

“Who’s van is this, do you have the insurance card and can I see you’re passports please?” Yes, yes & yes. “Do you have any tobacco, alcohol or fire arms?” No, no no. “Open the side door please” the border guard matches our faces to our passports and waves us off, awesome! This was one of the easiest crossing’s I’ve ever had so I resume sleep mode and wake up in the parking lot of the New England Metal Fest way before anyone else. Scott Lee (fest organizer) has lost 85 pounds and looks incredible. I get an Espresso Truffle from Starby’s (Scotty Roo’s Starbuck’s nick-name) and wait. This years NEMF is a collection of clones with few standouts (Suffocation, Coliseum, Toxic Holocaust & our tour package) intertwined with the sold out Grateful Dead show on the next block. The mixing was like a psychedelic brave heart only with mental casualties battling their own minds. During the day I consume a stand sausage, a burger from the understaffed Irish Pub across the street and multiple beer brands. After the our stage is beat like a dead horse, we hit it donning Tie-Dye attire to spread the word of the waste love.

A truly golden moment

So I've been on the hunt for the truly golden moment and as soon as I get back to the states I can resume the impossible. Anyway, more on that later.
Montreal, home of Canadian metal and real metal fans, home of the worst catering on tour and most importantly, home of Phillipe Holland...a friend who I haven't seen in 19 years. Oh yeah...catering is not good at all so I have to bare the details quickly.
Cold, half cooked pasta, sausage and some other crap. Sorry, I usually don't complain and I did eat it because someone did invest time and energy into feeding us but, the bottom line here is that it sucked comparatively speaking as all other catering has been excellent.
Fast forward to set time..the crowd is totally feeling us and I actually stand up to rile them in a break during "Beer Pressure" (a song about talking your friends into getting drunk with you), it was a great opening set as we honored yesterday's G.Forbid bail out and played first today.
"Dave!" I hear Phil's voice. "I got here a little late but I made it" he said. How exciting, we caught up on the past, between and other topics, it was great.
Phil and his brother Francis moved to my town (Hazlet, NJ) in middle school when I was only a Metallica obsessed maniac and turned me on to the following. Rush, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Nomeansno, Dead Kennedy's, Ramones, Dinosaur Jr, Big Black and I'm pretty sure there were some crucial others as well. Needless to say, looking at the list mentioned above it did wonders for my small and eagerly growing musical world.

Go Go Go Go Go!

Crawling through Toronto traffic with the venue 5km away was like watching paint dry, only you couldn't progress until it was actually dry. In other words, it completely sucked and stressed me out. We show up 15 minutes after our set time...good thing God Forbid bailed us out and played first. We show up and practically walk right onto stage and play. I played Corey's (G.Forbid) drum kit without alteration and it was very close to trying to stab someone while blindfolded, but it worked surprisingly. Our set goes off well and I race back outside to switch out the vans (our good friends in The End are nice enough to come to our aid and lend us their van) and then drive the pick up back to budget. Just when we thought we were done, the tow hitch ball is too big for our trailer and we can't get it off 'cause it's rusted. A few dozen attempts are made and a local trucker get's it off in about 3 seconds like Superman. We laugh and then the trailer lights don't work either, seesaw action...sheesh. I just wanted to play Arena Ball by this point and haven't eaten (missed catering) so I'm fading. I beer myself back to positiveness and wait for the game. Let the game begin is countered with "No Alcohol on the floor" and "this is a construction area and you need a hard hat to step on the floor" by an over serious staff and rubber gun squad. Suddenly Nick (AILD) appears with a hard hat stating "I have a helmet, I can play". He's denied and all hope is lost....Arena Ball will not happen and I'm bummed.

F.O.R.D.

FOUND. ON. ROAD. DEAD.

“I eat meat and shit vegetables” I felt like Frank Rizzo jammed into a circus clown car while eating my Baconator in the six passenger pick up truck that we were now traveling in with equipment in tow and luggage in the truck bed. Awesome.
We planned on stopping in Sudbury on our day off to catch Napalm Death, Toxic Holocaust & Coliseum but the transmission in our Ford coach didn’t agree. At a mere 7 thousand miles it was blown. Apparently Ford is having problems “off the line” with 09 transmissions. Needless to say, there was lots of juggling and a great joke to make a – b happen, but it is and we’ll be late as shit for our Toronto show that we are currently en route to. All the stress was washed away like dirt when the guy who brought our replacement pick up to us stopped on his way out with this irish spring zinger “try not to blow the tranny on this one too…eh boys” with a big ass grin. Shon and I laughed for about 5 minutes solid and when the brakes on the new truck felt like they didn’t work , we laughed even harder. Onward!

Graffiti

Do you know what is says on the back of your van?
"Big dicks rule and taste like strawberries" AND it’s been there for 5 days… John Campbell, Lamb of God bass player informs us with a small grin behind his mirrored aviators. He’s a funny guy and a hell of a nice one to boot.
We loaded in, got settled (had some great egg salad that gave me diarrhea..egg salad and coffee aren’t a good match I’ve decided) and I built my drums and waited. I stuffed myself again tonight with homemade meatballs, pasta, salad and some of the best baked chicken I’ve ever had.
Oh yeah...I had two huge pieces of chocolate cake with whipped cream too. Showtime! I was feeling it tonight, zen and savagery flowing through me up until I “tried something new” and it was a rotten egg. Oh well, I laughed it off and that was that. I watched the bands tonight from the theater balcony, gabbed about Kombucha, raw food spots & Mike Pollan

No Means No

I can’t remember what number overnight drive this is, but there have been a few in a row and a few more to come. Needless to say we were early and a nice spread was lined up. Cream of Butternut Squash soup was my winner amongst the pasta and cold cuts for sandwiches. Routine follows and I notice an Irish Pub across the street, the desert mirage that carried Guinness…I was temporarily saved from the sea of mediocre beer. We played well and people “got it”. Tonight was show two for full belly drumming, an exercise in stuffing myself before playing and it went well ‘cause usually I can’t eat before I play as it makes me sluggish. I’m thinking I may need the extra protein these days. Dinner drumming fuel was wild rice stuffed chicken, salmon, veggies (the best broccoli I may have had) and good ole’ apple pie. A mad dash to Shannon’s Irish Pub and checking my email to see if my buddy Drew Johnston left me his number led me to finding out that Nomeansno was playing a mere 15 minute walk down the road. I called the gang and the locally and recently met Holly an Toby escorted us to the venue where NMN was playing. There was Drew, we caught up about all things’ riff, a shot of Jagermeister, a few Mooseheads and a McEwans Scotch Ale and then I was eager to submit to the greatness of NMN. Some diddies from Wrong and a slew of others were played effortless and date free, A band not to be missed. Upon return to our show, it was long over and the smoke machine on As I Lay Dying’s bus was firing away mercilessly, similar to when right before Manowar hits the stage and your buddy vomits all over the guy standing next to him. Good times. All aboard the Shon B express to Thunder Bay overnight.

Broken Camera!

My Nikon is broken again (2nd time!), the lens won't open and I'm pretty bummed out as now I'll have to go tandem shooting with Tony. Saskatoon was home to the drunkest show goers I've seen.
As I was outside catching up on the phone I hear a verbal volley between security and a "concert goer" that went like this..
Security: There is no re-entry good night (firmly)
Concert goer: Fuck you...I'm not coming back (slurring while wearing new Waste hat and t-shirt)
The food was killer today!! Beef carving station w/horseradish sour cream, assorted salads, pierogies, stuffed cabbages, pasta...desserts! What a spread, wish I had my camera...
Show was fun, but my left kick drum overpowered everything in my monitor making thing difficult, like a square wheel...it's not the first and it won't be the last..gotta keep on ya know?

The Flames/Arena Ball

While the Calgary Flames last home game of the season was taking place, there was a kid screaming at the top of his lungs.."there's joints on the stage" between Waste songs. Yes, some kid was throwing joints on stage while we were playing and making sure we knew about it.
Today's catering was Beef, mashed potatoes with mushroom/onion gravy and veggies...good shit.
The little blueberry dessert cakes were like kryptonite while I checked email and adjusted my Canadian calling plan to avoid being raped.
Arena Ball was tonight's post show sport that Lamb of God got us to sign up for. It involved a football, five teams of three, lots of beer and a points system that goes by row/seat numbers (1-25). The higher you kick into the arena seats, the more points you get. Simple and fun.
Team Waste walked away with victory at 78 points.

Sold out!

Tim Horton’s was for breakfast in honor of Elway. Elway (Bastard Sapling, ex-C.R./Murdock) loves Canada, Horton’s and most importantly HOCKEY. So I think of him regularly during this Canadian Hockey Arena tour. Tonight’s Edmonton Shaw Conference Center is what is being referred to “this bitch is sold out!” The excitement level was on high and Waste fans decided to check in tonight making us feel warm and welcome. Our set was well received and spread through the crowd like the plague. Edmonton rules and we’ll be back for sure! Today’s catering only highlighted our high spirit as the spread was 5 stars. I had herbed Chicken, carrots, broccoli, salad and the ridiculous dessert sampling! Pecan Pie, Death by Chocolate Mouse cake, Lemon Pie, Cheesecake….etc. I was in heaven.

Killin's as easy as breathin'

Long ass drive anyone? It’s 15 hours from Vancouver to Edmonton, good thing we have a day off in between. Hunger set in and we stopped in Hope B.C. , the birth place of Rambo. Yes, First Blood was filmed here, how random…needless to say it made the ride more exciting. Sammi a Japanese/Korean restaurant is where I got my grub on and it was great. I got a Bento Box lunch special which had Chicken Teriyaki with vegetables, miso soup, green tea, rice, salad, vege & shrimp tempura and a California roll ALL FOR $8.50 Canadian. What a deal. A few hours later I found out The Haunted were in Edmonton that night and even though the kilometers were going by rapidly, seeing the Swede’s wasn’t going to happen.

Floor Toms, Frontiers & food!

Mike Dorfman and Trick Drums will have my undivided allegiance as my new 16x16 came today and it looks beautiful! I love those people. I got up at the crack of dawn to get my drum and eat the best Vegan breakfast I’ve had in a while before entering Canada. The Wayward Vegan Café is totally vegan and totally great. I forgot my camera again! I had the S.O.S. (Seitan On a Shingle), all house made it contained an herb biscuits & seitan drowned in mushroom gravy with a side of kale. Amazing and filling! It kept me satisfied while enduring the border wait. The Canadian’s are tough and thorough. Soon enough our ship sailed into the great north to the UBC Thunderbird Arena where the show was. It was massive, an ice hockey arena, ha ha. We played to the first wave of entrants and did well. Why I haven’t taken photos yet is beyond me.

Hurry Up & Wait

A tour this size has a strict and speedy schedule so between relaxing , waiting and stressing out, I managed to cram a local burger down my throat before running back for set time. Our IRON LUNG homies were hangin’ so the vibe was good. Oh, I had cajunized sweet potato fries, they were pretty good. Suicidal’s last show was tonight, I’m sad to see them go, great guys, great band, great ideals and great times..they treat us like family and we are honored. Tony and I were summoned on stage for “ST” shouts and the invite was not to be turned down, it’s Suicidal ya know? We kicked ourselves for not exiting airborne through the crowd…oh well.

Cricket Omelet

Nope, I didn’t eat with Andrew Zimmern although it’s hard to say if I would try a real cricket omelet or not. The Cricket Café’s house omelet was the best omelet I have ever had on tour, I’m serious. Three eggs, hash browns (inside), scallions, pepper crusted bacon, cheddar cheese and smothered in sausage gravy, this omelet makes me want to race back to Portland for round two. The coffee was great as well. I forgot my damn camera, I was bummed. Luckily the chap next to me confessed that the mighty cricket omelet is what he orders every single time he comes to chow & offered to snap a photo and mail it to me. Visit Cricket Cafe at 3159 SE Belmont St
Portland, OR 97214

Dream Day Off!

Get up & leave early, get through the mountains and get to Portland with time to relax. Wrong. 6 hours in a parking lot waiting for U-HAUL to come and fix our trailer tires was today’s big thrill. Finally at 2:30am we arrive in Portland and hit the sheets with some furry investigators. I’m a huge cat fan and love every opportunity I get to chill with them when we crash with cat owners.
Meet Lola.

Time Hopping

I’m way behind so my long ride to Edmonton from Vancouver will be great catch up time. Dust’s Hard Attack is filling my ear drums for this session. Ryan turned me on to this unknown classic in my world. So yeah…Oakland, home of Aunt Mary’s. Great Brunch! I had Southern Bubble and Squeak. Potato southern-greens cakes topped with poached eggs and “pot likker” gravy, which was vegetarian they said. A biscuit and more greens were on the side. It was awesome and AM’s had a great menu overall, will return.
I hate Fresno CA, sorry. Every show I play there is a pain in the ass, but today’s was the best of them so I’ll soften up on Fresno a little. The past is the past right? And before we knew it we were back in the van on the way to Scotty’s to get a few winks in before we hauled it to Portland on our day off.

Suicidal Tendencies

Today’s catering did not want to make me kill myself. The San Jose Event Center nailed it with Red Wine cooked sausage, meatballs, veggie meatballs, chicken, pasta, polenta, lots of greens, asparagus, crackers, fruit, savory cheese & cheesecakes, chocolates, lemon tea cakes, and a slew of others. I had seconds boxed.
4,200 peeps in the house tonight. We served and the crowd’s volley was full force with four, yes…four circle pits. Tony organized them into one by the end of the set, it was mammoth and it was awesome. The hype man-chine Scotty Roo helped fan the flames as well. Good times.
I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to personal performance and I considered this night my weak link, but after ST shined like a diamond the positive waves were absorbed and I’ve straightened myself out. ST are the top of the crossover food chain, the message, the music, the players, the dedication and the passion are as sharp as a Global sashimi knife.

God's Greatest Gift

Quoting the apostles on their packaging, the Christian owned IN-N-OUT, is hands down thee best fast food burger chain in the land. Any burger fan needs to “see the light” with a trip here….and oh, don’t for the the code “Animal Style” when ordering.

Grill 'Em All

The ultimate mark of obsession or appreciation, depending on how you look at it.. A recommendation from one bearing “the mark” I was like a Vampire seeking a safe house and sent to Café Tropical.
I had one of the tastiest breakfast “Sando’s” I’ve ever had. BE&C on a croissant Each ingredient was prefectly fitted and heated. I followed up with a Guava Empanada, chocolate chip coconut cookie and Tiramisu. The baked goods here were godly.
For a winning combo of quick, cheap & quality Café Tropical is a total winner. 2900 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 323-661-8391
Harkins tattoo & bakery case

First show

Got there too early, food hunt ensued. Elephant Thai was today's choice (ate there last time) and it was awesome again. Timing is everything around lunch time, it was like I time hopped as I walked into a nearly empty restaurant, sat down and like magic was full in the blink of an eye....only reinforcing the quality of the food in my mind. Poof, a bowl of hot and sour soup appeared in front of me without even ordering anything yet. The service was smooth and efficient and before I knew it, the amazing Pad Thai I had ordered (with extra peanuts) was placed in front of me to be demolished. Things was, the portion was beyond normal and I had to box it.
Full, I slowly walked back to the venue only to sit around some more until we were cleared for load in. The Dodge Theater was massive and thrilling at the same time. I'm pretty sure it's the biggest room I've played so far in my musical life. Among the excitement I forgot to snap some photos while we stormed the stage. I won't forget tomorrow.

Alice Cooper'stown

No Orientation today...load in at 10:30am tomorrow on the first day. So with nothing to do we head out and on over to Alice Cooper'stown, home of the BIG UNIT. It pretty much looks like a sports bar/haven for Seaside Guido's but with Alice Cooper rock awards and memorabilia, while the staff dones Cooper's corpsepainted eyes. I ordered the Gonzo's BBQ Beef Brisket bathed in Sonoran sauce and it was delicious, super tender meat that practically fell apart when I chewed it. Although I didn't get the BIG UNIT someone at the table next door ordered it and I swooped in for a photo 'cause it's size made me laugh so hard. Behold the BIG UNIT...a hotdog enthusiast's fantasy come true.

Goodbye Hadley, MA

I couldn't think of a better send off then eating at Sofia's Praises. It's a small family owned Polish food place with some of the best pierogies I've ever had. I ordered the Polish Plate which had two pierogies, a golumpki, very tasty kielbasa & a side (I had the Kapusta which was kraut, cabbage and spare rib) all for a measly $7.50. I was stuffed and satisfied and most importantly not forced to eat shitty airport food!
Hours later we finally land in Phoenix, check into the hotel and rest up for tomorrow's tour orientation/walk through at 10:30am.
The first four shows we'll be joined by Suicidal Tendencies, we are psyched!
TOUR SCHEDULE
4/2 Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theater
4/3 Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
4/4 San Jose, CA @ Events Center
4/5 Fresno, CA @ Crest Theater
4/7 Seattle, WA @ Paramount
4/8 Vancouver, BC @ UBC Thunderbird Arena
4/10 Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Center
4/11 Calgary, AB @ The Coral
4/12 Saskatoon, SK @ Praireeland
4/13 Winnipeg, MB @ Convention Centre
4/14 Thunder Bay, ON @ City Auditorium
4/16 Toronto, ON @ Ricoh Coliseum
4/17 Montreal, QC @ Cepsum
4/18 Worcester, MA @ Palladium
4/19 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
4/21 Columbus, OH @ LC Pavillion
4/22 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
4/23 Lafayette, LA @ Blackham Coliseum
4/24 Houston, TX @ Verizon Theatre
4/25 Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete St. Ampthitheatre
4/26 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
4/28 Denver, CO @ Fillmore
4/29 Kansas City, KS @ Uptown Theater
4/30 St. Paul, MN @ Myth
5/1 Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
5/2 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
5/3 Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian
5/5 Louisville, KY @ Expo Five
5/6 Detroit, MI @ Fillmore Theater
5/8 New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
5/9 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
5/11 Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
5/12 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
5/13 Albany, NY @ Washington St. Armory
5/14 Richmond, VA @ The National
5/15 Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues