L.A. & San Diego via Marisa

* We are - despite repeated promises to not let this happen - woefully out of date. It's my fault. So, in an attempt to at least finish what we started, we've divided up the remaining catch-up posts among band members. Sigh. - Kelly

One of the first things we did when we got to LA was go to Hollywood Forever cemetery to pay our respects to DeeDee Ramone. We also saw Johnny Ramone's grave, which is totally nuts! Check out this picture of Rikky with it! But if you're going to look at famous graves, you should first go to Griddle and eat a pancake. I say "a" pancake because you could not possibly eat more than one, if that. Check out this other picture- that huckleberry flapjack was bigger than my plate!

The first of our two LA shows was at a place called The Derby, which is not the kind of place we usually play. We were in The Lounge, the smaller of two performance spaces there. I wouldn't recommend it to any of the bands we know- it's plush in a stuffy way, the staff aren't as nice as other places, the sound was not so great, they didn't pay us, etc. Plus the other people we played with (all John Mayer-style singer/songwriter dudes) were mostly ignored by the patrons, who talked so loudly over the performance that it was hard to hear it at times. It was really, really depressing listening to these guys singing their hearts out and and plugging their myspace pages, and absolutely no one cared. That said, we definitely made the best of it. Luckily, we were too loud for anyone to talk over and we actually managed to win over a few folks, who formed a Peanuts-style dance pit. Plus, we got to perform for some really good friends who came out and were incredibly supportive. Overall, successful show!

Our next show was in San Diego at a house/studio/venue called The Habitat, which is considered to be the best place to play in town and I can see why! The sound there is really great (the owner, Roy, is an audio engineer), the turnout was fantastic and we had lots of fun meeting people and enjoying the other bands. Plus it has the cleanest bathrooms ever! One bummer was that they had us go on first, and a bunch of people showed up later to see us and missed us- including Joao, who had driven over 3 hours! But we still had a really good time. Thanks to the other bands (The Facets who were playing their first show, and the Modlins, who were so so good), Roy, and all the San Diegoans we met.

Our second LA show was part of The Tomorrow Show, a weekly comedy night at the Steve Allen Theater that features one band playing at the top and bottom of the show. We were really looking forward to it, and it totally delivered. The comedians were awesome and we were well received- people actually stuck around till 2am to see our second set. It as also really nice to break out of the indie-rock-show mentality and see other types of performance. Plus, our awesome friend Mike Singer (who works at a cupcake shop) brought dozens of cupcakes to share with the crowd! Once again, a bunch of old friends came out to see us- it was really touching to see how supportive people can be. Our friends are the best.

California California here we cooooooommmme

After today - I hope! - I'm (we're) trying to adopt a new philosophy re: tour blogging. At this point I should be writing about Austin and SXSW, but... it was so long ago! And by "so long ago" I mean less than a week. So, in the interest of adopting this new strategy, which involves not letting days and weeks and memories pass between entries, I'm going to write about what's on my mind (and then maybe about Austin...) which is Joshua Tree.
Have you been to Joshua Tree? If not, let me recommend it with all of my heart. I literally feel altered after our stay there. We took a serious detour on our drive from Tucson to Los Angeles to stay with our - up until a few days ago - acquaintance Matthew, who lives in Joshua Tree, CA with Waldo, A.J. and Ophelia (ferrets!), a mysterious cat who was too shy to hang out, and Xena and Elvis (dogs!). It was - for me, at least - the favorite tour stop so far. Even before entering the National Park, the landscape and town of Joshua Tree had completely won my heart. We were welcomed with Indian food and a late-night excursion to To Pioneer Town - a "Wild West" film/television set on top of a mountain, where people now live? It was wild! We strolled around the streets in the bright California moonlight, kicking up dust and taking photos in the dark. The next day it seemed like one of the best, most surreal dreams I've ever had.
Tuesday we headed into Joshua Tree National Park, and our minds were completely blown. Spiritual, other-worldly, somehow campy and cliche -- the park had a really huge effect on us. I've never seen landscape like it. We climbed huge boulders, scraped ourselves up real good on cactuses and rocks, and had an incredible day. We can't thank Matthew enough for everything he did for us, and we can't wait to go back.
Prior to Joshua Tree, we played what was, on the surface at least, the least successful show of tour. There was another huge show going on the same night, and it seems that everyone in town was seeing Matt Pond PA and Aloha (a good show, we had to admit). Since it was St. Patrick's day, we had tried to invent some drinking games with which to engage the audience, but... there wasn't really an audience to engage with. BUT we still managed to have an awesome show (ask Salty, who liked it the best so far!) and had a great time hanging out at Grill in Tucson (a great venue!). Thanks to Luke, and to Malarky (who showed up late, but with enthusiasm!). We loved Tucson and can't wait to go back.

Austin, SXSW:
I'll be honest - I don't LOVE South by Southwest. There's too much going on, I feel like I can't focus on anything. All of those parties and shows with long lines and lists (and they always sort of suck once you get inside...). Not my thing, really (I'm speaking only for me, here, not other Besties). HOWEVER, I had a great week (or so) in Austin, thanks to our dear friend Gates, who showed us an awesome time, awesome food, and threw the rowdiest party we'd ever seen (which is saying a lot). We also all obtained "migas bellies" (which were, I think, actually "beer and tortilla chip bellies") from the copious amounts of Tex-Mex we were eating. Sigh.
Our SXSW shows were both great - Thanks so much to Chris for the house party (where we played with friends and favorites Poison Control Center and Fishboy) and to Michael for the great show at Waterloo Cycles. The highlight of the Waterloo Cycles show was, by far, being upstaged completely by a three-year-old who grabbed the mic after our set and proceeded to deliver the most soulful vocal performance we'd heard since Richmond, VA. Amazing!
I'll let someone else (Marisa? Salty?) say more about Austin later. We had fun, we love Texas, etc.

I've run out of time - we play LA tonight! I meant to upload more pictures but the internet is suddenly not cooperating. Sorry!
xoxo Kelly

Introducing... Marisa, AKA Bilbo Bloggins

Marisa begins her blogging career below!

The next morning we tore ourselves away from the sweet life of chillin’ with moms and hauled ass northward for a 3-day stint in Tallahassee. We went straight to V89, the beloved college radio station at FSU where many of our friends dj'd when we lived there, and played a live on-air set. It felt real homey and comfortable since we had played there on our last tour and were working with the same awesome dudes- music director Will and engineer Donovan. We happened to be there during their pledge drive and helped (right?) solicit donations from listeners. This we did by making loads of bad jokes and possibly shaming ourselves, but hey, it was for a very good cause. And truly, we hardly need any excuse to shame ourselves.

Tallahassee is always a much-anticipated stop on any Besties tour for lots of reasons (food, friends, etc). This time we were particularly stoked because Tally was the rendezvous point for picking up our Road Dog- the inimitable Salty Ron who has already proven himself in the arenas of merch set-up/sales and driving the van, not to mention being the ultimate dude to want to have around in any situation. We couldn’t be happier to have him along.

Friday night the 7th was our show at Krank It Up!, a community bike shop in a warehouse district called Railroad Square, which is full of galleries, antique and junk shops, etc. We were really impressed by Krank It Up!, which really seems to have flourished under the leadership of our good friend Justin. The show ruled too! Tons of kids came out, the other bands were great, and we got to see lots of old friends. Thanks Justin for making it happen!

The following day, we all made sure to shower and put on our “tour best” to attend a family wedding, where The Besties were actually invited to play a few tunes! I was totally flattered when Ted asked us- what an honor to be part of their marriage ceremony. Needless to say, we had an absolute blast (see above photos of Kelly and Rikky getting raw on the dance floor).

The following morning-my birthday!- we (somewhat reluctantly) traded the familiar comforts of Tallahassee for the relatively uncharted territory of Gainesville. Having spent a lot of time there growing up, but never having played there as a band, we weren’t sure what to expect. Turns out it’s the same great rock’n’roll town it always was. First, our friends had a bbq for us, which RULED complete with delicious eats, cute babies, a rooster, 2 cats, and a pit bull that stole our hearts. Then we rolled over to the show at The Kickstand, a new community bike shop (yup, that’s 2 bike shop shows in a row for us!) that has recently started doing shows. Highly recommended! Six-band bills can be a bit of a mellow harsher, but this time it worked beautifully with quick changeovers and everyone playing shorter sets. Some high school buddies came out to the show, and it was really a treat to get to see them.

After the show, our good friends Annette and Todd took us to a super-fun Valley Girl-themed party, which ruled. The next morning they also took us to Second Street Bakery, which you should go to if you get a chance. Tight coffee, sandwiches featuring locally-made tempeh, pastries, the works. The weather was so beautiful and perfect we decided to hit the Lachua trail just south of town after meeting up with our awesome new friends The Measure, who got into town that afternoon. With them being Yankees from New Jersey and all, we felt we had to show them a seldom-seen slice of Florida. The Lachua trail runs through Payne’s Prairie and takes you through some beautiful old oak groves and eventually to some swampy areas that are just crawling with gators. We got some pretty sweet photos and had an amazing time bro’ing down with our new friends.

By the way, The Measure had to cancel their tour just two days after we saw them due to a death in the family. You should definitely check them out and seek out their new record ASAP.

And now… to Austin!!!

Xoxo-Marisa

Epic!

The fact that we haven't posted anything in a while should be a testament to what a rockin time we're having --- not any sort of indication of laziness or ambivalence on our part. We continue to think that this not-widely-read blog is IMPORTANT.

When we last left you we were (I think?) about to play in Atlanta at The Earl. I feel like Atlanta isn't nearly as beloved by most people as it should be (the traffic! the heat!) but let me tell you - Atlanta is beautiful. Especially if you're staying at Mike and Leslie's house in Grant Park, where you can sit on the front porch barefoot, drinking beer and playing guitar. It's also beautiful when you're eating bbq tofu burritos at El Myr or drinking coffee ordering "The Heap" at Thumbs Up Diner. ATLANTA IS SO GREAT. The Earl is an awesome place to play (fried okra! ultimate bartenders!) and though we were initially intimidated by such a huge room on a Monday night, the show ended up being pretty great. Plus, the sound guy recorded our set for us, and though we initially didn't want to listen to it (really, what could be worse than thinking that the show was really awesome only to discover, via brutal audio, that it wasn't actually that awesome...), it sounded great. Thanks, sound guy (Jason??)! Also, as evidenced by the photo above, we had a HILARIOUS time pretending to smoke the cigarettes that the Camel promo girl gave us in Chapel Hill. Pretending to smoke is funny... right?

11:30pm EST, after our Atlanta show, we find out that our Orlando show came through, last minute! For the next night! We had planned on hanging out in Atlanta another day, but after sending out a bunch of pleading late-night text messages and crossing our fingers, we left early the next morning for not-so-beautiful central Florida. Best decision we ever made! Much like our show last summer in Bradenton, FL, this one was dreamy and great, with loads of old friends and family. My mom is the ultimate fan, by the way, and I really think we should bring her on the road with us for added enthusiasm. Thanks to Earl for helping with the show... best.

Our day off was spent in Bradenton and on Anna Maria Island, playing with puppies, getting loads of hugs, eating fried grouper sandwiches, etc etc. It was basically paradise and, as usual, we didn't want to leave. Enough said, I guess.

We are currently in Sulpher, Louisiana (!) at a Day's Inn, getting ready to complete our epic drive to Austin. For the first time ever (!) Marisa was going to finish up this blog post, writing about Tallahassee, Gainesville, weddings, gators, etc -- but we need to get on the road, and blogging is tedious... So all of that will come later. Get ready! You can get a little preview, since I already uploaded the pictures.

Also, we've been passing the time in the van by perfecting the fine, delicate art of prank texting... so if you received a suspicious photo, it totally wasn't us!

South!

Athens feels like home. This morning, as we watched Davey (a top contender for #1 best dude of all time) ride his yellow moped while we lounged in the grass behind The Grit, it really felt like there was nowhere on earth we'd rather be. You know that movie that's out right now with Hayden Christiansen, where he teleports to like, the top of the Sphinx's head? If I had a choice between chilling on a lounge chair on top of the Sphinx or hanging out eating biscuits in Athens, my choice would be clear. Biscuits, friends, bands and Georgia would win every time.

Our show here last night - with King of Prussia and Spring Tigers - was, of course, great. Though I'm starting to feel a little crummy, Marisa's voice is getting better (Note: I realized after I originally posted this that I hadn't mentioned how ill we've been thus far. Marisa has had a terrible cold/cough that won't go away. She hasn't been able to sing much, so I've been doing most of the singing. Worst ever!) and we're able to play a more balanced set. Though we were competing against the Jonathan Richman show next door at the 40 Watt, there were thankfully a few brave and awesome souls who decided to see us instead (a tough decision, I know!). Thank you to those guys. And to Mike T. for tag-teaming the shows. And thank you thank you thank you to Brandon for setting up the show, and to Dave P. and Dave B. for being our favorites, and to Michael for sharing his empty house. Sorry for all the thank you's, I just realized that it's sort of obnoxious. I should just say "You rocked my life!" to pretty much everyone we meet, like that French girl at the Oscars. Athens rocked our life.

And prior to Athens rocking our life, Chapel Hill/Durham rocked our life in a really serious way. We'd never been there before (maybe some of us had? I certainly hadn't) and we fell pretty deeply in love with it. Like the kind of love where we just want to lie in bed all day staring deeply into the eyes of Durham, talking about our childhood and forgetting to eat. Our first show, in Chapel Hill, was at The Cave - the ultimate bar! We knew it was our kind of place when we saw the lazy pit bull draped across the bar itself as we were loading in. Bartender Matt was really fun, and we met loads of great new people. Notably Betsy (AKA Lam!Lam!) who played with us and blew our minds! Dance moves like no other! Dance songs we loved! We love her. Best part of her set was when a giant Rottweiler (who we later learned was named Camilla) came barreling through the bar and immediately ran to lick Betsy's bare inner thigh as she was playing. She didn't even flinch! Thanks to Alex for helping us out with the show - it ruled!

Our love affair continued the next night with one of the best house shows ever at Craig's place in Durham. The house itself was almost too nice - we were worried everyone was going to party on it too hard! We played with Americans in France and Reed from the band Schooner - both of whom were really, really awesome. We drank, we made new friends, we ate guacamole,
we danced to Make Out Club... party! Thanks, Craig!

Two more things about Durham: Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen and Locopops (we even got iconic Locopop band photo #2!). I realize that saying that a biscuit is the best biscuit you've ever had is a pretty intense and grand statement, but... we're saying it. Life-altering.

When we left you last, we had yet to play the Spazzatorium in Greenville. Greenville, NC is sort of a weird town -- there's a college but it doesn't seem college-y, it's a little in the middle of nowhere... Which makes it all the crazier that a venue like the Spazzatorium is able to exist. It's one of the coolest DIY spaces we've played, and Jeff really took care of us, buying loads of free beer and finding us a place to stay (also thanks to Jake and his night-cuddling dog Pony). The best part of the night - which was, admittedly, a little weird - was meeting the improv/sketch comedy duo Superkiids, who are wacky and awesome, and who we will hopefully hang with (and play with) again really soon. They also helped us think of some new Stumpies... which, sadly, I don't remember now! But they were so great! Superkiids, if you're reading this... help us out! The band that played between was a bit of a mellow-harsher... but we definitely had a great night in Greenville.

We're heading to Atlanta tonight, taking a night off before playing there tomorrow at The Earl. Can't wait.

And, finally: a few pics.

God Bless New Jersey

Let me tell you something. You may think that someone has treated you nicely at some point in your life. Maybe they brought you some Thai food when you weren’t feeling good, maybe they told you that your new haircut looked nice even when you knew deep down that you looked like a member of Herman’s Hermits. But I think – maybe – that you don’t really know what someone treating you awesomely is like until you’ve played a basement show with the kids in New Brunswick, NJ. It’s incomparable. Our new favorite person Jay (roadie for Besties’ heroes The Ergs! and generally incredible dude) truly rolled out the Jersey red carpet for us, and we really can’t thank him enough. The show was loads of fun, everyone was astoundingly supportive and cool, and we spent an epic night hanging out and singing along with the jukebox at McCormick’s after the show. WE LOVE NEW JERSEY. And we’ve been listening to show-mates Full of Fancy – who rocked that basement so hard! – pretty incessantly in the van. Mikey says he loves you, Mikey says he cares….

We reluctantly left Jersey on Tuesday morning and drove the long, hard road to Richmond, VA. The journey took much longer than it should have thanks to terrible traffic outside of DC, so we ended up not having much time to hang out before the show (at Rumor’s Boutique, where you should definitely shop if you live in Richmond because they have the best t-shirts ever…). Richmond is a really rad city, by the way. I was the only band member who had never been, and I totally fell in love with it. We met some amazing people at the show – Brian! Julie! Maddy! Kathryn! – and (hopefully) helped lovely Wendy have a fun birthday. Julie opened the show – it was her first show ever!! – and we were completely blown away by her voice. Beautiful!

We’re now in Greenville, SC, hanging out prior to our show at the Spazzatorium. Best moment of the day: We got pulled over in Emporia, VA (which, crazily, Maddy had warned us about, saying that they had the highest rate of pull-overs in the country). We were really curious as to what the officer was going to say, since we were literally doing nothing wrong. Not speeding. No expired anything. The cop comes to the window and says,
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
“No, sir,”
“See those fuzzy dice in the mirror? Those are illegal in Virginia.”

We got pulled over for illegal use of fuzzy dice!!! Best ever. Luckily, he let us off with a warning.

My mom sent us a Stumpy joke that I can’t believe we forgot: Stumpy Old Men.

We still haven't been able to upload any pictures --- soon.

Correction!

Rikky just corrected me -- The name of this year's tour is Purple Haze/Home Free/Straight Stumpin'.

I apologize for any confusion.

Purple Haze/Home Free/Stumpin' Tour 2008

West End Cafe, New Brunswick:
If I had any excuse for not starting the tour blog until now, it would be that it - for whatever reason - doesn't seem like tour yet. Maybe because we're still so close to home? Maybe because road dog 2.0 Salty isn't yet on board? I don't know. We had a day off too soon, I think, and though hanging out for a day in Philly was awesome... we're ready to get out of the northeast.

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who made our New York show so incredible. Everyone in the band has been out of town/busy/checked out of real life for a while, so it was really amazing to see everyone in one place (though also sort of awkward and sad... "We should hang out more!" "We will... when I get home in two months"). The Toothaches were, as expected, amazing (and right now I'm going to start my tour blogging resolution to use the following words really sparingly: amazing, awesome, incredible). Their cover of M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' blew everyone's collective mind (in a way that our cover - which we thought would go over so well! - sort of didn't). And Sex Robots and Pants Yell! were perfect. We have the best friends.

The band slept at my house our last night at home, in close proximity to my new-ish kitty roommate, Stumpy. Stumpy has become the inspiration for our new ultimate tour bored-game, "Stumpin.'" It's easy to play! Just insert "Stumpy" (or "Stump," or "Stumpito", or whatever) into popular song lyrics, movie titles, etc. For example, "White Men Can't Stump," "Gotta be Startin' Stumpin", "Stumpin 2: Electric Bugaloo," "Stump Up the Jam" "Stump and Grind"... Please help us play this game. We've done so many that at this point we're sort of stumped. Stumped, get it? Always funny!

Philadelphia was, as usual, great. Thanks so much to our friend Jimmy for setting up the show with his band, Cordova Academy Glee Club, who ruled! North Star Bar in Philly is a really cool venue. Highly reccomended! Yesterday we had a day off in Philly, and we spent it exploring the Mutter Museum, which Marisa and Rikky really liked. Frank and I, not so much. I think my issue was that I don't like to be reminded in such a brutal way that we're all just blood and bones. It's depressing. Frank wasn't as into it because, even though as a nurse he sees crazy stuff every day, he doesn't like to see it in a non-clinical setting. Also, the gift shop - which seemed like it should have been great! - was not so great. I did get some postcards and some temporary tattoos. But Marisa and Rikky - who aren't blogging (maybe soon?) and therefore don't get to say so - really liked it.

Most of us (all except Rikky, who went out for jazz and soul food) crashed early at our friend Jason's house (thanks Jason!) and half-heartedly watched the Oscars. Pretty awful aside from the french girl who cried "You rocked my life! You rocked my life!!!!"

We're now in New Brunswick, NJ, getting ready for a hopefully rockin house show. Pictures soon. We miss everyone already!