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
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