day 35, 36, 37 - Off days in Chicago

9h of sleep and I feel great. we went out for breakfast and hey, Brian from Disappears was working at the restaurant. then we did the final load out and dropped the gear at the rehearsal room. that's it for today besides chillin'... the next day we went out for breakfast again and hey, I should start a diner in Germany one or the other day. I had 12h of sleep, saw John's studio and had the best Thai massage ever. finally we went out to the Big Start bar. just good times. Today we had breakfast again at a wonderful diner with lots of vegetarian and vegan options. I bought a second suit case for all the thingsI'm planing to buy over here and tonight I'll stay with Elliot and we go out for Ryan's birthday party and after for Johnny's & Jeff's Jazz show in town. My flight is leaving at 8:40am tomorrow to Austin, TX.

day 34 - FEB 20 CHICAGO, IL / THE LINCOLN (5h)

ok, best show. sold out and again a lot of fun. I'll stay with Doug the next couple days

day 33 - FEB 19 ANN ARBOR, MI / THE BLIND PIG (7h)

finally we got new shirts delivered and it was a sad moment when we had to say goodbye to Disappears. but We'll meet up again for sure. hey, do you know what, we still have fun.

day 32 - FEB 18 TORONTO, ON / LEE'S PALACE (8h)

15min only for the border… great… sold out show and maybe the best so far. everybody is in a good mood. only Jeff is a little sick.. huh, and still fun fun fun...

day 31 - FEB 17 MILLVALE, PA / MR SMALLS THEATRE (5h)

wonderful venue. it feels a little like Switzerland for some reason… and fun fun fun...

day 30 - FEB 16 WASHINGTON, DC / BLACK CAT (6.5h) ((turned into 8h))

besides going into Washington it was an easy drive. the city traffic was insane. it took us 1h for 3 miles. we made it finally by 6:30pm. after that it was an easy night and I met Michael from Title Tracks. he is totally upset because Title Tracks are already on tour and he couldn't go because his job. but he will join them in a couple weeks like me in a few days. everybody seems to be a little burned out but tis morning on the way to Millvale PA everybody was in a good mood again. I'm not sick anymore at all and this makes me really happy. I'll give them as much positive energy as I can.

day 29 - FEB 15 CARRBORO, NC / CAT'S CRADLE (8h)

can't wait to meet up with the guys from Fin Fang Foom. tonight. John and me riding the cargo van today. I will also meet the first time Alyson who is working for Tortoise since ages. and hey, we still have a lot of fun. btw it was a great night.

day 28 - FEB 14 ATLANTA, GA / THE EARL (3h)

the best show so far and still a lot of fun… 
btw. best promotor I met in a long time.

day 27- FEB 13 BIRMINGHAM, AL / BOTTLETREE (4h) ((turned into 12h))

besides that Ryan and me had to drive back to Nashville and to Birmingham again, I think we still have a lot of fun. we forgot three big pieces of gear in Nashville. Tortoise was able to play the show without but we had to get it back asap. Ryan and me had a nice talk on this long and boring drive and as we arrived in Nashville at the Exit In we were running straight into a burlesque party. naked girls everywhere. I wasn't tired anymore for maybe 2 minutes. The Bottletree is a f… great venue by the way.

day 26 - FEB 12 NASHVILLE, TN / EXIT IN (4h)

we still have a lot of fun and the blues was hitting me very hard today. but this is a different story.

day 25 - FEB 11 LOUISVILLE, KY / HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL (7h)

wonderful. Elliot picked me up at 8am. we drove to the rehearsal room and strted loading the gear. we did short stop at a bagel shop and then we started driven in two vans down to Louisville KY. very good first show like all Tortoise shows are great. Disappears (Chicago) are opening up every night and you should check them out. They are great as well. I'm still a little sick and really tired every day but it's going better and better every day. and I have to say we defn. have fun fun fun.

day 23 -24 - FEB 09 to 10 Off days, Chicago, IL (0m)

we arrived in Chicago at 3pm and I decided to stay for two night in a hotel before the Tortoise tour starts. just relaxing and doing something good for my spine and my cold. I have to say it worked out. today I'm feeling much better. Elliot drove me around for shopping today and we talked about the Tortoise tour. he is doing sound and a great guy. I'm really looking forward to this trip.

G and Ryan had to go to NY (820m). I called them today. 24h after they left Chicago. They're are still traveling because they had to stop again 5h before NY. Guess what…. BLIZZARD and closed interstate. I'm with you guys, drive save… FUCK WINTER! WHAT A SHIT!

day 22 - FEB 08 Off day, Chicago, IL (470m) or maybe somewhere in Iowa…?

I just tell you we had to stop somewhere in Iowa because a blizzard. -10°F again and a strong wind. wonderful if you don't have to drive. that's it because i'm writing on a story about this special day and it will be a different blog. I just say STORYTELLER… more later...

day 21 - FEB 07 Off day, Omaha, NE (540m)

first time that we didn't arrive too late for doing what I wanted to do in Omaha. Midnight… enough time to go to the Oliver's and meet up with Ted, Dan, Chris, Pat and have couple drinks and a nice breakfast the next morning. Too short but we have to go. the winter is back and I'm sick. but I give a shit. oh, in the morning when everybody checked out of the hotel in Denver for the flights Mr. Lawless took the cash deposit from the front desk by 'accident'. he thought it is for his cab ride to the airport. what the fuck. I gave him already the money for the ride at fucking 10 in the morning. I use too many swear words these days. It is maybe because the Gaslamp man is not with us anymore. His basic communication was something like fuck, holy fuck, shit and holy shit, my fucking good, motherfucker, la la la la la… whatever, I stop here. wish you a motherfucking good night… let's have a coffee.

day 20 - FEB 06 Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver, CO (540m)

can't drive anymore but I do. whatever… in Denver I socialized the first time and with a women called Bobbie and I hope to meet her again on my trip. the show was the best one on this trip I think. more than 1000 people showed up and the backstage situation was the most wired one I ever had. almost everybody had excess and free drinks. there was also a serious snow party going on in the backstage bathroom and maybe something else. here do you have your sex, drugs and rock'n'roll story… this Gaslamp Killer/Will guy is bitching and complaining almost about everything since the very first fucking day and I have to say I'm over it because he has the easiest live on tour I think. Maybe it is because he is doing his first long US tour but hey… if you're not even able to lift two light pieces of shirts and gear you shouldn't go on tour or you should pay somebody to do it. I hope he doesn't mind this or one of the following entries but I guess he does… ;-) the tour is over but G, Ryan and me have to go a long way on our own. Denver-Omaha-Chicago and then they need to go to NY. let's see how it goes...

day 19 - FEB 05 Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT (430m)

- no memories…?
- burned out but…
- great promoter and show. hope I meet him again.
- GK took a flight to Salt Lake. lame… but good for us...
- I'm sick… here… but who cares. they are all sick as well

day 18 - FEB 04 Off day, Las Vegas, NV (280m)

- I was looking forward to see he first time Vegas
- we started to late and had to deal with Gaslamp Killer issues in LA
- It took us hours and hours to drive through LA traffic twice
- GK lives in LA
- GK has a fucking car
- so, what the fuck.
- but I don't care…
- wonderful drive
- everything in Vegas is a casino. even the gas station
- we arrived too late and I went to bed
- I come back with Cursive and they even play a show in a casino. because everything is a casino

day 17 - FEB 03 Troubador, Los Angeles, CA (385m)

there was the plan to meet up with some friends in LA Eagle and Talon, Cornbread, etc… but we arrived so late and left right after show that I didn't call anybody. I'll do it the next time in march. I promise. The show was great and the night too short again. It all feels like that we're only driving. Voices Voices are a great band and wonderful people. I hope I can work with them in Europe. My back starts hurting again and now I know exactly where it comes from. DRIVING for too many hours!!! that really sucks but it is how it is. At least I don't complain about it every day. I still can't believe that I travel/drive the almost the whole country within three weeks and I I definitely don't want to go back to the winter but it looks like that we have to.

day 16 - FEB 02 Slims, San Francisco, CA (0m)

what a great night. I met Jon from GSOM and he told me that I maybe can go with them to South America this year. I can't believe it but let's see… the show was amazingly good and the night went away too fast. I'm so f… tired and finally everyone gets sick. hopefully not me…

day 15 - FEB 01 Off day, San Francisco, CA (640m)

some people call it off day. I call it off night. we arrived after a 15h drive in San Francisco and went straight to bed. but it was good to sleep in and taken it easy the next day.

I'll try to post some videos one or the other day. The Slims is a really good venue and the house manager Scott even remembers me from 4 years ago with Cursive here in San Francisco. he is a great guy and I think we all have a lot of fun tonight. can't wait to meet GSOM after they finished rehearsal.

day 14 - JAN 31 Holocene, Portland, OR (175m)

hey, another short ride and a nice place. tomorrow is no show but we'll go all the way down to San Francisco (15h). I don't wear long johns anymore and only one pair of socks. maybe tomorrow just a t-shirt… who knows. can't wait to see JB and the Guantanamo School Of Medicine again. ok, maybe just The GSOM. here in Portland is everything fine and nothing special happened so far. I have to say I like Portland.

day 13 - JAN 30 Nuemos, Seattle, WA (90m)

this was perfect. short drive, check in to the hotel before the load in, great or even best show so far from every band and Rachel is an amazing house manager at the Nuemos.

and I just took a nap from the first band on until we had to load out (3h). at least I had sweet dreams…

day 12 - JAN 29 Nightlight Lounge, Bellingham WA (365m)

this was maybe the most beautiful drive I've ever done. hm, maybe it was Stavanger to Bergen in Norway….? I'm not sure but just look at the pictures. The Venue was great but the bands didn't like it that much because it's a small town right in between Vancouver and Seattle. I think these are shows you have to play when you're on tour to keep the costs down and play for people who don't have the chance to see your band in a bigger city but, whatever.