News

ok. we're back.
i'm gonna repost the filter VIVA SSPU blog on this journal for giggles and bits.

here is part 1.
-----------------
san diego
Sonic Youth played in the main room.
We played in the little room.
Sonic Youth played at 9:30pm.
We played at 11:20pm.
So technically, Sonic Youth opened for us.
House of Blues is where dreams can come true.

san francisco.
finally met with the viva voces.
finally met darren waterston (the man who did the
artwork for carnavas).
finally met the kingdom who are joining us for most of
the tour.
and finally met some of the nicest people we've ever
played to.
it's a good start, right?
or is it all downhill from here...

visalia.
howie and his son have quite a remarkable little venue
on their hands. this show was a blast. we're working
on changing the set here and there to keep it
interesting. a little all the goinbetweens here, a
little checkered floor there, with a dash of three
seed. highlight: a dapper daddy brought his two little
(i mean little) kids to the show. we signed their
fresno bee and i let the little boy hammer on my
guitar during the end of lazy eye. smiles all around.
til the drive home when we were full of pizza. what
are yiou gonna do...

los angeles.
where?
c'mon.
i think we played everything we know that night, and
then some. booksmart and all. it was nice to play to
people who we think have never stepped foot in echo
park before. we gave them an opportunity to see the
sights, swim in the lake, eat at rodeo, shop at sea
level, and drink in one of the best clubs in LA. also,
we realize it's going to be great to watch viva voce
every night. they are just pure class.
and then some.

phoenix.
now we're off for reals.
modified is a great little venue. good art on the
walls and what not. never played in phoenix before.
highlight: meeting new faces and drinking with 'em at
the bikini lounge. video bowling and all. going out of
town makes you realize just how damn expensive drinks
are getting in LA. we'll try and pass a law when we
return. nice.

love brian

ok...

the reason is...

well...

this.

we're cheating on you diary.
just for this tour with viva voce and the kingdom.

but i'll let you look.

click this to see what we're up to.

love brian

this journal thingy is off the hoople.

love brian

ok ok... so i haven't been quite as up to date as i promised.

that's just the kind of relationship we have with each other diaryhead.

ok.

where the hell was i?

before i start ranting on what mr. and mrs. sspu has been up too, is there any questions?

huh?

yes. it is blue. next?

right right. i'm not sure what i'm saying at the end of that song either.

next? you. not you, you.

i got into a fight. that's why i looked like that.

ok, one more. you with the tye dye queensryche shirt.

yes, i'm sure it is perfectly safe for droids.


let's move on.

atlanta atlanta how we love to say atlanta.
mjq drunken unicorn lived up to our internal hype we had quietly brewing. there's something in the water in ATL that makes everyone there down right rad. one of our favorites of the tour. we will be back there soon. we promise. stayed up all night dancing and ran to the airport just in time to fly on home to LA and play the troubadour.

the troub show was definitely a career high for us. we were blown away. not only were we able to play with two of LA's best bands, DARKER MY LOVE and GREAT NORTHERN, but the feeling we got from the crowd was overwhelming. thanks you to the yous. it's funny, you can almost watch the whole damn show on youtube.com. technology. there was some more of that fruit carnage i've told you about. i accidently pegged our label guy and a couple of MTVers with some bananas... or did i? and then fell asleep on the stage... yet again. it's comfy up there.

the fuck yeah fest was also quite fun. playing with great local bands like DIOS MALOS, GIANT DRAG, etc made us realize just how many great bands are brewing from LA nowadays. we're really lucky to be a part of it. even though we barely made it out alive. thanks JP for givng me a ride on your drum case. if you gotta make an exit...


what else....

oh, san francisco and oakland.
so here's how this little jaunt went.
we headed up there the night before we were due for this and that. our van was packed to the brim with some of our beautiful lady friends and our fetching meaganger. a little north of coalinga, our van 'dimples' blew a shoe. we stayed by the side of the road til about 4 in the morning waiting for the AAA man to show. he finally arrrived, couldn't figure out how to help us, eventually did, and off again we went. we arrived just in time to do our itunes session in a studio that journey built. you know, wheel in the sky and such. it was awesome. the studio looks over the bay. we ran through some songs, closing our eyes, daydreaming that steve perry and a couple of members of jefferson airplane were manning the boards. steve would want more vocal, but airplane would say, 'i don't think so steve... not this time", and then theyed laugh and laugh and we'd all get momosas by the bay.
we snapped out of it just in time to play popscene with the lovely boys of SPARTA. nice chaps. that was a good one. except i almost got thrown out of the club because i did the point down smack the face maneuver to the door girl. the security guy pounced on me and the victim of my terrible (just terrible) prank wanted me thrown out. turned out she was just pissed off at me because i didn't talk to her before the show. i was tired. but it did add a little danger to the otherwise calm yet sleepless 36 hour marathon we were on.

the next morning (damn that bay bridge... who closes it on labor day) we played at the art and soul festival in oakland. the sound was kinda jacked up, but it was cool none the less. it was really nice meeting the LIVE 105 kids and all the people who've been listening to us up there. you're all beautiful... except you. you know who you are...

let's see...

amoeba.
yes yes.
that was a blast.
i need to think of new ways to say things were great...

um...
that amoeba show was off the hoople.

that works.
again, meeting all the people who came down was a great moment for us. we really enjoy talking to the kids who come down to support us. don't be shy when you see us. except you... you stay shy.

lazy eye.
we just shot a video for LAZY EYE. it's directed by suzie vlcek who shot the KISSING FAMILIES video. it was fucking rad. it was us, our friends KENNEDY and ELVIRA, and 40 of the coolest looking 14/16 year olds i've ever seen. they were all so sweet and cool and off the hoople.
see it works. we're really excited about it and will unveil it soon.

ok, so besides a ton of live sessions here and there, and getting ready for our national tour with the almighty VIVA VOCE, i think we're just about caught up.

probably not.
there are some things.
some secrets.
hmm...
forget it.
you'll find out in time.

hopefully, the next time you hear from me diaryhead it's still 2006.

we'll see.

i'm lazy.

love brian

ok.

it's been a while.

i'm sorry.

we've been so busy that we've ignored you.

whoops.

bad band.

bad us.

ok.

so i'm sitting here in a hotel room looking over beautiful downtown atlanta, where once in a while, a lightning bolt shows up. nice. we're about to go the the DRUNKEN UNICORN to perform tonight. last time we played there, it was our favorite show on the tour. let's see what happens. pucker up atlanta.

a ton of stuff has happened. i'm going to try and whip through it. to the untrained eye, the next couple of paragraphs might resemble the ramblings of a kook. but if you pay attention and you've been doing your homework, you'll catch my drift.

NEW YORK.
crazy since the second we landed. fearless tv sessions, acoustic dealies, an amazing show and one not so amazing after show. kudos to the lovely singer of MAGNETA LANE for singing KISSING FAMILIES with us at PIANOS. no sleep. none. which is how NYC likes you before it spits you out towards...

PHILLADELPHIA.
we almost didn't make it due to some bizarrely unkind scheduling. we had about an hour and a half to get to the U CHURCH in PHILLY leaving from the holland tunnel. but we did. just barely in time. we were happy. hanging out drinking jamesons with some old and new friends in front of the church was quite a highlight. i was almost attacked by a drunken zombie, but christopher cut him down, just in time for us to leave to...

BOSTON.
great. i enjoyed this show quite a bit. meeting AGE RINGS and finally getting to hang out with PAGE FRANCE (who played a ton of the shows with us) was a highlight. also, THE LASHES were a lovely buch-o-chaps. a little sleep, but not as much as we would've liked, which can make you weary before you head towards...

WASHINGTON DC.
a funny on air interview with the U of MARYLAND radio station was fun. being interviewed by someone who has no idea who you are or why you're there is always a hoot. the BLACK CAT crowd was great. we love you. but, we played shitty. sorry. can't win 'em all. after show drinks with some nice people prepared us for our trip back to...

BROOKLYN.
amazing. EUGENE MERMAN. old friends. enough said. oh.. well, i guess the fact that i passed out on the stage is worth mentioning. DAYLIGHT FOR THE BIRDS are excellent chaps. THE UNION HALL is a great new BROKLYN venue. the last thing i remember was sitting on the stage, a little fruit carnage, closing my eyes, and i woke up on a flight to...

CHICAGO.
i jump ahead.
here is where we met our good friend Mcrae from the band GRAYAREA. he offered to come along and help us out and rough us up during our midwest leg of the tour, where our first stop was...

CINCINATTI.
not really. sorry. but we did play on the amazing WOXY.COM. a fantastic online station. great people. some people who were upset at us for not playing around the area came down to watch us perform in the studio. that was nice. off to...

INDIANAPOLIS.
MIDWEST MUSIC SUMMIT. we stayed at a friends in the suburbs, where we caught up on that sleep thing we heard so much about, ate at TGIFs, where we devoured four cows, sucked down 7 different kinds of cheap tequilla, and i sat down with a family thinking it was our group. i thought it was funny. they were scared. locusts in the trees. chirp.
to our suprise, and i'm sure a ton of other's, we were on the cover of the MMS booklet. how did that happen? don't ask me. we played in front of a huge crowd, met some great bands, the HOT IQs and MARGOT AND THE NUCLEAR. dog the bounty hunter is insane. i could see that guy coming a mile away. oh, yeah right, there was the vomit. which brings us to...

MILWAUKEE.
hanging out with some of our friends' friends was quite nice. going to the hospital for nikki's raging head wound was not. she made it through everyone. thanks for the letters. she healed just in time to play in...

MINNEAPOLIS.
MVP so far. THE ALRMISTS were great. the crowd was amazing. it was so much fun and we were so humbled by the response. we all purified ourselves in lake chupacabra...abraba. we loved it there and can't wait to go back. mcrae punched joe here. ok he didn'e, i just wanted to mention him again. he lives in...

CHICAGO.
for reals this time.
MVP 2. that's right. it's a tie. SCHUBAS was amazing. old friends, new friends, old enemies that became our new friends, and new enemies that i won't mention because we sent them packing. more drinks bought for us than a whole year in LA. mcrae took us to a hot dog joint where he punched joe. we woke up and did a radio session for CORNERSTONE. we did it in a lovely studio, but we had no time, as usual. due to the heightened security at the airports because of those crazy new scares (hmmm, is there an election coming up?) we had to jet outta CHICAGO as fast as we could. we said goodbye to ol' mcrae, where he gave joe one final punch, and we were off to..

ATLANTA.
which is where i am right now. i love it here. we did a session on WRAS 88.5 where i got through half of WELL THOUGHT OUT TWINKLES and then i broke, not one, but two strings. i gave up. so we all just chatted with the great erich for about 3 hours on the air. he directed us to DADDY D'z, some of the best barbecue i've ever had in my life. then we saw one of the greatest movies i've seen in a while. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. seriously. see it. and here we are.

i'm looking forward to our show tonight. we love playing in ATALANTA.
also looking forward to the TROUBADOUR in LOS ANGELES.
yes yes. it's very sold out, but we're playing two days later at THE ECHO for FUCK YEAH FEST with some of LA's best bands.

more on that when it happens.

i'll contact you sooner than i have before.

i'm sorry.

it's not you... it's me.

love brian

in nyc now. we're going to be busy bees. our show at the mercury lounge is sold out and the show in brooklyn is just about to be, so... we're gonna play an after show at pianos, right after the mercury lounge show. so if you can not get into the other two shows, hang out with us at pianos.
ok.
sleep now.
love brian.

so...

we're in a hotel room in vancouver.
it's just a couple of hours after the great flood.
richards on richards will never be the same.
snorkels for all.

so we're on tour.
here are some highlights.

the douglas fir in portland was really fun.
we were a bit nervous because we have a bunch of new songs that we've never played before. it felt really great and the crowd was amazing. it was lovely to meet a great band called six organs of admittance . as the coversation went on, it turns out the girls are into labyrinth and boys are into tron . i kinda like 'em both, which makes me into this .

seattle.

block party.

amazing.

the crowd was overwhelming.

highlights?

hanging out with smoosh , the black angels , and chatting with leslie from the murder city devils, who i knew nothing about, but they killed it.

so now here we are.
in a foreign country.

we just played at dicks on dicks.
we were the first band of three.
but then there was a flood.
and we became the headliner.
seriously.
this is our third time up here in beautiful vancouver (do not call it the coove... that's just lame) and every time gets better and better. i wish we could stay longer, but we have to leave for LA immediately. gotta go to the east for a bit. anyway, after we played, the place flooded, so the other bands were not able to play. lame. acts of god... please. however, magnolia electric company was able to perform at another club down the street called the marine club. kind of an old seaman bar. i'm glad we got to see them play, however, we were hoping to see ladyhawk, but i guess that how it goes.

floods.

lame.

we've got a long way to go.

thanks for coming so far.

hope to see the rest of you soon.

really looking forward to the troubadour.

enough.

bye.

love brian

Joe here. First post on the new Journal. We're in Seattle to play the Capitol Hill Block Party and just had the pleasure of playing the same stage with the (briefly reunited) Murder City Devils, who I haven't seen in a very long time. It was a fucking ferocious, glorious kick in the balls. Amazing.

hazzah.

love brian

happy release day, kids. and happy birthday, nik.

~xoxopher