Hey Everybody!!!

It is time for Michelangelo’s good-time, southern fried blog entry. We have been having a blast, and it is only fair if I let you in on some of the good times. So sit down, pour yourself a sweet tea, and enjoy.

We woke up bright and early on Thursday morning. Had a few bagels and some black coffee to expedite the wakeup process. The first thing I have learned from touring down the east coast is that the further south you go, the more the coffee resembles water with some dirt in it. We headed off making a stop at the Red Star (Uncle Sando’s Grandmother’s restaurant/former bar). We had a champion’s breakfast of cheeseburgers, fries, and coke (who needs Wheaties when you have grease to fuel the rocking). We left, taking a bagful of fried chicken with us. You can just imagine how great that bag of chicken made the Exploder smell. We slowly made our way through Virginia. Gardner manned the helm of the USS Sandolorean, which translated to everyone else passing out. As we made our way towards the North Carolina border, we literally saw the humidity hanging over the trees (don’t get excited Nacho). When we entered North Carolina we stopped at a gas station for some drinks. I was amazed to find Budweiser bottles shaped like bowling pins (yes bowling pins) for $1.09!!! And to answer your question, yes it was quite refreshing. Got back in the car and headed further south. The car kept getting hotter. This had its pros and cons. The cons would be that we were sweating bullets. The pros would be that our bag of chocolate chip cookies melted to the point of tasting oven fresh! Around 5:00 pm we pulled into North Carolina. After searching for a suitable stopping point for the night, we settled upon the always-ritzy Econolodge. After checking in, we headed over to the venue.

We made it to Lucky’s Pub, only to be greeted by no one. Apparently we showed up too early, so we sat around and listened to some tunes while waiting. If you have never been to the South, you know it’s always hot! And especially now as summer is coming around, its smoldering. Thankfully we were not too far from the ocean, which attributed to the nice breeze. Eventually the guy came and opened the club. Lucky’s had a great stage, and the locals were all extremely nice! The one thing I can safely say about North Carolina is that everyone was super kind to us. We had a great time, and we plan to return to Lucky’s very soon! Then it was back to the motel to crash.

We woke up bright and (too) early the next day. It was off in the caravan of two cars towards South Carolina. The journey took us through historic Wilmington, a nice little southern city with a righteous WWII battleship docked in its harbor! We continued on our journey. The further south we drove, the hotter it got. After crossing the border into South Carolina we drove along the seaside highway through world famous Myrtle Beach. Myrtle Beach looked like a good time. Lots of BBQ’s, bikers, and beach towels on sale. There were also a noticeable amount of mini golf courses with unnaturally blue flowing water. We continued on. No time for Myrtle chilling on this gig day.

We made it to Mount Pleasant (outside of Charleston) by mid afternoon. We were slightly skeptical when we saw that the venue was located in a strip mall right next to the Piggly Wiggly. Upon entrance all fears were squelched as the venue turned out to be a great place!! Big bar, lots of tables, and a great four-foot stage. After checking it out, the guys decided to go to the beach, and I ventured into downtown Charleston is search of that Southern charm that us Northerners read about so often. I got a map and walked through the historic district. Many beautiful churches and old school Southern graveyards. I then headed through a section of old million-dollar homes, many of which has beautiful closed off gardens. Next stop was the battery, a walkway along the bay. Many old monuments and cannons lined the battery. Then I picked up some dinner at a little café, drank too much sweet tea, and met Gardner to head over to “A Dough Re Mi”. Our man Stewart (the owner) opened for us with his southern rock band. The band sounded great and the lead guitarist looked like a Confederate civil war general! Rock n roll! Then we played a great set, unhindered by my broken 7th string, Uncle Sando’s improperly strung (don’t ask) bass, and the smoldering heat. The local “Battleground Road”, a powerhouse local trio, followed us. Like North Carolina we had the pleasure of making many nice, new friends. We picked up a lot of great fans, and had a blast. We then headed towards Hardeeville, near the Georgia border, for a night’s rest. We were truly sad to have to leave Charleston after having spent so little time there. Zach and I set off in search of food, spotting the “Waffle House”, apparently a Midwestern/Southern tradition. At 3 am in the morning you never quite know what you will see. As we waited for our food the workers behind the line treated us to some fine entertainment. Manager “Ethel” kept throwing crusty barbs at “Denise”, our waitress. In the middle of this was “Samuel” who threw our breakfast burrito from the pan right onto the counter. It was good to know that Waffle House sticks to the state health laws. After witnessing more bitching, we eventually took our tasty, cheap thrills back to the room and enjoyed.

Wake up consisted of a housekeeper knocking on the door. As I opened the door, it felt like looking into a pizza oven. The high noon heat was quite the shock. I quickly closed the door and say by the air conditioner to regain my senses. We hung out for a bit, spending quality time watching “Bible Man” (imagine the Power Rangers meets the Rev. Pat Robertson). Gotta love the Deep South. We then left mid afternoon in search of strings and Savannah. Special thanks towards the McLean family for lending their van to us for this leg of the tour. The extra room and the air-conditioning make this second leg quite the different experience from the first. As we crossed the bridge into Savannah we noticed right away that this truly was a charming southern city. After locating that night’s venue, we drove through Savannah’s historic district. Savannah had a very cool feel. Many old graveyards, homes, and churches gave it its unique feel. Huge oak trees covered in Spanish moss created a roof over the roads. Zach navigated the van through the city to Annie’s guitar shop. We picked up some strings, some sandwiches next door, and headed to the Guitar Bar. The gig went well, considering we played to Zach’s lucky parents. Due to the low turnout for the night (odd considering the excellent ad they ran on that radio for us), we jammed a bit more than we usually do. The highlight of the night was a new version of “Sleigh Dog” which included freestyle versus chronicling the journey of “Nacho The Possum”. After drenching ourselves yet again, we packed the van and headed back to the motel.

The next day we once again woke up early. Before saying goodbye to the McLean elders we went to Shoney’s to celebrate Nicky Walnut’s birthday. The highlight of the “breakfast” buffet were certainly the biscuits and gravy complimented by the fried chicken. Like I said, we are a very health conscious band. After stuffing ourselves like hunting trophies on a wall, we continued south for Florida. The trip was fairly uneventful, marked by many palm trees and giant billboards. We rolled into Orlando early in the evening. Since yesterday we have chilled out, recovering from all the traveling and rocking. The plan tomorrow is to spend the day on sunny Daytona Beach, then prepare for four days of gigging up and down the state. Hopefully I will have better Internet access this week. I will try and keep the blog as up to date as possible. By early evening Gardner and I should have all the pictures up from the first two weeks of the tour. Until next time, keep on rockin.

Hey Everyone. Apologies for not writing for the past couple of days. We have been on the road and away from an internet connection. When I am done with the gig tonight, I will give an epic explanation of our past few days down South.

-Michelangelo

Dude….Choppers.

As many of you who have been reading the blog know, today was our second day in Virginia. After writing to you yesterday afternoon Uncle Sando took us into the “city” of Winchester. We met his Grandparents (Great Grand Uncle Sando on his mother’s side), and had a real nice chat. Then Sando drove us by some Civil War battlefields. There are signs all over the place commemorating battles and troop movements. It was really cool. Just by looking at the fields, you can easily imagine civil war troops trudging over the hills. Then we had a killer BBQ at Uncle Sando’s. To cap off the chill day we hung out with some of Sando’s buddies from back in the day. Good times, great oldies, and cool new friends.

I woke up this morning around about 1:30 (don’t judge me). Came downstairs to black coffee. Sando’s mother had told us that there were breakfast pizzas in the freezer. Intrigued, I got the box out. Apparently it was a breakfast pizza kit. I laid out my little frozen dough, and found the sauce packets. The sauce looked just like that fine cheese you got in the little cheese cracker packs as a kid. Mmmm. In all honesty it looked really nasty. But hey, I eat a lot of things that look less than edible. Piled the cheese and bacon on and baked it. It turned out to be pretty damn good! Made another one for myself and Gardner (Eric for those of you keeping score). We then decided that Zach would go back to the store to buy the guitar that he has fallen hopelessly head over heels for. It was agreed upon that while Uncle Sando drives him to get the guitar, Gardner and I would chill out in DC with the monuments. We left, only to return 10 minutes later due to car trouble. While Uncle Sando fired up the Exploder, the rest of us tried to remember the 1992 dream team. Took us a few minutes, but we did it! Not to toot our own horns, but pretty impressive for four Berklee students. Took off again, fueled by classic rock and the beautiful weather.

Uncle dropped us off by the Washington monument. We picked up some drinks (non alcoholic for the record) and headed over to the new WWII memorial, as we had never seen it before. I have to say we were both extremely impressed. We took a few pics that will be posted once we get a broadband connection. My favorite part was a wall of stars posted over a reflecting pool, with the inscription, “HERE WE MARK THE PRICE OF FREEDOM”. We then walked through the park towards the Lincoln memorial. I forgot how many flies chill down in our nation’s capital. A LOT. The Lincoln memorial was impressive as always. Gardner and I were struck by how many different nationalities were present in the room. People from all over the world intently read Lincoln’s words that are chiseled into the wall. Again, very cool. Next stop was the Vietnam memorial. Not much can be said about it, unless you have been there yourself. Next time you are in Washington you owe it to yourself to go. As always it was one of the most powerful things you will ever see…so simple and moving. Then we headed over towards the White House, and experienced the best moment of the trip thus far.

As we were walking behind the White House we saw one giant presidential helicopter swoop over us. Then we saw that the cops closed off the road behind the White House, so we had to walk around this huge fence to the other end of a field. As we walked around it we saw two more fly in, and one land right on the White House east lawn. Being dudes, we thought this was the coolest thing since Baywatch and the mute button. We were far off, so we couldn’t see who was getting out. A few guys in suits. I checked the news tonight and saw that Tony Blair was coming to the White House tonight for a news conference. I’m sure it was someone really important, due to the two helicopters protecting the one. There were snipers on every roof in the area. Then five minutes later, the chopper revved up the engines, and lifted off, pausing for a second, then flying straight over us. You have to see the pics tomorrow. So after getting over our excitement we headed over to the front of the White House, took some pics, chilled out in a park, and made some calls to family on our phones due to the restored reception of a city. The amazing thing about standing in front of the White House is that you think off all the decisions that have been made at that very place, and all the powerful leaders who shaped our modern world. We capped it off with a meal at McDonald’s, which is probably the most low-key branch of the franchise I have ever been too. We almost missed it. It is right by the White House. Inside they had portraits of all of the Presidents and First Ladies. Then we met up with Zach and Sando, and headed back to the Sando homestead. We stopped at a Sheetz for gas. I had previously thought that Wawa was the dominant force in the American convenience store kingdom. Sheetz hath taken the throne. Super clean, with great options, Sheetz comes out on top. And their iced tea is way better than Wawa. I said it. Sorry Jersey Dan. We then made our way back to Uncle Sando’s. We will be up bright and early to leave at 9:00 tomorrow, for our epic Frodo-worthy journey from the top of Virginia to the bottom of North Carolina. Should be good times. Now I must get some sleep. Take care, and look for some pictures late tomorrow night.

PS. Dude, it amazes me how cheap things are in the South. $1.59 for a 24 ouncer of Yuengling. Once again I felt like Donald Trump at the counter of the gas station.

5 States.

What a day on the road. We woke up bright and early in New Jersey, ready to start our journey South. By 10:15 we were on the road. Being in New Jersey, we were quickly lost, circling around a lake for a good hour. We finally found the right highway, driving all the way to Jersey Dan’s house. This of course led to more detours. Jersey is the only place outside of Europe that I have seen rotaries in every town. There are also the infamous Jersey “jug handles”. When making a left turn off most major roads, you must first make a right, taking a half circle so that you are directly facing the street that you wanted to make the left turn onto. What a waste of space and money. We stopped by Jersey Dan’s house to pick up the rest of our gear, packing the Exploder as tight as possible. We then headed over to I-95, with Philly in our sights.

As soon as the Philly skyline entered our view, we of course had to turn the radio up and blast Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom”. We were of course on a mission. We got off the highway and within a few minutes we were parked in front of Pat’s Cheese steaks. For those of you that have never had a true Philly cheese steak, I am sorry. It’s a truly essential experience anytime you visit Philly. There is often the debate as to which is better, Geno’s or Pat’s. These two fine institutions sit directly across from each other, like two lone cowboys ready to duel. I had eaten at Geno’s, but never at Pat’s. Uncle Sando and I decided it was time to settle the debate once and for all. I ran to the line and ordered my Pat’s. I was pleasantly surprised. Pat’s piles more steak onto their roll, and their cheese whiz is slightly thicker than Geno’s, making it the ultimate cheese steak. Although Pat’s takes the cake, Geno’s is still an excellent choice, as the flavors are virtually indistinguishable. As I finished munching down my first steak, I noticed a bar that served beer to go. Within minutes I happily carried back a couple of brews to the car to wash down the second cheese steak that Zach and I split. After finishing the steaks, we headed off, leaving Philly behind, happy as pigs in shit.

We headed further southward, entering Baltimore. Not much to report from Baltimore, other than it was fun to see yet another city. We headed towards Washington DC. As we reached the beltway we stopped at a guitar store that Uncle Sando frequents. There was an interesting selection of used gear. Zach found a guitar that he is considering acquiring. After spending an hour playing different guitars, we headed towards the Sando homestead. Uncle Sando got on I-66, which supposedly heads towards Winchester, his hometown. Things seemed to be going according to plans until I saw a sign for the Pentagon. The next thing we know we are crossing the Potomac as the Washington Monument rises up in front of us. I was sure that Uncle Sando DID NOT reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Apparently he took 66 east instead of west, and we were now in the nation’s capital. After mocking Sando for a good 10 minutes for forgetting where he lived, we decided to drive by some of the monuments. We were lucky to have arrived just as the sun was setting, dusk falling on the famous sights. We drove by the Lincoln memorial and the Vietnam wall. We parked and looked across the water at the Jefferson Memorial. We all agreed it was one of the most beautiful sights we have ever seen. It was one of those “proud to be an American” moments. Then we drove off to see if Dubya would be interested in chillin’ out with Though I’m Told. Apparently he was out of town for the night, so we left D.C. fer’ Virginia. We pulled over for gas about an hour into the state, and were immediately surprised by the drop in beer prices. Under 4 bucks for a High Life six pack!! After living in Boston for three years, we felt like Trump. Got the gas and drove towards Sando’s. Upon arriving we were greeted by a giant possum and a cooler full of beer on the porch. Sando’s parents had already gone to bed, but there was a huge spread of food laid out for us!! Talk about Southern hospitality. Cookies, cupcakes, veggie tray, tuna rolls, chips, and most importantly… a steaming crock pot full of BBQ pork!! It was certainly a good day for food. Later that night, our friend the giant possum showed up again on the porch. Zach tried to talk him into filling the percussion void left by Nacho. Despite a promise of Florida and beaches, the possum declined and crawled back under the porch from whence he came. We then passed out.

Woke up today and had some more BBQ pork and a few mugs of black coffee. We are taking it easy today. Uncle Sando is gonna show us around town. Tomorrow will be a day of work getting ready for the Carolina dates. Apologies for the lack of pictures. We are on a fairly slow connection, so we are working to get them up as soon as we can.

I’m sure I will have some more stories for you tomorrow. Until then, take care.

BREAKING NEWS!!! BREAKING NEWS!!!

Boston (AP)- The associated press is reporting that drummer Chris Nacho Manowar Santos has fallen on the way to a T station and will be unable to continue Though I’m Told’s critically acclaimed national tour. Eyewitnesses confirmed that Nacho was rushing to catch a train on the way to his weekly Church gig. Onlooker Bessie Mae Smith was quoted as saying, “The poor guy was running to the train with his bags in hand. One moment he was up, the next he was down. As he was lifted into the ambulance he was sayin something about a tour, and tellin the guys”. Band manager Steve Cielinski could not be reached for comment. Lead guitarist Michelangelo Quirinale confirmed that singer/guitarist Nick McLean will be playing drums for the remainder of the tour. The band still plans to play such classics as “The Metal Trilogy” and “Searching for Someone” true to form. Though I’m Told formed in the fall of 2005 and quickly ascended to the top of the heavy rock hierarchy. Known for their wild live shows, three part guitar harmonies, blazing solos, catchy tunes, and beer drinking ability, Though I’m Told has been a popular band on the East Coast hard rock circuit. Visit www.thoughimold.com for more tour information.




Dear Fans, Friends, and Family,

I am sorry to confirm that the above associated press release is true. I was awoken today by a phone call from Eric telling me that Nacho injured himself and was out for the tour. Everyone remained cool and calm. It has been decided that Nick will practice his ass off over the next couple of days to get his drum chops up. We will continue to rock the East Coast as a quartet in the tradition of Zeppelin, Sabbath, Metallica, and ABBA. Zach is going to sing all the songs, as well as learn Nick’s parts. I can assure you that we will still rock your town with our usual fury and glory. We left at 4:00 in the afternoon for New Jersey. It was a nice ride. Uncle Sando navigated us safely to New Jersey, where we are now. We had dinner with Emily’s (of Zach fame) parents. Spaghetti, meatballs, and lots and lots and lots of pastries. I think we all housed about 8 pastries per person. Needless to say I am HIGH ON SUGAR right now. We plan to awake early tomorrow. On our way to Virginia we are making a necessary stop in Philly. I think you all know what we are stopping for. If you are lucky I might take a picture for you of some of the cheese whiz from my righteous cheese steak. Maybe. Then on to Baltimore to look at guitars, then finally to Uncle Sandos for some finger lickin’ good Southern fun!

So everyone, please don’t worry. We may have been dealt yet another setback, yet we continue. Did Tommy Iommi stop when he lost his fingertips? NO! Did the Who continue when Keith Moon died? Unfortunately. We will continue to rock the East Coast. Later guys.

PS. If you are ever in the Morristown area check out this great pastry shop. I personally sampled many of these fine deserts tonight, and they are most certainly righteous. Check it out.

http://www.kristinesdesserts.com/

To all followers of TIT,

Hey everyone! Time for another blog entry. Now that I have gotten the hang of this I will try my hardest to make this a daily thing. We headed out to Fitchburg last night. Special thanks to Uncle Andy (brother of Uncle Sando) for lending us his car for the night. We got to Fitchburg around 7:30, and checked out the club. The Compound is a very cool room. Lots of old school vinyl on the walls, pool tables, and guitars on the wall. The band we were opening for (a cover band which shall go unnamed in the name of proper rock etiquette) was setting up their “backline” and lights when we got there. Nacho (formerly Manowar for all those keeping score at home) got to work setting up his drums in a swift manner. Plopped em right in front of the cover band’s kit. Then some of the guys went out to get some fine cuisine at el Taco Bell.

Once the soundman arrived on the premises we quickly did a sound-check. Barreled through our set with the usual fury. Fun stage, with a makeshift catwalk that probably would have been put to better use as a grill rack. We finished the set and loaded our stuff into the Exploder. Sando and Nacho headed back to Boston because Nacho had to wake up early for his Sunday gig (laying down some phat Jesus worthy grooves in church). The rest of us stayed and sat through two sets of metal covers in the name of etiquette, and more importantly, getting paid (gas money). Let me just say that most of these “metal” tunes were of the Nu-metal variety that the truest of true metal heads detest. Props to old school Pantera and Metallica. No props to Nickleback and Disturbed. I personally could have used a Slayer or Lamb of God cover, but we can’t always get what we want. The singer of the cover band summed it up best as the club was closing. He grabbed a fan (the type you plug in and use to keep cool in the summer) and said, “You know… this fan has been to all our shows. It is our biggest fan.”

Closing was a truly rowdy event. Many of the guys were piss drunk, and many of the gals were also piss drunk (wearing some extremely revealing excuses for shirts). I’m not sure what was more entertaining, the fights breaking out, or the tits popping out. The Compound proved to be rowdy, rollicking local weekend hangout. We are looking forward to playing there again. We just need to make sure that we take the 1.5 minutes needed to learn a couple of Disturbed covers to throw in the mix.

Twas a fun ride back, fueled by some great tunes including “Walking in Memphis” and “Lights”.

We are packing up the car in a little bit, getting ready for the southern leg of the tour. I am very excited, due to the fact that I have never been to the Carolinas or Georgia. There will be plenty of pictures for you all to see. I am working with Eric to post up a bunch from the past few shows.

Alright everyone. Time to pack. Take care, and see you in North Carolina!

Hey Everyone!

So sorry for not writing yesterday. We did not get back into Boston till about 5, and you can be damn sure I took advantage of my own bed, sleeping until we had to get ready for the next gig. But lets backtrack. I was chilling out at Jersey Dan’s when I left you last time. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting up and watching the Metallica movie. After the Metallica movie they had a bunch of 80s videos, so you KNOW I was glued to the TV. In between were breaks at the great NJ establishment known as Wawa. For those of you that might be asking, “What the hell is Wawa?” In my opinion (which I believe carries some validity based upon years of eating absolute crap), Wawa is probably the most impressive convenience store I have seen yet on the road. While you get your gas at the Super Wawa pumped for you (because for some reason New Jersey doesn’t let you pump your own gas), you can order a kickass sub to go, get chips, giant Wawa iced teas, and my favorite….THE APPLE FRITTER. A truly great establishment that may just make you question your convenience store allegiance upon your virgin visit. I also had to stop in a true New Jersey Pizzeria. You know you are in a true New Jersey pizza place when you can’t understand one damn word that the cashier is saying (and some slicked back hair doesn’t hurt the image). Jersey and I got talking football with the pizza guys, and they seemed pretty hurt when I told them I was a New England fan. I wonder why?

We left the Jersey compound around 7, heading out to Asbury Park. For those of you that don’t know Asbury Park, it is essentially one of those New Jersey coastal towns that back in its golden age were quite the place to be. Now it has become slightly less than that. It has not helped that our view of Asbury Park has been bleak both times due to overcast skies. We were playing at The Saint that night. The Saint is as truly rock n roll as a small rock club can be. The floors are stained with years of Beer, Sweat, and hell…maybe tears. Green Light Go opened for us. Tasty pop type stuff with a violin player. Then we took the stage with the attitudes of Vikings ready to pillage and burn the town. I think Uncle Sando may have even started to sprout little horns. In all actuality the waiting village was composed of the club staff, the other band, Uncle McLean and a few other close friends. And conquered they were! I’ll post the pics later after I sort them out on Zach’s computer. There are many of them. If you were within a few feet of the stage you would have certainly been doused in the rock-fueled sweat. In the end, it was a fun night. The village may have been small, but it was burned to the f**king ground!

After the gig we had celebratory beers than packed the car up. Special thanks to our good friend Jon Grill for helping us out with the drum situation. I think in all honesty that Superman is either Protestant, or not religious. But if he were a Jew, he would certainly be Jon!

Jersey led us to the Parkway where we commenced our long journey back to Boston. About 40 minutes in, we stopped at the “Cheesequake” rest stop if only because it is probably the most righteous rest stop name I have ever seen. We were quickly let down by the outrageous Burger King prices associated with the great name of Cheesequake. It’s the principal; you don’t pay $8+ for a meal at the big BK. We continued our trek. As we approached the Newark area we were greeted by the lovely smell. I will not even try and describe it. If you are really, really bored someday, go smell it for yourself. As Jersey Dan says, “Put on some Star Wars music and look at the refineries at night…BRO!”. As we made it to the George Washington bridge, we could tell it was gonna be a long night. The bridge was backed up as all hell, and our Exploder was nestled uncomfortably between three numerous 18-wheelers. We must have been on that bridge for a good 20 minutes, watching truck after truck come within inches of our humble Exploder. Uncle Sando was having a fun time with the navigation. Surely one day his nieces and nephews will ask him “Uncle, tell us of the time you sailed the Though I’m Told Exploder to safety on the big bridge”. In the end it turned out that the reason the bridge was backed up, was due to two of the four lanes being closed for roadwork (even though there was no visible road work at all). We were amazed that they would close half of one of the busiest bridges in one of the world’s busiest cities unless there was some serious work going on.

After sailing through the bridge, the trip home was largely uneventful. As many of you travelers know, when you are sitting in close quarters for a 5 hour trip, the conversations get more out there as the night goes on. If you wanna know what was talked about, email me. Too long, detailed, and too weird to post here. Luckily we found a kickass oldies station to get us through the night. We arrived back in Boston around 5.

The next day I got up at 3 in the afternoon to go pick up our new order of shirts. They look great, and we look forward to making them available to you guys when we swing through your town. Our tour manager Eric is back in town; sweater, tie, and all that good stuff. We loaded up the Exploder around 6 and headed out to the Bulfinch in downtown Boston. The Bulfinch has always been one of our favorite venues. A good bar with cheap beer, and loud music. Doesn’t get any better. There were three other bands on the bill that night. The Agency out of Jersey opened up with a set of some fine poppy alt rock. Then Alcohollica took the stage, and serenaded us with a set of pre Black Album covers. Then we took the stage once again, like Vikings. This time our village was a bit bigger which was really nice. Afterwards our good buddy Bob Ernst played a great set of instrumental rock. Fun night, with many fun glasses of beer. Tonight we are looking forward to rocking The Compound out in Fitchburg, MA. After that…going South!! Hopefully there will be some pics posted tonight, if not, definitely tomorrow. Take care and rock on.

Dear Family, Friends, and lovers of the Rock!!

As promised here is the start of the Michelangelo Tour Diary. Our tour has officially started, and it is already a true “Rock N Roll” tour. As you may know, we were thrown on last minute to a gig last Saturday at Mark’s Showplace opening for Huck John’s. The gig was outside of Manchester and it was already raining cats and dogs. Very rockin’ place, except for this night. Not many people there for certain. Regardless, we went on at 7:45, fueled by a giant bag of Dollar Double Cheeseburgers and adrenaline. The show went great. Our new drummer Chris “Manowar” Santos fit in great. The group was having a great time, pools of sweat, the whole deal. We didn’t stay for too long due to the heavy rain. We had to get back and plan for the upcoming time on the road.

Fast-forward to 9 in the morning this Tuesday morn. I woke up fueled by black Italian Espresso, and headed over to meet Uncle Sando, our bass player for those of you that might not be privy to the “Though I’m Told” code. In the Ford Exploder we headed out to Cambridge to pick up our U-Haul, which was ordered weeks ago, and held for us. Upon entering my details in the computer for half an hour, when hearing the make of the vehicle of our choice, we were informed that U-Haul does not rent to Explorers!! I could not believe it. I think it was more disbelief that we had not been told before hand that they could not rent to us. Regardless, we trooped back to the Castle McLean (a lovely little basement apartment for all you interested ladies). It was decided that we would pack the Exploder as tight as possible and just scrounge up some drums for the Jersey gig. Once we got on the road we made the mistake of taking I-93 to I-95, which was backed up forever! Oh, well, we had some fine radio oldies to hold us through. We eventually made it out of Rhode Island and into Connecticut, then into the beautiful New York rush hour traffic. Finally we reached the Lion’s Den around 5. Word of advice to those sitting in the back of an Explorer: Do not sit in the same seat, same position for a 5-hour drive. At some point your boxers will simultaneously become one with you in a way you never dreamed possible.

After parking the Exploder in the village, the McLeans and Manowar Santos went off to get some food and find a bathroom (always a blast in NYC). After they returned, myself, Sando, and quintessential roadie Jersey Dan went of in search of some food. We were rewarded with Dollar Chicken Fajitas and some fine New York Pizza. Gotta love that New York pizza. Afterwards the eternal waiting game commenced. We were the last band of the night, equaling lots of down time. Half of us made a pilgrimage down the street to the legendary CBGB’s. Of course our pilgrimage included the “donation” of one fine, full color, brand spankin new Though I’m Told press kit. We went back to the club and enjoyed our beers while being serenaded by Abe Quigley out of Illinois. Very cool solo acoustic stuff. Next was Mrs. Poo, which was an experience for anyone watching. I think my favorite tune was “Burn, BBQ, Burn” which sums up my philosophy about summertime fun. I also enjoyed “Purple Cow”. Now sure what it was about, but still enjoyed it. Bryan Fenikart, who played a set of tasty pop, followed Mrs. Poo.

During Bryan’s set we were warming up backstage, all psyched to rock out the city. We went on, with a quick set up time. It was a blast, and the crowd was very receptive considering a lot of them had shown up for Bryan. All in all it was a blast, and we can already tell this tour is gonna be a great time. I will try and get pictures up in the next couple of days from the show. There were plenty of “monitor perching” to be seen.

After the show we drove back to Jersey’s down Rt. 1. I don’t think I have ever seen that many diners and strip malls over the course of an hour in my life. Ah, sightseeing in Jersey. Well, that’s it for the ole blog today. There will be plenty more, and lots of pictures. I’m still getting the hang of this thing. Until next time, ROCK ON!

Here is an old live pic for those of you that are just discovering Though I'm Told. Updated ones on the way!