FINAL TOUR BLOG!!! FINAL TOUR BLOG!!! FINAL TOUR BLOG!!!
Family, Friends, Lovers, Haters, Sisters, and Brothers,
Due to popular demand (who would have thunk), I am blogging again! Our trip was so exhausting that I never finished the tour blog! Ladies do not fear, the final tour blog is here.
Last time I left you we were chilling out in Orlando. I might not have mentioned our celebration the first Sunday night in Orlando. I won’t go into details, but if you want to know all of the Zeppelin-esque stories, ask a friend of the band. Needless to say, the lunch the next day at Denny’s was sorely needed. After Denny’s we watched Clueless on TV and engaged in the never-ending debate of Cher vs. Tai. Laugh all you want.
By dinnertime we decided that some exploring was in order. We left Uncle Sando at the house we were staying at (he was too busy being an Uncle), and headed off towards Disney World. With no intention of paying at all we tried to drive up to certain attractions. No dice. The first hour consisted of Zach turning around and trying to find the way out of the gargantuan Disney lots. We continued taking wrong turns for a good 45 minutes, during which I’m positive more expletives were spat than the “happiest place on earth” had ever witnessed in its entire history. All was well when we spotted a giant McDonalds!!! We were immediately attracted to the gigantic burgers and fries out front! It was agreed that this was a must stop attraction (in other words the only free thing to do at Disney World). Upon ordering we realized that this was by far the cleanest, most well run MackDees we had ever been to (and we have been to our fair share). My Big Mac was on the counter before I could put my card back into my wallet. Thank you Walt, wherever you are. After enjoying our burgers we headed over towards Pleasure Island. The few stores out front were the only other free places in Disney. Zach picked up a Goofy hat for a certain someone at home, and we headed back to the house. After hanging out and socializing for a bit, we all went to sleep.
The next day we headed off early (2 pm) for the world famous Daytona Beach. It took about an hour, and the first thing we noticed upon entering Daytona was the Daytona International Speedway. The only way to describe it would be “F**king giant”. It definitely took a good minute to drive by it. We eventually made our way over the bridge to the beach. Daytona Beach immediately impressed me with its cool vibe. While some fine ocean swimming was first and foremost in our minds, we decided to first locate the Seabreeze Metal Lounge (the site of night II for TIT over Florida). The Lounge of metal was located, and a lounge of metal it was. To get the mental image you need to think back to “The Empire Strikes Back”. Remember Yoda’s hut on Dagobah? Now imagine if it had been all black and even darker. My friends…you have the Seabreeze Metal Lounge. We then went off to the beach in search of a slightly sunnier spot. We found a spot to park and hit the waves, DUDE!!! The water was nice and warm, and since the tide was coming in, we had some nice, crashing waves. We noticed oddly enough that there were not a lot of people on the beach that day. Later that night when we met Zach’s Uncle Mike, he told us that locals wouldn’t go near the water due to the capture of a 300 pound shark the week before! HARDCORE!!! After watching some basketball and eating too many chips everyone passed out.
Got up around noon the next day and got ready for our Miami adventure. The trip took about three hours with Gardner manning the McLeanmobile. Upon entrance into Miami we got off I-95 and commenced the search for Churchill’s (our venue of the night). We immediately learned the Miami is not the best city to get lost in. We eventually headed in the right direction, undeterred by numerous dudes pushing televisions in shopping carts. We eventually found Churchill‘s, which bore an uncanny resemblance in tone to the Seabreeze Metal Lounge. We checked in with the German (although it was a British pub) bartender, and decided we would like to spend our time on the slightly more upscale side of town. We drove through the city center to the famous Miami Beach. To get there you cross a bridge that goes by all these kick ass little islands with gates on them. We made it onto Miami Beach and found an Internet café from which to conduct our daily Internet business. Of course being on Miami Beach felt like being in a subtropical NYC! The Internet café had everything overpriced, and really bad music playing. Oh well…we did it all for the glory of rock. After paying a king’s ransom to use the net for half an hour we went over and chilled on the beach itself for a little bit. The water was clear as the day, and had we not had a gig so soon, we would have definitely hit the water up. We headed back towards the club, through the “historic” Miami neighborhoods.
Churchill’s was dimly lit, which only made the random roaches on the wall more worthy of inclusion as extras in a Vincent Price film. While waiting we were treated to a curry buffet. The curry was damn good, which meant that a damn good car ride was in store for us after that gig. I can’t remember the name of the first band that took the stage. They were local high school students, who played a set of local garage rock. We then took the stage and played to two senoritas, whom as I found out at the end of the show, did not have the best handle on the English language. Does anyone know how to say mailing list in Spanish? We packed up, and decided it was best if we left Miami with our gear and non-chain-sawed limbs intact. It was a long ride back to Uncle Mike’s house, and an even longer rest.
The next day we again woke at a rock star hour, and headed off towards Daytona Beach. After checking into the infamous Seabreeze, some of the guys went for a walk on the beach while Uncle Sando and I stayed and drank some beers with the owners/staff. All I will say is that it was a true metal moment of alcohol fueled the fun. Uncle Sando and I were introduced to the “Chocolate Milk and Vodka Song”. If you haven’t heard it, you owe to yourselves to go and request it next time you are in Daytona Beach. As we were unloading our gear a metal band from Wisconsin pulled up behind us in a black school bus. Amen. We played a set to the other band, Zach’s Uncle, and a friend. Rocked they were. We unfortunately had to leave early dude to one of the band members experiencing stomach problems. We booked it back to our headquarters and passed out.
The next day we packed up and said adieu to Uncle Mike. By mid afternoon we were on the road towards Jacksonville. We made it to the Pit around 7 pm, to find no one there. After about an hour we were told that all of the local bands had cancelled, which is just what you want to hear as an out of state band. Just as we were about to leave a kind local woman who shall be known as St. Barbie, offered to compensate us financially if we stayed. Since she made us an offer we couldn’t refuse, we stayed and played, and watched the band after us (a rockin trio from South Carolina). All in the entire gig went really well. It just added to the vibe that the stage had a fence up. Very rock. Like every night before, we packed up the van and headed back towards our resting point (Orlando that night).
The next day we hit the road around 2 pm and headed to the west coast of Florida. It didn’t take us long until we were in Sarasota. We immediately learned that the west side of Florida is very different from the east side. The vibe is very, very laid back. After locating the venue (Tavern on the Main), we headed towards the beaches. That area of Florida supposedly has the nicest beaches in the world, with the whitest sand possible. We were not disappointed (and we didn’t even go to the one that everybody recommended). The sand was beautiful and I basically went out in the clear, warm water and just stood in it for about two hours. The only downside of perpetually clear water is that you can definitely see the sea life below you. Nothing living to report, but seaweed clumps that sure as hell looked like little sea creature dudes. We chilled out for a bit before heading back towards the Tavern. In the car we had a fine dinner of chip sandwiches (you sure as hell learn to love em on the road). We learned that we wouldn’t be playing until midnight, which meant some chill time for us. I immediately sat down at the bar and enjoyed some Bud while listening to the classic rock on the jukebox. Highlight of the night occurred when “No Woman No Cry” came on, and every guy at the bar started nodding their head to the beat, some smiling into their beers. Thank you Bob. Around 9:30 the first band went on. They played a set of loud, heavy rock. Then our good friends Weszt took the stage and rocked out a full set of “thinking man’s rock”. Then we took the stage and played a high energy set in which Zach ended up singing to the crowd from the bar. I’m not quite sure if they completely knew what was going on or not, but they certainly dug it! Afterwards we watched Dragonfly Ripple rock out some fine, modern rock. All in all it was a great way to end the tour. We made a lot of great new friends and certainly are looking forward to coming back to Sarasota.
After the gig we all changed and got ready for the long journey ahead of us. We stopped off at a McDonald’s for some celebratory WARM cheeseburgers. They tasted gourmet after the past week of cold cuts and chips. Gardner manned the wheel until early morning, when we stopped at a rest stop. This one had everything in it, including guitars and yes, the kitchen sink. After filling up, Uncle Sando took the wheel, and I stayed upfront to keep his old self company. We listened to the radio as the early morning fog descended upon northern Florida. Upon entering Georgia all the radio stations suddenly turned to country and/or worship music. Left without much of a choice we settled upon classic country, which serenaded us with deep cuts by Roger Miller and Conway Twitty. This led to deep philosophical discussions on the name Conway Twitty itself, and the lyrical waxing of Roger Miller: “Roses are Red, Violets are Purple, Sugar is Sweet and so is Maple Surple!!!” We also enjoyed the numerous road signs. I kept asking Uncle Sando to pull over at these truck stops with their American buffets and dancers, but he said no. He wouldn’t pull over for the plantations or antique stores either. This is all while the rest of the guys were sound asleep in the back. We then drove through Atlanta just to say we did. It was decided that we would stop at the next Hardee’s. Unfortunately Hardee’s decided to die after Atlanta, and undergo a rebirth once we made it into South Carolina. We stopped at the first Hardee’s we saw, and indulged in our end of the tour treat…the hallowed “cheese steak cheeseburger”. I kid you not folks at home. And damn was it good. A 1/3 pound Angus beef patty topped with cheese steak. God bless America and our poor, poor arteries. We then drove another half hour to the McLean compound in South Carolina. After taking a quick nap, we left the Brothers McLean in the hands of their parents, and the three remaining Musketeers (myself, Uncle Sando, and Gardner) headed off into the sunset. The drive was pretty uneventful. North Carolina was pretty as usual. Western Virginia (not West Virginia) was dark and desolate. We stopped for gas and a quick bite. I bought a Slim Jim and wrapped it in the remaining bread (I’m sure James Beard would approve). Nothing is as fun as scraping the barrel. We eventually made it to Uncle Sando’s, where we promptly all passed out.
We rolled out around 1 pm the next day, headed for Pennsylvania. We stopped off at a Sheetz for some fine gas station food (sorry Jersey). The drive back was pretty uneventful. New York State was beautiful, and the drivers in Connecticut were just a few notches more aggressive than the southern ladies and gents. Around 10 in the evening we rolled back into our beloved Beantown. Blasting “Dirty Water” by the Standells, we have never felt so happy to be back in Boston. And so ends another chapter in the Though I’m Told saga (I’m sure it will turn out to be a trilogy).
Well folks, there you have it. After I post this I am going to do another blog entry of some select photos, with a link at the end of the entry to a page containing the rest of the photos from the tour.
A special thanks needs to be extended to not only all of our fans who came out to support us, but also to our families and friends who helped us out more times than are worth mentioning. Your love and support means the world to us, and it is what inspires the goblet of rock to stay full and overflowing on a daily basis!
I have much more to tell you about the band, but my fingers are tired and tomorrow is another day.
Until then, rock n roll!!!
