Manchester/Annuals Tour '07 (Part II)

So all the shows in California were great! Especially The Troubador. We got to catch up with lots of friends and Guy got another tattoo. You should see it. It's so metal.

Downsides: Due to a death in the family, Nathan had to fly home for a funeral so we skipped out on the Tempe show and stayed in Long Beach. We were hanging out with some friends and label people there the night before heading to Denver when a window on our van was smashed in. They got a keyboard, an iPod, a digital camera, and a few other things. However, they neglected to notice or take our cash box and Nathan's acoustic guitar, thank God. Lesson learned, never leave anything of value in the van. Although it meant we had to drive the rest of the way with a cardboard window, it could have been much worse though, so we're thankful.

Denver was warm and Kansas was cold. Go figure. Both good shows. It was sad to see our old friends Manchester and new friends Annuals go. I'm sure our paths will cross again.

Keep checking back here for updates and news. December, Alex and Guy will be out with our friends This Will Destroy You on tour with Unwed Sailor. I'll be tour managing Over the Rhine on their pre-Christmas run. If you're in the midwest or northeast and looking for some good shows, you should come out and see us.

Manchester/Annuals Tour '07

Recap: So within the first few minutes of tour Nathan lost his bag and Jacob lost his Strat. In our rush to get out of town no one had locked or even shut the trailer so they both fell out as we pulled away from our house. We were kindly honked down by someone but by the time we retraced our drive (a grand total of about two stop lights) the clothes and the guitar had disappeared. Upon our return, we have vowed to beat down anyone spotted in Nathan's clothes or playing Jake's guitar, be they elderly or juvenile. Be afraid Duncanville. The dark back-hand of justice stalks your every move.

Our bad mojo was short-lived though as we made our way through Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho to meet up with the rest of the tour in Seattle. We played mostly small coffee house venues (amazing place in Nampa, ID called Flying M!) and things went really well. Some highlights: Getting a caricature of our band done by local artist Andy Chase Cundiff; New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO; and playing a show with ex-members of Screeching Weasel in Laramie, WY. It's gorgeous country and great people.

First show with Manchester and Anuuals was at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. We were weirded out when both the door man and the sound guy introduced themselves and gave us a rundown of the venue and how the night would go. What?! A venue that's on top of their game? Meal buyouts? A good sound system?! Line around the block?!!?!?! The show went over really well and we took a lot of pre-orders for the album which will be out early February. It will be titled Mending. Chris King of This Will Destroy You lore worked his ass off on the artwork for it and it's going to look spectacular. We're really excited about it.

Doug Fir Loung in Portland was swanky/creepy/Tarantino-esque. We stayed at the Jupiter which is the retro-fitted hotel connected to the venue. Think IKEA meets Fear & Loathing. Kevin Devine joined the tour, opening the show from here on out. What a great tour. I couldn't have asked for better people. Speaking of, Holmes kindly donated his old Blackberry to me seeing as how my p.o.s. Nokia was probably the first cell phone ever invented and could no longer hold a charge.

We're staying in Petaluma, CA right now with some of Alex's family. Breakfast prepared by a chef and a basement full of air matresses. What more could a band want? Tonight we play Bottom of the Hill in San Fran. Really looking forward to it.