The show last night went really well. We played after a band called Diego who sounded so much like Interpol that I thought they were playing covers. The small room was really full and the crowd were nice and responsive, inviting us back up for a second encore. Afterwards the lead singer came up to me, Stephen and John and told us how much he enjoyed the show. He became really emotional and started saying some really intense stuff. It might have been that his english wasn’t that great, so the words he was choosing might have been a bit stronger than he intended. He told us in a heavy german accent that “Ze crowd didn’t know what zey ver listening to. I knew zo. It is all about reading between ze lines, zat is what is special about your band. I zought your show was so amazink. I zink zat if anyone wants to see passion, zey should come to one of your shows.”

Soo yeeah, haha, had a bit of an awkward “oh, thanks man, ummm, you guys were really great too”, and then a bit of a chuckle after he left. We might look like we’re having a good time on stage…

Today I was pretty determined to educate myself a bit more on the Berlin wall, so ventured out on the subway and went to two museums. The first was a look at life in the old GDR, or East Germany. I’d become fascinated with the topic after seeing The Lives of Others before leaving. It’s a film about a Stasi officer who writes false reports to save the lives of a writer and his girlfriend. The museum was packed full of people which made it hard to dwell too much, but I got to see lots of communist propaganda, listened to some East German pop music from the 60s and 70s (turns out the GDR government set a 60% local music quota on radio stations and clubs… kinda like what Labour is trying to do in NZ…?), saw some crazy Soviet-looking cars and looked at some Stasi files.

From that museum I walked down to Checkpoint Charlie, one of the main checkpoints to get into West Berlin from GDR, and a symbolic centre of the Cold War and East/West separation. There was a great timeline of events printed on a wall that stretched 50 or so meters down the street with some really amazing photos of a Soviet/US tank standoff, and of when the wall came down in ‘89. Walked along the line of where The Wall once stood, and saw some little bits of it that remained as monuments. Crossed into the ‘American Sector’ and went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum that was started while The Wall was still standing, and documented the many different escapes from the GDR to West Berlin. There were some pretty amazing and emotional stories. Quite a scary thought not being able to leave your country without the fear of being shot or imprisoned.

It feels really strange being on tour again now after spending so long in New York just seeing the sights. We stayed there for two weeks in total. Harlan (the guy I stayed with) and his girlfriend made me a cake for my 21st birthday. They’re some of the nicest people I’ve met on tour. My birthday itself was nice and quiet (at my request). We let a firework off from the top of his roof, which has a pretty amazing view of Manhattan, had a couple of drinks, and went to bed nice and early.

All of our remaining New York shows went really well. We had nice full audiences and played really well. We spent a few days shooting a music video for the next single off the album, Small Town Crew. Quite a fun and strange experience. You have to pretend you’re playing an instrument, so instead of focussing on what you’re playing or how it sounds you’re just thinking about how it looks. We also had to do a bit of bluescreen work, cause in the video Heather picks the band up and puts us in her hands. Really fun having to act to an empty room.

We were there for so long compared to everywhere else we’ve been that it began to feel like I was flatting in New York. I became familiar with the streets and my subway stop, could find my way without looking up google maps, and the novelty of the big city wore off. I could definitely live in New York. It’s so busy and cramped, but everything moves to a rhythm and seems to compliment each other. Central Park is this surreal slice of tranquillity in the middle of chaos. I spent a few hours walking the paths and lying on the grass. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and saw some amazing ancient and modern art. We caught a train up the Bronx Zoo too, but it wasn’t worth going in for the couple hours left of daylight, so we just bought some animal masks and walked around the local neighbourhood. It was almost sad to say goodbye to the city I’d grown so familiar with.

We got done for excess baggage on the way to London. They were going to charge us for 5 extra pieces at US$220 per piece, but we managed to talk them down to 2. Got pretty drunk on the flight over to London, which made going through immigration a pretty strange experience.

London’s weather was a total shock to the system coming from the tail end of summer in the states. The first night I spent shivering. Some of us stayed at The Sneaks’ flat. Was really good to see some faces from home and to see how they’re getting on in the big smoke. Jetlag meant I didn’t get to sleep till 4am.

After a couple shows in London (I’m not going to mention shows from now on unless they were actually interesting) we flew to Istanbul in Turkey to play a festival gig. It was such an amazing change from touring in America and our few days in London. I guess it might be because Turkey straddles the two continents, but Istanbul had this incredible mix of a really European city and culture, and a crazy Asian busyness. The fact that I didn’t know what to expect made it all the more interesting. We got picked up from the airport by our 2 guides and a driver who looked after us for the whole weekend. The festival put us up in a 4 star hotel right in the centre of the city. Our driver took us through these crazy thin streets that seemed more like alleyways, weaving up and down the hills around Taksim Square, where were staying.

Our first night we played a show supporting Devendra Banhart, in front of a big crowd in a really great venue called Garajistanbul. Our guides took us out to dinner at a traditional Turkish restaurant. We ate some amazing food, and were entertained by a couple of guys playing traditional Turkish music. The atmosphere lifted as soon as they started played, and suddenly we were in the middle of a party, with all the Turks in the room (including out guides) singing along and dancing on chairs. It was a surreal experience, being so jetlagged from both the New York to London and London to Turkey flights. We played a great show after such an excellent time at the restaurant and got an amazing response from the crowd. Devendra Banhart played a really long set that I wasn’t so into, but the crowd seemed to really like them.

We had one and a half days off after the show to take in the sights. We were taken to the Ayasofya and the Blue Mosque, which were both really old and really awesome to see. We went to the grand bazaar, a huge indoor market with heaps of different colours and smells. People selling spices, scarves, pots, lamps, pipes. To tell the truth though, nothing really seemed worth buying. The bazaar is a big tourist attraction, so everything had big tourist prices. I walked away with a couple of things for presents, but far less than I expected.

On our last night in the city one of the festival organisers invited us to a party being held just down the road from our hotel. The DJ was playing some really great music, but I wasn’t in the mood for it, so I went back to the hotel early and spend heaps of money on a phone card that lasted 5 minutes.

Leaving Istanbul was sad, knowing that the rest of the tour would probably be a lot less exciting. We flew back to London and crashed at The Sneaks’ place again and had a day off.

Up through the UK after that. A show in Manchester, supported by a feminist punk band and a drum-machine punk band. Both horribly bad bands, but terribly nice people. Seems to always be the way. N.G.S.B (Nice Guy, Shit Band). Way up to Aberdeen after that. The drive from England into Scotland was quite therapeutic. Felt like going home again. The Scottish countryside is so beautiful and similar to central Otago. Snowed a bit on the drive, then again after the gig. Had a bit of a run around in the snowflakes. Haven’t seen snow in ages.

Glasgow the day after, snow on the ground as we got a bit higher up on the drive. The show we were playing was straight after 3 big gigs happening that night from the Shins, Okkervil River and the Foo Fighters. The venue had advertised it as the Shins afterparty, which proved a good move because the place packed out. Lots of people singing along, which is always satisfying. My iPod got stolen.

Back to shitty old London the next day for another day off and yet another night at the Sneaks mansion. James had a phone interview with bFM while I was there, so I said a quick hello too.

Took the boat across the Channel a day later and drove to Paris, where we had the whole day to explore. Instantly felt better being away from London. Paris was an amazing city to walk around even though it was really cold. Great old buildings, and everyone speaks French! Had a bit of spiritual time out at Notre Dame, and climbed the bell tour to look at the stunning view of Paris and get close up to the gargoyles. Joined mass inside and was tempted to take communion just so I could say I had. Had a ridiculously pricey 4 euro coffee so I could get online in a café.

The gig went ok. The next day we had some time to explore the city a bit more before leaving for Holland. Walked (because the train drivers were on strike) to the Pompidou centre of modern art and had a wee look around. Bought some ridiculously cheap wine on the way back. Hard to find a bottle for over 5 euros. Got some baguettes and cheese too.

Drove for 6 hours to stay the night in Utrecht, Holland, where we were supposed to play a show, but it got cancelled. We still got our accommodation (plush 5 star place) and fee though, so it worked out as a nice day off. Woke and drove 40 mins to Amsterdam. Had a wee look around before soundcheck. Stumbled across lots of ‘coffeeshops’ and magic mushroom stores. Found some grow-your-own cannabis kits for 3 euros. Really pretty canals and heaps of bikes. I wish I lived in a city where biking around was easy and a jazz cigarette was legal.

Played a gig that felt like a school assembly in a big hall that was lit way too much. Went out and looked around the crazy red light district for a bit before having a few beers in a busy pub. Didn’t even get high!

Across the border to Hamburg the following day. Played a really great gig in a small underground (literally) club. The guys putting the show on were amazingly friendly. Cooked us a really nice dinner and made sure we had what we needed. It feels like the further away we get from London the better the tour gets.

Woke early the next day and drove to Berlin, which is where I am writing this from. It’s really really cold here. I don’t know how people survive here in the winter, it’d get so depressing. We’re just about to soundcheck now, so I better go. But there you are. I’ve finally filled you in on my last few weeks. The end of tour is drawing so close now that I’ve started to enjoy myself a bit more. Only 22 days to go! I can’t wait. From here we’re on to Luxembourg, Italy, Belgium and France again, so until next time, auf wiedersehen!

At the request of Jr on my last post, I’m going to write at least twice while I’m in New York.

And there will definitely be enough to write about! This city is absolutely amazing just to walk around and take in. I’ve been here before in high school, but that was on a conference thing, so I didn’t really get to explore the city like I am now.

We’re staying with a great guy called Harlan who came and saw us in New Jersey and offered a place to stay. He lives in a flat above a 24 hr laundromat and a bagel shop (how much more NY can you get?) in Bedford Ave, Brooklyn. It’s just one stop on the subway to get across (under) the east river to 1st Ave in Manhattan. I’ve invested in a US$24 week-long subway pass so I’ve got the freedom to do what I want while I’m here. Speaking of the subway, it’s awesome, so easy to get around.  The layout of the city is so incredibly easy to follow that you’ve got to be pretty thick to get yourself too lost. Streets are numbered and run the width of the island and go up in numbers as you go north. Avenues are also numbered, and run the length of the island, going up in numbers the further west you get. The subway works on different lines that all intersect, and once you get underground you can make as many trips as you like between lines.

The L train that I have to take to get under the east river is pretty crazy. It goes really fast under the river and rocks pretty violently from side to side. The tunnel is so thin that it feels like you’re going to hit the side. The pressure from the river above makes your ears pop at a certain point of the journey.

Anyway, enough about the subway. Let me tell you what I’ve been up to.

We’re here for a huge music festival/conference called the CMJ Music Marathon. It runs for about a week. There are bands walking around everywhere with their CMJ lanyards on, so it’s a pretty funny place to be. Everyone is ‘networking’ and building relationships with ‘important people’.

Our first day here we played an afternoon New Zealand music showcase at a place called the Delancey Lounge on the lower east side of Manhattan. It was so strange coming this far from home and hearing so many NZ accents. The NZ Music Commission and NZ on Air had organised the gig to try and push NZ music at the festival, and had secured sponsorship from Steinlager and 42 Below for some free piss. We were playing along side Liam Finn, Cut Off Your Hands and The Checks, who had all come to NY especially for CMJ. It was good catching up with some familiar faces and friends. Connan and the Mockasins weren’t playing that gig, but were there also (with James Milne too). After the show we were treated to some stand up comedy from Rhys Darby (who plays Murray Hewitt on Flight of the Conchords). Everyone had a little too much free vodka, and we were all pretty drunk by 6pm.

The next day we played a couple songs for a Gibson recording session. They went alright.  We tried to make it back into town to see Connan and the Mockasins play, but got there just as they were finishing. Later in the afternoon we were invited to a bar where a whole lot of clothing and accessory labels were trying their hardest to get some of the bands playing the festival into their gears. We walked in and were handed swag bags full of goodies, and were told to look around and take anything we liked. I went a bit crazy and grabbed way too much stuff to fit in my suitcase. There were hats, bags, t-shirts, jumpers, jeans. It was promotional heaven. There’s my present ’shopping’ done…

We caught the L train back over to Brooklyn to dump all the full bags of stuff and got some Mexican for dinner.

Came back into town for Olivia’s (a highschool friend’s sister) birthday in a bar. Went and saw Liam Finn play at a bar a few blocks away. He played a really great set. Hanging out in the bar afterwards, who should walk in but Elija Wood. He was tiny, and Connan (who is also short, and was very drunk) went up to him and said “I’m a hobbit too!”.

Caught the L train home and had a sweet 12 hour sleep.

Tonight we’re playing an instore at a record store down the road from where we’re staying in Brooklyn. Tomorrow night is the big show though. We’re playing the sold out Sub Pop showcase at the Bowery Ballroom (which fits around 1000 or so people) and we’re on second-to-last!

Apologies for the lack of photos. I managed to leave my camera battery and charger plugged into the wall of a hotel we stayed at on the way here. It’s being couriered to me and should be here by Monday. Then I promise I’ll go photo crazy.

Love, Hayden.

Since last time, we’ve travelled right down the East coast to ‘The South’, which is one of my favourite parts of America. But I’ll get to that later. First let me take you through our journey down the coast.

The Boston show was pretty good. We were playing upstairs from the Magnolia Electric Company but still managed to draw a decent sized crowd.

The next day we finally made it to New York. It was such a relief finally getting there after being so bored driving through the middle of America. Manhattan is a really crazy part of the city. There isn’t a square metre or spare room on the island. It’s so packed in that it feels like the whole place should be sinking into the river.
We played a show at a place called the Mercury Lounge on the lower east side. Really great turn out, around 200 people. Played a good show. We stayed in an awesome warehouse-turned-apartment in Brooklyn with some friends of the band. It definitely felt like a real New York experience.

Off over (or in this case under) the river to New Jersey the next day. Quite cool cause the state line is in the middle of the river, and they’ve marked on the tunnel exactly where it is. Coming out on the other side I instantly felt more relaxed. New York is so incredibly busy and noisy that it just consumes you. New Jersey definitely felt slower and easier to handle, but still with a great view of the Manhattan skyline. The venue was just down the road from a beautiful park right on the Hudson river, so I went for a walk while the sun was setting and the rest of the band was setting up their gear…

I got a good chance to try out some of the functions on my new camera like the self timer…

And the panorama stitcher…

(Click the photo to see the full size)

Back at the venue we got an excellent dinner given to us, and I even noticed the Brunettes album in the jukebox. The show went well as usual. Not much more to say other than we went back and stayed in the Brooklyn apartment.

Next day on to Philadelphia, PA. Arrived really early for soundcheck (the drive from New York is really short) so had lots of time to check out the neighbourhood, try the local delicacies (philly cheese steak) and look in a small custom guitar store (that had a guitar in the shape of Africa!?).
The room we were playing was really amazing. It had 2 levels of audience, with a really high stage, so it almost felt like you were playing in a theatre. Unfortunately this didn’t really make up for the incredibly bad show we played. The audience gave absolutely nothing, and stood against the back wall the whole night. We also got put with a really misplaced support act called The Cobbs, who played really bad, loud rock n roll. It’s actually been amazing that nearly all of the local supports on the tour have been totally out of place.

Washington DC next. We’d been told the venue we were playing was in a slightly rough part of town, but when we got there it was fine. Not much worse than any of the places we’ve been. We were playing the Rock n Roll Hotel, who were amazingly hospitable, with an amazing backstage area. We finally had a decent support band called the Fairline Parkway, and they were so nice we ended up staying the night with them. They said their place was a 5 minute drive, but we ended up following them for 20 minutes and crossing over into Virginia before we got there. We didn’t mind though because we got to tick off a whole lot of landmarks on the way – the Washington Monument, the White House, Congress, the Pentagon (all be it very quickly, driving past in the middle of the night).
The guy we stayed with (Elmer) works for NASA, and has been to Antarctica. We spent a wee while obsessing over his job before finally going to bed. I had to sleep in the van because I was so allergic to his cat.

We woke in the morning with a whole day off to visit the Smithsonian museums. But after spending ages picking up the other half of the band and trying to find a park, we were left with 2 hours to do an express tour of the thousands of square metres of history. It actually ended up being the best way to see the place. It was so incredibly crowded that being there any longer would have driven me crazy.

The Smithsonian is basically a massive long strip of park lined with museums, that runs from the Washington Monument (big spiky phallus thing) to the Capitol building. You could spend a month there and still be finding new things. Me and a couple of the guys chose to go for the Museum of Natural History first. Looking at the map we chose dinosaurs and the Hope Diamond as our places to visit. The dinosaurs were pretty amazing, the diamond was overrated.

Next we walked across the park to the Air and Space Museum. This time we chose to take a bit more time to enjoy the exhibits and the many many photo ops.

After the museum we had to make our way back to the van, so we walked via the sculpture garden and fountains.

The next show was in a small town called Chapel Hill in North Carolina. It had a really great small southern town feel to it, with organic markets and performers playing in shady parks under big oak trees. The gig went well. Jonathan found a dancing cage on the side of the room and decided he’d spend the whole show in there, separate from the band. It ended up working really well, especially for me because I got to be up the front of the stage, and not behind Jonathan for once. The owner was a really great guy and kept the bar open for us after the show (and kept our free tab going) even though he wasn’t making any money.

On to Atlanta, Georgia next. We stayed with a good friend of the band who had a hot tub and a great little house. Played at a place called The Earl, someone yelled out “play Freebird”.

Next we played Athens, Georgia. A university town with a Dunedin feel to it, but with way more money. Good sized crowd. Yummy pitas for dinner and breakfast.

On to Nashville, Tennessee. The supposed ‘music city’ turned out to be a complete hole. It reminded me of Hamilton. We walked along the street and there was a band played really bad country music in every single bar. There had to be about 50 bands playing on the one street. The gig was as crap as the city. Very forgettable.

Our last gig of the US tour proper was in another small southern town called Hattiesburg in Mississippi. It was a long drive, so we arrived quite late for soundcheck. The venue was an amazing place. Great outdoor area with tables and chairs. We were playing inside on the ground (there was no stage). Pretty minimal PA. We started loading in, half think about how awesome the place was, and half wondering how many people would turn up to see us play, especially considering the band has never played in the state of Mississippi before.

Brad, the guy who runs the place, cooked us some awesome Jambalaya with fish (a southern dish) and said we could stay in the apartment above the bar, which he said was there purely for bands to stay in. The night was getting better and better, and then we went down stairs and saw how many people were there. The place was absolutely packed! Everyone was dancing around. We felt like we’d been invited to play someone’s party or something. But no, this was just what people are like in Hattiesburg. They come out and have a good time, even if they’ve never heard of the band before. The room was so packed that I was in the crowd when we were playing. It felt like playing a house party. People kept apologising for walking in front of me. It was such a great experience.

It was our touring support band’s last show with us, so we had a bit of a ceremony upstairs in our apartment. We gave them each little presents to say thanks for being such great guys to tour with.

Straight after the show we were invited to the so called afterparty, which ended up being really great. On the way there I kept wondering whether it’d just be a few people sitting around having some beers, but when we arrived it was a raging party with people dancing and playing drinking games. I joined in on a game the Americans called thumper that I used to play in highschool. Really great night.

The next day we woke and ate at an organic café slash grocery store right next to the venue. Amazing food, and we got to pay for it with a couple of CDs and tshirts.

We drove back to Atlanta and stayed at the place with the hot tub. Had hot dogs for dinner.

Next day we drove to Chapel Hill. Let some fireworks off in the park next to the place we were staying.
And that brings us to today! We’re currently somewhere between Baltimore and New York. Tomorrow we’ll finally get to New York! I’m putting my computer in to get fixed, so the next time I write I may be in Europe, but hopefully sooner.

Since last time, we’ve done a couple border crossings, and played 4 shows, so let me start from the beginning.

The show at Schubas in Chicago went really well. There was a great crowd there of just under 200 people. We got asked on stage for an encore, which is always satisfying. A good portion of the show is on YouTube in a few different parts. There are also some photos and a quick review on Pitchfork. Along with our touring support, we were lucky enough to have the Lucksmiths, an Australian band we stayed with in Melbourne, play support. They just happened to be in Chicago the same day as us, so we asked them to be on the bill.

The next day we drove to Detroit. I’d really just like to forget about this city. It was totally run down, cold, unfriendly and scary. We parked up at the venue and were hassled by a guy called Papa Smurf for money to look after our van. The venue we were playing was a basement that looked more like an industrial metal venue than anything else. We got there late too, so we didn’t have much time to sort out the ridiculously bad sound system. The venue had 2 levels, so while we played we were competing against a really loud metal band upstairs.

We left the place as quick as we could, letting off some sky rockets and firecrackers as a final farewell to Detroit. As soon as we crossed the border into Canada things felt much better. People were friendlier; roadsigns were in Kms - it felt like home.

The following day we finished the drive to Toronto - hitting rush hour traffic and arriving a bit late for a photoshoot. After soundcheck we had quite a while to explore the city. On first impressions it seemed quite similar to Melbourne, but perhaps I just made that comparison because of the trams. It seemed like there was so much going on. We got dropped off in Dundas Square in the middle of the city, which seemed like a small version of Times Square. I went into a camera shop and made an impulse purchase of a CA$680 (NZ$900) digital camera (I’ll now be posting lots of photos). It’s a Canon Powershot G9 if anyone is interested.

Walked back to the venue along Queen St (I wish Auckland’s Queen Street was as great as Toronto’s), got ourselves a hot dog for dinner, played a great gig, packed up, went to our hotel.

The first shot on my new camera - backstage in Toronto.

Great Autumn colours were beginning to come out as we drove to Montreal the next day. I’m really keen to go back to Canada some day. It seems like a really nice place to explore.

We stopped off to get some gas after a couple hours. Luckily we were standing outside the van while we waited, because if we weren’t, Stephen wouldn’t have noticed THIS:

Yeah, so turned out our tire was on the verge of EXPLODING and throwing us off the road, or worse, rolling the van.
We drove (slowly) down the road to find a tyre place, but everything in Canada is closed on Saturdays! Thankfully we spotted a guy working some overtime inside a mechanics (he’d helped out an old lady who was stranded on the side of the road, and was in the middle of fixing her car). He said that we were lucky we spotted the ‘pimple’ because it could have rolled the van had it exploded. He changed the tyre and didn’t want to charge us anything, but we insisted since he wasn’t even meant to be at work.

We made it to Montreal in good time. We were supporting an all girl band called Bat for Lashes, so we didn’t have the stresses of being a headlining band (getting there early and sound checking first). Montreal has made me really excited about going to France. It was so great hearing a different language for once. I’ve been getting sick of American accents.

The venue was in a great pedestrian mall called Rue Prince Arthur. Quite close to the university. A really European atmosphere. I had to bust out the SwannDri, it’s getting really chilly being so far north.

The show was slightly strange. Bat for Lashes are quiiiite different to us. Kind of Bjork meets ABBA? That’s probably a bit harsh. Anyway, when we went on stage the whole audience was sitting down. We felt like we were on the wrong bill. But when we started playing they all stood up and got really into it. Ended up being a good night.

We couldn’t stay the night in Montreal because of the a golf tournament being in town (the Presidents Cup), so we decided to cross back into the US to try and find a place to stay. Turned out the entire state of Vermont had no accommodation left either because of some strange tradition where everyone comes and watches the leaves change colour into autumn. So we drove all through the night, getting turned down at every hotel we tried. Finally, at 9.30am we found a place 10 miles out of Boston, Massachusetts. Crashed out all day (on what was our first free day in over 2 weeks).

Tonight we’re playing a show in Boston, then tomorrow we’re in New York. Will post a whole lot of photos.

So long.

Anyway, I’ll do my best to remember the highlights. We’ve covered 3000kms since my last post. Bringing you through all the places we’ve been in words would just get boring, so here’s a map…

The show in Austin, Texas was pretty good. Had an interesting hentai mural of the flintstones on the wall. Small crowd though (being a Tuesday night).

Denton, TX the next day. Played a really big venue called Haileys. Harry’s birthday. His girlfriend had organised for us to bring over “Happy Birthday Harry” t shirts to distribute to the crowd without Harry finding out. Worked really well. A good DJ played after us so we stayed and danced for a wee while.

Into Oklahoma the next day. Played a show in a small bar in Norman called Opolis. Saw a homecoming parade coming into town. Very American – cheerleaders and jocks etc. Played frisbee in the beating heat. Ummmmm, yea.

The next day we drove to Kansas City, Missouri. Played a place called the Record Bar. We had to wait ages to load in because there was a kids show on in the afternoon with a band called the Doo-Dads. Was kind of depressing. They had songs about cleaning your teeth, using the potty and spelling, and they all wore wrap around sunglasses.

On to Omaha, Nebraska. A brand new venue called Slowdown. Amazingly well thought out place, with awesome sound gear and a great dressing room with washer and dryer. Probably the best show of the tour so far. Really receptive crowd. Raymond from our support band Ferraby Lionheart joined us for soundcheck to learn up some pedal steel to play on a few songs. It sounded so great that we invited him up to play that night. Stephen and John both had birthdays the next day, so we celebrated a bit on the stroke of midnight.

We drove the width of Iowa the next day to get to a recording session at an amazing studio in Red Rocks, Illinois. We had to record 3 songs live to tape. The best thing was they provided a whole lot of vintage gear for us to use, which meant a) we didn’t have to unpack the van, and b) we were using awesome old gear. I got to play a ’75 Rickenbacher. The recordings sounded really great, and will be available on the studio’s website in a couple weeks at daytrotter.com.

We knocked off some of the drive to Minneapolis that night and got as far as Waterloo, Iowa. It was John and Stephen’s birthday, so we played some rather noisy drinking games on the way in the van. I got myself a cellphone at a Wall Mart on the way (where we got all our booze). John streaked through a flood-lit service station to celebrate his 21 years. Went to bed nice and late at a surprisingly good motel.

Next day, on to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Played a bar called the 400 club. Pouring rain. Getting much colder now. Got down to 14 degrees at one stage, which is a pretty nice change from the 40 degree heat we faced in the south.

Madison, Wisconsin next day. Great crowd. They wouldn’t let us stop playing.

Now we’re in Chicago, Illinois. Got a day to explore the city before we play tonight at Schubas. We’ve done a hundred presales, so should be a good night.

Annnnd that’s it. Sorry about the lack of drama and excitement. Until next time.

Well the show in LA was nothing special. We were playing a venue called the Troubadour which was more of a rock venue than anything else (recent acts who’d played there included the Mars Volta). Had a decent sized crowd there. A really annoying venue sound guy. One of those people who’s the king of his own little world.

The next day we hung around Hollywood for a bit, not really doing any of the touristy things (although I would have loved to). We drove to San Diego in the afternoon, which took ages because of LA’s terrible traffic.
We were playing at a place called the Casbah – a small venue right next to the airport. We spent ages just standing outside watching the planes coming in to land insanely low over the building right above us. We were sure that they were close enough to throw a shoe at.

Along with Ferraby Lionheart (our touring support) we were on the bill with an excruciatingly bad pop-rock band. Luckily I wasn’t allowing into the venue until we played (the 21yr drinking age thing again) so I only had to endure their soundcheck. Went and had dinner in Little Italy, which seemed like the nicest part of town. Had my priciest meal of the tour so far at $25 (our daily allowance is US$20). The crowd at the show was really odd. They all seemed like they were there for the crappy support act, which meant our music sounded really odd to them I guess.

We decided to knock some of the drive to Phoenix off that night, so we bunked down at a hotel in the middle of nowhere. The next day we saw some of the most amazing landscapes that we’ve experienced so far on the tour. We were driving the I-8, which follows the border between California and Mexico. Crazy deserts and rocky hills and Cacti. We got really close to the Mexican border at times, and saw lots of border patrol cops. We even saw the blockades they have to stop Mexicans from trying to get into the country. They’re of course debating at the moment whether they should build a Berlin-style wall the length of the border.

We crossed into Arizona, and headed northeast to Phoenix, AZ. Our gig was in this really small, slightly sleezy bar called Rogue. We were the only band on the bill because it was a club night. One of the New York Dolls was DJing, along with Bjorn and John from Peter, Bjorn and John (that catchy Young Folks song). The bar obviously wasn’t used to having any bands, because they only had a few mics and not much of a PA. But we made do, and actually ended up playing a really fun show.

I had decided I wasn’t going to drink earlier in the evening, but we were treated really well by the venue, so I ended up drinking a wee bit (having decided not to have dinner till after the gig). This proved a pretty bad idea, cause the alcohol hit me straight away. We drove about an hour out of town to a place called Casa Grande (again, in the middle of nowhere) to stay for the night.

In the morning I felt about as bad as I’ve ever felt. We had a 12 hour drive ahead of us, and about an hour in I ended up taking a bit of a puke in the carpark of a Waffle House in Tucson. After eating some chips I felt a bit better, and we continued on our long journey through New Mexico into Texas.

We stopped off just before the Texan border and bought some fireworks. They sell them all year round here, and they’re insanely powerful.

We finally pulled in for the night (after 12 hours of traveling) in a place called Sierra Blanca (which is apparently the biggest sewage dump in the US. Thanks Louis for that tip). Met a really cute stray dog at our motel. Let off some fireworks. Played some Texan cricket (pretty much normal cricket except on dry dirt, and fielding requires the added skill of avoiding cacti and snakes).

Today we spent another 10 or so hours in the car. We’re now in Austin, TX. Our van is pretty awesome cause it has 2 TVs and a Playstation in it, so I’ve been playing video games for hours. During the drive we stopped off to let off some more firecrackers, and to buy some sweet wrangler jeans at a Texan cowboy store for $20! Turns out I’ve gone up a size in jeans since being here. Depressing, but not surprising. Mikey Havoc also gave me a call to do a little interview on bFM about how the tour is going so far.

Some quick stats on the tour so far:

• We’ve now driven over 5000kms in the US
• We’ve been in 6 different states
• 3 different time zones within the US
• Played 9 shows, 1 radio live to air, and 1 record store gig
• Earned US$360 of per diems
• Lost a digital camera
• Eaten way too much fast food

It’s 2am, so I better hit bed.

So long for now.

The Seattle show at the Crocodile Cafe went really well, although there was a slight lack of people for what was supposed to be our biggest city. Still, was a really great room to play in. If you read my last post you would have heard about how I wasn’t allowed in the venue and had to be escorted in and out to play our set. Well, that’s exactly how it was like. I even had to be escorted to the bathroom and had a guy WATCH ME PEE. I really don’t know what they thought I was going to do… the novelty of alcohol wore off a fair few years ago now for me to be swigging some whiskey at the urinal.

The next day we had a 5am start to drive to Portland, Oregon, for an 11am live-to-air on local radio station KEXP. They’re kind of like a more commercial version of bFM, and not a student station. Same kind of playlist though. We were met there by a woman from YouTube who was responsible for featuring the Hairagami music video on YouTube’s main page (which has now had over 170,000 views).

From there we packed the van and drove 3 or so hours to a town called Eugene (also in Oregon) to play the town’s ‘Eugene Celebration’ festival. We were playing in a big theatre that looked a bit like the Civic and the St James in Auckland, but without as much decoration. We were in between two other bands on the bill, in what was possibly the strangest line up I’ve ever played. The first act was this woman called Mirah, with a backing band including cello. We were up next, playing to a semi-empty theatre (the nature of the festival meant people came and went as they pleased). After us was an emo-pop band called Shiny Toy Guns. Quite possibly the funniest band I’ve ever seen. They were so incredibly manufactured and their on stage personas seemed so different to their off stage personalities.

John and I were keen to stick around and watch them from the side of the stage. The drummer and the guitarist were having a bit of an onstage fight. They kept spitting at eachother. It was weird.

Anyway, after we’d had enough of the non-stop emofest we walked back through the festival and soaked up some of the Eugene atmosphere. A blues band was playing the main outdoor stage, and people flooded the street, dancing wildly. The guitarist was a black woman with long braided hair - playing a wireless triple necked guitar! It was completely ridiculous, but so funny to watch. We stuck around and saw her walk through the crowd, solo-ing for about 20 mins.

The next morning we drove BACK to Portland (it’s a shame the dates weren’t the other way around, it would have made a lot more sense). We were on the bill at another festival. This time we were playing a Sub Pop showcase in the Crystal Ballroom - an amazing, huge room with a sprung wooden floor that became a rolling sea when people started jumping on it. The other bands for the night were the Helio Sequence and The Thermals, along with a comedian called Eugene Mirman (who was so funny I brought my dinner up from our dressing room and watched him from the side of the stage).

Next day: 8 hour drive into California, stopping off for the night in a small town called Redding (possibly the Hamilton of California?) en route to San Fransisco.

The next day we finished the drive to San Fran, passing through some awesome scenery. Unfortunately we weren’t coming from the right direction to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, but we did see Alcatraz. Thankfully we had the day off in SF, so we were able to explore without having to rush to soundcheck. We went for a walk through the city, through Union Square (with a sign saying “Drumming and Percussion Instruments Prohibited in Union Sqaure”), past those famous big steep hills with trams going up them, through a tunnel to Chinatown and Little Italy. We visited what was apparently the first paperback bookshop in the US, called City Lights. I bought a book. We walked back through Chinatown and had dinner at an excellent place called the House of Nanking.

I’ve been feeling quite sick in my stomach most days here in the US. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what it is, but it just keeps coming back. The chinese food didn’t really help things, so I went to bed nice and early.

More exploring of San Fran the next day, but this time we ventured over to Haight-Ashbury, a suburb named after 2 intersecting streets, which was the centre of the 1960’s hippie movement. Some really great thrift stores, and an army surplus store where I got myself a much-needed satchel. The venue we were playing was just down the hill - a place called Cafe du Nord. We played a pretty good show. Not much to say.

Nearly there…

That night we drove to Santa Cruz, about 2 hours down the coast. It’s a great little surfing town, apparently boasting the best surf in California. We were staying with the owner of Hairagami. He’d heard Her Hairagami Set on the net, and had got in touch wanting to get some endorsement deal happening. He had a beautiful place with a pool and hot tub. We played the following night at a jazz club in town, our first seated show of the tour. It still worked though,  and the crowd even got up and danced.

Today we spent 7 hours driving to LA. We’ve just packed into the Hollywood venue, and we’re back at the hotel waiting to play. Until next time…

We started the day with a trip to Sub Pop (our US label) HQ on 4th Ave in Seattle. Everyone was super friendly. It seems they’re pretty used to hosting bands who pass through. And they’ve got some great bands on their label, so i guess hosting wouldn’t be too much of a drag. We got brought into the stock room and got to raid their massive catalog of CDs and band shirts. Heaps of fun. Got myself a couple of Sub Pop shirts and a Fruit Bats one. They also had a photo booth which they encouraged us to use as much as we could. I’ll try post some of the results if I find a scanner.

After a couple hours we had to leave for our 2 and a half hour drive to Vancouver for our first show of the American leg of the tour. We spent what seemed like an hour waiting to be cleared through immigration at the border. While waiting to be cleared, Canadian band Wolf Parade walked in (also trying to enter Canada). It was pretty obvious we were both bands, so we had a bit of a head-nod “gidday” moment. Even though they’re Canadian citizens they all got personally searched, before their van got rummaged through by customs. With a few girls in our group (and a few less tattoos) we had much less fuss getting though, and left the carpark wondering if customs would indeed find what they were looking for in Wolf Parade’s van…

Arriving in Vancouver was a really strange experience. I wish I had a camera because it is hard to explain, but all of the tall buildings on the outside layer of the inner city all looked exactly the same. Something about it reminded me of communist Russia. Don’t ask me why.

The venue we were playing was a small little 200 pax place called the Media Room. It happened to be right across the road from a huge stadium, which we later found out was hosting a Justin Timberlake concert at the same time we were on. After soundcheck we were treated to a lovely Singaporean dinner courtesy of head of Sub Pop, Jonathan Poneman. He’s a great down-to-earth guy for the head of such a big label.

The gig went really well. Had almost 200 people come along, and we sold a bit of merch (which is pretty crucial on this tour if we want to make some money). Afterwards we packed the van, ready for our late night drive back across the border. But when Milly (our tour manager) turned the key, there was nothing. It didn’t even turn over.

Long story short, after about 45 mins of trying to jumpstart the van we finally figured out that the alarm system had immobilised the van, and all it took to start it was a quick lock and unlock.

Arriving back in Seattle at 5.30am was pretty grim. We all hit the bed and didn’t rise till 2pm today.

At the moment we just finished soundcheck for tonight’s gig at the Crocodile Cafe, Seattle. Probably the best soundcheck we’ve ever had. The venue is really great, with a cafe out front and a room for bands out back that’s decorated with what look like a whole lot of old B-Grade movie props. The sound setup is amazing.

Only problem is I’ve just found out I’m not allowed in the venue (I’m under 21). So I have to be escorted into the venue just before our set, the escorted out 10 mins after we finish. No boozy backstage nonsense for me tonight - I’ll be sniffing glue in the carpark.

We’ve been here for almost 3 days and I think I’m starting to kick the jetlag. The flight was alright. Couldn’t get to sleep.

We arrived in LAX expecting the worst. We had 2 and a half hours to clear customs, re-check our bags, navigate our way through the airport, and board our flight to Seattle. I think the fact that we assumed the worst made it really surprising that we got through with plenty of time to spare.

Seattle is alright. I guess you could kinda of describe it as a big version of Auckland, but I’m yet to be convinced. At this stage in the trip it’s more the fact that we’re in America that’s interesting, rather than the differences of each city.
I’m the only one in the band who hasn’t yet got sick.  Hopefully everyone will be ok to play our first US show tomorrow night in Vancouver. The boarder crossing sounds like a bit of a drag. We’ve got to declare everything we’re bringing into Canada, including value and serial numbers. But I’m looking forward to going there. I’ve always heard good things about the place.

So far I’m quite surprised at how unexcited I am with Seattle and America in general. Usually when I travel I spend the whole time marveling at the differences and the culture. Maybe it’s cause I’ve been to the US before. Or perhaps I’m too tired to pay enough attention.

Anyway, there’s not that much to report, since we haven’t played a show here yet. More on that next time i guess.