Sarah Dope

Did I mention that, like our old bus, our new bus has a wifi card? Ahhhh... Nothin' like catching up on emails while we're rollin' from Buffalo to New York City for a day off.

So anyway. Tonight's Buffalo show was a lot better than last night's Wantagh show.

Afterwards, some of us ended up at a bar down the street with Finger Eleven... and yes, there was a mechanical bull. No, I refused to ride it. I do have video clips of some of the other boys doing it, though. I'll post them soon.

Also. Elias called me today. If any of you are going to the Kill Hannah/Sick Puppies/Flyleaf shows, please feel free to bring him Parliament cigarrettes, and tell him I send my love. haha.

Last night was the first show of the second leg of the Strata/Finger Eleven/Chevelle tour. We got a new bus for this run, and it's fantastique!

So, not only is our bus slightly bigger and more spacious in every area, but we definately have a sunroof. TVs in every bunk, along with radio and wireless headsets. Each TV can also be set to watch the bus' front camera (which comes in handy when we're laying in our bunks, we feel the bus stop, and want to see if we're at a truck stop or superstore to buy stuff without having to physically get up and look out the window... aka... it's for laziness). Pouches in each bunk to put cell phones and ipods and whatnot. Outlets, of course. Lights, reading lights, air vents... Our bus' couches are leather. Trash cans in the front and back lounges. Fullsize refrigerator and freezer. Bathroom, of course. Sink. Coffee pot. Microwave. Pantry.. More standard bus stuff.

Oh, and 'Star Trek doors' (aka automatic sliding doors).

Ah.

The first show was in Wantagh, NY... Yeah, uh, I hope we never start a tour there again. Lots of people, but definately not a merch-buying crowd for any of us. It was good to be reunited with everyone again, and it was lovely to hear the news that they caught the guy who stole Chevelle's trailer/gear recently.

Buffalo, NY today.

Sunday night's X-Fest in San Diego was nice. The sound was so much better than the night before. We left shortly after 30. I said my goodbyes, best of luck on the European run, then it was time to go back home and pass out.

Monday was a lazy day. Or rather, the day I caught up on all of my sleep that I had been missing out on, haha. I went out to dinner with Angie GoGo, Miss E, and our friend Elena, then Angie and I headed out to Area for a bit. Got bored. Left quickly.

Today I went out for lunch with some more friends, then dinner at Katana (again).... yay for free Japanese food. Thank youuuu Chef. Then Laugh Factory for old times sake.

I know, it's short.

I'm going to sleep soon. I have to finish up last-minute packing in the morning, then take off to the airport to meet up with my tour manager and head out for another tour.

P.S.-- Thank you to everyone who came up and introduced themselves to me in San Diego. It was a pleasure meeting you all, as well.

And for those wonder about whether or not I've gotten my new Helio, the answer would be no. I have to wait for the next shipment that goes into the office... which unfortunately, will be later than we expected. Looks like I have to wait until late June. Le sigh.

What an eventful past two days.

Last night, I was invited out to Tim Armstrong's rehearsals. It was good to see him again (as well as Daniel from Time Again) for the first time in forever. The rehearsals went well. It got me pumped for what would be in store.

After Angie and I left rehearsals, we hit up Safari Sam's for Black President (Greg from Bad Religion's other band) and The Germs show. Ran into more friends I hadn't seen since I left for tour...

And, of course, the night didn't end there. Afterwards, it was off to the afterparty. I even ran into an old co-worker from Warner Bros.

It was a good night.

Woke up early this morning to leave with Angie and Abe (Tim Armstrong's manager) for the KROQ Weenie Roast.

Honestly, I only watched three bands.

Tim, obviously... The set wasn't as solid as rehearsal. Lars had come out to perform a couple of classic Rancid songs, unfortunately, there were minor technical difficulties, so the set had to be changed up a bit. Nothing too major, and they pulled it off pretty well.

30STM. I've seen them do better. Too much feedback from the back... but it wasn't too bad. Same with Bad Religion.

There was massive chilltime backstage... some business talk... more chill time.

I don't know. It was nice not having to work today and just having time to kick back, enjoy margaritas and some time off, and a lot of "welcome backs" from my friends.

You know, I'm enjoying this little 'vacation' home from the road.

Angie and I were supposed to hit up some afterparty tonight... Instead, we decided to skip out to watch a movie, play some video games, and get some rest so we can wake up early and head out to San Diego tomorrow.

P.S.... I am in love with Timbaland. hahahaha

Today I stopped by the "new" Buzznet office-- not really new, but more of, I haven't been home to really go see the new place since they recently moved there.

So I lingered around the office with Steve and Karen for a bit before heading out to lunch with them, Alan, and Bree... then more lingering at the office for a bit afterwards, as well.

Once I got home, I was contacted by a great friend of mine for an amazing opportunity that seems like it just came out of nowhere and landed into my lap (only, really, it's been something that's been building for the past seven years, I'd say). I am not going to say what exactly just yet. Nothing is 100% solid and I am still waiting on the money offer. It's quite a big decision I have to make, and it won't be easy.

Let's just say my future travel plans might have just completely changed.

I waited for Angie GoGo to get off work before heading out to dinner at Katana (Japanese restaurant) with her and our friend Elisa. They treated us to free dessert in honor of my recent birthday. Can never argue with that!!!

Unfortunately, we spent so much time at Katana that we didn't get a chance to see the late showing of 28 Weeks Later. Ah well, perhaps tomorrow.

P.S..... The fact that every single store I stopped by is completely sold out of Pan's Labyrinth sucks.

Oh, and Steve, Alan.... My tuna carpaccio came with CHEESE on it. and it was still quite delicious.

Oh my.

So I landed, and as soon as I get in, I am immediately swept away for dinner by Rebecca & Renee Clark (good friends and amazing photographers) and the guys in Kessler. Mmmm... nothin' like Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles as soon as I land. It has been a while.

After dinner I stopped in my apartment to start unpacking and visit with my roommate for a bit.

From there, of course, it was time to hit up a couple of clubs/events with the one and only Angie GoGo, one of my favorite partners in crime.

We started off at Stoli Hotel for the Playboy party-- Girls Next Door DVD Release. The girls and Hugh Hefner were there... but the best part? Open bar... with tasty stoli/rasberry/LYCHEE martini drinks. Yes, I was thrilled. Ran into Tom Anderson (aka MySpace Tom).

We eventually left to stop by SUGAR to say hello to Kevin Todd (well known Hollywood promoter). Unfortunately, it was a slow night there and we left almost as quickly as we came.

Angie is passed out in my bed, and I am about to join her.

Buzznet tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps run around with Rebecca and Kessler.  Perhaps some hangtime with Godfrey. Definately a belated birthday dinner at a lovely sushi joint, then.... 28 Weeks Later.

Stoked.

It's so good to be home! (even if it is for just a week)

So, on the second to last night of the tour, Monica pulled me aside and asked if I was ready to fuck around for the camera.

I, of course, grabbed Eric and told him he was doing it with me.

Watch part of the silliness at the link below!

http://www.showmeyours.tv/mediadetail/56427

Oh man, talk about a blast.

Thank you to everyone who made us feel welcome; those who came to the show; those who supported us; those who fell in love with us...

Thank you for an incredible time.

The last two days of the tour were amazing. It was Rich's (Finger Eleven's drummer) birthday, so we definately celebrated with some drinks, followed by more drinks. Some of which... you can find footage of in my Videos section.

I made some great new friends on this tour, especially in Finger Eleven. Good dudes. Thankfully we will be continuing to tour together in a week, so I don't miss them too much just yet. ;)

What I've been raving about for months...



PRESENTING...

THE HELIO OCEAN!!

Click the link above for specs and more info., including pictures and video demos!

So as a belated birthday present, Finger Eleven and crew treated me to time at the shooting range.

Now, I am not a fan of real guns. I love videogames where you shoot things, and I even love the arcade games with the fake pistols (such as Area 51)... but in reality, I'm not a fan.

So I think you can imagine the anxiety I went through as I stepped foot into the range, staring at all of the choices of guns and ammo.

Rich picked for me.

A rifle.

Not as bad of a kickback as a handgun... but still.

As nervous as I was, it was a pretty cool gift, though; I must say.

P.S.... I can't really aim to save my life. I made ONE bulleseye, a few shots around, and the rest were wayyyy off. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Yeah, I'll post a picture of the target soon so all of you can 100% agree that I suck at shooting things.

So I am officially 24.

Funny enough, I spent my 21st birthday with the Strata boys when we were first starting to build our friendships. Columbia, Missouri. Blue Note. SnoCore tour with Trapt. My friend Andrea had taken a bus down from Nebraska to stay with me for the week and we went to the show. Good friends, good times.

Now here I am, a few years later, with some of the same people.

Last year's pre-birthday and birthday festivities were grande. As some of you may recall, the wonderful Miss E had rented a convertible and we (me, her, Alicia, Eliza, and Meghan) had drove down to Las Vegas the weekend before my actual birthday, then my actual birthday was celebrated at one of my 'second homes,' the world famous Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd.

This year, I spent it in Edmonton, Canada. Home of the largest mall in North America. Yesterday was incredible.

We had the day off, and parked our bus only a few miles away from the mall. While the boys had to go do some radio thing during the day, Sammy, Knapp, and myself decided to raid the mall early. HOLY CRAP.

Not only are there hundreds of different shops, fast food joints, and restaurants... this mall also has an amusement park (yes, with rollercoasters), a water park, an ice skating rink, a skate shop, an aquarium, two mini golf courses (one of which is glow in the dark), and the venue that we are playing at today.

I spent the first four hours walking and browsing, marking down shops I wanted to return to to possibly buy some things. That's what a 'smart shopper' does, hahaha. Browse first, THEN attack.

The boys met up with us after their radio schindigg. We walked around until the mall closed, then returned to our hotel for showers and laundry before we would head out again.

Finger Eleven were holding a party on their bus. So enter us, them and their crew, Inward Eye and their crew, and the Much Music kids.... all packed onto one bus. Fun times indeed...

I am currently sitting in the front lounge of our bus now, still a bit groggy from last night's festivities, waiting for us to head to the venue for load-in and soundcheck. After I set up, it's time for more shopping before I have to be back to work, and somewhere in there, Rich (Finger Eleven's drummer) has promised me birthday dinner. Score! I'm always a fan of free food.

Anyway, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!!

So I was talking to Steve (Buzznet) the other day and had to re-word half of what I was saying. He said he wasn't in with my crazy tour lingo.... or something along those lines, anyway.

I figured I'd write a short definition blog, not just for Steve (Don't worry, I still love you, buddy), but for the rest of the inquiring minds out there.



load-in:  Basically this means to unload your necessary show gear from the trailer and/or bus bays into the venue. You are carrying heavy boxes, bins, cases, as well as rolling and carting cases from your van/RV/bus into the club.

set up:  This is pretty self explanatory. If you are stage crew, you are setting up all of the gear for the show. For merch, you are setting up all of your displays, posters, and/or tents (depending on how large of a tour production you are on) for your area.

tear down:  Again, pretty self explanatory. If you are working merch, you are taking down your 'gear' at the end of the night, after customers are long gone. As far as stage gear goes, it always depends on if you are the opening band, main support, or headlining. Obviously if you are headlining, you won't tear down until after the show. If you are opening, you tear down after the set and make way for the next band.

load-out:  The opposite of loading-in. You are taking your gear from the venue and loading everything back into the trailer or bus bays. For stage crew, depending on the situation, you could be loading out directly after your set, or have to wait until after the entire show is done. For merch, unless your band has to leave town early, you won't be loading out until after the show.

count in:  This is a merch term. It basically means to count the numbers of shirts you will be selling for the night. Since most venues take percentage on the amount of merch you sell, they almost always ask for your "in" numbers. Sometimes they do it themselves, sometimes they count in with you, and sometimes they just want whatever you put on your merch sheet.

count out:  The opposite of counting in. At the end of the night, if the venue takes percentage, they will have someone come by and grab your "out" numbers. This means how many shirts you have left that you didn't sell.

settling:  For merch, when you settle with the venue, it means working out how much money you owe them (if they take percentage).
    For example, if you sell t-shirts for $10 each, and sold 50 shirts (making your total to be $500), and the venue is asking for 10% of merch sales, you owe the venue $50 of the money you made from the sold merch.
    The term "settling" also means picking up the 'guarantee' (the money promised by the venue of what they owe your band for playing for the night) from the club. This is usually the tour manager's job.

soundcheck:  For those who go to shows super early to wait outside, this is usually the racket you hear. Sometimes it's nothing but a bunch of noises from the intstruments and someone saying "check, 1, 2.. check.. heyyyy" into the mic... and sometimes it's an actual song or two.

doors:  The time that doors are opened to the public for the show.

bus call:  The time that everyone on the tour has to be back on their bus, and the time the bus will leave for the next destination.



So there you have it. I'm sure I'm leaving a lot of things out, so if any of you have any other questions.... perhaps there will be a part two.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!!!

They have the first three installments up... and trust me, there's MUCH more to come!!

We're having the times of our lives.

It's tiring... We've been on the road for a few months straight... but hey, that's life/work.

Our first leg with Finger Eleven/Chevelle in the States was fantastic. Made some new friends and acquaintances, and we spent two days in my favorite city-- New Orleans, Louisianna. You better believe I saved up quite a bit of my paychecks just to blow it all on amazing seafood and Cafe Du Monde while I was down there.

We've currently been raiding Canada with Inward Eye and Finger Eleven. Much Music is on board for this whole Canadian run, filming us and our antics. They have a pimped out RV that you can find a picture of that I recently posted. It's rad. They're doing one hell of a job promoting the fuck out of us and Finger Eleven, too. Props to them.

So... no, I'm not at Bamboozle. I am sitting in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario on a day off. Wer'e about to go wander the city to find some shops, food, and I believe to go see Spiderman 3.

My birthay is in a few days. Day off in Edmonton, and I'm pretty stoked on it. We've got some radio interview, then the rest of the day to wander. Big mall. There goes my per diems.

Anyway. Time to wander.

But obviously that's not the only reason I want all of you to read it.

Click here for the interview!

So last year, a good friend of mine informed me he was putting together a book regarding parts of the industry. He asked if I would like to be a part of it, and of course, I gladly accepted.

(What is below was written by the great Martin Atkins of Pigface/PiL/Killing Joke/Ministry/Damage Manual/Nine Inch Nails/etc. fame).



Tour:Smart, is the new book on the business of touring. With contributions from over 120 lunatics and luminaries providing an incredible amount of insight on everything from booking and transportation, to contracts, radio, and sex on the road. Over 500 pages including chapters on: Geography and Routing, Booking, Promoters, Management, Transportation, Contracts, Riders, Settlement, Merchandising, Revenue Streams, How to be a Better Opening Band, Crew, How to Get a Better Live Sound, Touring Internationally, Good Advice from Baaad People, Stories From the Front Lines, Case Studies, and much more...

Pre-order now... the first 100 copies of the book are signed and numbered, and come with a free TOUR:SMART t-shirt.For more info and a detailed contributors list, visit the Tour:Smart Myspace page and my column at Suicide Girls.