Steak-Chucks!

So tour ends in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Snug Harbor is a quaint little pirate themed bar with a great bar staff and good tunes. We were treated to a case of Old Milwaukee and enjoyed the outdoor patios of the bar.

During sound check an unknowned, scraggly bearded fella offered to help us level check Nate's guitar while he played his Rhoades. We were a little thrown off by the gesture but kicked into a little 12 Bar Blues in B to entertain the guy. Turns out the guy is local hero Benji Hughes who is about to release a new album on New West Records and just got done touring with Rilo Kiley. His stuff is actually really really good in the vein of Beck or Eels. We didn't see him for the rest of the nite but were honored to briefly share the stage with him.

Sharing the bill was local two-piece blues rockers, Souldozer. These two southern gentlemen wooed the audience with catchy hooks, stellar guitar playing and just good ole fashion rock and roll. Closing the nite was our new friends from Raleigh, A Rooster For The Masses. We fell in the love with these guys the nite before but had a newfound appreciation for the complexities of the playing in this smaller venue. They ripped through their set sounding like Fugazi and The Pixies having a dance party. This is another great band we were lucky to meet on tour that we can hopefully share with Dayton in the near future. Sadly, it was their last show with guitar player, Jesper, but we wish him the best of the luck!

So tour is wrapped up but we're glad to be home. We still have a couple more shows in Dayton in the next couple weeks including a two set performance at Riverscape and the Shawen Acres CD release show. We've missed you all and hope to see you at these shows.

Lastly we'd like to especially thank the following bands and people for making this tour a blast:
You Can Be A Wesley
Jessica & Lindsay
Noel, Greg & Angel
Katie
Steve & Adam
AfroCap & The Chimeras
Pullman
A Rooster For The Masses
and every meal I Crushed!

Thanks!

Lawn Jakes vs. Black T (round 2)

Raleigh, North Carolina. The City of Oaks and amazing clubs and bands. The Pour House has to be one of the most organized, accommodating and welcoming clubs we've ever played. Although the 6 pm load-in time took away from nap time it made for a great stage mix and smooth transitions between bands. 30 beers on tap, a green room and a VERY generous bar staff, the Pour House is amazing.

Kicking off the nite was Sea Cow who were amazing. Sounding like an Americana version of The New Pornographers we enjoyed their whole set. We played around 11 and had one of our best sets of tour. I think it's the only time the sound guy told us to turn-up, which is always good. Adam from A Rooster For The Masses jumped onstage for a rousing version of 'Where Is My Mind?" Our set ended with a puddle of sweat on stage and John's drum set in pieces as I found out that Nate's Orange amp is not steady to hold a man of my size.

We met some amazing new friends and had a great time in Raleigh. Not only that, but our good luck charm, Pullman showed up, drank some beers, bought some CD's and at an apple. We love you Pullman.

We rolled into Chapel Hill early so had lots of time to survey the city. As I was let down to not run into any member of Superchunk or Archers of Loaf, Chapel Hill turned out to be a great place. There's a hint of that Yellowsprings/Athens Ohio vibe here and everyone here turned out to be outstanding people. The NightLight is actually a vegan restaurant/used bookstore by day and punk rock club by nite. Even during the Summer months locals still frequent the streets of Chapel Hill and we ended up playing to a decent size crowd. Met a great band from Minesota on tour called,The Men Who Control The Weather. They kinda sounds like a revved up punk rock version of Faith No More but their influences seemed to be endless. A BRO-ship was born and hopefully we'll be seeing these guys again soon.



After our set we found ourselves in the midst of some sort of hippie/tribal ritual where kids beat on tamborines, blow on wood flutes and dance amongst the fireflies. We were weak to their infectious rhythms and before we knew it several members of the band were grabbing buckets and drum sticks and taking this drum circle to a new level. After getting in touch with the spirits of Chapel Hill for a good 45 minutes we found refuge in our new friend Steve. He greeted us with a nice house, beer and a living room full of musical equiptment. You'd think at this point another 'jam' would be a bad after but a few beers into hanging out we re at it again , playing on two drums sets, organ, guitar, bass and accordian. We'll never know how good it really sounded but in our heads it was the greatest thing we've ever done
..

It's a Greek 'C'

Tonite's show was our second time at the Khyber and the hot and muggy evening didn't scare the kids away for showing up to up on a Tuesday evening. Apparantly some mix up with the promoter preventing Casual Viking from performing but we were surprised at the set turned out by local newcomers, Busses. They reminded me of 90's DC post -punk complete with odd time signatures, yelpy vocals and nimbly guitar work. Needless to say it tickled the prog-bone in all of us and we enjoyed it.Our set was our most sweat drenched yet as the humidity and heat keeps rising on this tour. We kicked through a brisk set and was even joined onstage by an unknown back-up dancer on 'Healthy Spines.'


The Chimeras closed out the nite with a rousing set of sing-a-long, rock and roll nuggets that got the crowd shakin' their hips. These kids kicked out an energetic and charismatic set that kept us wanting more. If I sound biased because my little brother is in the band, you're right, but if we can convince them to come to Dayton you'll be won over. Imagine Pavement and The Joggers with a dash of early Beatles, a little Big Star and a shot of Kinks. Not only does their music kick but they also all live in a amazing house in West Philly which they were kind enough to let us stay at.

Day Off! We spent the day doing the usual New York activities; hanging out in Central Park, having a couple drinks and watching Noel's roomate Greg get his cornrows taken out! Oh and of course, I Crushed a couple more meals. Enjoy.


Goodbye New York! We'll miss you. Hello Philadelphia. We'll be at the Kyber Bar tonite playing with my brother's band, The Chimeras. See you there.

Awkward Moment!

Day three in New York:

Eating:

Relaxing:


Playing:


Partying: