spickler's blog

Updates have been infrequent on this tour. It was never my intention to fall off, but not having my own laptop to draft posts on made it a little difficult to get my thoughts out adequately. However, I now have a brand-spanking-new HP with Windows 7, courtesy of my father, who then sent it to my sister in Houston, who brought it and a box of some amazing BBQ to the show at Walter's on Washington. I love them both despite how little I say it to them. So here we are now. I can type up nonsense while we drive for endless hours again. It's too bad this tour's over for us tonight. We're driving through Florida right now, from Pensacola to Orlando. Today is the last actual show of this tour with Strike Anywhere, Polar Bear Club, and Ruiner for us. Tomorrow we all play The Fest in Gainesville, but only Ruiner is on the same show as us. So tonight we party. Or at least I will...?
 
This whole tour has been amazing. Ruiner impresses me more every night. The songs Part One and Part Two are really awesome. I'll have to pick up their new CD tonight I guess. Polar Bear Club is tight every night, and the songs they play off the new album sound really great live. And of course, Strike Anywhere plays everything you want to hear. Those guys work hard as hell. They've had endless transportation problems on this whole thing, and currently they're in a Ford F-150 extended cab, with their trailer behind them. 6 of them in a Ford F-150. Most bands would've called it a night if it came to that. I probably would have. All of you guys, if any of you decide to read this....I love you. You've been some of the best dudes I've ever been on tour with. Yes I know I've only been on tour for about 5 months total in my whole life, but I don't care. Whether I've been on tour for 5 months or 5 years, I still feel like these 3 bands have been some of the most fun dudes ever. Every show has been tight. Every show has been fun, whether the crowd made it fun or we made it fun. I want to keep going on with silly emotional bullshit, but I'm not going to. Ruiner, PBC, Strike....You guys are amazing. The end.
 
Moving on...

Hey, anybody want to design some more Crime in Stereo merch? We got some great designs last time and we're hoping there's more out there. E-mail me directly at jbspickler@gmail.com or leave a comment, and I'll get back to you.

Carly and Felicia and Becca (MY SISTER!). Thank you for the books! My sister brought me a book called Eat Thy Neighbour. It's about cannibalism, and I'm honestly really excited about it. Aimee, I've finished the John Irving books you gave me. They're both amazing. I really like his writing. Can't believe he wrote the Cider House Rules. And I can't believe how much David Sedaris I've read in the last two months. I feel like I could do that; be (like) him. Though...I'll need motivation, of course. If you don't know me, that has been my problem since kindergarten. I just don't care.
 

Now if you'll allow me, I'd like to take this moment to talk about cows. I mentioned them in my last (brief) post, but never got to expound on my thought. I'm convinced that cows are the most apathetic creatures on the planet, to the point that it's slightly making me jealous of how much more apathetic about things they are than me, but not enough for me to actually care about (wrap your head around that one). We've been all over this country in the past 3 months and cows are on the side of every single highway. You would think that being next to a highway all the time would be annoying or slightly startling, but it's like they don't even notice that anything's going on on them. We honked at cows and they didn't even look up. We stopped and peed on the side of the road one time, and I got out, went up to the fence, and yelled at a cow. And it barely even acknowledged my existence. I know they can hear me! They've got huge ears! It rains and they just stand there. It's hot as the 7th (most violent) circle of hell, and they just stand there. Even on those huge smelly cow farms where there's about 1000 of them all together, they still don't seem to mind. They go on laying there and chewing their cud. It makes me wonder whether or not they even care about the slaughterhouses. I have this vision in my head of a guy leading a cow into the slaughterhouse and the cow just going, "Oh. Ok." and going right along with him. Out comes a mallet or that bolt gun thing Anton Chigur had and the cow just stands there waiting for it to happen. Cows just don't give a damn. Moo.

(I control the comment approval. Don't even bother if you want to post some stupid crap about PETA or animal cruelty. I don't give a damn. Moo.)

It's the Matt Pond PA time of year. If you don't know what I mean, I suggest you look for Matt Pond PA's album Emblems. Start there. Try Winter Songs too. Great EP. What's amazingly wonderful to me is that I can not even know a person. Maybe we've met or hung out or been at the same shows a few times. And I (or they) can mention Matt Pond, and we're completely friends from then on, no matter what. Matt Pond PA is completely acceptable to everyone (or at least I feel this way...), and I feel that fans of Matt Pond understand that the beginning of Fall is when you start listening to them (him) again. Matt Pond PA is Fall and Winter music. Whatever....

I left Orlando July 29th. Today is October 29th. I can't believe it's been over 12 weeks since I left Florida. AND! I still have 4 more ahead of me. Hopefully I can see some more wonderful fall landscapes. Oregon was beautiful for that, of course. The Carolinas and Virginia should be pretty good for that too.

Current Playlist:

New Crime in Stereo
Matt Pond PA - Everything.
Brand New - Daisy
Silje Nergaard - At First Light
Nas - Illmatic
Heart Eyes - Demo 09

Anybody got any questions for me? Comments? Concerns? Complaints? Drop a reply here. I get lonely.
 
 
(Written after the show.)
 
Good night. I love you, my friends. I really do. Whether we talk all the time, infrequently, or not at all (and I just talk to you when I see you), I really love you guys. Take care.

I have a bunch of stuff I've been wanting to write down, but my laptop has shit the bed. So now I have to borrow Gary's or Alex's or some other computer if I can. It's all pretty aggravating and disappointing. I have so much to watch on my laptop, and now I can't :(
 
So let's see...
We're on the west coast. Here's a few quick things to go over since I don't have all that much time to just sit and write now.

• Alex wants to accordion America. Make the West coast 6 hours away from the East coast. Chicago right in the middle at 3 hours either way. I'm in agreeance.
• Cows are apathetic. I have so much to say about them, but not enough time right now. Cows just DO NOT CARE.
• Salt Lake City is very pretty. I could see myself living there if it weren't for the uh....interesting religious points of view.
• We saw Wee Man in Boise, ID. I have no idea why.
• Portland is pretty awesome. I hated on it for a while, but it really isn't all just hippies. Who woulda thought?
• Wear blazers. Drink wine.
• Don't talk to me about the Redskins.
• Do talk to me about football in general.
• Please visit http://freebubbasmith.bigcartel.com/. My friend Bubba is going through some bad legal problems right now and is selling things to help his bills. There's currently only a Nervous Breakdown shirt up there, but there will be more.
• Speaking of Nervous Breakdown, I spent most of yesterday on I-5. It is infinitely better than I-4. I'll write a song about it. The chorus will go, "NOT IN MY WAY! NOT IN MY WAY!"
• For Halloween (IN ORLANDO!) I'm going to wear a fake mustache and call myself Wosh. You know...like Wario and Waluigi. Yes.
• Celebrity suites are where it's at. If you're in a band and not staying in them, you're missing out.
• CALIFORNIA.
• Idaho is mostly yellow and brown. Very boring to look at.
• Buy me a drink if you see me. I will probably be your friend.
• Our friend Jason in Portland interviewed Kristian in the back of the glasses shop he works in. I invaded said interview. Check me out wearing a silly hat. http://mistergrossly.tumblr.com/post/216074316/finally-uploaded-crime-in-stereo-interview-with

Hopefully I can get some time soon to formulate more than quick thoughts.
 
Witty parting line here.

And we're back! Season 2, if you will.

Had two weeks off, so I really had nothing to update you people on. But there is GOOD NEWS in case you haven't heard. Crime in Stereo has completed recording of their next album, due out at the end of February. Still need an album title, because they don't seem to like the one I suggested: "The Life and Times of Doctor Spickler." I'm sure they'll think of something equally as amazing though. So far I've only heard a couple of the songs, but they're pretty great. I'll refrain from making any comparisons at this point in time, however.

So we're on the first official Bridge 9 tour right now with Strike Anywhere, Polar Bear Club, and Ruiner. We're about a week into it and so far it's been a ton of fun. Everyone on this tour is fun and the shows have had some pretty good crowds as well. We've got a bunch of new merch so come out and see it and talk to me and buy something. I'll try to get some pictures up when I can, but who knows when that'll be.

Make sure you follow Crime in Stereo on Twitter. I taught Alex how to tweet from his phone a few weeks back, and now he's even upgraded to an iPhone and is a tweeting maniac. He even knows how to reply to people now!

I'm in Chicago today. I love Chicago so much. Too bad Hot Doug's is closed.

Leaves are yellow.

Follow me on twitter.
@spickler

(Written on the road, Wednesday, September 16, 2009, between 1pm and 4pm)

I'm finding myself increasingly disinterested in listening to music. I'm not quite sure why. I think this has happened to me before. I'll go through a period where I just don't listen to much of anything, especially not new stuff, and then something will come along to jolt me out of it. All I want to listen to now, though, is old Metallica and Alkaline Trio. And I really see nothing wrong with this.

Jack Donaghy says, "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have." Alex and I have taken this advice and purchased blazers. We look very good.

Had a day off in Albany last night. Josh Spickler and The Stereos took the town. We may have pissed off the Days Inn though...

Tonight is Syracuse and I'm stoked. My friend Steve from the excellent band Forfeit (new album out on Reaper Records in a month or so) is gonna come hang out. I first met him years ago when he and the bands he was with (Earthquake and Gak Attack) stayed with me in Orlando. We had a pool party that night, and someone from one of the bands told a hilarious story about a "Mosh-carriage" (use your imagination for that one). For years he swore that it was me that told that story, but it most certainly was not me. I wonder if that girl will be at the show...

Oh, also, apparently Crime in Stereo has NEVER played in Syracuse before. I hope that means the kids will be really stoked to see them and that the turnout is awesome.

We're on I-90 West and the Mohawk River follows the road for a long ways. It looks cold and clean. I imagine going up to it to swim, sticking my foot in it, and immediately running back for warmth. What sorts of fish live here, I wonder? I see a lone fisherman on his boat out in the middle of the river. He doesn't seem to be getting much action. Are there bears in the area?

RE: My last Thoreau experience.
I'd like to start taking pictures of rivers and bridges. New age Ansel Adams. The name Josh Spickler will become synonymous with nature photography and white collar corner offices. My pictures will hang right along side those horrible "inspirational" posters that say "TEAMWORK" or "PERSEVERENCE". Middle management douche bags will hang my river pictures and think that it makes them seem spiritual and at one with nature. They'll hope it makes their subordinates think that they're nice deep down inside and that they can talk to them about anything. They'll think I'm trying to say something deep and meaningful with each new picture; the direction of the flow of water, rapids or no rapids, the wildlife, the position of the bridge in the picture. But really, I'm just fascinated by rivers and bridges. They look nice.

A month from now, the leaves are going to start changing colors. I haven't seen that in 20 years. And even better, we'll be traveling the country at the time. I'll be able to see how the changing of the seasons affects everywhere. Is New York different than Colorado? Will there be different colors in Washington DC from Washington State?

We've been getting some awesome merch designs sent into us. I think people will be really pleased to see all the new shirts we come out with. I'm really stoked on at least 3 of these new designs. Now we just need to get them printed....

I think Alex and I just listened to a censored version of Nada Surf - "Blankest Year". Has he always said "Oh the hell with it..." in the beginning as opposed to "Ahh, fuck it..." or are we hallucinating simultaneously?

It's looking like we'll be hanging out in Orlando for Halloween. I am pretty excited about that. Gonna show these guys a good time downtown. I expect all of my friends to be present and belligerent.

I leave you with some more wisdom from Jack Donaghy:
JUST DO IT! IS IT IN YOU?! I'M LOVING IT!!!
You magnificent son of a bitch.
You're a lion. Take what's yours.

OK! So I haven't had much to say recently. We're on the Have Heart tour right now. I finally found a venue with wifi. Every show is paaaaaaacked, every night. The kids go crazy. Crime in Stereo gets a great reaction every night.
 
Kristian sprained his foot last night in Hartford, CT. He says that the person that brings him he absolute coolest cane in the next day or two gets free merch. Whatever they want. BRING US CANES! And funny hats. I want those just for whatever. And books, still! I want to start a book trade at the merch table.
 
We've got one new merch design by my main man Won Jun Bemis. Check out his line Vinyl Teeth. He'll be designing some more things for Crime in Stereo shortly.
 
We're all pretty stoked on Great American Hardcore Fest. Crime in Stereo is last(?) on Friday night at the ICC Church. And we'll have a small run of GAHF shirts for it. I can't wait.
 
That's all I've got for now. Take care of yourselves.

Let it be said that I am NOT a photographer. My dad just gave me the first digital camera I've ever owned. It previously belonged to my mother.

Gig Afterlife Group Pic. This is the night A Loss For Words left.

Pretty sure Jack in AL4W has a better quality pic, but here's what I got.

Click for more...

I'm becoming increasingly amazed and interested in the scenery around me while we drive. For a good hour and a half yesterday, I laid on the back bench just peering out the side back window from the nose up, like you would see a little kid in the back of his family's Ford Explorer on their first road trip. We passed wineries, and I couldn't help but wonder if next to a highway was really the ideal place for a winery. We passed farms that had more than corn (though they had their share...), and I speculated on what the low dark green leaves were compared to the taller light greens. I stared forever into the endless amounts of forests just to see a slight glimpse of a house laying hidden deep within, and when I'd try to get a better look, it would be gone. I look out at the hills and mountains in the distance, covered with trees, and wonder how tall those trees are and if anyone has ever walked the ground beneath it. Do people live up there?

My favorite thing, however, is the bridges and the rivers. It's such a simple thing, a river. Water flows from the highest points, to the lowest points, and eventually out to sea. In Florida though, we don't have high points. We're generally at sea level throughout the entire state. This means a severe lack of rivers, and therefore bridges. The bridges we do have will just be across a lake or canal. And there's the bridges in the Tampa Bay area that span large parts of the bay, but those don't really count. There are barely a few respectable looking rivers in North Florida. So with every bridge we pass, I perk up and stare out at the water below. How fast is it running? How deep is it? What kinds of fish live in it? Where does it lead? Are there rapids? Is it alright to swim in? To drink?

Let's not forget the architecture of the bridges themselves. Some of them just put me in awe when we drive over them. Then the science and logic side of my brain kicks in and starts asking questions. Water causes erosion. The rivers exist because the water has eroded that path towards the ocean. Are these bridges prepared for the eventual growth of the river? Yes, erosion takes a lot of time, but in 50 years, could a river widen by a foot? It sounds plausible to me. The Colorado River dug the Grand Canyon, did it not? I wonder about the future, whether architects and city planners have thought of this problem. Are there measures already in place for such events or will we just demolish and rebuild?

Enough about nature, I suppose. Soon enough I'll be a regular Henry David Thoreau, and really...there's a time and a place for Thoreau. This is neither.

A handful more shows have come and gone. Tonight is the end of the Gig Afterlife tour, unfortunately. It really was way too short. I love every single person on this tour and want to keep hanging out with them every day. Last night in Erie was A Loss For Words's last night, because they're heading to Japan today. Color me completely jealous. If you ever get a chance to see them, do it, and make sure you pick up some merch or a cd or something, because those guys do it all by themselves with no label helping them out.

Hey speaking of merch, would anyone out there be interested in designing Crime in Stereo shirts/hoodies/tanktops/etc? If you're interested or have any ideas, by all means, we want to hear and see all of it. Send me an e-mail at jbspickler@gmail.com.

Lawrence, KS was a pretty good show. Our friend Aimee came to hang out and we convinced her to come to the show the next night in Sauget, IL. Eric had to head home for a family emergency after the show, so starting in Sauget, Kyle from Fireworks has been kind enough to fill in on bass, while Gary jumped back over to guitar. Eric's back in Philly today, though. Thanks Kyle! Sauget was weird. Is it pronounced SAW-GET or SAW-JAY? What up, Greg. Hope you got your keys out of your car painlessly.

Covington, KY is a small city bordering Cincinnati, OH. Can you call it a suburb? I'm not sure. Regardless, it was the best show of Gig Afterlife so far. There were easily over 500 people at the show, and it must have been about 100 degrees inside. Just standing at the merch table, I was drenched in sweat. The humidity was worse than Florida's. Of course, Four Year Strong has been covering Ashcroft the past few nights, so I HAD to go up and jump on kids. This resulted in my being even more sweaty and worn out. After that, I got the bartender to let me stand in the walk-in fridge for a minute, so that was nice.

Erie last night was a great show. Torti put on another great show. Sad to see A Loss For Words go, but we'll see them again at Great American Hardcore Fest in a couple weeks. Crime in Stereo plays Friday night at the ICC Church. I've heard some whisperings as to who the unannounced headliners are, and I'm pretty blown away. If you have any possibility of going at all, you're going to need to. AL4W and Four Year Strong play Saturday I believe.

Had some weird dreams last night. One of which is this semi-recurring dream I have where I dream that I'm dreaming. But the dream within the dream feels like real life. There's much more to it, but it's complicated. Regardless, it leaves me questioning reality when I actually wake up. I don't know what dream was really a dream or what was real life or whether or not I'm actually awake yet. The other weird dream I had was that Bob Saget came to dinner. I don't know why. Though, when I think about it, that would probably be pretty awesome.

Philly today. I'm writing this in the van on the way there, so I'll post it when we get there. We've been driving next to this river for a little while. I'm into it. Then we have two days off, in which I swear I will post a bunch of random pictures I've taken. Nothing too exciting really, but whatever. Then we go to Richmond, then Charleston, then meet up with the Have Heart tour in Jacksonville, and then we're back up the east coast with them. I'd better see some of my friends in Jacksonville. It'll be the closest to home I'll have been and will be until the end of October.

So, Sioux Falls was weird. It was a Friday night but there were still barely any kids there. I guess it is the middle of nowhere though...

Fargo has come and gone. I suppose it ended up living up to the expectations the band had set for it. Matty from A Loss For Words decided he wanted to party with us, so he jumped in our van after the show. At the show, I met a dude named Scott who had an ooooold CIS shirt on. He ended up taking us out to a toga party after the show. Everyone there ruled. Across the street from this party, however, was another party. Where I'm from, if there's a party going on by your party, you can go say hey and see what's up. So I go over there with a couple other people, and a minute into it, some guy is in my face. He's yelling all kinds of things at me and shoving me through his party. He was bigger than me, as most peole are, so him shoving me was working. He ends up pushing me through his glass front door/window. I go through it hand first, and cut the hell out of my fingers. This all spills outside. A scuffle ensues. End result: my fingers are sliced up and I have a black eye. That's enough details on that. Kristian said I look like one of the dudes from Trainspotting. "Not one of the smack heads." After I bandaged myself, we went out and drank more.

Anyway, Scott and Emily and their friends were awesome. They came to see us in Minneapolis too. Good people.

Minneapolis was a fun time. This band The Dares opened up, and they're super talented and catchy. Every band is impressing me every night. More people need to be into A Loss For Words. Matty and I introduced Gary to his first Bloody Mary. He's hooked. Another satisfied customer.

Nobody has been bringing me any books. I'm almost done with "Me Talk Pretty One Day." David Sedaris is a funny man. I loved his "Holidays on Ice." The first story in that one makes me laugh every single time.

I'm excited for the Philly date in a few days. Some great friends of mine live in the area and it'll be good to see them. But seriously, I swear on everything ever, that if Ryan Mac doesn't come to the show, he and I are not friends anymore, and I'm getting my "Mownies" tattoo covered up. Do you hear that, Ryan?! Scott and Ray, see you soon.

Let me say a little something more about corn right now. Alex posed this hypothetical question earlier. What if all of the corn rose up, like zombies, and started attacking humans. Do you think we could take it all? How many stalks do you think you could personally take on before you were overrun with corn? Think about it. There is a LOT of corn out there...

I now have a complaint to Nestle. Your water sucks. It tastes like the shower at a public swimming pool. Why are you making water? Stick to chocolate.

I look at every van/trailer combo on the road to see if it's another band.

I'm getting increasingly stoked on the Strike Anywhere tour. Full US! The other day, driving North in Nebraska, I looked West towards the horizon. I could see the mountains in the distance. That's not something I've ever really seen before. We don't have mountains in Florida. We don't even have hills, really. So I'm looking forward to crossing the Rockies. Hopefully I can get some pics. We also hit Houston on that tour, and I hope my sister and her boyfriend come to the show, at least for a little.

It was very difficult typing this with 6 fingers, so I'm sorry if it came out jumbled or quick or just not up to normal quality.

We're in St. Louis. See you tonight, Sauget.

Photo dump soon. I swear.

It's been a little bit, but not too much has been going on. We had a week or so off, so all I really did was sleep on Gary's couch. Not very exciting. I'm really happy to be back on the road now, though. I'm loving life on the road. Being in a new town every night. Meeting new people. Hearing great music. I can't help but think about what it's going to be like come December and January when we're off. I'll go home to Orlando for a couple months and feel out of place. It's like letting a friend borrow a shirt for a long time, and when you finally get it back, it never fits quite right again. Maybe that's just me though...

We've hit Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Springfield, and Omaha so far.

Pittsburgh: We are truly sorry we were so late and had to play such a short set. Please come see us in Erie next week? Mike Torti, you rule.

Indianapolis was amazing. Kids were having so much fun. They'd stage dive into just 2 of their friends and nobody ever really got hurt. I know that if i were to stage dive into 2 of my friends they'd move out of the way and let me hit the floor. I have scars on my back to prove this.

In Indy we played with a band called Hercules out of Omaha. They ripped. Reminded me of Iron Age, which is never a bad thing. They're out on the road with a band called Battle! from Florida. Check them out if you get a chance.

The vibe in Springfield was a little weird, in my opinion. The kids mostly seemed to be there to see the local bands that they're friends with. That's completely alright, of course. It's great to see a scene supporting itself. Oddly enough, another Long Island band called Kills and Thrills jumped on that show last minute. They were very tight. The lead singer was playing guitar. It's not often you see hardcore bands without just a frontman these days. I couldn't help but wonder what they would be like if the singer just sung and they got another guitar player.

Omaha was the first show of the Gig Afterlife tour we're doing with Four Year Strong, Fireworks, and A Loss For Words. It was my first time meeting any of these guys, and they're already all awesome. This next week or so is going to be so much fun. Four Year Strong's trailer could EASILY fit Four Year Strong's van inside it. I'm going to try to convince them to attempt this by the time this is over.

Gary said Metallica sucks. I'm not sure how much longer he and I can be friends. I listen to Kill Em All at least once a week.

We're at a hotel in Omaha right now, and the shower has the shortest shower head I've ever encountered. I hit my head on it. It was difficult trying to wash my hair, as hotels generally have poor water pressure as it is, but having to crouch down as well was a pain in the ass.

Everybody keeps talking up Fargo, ND. I'm so curious as to what's there. When I think of North Dakota I think that there's nothing there. I think of the Badlands. And Buffalo. And cowboys, for some reason. I had a friend that lived in North Dakota, years ago, and she used to tell me that there are areas where you can just drive as fast as you want, because you won't be in danger of hurting anyone but yourself. Apparently bands do really well in Fargo, however. So this should be interesting.

Can I just take this moment to comment on the corn production in this country? Over the past month or so, we haven't really driven on the same road/highway more than once. In that time, I have seen so much corn growing that it is literally confusing the hell out of me. I mean I understand, it gets used in corn syrup, ethanol, chips, etc. and isn't just plain old corn. But for the past 3 days, I've seen nothing but corn fields as far as the eye can see. Both sides of the highway, for miles and miles: corn. It's intense. And the stalks form these amazing neat lines that if you're looking at the fields just right you can see roll by as you pass.

There's still another month and a half until I get to see the west coast for the first time in my life. I'm not sure what to think about that yet.

Other than that, I'm still reading books and comics, still drinking, still trying to stay up to date on True Blood, Entourage, Weeds, and Hung, and I'm still happy to see Crime in Stereo play every night.
 
So bring me more books and come buy a t-shirt. I still have a handful of CIS/JFS shirts left.

-Spickly

So we missed Canada. I'm actually pretty bummed about that. I've never been north of the border. But we'll be back there soon. Hopefully no snags this time.

Let's get this part out of the way right now. We'll be on tour with Brand New for most of November. I'll put up dates shortly, but it culminates in a show at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. The freaking New York Islanders play there. Surreal.

Wednesday was the Detroit 10 for 10 show. Detroit kids really love to mosh. REEEEALLY love to mosh. It's funny/interesting/different in many ways. For one, they mosh a little different than I'm used to in Florida. I couldn't help but think that people looked like 3 year olds throwing temper tantrums. Then I wondered if that's what all moshing looked like. Do I look like a 3 year old not getting his way when I flail my arms around and hit people? When I think about it, the answer I come up with is, "...probably."

There's also the fact that moshing in general is just so... weird. I am obviously not new to the concept. I've been going to shows for the past 12 or 13 years. But when you boil it right down to what it is, and you watch it happening, what do you really think about it? The people doing it just look absolutely ridiculous. And I guarantee you I will do it again tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that. That's what's so interesting about it. I find it absolutely hilarious, the way everyone flails their arms in unison, but I'll keep doing it until we have a new alternative that catches on. So goes trends, I suppose. One day you're wearing blue jeans, the next you're wearing black. (There were some tonight that looked like they were on Ski-Masters. Is it funny to anybody else to see people acting like they're on ski-masters, yet being stationary, on the floor, no equiptment, etc? Maybe that's just me.)

Shout out to my man Jake Hicks of the band Lazarus Taxa. Team Ignorance may be in your future.

The Cleveland show was kind of weak. Not much of a turn out, and not much in the way of merch sales for pretty much every band. It's interesting how you can see how the economic problems the country has been having affects different areas. Take Chicago, for instance. Lots of pre-sale tickets. Tons of people. Tons of merch sold by all bands. Now Detroit and Cleveland... less people, less pre-sale tickets, less merch sales all around, less tips, etc. Two cities that have been hit pretty hard by this economy. So I suppose hardcore isn't recession proof.

Cleveland will always remind me of 30 Rock, forever. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have lunch with Little Richard though.

Jordan and I finally tackled the venison jerky. It was actually really good, though oily. More tender than beef jerky though. Some spice, though that was probably added. I enjoyed it. Eating this jerky may have been what prompted me to buy my first Slim Jim in close to 8 years. It was alright. I may buy another one sometime soon. Snap into it.

Onto the books I'm reading:

"The World According to Garp," by John Irving. Given to me by Aimee from Kansas City. This book is great so far. It's actually really reinvigorated me to write more.

"The Testament," by Eric Van Lustbader. Equal parts "The DaVinci Code" and the Jason Bourne series. Interesting so far.

My tour playlist so far:

Alkaline Trio - "Maybe I'll Catch Fire." I think this is my favorite Alk3 album. Let's walk home.
The Feral Dog Band - For fans of bluegrassy stuff. Hey hey hey, it'll be okay.
Trapped Under Ice - "Secrets of the World." Probably hardcore album of the year. This shit kills.
Pardon The Interuption podcasts. Gotta get my sports news somehow.
Cave In - "Planets of Old." New Cave In EP. Combining everything old and new about Cave In. I love it.

Here's some people for you to follow on Twitter:
@Spickler - That's me :)
@JordanDNC - My main man from back home.
@EagerSails - Benny from Dead Swans/This is Hell. Good dude. We party.
@BennyBRoll - Funny man from Death Before Dishonor.
@ScrawnyYanni - Poison the Well's awesome road dog.

Mike Vick signed to the Philadelphia Eagles. It looks like I'm in for another agonizing football season. Got some fantasy drafts coming up soon. Who likes football? Let's chat.

We're in Buffalo and the show's about to start. Last day of 10 for 10. I'll post some pics soon.
 
Here's some plugs for my roommates back at home in Orlando:
 
BarNapkinfessions. A concept that had people writing things on bar napkins at our favorite watering hole, BackBooth, before being served their drink.
 
Meta Bags. Some crazy, tough, huge, and awesome hand-made messenger bags. I personally know the hands that make these bags. They're big hands. And pretty messed up.