one class tomorrow, cant sleep.  i still want to write, but cut that last entry short because i thought it was too long.  look at me, fucking cutting my own thoughts short, afraid that it’s too long.  too long for who?  the internet?  

it’s 3, and i’m going to kick myself tomorrow for not going to bed.  

but i sit awake, in my favorite mesh shorts and my favorite red hoodie, thinking about shit.  listening to waxwing.  

waxwing.  a band who’s drummer’s playing sounds as if he were primarily a guitar player, but joined the band and played drums even though it wasn’t his forte. and that is a compliment.  it’s refreshing to hear percussion like this.  he just does little things here and there that i love, but i would never do.  kind of tough to explain.  drums need dynamics just as any other part of a band, but he has an excessive dynamic not seen in a lot of bands and it compliments the mid-90s record “sound” (my favorite in terms of album production quality) and the general somber autumn-appropriate sound of the band. 

basically it makes me want to forget everything i know about drums and playing music and teach myself all over again.  i dont experiment enough.  shit, there’s a good word.  he experiments a lot, and while it doesnt always work in a rudimentary sense, it gives the songs an unparalleled emotional boost.  i often listen to drums in music before learning the words or anything else.  it fascinates me.

okay.  need to get a battery for my car this week, and for the van.  pain in my ass.

let’s wrap up the tour logs.

DAY 12: June 12, 2008.  Williston, ND (day off)

we woke up hung over but happy on josh’s floor.  we spent the entire day getting high and watching movies and shows.  total recall, metalocalypse (which i find terribly unfunny), i can’t remember.  we went out to eat at a vfw-esque old people diner/bar.  decent food, awful service.  i didnt mind though.  we went back and watched trailer park boys (my new favorite comedy) until we all dozed off.

DAY 13: June 13, 2008.  Minot, ND (Red Carpet, all ages)

i woke up to the sound of trumpets.  what the fuck?  they were coming from a few blocks away.  i investigated and found a big event in a bank parking lot.  free grilled food, drinks, and ice cream.  i snatched up a treat and asked what was going on, and the grill-master said “it’s flag day!” in a mildly surprised tone, as if he was the one surprised that i did not know it was flag day.  how odd.

we packed up and left for a pretty short drive across ND.  we rolled into minot and got some taco bell and hung out at an arcade for a bit.  then we loaded into the venue and talked to xbjx for a bit.  still married, still straight edge, still a cool dude.  we had an hour to kill so we went to a strip club down the block.  i personally dont really enjoy strip clubs, and i know that it goes against my “guy code.”  the dancer that night recycled the same 4 “moves” with zero enthusiasm, which included her having you place a dollar in your mouth and her “grabbing” it by pressing her breasts into your face.  she smelled like a stripper and i dont even know what that smells like.

the show was oddly the most fun one of the tour for me, but it also may have been the excitement i was feeling about being back in fargo soon.  the kids were younger, mainly highschool age and below, with no discernable “cliques.”  everyone was truly friends with everyone.  it reminded me of going to shows at the all star bowl when i was 16 and the stage was a big circle in the middle of the room.  i’ve never seen a crowd go that crazy for my band upon hearing us for the first time (well not this band ha!)  for awhile i had a personal audience of about 6 or 7 people just literally standing in a circle around my drums and dancing.  it was bizarre but fun as hell.  i was kind of drunk after drinking a lot in the van between bands though.  

we were all excited to drive home after playing and loaded up real fast.  8 long hours and we would be home around 4 am.  melissa had stowed away with us for a free ride to fargo which we were happy to lend.

entering fargo we dropped her and gabe off and went to the frying pan to say hello to friends.  it didnt feel like we were gone for that long and i did not expect the welcome we received.  10 or so of our friends were outside getting ready to leave when we pulled in and we all hung out there in the parking lot for a good half hour, just excited to see each other.  it was the best way to come back from a fucking awesome trip.

i got lots of sleep in my own bed which was unreal.  i had a full sunday off the next day before returning to work at heartland.  sunday was good, going back to work was especially hard.  trevor and i both had a tough time adjusting to just being home even though we were only gone for two weeks.  i didnt know what to do with my time anymore, i was used to constantly having to be somewhere/do something, like drive several hours.  everything was normal and familiar, whereas the past two weeks were strange, interesting, and something new every day.  serotonin overload changed to a dull reality.  

it took me about two weeks to adjust fully.  3 days after being home trevor and i wanted to leave and play shows for months at a time.  both of us were just bummed the fuck out to return to “our regular lives.”

i cant believe the van made it over 5000 miles without any problems whatsoever.  logan the van was a dream ride, minus the heat.

i also cant believe it took me this long to blog 14 days worth of events, but i’m glad i did.  i also miss it and long for it to happen again.  it will, if i try.  the whole thing was pretty much booked solely by me, and i was very lucky to stumble upon that van.  i am not trying to brag, as gabe and trevor definitely contributed and got a few shows and gave me the drive to keep trying every day, sending tons of emails with few replies.  that was just the luck of the draw though, we basically wrote the same email, mine were just the “right people” i guess.  regardless, i have never booked a tour before.  hell i’ve only set up 3 or 4 shows in my musical career, but we had a pretty good run with very few days off, and it was all booked less than two months before the day we left.  as small as it may be to other people, i’d call it a success.