Stiff Necked and Sore in St. Louis

We have been touring for quite a bit in our van. The van has grown to be a great crash pad and has saved us thousands of dollars in hotel rooms with the amount of touring we have been doing. A lot of people think we are crazy for doing it but it is a safe place for us to rest.


Most recently we upgraded to a futon mattress in the back and lined it with a couple nice blankets/sleeping bags. It is pretty comfortable in any kind of weather but when you’re sick.. The van is the last place you want to sleep.

The van gets cold in the Winter. It’s especially cold when you are sweaty and lock yourself inside to have a nap following a show. I went to lay down following our set on Saturday and thought I’d be environmentally friendly by not warming it up. I woke up an hour later and my hand hadn’t stayed inside the sleeping bag.. It was numb and I had to use the restroom. I went back into the bar and used the bathroom. Round 2 nap. I started the van and warmed it up. The next time I woke up I thought we were being robbed but it turned out that Kevin and Vincent were just loading up the trailer. I wasn’t well.

We had made the trip down to St. Louis to perform with local acts – Descending New Angels and Stilline. This was only our 3rd time through St. Louis and we were looking forward to playing for a good crowd this time around. I had been sick since Thursday and was having problems even turning my head since my neck was so sore.

The Crack Fox - St. Louis Picture courtesy of Greg Smith

Following a night locked up in the studio last Wednesday I woke up with a wicked sore throat. At first I thought perhaps I had sung too much but it wasn’t that kind of sore throat and by Saturday morning I had begun developing a stiff neck. As a singer, being sick is super stressful. Thankfully all the tea and honey I consumed in the previous 72 hours had paid off and I was able to perform for a very enthusiastic St. Louis crowd. Stillline’s and Decsending New Angels fans were great to us and we finished our touring season of 2011 with a nice energetic and tight set despite my ailment.

Sometimes touring sick can be a complete drag but the important thing is getting on with the show, which I was glad I was able to do. I have been resting up and getting better but still not fully there. I’m super anxious to get better to start recording. It’s been a long year. We’ve made so many new friends touring and this year was especially rewarding but honestly... we need to get these new songs complete.

See you later!

Thanks for Reading



Stephen Francis



The Road, My Birthday and an Impressive Photo Bomb

Things have been going great. Life is great. The road is as wonderful as ever. We have amazing fans (yes, YOU!). We got to spend some of the final days of our final dates of touring in 2011 in a few of our favorite cities.


Speaking on behalf of all of us, Burlington, IA has developed into a home away from home. The fans, atmosphere and city itself is awesome! We couldn't have done this year in Burlington without the support of Mike Savage and KQ92. The station has consistently spun tracks off of Dreams & Bones and every show we see more fans dancing and singing along. It’s been a great ride for us so far!


If you're ever traveling through I highly suggest you stop in Burlington and at the very least visit Mr. Moto's and Weird Harold's. You'll thank me later. Look at this pic of some Strangeloves... sexy staches!

Loving the photo bomb

What can I say about Macomb, IL?  Well, it's a college town, it rocks and it’s crawling with Strangeloves. That's certainly one reason we keep returning.  We have amazing fans there and Guy, manager of The Cafe, is like the Father we never had. He heavily influences us to drink Jameson and calls us derogatory names if we don't consume enough, ha!  But really, we actually played at The Cafe 7 times this year and every show was something different.  Acoustic sets, bringing friends on stage to sing along, diving into drums...it has been a wonderful year for us there and we look forward to what Macomb has to offer in 2012.

Another Macomb Strangelove shows off her I <3 Moustache nails.

And finally this past weekend we celebrated my birthday just as I would've liked, by playing music with two of my best friends.  We rocked with our good friends’ bands, Red City and Blue Eyed Jesus.  City Limits has always been a great place for us to play and we look forward to seeing you at a show there in the future.

"Operator" - 11/24/2011

Finally after 70 odd shows and a whole lot of traveling we are devoting the Winter to completing some new tracks. It’s been too long since we released anything. This year the road became a vacuum, this Winter the studio will become our home.

:{) -Kevin James