I Have A Boo Boo On My Head.

Thank god for Spongebob band-aids.

Two nights ago we played in Charleston, West Virginia at a fine place called Sam's Uptown Cafe on Capitol Street. For some reason or another this seemed to be the longest period of downtime we have had on this tour, but Sam's fed us twice, and comped our drinks. We spent a majority of the day promoting online and doing other productive things... like getting Brad on Facebook. From what I can understand Sam's is an after hours bar and our friends Union Pulse, whom are playing acoustic on this tour, thought that we would connect to the later crowd. Union Pulse and Reverie alternated sets back and forth, (i.e. Reverie at 10, Union Pulse at 11, Reverie at midnight, and Union Pulse at 1 am). This was interesting and fun. The show concluded with an impromptu jam of "What I Got", featuring every musician in the room, including Dave, the bartender, on the washboard.

Outside of Sam's we met two super nice people named Karen and Ali, two Chicagoans whom happened to be traveling through Charleston and randomly came into a bar we were playing. Naturally this was a funny coincidence.

Unlike most of the shows on this tour, the crowd was a bit thin. It was a Monday night in Charleston but like always, there was an upside to this. We were able to meet everyone in the bar and perform just for them. Despite the thin crowd we translated well and sold some merchandise. To our surprise, it turned out that Ali and Karen were on their way to Annapolis, our next stop. We said our goodbyes and started loading up.

For almost two weeks we have gone without hurting ourselves, outside of the occasional hangover. I have learned now that the reason you have roadies is to protect yourself from injury, to save energy, and to set your gear up. It is exhausting when you are fully clothed in the summer heat loading out gear. After a 2 hour performance and a lot of alcohol you feel rubbery, drained and the last thing you want to do is lug the band's gear down 24 stairs... and walk back up and walk back down and back up, and back down, and back up... There were 24 stairs at Sam's.. I know because I counted.

During our load out from Sam's I whacked my head really hard on the back of the van. I was inside of the van loading gear in, pivoting from facing out of the van and back into the van. On one of my many turnarounds I must have stopped crouching and lunged back into the back of the van to put in a pedal board. In the process I managed to catch my forehead on the latch that sticks out the back of the van. I fell to my knees and began moaning every curse I know. There was barely blood, but the welt was good sized and it was throbbing. Luckily, our manager Coate knows something about hitting his head on things and after making sure I didn’t have a concussion patched me up with what first aid supplies we could find at the moment (i.e. 2 napkins, some sanitzer and a band aid). 2 days later it is still tender so we stopped and I got some Cortisone cream and some trusty Spongebob band-aids.
Ali and Karen ended up making it to Annapolis with their friends that they were meeting in the first place. It was nice of them to bring some extra people out and watch us two nights in a row. Luckily for them we played a slightly different set, filled with humor and sarcasm.

This show was similar to the night before, not only because we were playing with Union Pulse, but because the crowd was a bit thin again. This does not bother us. We are well aware that thin crowds are often a part of touring independently, but we are noticing that our performance changes when there is a big crowd compared to a smaller crowd. James from Union Pulse reminded me that it has to be enough playing with your band despite the size of the crowd... I replied by explaining that we aren't used to it and that it affects me sometimes, not because of an ego issue, but more because we are “spongey” people. I love feeding off the energy of the crowd, and sometimes when the crowd is thin it is hard to perform. For our style of music it feels rather aggressive. However the sarcasm and humor must have worked because we sold some tee shirts and cds, and signed some autographs (which is still weird to me but fun)!

It is enough playing with Brad and Kevin every night. I wouldn't be out here doing it if it was not. We have made a lot of progress as performers and entertainers on this tour. Playing 2 hours a night (sometimes 4 hours) will tighten you up and Murphy's Law will be in full effect on stage. After our show at Sam's, Brad and I nearly stabbed each other due to poor communication during the set. These things can get frustrating but we were able to figure out some signals and new rules to avoid us throwing any verbal or physical blows.

In the end I do miss Tom and Aaron. I cannot lie about that. For those of you who do not know, Tom and Aaron play in Bullet Called Life. For our Chicago shows and a few out of Chicago,Tom and Aaron play with us.

Days become days become days...

Hey again...Kevin James reporting from the rainy road. We're driving to Pittsburgh right now and it's raining. Nothing like the drive to Lexington though. I was driving and it was pouring so badly that the majority of cars pulled over onto the shoulder. While this seemed like a sound idea I was not fond of it. Either go 20 mph and bear it or pull over and be a sitting duck ready for a car to plow into one and start the domino effect. Passed on that option. Since I already gave you my recap of Lexington I'm moving on to the past couple of days.

We had a day off on Sunday and decided to camp and unwind. Yet another great sounding idea except for the fact that it was hot and damn humid. Waking up in a tent that feels like an incubator sucks. Regardless, we worked on getting a wine bottle open for a good 20 to 30 minutes with no opener. Who the hell brings 2 bottles of wine and no corkscrew?!?! One speaker monitor screw, screwdriver and electrical box thingy later it came to. Got to enjoy some wine over band conversations with our manager Coate. Love Coate.

Monday we were off to Charleston, WV to play Sam's Uptown Cafe. Pretty wicked little joint. We got there way early to do some work and promote. Krista, the bartender at the time, brought us some fabulous grub while we chugged away. She was kind enough to come back and catch our set after her shift and 3 hours of sleep the previous evening. The bearded monster Dave was our bartender upstairs in the venue. His beard would eat people. All these beards are making me want to bring mine back. Another grand meal, drinks, and a couple sets later we were done at Sam's. During Union Pulse's set we all got on stage and had a nice little jam to
Sublime's "What I got" - Dave (yes, the bartender)on the washboard, Brad on tambourine, Stephen on acoustic gitfiddle and myself on drums. Then Jaqueline, an older bar local, told us we could crash at a pad she was housesitting for a friend. It was pretty interesting. The front yard was a graveyard. A bunch of old old gravestones, i.e. 1817-1843. We picked out the parents, their children and the grandchildren. Probably sold the house at that point. Stephen and I crashed in a twin together and he informed me that I was sawing some serious logs (for those that don't know...snoring) and Jaqueline was laughing at me and talking to the cat. West Virginia. Done.

During the venture to Annapolis, MD our van started giving us some serious shit. Go figure. The fluttering sound coming from the serpentine belt mechanism sounds like a pretty muscular mopehead. We tried to get it fixed but the noise went away and check engine light off. The mechanics can't really diagnose something that doesn't exist to them. Shitty. I decided to splurge and get myself a nice real meal at the Federal House Bar (place we played). Blackened Salmon covered with lemon butter sauce from the East Coast. Sick! One of the best bits of fresh fish I've ever had. I got to enjoy that while Union Pulse entertained us with great tunes, jokes and logic puzzles. Then we hit the stage. Fun show, Lydia was a superfan and danced away up front to Reverie tunes. I have yet to mention but we met some amazing people in West Virginia from Chicago, Ali and Karen. They just happened to walk into Sam's and were roadtripping with no real destinations in mind. They followed us to Annapolis for another Reverie show and offered up their hotel room for crashing quarters. This was music to our ears as Annapolis was the damn most humid place we've been so far. I must say though, it was pleasant to walk along the bay and smell the salty Atlantic Ocean air. Made me miss the days of living in Southern California. The front desk at the hotel did not have a corkscrew so yet again we had to come up with another innovative way of opening a wine bottle. One screw from a shelf, screwdrive and hanger top later we all had a glass to enjoy. Here we come Pitt!

Kevin James

The Longest day EVER!!!

Two days ago we were in Champaign, IL. We were slotted for 2 shows, one aquired on Tuesday, the other was our original slot. Seeing that the sets wouldn't conflict we each other we agreed to do both and hopefully double our exposure. It really wasn't the longest day ever, but the first time I have ever played four very long sets, 2 shows in one day. For our particular slot times and set requirements this meant 42 songs, and 5 hours on stage. In college towns this could also mean twice as many shots are brought to you on stage.

After a long but rewarding night in Springfield we awoke and made our way to Champaign. Our first show was at the Phoenix, a local pool hall that usually features metal acts. The owner is a kind man with a hell of a grip. A visit to the Phoenix the next time you are in Champaign would be worth your while, if you like kind people. The crowd was really open minded and took in our original music with ease. We did pretty well in merch and hustled our way out of the door.

We had loaded in and performed two 1 hour sets and had to promptly load out in order to make our load in time at Joe's. Now this seems simple in theory. 1.5 hours from our set end to load in at our next show. But when you are meeting your new fans, coordinating a van pack, and trying to corral all band member and managers in a timely manner it is always a challenge. Also, packing the van has become a science, just recently we found the correct way to do it efficiently every time, but as of Thursday we were not so consistent at it. In addition, Curtis, the forementioned bar manager, was kind enough to lend us another main so the crowd at Joes would be able to hear me during our set. This main happened to be the biggest speaker I have ever used in my life. I rode from the Phoenix to Joes with my knees at my chest, wondering if we would be able to get the speaker back after our set at Joes before the Phoenix closed.

Upon arriving at Joes we had to have a drink and eat some food before we set up. Our first show was hot, and I personally was pretty drained. Knowing that I had to sing another two hours, I kept my water bottle close and my mouth shut. An old friend, who happens to be a general manager at Joes took care of us by giving us free reign on the menu. We stuffed our faces with the first hot meal we have had in days and got back to work. We set up and proceeded to follow through with our first set quickly and with no difficulty. Now on our 6th show of the tour I found that as a cohesive unit we were firing like a machine. Usually when we do 1 off shows in the city or the surrounding suburbs of Chicago you have to prep mentally to get into "machine mode". Playing every night makes this neccesity disappear, therefore leaving you with more energy to perform.

Playing college towns is always tricky. The crowd is usually too drunk to stand and very hard to please. At Joes in particular, the crowd is kind, but are passing time until all of the other students show up... which is usually about 1 half hour after we finish. The music has to stop (it is outside in the beer garden) at 11 o clock, and a lot of college kids don't go out until 11:30. Therefore you usually get the early drinker crowd, whom are usally shit hammered by 7 o clock. Naturally, groups of "day drinkers" will chant or clap their hands in unison if you get them at the right time. About the 5th time someone calls out "Free Bird!", you know it is time to really start turning it on... Just never actually play "Free Bird". I was in a band once that covered that song every show (I was 14 don't judge). I have found that regardless of how well you do that song, you will attract the drunkest guy in the room, who will insist that is the best version of "Free Bird" he has ever heard, the whole time knowing that he most likely won't remember seeing you at all. Instead you should continue playing original music and get that same guy to buy a record. At least this way he knows who he saw the night before.


During our 4th set of the day we were welcomed with a lot of new faces walking through the door. I was running on empty, but the crowd was starting to get it. We finished strong and prompted to leave our equipment set up so we could socialize with some of the college folk, and get some more free drinks.
After we finished loading up we got paid and pulled across the street so we could rest our weary heads. I decided to try and sleep across the two seats in the back and let Kevin try the floor. This was a bad idea, for when I awoke, not only was the van 105 degrees, but my spine was all out of whack and felt like a sideways "U".

Attached is a picture of an edited set, with last minute adjustments and new covers added. If you do the math, the opportunities are really mind boggling. With the amount of songs you know, the amount of songs you can play, and in which order... Sometimes adjusting the set spot of one song can totally alter the ebb and flow of a performance. This may be obvious to most people, but for those of you who have never considered what it is like coordinating the order of songs for a 3 hour show, you should not take for granted that bands like Pearl Jam and Metallica, whom sometimes play for these lengths, and somehow it never gets boring. Then you walk into another show and the set is so terribly arranged a half hour seems like an eternity. There are keys, tempos, dynamics, and endurance to take into consideration. There is quite a science to it... From the picture you can see that we are still learning.

Stephen Francis

I Don't Have An Interesting Title For This

First and foremost, this is grand! We are having one hell of a time on the road and loving every minute of it. There is a slight misconception though to a posting I made online earlier that said, "Drive...Play...Drink...Sleep..." I received several responses, some of the likes of "you boys live a tough life...lol." So to clarify that post...Drive, 3 to 7 hours while the other individuals in the van do work for the band online...Play, anywhere from 1 to 4 hours depending on the time and atmosphere...Drink, depending on if we have a rider worked out or the locals are game to buy us drinks...Sleep, unless someone is kind enough to give us a couch/floor to crash on we have a van crammed with equipment, bags, and other various items to try and squeeze 4 gentlemen in, comfortable or not...and it's certainly not. Ahhhhh the life.


Recap: Champaign,IL, Indianapolis, IN, & Lexington, KY - the last 3 days.

Champaign was one long day. We played 2 sets, one at the Phoenix and one at Joe's. Both were lengthy and fun sets. Cliff, the manager at The Phoenix was kind enough to lend us a speaker to use at Joe's for our P.A. And Dan, the GM at Joe's and an old high school friend, fed us a great meal and took care of our drinks. We really have run into a ton of great people along the way!

Indianapolis was awesome. Doug of the band Henderson, who we met previously while playing at The Cafe in Macomb, IL, invited us over to their band house for some chill time before the show. Luke, a resident of the home whom I quickly developed beard envy for, went out and got some Coors for everyone and told us about the Miller High Life guy (that you've all seen in the Livin' the High Life commercials) that was at the store and told him to, "Enjoy the Kers." No, that is a not a typo. And that we did, prior to and post the show until the wee hours of the a.m. Met some really cool people at Birdy's and the afterups. Then I awoke to the smell of homemade biscuits and gravy with some bacon and coffee cooked up by Luke, got supplied clean towels for a shower from Tennison, and jetted out. Mmmmmm...what a way to be sent out of Indy.

Next was Lexington. Oooooohhhhh Lexington. I'm very sure we'll be back there sooner than later. Nick, who quickly introduced himself, was a rad local that we met right when we walked into Cocktails and he gave us a tour of his sweet pad right behind the club and generously offered up some Woodford Reserve. The night only got better and better from there. Instead of giving you a lengthy description on one of my most favorite nights so far I'll phrase it up like this...locals drunk 3 hours pre-show time, $1.50 Amber Bock, whiskey for Brad, Girls blatantly, uhhh..."enjoying each other" during a Reverie set, Metallica requests, more whiskey for Brad, great staff, Sam Adams, Red Stag in beer, industry locals rockin', even more whiskey for Brad, impromptu covers, Brad puking and speaking gibberish, after party after after party, hitting the bar that's closed (with the manager and keys of course) to get more beer, and ending with drawing on Brad who passed out in the back of the van on the floor with his boots on (see Brad's rules of the road #4).

The only thing I did not like from the above was the Red Stag in beer.

Kevin James