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Tour Blog 3/2/09
GLIB SNOW It's cold. Not "Hey, can we be seated underneath the heat lamp on the patio for dinner?" cold. I'm talking "frozen snot, shrinking genitalia, rock hard nipples through 4 layers of clothing" cold. We are currently waiting to unload our gear into the venue in West Chester Pennsylvania. When I say we of course I mean our fearless crew guys and not myself or any of the band members included. Chris and Jesse are currently killing the hell out of each other playing Call Of Duty 4 in the back lounge. Dan is snuggled up in his bunk and I am sitting in the front lounge with Zoe giving all of you a piece of my mind. Just a few days ago in New York City it was, dare I say, pleasant. In the 40's and sunny. Even I, a So-Cal born and raised native, can handle that with enough layers of clothing on. Uncasville Connecticut wasn't too bad at all either. The show, by the way, was outstanding. A sold out arena is never too shabby. It was our last show with 3 Doors Down on this run. Jesse, our bass player, is from near there and his family got to see him perform with us for the first time. I'm sure it was surreal to watch their son playing in front of thousands of people. But anyways, yesterday we were in Philadelphia for a day off. The day started off pretty normal. Get up, grab your room key in the front of the bus and go up to your hotel room. It was nice and cold out but nothing too severe. After the world's longest hot shower and double scrubbing (that's not "code" for anything I just hadn't showered in a couple of days) I tried to organize a group of us to go down to South Street to check out some of the cool shops they have there as well as throw down on some famous authentic Philadelphia Cheesesteaks. Alas I was too late though. Jesse and Dan were already down there and I never heard back from Chris who was asleep or our drum tech/stage manager Mikey who was doing his laundry. So I decided to chill for a while in the room and eventually ended up meeting Mikey and Chris later for food downstairs. Our tour manager Brendon met up with us to eat and warn us about a big storm that he had heard was going to hit in a few hours. I didn't really believe him though. I mean he did coin himself the "Misinformation Super Highway" once. After some hanging out and snacking it was back to the room. I tried my hand again at organizing a get together but this time for dinner. This time 8 of the 9 of us were confirmed in. It was Smith & Wollensky at 8:30 for some good steaks and maybe throw in some lobster tails as well. 8:15 rolls around and I'm waiting in the lobby. The snow storm that Brendon has warned us about had rolled in and was dusting the bushes and side walk in white. It's 8:25 now and most of us were in the lobby and ready to catch a short cab ride to dinner. 8:30, Chris, Jesse and I grab the first cab to head over. 8:35, I get the call from the rest of the crew, "Uh we're gonna stay back and hit up the local bar. Sorry man." The party of 8 was now a party of 3. Oh well. Chris, Jesse and I had some kick ass steaks, some truffle mac and cheese and washed it down with some cheesecake. Well worth the short cab ride. Well worth a long cab ride of you ask me. Our dinner conversations ranged from the economy and how it's current state effects us, throwing in "alternate lyrics" during live performances of familiar songs to see if anyone notices and how, for as much as it was snowing, none of it was seeming to stick to the ground. It was only sticking to certain objects. That spurred us off on one of our patented stupid tangents in where we were scolding the snow for being so superficial, so hollywood, so GLIB as Chris put it. Stupid glib snow! Picking and choosing it's sticking points. Sometimes nobody makes us laugh more than ourselves. I returned back to the room and I killed another couple hours wacthing tv and surfing the net. I decided to take a look outside to see how the glib snow was doing only to be see how un-glib it had become. The streets were covered and Phili was blanketed. There's a certain type of silence that comes with heavy snowfall that is so cool. The snow just absorbs all the sound. Plus there wasn't a car around. It was quite peaceful for the moment. I slept well. Now here we are, gear loaded up and soundcheck in an hour or so. The venue is small but cool. I'm not sure who would want to drudge through this snow to come hang out tonight. Maybe that's my So-Cal mentality playing tricks on me? Where I'm from when it rains a little it seems like the whole city comes to a halt. People out here are just tougher. This weather is probably no biggie at all to them. So to those who bought tickets already and are going to slush it over here, YOU RULE! To those who don't have tickets yet but were thinking about slushing it over here, YOU RULE TOO only just a little less than those with tickets already. Finally to those who aren't coming at all, you guys are missing out. It's going to be like a warm musical blanket wrapped around you keeping you shielded from the harsh elements outside. A musical Snuggy (blanket with arms) except not as lame (or awesome depending on if you own a Snuggy). It's hard to believe that in about 5 days or so we'll be in 80 degrees and back in the south. And they wonder why touring musicians seem to get sick and run down so often. DUH! Stay warm Stankers, Doug
Tour Excitement
Yes tour can be entertaining. Just ask anyone around this afternoon at
the Broadbent arena in Louisville KY. Not sure exactly what the story
is but a picture is worth a thousand words right? Do I even need to say
anything??
We're out and about with Three Doors Down, Seether and Safety Suit.
We're having a great time out here, the shows have been great, crowds
amazing. I have to say it's REALLY nice to be on the road again. I am
enjoying playing like never before! (Amazing what a 2 year break can do
eh?)
I bought a Goped yesterday for shits and giggles. It's already getting
put to use, I took zoe for a couple laps around the arena to wear her
out. She's been getting good exercise, lots of new things to sniff
everywhere. I've been bringing her to signings too so anyone who wants
to meet a tried 'n true road dog......come on down to the signing!
We had a couple days off before the show today in Louisville. I rented
a car and did some nice burnouts on the way to dinner last night. Even
pulled a hand-brake 180 :)
Lots of excitement.
Road Blog 2/14/09
Road Blog 2/14/09
Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisiana
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. A wonderful day where society makes
you feel obligated to say "I love you" to the person you love when you
should be saying it everyday anyways. Where's the sincerity people? Way
to go society! Anyways, I just woke up and haven't even left the bus
yet. We're in Bossier City LA. We had a show in Lafayette LA last night
at the Cajundome. Although that was our 3rd time playing at that venue I
still can't get over how HUGE that place is. Its so shockingly big upon
entering that I had to go up to the nosebleeds and eventually sneek into
the top luxury suites just to take a peek. I ended up doing some phone
interviews from a balcony up there as well as writing video treatment
ideas all while 3 Doors Down was sound checking. The show was really
good. I got unusually hot on stage and also couldnt stop my nose from
running. I had to keep blowing it in a towel every few songs. These are
the things that go through my head on stage sometimes. Pretty exciting
and glamorous huh? In between the sweat in my eyes and the childish
runny nose I saw a ton of people screaming and singing along. That of
course always makes my night. So I'm looking forward to the show
tonight. It'll be our first here ever.
I always remember the firsts. Tomorrow we'll be in Louisville KY for 2
days off and then the show. Anyone know of things to do in Louisville?
I've gotta get inside the venue. A shower is seriously needed. Signing
off.
See ya at the shows,
Doug
p.s. Here's a couple pics from my phone while I was wondering around the
Cajundome
Road blog 2/11/09
Hello again Stank Nation.
It is I your fearless leader checking in from Amarillo Texas. I feel like we've spent so much time in the south that I'm becoming friendlier and developing a southern drawel. Both good things I'd say. Prior to Amarillo we were in Midland lastnight and Corpus Christi the previous 3 days. We had a show there but were also shooting a video for So Close So Far. Its only our second video out of 13 now that we have shot somewhere else besides Los Angeles.
The other was Disappear which was shot in Salt Lake City, Paris and Barcelona. Anywho, I think its gonna look great. It was fun to shoot and it'll be a visually powerful video filled with emotional moments. There'll be lots of "fun facts" to expose in the video too like shooting on the aircraft carrier USS Lexington. More to come soon......
Rock on,
Doug Robb
Bloggin' up a storm
Hello everyone,
A quick note before I hit the sack:
I want to give a HUGE thank you to all the Japanese fans who purchased
the new CD, For(N)ever and helped us get a #1 record on the
international chart. That's huge for us, a feat we have never
accomplished in ANY country! We are truly greatful and appreciative.
You have to know that Japan is our favorite place to play. The fans
are amazing, shows are always great and the people very accomodating.
We are really looking forward to coming over in March and showing our
appreciation. If the dates aren't posted yet they will be soon. Look
for us at the end of March in Tokyo, Osaka and.........and.......well
I'm not sure where the 3'd show is going to be.
Again, thank you very much, Japan, for helping us make history
Sincerely
Hooba-Chris
Road Blog 2/4/09
hey everyone. hope you're all well! im lying in my bunk on the tour bus. i pulled my back out the other day and now im paying the price. i couldnt sleep the other night. i got up around 6am and we were parked out front of freebirds in jacksonville fl. chris has his dog zoe out with us so i took her outside to do her business and let her run around while everyone else was asleep. for those of you that dont know, freebirds is right by the beach. i grabbed a frisbee off the bus and took zoe to the beach to run around. it was so amazing. the sun was starting to rise and i was the only person on the beach. i had been throwing the frisbee around all morning with zoe and i noticed my back wasnt feeling right. didnt think to much about it though. complained a bit to the other guys but that was it. i did my usual stretching before we went on but it didnt help much. during the show, i couldnt help it...i love playing and its so hard for me to just sit still. i was fine the entire show until the 3rd from last song. i jumped off something and when i landed, i felt it! i knew right away i was fucked. this isnt the first time ive injured my back. we had to cut a song and i had to sit on a chair for the rest of the set. i couldnt even sit comfortably. no matter what position i was in, it killed. after the last song, i walked hunched over like an 80 year old man to the bus. i couldnt sleep for shit that night. luckily we had the next day off so i could rest. i couldnt even walk. if i was lying on the floor, it would take me 5 minutes just to get up. i had to have our tour manager go inside the hotel, get the big luggage cart and wheel me in from the bus to my room. it must have looked so stupid yet funny. ive been on medication, stretching and tiger balm! you ever try tiger balm? its great! im having so much fun with it! im starting to feel better though. on stage now, i wear a waist belt that supports my back. i cant move around how id like to but its all goo d.
so far, aside from my back, ive been having a really good time on tour! the shows have been great and so have all of you! thanks to everyone who bought, stole or whatever the new album For(N)ever! i hope you're diggin it! we'll see you soon!
thanks
Road Blog 2/3/09
What's up Stank Nation? Hope life is treating everyone well. Well it's
only been 1 week since the release of for(n)ever and the start of our
tour with 3 Doors Down and I feel like there's already been a whole
tour's worth of stories. We had a blast playing in a park in downtown
St. Petersburg FL. Thanks to the 5k+ people who rocked out with us on
an unusually cold Florida night. After the show we had ANOTHER show at
a club but that one was acoustic. Good times. Felt like a giant sing
along. Jacksonville was great except for the fact that Dan tweaked his
back really bad on stage with 3 songs left in the set. He played the
final songs slumped over in a chair. We had to cut the song "All About
You" since he was in so much pain. Jacksonville we owe you one extra
song next time. Superbowl Sunday found us in Sebastian FL and found
Dan out of commission from back pain. It also found me doubled over in
pain from some sort of stomach virus that has yet to fully run it's
course. Being sick is such a bummer! The show in Sebastian was really
cool. We played at what looked like a beach club. The stage was like a
dock and the floor was the beach. The power went out during soundcheck
and for a moment we didnt know what was going to happen with the show.
The crowd was large and extremely talkative which made for a good
time. Truely a "house party" vibe.
Finally today we woke up in Pensacola to play an acoustic set that was
a lot of fun but felt like we were on the set of some sit-com since it
was in a tv studio. We got vanned over to Mobile AL after the show and
now here we are with about 2 hours before showtime at the Soul
Kitchen. Tomorrow we'll be in Houma LA and then we'll get a well
earned day off after that. For as much as I love these shows I have to
admit I'm anxiously awaiting my off day. That was the abridged version
of our week. The extended version would have been too long to type on
my iPhone. Check back in later for another update. Thanks everyone.
FORNEVER is here!
What's up everyone? Well the day finally came. FORNEVER is here! I'm so stoked that it's finally out. The months, weeks and days leading up to the release were a cocktail of emotions from excited to anxious and back to excited. Anyways, we poured ourselves into the album and hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do. I'm writing from my room in Tampa. We have just started a tour with 3 Doors Down. Easily some of the nicest, most down to earth guys we've had the pleasure of meeting on the road over the last 8 years. We know it's going to be a lot of fun. The first show was in Orlando a couple nights ago and if that show was indicative of how the rest of the tour is going to be then we're going to have a blast. Thank you to everyone who's picked up or downloaded the new CD and an even bigger THANK YOU to the fans who show up to the shows. I appreciate it more than you guys may ever know. I really do feed off of the energy you guys give me. It keeps me smiling and keeps me going. Our fans are amazing. Let's keep spreading the Hoobastank word around you guys. We've got lots of work to do.
Until next time,
Doug Robb
© 2009 Island Def Jam Music Group
