Sunday, July 25, 2010

day 27

     Well here we are in Martha's Vineyard for the last show of this leg of the tour. Tomorrow we are homeward bound! On Friday, We were in Portland, Maine. What a great town. The downtown area is laden with great boutiques and amazing brew pubs. We had a great show considering we were all running on very little sleep following the jaunt from Nantucket. The whole Nantucket experience was a debacle since our bus was not able to make the ferry due to engine problems on the freighter ferry. After 8 hours in the ferry parking lot, we were told that we had to walk on to the ferry with our gear. So that's what we did dragging clothes, gear and our sanity. To make a long story short, we had a great couple of days at the old Chicken Box. We stayed in the "band house" which is glorified camping but more unsanitary due to the nature of what has happened in those beds before we arrived.  At least there was a shower and laundry. Donavon, Tito and I grabbed a few waves a Fat Lady Beach next to the distillery. The band sweated out two nights of sold out shows.
      Last night we were in Ridgefield. We played at the Playhouse with Marc Cohn. The show was great and the crowd was super excited. It's a great venue with a very  hospitable staff. The Jax crew ran into some old Sun Dog friends and had some laughs about the "old days" at the Dog. 

Monday, July 19, 2010

Daily updates

Here's a link to our daily video shorts from the road. They're hilarious!
Also checkout Jay's new painting  at jayalders.com

Day 20 The Beachcomber

Today we are in Wellfleet, Mass. playing at the Beachcomber. It's rainy and miserable. We have two shows here until we are off to the Chicken Box. We had two amazing days in Montauk,NY which is at the end of the road so to speak on Long Island. We caught some really fun surf both days at the "ditch." I found out later as we left that Montauk is the largest breeding ground for Great Whites due to the large trash dump off shore from NYC. That may be the last time I surf there. If you ever get a chance to explore the Cape Cod coastal regions, Take your time and enjoy the coastal roads. It is beautiful place during the Summer months. The locals say winter is very depressing and long.  Bring your wallet and save your pennies. It is very pricey in the Hamptons but the seafood is great. Lobster rolls every where. I love those ocean bugs!  
     Bus life is slowly getting to us all. Wellfleet is very small and we are out on a cliff overlooking the ocean in the middle of nowhere. Which is great for those of us who the outdoor types. The only shower is outside and uncovered in the rain. And there is only one toilet with no stall door. My poor wife has been on this rolling locker room with a bunch of overgrown children that can't seem to lift the seat. There is no surf, no Starbucks, no cell service and no privacy. There is a distinct odor coming from Donavon's bunk area. I can't quite place it. It's somewhere in between death and real dirty laundry. Everyone plays the bus shuffle game in order to move around on this contraption. One person goes right as the other goes left. Anna from our management office came out for a few days and hitched a ride on the bus to experience tour life. I don't think she knew what she was in for. But Donavon put her on a surfboard so she left with a new love of surfing and a really bad sunburn. Poor Anna. 
     The Montauk show was great. 1500 people in a 500 capacity venue. The cops came and the fire marshall too. I think they came out just to check out all the super models and their bling. There had to be at least a million dollars worth of sun glasses in the joint. I saw paparazzi everywhere as the Surf Lodge is the place to be in Long Island. The executive chef is a winner from Top Chef and cooked us up some tasty grub. Donavon traded Chef Sam some surf lessons for some cooking tips. Bring in those fish tacos. That's all for now tune in later for a new daily update from our film crew (Craig) for more daily updates and shenanigans from D.F. and the crew. PEACE!      

Friday, July 16, 2010

Day 17



We are off to Amagansett NY today. Last night we were in Salisbury Ma. playing at the Blue Ocean Music Hall. The show was great and the people are amazing. Donavon, Mishka and I scored some really fun surf with our friend Skip. He was kind enough to shuttle us around. The water was freezing. 60 degrees. It's  not Florida! I'm not sure how I feel about being in a wet suit in mid-July. On Wednesday, we were in Asbury Park at the Stone Pony. Our good friend Jay Alders had his art on display. Please check his stuff out he's truly gifted.  jayalders.com The show was sold out and a good time was had by all. We are in the Hamptons for the next few shows. It's time for some lobster! Tonight will be 17 shows in a row. Keep 'em coming. We only have 9 more days out and then back to Jacksonville. remember check out donavonf.com for more daily video updates of the tour.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

day 14

Well here we are in Wantagh, Ny. It's raining and dreary today. We are parked on the side street with traffic racing by. Someone said the holding tank is full and there's no water on the bus. Woo hoo! Half of the crew seem to have the crud. Just so you all know we live in a Petrie dish. We are constantly passing germs back and forth between one another. I refuse to get sick. Last night we had a great show in Dewey Beach, Delaware. We went took an afternoon field trip to the Dogfish Brew Pub. After a two mile hike we were treated to some tasty beverages. If you never tried 90 minute Dog Fish Head with it filter thru fresh hops you're missing out. But beware they are super strong. Needless to say our stroll back seemed way shorter. Tomorrow we are off to Asbury Park, NJ to play at the Stone Pony and an art show by our close friend Jay Alders. Check out his site. jayalders.com. He's amazing and he has laundry!  Jay said the surf is pumping. I'm excited to get some much needed surf!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Townson Maryland

We were in Towson, Maryland last night playing at the Recher Theater. The show was great. I saw lots of familiar faces. I love the backstage area at the Recher. It's laced with a pool table and most important not one but two showers. Today we are in sunny Virginia Beach. This is day 12 of tour. We have played 11 shows in a row. One more week until we have the only day off on the 18th. Donavon has arranged some jet skis for some play time today at sand spit. Tonight we are playing at the Jewish Mother aka "Jew Mom" I hear it is a tiny place so it will be intimate.

Friday, July 9, 2010

The mustache manifesto

Craig and Donavon have been compiling some video shorts from the tour. I thought I would pass on the link to everyone. Check out my mad skills. :) This is the video from The Wind  Jammer in The Isle of Palms....
http://www.donavonf.com/185/video/Mustache-Manifesto-Isle-of-Palms-SC/

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Day 10 I think?

Howdy Ya'll... Today, We are in Wilmington North Carolina at the Soapbox Laundry and Lounge. We had two great nights at The Windjammer in The Isle of Palms, South Carolina. The crew went surfing out in front of the club both days. It's nice to get in the water and keep the noodles moving. I needed to work off some of the calories that I racked up from those tasty fried pickles. My wife Kitty Cat scored some good ones. Donavon and I shot some epic video in the water on Tuesday evening after sound check. It was about 6-10.... inches that is. I'll post some footage up later when I figure out how. Pardon my lack of technical skills. I think I have the fellas hooked on boiled peanuts. It was pretty funny watching their expression and lack of proper peanut extraction. If you have never indulged in this Southern culinary delight you have been missing out. I love 'em! Well off to do laundry and sound check. There's no shower today but at least I gots me some clean undies!

The Peptobus....

Ahhhh thank God. No more smelly clothes. I love this venue!



Thursday, July 1, 2010

The wheels of the bus go round and round

Well here we are day 3 of tour and the bus is smelling fabulous already. We had our first show of tour last night in Fort Lauderdale at Culture Club. The show went well considering we have not played or rehearsed since April. We revisited some of Donavon's first record in the middle of the set with a Hawaiian flavor. I had my ukulele debut. It was a good laugh for us all. We were hoping to get a surf in at some point but Old King Neptune has not blessed us with any waves yet. So far everything is moving right along. We were blessed by some friends last night with showers and normal sleeping accommodations. I have met some really cool people over the last few years of touring who are so nice to open their homes up to some smelly musician types. It's so nice to be able to have a shower and normal toilet that's not moving from side to side with every pot hole. We have one more show in Lauderdale tonight then a 5 a.m. bus call and off to St. Pete. Maybe we can do some oil slick skim boarding on the bay side. :( I hope you all can make it out to one of the shows this month the band sounds great. I am truly blessed to have a job that I really enjoy and perform with some of my closest friends even if there is the lack of showers and private space.