Spring Tour Diary - 2016

[tedious1]

OK, so first, let me state, I'm not BassCliff so if you're looking for his style of gig report...wait, I'm sure he'll be playing soon...

So we'll see how this goes.

First the dates:
April 20 - Regina, SK @ The Club - $10 - All Ages
with Bats Out! & Soiled Doves

April 22 - Sudbury, ON @ The Asylum - $8 - All Ages
with The Twentiest & Bliss Gilmore

April 23 - Hamilton, ON @ Doors: Taco Joint & Metal Bar - $8 - 19+
with Artificial Dissemination & Gag Order

April 24 - Toronto, ON @ Coalition- $10
with Artificial Dissemination, Big Brother & Dragged In

April 25 - Peterborough, ON @ Red Dog
with Broken Foot & Guests

April 26 - Toronto, ON @ Bovine Sex Club - Free Show
with Politikill Incorrect & Thrashards

April 27 - Montreal, QC @ Skull Central - $5
with Artificial Dissemination

April 28 - Montreal, QC @ Fattal - $5
with Artificial Dissemination, Riot Porn & C**tagious

April 29 - Oshawa, ON @ The Atria - $10 - 19+
with Dragged In, Whisker Biscuit & More TBA

April 30 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ The Algonquin
More info coming soon

May 1 - Thunder Bay, ON @ Black Pirates 8 Year Anni - $5 - 19+
with Raygun Cowboys, Finer Things & Gratzo Attacko

May 2 - Winnipeg, MB @ Kings Hotel - $8 - 18+
with The Rewd & Yur Mum

We have more dates lumped under this 'tour' to catch the left coast and such, but we'll do that leg later in May. In case the band names don't give it away, we play originals punk.

Today's agenda is to finish work, close as many cases as I can and hand off the others, set out of office all that good stuff. Once work is done, it's off to the Pub to meet up with the Guitar player and last years roadie for wings and a pint (no roadie this year) maybe two. Then off to the singers for the last rehearsal, probably twice through the set, and we've got a couple of songs in progress, one we'll use for soundchecks, the other - for which no lyrics have lent themselves, we'll use to play the singer onto stage, basically the "finish your smoke's, we're going on now!" notification...

After rehearsal, the van will be loaded, including merch, everyone's luggage, sleeping bags, etc. etc. Drop the guitar player off at home, then off to the little town I live in for a nice late dinner with Mrs. Tedious, and one more sleep in my own bed.

Tomorrow the plan is to wake up, have a leisurely coffee, run through my packing checklist, make sure nothing is getting overlooked, kiss the wife, pet the cats and get on the road back into the city. Once in the city, pick up the guitar player, then off to the Costco for four flats of bottled water and a case of 5w30. Then over to grab the singer, and finally off to the drummers - whose home is a vortex into which time simply disappears, so we'll have to browbeat him into getting a shag on, then its on to the Trans-Canada and off to Regina.

I'm hoping to do one or two quick updates a day, well quick to read, not so quick for me to do when I'm on a cell phone...

EDIT: Corrected from buldog5151 to BassCliff, whose gig reports I was actually thinking of, and who came along and liked this post, which served to notify me of my tragic mistake. Sorry @BassCliff

EDIT2 (and the hopefully the last): Censored supporting act name for show on the 28th to stay compliant with forum rules. Given my band's name comes from the list of the 7 words you can't say on television...it's not really a forgivable oversight...

 

[Zebra]

Have a blast man.

If you're willing to disclose, I'm really curious about how the tour is set up on various fronts. We've been on bills with new, touring bands in the punk/metal scene and we've seen them come through with varying degrees of organization and success. Who headlines the shows and who else plays on the bills? How are living arrangements made? What kind of compensation arrangement is made with the venues?

I wish I were in your shoes now, but I'm also really curious about all those aspects of touring for bands in this genre. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

[tedious1]

Hey Zebra, our guitar player handles the bulk of the bookings, so I may not have all the detail that you're looking for, but I can certainly ask! In terms of success, I can say we haven't taken a bath, yet. The last two years we've lost a little and made a little, in both cases the little wouldn't have covered a case of beer. The arrangements with the venues, they vary, Bovine Sex Club for example in Toronto doesn't run a door on Tuesday, the band's are paid flat rate off the top at the end of the night. Other places we'll be playing for the door, or part of it.

We often end up headlining these shows, although when we're playing a bunch of shows with a band (like Artificial Dissemination this year) we'll sometimes switch places if the promoter/venue doesn't care. In some cases, like with the Ripcordz, they'll end up being the headliner. What really seems strange to me though is how often we end up providing a backline or partial backline for the local bands. It's generally not a problem, and most punk scenes do a lot of backline sharing anyways, but unless we know the touring band, we won't ask them when we play at home, and in general, even if we know them, we won't, unless there is a good reason (like a tiny venue with no off-stage storage to speak of.)

Being our third consecutive year of doing this, a lot of the accommodations are taken care of already. I had a folk-punk band from Montreal stay with us on their tour west, and their sub bassist for that tour is putting us up when we're out in Montreal. In Toronto, we'll probably stay with a couple of guys from Endprogram a now defunct band we played with on our first tour 8 years ago, and we'll stay with another one in Oshawa. Most of the places we have places to stay, Thunder Bay is always a hotel though, but that's setup through the venue and the rate is good.

It's punk, worst case, if we have nowhere to stay, and no desire to get a hotel, then we simply ask on stage if anyone wants to put us up. Generally someone always steps up. So between doing unto others, and receiving in kind, venue pull, and when all else fails, just asking, we generally don't have a problem finding somewhere to sleep. Someone always sleeps in the van.

If you're looking for contact info for the various Canadian cities we'll be hitting, I can see what info the guitar player will volunteer.

 

[dbase]

Remember, no pics = tour never happened

 

[dbase]

OK, so first, let me state, I'm not BassCliff so if you're looking for his style of gig report...wait, I'm sure he'll be playing soon...

So we'll see how this goes.

First the dates:
April 20 - Regina, SK @ The Club - $10 - All Ages
with Bats Out! & Soiled Doves

April 22 - Sudbury, ON @ The Asylum - $8 - All Ages
with The Twentiest & Bliss Gilmore

April 23 - Hamilton, ON @ Doors: Taco Joint & Metal Bar - $8 - 19+
with Artificial Dissemination & Gag Order

April 24 - Toronto, ON @ Coalition- $10
with Artificial Dissemination, Big Brother & Dragged In

April 25 - Peterborough, ON @ Red Dog
with Broken Foot & Guests

April 26 - Toronto, ON @ Bovine Sex Club - Free Show
with Politikill Incorrect & Thrashards

April 27 - Montreal, QC @ Skull Central - $5
with Artificial Dissemination

April 28 - Montreal, QC @ Fattal - $5
with Artificial Dissemination, Riot Porn & Cuntagious

April 29 - Oshawa, ON @ The Atria - $10 - 19+
with Dragged In, Whisker Biscuit & More TBA

April 30 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ The Algonquin
More info coming soon

May 1 - Thunder Bay, ON @ Black Pirates 8 Year Anni - $5 - 19+
with Raygun Cowboys, Finer Things & Gratzo Attacko

May 2 - Winnipeg, MB @ Kings Hotel - $8 - 18+
with The Rewd & Yur Mum

We have more dates lumped under this 'tour' to catch the left coast and such, but we'll do that leg later in May. In case the band names don't give it away, we play originals punk.

Today's agenda is to finish work, close as many cases as I can and hand off the others, set out of office all that good stuff. Once work is done, it's off to the Pub to meet up with the Guitar player and last years roadie for wings and a pint (no roadie this year) maybe two. Then off to the singers for the last rehearsal, probably twice through the set, and we've got a couple of songs in progress, one we'll use for soundchecks, the other - for which no lyrics have lent themselves, we'll use to play the singer onto stage, basically the "finish your smoke's, we're going on now!" notification...

After rehearsal, the van will be loaded, including merch, everyone's luggage, sleeping bags, etc. etc. Drop the guitar player off at home, then off to the little town I live in for a nice late dinner with Mrs. Tedious, and one more sleep in my own bed.

Tomorrow the plan is to wake up, have a leisurely coffee, run through my packing checklist, make sure nothing is getting overlooked, kiss the wife, pet the cats and get on the road back into the city. Once in the city, pick up the guitar player, then off to the Costco for four flats of bottled water and a case of 5w30. Then over to grab the singer, and finally off to the drummers - whose home is a vortex into which time simply disappears, so we'll have to browbeat him into getting a shag on, then its on to the Trans-Canada and off to Regina.

I'm hoping to do one or two quick updates a day, well quick to read, not so quick for me to do when I'm on a cell phone...

EDIT: Corrected from buldog5151 to BassCliff, whose gig reports I was actually thinking of, and who came along and liked this post, which served to notify me of my tragic mistake. Sorry @BassCliff

Curious, what do you plan to do with the 5w30 oil? Just askin

 

[tedious1]

Curious, what do you plan to do with the 5w30 oil? Just askin

I'm glad someone asked...

Nothing untoward or even unsurprising, our Van burns oil, and a case is cheaper, and more convenient to deal with.

But I know we aren't going to use 12 quarts of oil, so I'mma thinking a practical joke might be in order...

 

[tedious1]

Remember, no pics = tour never happened

Damnit! Didn't you read the weasel words about how this won't be up to par with BassCliff's work?

Actually part and parcel of doing this diary is so that I'll take more pictures, the last two years I've come home, sat down with the wife and kinda kicked myself for not taking more pictures.

What confuses me is why you guys are so interested in pictures of three quarter empty Canadian bars?

 

[dbase]

Damnit! Didn't you read the weasel words about how this won't be up to par with BassCliff's work?

Actually part and parcel of doing this diary is so that I'll take more pictures, the last two years I've come home, sat down with the wife and kinda kicked myself for not taking more pictures.

What confuses me is why you guys are so interested in pictures of three quarter empty Canadian bars?

I don't care about the bar, just the rigs and the bar food and ...... the chicks.

 

[dbase]

I'm glad someone asked...

Nothing untoward or even unsurprising, our Van burns oil, and a case is cheaper, and more convenient to deal with.

But I know we aren't going to use 12 quarts of oil, so I'mma thinking a practical joke might be in order...

Oh, Ok! glad you cleared that up ... Silly me. I'm a bass player and also a dirty old man ... wink, wink, nod, nod.

 

[McG]

Nice tour you have lined up. Looking forward to reports. I like your diary style of writing.

What confuses me is why you guys are so interested in pictures of three quarter empty Canadian bars?

Because it makes me feel better to see others playing to three quarter empty rooms too. Kinda curious if the Canadian ones look the same as the California ones

Oh, Ok! glad you cleared that up ... Silly me. I'm a bass player and also a dirty old man ... wink, wink, nod, nod.

We got two of us old guys here who like the rig, food and chick pics

Seriously @tedious1, have a fun and safe tour!

 

[tedious1]

Hey all,

So first show last night, a little touch and go at a couple spots, but we muscled through. Drummer dropped his sticks in one song, I damn near forgot the bridge to one of the new songs. That moment where the bridge is coming, and you know you don't remember it, and then it comes and your fingers flip your brain the bird and do what they are supposed to. Both of the other bands were good. Soiled Doves lead vox used to play guitar as well, until he lost a finger last month. He did a great job as a straight up forntman, proving my theory that any lead guitar player who can sing, is one finger away from fronting. Turn out was pretty good for an all ages show on a school night, but the room was pretty big, so it looked a waste land.

Not bad though, 220 plus merch sales for one set of work. Both bands turned over their take from the door, this is the fifth time we've played with Bats Out, a couple times at home in Calgary, so they got the same from us, hope we get to return the favor to Soiled Doves as well.

Pics to come, we've got a lot of miles to cover today, so it time to start kicking bodies and yelling "Marching Orders" so we can get in the highway. Thunder Bay awaits.

Tonight is our only scheduled night off, Friday in Sudbury 24 hours drive time plus lose two hours on time changes, a bit of a slog, but well get her done.

Thanks for tuning in.

 

[tedious1]

OK pics, first we have the venue when we arrived, good size room, proper mixing desk, sizable stage.


The rig, Sans Amp VT-RM feeding a Behringer iNuke 3000, yeah plastic face plate, but it is racked...

Cabs, 2xSVT210AV, stacked vertically, because I pay attention on TB.

Weapon of the eve, Squier Jaguar, EMG Geezers in there, strung up with Elixirs.

View of the stage

The other bands shared equipment, Traynor combo for both bass players.

Drum assembly cave, our drummer for ng assembly.


Soiled Doves - pretty good band, nice guys to boot.

Bats Out, great guys, though the singer indulged a bit too much last night...

Some of the kids that stuck around to see us play.

Sorry about the pic quality, cell phone for one, and I'm not a great photographer.

Stay tuned, nothing tonight, but Sudbury tomorrow!

 

[tedious1]

So I had the late shift driving, we decided to push thru to Sudbury. At 4 AM the drummer spelled me, about 8:30 I wake up to:

Taken shortly after the singer took the wheel, dirt road, snow...apparently the guitar players GPS app pitched a hissy. Backtrack, find a gas station, get on metalled roads, hours squandered. On the bright side, tonite is a hotel nite, and all of this means we won't be hours early for check in!

 

[tedious1]

Shot from once we got our mistake corrected.

Lesson learned, print off the maps with the directions, or buy an Atlas...relying on a cell phone app may not be the best idea...particularly when you have no signal!

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Taken shortly after the singer took the wheel, dirt road, snow...apparently the guitar players GPS app pitched a hissy.

Nah, all GPS's do this if you play DBR on the radio. It's a feature.

 

[tedious1]

Some shots of tonight's venue empty, neat place, looking forward to showtime. Also no need for a hotel tonight, the venue has a room for bands, second venue in Sudbury that has offered us a room (The Asylum and The Townhouse for those keeping score.]

Shots of the room to come (The Red Room) and of course the show.

One of the bands lost their drummer last minute, and tried to find a sub, but no luck. So us and The Twentiest, a Pop Punk band (played with them last time thru], so set stretching and no possible encore tonight... (I lie, we have some old 'standards' we will pull out if we have to, not rehearsed, but they shouldn't need to be.)

 

[tedious1]

As promised Red Room pictures...

Cozy, but free, bathroom is shared, one floor down, no shower, but still, a little slower CE of heaven, and it and the bathroom are clean...

Finally, yours truly, with temp dye in the beard to cover the white and gray, after all it *is* Punk...

 

[trailer]

I'm enjoying this tedious. Vicariously living the dream.

 

[tedious1]

I'm enjoying this tedious. Vicariously living the dream.

Hey trailer, thanks. I think that may be the other point to this thread. We read a lot of doom and gloom here, and I'm not suggesting for a second that there isn't a reason for those feelings. But, at least in some genres, or hellz I'm no expert, maybe more genres than either of us can expect can maybe not make it rich, but have a [censored] good time playing music as a somewhat paid vacation.

I'm lucky, and I know I am, this tour is the hard work and time served by every musician that has lent their talent to this project. But particularly our current guitar player, who does the heavy lifting,.

@Zebra, said guitar player said I should just put you two in contact, so I will PM you when I get home with his email. PM me if you haven't heard from me by May 3, stupid work....

 

[tedious1]

Gear on stage, opening band loaded in, doors in 45. We've only played Sudbury once before, last year, so a lot of schmoozing the promoter, and since we had a sub drummer on tour last year, we're all intent on putting on a hellz of a show.

Here comes the promoter and the openers, duty calls....

Thanks to everyone reading this, I hady own reasons to do this thread, but seeing the alerts when I log in is really cool too.