Muskogee: way too exciting.

We're staying in a Motel 6 down the street from here. Pray for the sanctity of our cornholes.

It's been a fun week.

It's a long story. Here are some highlights:

- L.A., like I've said before, is fun to visit...but I would never, ever live here. People are on an other planet.

- Got to hang out with the dudes in Spindrift for a few days, which was cool. Check those dudes out.

- Went to get tires in the Valley, where our RV promptly stopped going into gear. This was fixed later, but wait, it's gets better.

- APTBS played some great shows in LA.

- Somewhere in the middle of the Arizona desert our engine caught fire, we waited 3 hours for a $550 tow to Phoenix, and the show in Tucson got canceled.

Rock and roll.

We're now holed up in a hotel room in Glendale, the Grand Ol' Traveling Party Palace a few miles away, awaiting repair. I think it's the transmission. But at this point...I'm ready to blow the bitch up.

Stay tuned! I'm sure it gets better. More whiskey, anyone?

MONTANA: F'IN BIG.

DO NOT drive across this state the long way all at once. It is way too big and way too unnerving. And it all looks like that. All 800-whatever miles of it.

The only thing worse than driving across Montana during the day was crossing Idaho at night. Holy shit, it was like driving a turd through the septic system. Pitch black, up, down, curve this way, curve that way...it also didn't help matters that I was wired on ginseng pills and ludicrously-named energy drinks. (Amp? NoS? COCAINE!? Marketing genius.)

But we made it. Rather, I made it and the band managed to take some very good naps. Sleep is a precious commodity on these tours; I don't get much of it.

We're in Seattle right now, and the turnout for the show was pretty minimal. It seems the music scene in this depressing-ass, whiny-liberal town isn't what it used to be. Portland, Oregon is tomorrow, and while it's still as "blue" as it is here, at least it's a nicer town and a better scene. California is coming up very soon too, which will be lots of fun. I don't recommend staying there for more than a few days, though. It'll rub off on you, and pretty soon you'll think that shitty movie you were in gives your political opinions more importance than other people. You'll also decide Botox is a great idea and vote for Obama. Don't do it.

Bettter late than never

Yes, I'm late to the party. We've been on the road a week and I've had very little in the way of downtime. I'm driving, doing merchandise AND tour managing on this tour, so it's a lot of stress for little reward.

Right now we're in Chicago at The Empty Bottle, which is a welcome change from the bottomless pit of despair that is Detroit. We were there yesterday, and holy shit is it the most depressing place I've ever been. There are several brand-new casinos, but the streets downtown on a sunny Saturday afternoon were empty. I mean empty; no people, no cars, nada. Actually, scratch that. I did see a bunch of crackheads and hobos camped out on a burn-out patch of grass, having some kind of camp-out. That wasn't disheartening or anything.

We spent a few days in Canada, with shows in Montreal and Toronto. APTBS really pulls the crowd up in the Great White North, people come out in droves to see them live and buy up all their swag. In between those shows the guys recorded 2 new songs at a studio in rural Ontario with Graham from Holy Fuck, which came out pretty great. They've been playing them live at the last few shows and the crowd response has been positive. Then again. at least half of the band's set is songs that haven't been officially recorded yet, so it's a good fit.

Tomorrow is a long drive to Minneapolis to do a radio session and a show that night, then comes the long haul: Minneapolis to Vancouver in two and a half days. Yeah, think you've driven some long hours? Try 26 in 48. Good times.

Still don't have a functional camera, otherwise I'd be taking pictures of dumb shit like last time.

One more thing: check out the band that's opening most of the APTBS shows, the Sian Alice Group. They're...nice.

See you on the road, suckas.

OVERCAST: 8/30/08, Bobby Allen's, Waterbury CT

There are a lot of different ways we wish our pasts had played out. Sometimes, we will ourselves to think back on events, people or other things with a certain reverence, despite the shortcomings of said things. Music falls into this category quite a bit. Some of us like to remember certain songs, or bands, in a rosy light because of what they meant to us at the time.

Seeing as how most of my peers grew up in the Eighties and Nineties, this is mostly bullshit. If I'm at a party with people other than my metal friends, and someone puts their mix of "back in the day" songs on the stereo, all of a sudden I'm not in a party mood. I'm not going to hear Life Of Agony, Pantera or The Jesus & Mary Chain, am I? No, I'll be subjected to god-awful shit like the Barenaked Ladies. Or Eminem, or that one Notorious B.I.G. song that never goes away and everyone sings along to and laughs when they get to say "nigga".

OK, I have a point. It's that sometimes, that thing from our past that we wish was really good actually is. I'm talking about Overcast, the seminal Massacusetts band that pioneered, and dare I say perfected, the 'metalcore' genre. If you grew up in New England during the 90s and liked heavy music, you liked Overcast. They played a million shows with everyone from Hatebreed to 25 Ta Life, at every VFW or American Legion hall within a 100-mile radius of central Mass. The band went their separate ways in 1998, with the members going on to even bigger success in bands like Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage and Seemless.

The band reunited for a few shows last year, and went back into the studio to re-record some of their old material and come up with some new tracks. The fruit of those efforts can be found in the newly released Reborn To Kill Again, and although I love the original albums I gotta say these songs sound a hundred times better now. Take note, one-man basement black metal bands; production value doesn't hurt.

Overcast lined up a string of dates for this month, and the last one happened to be in the (relative) neighborhood, a quick half-hour away in Waterbury CT at Bobby Allen's. This is a venue I previously didn't even know existed, but it's definitely the perfect setting for an underground metal show. Cheap booze, low ceilings and an all-around sketchy vibe.
There were four opening bands, and it broke down into one good, one OK and two lame. I try not to dwell on bands that don't impress me, but I will give some internet props to Thy Will Be Done (the good band). I saw these guys open for Dying Fetus a few months back, and was definitely digging it. They don't break the mold, but they do slam the shit out of it.

Overcast's set was near perfect, the only complaint being the usual: "ONE MORE SONG!!" They ripped through classics like Apocalypse Upon Us, Grifter and the awesome instrumental track Styrofoam Death Machine. The new songs are 100% bona fide, and sounded like they could have been recorded during the Fight Ambition To Kill sessions. There was no danger of anybody being rusty; every band member's current outfit are notorious touring fiends, so no worries there. The crowd was a collection of most every CT hardcore kid from over the last 15 years, which means many of them aren't kids any more. I did see some gray hair in the pit, which is always amusing, but it proves that this music meant something to many of us, and still does.

End of the line...temporarily.

Today's the last day of the Nine Inch Nails tour. It's been real, it's been fun...but it hasn't been real fun. A good experience, I'll be prepared if it ever happens again, but I'm hoping it doesn't for a long time.

Last night we did an off-night show in Covington, Kentucky. DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE. It is scary, and I think wolves prowl the streets after dusk. There was an awesome fast-food fried chicken joint next door to the venue though, so not all was lost.

The drive home from Toledo is about 10 hours, so after the drive, unloading in Brooklyn, and returning to Connecticut, I should thoroughly exhausted. We have a scant 2 weeks off before the big national headlining tour begins. No rest for the wicked, though; I get to spend those weeks doing the accounting for this tour, and budgeting the next one. After all these years, I'm sure some people are shaking their heads in bewilderment, thinking about me doing accounting-type activities.

So as I sit in this makeshift dressing room in Toledo, writing online with stolen wireless internet, I think back on the last 2 weeks and realize: what the hell am I doing here?

Rowella out.

Vacation.

So I've had a few days off. Bass player Jono is getting married today, so the rest of the band and the manager returned to New York for the wedding. It's just been me and the sound guy for the last two days.

After dropping the other guys off at the St. Louis airport Thursday morning, I parked at a rest stop. I get woken up by some yahoo outside the RV, rambling something about this driver who has some crazy rig that I gotta see, or something like that. It's hard to understand someone with five teeth.

So I'm still half-asleep, and I'm following this guy across the parking lot thinking he's gonna show me some big-ass trailer or something. I round the corner, see a couple guys hunched over a piece of cardboard, and I'm pissed. This asshole woke me up to try and sucker me into a 3-card monte hustle. Oh, it was classic. One guy pretending to not know them, playing and winning. One other guy who was "scamming" the guy with the cards. Times like this, I wish I had a badge. I "respectfully declined" and went back to the RV.

We stopped last night in some lakeside town in Michigan, which looked like every other town in the middle of the country. Wal-Mart, Applebee's, McDonald's, Home Depot, a bunch of others, all in a giant complex down some access road off the highway. Thankfully, there was a movie theater. The sound guy hadn't seen The Dark Knight yet, which I thought was impossible, so he went and saw that. I saw Tropic Thunder, and it was great. Funnier than I thought it was going to be, and I thought it was gonna be pretty damn funny. Downey Jr. stole the movie, far and away. I'm glad he's making a comeback, always liked him as an actor.

We're staying in a hotel tonight, a few exits from the venue for the next show in Auburn Hills. It's nice to have a room that doesn't sit on wheels once in a while.

I'm almost home.

This shit is Groudhog Day.

I know we're in St. Louis, but I have no idea what the weather is, or if it's day or night. Backstage at all these arenas is like being in the bunker from Day Of The Dead.

I'm still adjusting to driving the RV with a trailer on the back. That shit is not easy. When you want the trailer to go left, you have to turn right, and vice versa. Those of you who know me know how much patience I have with these kinds of things, so it's a lot of cursing on my part. But I'm getting the hang of it.

The band and the manager are flying back to New York tomorrow morning for the bass player's wedding, which means the sound guy and I are on our own for the next two days. The trip to Detroit only takes 9 hours, so we'll have some time to kill. I'd like to find a theater playing Hell Ride somewhere.

We are the ones to make a brighter day, so let's start giving.

Dallas, kiss my ass. This room has 4 chairs and a couch for, I don't know, 10 people. I know, we're the support band from New York and you gobbled weiners in the divisional playoffs, but seriously: where am I supposed to sit??

Last night was in Austin, and it was great to be back in a regular club environment where we could sell our own merchandise. It was rainy, but plenty of people showed. Plus, we saw a shitload of bats.

We also got a bit of Southern hospitality from the dudes in The Black Angels. We cranked 13th Floor Elevators until the wee hours of the morning, and had some interesting conversations. Thanks for letting us crash at your pad, guys.

The drive from Austin to Dallas is normally a quick 3-hour jaunt. But apparently Texans don't know what rain is, or how to drive in it. So 3 hours became 4.5, due to no less than three accidents on the highway.

Got to talk to the dude today; he's pretty nice. I was surprised he took the time to talk to a lowly road crew guy, but I guess he figured out I do the equivalent of 15 of the guys he has. So maybe he felt bad. We actually like some of the same bands, notably Kylesa. I thought that was pretty cool.

I'm debating whether I like Pilot or Love's more. I think Pilot is winning.

Now I REALLY wish my camera worked.

I'm writing while sitting in the locker room of the Houston Rockets. These arena tours are INSANE. Catering, VIP passes, the whole nine yards. It doesn't come without a price, though. Trying to stay on top of things with six thousand people running around isn't easy. Last night's show in Oklahoma City was an eye-opening experience. Chasing after stage crew, keeping track of merchandise (which we can't sell ourselves), driving a 34-foot RV with a trailer on it into precarious parking spots...stress can be high.

There have been people on line for tonight's show since 1PM. Doors are at 7. I didn't think people liked Nine Inch Nails that much anymore; I've been mistaken. It is a really cool show, though. I'll give Trent that.