Category Blog/Tour Diary

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Polyphonic Spree Tour ''03

I got so fucking stressed getting to the Austin City Limits show. We couldn’t find the parking lot and had 30 minutes to get to the stage. I jumped out of the van and walked. A guy in a cart saw me and goes,

“I should give you a ride . . . but I won’t.”

Then, I remembered the festival told me I was supposed to get a cart ride.

“Hey, man, can you give me a ride to the stage? I go on in twenty minutes.”

“We can’t do that. We got a lot of work to do. Your stage is only 100 feet away.”

It was real close. I saw a few people waiting by the stage which was the crowd I was expecting. After I started playing it got bigger. Some guys had signs that requested songs, Corby and Dave Lane from The Ticket showed up, a girl from high school came, and a bunch of other folks showed up.

It’s hard ...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Polyphonic Spree Tour ''03

Dallas was bad ass. Whenever I play Dallas now I get teary-eyed. Your friends who rooted for you in Dallas show up real proud. I curse a lot during the show because I’m a little nervous and I’m not good at not cursing, yet. Some dads gave their kids earmuffs when I started, “You guys are gonna make me fuckin’ cry.” And then my dirty-word, dirty-word spewed even more. After shows like that I feel like I’ve run 5 miles. It feels real good. And seeing the Spree in Dallas was the same feeling. Everyone is proud of them, too. After seeing Tripping Daisy all those years and then seeing this new creation that’s blowing up made all of them proud.

Oh, I got this email from my friend, Halee that sums this entry up:

Jon…don’t know how often you actually get to check e-mail but I had to writ...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Polyphonic Spree Tour ''03

I’m in Asheville right now. Since Denton the Polyphonic tour has been on hold until the 30th in Toronto. There was a death in the family. God bless them.

We pulled in last night at a Walmart and used their facilities and slept in the van in their parking lot. We were in Chattanooga where I played an instore at Chad’s.

There were five people in that store and I rocked as best I could. This is the kind of tour I love-the kind that turns into adventure. We had spent the first day after the Denton show in New Orleans where we were going to work on getting last minute shows but ended up drinking at Lafitte’s. Which was fine because surrender is good sometimes. Then we did a lot of “touristy” stuff- like drinking more and going into the places that tourists go in and out of.

The second d...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Polyphonic Spree Tour ''03

I’m in Denton. I ate a breakfast taco this morning and it was good. We left from Nashville yesterday. A butterfly flew in the van from the highway and hit Luke in the chest. I was playing Playstation and stopped playing to get that shit on video. It lived to the gas station and he set it in some weeds. I don’t know if insects regenerate fluid. I saw a rooster at the gas station walking around.

We pulled into Denton about 1:30 last night and went to the bar and got a tall one and caught up with folks. Me and Chris Flemmons hung out late at his house and then he went to Whataburger and I fell asleep.

There’s pretty girls on campus.

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Polyphonic Spree Tour ''03

I’m in Nashville getting ready to leave for tour. Luke and Kathy just pulled up in their van and have started napping. They just bought this van that has a tv/vcr/playstation 2 and a bed. Janet’s getting her shit together right now. I’m excited about van party. This is going to be a fucking cool adventure.

Speaking of cool, I visited my brother on his birthday yesterday and went to the mall with my family for lunch. I rode the carousel with my niece, Maddie, who is 3. She cried earlier because I wasn’t watching the Tigger Movie with her even though I was in the room checking email. She rode my shoulders in the mall and my neck felt wet and played hide and seek in the Electronic Boutique where I was looking for a playstation present for Luke.

Now I’m ready to rock the stage and mak...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Planet Banana '03

We’re getting towed.

The clutch went out . Nina’s cafe phone won’t allow the incoming calls we need to keep in touch with AA (the European AAA). We hung out in Nina’s, drinking coffee and then buying some breakfast.

Nina: “This is the hottest it’s been since ’81. We’re definitely having a heat wave.”

Clarke: “Yeah, a heat wave where you have to wear a sweater at night.”

Good show, old chap.

I hung out with some kids on the lot yesterday. Real sweet kids: Caylin, 7 and Amber, 4, I think. Very smart and very nice kids.

Amber to me: “You’re very, very, very, very cheeky.”

Caylin to me: “You don’t know English very well, do you?”

“Amber, do you want this peach or not?”

“I don’t want it.”

“Shall I eat it?”

“Yes.”

Just like those over-polite chipmunks.

Caylin ran off and came back with ...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Planet Banana '03

I haven’t seen a good campfire in a while. It’s nice to look at.

Yesterday, I did a good show and Toby and Andrew came running back stage to hug me and then I played for them. Sylvia and Clarke came, too.

After, I saw the coolest dance I’d ever seen. It was a Russian Group called “Black Sky White”. Fuckin’ amazing. It was like Brothers Quay, stop-motion animation (like the Tool video), except live.

Around the campfire, someone came by to tell us they had just seen The Madagascar Institute (some friends of mine from Brooklyn) who had a fort made from metal scraps with fire cannons mounted at the top. When he mentioned they had a game of tug-of-war

a lady who had fallen asleep by the fire suddenly awoke and said in my direction, “Winning wars is like winning an earthquake.”

What did I ...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Planet Banana '03

We’re rearranging the truck. Actually, I’m reading. Someone is playing shit on the PA that’s worse than magician music-a cross between the Ferris Bueller “Oh Yeah”, Spyrogyra, and Jan Hammer on one shitty loop.

We parked on the road last night because they weren’t letting even performers in to set up camp. I woke to engines starting so I woke the others and we drove through at least 2-3 more checkpoints (we’d already been through 3-4 the night before).

We drove through the festival to the performers’ camp:

-outdoor shower,

like in M*A*S*H, almost

-outdoor shitters

-not a PortaJohn, with a shit pitfall of 10 feet from the toilet seat.

-each stall has a poster titled: “SHIT” with a plea to wash your hands to prevent disease and not throw rubbish in.

We got a decent spot and then deci...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Planet Banana '03

Me and Clarke and Sylvia got into Waltrop about 6. Nobody that worked at the hotel spoke English but it’s our fault for not knowing German. It was a family run business and the Dad was a good ol’ jolly German but the Mom looked at us with some sort of judgement.

We took our stuff to the room and came back down to the hotel’s restaurant because we were too tired to fuckaround with looking for some other place.

I can’t read German good so I got the special hoping it would be so.

It was excellent. Always get the special. It was some sort of pork with potatoes and kraut salad. I don’t mean to toot my horn or jinx myself but sometimes I can pick the right thing off a menu.

Clark and Sylvia didn’t have the foresight I did although Clark is one of the best cooks I’ve ever met...

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

On our way to Winston-Salem. We had fixed our trailer-a ball bearing was burning a groove in the axle. Last night, we played at Peasant’s Cafe in Greenville, NC. I was a little tired. this wa the town Magic Brian almost went home with the hot lady, Laura, back in April. She came to this show. She was the volunteer for a Magic Brian card trick and Brian kissed her hand as she left the stage.

The kids screamed for me again-it ALWAYS feels good.

During the straightjacket routine, one smart ass volunteer, who kept looking behind the back curtain, was trying to be clever on his hometown. The other guy was drunk and chained up Magic Brian’s and Keith’s necks.

Afterwards, I signed a few autographs, including one to a girl who wanted me to take a picture of her with the circus...

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

Last night we played in Raleigh and met up with Gary and Ian who are doing the article for Nerve Magazine. We played at a club called Kings. Everyone was real nice. Chris, the sound guy, was real good. They had a good jukebox- Bowie, Deep Purple, Prince, Brian Eno, Van Halen’s Fair Warning album . . . and cool video games though the Tempest machine was broken and so was the sit-down Star Wars game (the vectrix version).

I got a good response in lieu of an atmosphere of dead spirits. It was hard to get the audience excited. I don’t know if they were uptight or tired or hot.

Right now I want to jump out of the van and run through this traffic just up the dotted line on I-40 W. I don’t think I’m exciting enough for Gary, the writer for Nerve. Or hang out the door...

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

Last night, we played in Winston-Salem at the warehouse-The Wherehouse. I think it’s some kind of collective. I played real good. I felt on and played off the other performers well.

We pied Brian cause it was his birthday. I messed up during Una’s second act because I was trying to tell Keith about a videographer.

There is a building in Winston-Salem that was designed by the man who designed the Empire State Building. It’s a mini version of it.

Today, I ate at Snook’s BBQ near Keith’s parents’ house.

I had:

Pork bbq

3 deviled eggs

Turnip greens (with pepper-vinegar sauce)

Cabbage (with cornbread)

Sweet tea

and 2 yam sticks with cinnamon.

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

Vermont is real pretty. We took the scenic route and went through a bunch of beautiful New England towns. In Bennington, I had lunch and ate “our favorite” which was apple bread with cream chees and then melon balls and other fruit and topped with Vermont cheddar. It was good.

I’ve never played in Vermont and people screamed for me during “Busey Boy”. Even before I started playing. After a while it was a little embarrassing. I sold 13 cds and signed a bunch of autographs. It felt good. Real good. The “bearded lady” told me he heard good things from when he was in Austin.

I love when shows go good. It’s the best feeling in the world.

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

We’re on our way to pick up Magic Brian. I’m recovering from a bad fish lunch. I burped up lunch twice. Una got lucky with Sean who likes my name cause it relates to his tattoo of an Indian lady with corn and his daughter, Daisy Maize.

Last night, I struggled and I wasn’t right on. I kept knocking off my noise makers and cd player off the table because of my cymbal crashes. I stood on a mall elevated stage. I didn’t fall off though. We did a good show and the folks liked it. The writer form Nerve magazine came. I signed a few autographs.

I was afraid of the audience at first when Una declared that she had 1$ programs. Total silence. They warmed up though.

We drank with the locals after the show backstage. We went to someone’s apartment and drank and played Scrabble...

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

We’re in Cleveland now. I”m seeing road signs for places I sent bags to for my old job. That bank, Charter One, was at the time their biggest client. I feel resolution meeting these towns with no attachment to my old job.

We saw Blair Witch II in Cleveland. it was like a WB movie. Naked ladies dancing. We laughed a bit. It was what I expected it to be. I have terrible gas. maybe it was the Mexican food from lunch. I’m a terrible eater. I need to slow down. I weigh 180. I’m a fat ass. My ulcer is acting up.

JOKE I made up:

2 breakfast cereals walk into a bar and order beer. The bar keep says, “That’s awful.”

The cereal says, “I’m sad.”

The other cereal says, “Me, too.”

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

People I want to watch tv with:

1. Corbett Sparks

2. Ben Stiller

3. Kevin Cronin

4. Jeff Speedealer

5. Not Kevin Cronin

6. Not Vincent Gallo

7. President Clinton

8. My Dad

9. One of my late dogs

10. Maybe George Clooney

11. Kevin Spacey

12. My brother

13. I feel bad for making my girlfriend watch tv all day unless she says she enjoys it.

14. Nikki Sixx

15. Maybe Mick Mars

16. Chris Flemmons

17. Matthew McConaughy

18. Richard Kmietzch

19. I want to go get pizza with Nikki Sixx.

20. Huey Lewis maybe

21. Test out James Belushi. I don’t know.

22. Christopher Guest

23. Martin Short

24. Kid Rock

25. Not ZZ Top

26. Marilyn Manson

27. Tv buddies don’t judge you for watching tv, but you can both feel bad for watching too much. Plus, no sports...

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

Sunday-Brantford, Ontario

I’ve got a sore throat. I felt like a cold yesterday, but now it’s sore throat. Last night, I drank with more Canadians, “Hey, guy!” Canadians. They were fun.

I just kept drinking and eating cheese.

Tanya, Rocket Johnny’s sister, gave her dog some cheese. It was a lot of cheese. He couldn’t take it all in one easy swallow.

Earlier in the day we went to Rocket Johnny’s parents’ cottage. It’s all wood walls-like wood paneling but real wood. It had two small bedrooms, one bath, a sunroom, and a kitchen connected to the living room. Una, Magic Brian, Stephanie and I walked down the the beach on Lake Erie while Keith practiced throwing knives and tomahawks.

I planted a branch in the sand and claimed Canada cause of the maple leaves on it...

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

Tuesday-Ottawa

I had a falafel pita and a coke for dinner. The theater was large and the seating was terraced with tables and chairs. The staff was real nice and served us really good beer. Kids were yelling “Corn Mo”, making up for the lack of patrons. I gave out my e-mail address to do phone shows.

This was my first show with Una, the aerialist. I played an Evan Lurie song with the trapeze swing, called a “lira”, and a variation on a Cirque du Soleil song for the rope act which is called the “Cordalise”. She falls down the rope and catches herself before hitting the ground and I was totally on with the cymbal crashing at the end of her fall.

I had poutine for the first time. It’s fries with brown gravy and cheese curds...

Posted in Bindlestiff Family Cirkus '00, Blog/Tour Diary

The last show was the best cause the drama students came back and wanted to see me and yelled. It was the best response and everybody or almost everybody sang along on “My Epilady”.

Saturday morning I walked to the rotating drawbridge from our hotel. the houses were real old. It was nice that there was a sidewalk the whole way there. I smelled dead fish water and it was good. There waas a yard sale at the old folks home with a shopping basket full of clowns. I wanted to get Keith the “Emmet Kelly” ventriloquist doll but I figured he’s prbably sick of clown gifts and I was worried about money.

We ate Mexican food for dinner during Yale’s 300th anniversary. I got a bbq chicken burrito and a coke. Keith didn’t eat because he needed to allow four hours before he swallows his swords...

Posted in Blog/Tour Diary, Planet Banana '02

I went to the Edinburgh Dungeon today. I enjoy the tourist-trap, horror theme attractions but this sucked ass. I love going to Ripley’s and reading all the stuff about wooden penis sheathes, shrunken heads, and shipwreck stories. This place had those things but about torture devices. As I was reading them I was pushed along by the cloaked tour guides to be guided along to the next horror show.

I wish it were worth it to move along but it wasn’t. It was like a show at a renaissance fair. Scary mixed with not funny. I just wanted to look at torture devices.

Then came the new boat ride called “WitchFynder”. I got a little excited with all the what you can’t do hullaballo (don’t put your arms outside the boat shit)...