Back in the Saddle Again - YEEHAW!

CHICAGOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh My Gaawwdduh!!!

We rolled into Chicago yesterday after a 6 hour drive from Minneapolis. We didn’t have much time to do anything once we arrived at our hosts building, the Cobra Lounge. It was, run up, drop off your bedding, get your costume & makeup on, and get back on the bus to run over to our first gig of the evening at the Orphanage. The folks at the Orphanage had a beautiful spread of home cooking waiting for us buffet style in the upstairs ballroom where we played our show. The Orphanage used to be a real orphanage, but has since been converted to an artist/performance/community space, complete with “God’s Closet”, where you can peruse for any clothes that fit you, and you can have them for free!

We played a short, sweet, upbeat set for a small crowd of marching band enthusisasts & the Environmental Encroachment marching band who sat in on our last song with us “St. James” to segway into their set. It was a fun, family style performance, and we were well received.

Then we high tailed it back over to the Cobra where a packed house awaited our arrival. The guys at the Cobra were really cool, and definitely hooked us up by promoting the show well, setting us up with beds on one of the floors of their building, stocking the fridge with PBR & being extremely welcoming & hospitable.

Our set was phenomenal. Everyone agreed it was one, or arguably the best show of the tour so far. Everyone’s energy was great, the crowd was pumped & crazy, we had a great light show tech working it & we blew the roof off the place. M4 does it again. Dick Whiskey even had a special lock of hair he grew out just for the Chicago crowd, Dee Snyder style, and he definitely got the crowd worked up!

2 slamming sets back to back, however is not enough music for this crew. On the 4^th floor of the Cobra building, the owner Shawn invited us to entertain ourselves as long as we wanted to with a full selection of guitars, amps, sweeeeeet drum set, mics, keyboards, etc. I was downstairs hanging out with some folks outside & doing a photoshoot with Dick Whiskey & the hot red Trans Am that belongs to the Cobra, and I hear this raging rockband upstairs.

I run up to see what band is playing and its none other than the notorious & diversely talented crew of M4thers. Everybody took turns on the kit, bass, vocals and there were some really amazing musical moments. I got a lot of video (very dark) & will try to clean it up & edit it, but man, it was the jam session to end all jam sessions….til 5 am.

We decided we could have at least two bands within M4 to open up for ourselves. We could easily have a metal/rock band a surf punk band or a funk band with a rotating cast of characters to keep em guessing. Look out for the M4 offshoots soon, at a venue near you!

We were up and attum at 10 am and on the bus for a 7 hour drive to Bloomington Indiana where we will be playing 2 shows a night at the Lotus Festival. Sunday, the Lord’s day, we shall rest….until then….NO REST FOR THE WICKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS CHICAGO!!!!!! We will definitely be back….

HERE & THERE & BACK AGAIN

Colorado Springs to Oakland to Santa Cruz to San Francisco to Minneapolis to Chicago....

Topher & I took a little detour & went to our great friends' David & Sara's wedding in La Selva CA for a few days. It was really nice to get off the bus for a few days & eat some actual food & get some actual sleep. As they say in spain, "It's nice to do nothing all day, and then rest." HOWEVE it sounds like we missed some of the best gigs in Denver & Fort Collins where the crowd had over 4000!!! Sounds like M4 Rocked it though, (OF COURSE!) even without yours truly & my better half. It's nice to know you aren't needed in times like that. I would have hated to be responsible for a less than lustrous show in front of that many people. Big props to Tall boy who stepped up & played lead snare, and to Ashley who flew out to play bass drum so Tall boy could switch to snare. YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!! The wedding was great though, and was nice to see old friends & eat lots of good food (did I already say that??? I must really have loved the food!) The property in La Selva was completely inspiring & amazing. Looking out over the Bay on 10 acres from up on a hill, the compound houses 3 families, all with thier own houses, and one common house with a great bath house, commercial grade kitchen facility & common area. All the structures were built to look like rustic barns and have very open, easy floor plans with great gardening & arbors & outdoor fireplaces....i could go on & on. Topher & I have often dreamed of such a place. To go in on some land with a few close friends & be self-sustaining is a dream I hope we can someday manage to realize. After the wedding we headed back to San Francisco to stay with Erene & Chris (sister & bro in law) for a few days. The band was traveling from Denver to Minneapolis (3 days drive) so we didn't miss any shows. We went to the beach, took naps, read, did some work (thanks LapTop!) ate food & generally hung out. Its pretty amazing how you can really not do a whole lot and still be busy! Topher got some surfing & motorcycle riding in while we were there, although the flying was not to be had. We had a final blow out SUSHI dinner in Oakland with Sara, David, Erene, Chris, Topher & I where we realized we are all SOOOOOOO MARRIED! IT was pretty funny. All the old married fuddy duddies sitting around talking about our next real estate investment, and strategies to rearrange our existing assets in order to achieve our dream of owning a piece of land like the one in La Selva. That feeling didn't last long though. At 4 am, we were up & off to Minneapolis. Our plane landed around 1:30pm & we were wisked away by my dear friend MaryP. She gave us a whirlwind tour of Her fair City. Complete with the real estate tour of the rich & famous (Josh Harden, Bobby McFarrin, Prince). Minneapolis is real cute & has a rich history. We visited the Guthrie Theatre & saw the 35W that collapsed a few weeks ago. We ate at a local diner & then headed back to Mary P's studio/crash pad in a great artist building. After a short nap (getting up at 4 am kicked my BUTT!), we got ready for our show at the Foundation downtown Minneapolis. We marched around & gathered a crowd & had a pretty good crowd (THOSE 82 people really ROCKED !!!) Thanks MINNEAPOLIS!!! After the show, the usual party madness begins, and we all wound up back at Mary P's for party time. I had to hit the hay, don't quite have my rockstar head on yet, but it must have been a good one, because all the paintings in MaryP's studio were upside down when I went in to brush my teeth the next morning!!!! We're on the road to Chicago, crossing the great state of Wisconsin. The road stretches out before us, the great movie screen window of the Spam Boat shining bright with the Autumn sun. Waves of corn & wheat fields lapp the edges of the freeway like a sea of golden green. I'm content to listen to my music on my headphones as I type the road away beneath my feet. Not quite feeling like I'm "back in the groove" just yet. It's hard to step away just when you start getting your sea legs, and then re-insert yourself. We have two gigs tonight in Chicago, that will probably do it.

FLAGSTAFF, AZ * PENASCO, NM * COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

3 CITIES, 3 DAYS, 900 MILES…WHEW!

Well, we have officially left the familiar, parental shores of the west coast for less traveled, but eagerly awaited turf on which to unleash our musical mayhem.

We left LA with the sluggish trepidation of a giant hissing cockroach. With our all new luggage rack on top to stow our camping items, we threw caution to the wind that we would not have to pass under any bridge less than 13’, and with all our gear, pass over any bridge that would not be able to hold any more than 36,000 lbs. Our 9 hour drive to Flagstaff slowly turned into an 11 hour journey with stops & such, and our hosts met us most graciously, bright eyed & bushy tailed at 2 am to put us up with beds, mats, bedrooms for some (including yours truly….FINALLY!!!...after a week a bedroom with a door to call my own!), and a much needed nights rest. Our show at the Mogollon Brewery the next day was not until 9pm, so we had a leisurely day of shopping & exploring the beautiful town of Flagstaff. A few of us took the opportunity to buy a gift for our endeared driver, Aaron Levi. We found the perfect t-shirt for him at a cowboy shop…one of those “designated driver” shirts with a picture of a passed out cowboy & his dog riding a horse: the dog in the driver’s seat. On the back, Richard enscribed the M4 power medallion symbol & the name “Breathalizer” (Aaron’s bequeathed drinking name) and everyone in the band signed the shirt.

I also had an opportunity that day to take a NAP! Much needed, as I seem to have come down with the M4 crud. Achiness, stuffy head, can’t breath, feel like you are going to die…The peace of having my own room & bed did me wonders, THANKS DIEDRE & JIM!!!!!

We met over at the main house where everyone was staying around 5 pm for a BBQ supplied supplied by our hosts. Which, in true M4 locust style, was devoured within minutes.

Afterwards, we packedup, puton & pushedoff to the Mogollon Brewery where we paraded around town, gathered up quite a nice crowd & rocked the house for a full set of sweat & swarthiness. Old friends, new fans & old all made for a really fun show. THANKS FLAGSTAFF!!!! WE LOVE YOU!

Next morning, after rocking out until 2 or 3????AM, we have a 8 am bus call, for our 9 hour drive to PENASCO, NM (just outside of Taos) where we are going to play a show at the Penasco Theatre at 9pm. I pretty much rolled out of bed & rolled back into a bunk on the bus & spent the first part of the day catching up on some sleep. Gotta get it where you can on tour, and this was going to be one long day.

In our mathematical wizardry, we forgot that we changed time zones in NM, and we wound up being 1 hour late for our gig…but, we still had a great crowd at the Penasco Theatre waiting for us when we arrived, where many like-minded spirits, acrobats, aerial artists & musicians reside.

This great little community came to life, and seemed to party into the night. As my head hit my pillow in my tent we set up outside the theatre in a cute little cottonwood grove, my ears still ringing with the triumphant sounds of an M4 encore, I thanked all the energy & enthusiasm this community brought to our show. They fed us amazing food, put us up for the night, and treated us like family.

In the morning, Topher & I awoke to a completely soaked tent. Thunderstorms, pounding rain & lightening had filtered through our dreams & so, we schlooped our soaked gear over to the restaurant/theater awning to dry out before Bus Call at Noon. Seems the restaurant didn’t open until 11:30 am, and it was the ONLY thing in town, so we were all going to have to wait to eat until we got to Taos around 1pm.

SO, what do a bunch of M4thers do as they are waiting for the rain to stop so they can load their camping gear on the bus rack??? Play with the Marquee of course!!!! I believe we have a new name! I’ll make a poll out of it, but I think my favorite new name for M4 is Chem Froth & the Mad Wretching Spam Boat.

That day we drove to Taos for lunch & ate like we've been marooned on a desert island for a year. See our happy full-bellied faces???

Goodbye FOR NOW to the Hollywood Bowl!

We played our last show at the Hollywood Bowl last night, and it was definitely the most fun of all the shows. Everyone was very relaxed on stage, and definitely giving it thier all. (PHOTO credits Joe Vitkauskas) Quite the celebration! Thomas Lauderdale was being such a little cutie on stage, I could barely play my drum I was laughing so hard. In the middle of the finale, "Brazil" he was walking around on stage with his black & white medium format camera taking pictures of everyone on stage...NOTE: he wasn't playing the piano. THEN, he sits down at the piano & gets this little devilish smile on his face and ripples his fingers together ala Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. You could see the delight on his face as the spectacle he had envisioned came to life on stage. The middle photo is with the whole ensemble, Pink, the orchestra, M4MB (You can see me in the middle photo below if you look for the little red speck stage left by the drum kit...teeheehee) & other guests including Johnny Dynell of NYC club Jackie 60 fame. Johnny actually gave us a very important tip: FEBREEZE! It isolates the stink molecule and disables it's ability to reek. I cleaned the bathroom on the bus today and as soon as I sprayed it, the stench magically disappeared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO! That bus was getting pretty raunchy after our first week on the road, but we did a thourough dousching while others were finishing our new roof rack & now it is back in ship shape. Thanks for the tip Johnny! And FEBREEZE, if you are listening, we will be your most adament spokes people! We want a contract!

All in all, LA was a blast. We sold a lot of CD's & t-shirts here, and everyone at the bowl really loved us. They all want us to come back, and we would be honored & overjoyed to be back someday as well!!! Thanks LA! We're off to Flagstaff....we're gonna stop at the Colorado River for a swim to break up the 10 hour drive. That will put us there around Midnight tonight. To the Hollywood Bowl, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!!!! We love YOU, M4MB!

There's No Business Like Show Business

Hollywood Bowl, LA, CA!!!
Oh, you know, just a packed house with 18,000 people, Carol Channing on stage & Suzanne Sommers in the front row. Just a day in the life of the M4MB. What a thrill! These are a few of the snaps I took yesterday before/during/after our performance. Top is Pink on stage during the fireworks (yes they put on a fireworks display out the back of the bowl DURING the finale! Same guy who runs it also does the pyrotechnics for Burning Man), us in the wings waiting to go on & join them. Next is an old aerial photo of the bowl. Pretty cool. Middle is the view from the back of the stage at the morning call. We were on stage with Pink & the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra as well. It's hard to say, but it felt like 300 people on stage at the same time. 4th is H & T hamming it up in the green room after the show-releasing some post-show retardation. Last, but never Least, is Tallboy & Wick Disky hamming it up with the bus in the background after the show and after party...can't you tell? No host bar & yummy horsdevours for all. Yes, thats right, M4 mingling & hob knobbing. Well, actually, we obsconded with an obscene amount of beer & did a whole lotta blah blah blahing. I didn't eat a whole lot of the horsdevours because I was too busy creating food art. (See side bar below) Afterwards we embarked back to the Mutaytor Warehouse @ the Brewery where we are staying, and continued to crack our brains well into the night. We even broadcast on the Mutaytors web radio with a live studio verson of the ukelele favorite "Monkey SONG". Soon to hit the record stores near YOU! We had to get our post bowl celebration on right last night because tonight after the bowl we high tail it straight over to the ROXY for a late night ROCKING set. It will be nice to play our own show, CAN'T WAIT! L.A., Come out to support us! We will probably go on about midnight. $10 cover, 21+. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First stop...OAKLAND, CA!

....I'll get to the story behind this mysterious photo in a minute!

When we left our adventurers, they were on thier way to Oakland CA to play with the intrepid Pink Martini at the renowned Paramount Theatre in Oakland CA. (Its a lot like the Schnitzer in Portland) We arrived without a scratch, and with slightly more sea worthy legs. Navigating the galley of this bus is a lot like being on a ship at sea, I don't quite have my sea legs yet, but they are coming! We haven't had any casualties of tight turns yet, except for some carrot juice & some water. With the help of incense constantly burning in the bathroom & a good cleaning now & then, the bus is quite the lap of luxury!

When we got to the Paramount, it was the classic rock star hurry up & wait scenario. We all had a fair amount of butterflies I think, to play for a sold out crowd at such a huge venue for our first gig of the tour. But we showed up, rehearsed with Pink for 30 min or so, did our sound check, came out, Rocked our 25 min set before Pink played, and then played two songs with them on stage for thier encore, "Dosvedanya" & "Brazil". (In between there was a whole lotta waiting around staring at each other.) All went swimmingly, and we were treated at the Paramount like stars. They had showers backstage, lots of food, sandwiches, pizza, and after the show, most importantly: BEER!!!

It's funny to hang out with Pink. They are touring in two tour busses, a trailer & rental vans for 17 people. We have 24 people at this leg of the tour, and all we gots is our trusty Bus! Maybe some day, but for now, we are loving it! This truly is my family, and we are having a blast together. We had a blast playing with Pink once again, they are ever so gracious, professional & sweet. They came over & partied on the bus with us after the show. Can't wait to play the BOWL with them tomorrow!

NOW, about that photo....

Well, next day we slept in because we were up from 4:30 am Tuesday to 2 am Weds. WHEW! So, a much needed good nights sleep was in order. We stayed at the Gamelon X Warehouse in Oakland, and we ran into our good friend Rab whose apartment is just right behind the warehouse. He put us up and we were able to get a solid night sleep in. In the morning we called up our friends David & Sara & they picked us up in thier Citroen they have rehabbed. IT is sooooo cute! We went & I bought a new camera (drat it, I lost mine somewhere in the craziness of leaving portland), and then we went off to dinner at a homey Italian restaurant near Berkeley for Chris Lejeune's (my brother in law) Birthday!

Erene (my sister) had blindfolded him a half an hour before & wouldn't let anyone talk. SO, he arrived at the restaurant with no idea what was in store for him. He told me later he was afraid he would wind up on the stage with M4th & have to strip tease or breakdance to be set free! Lucky for him, all he had to do is sit at the table in silence while everyone showed up, be given lots of presents, and fed a fabulously fresh & delicious Italian meal. Oh, a few of us did nibble on his ear and he tried to grab us, but to no avail.

After the dinner, we went to the show at the Lobot Gallery where our gracious hosts, Gamelon X, the LLoyd Family Players (Samba) & Brass Liberation Orchestra were also playing. There was a whole lot of drums, horns & boogying. I won't digress into the details of debaucery & delinquency that followed the show, but lets just say Erene's car now has smashed apple all over the rear window, Patrick has a footprint on his stomach, and M4 didn't leave Oakland for LA until 3 pm the next day.

HERE we are at a rest area getting gas, emptying the potty, getting more water, and stretching our legs....LA LA LA LA....we're coming for you NEXT!!!

9/11 & everybody send your healing thoughts & energy to Big Dave - my dad!!!

Well, we certainly are on our way! Yesterday we left the Egg (our rehearsal space) in Portland on our trusty steed at about 3 pm. We were a little behind schedule because we had to make a special stop to pick up a very important snare drummer who was running a bit late. Seems Margarita Man (Topher) had a bit too much on his plate, so we swung the chromed chariot by PSU & picked him up on our way out of town.

We are traveling in STYLE for sure! Nathan (& others, but mostly Nathan!) did an amazing job tricking out the bus with a fridge, freezer, AC/DC power outlets, new hi fi speakers, mobile we-fi unit (if you see MarchFourth Mobile Network on your list of available networks, THAT's US!!!) & lots of food & beer for the road (which is already gone). We had a lovely, leisurely drive to Southern Oregon where my parents live. Most of us spent the trip working on our Red & Blacks we have to wear for the Hollywood Bowl show, playing cards at our new executive seating tables, telling stupid jokes, napping in the cozy dark bunks, chilling in the "green room", reading, & whatever else occupies the time of an intrepid marchfourthian traveler

When we arrived in Medford at my folks house, my Mom informed me that my Dad was in the hospital. It seems he went into cardiac arrest earlier in the day & Mom gave him CPR for 15 minutes until the paramedics arrived. Dad thinks M4 saved his life because if we weren't coming, Mom would have been at work instead of at home getting everything ready for the amazing meal she fed us, and she would not have been there to save him.

Topher, Mom & I went & visited Dad in the CCU this morning at 5 am because we had a 7 pm call to be on the road. Last night, Dad said he didn't want us to visit if it meant it was going to interfere with the tour...we will have none of that!!!! I decided it was extremely important to see him, no matter how early I had to wake up! It was so great to see him, he is doing fine, all hooked up & his heart is ticking along on its own. They will probably have to install a pacemaker, but he is in high spirits & very happy to be among us! His only regret was that he missed the M4 party on our way through town. I reassured him we would be back on our way through in 7 weeks, and that he needs to stick around AT LEAST that long!!!

What a profound & hyperbolic way to begin our tour. It is crazy to be traveling & playing our first show, today on 9/11, honoring that day, honoring my father, honoring all the sacrifices we have made these last few months & all work it took to get to this point in our career as a band. What an amazing, humbling & powerful existence we have the chance to lead.

It is not lost on me that we are taking on this endeavor of peace, creativity & transformation on this day, September 11. It is almost prophetic. We can only hope that through our efforts in music & performance, we can usher in an era of understanding, compassion, love & FUN! We recognize the past, are fully here in the present, and say bring on a better, peace-filled future!

Much love to you Dad (GET WELL!), and Mom, M4 thanks you soooo much for all the awesome carne asada & tacos & strawberry shortcake. (We still have 10 pounds of carne asada in the fridge!) Truly, over & above the call of duty, given the circumstances!!! You are a saint! WE LOVE YOU!!!