Love Ya L.A., See Ya San Diego

Lots to catch up on. During the final visit to L.A. I was able to spend a wonderful night with Noah:
I got to play with him, feed him and put him to bed. We had a lot of fun learning to sit up. I'm gonna miss that sweet fellow. The next time I'll see him is Christmas.

Wednesday night we played an intimate show at a quaint little venue downtown:

Everybody was a little nervier than usual, as we knew that all the Disney and Hollywood Records execs were in the audience, as well as Kobe Bryant, Kate Beckinsale, Heather Locklear and of course, children's-music-loving Nikki Six. The nerves resulted in one of our best shows yet.

The San Diego show was pretty great, too. The band is really having a lot of fun on stage. We're all making each other laugh. I had a goofy smile on my face for the entire show.

And Candice was really psyched that the SD Sports Arena, where we were playing, was the filming spot for Almost Famous. After Jaco revealed this to her, she made sure to tell every person she encountered.

Now we're in Phoenix, and prepping all our stuff to get shipped to Houston. We're actually flying there. I'm still not sure why.

Some Stats

Miley is the youngest artist in recording history to have two #1 albums in less than one year. Her recent release, "Hannah Montana 2 / Meet Miley Cyrus" has shipped double platinum.

Good going, Miley!

We Have A Visual

Here are some great photos of the Anaheim show, courtesy of Barri Gowder. Thanks Barri!

Would You Like My Left Kidney, Too?

I was so hungry yesterday morning when I woke at the Fairmont. I thought maybe I'd order some room service.

I thought wrong:
Yes indeed. And there's a $4 delivery charge and a 22% gratuity on top of that. I just wasn't game for a $15 bowl of Corn Flakes. Or for the $21 pancakes. Call me reasonable.

Do You Know The Way OUT of San Jose?

Last night was a little rough. After the San Jose show, the band was going out to a big dinner at a really fancy restaurant. I got all dressed purty but I just wasn't feeling up to it. There was a lot of personal drama going on in my life, and I was really down. The combination of: a) the fact that I didn't want to bring everybody down with me on their fun night out and b) the fact that I just didn't feel like I could be around people - caused me to bail.

I wasn't about to just spend the night wallowing in my hotel room. I grabbed my iPod and walked the city of San Jose, hung out at a Johnny Rockets and went to a movie, cause I just needed some (more) distraction. Saw "Before The Devil Knows Your Dead," and it was amazing. Super-depressing movie, but it made me feel better just to get in a different headspace.

Today, I heard about the band's wild night. They had an amazing nine-course meal that ended up costing $1600, compliments of the chef, who was a friend of Jaime. Then they headed to the hotel bar and had a loud, drunken sing-a-long to Beatles songs.

Kinda bummed I missed that.

The Cutest Turtle

Courtesy of Nicole, here are some pictures of Noah on Halloween. He is the most adorable little turtle I've ever seen.

Chill It Out Take It Slow, Then You Rock Out The Show

Happy to leave the Sportsman's Lodge. Here are some fingernail clippings that were in my room.
Not mine.

I thought the bus call time was 11am, but apparently that was the departure time. Stacy called me as I was leaving my room at 11, and said to hurry hurry hurry. So I grabbed all my bags and booked it down the hallway...and fell down a set of stairs with my bags. Fortunately it was a small set of stairs. I put on a good show for everyone in the vicinity though. Like a human cartoon.

I'm very sore cause I twisted all funny, but it wouldn't be a real tour if I didn't injure myself every couple days. Rock n' roll. I'm fine. When I arrived at the bus, I discovered that we were still waiting on some other people, so I suppose I could've briskwalked instead of trucking and tumbling.

We headed out to Anaheim to play a matinee show. It's so strange to play in the afternoon because people just aren't as pumped. It's hard to get super-psyched during the daytime. Also, Miley is a little sick. She has a sore throat, but she still put on a great show. I'm so impressed with her.

The other thing about a matinee is that it ends so early, that we're all confused on the bus. We're exhausted; it feels like midnight, but it's only 7pm. Most of the guys went to bed around 10pm, which is unheard of for these people. Kay and I stayed up and listened to music, and she introduced me to some really amazing rock artists (I'm the pop guy and she's the rock girl) like Electric Soft Parade, The Submarines and AC Newman. Awesome stuff. Tomorrow night, it's my turn to introduce her to some great singer/songwriters.

We were just about to go to bed, when Wildman (our driver - more on him later) informed us that we had arrived in San Jose. It was 2am. Apparently we were listening to music for hours and hours and didn't really notice.

We all slept at the Fairmont and now we're prepping for another matinee. But tonight we get to stay at the Fairmont again, which is unusual, and so much better than hopping on the bus right away.

Good Day L.A.

Every now and then, people surprise you. And even more rarely, it's in a good way. I went home and saw Nicole and Noah. First off, Nicole and I had a typically unpleasant interaction, but as the day went on, things got shockingly civil and stayed that way. Now, granted, I'm not in the place I was a month ago, where a positive interaction with her would give me hope that we might be able to stay together. At this point, I understand that the marriage is over, but this visit really gave me hope that we'll be able to co-parent as a divorced couple.

It was nice to come home again, despite the brevity of the visit, and the fact that I wasn't actually sleeping there. I ran a lot of errands that I haven't been able to on the road (it's hard not to have a car).

And most importantly and wonderfully, I was able to spend a bit of time with the sweetest, cutest little boy in the world. We had a great time, and I took a lot of pictures:


And now that Nicole and I can actually talk to each other, she's going to be sending me pictures of him while I'm on the road. I love that little Noah. He's amazing. He's rolling over all the time, he's speaking adorable syllables and he's sort of strangely obsessed with technology. Every time I put the camera in front of him, he got this trance-like look on his face and tried to grab it.

Such a cutie:
I also was fortunate enough to see my dear friend Ben: one of my favorite people in the world. We had a great dinner at CPK and went to see "30 Days of Night," as we're both into horror movies. Well, let me save you the trouble. Here's my review: the movie is worse than unscary; it's completely uninteresting. Every component is awful, from the writing (Ben pointed out that every single line is a cliche), to the direction (so silly, but all taken so seriously), to the acting (Josh Hartnett's transformation from human to wooden pole is now complete!). It starts so slowly that we were internally screaming, "Show us the vampires already!!!" Then they showed the vampires. Too much of the vampires. And they all dressed in Banana Republic and spoke in a Russian-ish language, and it was so dumb that we were then internally screaming, "Stop showing us the vampires already!" Also, was there a sale on Crest Whitestrips or something? The teeth in this movie were so white it was actually distracting.

But I digress. Ben and I walked out and got a refund after about 45 minutes, as we would never have made it all the way through without ripping out our eyeballs. So completely boring. And the theater was packed, so it was a little tricky making fun of it...but we did a respectable job.

We went back to the Sportsman's Lodge and continued to make our own fun:

Good times were had.

Okey Dokey Oakland - Hello L.A.!

Good show tonight. Billy Ray came out at the end and we played "Ready, Set, Don't Go," a tune the whole band is really enjoying. Jaime made a good observation that Miley sounds a bit like Stevie Nicks on this one; very strong. The Oprah crew was grabbing footage, so keep an eye out for that, and also Miley mentioned that what they taped tonight might be airing as a music video on the Disney Channel as well.

Now we're on our way home to LA. Everybody in the band is really excited about that, except for me. I made the mistake of calling my wife to let her know that I really would like to see Noah while I'm there, hoping that she'd be happy to let me take him off her hands for a while. But instead she was just mad that I didn't tell her earlier, cause she's working on a paper tomorrow. I don't know why I keep hoping she'll be kind and rational. It's not gonna happen. She's just not there anymore. Every time we talk, it escalates into a horrible and depressing fight...until she hangs up. And I cry. But not anymore.

I'm just gonna live my life and do what I have to do: laundry, unpacking and repacking (you never know exactly what you're gonna need and what you're not), running errands, seeing my beautiful baby boy, and hanging out with my dear friend Ben. Life is good.

The people in the band are so amazing. I've really grown to love them all. Such a good group of people. Kay and Jaime stayed up with me and listened and were just amazing and wise and helpful and sweet. I feel so incredibly blessed to be on this amazing tour at such a terrible time in my life. Despite the fact that any thought of my wife sends me into a depressed stupor, I've been very happy most of the time. God bless Hannah Montana.

Okay I'm Shocked

After making a sarcastic aside that "people don't really read this blog," you readers have left comments and sent me emails saying that you're there. Well, that inspired me to set up Google Analytics for this site and find out just how many people are here.

Today was the first day analyzed, and there were just under 300 visitors. Wow. You guys rock. And there are more of you than I thought! Keep comin' back.

Ween of Hallows

San Francisco is pretty cool. This afternoon I went exploring and found a great used CD shop: five floors of awesome and cheap music.
I got some great stuff, like the new Patty Griffin, the new Magnet and the new Perishers. Then, I headed to this famous SF landmark:
Yeah...again. What can I say? I like.

So tonight, I was going to hang out with Candice and Jaco and have a little Halloween dinner, but they both went all out and got costumes, and I just didn't care that much. So Candice was going to make me a sign that said "Nudist on strike," and then I could just wear my regular clothes.

But at the last second, she changed her mind and decided I should go as her. So she just started handing me her clothes and putting makeup on me. I looked just like Candice...well not really, and as the night went on, people kept adding things to the costume, like blood, a jacket, etc, and by the end I decided I was "Frustrated Housewife With A Random Bowler Hat Who Committed Suicide". Don't ask why she has chest hair. Ultimately, I looked pretty terrible:

The leggings were especially horrific. And cold. Those things are pretty drafty. And you could totally see my leg hair through them. Not attractive. But I fit in just fine:

(That's Candice as "Tequila Te-Kill-Ya," Ellen from wardrobe as "The Contessa Of Death," and Ashlee Nino the dancer as "Patron In The Zone.")

Jaco went as "Wonder Woman Going To Prom Incognito." I got a great photo of him stalking Brandi Cyrus.
Creepy.

We hung out for a while in the hotel bar and got many many weird looks from strangers. Completely justified, I'd say. We were quite a motley bunch.

Then we headed to the Mission District and had dinner at a tapas bar. Jaco and I were already pretty tired so we headed home, but I know the dancers are still partying now, and probably will continue to party into the am.

What did I learn tonight? Well:
#1) In San Francisco, anything goes...unless you're in the hotel bar.
#2) There's a big parade at the Castro every Halloween, and last year 6 people got shot...so avoid that party.
and
#3) When you dress like a woman, even an ugly one, everyone will want to squeeze you:

Life lessons, indeed.

Not Sure If You Know This, But...

...I try to reply to the comments you leave. So do check back.

Also, the subscription feeds were messed up since I changed the name of the blog. They're fixed now, so if you'd like to subscribe by email and have sweet little updates in your inbox, or subscribe by RSS feed and have sweet little updates in your reader of choice, you are now free to do so.

Goodbye Portland!

I'm so glad to be leaving the Pacific Northwest. Not that it's not beautiful. Not that it's not filled with culture. It's just that, for me, it's associated with many things to do with my wife. So I kind of expected that part of the tour to be difficult. I didn't expect to get hit by a car or anything, but that's just a bonus. Thanks Seattle.

While I was in Portland, I:
#1) tried to stay away from busy intersections and buses
#2) went to my new favorite place:
...to play with my new favorite toy:
And that was all I found to like about Portland. Although everybody says it's really nice. I just couldn't take my chances on the streets till I got out of the crazy Pacific Northwest...seeing as it hates me and wants me to die.

The Portland show, however, was by far our most fun show so far. Pretty much everyone agreed. We were all goofing off on stage. Jaime has begun walking up to the keyboard platform and making me laugh while I'm singing during the first act. And last night, all the male dancers came out with funny wigs: mullets and afros and stuff. They had just been to the Halloween shop earlier in the day. Miley also messes up a lyric from time to time and turns around and makes crazy faces to the band. The nice thing is, with this show, nobody really needs to keep a straight face, so we were all laughing pretty hard while continuing to play.

And now it's Halloween, and we have the day off in San Francisco! Yay!

Playing Through The Pain

Last night' show was really difficult. My back was really hurting so I tried to hold pretty still as I played. There are some songs in the show that were rough on my back before the accident, and as they would come up I would think, "uh oh, here we go."

I've really got to see a doctor, cause I don't know if I can continue the tour this way. There was supposed to be a doctor last night, but he didn't show up. Hopefully tonight.

So I'm playing the show, rocking gingerly like a geriatric mummy, and I guess I'm putting all my energy into my fingers, because I somehow managed to break two nails. And I've got short fingernails. So now they're all bendy on the keys. Kay is gonna lend me her clear nail polish to strengthen them for tonight. I'm a girl now.

Meanwhile I'm trying to get a copy of the police report for insurance purposes, and the City of Seattle is making it very difficult. They don't do fax. They don't do email. I have to mail a request, and they have to mail the report to my home...despite the fact that I won't be there for a while.

In other news, while we were in Seattle, Kay and Miley both ended up buying the same jacket by accident:

Happy 100!! I'm A Superhero!!

This is my 100th post! Yay! I'm happy that I'm sticking to this whole blog thing, even if nobody really reads it.

So I was talking to The Amazing Kay Hanley about what's been going on with the bus and the divorce and the fire, and she said "maybe you don't have bad luck. Maybe you absorb all the bad stuff so that everybody else can be safe." If that's the case, I'm happy to do it.

I'm like a superhero...with a bad back...and no wife.

Seattle Underground

Last night, Chad and Julie recommended I check out the Seattle Underground. So I asked everybody in the band if they wanted to go, but only Candice was game. She loves that sort of thing.

We, along with a group of strangers, filed into a random hole in the wall:
And our tour guide showed us around what used to be the city of Seattle, long since built over with superior technology.
At the end, Candice and I started wandering around, taking random pictures, and didn't notice that the tour group had left. We walked briskly to the exit, only to notice we had been locked in. The group had gone back up to street level to head to the next section.


Candice started yelling "we're down here!" She was worried we'd be stuck down there, which I thought was really funny cause I saw the turnlock on our side of the door. I unlocked it just as the guide came down the steps and pushed the door open for us.

We unfortunately didn't get to finish the tour as it was already 2pm and our call time was 3. Boo. It was interesting though, what we did see. We heard all about how the crapper was invented by John A. Crapper, who became Sir John A. Crapper for his work in sanitary engineering...oh and we also heard about the massive Seattle poop explosion. Ahh, what a historical city.

Yes, It DOES Happen

I iron.
Living out of a suitcase, it's hard to keep my clothes from staying horribly wrinkled, and I hate wearing wrinkly clothes. So it's nice that pretty much every hotel has an iron and ironing board. This has become part of my daily ritual.

Inlaws and Dead Plated Animals

I called up my brother- and sister-in-law Chad and Julie and had dinner with them. We had a great time, and did our best to avoid the big divorced elephant in the room.

Julie ordered crawfish, but couldn't bring herself to eat it.

Could it be because it was staring up at her? Or was it because its underside looked like this?:


Probably both.

The Great Cosmic Running Joke

We're in Seattle today, and I needed to exchange my camera, cause it's been acting funny. So I was going to take a cab. It was kinda far though, and instead of paying $20 each way, I found out that there was a public bus I could take for $1.25 both ways. Sounded good to me.

And then this happened:



I'm thinking I might need some medical attention at this point. Everybody else on the bus was fine, but I was the only one who literally flew out of my seat and rolled up the aisle...probably looked hilarious, but it's not so funny now.

Still though, I'd take that over this ----anyday.

Shooting in Salt Lake

Tonight's show in Salt Lake City was much different than the others. The full-on 3D camera crew was there with all their gear (massive dolly tracks, humongous crane-cams stretching to the ceiling, guys with Steadycams running around the stage). We played the whole show, then came back and re-played several songs, and many of the fans stayed for a couple hours while we did that. Of course, once Miley left, they continued shooting the band for a while, but most of the fans didn't care about us.

Everyone in the upper levels were paying audience, but the crowd on the floor were all cast. I thought that was interesting.

The guys making the movie herded us band members into a little custom made tent theater, and showed us a demo of the 3D technology, with footage from our show. It's mind-blowing. This is brand new technology, and I've never seen anything so amazing. It's almost better than being there: the sense of dimensionality, the clarity, the eye-popping color. Whether you're a fan of Miley or not, go see the movie in February. It will be in all Disney Digital 3D theaters across the country.

We have another day of shooting tomorrow in the same arena.

Because of the shooting, they did hair and makeup for us, which was new to me. I've never been airbrushed before.

The wardrobe department supplied me with more shirts today, and they all fit within my parameters:
They're all black.

Right before the show my FutureSonic ears (through which I hear the whole show -- very crucial) fell off their cable and hit the floor. Then somebody stepped on them and they broke. So my right earphone now has a jagged edge, which I filed down for a while, but it still juts right into the skin of my ear. Hopefully they'll order a new one for me.

Fred, Miley's vocal coach, came back for this show, since we're shooting. Fred smelled popcorn. Fred wanted popcorn. So Fred went to concessions, and got this: