Still Sick In Sunrise

I've moved past the fever and chills. Today is Stomach Disaster Day. At least I'm moving forward. I feel so sick I could fall down, but I've got to ignore it because we've got a show to do! My main concern is that my nose will run while I'm on stage and I won't have any Kleenexes. Or that I'll cough a lot. Not really so rock n' roll is it?

And here (in Sunrise, Florida) tonight, we're expecting JLo, Marc Antony and Barry Gibb in the audience. So I'd better not fall down.

Drawn and Quartered...

...and then glued back together inside out. That's how my body feels right now. I came down with a hateful and mean flu and it's been quite an adventure for the last few days. I thought it was a cold, but...I was wrong. Yesterday I woke up with muscle aches, chills, headache, stomach ache, fever, a sharp sore throat...basically it just felt like I got hit by a truck 17 times.

The problem with the place we're staying in Tampa is that it's not near anything. So I had to walk pretty far to find food (cause I'm trying to save money, and room service was just hilariously expensive). So I trekked all the way back to Channelside. It was only a 20-minute walk, but when every step felt like my bones were loosening and falling off, that's much longer than I'd want.

I found a Bennigan's and had some dumpy chicken tortilla soup, which was tomato based. I was looking for a healthy chicken soup with noodles and broth, not filled with corn (which I'm allergic to). Eh.

It felt like a big waste to walk all the way back to the hotel with nothing to show for my journey but a terrible meal. I really felt like I needed to sit down. So I went to a movie. This is the first time I've ever gone to a movie because I needed a seat for a couple hours. I checked out Beowulf in Imax 3D (the only way I would see it) and it was much better than I expected. Very enjoyable, and with all the delightfully obvious morals still in-tact from the original story.

Afterwards, I decided to make another attempt to find a brothy chicken soup, so I went to a Thai restaurant, and was served by the nicest woman alive. I told her I wasn't feeling well and I was looking for a meal that was conducive to healing, so she brought me some Jasmine tea, along with the largest bowl of soup I've had in my life:

When I came in, I sat at a regular square table. She cleaned a booth out and said, "Why don't you sit over there instead? It will be more comfortable for you."

I took my time making my way to the bottom of the bowl, while listening to the new Radiohead album on my iPod (it's good...soooo good. The string arrangements are beautiful). All the while, my waitress (henceforth known as Thai Goddess) kept bringing me more Jasmine Tea and saying things like, "hopefully this will make you well."

Given the circumstances, it was truly a lovely evening.

When it was time for my check, Thai Goddess came over told me to get lots of rest and try to keep drinking tea if possible. She said, "You'll be better in no time." I wanted to give her a big hug. A little kindness goes such a long way.

Tasty Times In Tampa

I guess it's my turn again. The cyclical cold has made the rounds back to me. I was feeling pretty icky yesterday, but I awoke on the bus this morning with the nastiest pins-and-needles sore throat I've had in awhile.

The nice thing is: we don't work until Monday. So I have a few days to recover.

I made my way up to my room at the Tampa Westin, and before crashing like a jet plane into that comfy looking bed, I noticed this breathtaking view of the bay from my window:
I awoke again around 11am (we don't get to sleep for more than four hours at a time, it seems). I found Jackson's Bar next door, where they were serving bizarro dishes, like my spicy buffalo chicken salad. Truly weird and not so good. But all was made well as I was soon joined by the lovely Gabi and Kay. The three of us are basically the only tour folks in town, after the band left for LA, Candice is visiting family a few hours away and well...we can't hang out with the dancers, cause it's like we speak two different languages (just kidding, dancers!)

We hung out all afternoon by the bay and ate and drank and took this picture:
Then, as the sun went down, we grabbed our coats from the hotel and headed out to Channelside. All that eating and drinking made us hungry and thirsty. So we went looking for a venue.

This one didn't look so good to us:

So we went to Splitsville, a restaurant/bar/bowling alley/t-shirt emporium. We hung out all evening by the bowling alley and ate and drank and took this picture:

Then Kay and Gabi decided to keep the party going and join the crew a few towns away in St. Pete's. My serious sicky was kicking into high gear so I headed back to the hotel. But I know I'm going to hear some stories tomorrow, cause our crew is crazy! Might have to check Kay's blog in the morning.

On The Bayou

Despite the mania and excitement provided by Ally and Stormy, the Dallas audience was shockingly sedate; the quietest we've experienced so far. Towards the end, Miley was saying things along the lines of "come on guys, don't fall asleep on me."

In contrast, tonight's audience in Shreveport, Louisiana was a rambunctious bunch that would have been swinging from the rafters if there were any to swing from.

After the show, Jaime, Stacy, Vishon and Jaco all packed and left the band bus to board the management bus. They're flying back to L.A. to film Miley's video for "Start All Over." Apparently there was not enough room on the stage for a keyboard player or background vocalists. Boo.

A group of us got tired of waiting for the buses to leave, which was going to be a couple hours, so we took a van to a local casino and quickly gambled away all our income from the tour. Okay, that's a large exaggeration. Gambled away a tiny bit of today's per diem. We're a practical bunch.

Kay, Candice and I are on the bus headed to Florida right this second, and we have three days off while the guys film. This marks the very first time we've ever had more than one day off in a row.

And when in Florida, what are a bunch of singing pacifists to do? We're gonna go shoot some guns. Oh you wish I was kidding!

Fun With Children

Yesterday, I had a delightful morning at the Mall with Crista and Isabella. Crista needed to do some shopping, which she rarely (read: never) gets to do, and I was happy to occupy her cute little girl, who loves to go go go the second you put her on her feet, like a little roadrunner.

She seems to be quite a seasoned shopper (thanks Mom!), and seemed to gravitate towards anything pink or rainbow. It seemed that she wasn't looking to spend, but was happy to browse extensively:

The shopping was so exhausting, we had to go eat some apple wedges and Goldfish crackers out of Tupperware.

We had a lovely morning. And Crista was able to find a nice outfit for the show. So everybody had a good time.

Crista and Tarek deposited Isabella at the neighbor's house, and rented some kids for the night to form a lovely makeshift nuclear family:

(L.-R. Ally & Stormy). These girls were so adorable, and so completely out-of-their-minds excited about the show they could barely speak.

They screamed their way through the show from the front row, a perfect vantage point of yours truly...oh and some girl named Miley too.

I hear she's okay.

And to top it all off, as we were leaving we ran into the Jonas Brothers backstage, and the girls got a picture with them:

And then their brains fell out.

Dilly Dallying In Dallas

Today I was in Dallas with a day off, which means I had time to visit with some wonderful friends. I met up with Crista and her daughter Isabella, who is absolutely adorable and almost two years old, and my old college roommate Jonathan. We headed out to the Dallas Zoo, which is apparently not as cool as the Fort Worth Zoo. Eh. We had a good time anyway.

Here are some fake and real flamingos living in perfect harmony:

Isabella took her very first pony ride:

She conquered the monster slide:

So cute:
We ate lunch at an delightful, inexpensive and tasty restaurant called Madeleine's or something. Ridiculously awesome pumpkin pie.

Then we basically just sat around all afternoon, which was such a nice change. Crista introduced me to Skype. People have been telling me for months/years that I need to use Skype and somehow I always just shrugged it off. But Crista basically forced me to install it and it's great. Her husband Tarek came home to find Crista and I video chatting while sitting next to each other. Kind of odd but fun. Try it.

We topped off the day with dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. Yes I know...not very original or indigenous to Texas, but it's somehow always better than I remember. And we ended with the most mountainous chocolate cake I've ever seen...I'm still paying for it and it's 1am.

Tomorrow will be a lot of fun as Crista and Tarek are coming to the Dallas show. This is the first time I'm having friends out to see it. They're bringing some young ladies along who will most definitely be screaming their little lungs out. I can't wait.

A Hearty Welcome!

Just reading the Analytics, and I want to say hello to all my new readers in Italy, Australia, Denmark, India, Malaysia, Israel, Norway, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Zambia, Croatia, Kuwait and Sri Lanka! Thank you for visiting.

Completely Disoriented

I can't sleep. It's 4am. I'm really tired. Yet I lay here awake. This could be because I have absolutely no concept of when and where I am.

Today was an odd one. We woke up in Houston, made the drive to San Antonio, played the show, and then made another drive to Dallas. Three cities in one day. That's a first for us on this tour, and probably a first for me in life. It's getting pretty hard to keep track of.

StripHouse/MuteMath

Last night I went a-wandering the streets Houston looking for food. Once again, the pickings were pretty slim. I straggled into a steak place called The Strip House. Other than the dicey name, it looked pretty nice, and as I wandered in I saw Stacy, Jaime and Kay at the bar. A while later, Charlie (asst tour manager) and Vishon (bassist) walked in. I would say "what a coincidence!" but it was truly the only thing open.

We had a lovely (albeit extremely pricy) meal of delicious strip steak, goose fat potatoes, and about 92 different side dishes.

Then as if by magic, we found ourselves at the Warehouse watching MuteMath play their little hearts out. It was an incredible show and it really inspired all of us, even curmudgeonly Jaime, who doesn't generally like any music released after 1975. The lead singer was doing handstands on his Rhodes, they were picking up pieces of the drum kit and reconfiguring them, climbing the rafters, it was pretty crazy and pretty awesome. I was already a fan, but many of the other band members were converted. These guys are amazing musicians and amazing entertainers, which is a tough combination to find these days.

Tonight's show in San Antonio was a blast. Miley brought her cute little doggie to soundcheck.

And now we're headed to Dallas. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends there.

Ummm....Hello? Houston?

Okay Minneapolis. You're not alone. I'm starting to realize that if you don't live in L.A. or New York, on Sunday the USA is pretty much closed. Since we got into Houston yesterday, people have been recommending I check out the awesome Main Street, where everything happens. I thought I'd go there for breakfast this morning:

Not only was there only a tiny smattering of shops; almost all of them said:

So after about a half hour of walking through a ghost town, I headed back to the Four Seasons for some overpriced Cinnamon Rolls.

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.