Stella Artois Presents

The show at the Lion's Lair last night could go down as one of the best Weinland shows of all time. We were all on the same page some how. We didn't speak about it before hand and didn't need to. It didn't matter how many people were there or how good the sound was. It didn't matter that I was exhausted or that I lacked a seriously good costume. We were loose and sonically tight at the same time. We started songs with sweet jam sessions and expanded the energy on Autumn's Blood so much that I thought the stage was going to explode. I woke up this morning and asked myself what happened last night? Was it the fantastic pairing of rock and facial hair on Rantzy's head (see below)? Was it the free beer (probably didn't hurt)? Was it the raucous local crowd of zombies and lions(also, see below)? It doesn't make much sense logically because this show was booked three days ago from the road in a desperate attempt to make up for our canceled show in Denver on Thursday. There was no press and no money on a night where everyone is dressed up like their favorite fantasy character and wanting to go to a costume competition dance off with deejays and spiked punch. The cards were definitely staked against us. But these last minute additions is exactly why playing music and traveling on the road is so addictive. Granted it IS hard, tiring, and I am so poor that I might as well shack up in the nearest shantytown. But you never know what you are going to get or what's going to happen. It's the unexpected expectations. The moxie. The unspeakably good performances. Everything and anything. It's what keeps you going when you wake up in the morning with a splitting headache after four hours of sleep and you're sleeping next to another dude on a bed that's really made for one and he is trying to spoon with you because he's dreaming about Cindy Crawford. Oh the sacrifices...

The rest is all pics. Take it all in. Last night was a good one.

Hippie Rock Shearer

Sheriff Brown


Raugust all fog machined out

Purple Haze, right across a very busy street from the club. I also was approached by the most methed out human being I have ever seen. This is coming from a guy who lived in Tacoma for 4 years. Just sayin'. Definite downtown activity.

Ol' Man Cowboy Lyles

Bellied Up!

Alright. I got a good story about these locals. First off, I want to say that everyone I met at the Lion's Lair was hilariously drunk and jolly. Except for Donald Duck on the right. And I can't blame him. Because zombie lady in the middle was wasted and trying to bite the jugular of every male in the club. She came at me with vengeance and forced me against the bar only to make out with my neck for a split second. I was really uncomfortable because I could tell that Donald was with Zombie Lady and he wasn't happy. After going for my jugular she went for the dude's neck on the left . She forced herself on him and instead of backing off, he embraced it and acted the part. He then preceded to put his arm around her and take full advantage of the "drunktayciousness" going on. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Donald taking off his duck mitts and starting to make a fist. Donald was furious. I tried to strike up a conversation with him but it wasn't going to happen. Luckily, he kept his cool long enough to drag that Zombie lady out of the bar. I thought I was going to see my first bar fight of the tour. Oh well...better luck next time.

Too good to be true?

This street fighter stole my Thunderbolt

Straight quote from Lion Cub; "I'm not allowed within three hundred yards of a school!!!" He screamed in the bar. Don't know where it came from but it was pretty funny. He got bit by the Zombie Lady too but in the "teet" and then preceded to run around the bar telling everyone in high drama fashion that he no longer has a right "teet".

Goodbye ya'll. Drive safe now, you hear?

Canceled Show In Denver

There is not much that a person can do about a freak snowstorm. They just happen and they happen more often than not in the Rockies. Unfortunately, it had to happen right when we have the sweetest show of all time scheduled at the High Dive in Denver. It was canceled because Langhorn Slim, the headliner for the evening, couldn't make it to Denver from the east. All roads were closed east, north, and south leading in and out of the Denver area. We managed to squeeze in from the west along I 70. One of the few highways that was open.

Here is Rory, 10 and 2, along I-70

After we heard the news, we scrambled to find another show in Denver. We called our booking agent, friends, family, and most of the bars in the area. No luck. Four or five band bills were already scheduled at many of the venues and the others were canceling their shows. Oh well, we had a beer to drown our sorrows and headed to Fort Collins to stay with our friend Doe Eyes.

Fort Collins, CO and our friend Jack rolling around in the snow

To end on a positive note, Denver don't worry. We will see you on Halloween. All that work calling around Denver got us a show. More details coming soon.

Recording in Bluffdale and Midget Wrestling at the Mesa

After our fantastic experience in Salt Lake we headed thirty minutes south to Bluffdale to visit our friends Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. They were kind enough to let us record and lounge for two days in their basement. We also worked on our short game in the back yard on their 85 yard chip n' putt.

Ian laying down sweet beats in the play room.

After recording and hanging out with our friends Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, we headed to Grand Junction, Colorado for a show at the Mesa. The trek south passed through some desolate high dessert areas with beautiful snow covered plateaus along the horizon. We also passed by dinsaur bone quarries and practiced our shot with the BB gun. Generally, a normal day in the van.



We left pretty early in the morning because of the possible inclement weather along the way but lucked out with only a few snow showers. That left us with a lot of time to spare before load in at the Mesa so Rory and I roamed the town and stumbled in to The Snowflake to play some pool and take advantage of dollar PBRs. Little did we know that the bar is notorious for fights and shootings as well as serious meth activity. It makes sense that they put this sign up at the entrance to the bar.

Rory showing some good form. Too bad I took him to school winning three out of four games. I have to brag a little because I never beat Rory. Must of been the dollar beers!

As you can see below, the Mesa also features other forms of entertainment. This picture could go down as the best snap shot ever!

After set up and sound check in the lounge (we didn't play the 800 person theater because no one knows who we are in Grand Junction...at least not yet) we hung around for a bit to see if anyone would come to the show. Unfortunately, the only people there were the cheery bartenders and some drug dealers. No joke. I got asked to buy four different types of "chronic" during set break. Despite the low turnout, we had a lot of fun rocking out and joking with the owner about how the Phillies beat the Yankees. He's a huge Yankees fan.

Fun Fact of the Day:

Wilco played the Mesa a couple years ago and the rumor around town was that the audience threw beers at Jeff Tweedy because he was wearing a cowboy suit. This is definitely a rough n' tumble town.

Oh yeah, Ratt played the Mesa too. Awesome.

The lounge in the Mesa

From Boise to Salt Lake and then some....

On the morning of the 23rd in Boise, my breakfast/lunch plate was graced with a beautiful BLT sandwich. Fresh greens with thick sliced tomatoes and crispy bacon on two slices of lightly toasted wheat bread. Bacon baCoN BACON!!! Bacon is one of the best foods a man can eat on the road. I am totally convinced. Its greasy goodness coats the stomach and it is scientifically proven to help a hangover. No joke! Heard it on NPR.

Some Idaho landscape

Okay. Enough about bacon. I could go on for days about bacon. What I really want to write about is how much I love Salt Lake City, Utah. That’s right. I love Salt Lake City. The first time our old tour van, the notorious 1974 Ford Econoline Conversion van (bless its soul!), rolled into SLC I had reservations. I mean, it gets a bad rap sometimes because of the whole Morman thing. But Salt Lake City and especially inner SLC is a warm and welcoming place to us liberal folk from the West Coast. When I’m on the Road for a month there is nothing better than playing rock n roll in a town that is full of generous and appreciative music fans. It also doesn’t hurt that’s it’s a beautiful place with bountiful bike lanes. But, how the hell can anyone get around in this town? Salt Lake! Tell me please! 400 S, which travels east west, intersects with 400 E, which travels north south. And I know that it has to do with the whole Temple thing and all but…what the? Really? If it wasn’t for our GPS unit named Gwendolyn, all of Weinland would have a drunkards sense of direction 24 hrs a day.

But don’t worry SLC, I still love you. Just get your damn street signs fixed.

Now on to Day 1. House Show.

I’m sort of new to the whole house show experience and I’m starting to really enjoy it. Friday night’s show was played under a small carport in the backyard of a house on a clear and cold night near South Salt Lake. I know the photo on the left doesn't show it, but there REALLY were 30 or so people shakin' it to stay warm. I could see my breath with every word I sang. Glad I had a bottle of Evans Williams (on sale for nine bucks! Liquor? In SLC? Huh?) at my side to warm me up through out our two hour set. Don’t worry, Mom, I shared the bottle with the band. We won over the crowd by the end with an audience participation dance off under a roof that couldn’t contain the shredding heartbeat breakin’ rock that eventually got the cops called. That’s right. The cops were called on Weinland. They got five phone calls down at the station. I can check that one off the list.

A sweet merch tower

Day 2

In just these few posts (I'm new to the blogging world) I can tell there is a theme emerging other than rock n roll. And because I have a metabolism that is through the roof, food is very central in my life. Two breakfasts are usually followed by lunch, tea, dinner, supper and maybe a midnight snack. However, when I’m on the Road it’s a little harder to satisfy the constant hunger in my belly. No one else in the band eats like I do, so I got to go with the flow when we only eat two meals a day. Thank God for the food box under the bench seat. Other wise I may shrivel up and become a human raisin.
Yesterday, after our sound check at the State Room, my hunger was fierce. I needed to fill a growing void and there is no better place to satisfy a hunger than the Red Iguana. The authentic Mexican menu features seven different mole options, with a few signature dishes like chile verde, burriots ahogados and chile colorado. I chose the former and was pleasantly surprised to taste a rich, smoky and slightly spicy simmered beef with homemade refried beans and warm flour tortillas. This was a dream come true. Best food experience ever in Salt Lake City and could be encroaching on the Top 5 Thunder Saving Meals of all time! Unfortunately, I ate so much that when I stepped on stage I felt like the kid who turned into a blueberry from Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory. It wasn’t my best show, to be honest. But sometimes life saving measures are needed even if they have sedative like side effects. Luckily, Adam was in prime form flattering the crowd and laying the ground work for Greensky Bluegrass. Greensky Bluegrass played some off the best bluegrass that I have ever heard. It makes sense that they won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition in 2006. Fantastic musicians. They also have the art of road travel down with their stereo/cooler combination. Brilliant. A cold beer and tunes during load out! I like these guys.

Greensky Bluegrass on stage at The State Room

Moscow to Boise

The drive from Moscow to Boise is not exactly easy. It’s a long windy pavement python. Up and down hills that skirt the Hells Canyon area. The deluge of constant rain didn’t help either. We were fighting foggy windshields when we passed by the small town of White Bird that is nestled in a valley along the Snake River. It is supposedly famous for its pickles. World class pickles I was told. I didn’t prod the band to pull over and stop to test out the folklore because the last time we drove through White Bird we received some very serious “what the hell are you doing here?“ looks from the locals. Lets just say that the folklore stands and White Bird has the best pickles in the whole entire universe. Better than the pickles on Jupiter. But are the pickles kosher? Are they sweet? Dill? What about relish? That’s in the pickle family right? Next time, I’ll work up a little moxy and try those damn pickles! Sometimes you have to ease that curiosity.

The Neurolux (super amateur photo, sorry!)

Finally, after seven hours of constant rain and a churning stomach from the pavement python, we arrived in Boise at the Neurolux. We unloaded gear into the smokey club to find the Grand Archives (the band that we opened for) on stage for a sound check. I love the Grand Archives. Not only are they super nice guys but their music is a fantastic form of catchy indie rock-pop. Their call and response harmonies are tasteful and I dug the song arrangements. It was unfortunate that they got kicked off the stage for a DJ. I wanted to hear more. They’re a little infectious. I talked to them after the show and they said that they “opened” for DJ’s often in Europe. Weird!? The last time we were at the Neurolux playing with Norfolk and Western, we “opened” for a DJ too. I don’t have anything against DJs. Most of the time they set the tone for a great dance party. I understand it from a club’s perspective. DJ = Dancing = Booze = Fun for all. Its cheap entertainment for the weekend warriors. But there is so much potential in the Neurolux to be a fantastic venue for rock n roll. The sound is really good both on stage and off stage. I would love to see that place packed full of headnodders getting down with some live music. Weinland needs to become famous. Come on Boise…make it happen!!!

The Grand Archives on stage at the Neurolux. Once again, amateur photographer.

Portland to Moscow

Last night was a good night. And when good nights happen in rock n roll, it makes all the hard times disappear. At least for those forty minutes of stage time. But the whole night at the Doug Fir was a lot of fun. From the home town crowd to the always engaging Thao With The Get Down Stay Down. It was great to hear some new material from Thao and to be amazed with Doug Jenkins, I mean THE Doug Jenkins. Shit, I thought that guy just played a mean cello, but he was hitting the keys, shredding on the guitar and tooting some pop horn lines. Awesome! The crowd vibe was great and there was even that token drunk guy right up in front dancing to the crowd and shouting obscenities. Cant ask for too much more.



Moscow is fun and I always look forward to playing music there. I think that Weinland is creeping up on double digits for the amount of times they played Moscow. Lets just say that I know where the co-op is, where to get the cheapest beer and the best cup of coffee. I might as well become a citizen. Too bad I love Portland too much. This time around Weinland played a coffee/beer/college hangout place called Buccer’s. We set up real close to each other in the front window and serenaded each and every college lady for two hours. The attendance was high for a small room and I think that we saw the most amount of people at a Weinland show in Moscow ever! We build in baby steps. Soon there will be thousands lining up around the block and they will have a parade down Main Street with a huge blown up buffalo riding high above. Yes! Moscow, make it happen! Once load up finished (its real life Tetris by the way) we headed two blocks away to John’s Alley. Every time we travel to Moscow we always make an appearance at the JA. Dollar fifty PBR and ruckus native folk life. I had my first red beer (PBR and tomato juice) at the JA and saw the Weary Boys play great country bluegrass there a few years past.

This is Cryin' Ryan with a HUGE beer.
He was kind enough to put us up for the night.
Thanks Ryan!!!