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Post by delorentos on Mar 11, 2008 21:40:12 GMT
Monday 10th I woke up around 10 and had a shower. The lads stumbled in from the Hideout at around 6am and nobody was into moving or getting up. I spent a little while on the net and went for a walk around bright white toronto. (Except for the paths, on which the slush is dirty brown). The snow is very deep in parts, a shame, because it made sightseeing pretty difficult. I cut my losses and headed back to the Hostel to see if the lads were stirring but nothin' would get them up, even my poking and singing Sharika songs at the end of their beds. I feel like the chest infection is gone and i figure i won't miss too many more nights like last night at least. Around one o'clock the FLApes woke up and after they checked out they left their luggage in our room. I brought them to the Java Cafe we went to yesterday to get soothing all day breakfasts, tea and chinese salad . We'd a good laugh sitting around talking shit and telling band stories, its cool hanging around with another band that act like their own little gang. Its a cool thing if you have it, you hear so many stories about bands that hate each other, and makes you remember how lucky you are. I'd would've gone back and made a speech about how being in a band is deadly but Ross would have probably thrown me out the window and gone back to bed halfway through it. Around 6 we said goodbye to the Apes and and trekked up to College street to find the venue. It looked pretty close on the map but after a half hour walked with the gear we were wrecked, lost and cold and we grabbed the next available taxi to the venue. After a good, oh, three minutes driving we arrived and sat outside the wrong door for a half hour waiting for someone to come til we found the way in. We were worried we were late, but when we got in it had only just started. There was no soundcheck so we left the stuff and went and grabbed donuts and coffee in a Tim Hortons across the road. I was pretty worried about the lack of soundcheck, i wanted to run through songs and see what i could or couldn't sing and try and get the set right, but there wasn't time, and the other band had kindly lent us our gear. We arrived back a half hour before the gig and changed strings and tuned up backstage. We got a text that a A&R man was coming to see us, and i got more nervous. Usually we kinda think, you don't play to one person, you play to everyone, so we don't change sets or drop songs no matter who's coming, but i couldn't help worrying that we'd be tired and i wouldn't be able to sing properly. I did some warm ups and tried to shake out the nerves by pacing the tiny room. When the time came we rushed out and hurriedly set up, and the first song was sung by me in the setlist that we'd written up. We played well, the reaction was nice and the new songs sounded good, but i didn't really enjoy it as i was so conscious of getting the notes and it felt a bit rushed. Afterwards we all felt we could have played bit better and engaged the crowd a bit more, but we were happy enough. The A&R guy hung around after, he was a nice fella and he bought us beers and chatted. I never really know what to say to A&R fellas, but he was friendly so i didn't mind. Afterwards we finished up our beers and left wondering what to make of the gig and whether we should move about songs and stuff. We won't have much (if any) soundcheck in SXSW and the amps won't be ours either so we'll have to be sharp. I guess if you can get the songs across and just enjoy it it doesn't really matter who comes to a gig or who doesn't, as long as you give it as much either way. When we got back to the hostel around midnight we booked our cab for 4.30am and packed and went to sleep. All that stands between us and Austin is US Immigration and two flights. Fingers crossed nothing mad happens.. We'd better be rested.
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Post by gowayanshite on Mar 11, 2008 22:16:51 GMT
God fair play lads.. sounds like you've been through some shit.. puts breaking a key in the ignition of a van into perspective.. character building stuff so it is!! Good luck!
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Post by Nay on Mar 11, 2008 23:31:59 GMT
Bloody hell, brings me back to calling you tour-hardened a year ago but sounds as if nothing could have prepared for this! The Delorentos Story: Hard Delayed Flight.. Sounds like you've weathered the storm well enough...bet you sing!
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Post by Nay on Mar 11, 2008 23:37:38 GMT
Ah, just saw that post now. It's actually pretty cool that you're worrying a bit. Better than strolling in like an airhead and playing dismally...good luck so!
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dubhdavidblack
Idle Conversation
me on tour somewhere '08(?) RIP neon hair.
Posts: 12
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Post by dubhdavidblack on Mar 12, 2008 0:11:50 GMT
DOOOOODS. Spinal Tap for the 21st century... except involving a hit band! Arrgh, welcome to the United States of Georgie's Paranoia and Posturing... I'm sure SXSW will be a whole different ballgame. Hah, because of the blog content, the ad pop-ups I'm seeing are for Herpes Sore Throat, Cough Treatment, and Pro Pain albums... when we're over this summer, would it help if we zap you onstage with the lightning generators?? I've heard that they prevent infections. um.... yeah..... as you can imagine my <a href="http://www.myspace.com/electricacidtheatre">'group'</a> has some similar hassles with travel.... just remember, swords and chainsaws cannot be carried on.
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Post by Hazey on Mar 12, 2008 0:40:23 GMT
ok i would have been in a ball crying by the time i had been told about the flight being canceled for the 2nd time! You boys are wonderfully amazing!
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guest
Idle Conversation
Posts: 45
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Post by guest on Mar 12, 2008 12:32:00 GMT
Didn't you read the part about kieran crying in a ball?
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Post by Lilywhite on Mar 12, 2008 13:27:18 GMT
awww me dears, so sad to hear my fair hometown snowjobbed you ... if its any consolation the entire eastern coast of Canada has been nailed by that nasty storm and Austin (SXSW) is warm (once you get past "Homeland" "Security") safer travels, good health and come visit montreal when you have a chance xxx lilywhite
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Post by Griff on Mar 12, 2008 22:54:32 GMT
this should be a film, its crazy so far
say hi to george bush
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Post by delorentos on Mar 13, 2008 1:31:43 GMT
Tuesday 11thStuggled groggily up at about 4. Shave, dress, brush teeth, taxi, airport. We've had a few crazy taxi drivers but mercifully this one says nothing. We throw coffee into us, make sure we're awake for the interview by US Immigration. We flick our cigarettes into the snow and get in line. Technically we should have nothing to worry about, but scary immigration people could decide on a whim to not let us through, and after our previous episode i can't help but be nervous. When i get to the desk, Norm stares me up and down. "Musician sir?" i nod. "you going to Austin for Sxsw sir?" I nod. "Dude!" says the 50 year old bald man in the glasses in front of me. "that is awesome! Do you know Bono?" After i explain that we hang out all the time, i go through, and one by one we clear customs and get on the flight. After the turbulence on the last time i was a little nervous about this too, but the flight was fine and when we landed in Austin and were finally at the baggage claim, watching the conveyor carry guitar case after guitar case, we felt we'd made it and breathed a collective sigh of relief. A camera crew was videoing bands arriving - loads of skinny boys with fringes and hats - so i waved my guitar around until we got their attention and did an interview for the nightly news. "Austin is cool" i said monosyllabically. We are part of the cool housing scheme where acts are put up for free by generous homeowners, so shortly Ame and her sister Amber arrived and brought us in their pick up truck to their beautiful house in the city suburbs in Austin. Ame and her husband Ryan run www.austinstarmaps.com where they bring tourists around to famous peoples' houses. We decided to drop in to Sandra bullock and Mathew McConaughey for a cuppa before we leave. Ame warns us not to walk around the streets as there are lots of crackhores and criminals around. This whole crack thing seems to be really catching on, fair play to Amy Winehouse. After a shower and a lie down we head into the city for a beer and some food, but after our steak burgers and stuff we're pretty wrecked. Last year lots of the Irish folks went to a deep south bar called Coyote Ugly, where the attractive young bar staff danced on the bar and generally had some conservative fun, so we decided to pop in for a beer. It was pretty different, the three bar girls all looked tired, overly made up and drunk. The blonde one kept calling people f**kers and doushebags and shouting about buying bodyshots. It was pretty depressing. Just as we were about to go Gugai, a promoter friend of ours from Galway called us to meet up. A few minutes later he arrived, drunk but in great form, hugging everyone and dancing about laughing. We got another drink and moved inside, where the blonde girl and a red haired girl were drunkenly singing "simply the best" or something. I was pretty happy to get out but, someone thought it would be a funny idea to get Gugai a bodyshot. What this means is you pay twenty quid, the girls do a sexy dance, and feed you a tequila. She staggered along the bar, knocking over glasses, and did a fairly awkward dance, then spilt some beer on gugai's face, then lent him over the bar and whipped his bum with a belt. It was pretty ridiculous, and we were all pretty awkward at the whole thing. it was a car crash, and we couldn't look away. The other girl, "Red" came down and asked, "did you like your bodyshot?" Gugai said that he hadn't really, it was pretty weird. She asked why. Gugai said, "Well i thought you were hot, but now i'm just scared!". oops. This escalated eventually into her drunkenly screaming into the microphone to the (5) other customers that "this doushe called me ugly!" and Gugai shouting back trying to tell her he did not, and us sitting with our heads in our hands cringing. Then she pressed the Panic button, We got Gugai to leave and quickly left as a load of police arrived, while we wondered what just happened. We headed back to the house and bed, and later Gugai rang me from a nightclub somewhere. "Where did that come from?" I told him i didn't know. "This place is mad..."
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Post by FireSka on Mar 13, 2008 6:59:09 GMT
Ok Kieran, where was Neon in Austin tonight?! It's all good though -- you guys sounded great! ...2nd time to see you guys at SXSW, and hopefully not the last. Thanks to Ronan Johns for introducting me to Delorentos.
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Post by Baglady on Mar 13, 2008 12:03:38 GMT
You're sure having an eventful time over in the states! It's all making up for very entertaining blogs though
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Post by Griff on Mar 13, 2008 23:11:21 GMT
delos get kicked out of a strip club
have you guys actually played any gigs? they all seem to have been either cancelled or cut short
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Post by delorentos on Mar 14, 2008 14:22:54 GMT
Wednesday 12th. Gig: SxSW Showcase, Ninety Proof Lounge
We got up early and got the bus into town to register. We queued for a while, watching the steady stream of skinny indie boys in little hats potter about with their starbucks and mac laptops. When we got our schedule we quickly realised we were on at the same time as REM. So a nice quiet practice gig then. There's lots of industry panels on and we visited a few interesting ones. Apparently the "internet" is great for "music". Seems a bit futuristic for me. We wandered around 6th street in the heat for a while, and after a massive steak burger and a read of the schedule we headed back to our foster house to pack for our gig. We had some crazy taxi drivers on our trip so far, in New York an Indian fella started giving out about black people, in Toronto one started giving out about the Spanish, but this one really pushed it up a level. After ranting about "towelheads" and muslims for ten minutes he started telling me how Ireland is full of dicks cos we don't fight wars and we need to get our asses in gear fighting middle easterns and stuff. He then went on to explain how he wasn't a racist, but a realist. I don't really know what to do when a taxi driver, or anyone, starts ranting about another race. Nial suggested we should outdo them by ranting about sick babies. I thought about it, but when he started talking about guns i decided to stare out at the strip malls and burger joints. We found out there would be more A&R coming to the gig later and i began to get a little nervous again. The reason we're here is to showcase ourselves to various people over here that can help us play and release our records, so i guess there is a little pressure. I don't really like showcasing, it takes away from the enjoyment of the gig and i don't want to be playing for approval, but i understand the need to let people see you, so i can't complain too much. Plus, as i already mentioned, i never know what to say to A&R people. We booked the taxi early as there was a chance we could get a soundcheck from 6-6.30, i could warm up my voice with some songs, and be prepared. We waited and waited, i called repeatedly, but the taxi was a half hour late and we got stuck in traffic. We don't seem to be getting the breaks on this tour. We arrived at the venue at 7, soundcheck missed, and sat around pissed off, nursing a beer. We split up and headed off to see bands and check out all the venues, all individually trying to get into the right frame of mind for the gig. I popped up to the convention centre and use the free internet, watching the steady stream of bands signing in and registering. Its a pretty daunting task to rise to the top with the thousands of bands here, but it was funny to think that every one of the thousand bands, however cool or jaded, dreams of doing something with their music as much as us. After a few beers in Stubbs, where we bumped into our usual van driver Cathal, we headed back to the venue and watched the band before us play and set up the gear. I scanned the crowd trying to work out who was here from who. When AM Syndicate finished their punky set Cathal gave us a hand moving Nashville band November's gear onto the stage. They'd very kindly lent us their gear for the gig, and we maneuvered the massive Marshall stacks onstage and set up our pedals. We had 15 mins change-over and a 35 minute set. With 5 minutes to go, i realised the guitar amp wasn't working. The guitarist from November came over to help out, and it became apparent that the amp was broken. Of course! Come midnight, the rest of the band were scratching their heads and i was down the street begging AM Syndicate to unpack their guitar amp and allow me to use it. They relented, and very kindly allowed me to use it. I plugged it in, made sure it worked and the sound was fine, and ran backstage to change my clothes and get myself ready. If i was nervous before, it was twice as much now. Ten minutes late, we got onstage and started. Within a song or two i'd adjusted the amps and it began to click. Excitingly, we played a great set. It all seemed to work out, and despite all the messing that went before, we got a great reaction and played every song perfectly. The venue was full by the time we were finished, and when we got off stage we handed out all the cd's we had and got very cool compliments of lots of nice people. We packed up and went outside and had a smoke, delighted with ourselves. Then we got the news, no-one we'd asked down showed up. It was tough to hear. We consoled ourselves that it felt good and people had enjoyed it, and resolved to do the same tomorrow. I couldn't help wishing someone that we'd asked had arrived, but no matter. I was shattered and hoarse so i went home straight away, leaving the lads to go out and have another night on the beer. All through this tour I've been missing nights out, only imagining the debauchery that is probably going on. When they came back in i was still awake so i asked them what they did. The amazing night out? They had a beer and went to Wendy's...
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Emma.
Full Member
We Hate The Silence
Posts: 212
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Post by Emma. on Mar 14, 2008 15:39:32 GMT
Wednesday 12th. Gig: SxSW Showcase, Ninety Proof LoungeThen we got the news, no-one we'd asked down showed up. It was tough to hear Chin up!
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