So, there is this thing called "rain". And it falls from the sky. If you walk outside during this thing called "rain." You get wet. Sometimes (almost most of the time) people carry around these circular objects that you hold above your head. They're waterproof, and they can fold up into a small clothy thing that you can tuck into a purse, or they can fold down into an object resembling a cane. Any way, these things called "umbrellas" stop the "rain" from soaking your clothes.

We don't have one of these.

It rains all the time on this tour.

We often get soaked.

We live out of a van

I dream of wet rats


Gift Editions:
Strawberry Charleston Chews for Brad
A personalized quilt with our logo on it
We are thinking of registering at Bed Bath & Beyond

John Jughead

Goodbye Northeast, hello Southeast.
Went swimming in the Ocean and had to perform that night with 2 and a half cups of sand in my underwear. I didn't discover the sand until 3 or 4 in the morning while stopping at a rest area. It may have been the reason for my blue mood at the show that night. We spent a day at Interpunk, and played a few songs (acoustic) They bought us wonderful pastries and let us invade their warehouse. I especially liked playing with the static ball in the main office. They have so many toys. They tell us they got all the toys they wanted but couldn't afford when they were little.

Here is a note to anyone who plans on promoting shows:
You must have control of the situation with confidence, and you must be the conduit to which all complaints and suggestions are sifted. You must make decisions and stick with them. You must not tell one band one thing, change your mind and tell another band another thing, and then send the one band over to the other band to "work it out" That is your responsibility. A bad promoter can cause illogical strife between bands. It amazes me how quickly a badly planned evening can spiral into misguided blame and frustration. I am being purposely vague. I am not writing this to blame any venue or any band, or promoter, it is an unwanted situation that has happened more than once, and I would like it to stop. It has made me question my own motives. I would cut my set if need be, I would play whenever, if the change is justified or if my band arrived much much later than the time we were told, I would listen to the final judgement of a promoter. I may decide it is unfair and leave without pay, but I would not disobey what a confident promoter decides. And sadly some of this rationality disappears and I do not have full access to my patients when face to face with disorganization.

Anyway, we are now in Spartansburg watching Ed, Ed and Eddie, one of the many "strange" cartoons animating the airwaves.
Mass' bass stopped working, Dan-e has countless cuts on his hands from acoustic strings. My fingers throb all night. Brad has knocked a hole in his bass and his sleeping bag jumped from the van when I opened the door this eveing and it plunged itself into a muddy puddle. I think Liz is fine, but she had a bad day awhile ago. I think she wanted all of us to bury ourselves in the ground and eat dirt. I think she likes us again. That is how tours go, one moment you hate that person sitting next to you day after day and the next moment you want to hug them and protect them from any harm.

John Jughead

Boston... Boston... Where the witches are burning, the Kerouac's are roaming, The trancendalists are romping, The Tea is spilling.

We had yet another barely attened show in Boston. That is two tours here so far. We are trying to gain audience members one per tour in MA. I think we are near our goal this time around. Very exciting.

My sister has moved to Boston. One day I picked up my phone, and my sister said "Hi, I'm moving to Boston." I said, "Oh, When?" And she responded, "My Bus leaves in a half hour." That is the way she works. It was good to see her amongst the quarter of a handful of people at the show.

We are off to a bakery to get some food that was kindly offered to us by my sister's roommate. Then we will visit the site of the Boston Tea Party to give Brad a brief history lesson. That is what touring is all about, brief history lessons. Well... that and lack of sleep, carrying heavy objects and avoiding drunks.

We were presented with M&Ms both peanut and plain while we were in Pittsburgh. We are all very greatful to this kind fellow. I hear they were good. I was holding out for the fruit so I did not partake in the eating of the candy. I have to watch my girlish figure.
By the way we would like to add Ketchup flavored potato chips to the gift list. Dan-e can't get those in Chicago.

Wow, this glob, or shplog, or whatever this format is called has turned me into a jello-for-brains. I just have nothing meaningful to say. Perhaps this is a sign of my true colors. Maybe I'm just antother pretty face in a crowd of indifference. (sigh) (grin)

Well folks I will just have to leave you in your very own capable hands. Learn something, build something, question all, and only answer slightly.

John Jughead

Well... We are fighting the good fight. We are looking at our half empty cup and saying, “Hey, I think it’s actually half full.” And then we all chant, “ooooohhh.” The shows so far have had small attendances, but we always look at this as a challenge. And that’s not just a statement from a cheerleader or a corporate executive. It is an important element of our goal as a band. I had said before we left on the first tour that I didn’t care if we only had a hand full of people, I had known from the past that these can turn out to be some of the best shows, so I wasn’t going to let it disturb us. I can honestly say that every show has been treated as challenge to top ourselves and to never cease improving. This may sound slightly boasting, but I am damn proud of this aspect of Even In Blackouts.
We are in Alabany New York taking a day off that we did not want. We are taking a day off that frankly pisses me off. A band should be able to find a show on a Saturday. Dont you think? Well... for reasons I don’t want to go into, because it may cause my head to pop off and roll down my sleave, Squirtgun, Beatnick Termites and Even In Blackouts are not performing ANYWHERE tonight. So... what did Mass and I say to eachother. “Fuck it man, this sucks let’s call it quits and go home and sleep!” No, that is not what we said. We said, “Let’s go Swimming!”
So Mass and I put our personal money into a pot along with two hotel coupons we found at a Denny’s and got ourselves two kind-of-ok rooms at the Quality Inn. We are eating our free breakfasts and are determined to go swimming by noon. As a matter of fact as I type this the rest of the Blackouts are out there now sitting by the water sipping diet cokes and splashing water in each other’s faces. How I envy them. We are talking about going to a movie this evening, probably the Terminator or that Johnny Depp Pirate Movie.
This isn’t really that exciting to be reporting, but it is one of the only times we have had access to the internet, and I WANT TO GO SWIMMING!
Tomorrow we are off to New Jersey where we get to see our friend, Jim Testa.
So that is it for now, except I have been told by the band to ask any of you folks going to our shows to bring gifts. And these gifts more precisely are: M&Ms and Fresh Fruit
That is all

John Jughead