Tales from the Road Vol. 7: East Coast Extravaganza Continues

Next stop from Ocean City on our Spring Tour was a very pleasant visit to the studio of WRRW Revolutionary Radio in Williamsburg, Virginia.  It was a treat to be featured for a full hour of 28 North, quite a rare circumstance and we are very grateful for the opportunity.  You can check out the show in Podcast form here at 102.5 WRRW's website.  Much thanks and appreciation to Ed for hosting us.

Afterwards, we jetted up to the Baltimore area where we had another fabulous in-studio experience at Towson, Maryland's 89.7 WTMD.  It was truly a fantastic privilege to be featured on WTMD's Live Lunch concert series at the station's handsome state of the art facility.   Much thanks to Scott Mullins for having us!  And ye citizens of Towson should relish in the benefit of this beautiful studio which the station so generously puts on free lunchtime concerts weekly.  Also, it was delightful to share the bill with Baltimore's own Super City who performed a fabulous set.

Our visit to Baltimore was capped with a superb sandwich experience at Potbelly's.  Delicious.

This then concluded the East Coast portion of our Spring Tour and from here we will be traveling southwards.

More soon,

Ty

Tales from the Road Vol. 6: Ocean City Baby!

For the initial portion of our Spring Tour we spent some time on the East Coast.

The first stop was lovely Ocean City, Maryland where we had a wonderful visit to the Ocean 98.1 WOCM studio.  They took us in and gave us the royal treatment straight away, drinking beers and chatting it up like only the beach towns know how to do.  DJ BK welcomed us in a very lively interview and let us rock out live in the studio.  And a beautiful studio it was; directly upstairs from the bar and displaying a beautiful view of Chesapeake Bay.  Looking forward to a return visit for sure.

We then proceeded to play a show at the elegant Fager's Island which boasted a magnificent sounding live room and marvelous food to boot.  Crab cakes, crab cakes, crab cakes.  In the word's of The Who's Roger Daltrey, "The best I ever haaaaadddd!".  That's one thing Maryland undeniably has reign o'er... Okay enough with The Who ref's.

Fortunately it won't be long before our return to the Ocean City area as we will be performing at Ocean 98 sponsored Mayday Playday on Saturday May 10!  Cannot wait to have a blast at this killer festival in America's coolest small town of Berlin, Maryland!

We shall continue the adventure in the next installment.

'Til then,

Ty

Tales From the Road Vol. 5: Whirlwind Weekend

We continue our adventures on the road with a rapid trifecta of shows at a trio of our favorite stomping grounds.

First, we start at The Grape Room in Philly.  Good ole Philadelphia.  The city of brotherly love as they say.  That and cheese steaks, funky sounds, and brutally curt sports fans.  Love the place.

We had a fantastic show in "The Yunk" (Manayunk; Philadelphia neighborhood) and we greatly appreciate the dedicated, loyal fans whose unfaltering support always brings out the best in us.

After a late night cheese steak we quickly zipped over to Cleveland for a fabulous homecoming, for some of us, at Mahall's (pronounced May-hallz for the uninformed).  As always, the crazy Cleveland crew was rowdy and rambunctious, providing us with the special brand of energy that makes our shows in the Rock & Roll capital a truly elevated experience.  Thank you Cleveland! (Reference to Spinal Tap always intended).

The following day we made the short trek to Pittsburgh for a second homecoming show in Market Square downtown to headline the first ever Dream On Festival.  This wonderful event was put on by Omicelo and DreamCream Ice Cream.  There was excellent music, beautiful people, elegant downtown Pittsburgh, delicious ice cream, dreams... what more could you desire?  Needless to say we had a blast rocking out for everyone there and we look forward to the festival's return.

Up next on the calendar is a three week tour that will have us traveling first to the East Coast and continuing to the Deep South.  I'll be chronicling those adventures for you all in the next couple weeks.

More soon,

Ty

Tales from the Road Vol. 4: Rising Up in Phoenix

We wrapped our early spring tour in sunny Phoenix at the Liquid Sol Festival.

After the intense challenges of the past few weeks this show was a very satisfying conclusion.  We enjoyed the marvelous weather in the grand company of superb talent such as Cracker, Blind Melon, Tonic, Buckcherry, Everclear, Gin Blossoms and many more.  I would have titled it the "Heroes of the 90's Festival" but hey, I didn't get the call from their marketing department.  Their loss.

Anywho, the day was spent in relaxing recreation, taking in the vast assortment of musical acts amongst the three stages, enjoying the sunshine.  We had a great time is what I'm trying to say.

It was especially fun sharing the VIP stage with new friends Royal Bliss and 7Horse; two very talented young bands that we hit it off with.

The festival was brought to completion by The All-American Rejects and the fantastic headliner Train. Those dudes can really play, totally owned that crowd.

Oh yah, and we met Flavor Flav.

Boom.  Total victory.

Suffice to say our early spring tour was a success.  I think we earned a brief respite from the road.

But believe me, it won't be long...

More soon,

Ty

Tales from the Road Vol. 3: 28 North by Southwest

Aaaaahhhhhh, the warmth and beauty of Southwest America.

New Mexico.  Truly the "Land of Enchantment" as they say.

Our sad departure from Colorado was brightened by the notion that we were moving south into warmer climates and we would be crossing the figurative finish line in shorts and t-shirts.  Awesome.

On the way to New Mexico

After three wonderful shows and visiting some lovely friends in Carbondale and Denver, CO, we were on our way to Taos, New Mexico.  A first time for us in said town, Taos' pastoral surroundings were quite stunning.

Backyard at KTAOS

We enjoyed visiting the elegant and environment-friendly KTAOS Solar Radio complex.  This fabulous facility boasts a solar powered radio station, bar/restaurant, and performance venue along with a grand view in the backyard to boot.  It was a privilege to be interviewed on the air at KTAO 101.9 and also perform an acoustic show at this fabulous locale.  We look forward to returning!

Next stop was a quick visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico where we had a very pleasant interview at KBAC 98.1.  Can't thank Ira and all at KBAC enough for taking us in on such short notice and giving us spins for our single "Call Me Up".  Another friendly and accommodating destination we look forward to visiting again!

We found ourselves in Albuquerque for the night where we proceeded to stuff our faces at a killer buffet and have a nice rest.

The next day we were off to Las Cruces where we completed our trifecta of New Mexican radio interviews at Rocket 99.5 KXPZ with the genuinely soaring radio personality of Ricky T.  Immense thanks to Ricky and all at KXPZ for having us!

28 North w/KXPZ'S Ricky T

And later that night we proceeded to strap on the "ole rock boots" (sorry for that) and jam out at Las Cruces' El Patio.  We had a great night rocking out with some old friends and new fans.  Again, we look forward to the next time we can swing through!

This concludes our delightful New Mexico run and brings us to the home stretch.  In the next installment I'll wrap up this story of our most recent tour in Phoenix, Arizona where we rock the Liquid Sol Festival.

Talk to ya soon,

Ty

Tales from the Road Vol. 2: Z. Z. Top.

ZZ Top.

That's correct folks.  The men, the myth, the beards.

We had the high privilege of supporting the classic rock veterans for two nights in beautiful Colorado.

First was The Belly Up in Aspen, 8,000 feet high in the Rocky Mountains.  To play the remarkable Belly Up for a second time was a treat in itself let alone to share the bill with rock 'n roll legends.  It is a rare treat to experience the level of professionalism and shear quality of sound that The Belly Up provides and to couple that with a sold out, packed to the gills club was truly a magical event.

We had the privilege to hang briefly with possibly the coolest human being in existence after the show: Billy Gibbons.

The man is simply cooler than cool, chatting at the bar with the lucky few that could stick around after the show, and what a show it was.  The energy was positively palpable and the extensive catalog of hits impressive to say the least.

The very next night was quite another treat, playing the Paramount Theatre in downtown Denver.

The sold out (and baked out) crowd was chomping at the bit for some tasty grooves and gave us an extremely warm reception.  And it was an honor to witness mere feet away from the side of the stage, these smooth, stylish gents own the crowd with their musical prowess and charisma.

Suffice to say, after the turmoil of the previous week, these two glorious nights were something special and a welcome respite from the travails of the road.  Sometimes, I guess you got to endure a little suffering to get to the sweetness in the center.

Up next we continue our journey in the beautiful, warm (thank God) Southwest.

More soon...

For now I'll leave you with this fun pic.

A winter celebration

Ty

Tales From The Road Vol. 1

So. It's Cold.

Really cold in the midwest that is.  We chose a poor time to schedule some dates in this frigid region once again.  Alas, we had some exceptionally trying experiences along with some kind hospitality from good folks and witnessed extraordinary portions of this country that we have never visited before.

So, our Northbound (old days tease) journey had us stopping quickly in Las Vegas (not for me), Salt Lake City (also not for me), and into Douglas, WY (where it gets. f***ing. cold.)

Of course we failed to winterize the RV properly.  Of course it is one of the worst winters on record in the region of the country we are traveling in.  Of course there happens to be record lows in nearly every town we visit.  Of course the alternator breaks.  Of course the freezing weather aided in the worst accident we have ever experienced on the road; our van in tow becoming unattached at full speed on the highway and slamming into the rear of the RV causing substantial damage and miraculously avoiding any other likely catastrophe.  Of course once the heat is finally functioning in the bus we proceed to attempt (and fail) driving through the winter storm Titan in the dark of night.  And of course, finally ole Harvey has decided to stop running in Northeast Missouri.

But...

We survived.  (First of all).

A round of whiskey in Deadwood, South Dakota

We saw Mt. Rushmore.

Standing in order of our respective, coordinating presidents

We saw beautiful landscapes across a vast piece of this amazing country.

Lake in South Dakota

We met wonderful people everywhere we went.


We had a SPECTACULAR time in Des Moines, Iowa.  Not enough can be said for the warm reception, hospitality, and support from Ron Sorenson, everyone at the wonderful KFMG 99.1, the folks at Hotel Fort Des Moines, the fantastic restaurant Django, and all the lovely citizens of Des Moines.  We were blessed to have the fortune of our path crossing with all of you.  Thank you!


We also had a SUPERB show in Kansas City, KS at the Red Eye bar.  The warmth and hospitality and downright enthusiasm we encountered was a treat.  Again, enough can't be said for taking us in and showing us a great time, we will be seeing you all again very soon!  So much thanks to Kim, Tophat, and the whole crew!


Oh yah, and we're on our way to open up for ZZ Top in Aspen and Denver, Colorado.  No big deal.  Much more soon...

Ty