Sorry, Sorry, Sorry, for the lack of updates....we have been super busy.
Lets go back a few weeks now....
We spent all week in the Warehouse practicing before loading up the bus, driving 3 hours in the hardest rain most of us have ever seen, and finally arriving at the Thielking's house at Blackhawk Lake on Thursday night. We ate tons of food, had beverages, and sat on the porch enjoying the view while being stuck on land due to the rain. Friday morning we woke up, ate one of the most delicious break"feasts" we have ever had before heading out on the jet-ski and boat. We spent most of the day on the lake before hopping in the bus and heading to Lake Okoboji.
We arrived at Okoboji around 5pm, loaded in, grabbed some food, said hellos to old and new friends and started the show around 7. This was one of the funnest shows we have played in years. 1600 crazy lake people having the time of their life. We did as well. We ended up playing until 11 and we didn't want to stop. We loaded up and headed "downtown" where we wandered around and checked out what Okoboji had to offer.
Saturday morning we all woke up in a shady hotel, loaded into the bus, and started out on one of the longest 4 hour rides we have ever had. It was early, hot, and we had to get back to Cedar Falls in time to take care of some business before sound check that night.
We arrived in Cedar Falls, loaded in, sound-checked, and hung out until the show started. Cedar Falls is always a blast for us. The Hub takes good care of us and no matter what is going we always have fun there.
Sunday we all went our own ways before meeting up in Des Moines around 7pm. John, Mike, and Brandon loaded into the recording studio and got everything set up before hitting up the 10 pm showing of Batman. Go if you haven't.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Recording, Recording, Recording!!!!
We promise to update you all on the happenings of the last week soon.... this summer just keeps rolling and we are having WAY too much fun.
For now though, we are recording for the next few weeks and you can watch it live at:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sonic-factory
enjoy!!!
For now though, we are recording for the next few weeks and you can watch it live at:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sonic-factory
enjoy!!!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
We're still here!!!
Yes, we're all ok and still alive. Thank you to EVERYONE who has sent us messages or talked to us in the past few days and commented on the blog. We have been amazed at the response so we will continue to update it as long as people continue to read it.
After we arrived back in Des Moines we all scattered until Thursday night when we got together for dinner and a band meeting. The trip was an amazing experience for us so hopefully you can imagine the colorful discussion around the table when we all reunited. I'm sure people sitting in the restaurant found out more details about some of us than they ever wanted to.
Friday night we headed over to Friday after 5 in Independence to play our first show back in the states. Fun times were had by all once we got going but it took us a while to get going. Our bus didn't start, apparently we broke some things such as microphones and instruments while overseas (that was fun to discover 5 minutes before a show starts), and we forgot some things (we were rushed to cram everything in vehicles when the bus failed to fire up). All in all the night went great and we got through all the surprises. We loaded out and headed to a welcome home party thrown for us by our good friends Troy and Laurie Creery. We had a blast and were very flattered.
For the lack of updates and pictures we have put together some pictures of Kelly's eye throughout the trip. To eliminate any of the rumors we have already heard:
Kelly and Mike were running up a hill in the pouring rain to get back to our hotel while we were in Yokosuka, Japan. Kelly lost his footing and faceplanted into the street.
or:
Kelly and Mike got attacked by 9 Ninjas in Roppongi and fought off all of them. They were coming from all angles and lost in the excitement, Mike got confused and accidently punched Kelly in the face.
We'll let you decide.
The Chronicles of Kelly's Eye.
The night of....
The next morning....
a few days later the color showed up....
finally it rounded all the way around...
and by the time we arrived to Okinawa it was gone.
After we arrived back in Des Moines we all scattered until Thursday night when we got together for dinner and a band meeting. The trip was an amazing experience for us so hopefully you can imagine the colorful discussion around the table when we all reunited. I'm sure people sitting in the restaurant found out more details about some of us than they ever wanted to.
Friday night we headed over to Friday after 5 in Independence to play our first show back in the states. Fun times were had by all once we got going but it took us a while to get going. Our bus didn't start, apparently we broke some things such as microphones and instruments while overseas (that was fun to discover 5 minutes before a show starts), and we forgot some things (we were rushed to cram everything in vehicles when the bus failed to fire up). All in all the night went great and we got through all the surprises. We loaded out and headed to a welcome home party thrown for us by our good friends Troy and Laurie Creery. We had a blast and were very flattered.
For the lack of updates and pictures we have put together some pictures of Kelly's eye throughout the trip. To eliminate any of the rumors we have already heard:
Kelly and Mike were running up a hill in the pouring rain to get back to our hotel while we were in Yokosuka, Japan. Kelly lost his footing and faceplanted into the street.
or:
Kelly and Mike got attacked by 9 Ninjas in Roppongi and fought off all of them. They were coming from all angles and lost in the excitement, Mike got confused and accidently punched Kelly in the face.
We'll let you decide.
The Chronicles of Kelly's Eye.
The night of....
The next morning....
a few days later the color showed up....
finally it rounded all the way around...
and by the time we arrived to Okinawa it was gone.
Monday, July 7, 2008
AFE Tour Blog Day 18: Heading Home
This morning our bus came at 9 a.m. to pick us up and take us to the airport. We loaded up and spent 45 minutes discussing the stories from the night before. When we arrived at the airport we realized we got there without Mike's luggage. Shit!!! Our wonderful "guide", Ai Shears, in Okinawa called the hotel and had the baggage delivered to the airport with minutes to spare.
We were borderline late for the flight and we were the last ones to board the plane about 30 minutes late. When we arrived in Tokyo we had to re-check all our baggage and go back through security. Awesome! We got seperated due to customs lines and Brandon had to deal with airline hassles. Finally John and Brandon ended up running to catch the plane and were the last two people allowed on board. Phew!
After a few drinks, a few movies, several short naps, and 12 hours later we landed safely in Chicago. Again we had to re-check all the baggage and go through security. 3 times in one day! And with all our equipment/drums/guitars, it's extra fun.
We had a 5 hour layover in Chicago so we all passed out on the floors and caught up on a little sleep. Pretty soon we were back on a plane and landing in Des Moines. We arrived, got all the baggage/equipment, said our goodbyes, and at 9:30 pm all headed home.
awww.....sometimes brothers gotta hug.
Kelly: 0
Road in Japan: 1
Coral in Okinawa: 1
We'll see who wins next time.
We were borderline late for the flight and we were the last ones to board the plane about 30 minutes late. When we arrived in Tokyo we had to re-check all our baggage and go back through security. Awesome! We got seperated due to customs lines and Brandon had to deal with airline hassles. Finally John and Brandon ended up running to catch the plane and were the last two people allowed on board. Phew!
After a few drinks, a few movies, several short naps, and 12 hours later we landed safely in Chicago. Again we had to re-check all the baggage and go through security. 3 times in one day! And with all our equipment/drums/guitars, it's extra fun.
We had a 5 hour layover in Chicago so we all passed out on the floors and caught up on a little sleep. Pretty soon we were back on a plane and landing in Des Moines. We arrived, got all the baggage/equipment, said our goodbyes, and at 9:30 pm all headed home.
awww.....sometimes brothers gotta hug.
Kelly: 0
Road in Japan: 1
Coral in Okinawa: 1
We'll see who wins next time.
AFE Tour Blog Day 17: 4th of July!!!!
This morning our bus call was for 8:30 am. Ouch!
We all joined BIT so we didn't have to be up before noon, now we are having to get up and do stuff before 9..... we'll deal with it.
We headed to Kadena Air Base, which was about a 15 minute trip, where we hung out for a while, looked at some amazing planes and helicopters, and then soundchecked. Eve 6 showed up, said hellos, and soundchecked right after we got done. After sticking around for a few minutes we headed back to the hotel where we all took naps, checked emails, and finished up writing postcards.
Around 3 p.m. the bus came back and picked us up for the show. We arrived about 3 hours before showtime so we had ample time to walk around the festival and see all the cool booths. Each branch of the military was represented as well as tons of other booths selling anything and everything from workout equipment to fried oreos. We wandered around for about 10 minutes before we all evaporated. Did we mention it was hot in Okinawa!
At 6 p.m. we hit the stage, played 13 songs, and then signed autographs and took pictures for a half hour. Eve 6 came up around 7:30, it was their first show in a few years but they were very good. Their guitar player broke one of his guitars and ended up using John's for about 5 songs. They finished and about 8:45 the fireworks started.
Filling up a diesel tour bus this summer, $ 183.00
7 meals twice a day, $250.00
7 hotel rooms for one night, $665.00
Playing for US Troops on a military base in Okinawa, Japan on the 4th of July. Priceless!
soundcheck
We all joined BIT so we didn't have to be up before noon, now we are having to get up and do stuff before 9..... we'll deal with it.
We headed to Kadena Air Base, which was about a 15 minute trip, where we hung out for a while, looked at some amazing planes and helicopters, and then soundchecked. Eve 6 showed up, said hellos, and soundchecked right after we got done. After sticking around for a few minutes we headed back to the hotel where we all took naps, checked emails, and finished up writing postcards.
Around 3 p.m. the bus came back and picked us up for the show. We arrived about 3 hours before showtime so we had ample time to walk around the festival and see all the cool booths. Each branch of the military was represented as well as tons of other booths selling anything and everything from workout equipment to fried oreos. We wandered around for about 10 minutes before we all evaporated. Did we mention it was hot in Okinawa!
At 6 p.m. we hit the stage, played 13 songs, and then signed autographs and took pictures for a half hour. Eve 6 came up around 7:30, it was their first show in a few years but they were very good. Their guitar player broke one of his guitars and ended up using John's for about 5 songs. They finished and about 8:45 the fireworks started.
Filling up a diesel tour bus this summer, $ 183.00
7 meals twice a day, $250.00
7 hotel rooms for one night, $665.00
Playing for US Troops on a military base in Okinawa, Japan on the 4th of July. Priceless!
soundcheck
Eve 6 guitarist using John's guitar.
AFE Tour Blog Day 16: Camp Foster
After a few hours of sleep we had a bus call at 9 am to head over to the venue and soundcheck. Okinawa is HUMID!!! And to our surprise we were playing outside, we were drenched after playing three songs in soundcheck. Completely soaked. After soundcheck we headed back to the hotel where some members decided to go shopping for souveniers and the others headed to the beach.
The first beach we went to didn't have water. What???? We were all pretty confused by a beach that didn't have water so we walked about a mile to another beach.....it didn't have water either. The areas you were allowed to swim in were very restricted because of jellyfish and other hazards. We then took cabs to the Sunabi Seawall, a favorite scuba/snorkeling site of the locals. We spent about an hour getting beat up by reef and coral, getting sunburnt, and seeing some of the coolest fish ever up close and in person.
After the beach we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the show. We headed to the venue about 6 pm, ate some dinner, did an interview, and then played from 8-10ish. This was one of the hottest shows we have ever played. Frey's wireless mic quit working and upon taking off the cap we realized why. There was about 12 ounces of sweat inside the microphone. After the show we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel, did some laundry, and crashed.
The first beach we went to didn't have water. What???? We were all pretty confused by a beach that didn't have water so we walked about a mile to another beach.....it didn't have water either. The areas you were allowed to swim in were very restricted because of jellyfish and other hazards. We then took cabs to the Sunabi Seawall, a favorite scuba/snorkeling site of the locals. We spent about an hour getting beat up by reef and coral, getting sunburnt, and seeing some of the coolest fish ever up close and in person.
After the beach we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the show. We headed to the venue about 6 pm, ate some dinner, did an interview, and then played from 8-10ish. This was one of the hottest shows we have ever played. Frey's wireless mic quit working and upon taking off the cap we realized why. There was about 12 ounces of sweat inside the microphone. After the show we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel, did some laundry, and crashed.
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