YouTube Tuesday

So its a Tuesday afternoon in Charleston, SC and the road is slow. New York was the best its ever been. So we're all riding on a high note at this point. Thanks to the Bowery people for covering the show and taking photos. Some guy in Hoboken, NJ said we were too loud and called us assholes for destroying his ears. I thought that was awesome! The other couple hundred people that were there wanted us to play longer, so suck my balls anonymous dude.



If you look closely at the picture on the left, the dude in the center behind us just got tazed. No segue for that. I just had to put this in.




We're in the the thick of the tour and are headed south. Here's another one of Frank Weysos' clips. It features all the extra- ciricular stuff on tour. Once again this is a blog exclusive until this new hacienda site comes out.


Here some DVD style commentary for the clip above.
---At the beginning both Abe and Jaime are not wearing shirts, then later they are.
---There are no drugs of any kind in the cookies that we are eating (sorry)
---Unfortunatley frank managed to catch the band looking particularly greasy, as we wer'ent able to shower for that 3 day run do to time constraints.


So this is a strange story. Laredo is a wierd town. Its kind of like the Twighlight Zone. For some reason, things happen here that dont happen any where else. I dont get it. We were somewhere in the midwest and I got a text message about 8 in the morning which may as well be the middle of the night for our band. It read simply, "Dude, Laredo Morning Times headline Laredo Juiced for Canseco". I tried to go back to sleep but how could I. You mean original bash brother, Jose Canseco, the man who single handedly blew the whistle on steroids and the game I loved has signed a contract with the Laredo Broncos.

My first thought was, "I gotta see this". My second thought was, "Who the shit are the Laredo Broncos". Turns out they are an independent minor league team that signed the infamous Canseco as a player/coach.

This guy is actually playing at the same field (West Martin Field)that I played at in High school. I used to ball, and I was pretty good. This newspaper photo does not prove that. I will have you know that this photo of a botched double play was a bad throw from the shortstop. I swear it. The paper didnt cover the game where I went deep, or when I pitched the game of my life in our first district playoff game as seniors, because one of our stud pitchers failed all his classes. No they covered this game where we got crushed by Holy Cross. BULLSHIT!

Anyway. I was excited to find this clip of Jose in his first at bat on that same field. Its AMAZAZING!!! Can you beleive it. As the coach, he puts himself in to pinch hit and goes deep in his first at bat. I'm thinking biopic starring Jon Cena.

Booze and Pickles

So me and the Hacienda dudes are on the run for another couple weeks or so then we get a break for about a week. We are once again hoofing it with BJL and the Honeybears. Everything seemed normal until the van pulled into Louisville. Thats when things get a little hazy for me. You see not only do they have the best bourbon in the world in Kentucky. They like to drink it. A lot of it. Not by the glass, but by the barrel. We played at Zanzibar a cool joint with a low stage and a loud ass P.A. Holy shit was it hot. After storming through our set, I run to the back patio to put on a dry shirt, and I have about 4 Bourbons waiting for me. What was I to do. After all I'm in Kentucky, it was Monday, and I like bourbon. Well, as I am writing this, its Thursday, I dont remember the last few days, and I could use a glass of water.

Going over some photos and video in my phone, I was reminded of a new shot. I'm sure its not new to all you raging boozers, but new to me. It was called a a pickle back. Its essentially a shot of vodka, and a shot of pickle juice to chase it. Sounds horrifying but surprisingly it was not that bad. Unless the booze that night killed my tastebuds or my ability to gag.

Thanks to the Hallahan Family for feeding us. We actually ate smoked pork butts. Its about the softest meat you can eat. AMAZINGLY GOOD! Traveled through the Midwest. Toledo, Ohio was kind of strange. Louisville rocked my balls off, and New York is up next. We'll see how the yankees get down by comparison.

Super top secret clip here. Below. This is some footage shot in June/July by Frank Weysos on the last tour. Its going to be on a new Hacienda website, but I am leaking it here for the 10 people that read this. Thanks dudes, and enjoy.

Untitled from frank leal on Vimeo.

We're all Fans, aren't we?

So if your a huge Black Keys Fan, then there is a great site to spend some free time on. Its called the Black Keys Fan Lounge. Its a forum with a bunch of characters on it. Cool Hang, and cool people. Its run by this dude, Bruce, who Invited me to tell a couple of Keys stories. So check this one out. As fan sites go, this one is top notch. Visit the forum and prepare to learn all kinds of Keys secrets.

Also, thanks to Sarah for the photo at the top of this site.

Nerd Update

So for all the gear nerds. Here's an update. I was gonna keep it a secret but I've been playing this guitar for about 70 hours straight. I'm tired but I can't put this gutiar down. Especially since I am running it througha new pedal.

I picked up this Gibson es 355. I used to have one just like this. It was a 1973 and it was what I used to record the second Hacienda record. I was short on dough, and to be honest the guitar sucked live. So I sold it. It was wired stereo so it was a chore to cable it up for one amp and still use both pickups. It bothered the shit out of me so much that I sold it first chance I got.

What did you know, but I got seller's remorse. I thought about getting another one all the time. It was taking over my life. I even lost one on ebay that went for about 4 grand. Ouch!! When I found this one I had to have it. Its actually availible to play mono and stereo. Its awesome, and it sounds great. I'm still gonna be using the black Les paul, but this one's gonna see some playing time, fo sho!

I've been running it through a new pedal I recieved from a nice guy out of England. He runs a effects company called Hudson Electronics. I put in an order for a "Gospel Bomb". Its a treble booster based on a vintage rangemaster. I wasnt familiar with any of this stuff, so I figured it would be worth a shot. I was happy with the analogman fuzzes and was looking at replacing the ibanez tube screamer. This pedal might replace several pedals I have. Its a great sound. It actually sounds like my amp is rattling. Its awesome. Its not a fuzz, or an overdrive, and somehow, its better. Fuzzes can be extreme, and overdrives can sound a little fake sounding. This thing sounds like my amp is cranked to perfection. The only problem is, I want to leave it on all the time.

Check these pedals out. There are a couple of U.S. dealers, but I think they are still new.

Summertime Blues

So I've been on vacation. That sounds kind of dumb, considering I don't really do anything anyway. I feel dumb even typing that. I've had the chance to hit South Padre, which is in surprisingly good shape, and I've been visiting friends listening to new music. Went tubing on the river. A must in Texas. Got a new phone so hopefully I'll have some better video clips, and I got a new guitar thats coming out on the road next week. I wont say what it is, but I'll give you a hint. I said I would get one of these again soon. Finally got a hair cut. Your welcome mom. Been watching Louis CK's new show on FX called "Louie" and its amazingly funny.

One of my new musical discoveries is this girl Courtney Jaye. She is a pop singer who had a couple of radio hits. Most of it is not my musical taste however I stumbled onto a cd while cleaning out my suitcase. When we were playing with Floating Action at the Earl in Atlanta, She joined Seth and the band for a tune called "Sunlight". Seth gave me her record and I forgot all about it. He produced her last record in the Seth Kauffman style and it sounds very cool. I was driving in the valley listening to the new BRMC record and heard a voice in the background. I looked up the notes and it said Courtney Jaye sang on it. I raced to find that cd and put it on and I'm glad I did. The style of this record is very interesting.

Everything Seth does is cool, and this record is no exception. Heres a video for a tune. The record is called "The Exotic Sounds of Courtney Jaye" Listen to a tune on her myspace called "Maru Maru". Its great.





Went to see the Doctor. Why do they give you paper gowns at the Dr.'s office? Its humiliating. I think you can tell exactly how I feel by this picture my bro took. I've been given the clean bill of health to get on the road and thats what I intend to do. Check out these dates and say hey if you get the chance.






Upcoming HACIENDA dates:

Thu 08/12/10 Forth Worth, TX 8.0 Restaurant & Bar

Fri 08/13/10 Denton, TX Boiler Room

Sun 08/15/10 Columbia, MO Blue Note w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Mon 08/16/10 Louisville, KY Zanzabar w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Tue 08/17/10 Toledo, OH Frankie's w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Thu 08/19/10 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Fri 08/20/10 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's w/ Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Sat 08/21/10 New York, NY Mercury Lounge

Tue 08/24/10 Charleston, SC Pourhouse w/ Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Wed 08/25/10 Birmingham, AL Bottletree w/ Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Thu 08/26/10 Hattiesburg, MS, Thirsty Hippo w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Fri 08/27/10 New Orleans, LA, One Eyed Jacks

Sat 08/28/10 Austin, TX, Red River on the Rocks @ Mohawk

Tue 09/07/10 Louisville, KY, Skull Alley w/ Girl in a Coma

Wed 09/08/10 Columbus, OH, Rumba Café w/ Girl in a Coma

Thu 09/09/10 Detroit, MI, Magic Stick w/ Girl in a Coma

Fri 09/10/10 Lansing, MI, The Loft at Harem Urban Lounge w/ Girl in a Coma

Sat 09/11/10 Indianapolis, IN, Radio Radio w/ Girl in a Coma

Sun 09/12/10 Chicago, IL, Beat Kitchen w/ Girl in a Coma

Mon 09/13/10 Madison, WI, High Noon w/ Girl in a Coma

Tues 09/14/10 Minneapolis, MN, Triple Rock w/ Girl in a Coma

Wed 09/15/10 Fargo, ND, The Aquarium w/ Girl in a Coma

Thu 09/16/10 Cedar Falls, IA, University of Northern Iowa w/ Girl in a Coma

Fri 09/17/10 Lawrence, KS, The Bottleneck

Thu 09/23/10 Laredo, TX Old No. 22 w/ Jeff the Brotherhood

Fri 09/24/10 Marfa, TX, El Cosmico Gathering

Sat 09/25/10 San Antonio, TX, Lone Star Beer Bash at the Brewery

Tues 10/19/10 New York, NY, Terminal 5 w/ My Morning Jacket