Nearly the end of another year...

I can't believe it's already December 22nd. It still doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I graduated, and seeing friends come back from their first finished semester of grad school is really making me wonder where all the time has gone. I'm starting to think that it was maybe my 'realization' period. We're going to call it that, because now I'm finally starting to a) realize what my life will be post-college, and b) get pumped and start working on this new occupation.


We had our 5th annual cookie-baking party, with 2 friends from school coming back, the boyfriend, some bandmates, friends, etc. It was wonderful. And we made a gingerbread house! I think it was difficult to behave appropriately for my age, I have never made one before. Oh, it was glorious. And after despising the smell of molasses (...tomato soup or bacon is what I think of. I don't understand), and then realizing that I love the taste of it cooked, the molasses cookies are becoming a side dish to my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Oh my.


The following day our Bloodhound puppy, Marley, arrived. He is an adorable bundle of squeaks and sharp teeth, and although he's a lot to handle he's going to be a great dog. Plus, when he gets mad, he sounds like a goose. So good.

Christmas in 3 days!!

What a Wonderful Year...

Hey guys, quick post:

First, we've got a show tomorrow at the Storer Auditorium at OCC. It's the Jim Reith Spectacular, and if you want tickets you can still call in... they're $15 (it all goes to a charity), and we go on at 7:50 on the dot.

And secondly, my sister put together this video all of last night/this morning. I have watched it... too many times today. It really makes me want to go on tour again, and relive every second of the time we spent overseas playing for the troops. We really met so many amazing people and did so many amazing things, it's really starting to wear on me being in Syracuse for so long. We need to start and get this record done.

If you want to destroy my sweater...

Last night we had our first show back in Fredonia since we graduated. We were immediately pumped because the lineup included Gonculator (and Colors In the Air, another well-respected Fred band). But unfortunately at the last minute Gonc couldn't make it because of a family emergency and we of course hope that everything is going alright and completely understand and respect their not making it.

It was a benefit for the Music Industry Club, which Kaleena and I were both really involved with, which gave one more reason why I was stoked to play. AND it was a Christmas sweater contest-themed show. Oh yes, there were many sweaters. Oh yes, we played Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas is You.' Yes, I had a shirt that lit up when I moved. And oh did I move.

Longitude came on last second and finished up the night. I had an amazing time and already can't wait to go back again soon. Seeing people show up to see us play that I've missed just makes me light up; the fact that they respect what I'm doing now and want to still see us after 4 years of shows in that place... it makes me realize I have so much to be thankful for, and so much support even when it seems like months drag on without any results. So, yay. December has sneaked up on me, but we have the Jim Reith Christmas Spectacular next week.

More Christmas.

More light-up shirts.

And here, is yet another wonderful video from my life these days:

11.22.08 - So, that happened...

This past weekend (well, we left on Thursday), my family went out to New York City for a day of touristing before a day of meetings that would eventually lead up to our second show at Kenny's Castaways.

Thursday was... brief, traffic was bad so we finally got into the hotel in time to eat at one of our favorite Italian restaurants for dinner. Then Kaleena and I met up with our friend Chrissy for coffee around Bryant Park. One day I WILL ice skate either there or Rockefeller Plaza. I will, mark my words.


Friday we met with a potential manager, and then moseyed our way to Cherry Lane Publishing's office. We had a short meeting with more of the staff, played a short acoustic set in their conference room, and then went back to the hotel where I absolutely CRASHED. (I should add that we shopped between the two meetings, but since I had to play at the CL meeting I was definitely walking around the city with my guitar... through the subway, and through... Macy's. I'd rather not do that again, like, ever.).

So, nap time came and went and we went over to Kenny's where we met the rest of the band about an hour before we were to go on. An a capella group played before we did, and as I'm sure many of you know, they tend to have pretty ridiculous fan bases so of course the place was packed. I was a little nervous at first because I didn't know who was there to see who, and if the place would empty out when they finished, but to my amazement the bar remained packed through our entire set. Even though we've only played Kenny's once before, every time we play it seems that the place is near capacity, be it that people somehow hear of us, our wonderful friends bring more wonderful friends, or just a built-in crowd, the bar is absolutely great to play. And to Maria, the owner, the feeling is apparently very mutual and she again told us that we should return again soon.

After the set I met a ton of awesome people from an artist-management school in Martha's Vineyard, and saw a lot of my bests from college and even high school. We were all about to take off to go to a bar around Penn Station, when the bar tender saw me with my coat and asked why I was leaving.

"You know Ben Harper is playing next, right?"
"Uh... what?"
"Yeah, Ben Harper. He's on his way."

Out of piqued curiousity I persuaded my friends to stay here (after all, there was still alcohol aplenty). And, sure enough... Ben Harper made his appearance. Apparently he is recording a new album and moved out here. And so, as I watched him set up, I also saw him talking to our drummer. Then I see him walk off stage. Then I see him walk towards Kaleena and me.


As you can tell from my completely placid facial expression, I was by no means surprised at this conversation. Or how he told us he was sorry he missed our set, and that he'll be sure to catch our next show if we let the bar owner know to get a hold of him.

His set was amazing, and somehow I managed to not only stay awake past my usual bed time of 10pm, but I was out until after 3am. It was so great to see so many friends that I have missed, and yeah, the occurrences of the evening were beyond unbelievable.

11.16.08

So, a few new things:

- Hafner's Christmas store has opened, and I have decided to keep on keepin' on as part-time help. Kaleena has since left to focus more on teaching voice lessons, but both of us realized we need to be dedicating more time to the music so that is where we are at with that. I urge you all to go to the store whenever you need some Christmas cheer. It is beautiful, and full of it (...the cheer).

- New York City show! Yay! I cannot wait to get back out there. We have a few meetings scheduled with some people and an acoustic performance for the crew at Cherry Lane. Hopefully I will meet up with a lot of friends and family out there (p.s. if you're reading this and you're in NYC and we haven't spoken in a while, chances are I don't have your number anymore.... so please, get in touch!)

- New phone on November 20th. Get stoked.

- Boyfriend coming back on the 24th. Get stoked(er).

- The Hollow Recording Studio is almost completely done. Hopefully by Thanksgiving we can be practicing in there, and we can start recording the currently untitled album by the start of December.

So much to look forward to.

I will leave you with the latest tse video blog. Though we taped some bits from practice today and let me tell you it's a gem. Will post when it's up.

11.08.08

So, once again it's been a long time since I've updated this thing. A whole lot of nothing truly significant has happened, but still a lot nonetheless. The garden center I'm working at officially opens this coming Thursday (the 13th), so work has been getting busier and busier to get it ready for the public. I have since been doing paintings for the store (yay!) so I'm pumped on that. I am now a freehand snowflake-drawing master. It's ridiculous.

Also, I have succeeded in breaking 2 phones of the month of October. Thank goodness we're out of that wretched month. Halloween was slightly disappointing, as I donned a red pair of tights and dressed like an Incredible only to pass candy out to about 15 people who actually came to our door. But oh well, onwards and upwards. I get a new phone on the 20th of November, we have a show on the 21st in NYC and a few meetings with various companies while we're out there. Michael comes home a few days later, and then it's a week devoted to cooking and being happy. Thanksgiving is just about my favorite holiday.

Oh, Fall

It's already mid-October?! I'm half-bummed and half-pumped at that, I suppose. Not too much new stuff is going on, by now everyone in the band has caught some crazy cold that's going around, so we have had spotty practices but we're still looking way forward to those two shows we have next week. We got our pumpkins out, started decorating for Halloween, made caramel apples... I love this time of year.

After a long 8 day streak of work, I took today off and got a lot of work done. I guess I don't even realize how exhausted I've become, but I definitely slept until 10:50 this morning. I haven't done that since... high school, maybe. But tomorrow will be a long day, I have an interview at 8am tomorrow morning, a doctors appointment at 10 (for this lousy 3 week cold), and then Kaleena and I are off to Fredonia for homecoming weekend. Looking forward to going back for a couple of days.

10.10.08 (2)

one reason to smile at work:

yes, that is a baby goat. in a bucket. chewing that sideways chew that they do.

10.10.08

So now it's Friday, the end of a pseudo-workweek. Monday was great, having the day off and then going with Casey to see The Junkyard Ghost Revival. It was very nice getting to see and catch up with Derrick, Buddy, and Anis, and as usual their show was amazing. It was unfortunate, however, that my cold had been so bad, because we definitely missed out on darts and foozball. The next day we went to the Everson Museum and checked out their Andy Warhol exhibit (yay the shoes and advertisement period!) and the Marie Antionette mannequin/fashion exhibit, where I just saw a lot of clothes i'd love and hair styles I wouldn't.

I'm going to put Wednesday into an image for you:


Working for my mom at 'walk to school day' at a Syracuse city Elementary school. There's Kaleena and myself, after she bravely battled a beatdown by several kindergarten students.

The rest of Wednesday and Thursday was devoted to work, and band practice, which brings us to today. I'll be working for a bit this morning, and then Kaleena and I are both going to back to work at Hafner's haunted house for 3ish hours. I've never worked at a haunted house, and yes, I'm afraid of the dark, so we'll just have to see how this goes.

10.6.08

Welp, work got canceled. So now that I've slept in an insane amount, I'm ready to get some stuff done.

And I just found out via my sister and the internet that The Dresden Dolls are on hiatus. Bum city. Understandable, but I was definitely hoping I'd see them live again sometime soon.

Still, a good start to the work week that's looking like (because of time off I've taken) won't be much of a 'work' week.

10.5.08

So, this week is actually looking up already.

Monday will be fun, my friend and blogmate Casey will be coming up to see The Junkyard Ghost Revival at the Red House, along with dinner and fun times with Derrick, Buddy, and Anis. Stoked to see them again, and see them do their thing.

Also stoked for Tuesday, where I stumbled upon this little gem and will therefore be taking a personal day. How could I pass this up, especially with Casey with me??

Wednesday is a mascot day, where Kaleena and I will be playing "Dr. Health E. Hound" at a health fair. Oh, post-college. At least I have jobs like this to break up the monotony of window-washing.

A Week of Inspiration

So, once again I've found that I cannot seem to keep up with this thing. Or anything, really. As busy as I'm used to being in college and such, I cannot seem to adapt to this lifestyle of job and music being a job and being able to balance work with play. I don't really know how I managed to do it while I was in school, but it seemed a lot simpler when I had a structure to my days that worked by the hour. As awful as it was, I think I would embrace that right about now. I've also found, however, that whenever I am granted some time to myself or time away... I lose track of that too. But I think that's a good thing.

So... let's start with last Sunday. The 21st. Mom and myself loaded into the Ford Edge and trekked past the old stomping grounds of Western New York to get to St. Catharine's, Ontario. What awaited us there was a long line at the border, a very vague idea of where to go, the quaint city of St. Catharines, a wine festival, and Ms. Sarah Slean. For those of you who know me well, I've grown to love this singer/songwriter/performer/artist, and until then had yet to see her live. I'd been told by boyfriend and friends alike that she was one who needed to be seen live to fully take in, and since I needed some new inspiration in regards to making live music a true experience this was an entirely necessary road trip.

We left around 2pm, and got there around 4... (it really shouldn't have taken that long, but hey, we were in no rush). We shuffled around the wine festival, got some food, and camped out pretty close to the stage. It was a pretty cold day for an outdoor festival, so the next couple hours felt like... a couple of hours, but she was definitely worth the wait. What definitely wasn't worth the wait was her opening act. I don't remember who it is, and for the sake of whomever it was I won't go through the trouble of trying to find out. He was... pretty awful. When you're soundchecking IN FRONT OF THE AUDIENCE, I don't believe it's wise to have your backing tracks playing while you're not singing. Or hey, for that matter, let's talk about the actual show. When your one backup singer is singing... there aren't three of him. You're not fooling me (though I think you were fooling the girls who sat behind me, because they thought you were "really great"), and no, we know the older dude playing lead guitar isn't singing into the mic... he's singing... but not near the mic. Or any mic.

Finally, Sarah took the stage about 40 minutes later than scheduled, and I'm not even sure what to say about it. She is a force on the stage. A charming, charismatic, witty, adorable, seemingly effortless force. There was such a sense of happiness in me the whole time she performed, because a) I had finally gotten to see her live and b) it was the farthest thing from disappointing. I cannot verbalize the experience, but I did jot down the set list for those of you interested:

1) California
2) So Many Miles
3) Euphoria
4) Notes From the Underground
5) Get Home
6) Hopeful Hearts
7) Lucky Me
8) Another Midnight
9) Goodnight, Trouble
10) Duncan
11) Out In the Park
12) No Place At All
13) Please Be Good To Me
14) Sweet Ones
15) Sound of Water
--ENCORE--
16) Looking For Someone
17) Parasol
18) Wake Up

So, needless to say... it was amazing. We drove halfway home, stayed at a hotel and finished the trip Monday morning in time for me to get a half day of work in.

Monday evening we headed out to the Turning Stone Casino (yes... I saw a show there) to see The Indigo Girls (yes... I saw them there). And to make things even awesomer, Missy Higgins opened. Again, if you know me, you know how major a concert like this is. So again, I have no words. It was sweet. They played "Closer to Fine." I laughed and thought about that 'Office' episode. Sigh.

Tuesday I grunted through a day of cleaning ceiling light fixtures and rafters (slowest. day. ever.), and Wednesday headed to Nashville to visit Michael.

With the exception of a couple glitches (bad weather at a connecting flight and a change of flights and a bigger layover and... a charge for checked luggage?) I got there, and seriously had the best 5 days since, well, the last time I was there in March. There's something about that city that I cannot get enough of. And being with Michael again was too good, again, for words.

I would recap everything that I did while I was there, but as you can tell time has gotten away from me again. It had been a good 10 days of sheer happiness and inspiration and a well needed vacation from the norm, and basically when I returned the following Monday I crashed-- hard. Like, literally. I have been sick since Tuesday morning. Whether it had been from the plane ride back, or maybe from my mom who had been sick for a while, the past few days have absolutely sucked. Work has been so hard to get through, and I still can't breathe through my nose.

What I would do for another trip south. Where it's always sunny and warm and friendly and inspiring.


Today, since I obviously cannot sing, practice was canceled and I got a day to work on my painting. I finished an oil sketch to the best of my ability (never done one before), not so pumped on it, but looking forward to how it's going to look once I get using paints. It'll be nice to work on a painting without a timeline.

So there, in an incredibly small nutshell, has been the past 10 days or so. This week looks pretty promising; practice tomorrow, Casey coming out Monday for the Junkyard Ghost Revival in Syracuse, and a full week of work and another start to hoping this week is the week everything will change for the better. My friend Michaela is coming home this weekend, and hopefully one of my bests from Fredonia will come out as well.

End of August : Ch-ch-ch-ch changes

So, I know it's been a real long time since I've been able to 'log' all the stuff going on in my life, but in all honesty, I don't know where August went. July, well that's obvious, but when I stopped by the pottery place down the street from me (where I tend to work for "play" time) and the owner asked when I got back, I almost felt guilty for not coming to visit sooner. But, really... I don't know where I've been.

We've had some interesting ups and downs since returning back from the Greenland/Germany tour, and it's almost strange to think back to all the amazingness that happened over those few weeks. It's all so much different now, and though Syracuse has responded incredibly well to our return and given us tons of great press, I am starting to feel the high highs and low lows of doing this full-time. Though I must say the lows aren't really all that bad, I mean seriously... I'm playing music. For a job. It's sweet. But having no solid income (and... not being able to make a certain amount of money to keep health insurance), working at the summer job you had last year until you went back to school (though I do love the job and the flexibility that I have at this place with my schedule). It's just all foreign, and it's strange not going back to school.

Two new band members since we got back. Messed up as it sounds, it has been the best and worst time for the band. As I'm sure you could guess, it's super hard to lose members; it's so close to a relationship that you're never sure how to get around it or what to say, or anything really. But the new group is sick; we're really clicking, and it's freaking awesome. We're starting to work on new material for the album. Stoked. Plus, now I have legitimate 'homework' to do. And I get to play with my new amp (not that I couldn't before, but now I NEED to).

So, now is it. When all this talk starts happening. I'm so sick of waiting on people to make big things happen, but at the same time sometimes all you can do is wait. That's where I am. Sort of.

Starting to paint again too. Every time I go out I make sure I get myself to an art supply store and buy something, so that I will eventually have all the tools I need to paint, and I'll have no choice but to because I am spending money on it that I really don't have to spend on hobbies right now. So... we'll see. But it's a necessary thing for me right now.

On Being Home

Welp, we're officially done with the bulk of the summer's show-playing, and it's a very strange feeling. Strange in a sense that over the course of 3 weeks I had gone from never having left the U.S. before, to being a pro at international travel, and a member of an international touring band. So freaking weird. And we're so lucky; one that the tour went off without any major hitches. We made it through the airports, customs, all the venues and such without any hassles. We did blow a tire on our trailer, but Silvio had that thing fixed in a jiffy and we were back on the road. Plus, I was asleep nearly the whole time... but yeah. This experience was so incredibly surreal, and I wish I could have told all the amazing people I had met on this tour that they have no need to thank us for coming out. We're the ones that need to be doing the thanking. We're a group of kids from Baldwinsville, New York. And we're playing shows in Germany. In a tour bus. With our own hotel rooms every night.

So now we are back, the day after we returned from Germany my parents took Kaleena and I and our boyfriends to Old Forge for the weekend. It was such a nice getaway (though tour wasn't a hardship by any means), but just to be near those people you missed so much, and to be in a place where there isn't a whole lot of 'business' talk. We are working with a new drummer by the name of Kyle Corcoran, he was a friend of mine from Fredonia and is an amazing drummer. His first show with us will be the 21st show with Meg and Dia, so our prime directive at this point and time is to get everybody ready for that.

In the meantime I've made a couple of visits out to Rochester to see Michael before he leaves for Nashville, and we've done a few press things from the tours. Kaleena and I went on 'Bridge Street' again this past Thursday, just doing an interview and showing some pictures and such. Also, Mark B. from the Post-Standard came to the house earlier last week, there should be an article on us coming up in next Sunday's paper (I think in the CNY section). And even further, a new CNY magazine did an interview and sent a wonderful journalist to one of our rehearsals to be out in September. I will follow with more details as I get them.

So, I guess now we're all about transitions. Transitioning into recording the new album, making a better live show, really putting this band into high gear. Its not an easy task, and it's taken quite a toll on all of us. It's gotten down to the point where the band needs to be a full-time thing, and for the sake of everyone else we need to put everything in it. We have all given up so much to do this, people have changed the course of their lives for this. All we can do is hope for the best.

Finally, Internet!

Monday night we had our show at the Rheinlander theatre, which was absolutely gorgeous. The one thing we tend to keep hearing everywhere we go is, "There's a lot of history in this building." It's amazing how much has happened in this one country, even just over the past 100 years, but also the fact that there are buildings older, and landmarks older than the United States has been around-- it's amazing. We didn't find out too incredibly much about a lot of the places we've played (the Germans don't like talking about any of it too much), but we did find out that the Rheinlander was a club that Hitler used to go to on a regular basis before his rise to power. And even just knowing that gives the place a really eerie vibe, though the building itself was amazing.

The Baumholder show itself was a big deal to us, because all of the soldiers at the base were deployed to Iraq, so we were to be performing for mostly women and children. We tried to keep all the little kiddies entertained, and when we played our Beyonce cover, we actually had a dance party in front of the stage of mainly kids under 10. It was amazing. A little guy, probably 7, was doing the worm. We gave out cds to the ‘best dancers,’ and we had a great time (I almost couldn’t sing I was laughing so hard). At the end of the set the commander came up and awarded us coins and a plaque for boosting morale on the base, but again, I think we were more honored to be there than anything else.

Rheinlander Club

The next day we left for Manheim. On the way in we stopped at Hiedelberg, the most amazing touristy/Disneyworld/busy little town with a castle that dates back to the 30 years war. It was unbelievable. The only thing that I can say in a somewhat negative tone is that I’m sad we didn’t get to spend more time looking around. There are so many cute shops, and the towns here are SO CLEAN. And there are dogs, like, everywhere. I loved walking around. Also, I finally got to speak German! To the gelato-man, and it was glorious. Not only was he pleased I understood how much the gelato cost (zwei euro = 2 euro), but I said “thank you” and I know that doesn’t sound like much but it was pretty awesome.

So after our short stint of Hidelberg, we went out to the venue, ate some dinner, and played our set. It was a slightly smaller crowd, but still they were so amazing and appreciative, and many of them were to be leaving for Iraq in the coming weeks. I will add that our hotel in Manheim was AWESOME, we each had our own room and huge bathroom and internet and well, I can’t ask for much more than that. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from doing tours like this… it’s absolutely unreal to be in this place, the tour bus, the whole ‘Europe’ thing, and I love seeing as much as I can and doing as much as I can fit into one day; but it’s nothing if I can’t share it with the people I can’t imagine being without.

I’m writing this on the bus en route to Edelweiss. We stopped by this fantasy castle that Walt Disney actually modeled his Cinderella castle afterwards, and although we didn’t get to go in (it’s closed today), we did get a great view of it. Also, someone took a picture of our bus. That was something.

* * *

After not being able to find a parking spot for the bus, we just decided to keep on moving. We passed into Austria (yay!) and then went through the Alps to get to our hotel. Wow. I’m so bummed that my camera’s batteries died during the trek, because I don’t think I can accurately describe how amazing the little towns were that we drove through. How ornate the roofs were, the murals on the sides of the houses, the colors of the plants under each window. I even saw a little goat running through someone’s backyard. It was one of the best things I’ve ever seen, I felt like I was in a different world. The snow-covered mountains were jaw-dropping, and although I did get a few shots the glare on our bus really doesn’t do the scenery justice at all.

We arrived at the Edelweiss lodge and resort maybe an hour or so later, and it is AMAZING. We decided that tomorrow we would go into the town and explore it, along with take a gondola up to the top of the mountain. Tonight though, we wanted to take it easy and explore everything the resort had to offer. We made a stop at the gift shop (and some of the things… seriously, so good), ate at the restaurant, and then hopped in the hot tub. Then we went down to the bar for some German beer for the boys, and some Snow Bunnies for the girls (peppermint schapps, coffee, cocoa, and whipped cream). Overall this was a great day of travel, and we’re really looking forward to spending the whole day here tomorrow. Also, check out this place we’re staying at… quite a nice little view from the windows.

* * *

And now I am on the bus headed to grafenwoehr. We didn’t have internet (that was free), so I wasn’t able to update anything while I was there. Yesterday we were hoping to have been able to climb up the mountains, but in the end we just decided to take it easy and explore the town since we hadn’t been able to really look around since we got into Germany. We got up early and walked down into the center of Garmisch, found an amazing little café and candy shoppe, and just hung out for a few hours. When we walked back to the hotel later on, we rented bikes and rode all around the Alps and through beautiful German neighborhoods. It was a really great day.

The show setting in Edelweiss was very much like playing a restaurant/bar; there were families there an dpeople of all ages. I think I should note that Edelweiss is a resort and lodge for ONLY military personnel (which means when I don’t have my military ID anymore I won’t be able to go back), but it’s cool because I met kids and people from all over the world just vacationing there. It was really awesome, and the show was a ton of fun. Overall, I think yesterday was my favorite day so far on my trip.

So yeah, like I said, today we are headed to Grafenwoehr, and Silvio had us get up early so that we could actually make a stop at a concentration camp today before we get to the hotel/venue. Today should be a really interesting day.

* * *

So, now we’re in the bus again, just stopped in I’m-not-sure-where to change a tire that we somehow SHREDDED UP. Again, due to the inconsistent internet I’ve been forced to update in word and then post this with pictures once I get my computer online.

I’m not sure if there’s much to say about going to Dachau; it was a major concentration camp during World War II, and although it was more of a work camp than an extermination camp, the number of people who passed through, suffered, and died there is tangible when you open the gate and walk in. It’s amazing how much they still have intact, and how much they preserved for the sake of the memorial.

Then we finished the drive out to grafenwoehr, and were met by a couple AFE people- they took us out to dinner for MEXICAN (yes), and I had the hugest burrito. And I ate it, all. And then went and played a show directly after. Worst best decision ever. The show was again for mostly women and children, and of those children many were dawning their pj’s because it was so close to their bedtime. It was adorable, and again a very sad feeling for all of us. One woman who is in charge of something on the base spoke with me after our show, and told me that they already have thousands (I think over 4000) soldiers deployed to Iraq for 15 months, and in the next couple week a number quite similar will be leaving for the same destination. Also, I should note that Grafenwoehr is a huge base training facility, and right before we left she warned us that we would hear a lot of gunfire and bombing tonight, but only that it was them training for Iraq. After hearing that, it was difficult to get to sleep knowing what was going on outside, and that so many people would again be leaving their families.

Today we woke up and got on the bus at 7am. It’s about a 6 hour drive to Spangdahlem, and I can’t believe that we are heading to our last show already. It’s a festival, and we were told that there’s another band going on before us, and that Billy Blanks will be there. More information will follow, I assure you.

* * *

Today's show was really great, and felt like a great show to finish the tour up with. We arrived so close to when we had to play that we didn't even get time to check out what was going on, we just pulled up to the stage, soundchecked, and went on. It was the Spangdahlem Open House, where 5-6000 people (mostly French and German) come to check out the air base. They have planes on display, and yes, even Billy Blanks was there. I didn't see him, but I know he's staying at our hotel. So there's still hope.

We were the final band at the stage, and we kept really good energy the whole show. I think this was one of the most difficult shows we've ever played, because we had so many people there, but we had no means to communicate with them. Everything we said to them, no one understood. They enjoyed the music, clapped after every song, but there was no response when we tried to incorporate them into the set. Thankfully we had a translator who helped us out and got the crowd even more riled up, and it was amazing. I was able to say so little to them ('thank you to our german crowd' and 'i speak little german, and i understand very little'...) so yeah, I was lacking a bit in the communication department. But seriously, this crowd was amazing.

Afterwards, we finally got to check out our hotel, and grabbed dinner with some people from the base. Jess knew a couple who was stationed out there, so they came out too and then we went to the bar. I'm back at the hotel now, packing up all our souvenirs to bring back. This was a truly surreal and amazing trip, and already we're doing some planning on going back.

I'm definitely looking forward to heading home tomorrow, but this was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. We're leaving at 6:3o tomorrow morning to head to the Frankfurt airport, and from there we leave somewhere around noon. See you in the states this time tomorrow!

Tourgen Busgen?!

We're in Germany!!

After our 7 hour flight to Germany (which really wasn't half bad at all, except that I hardly sleep on planes), we were met by our sound guy Ben (who had just gotten off tours with Black Violins and Sevendust), and our bus driver, Silvio. Yes, we have a bus. Yes it is ridiculous. See exhibit a:

Exhibit A

Inside of this bus, there are 8 little sleeping bunk things (which I tried out, and are quite nice), the back of the bus has a round booth with a tv and playstation, and the front has a table and another bench (the bathroom is in the middle). I'm still definitely in shock.

So from the Frankfurt airport we drove out to Baumholder, which is the cutest little town (see exhibit b), which is COMPLETELY closed on Sundays. So, we got to our hotel (exhibit c), went to the PX (the military store) to get some fixture adapters and such, the grocery store, and then the dining facility for some food. Now we have returned back to the hotel, and I thought we were going to be doing some walking around, but it appears that everyone has fallen asleep. And I'm getting there, so I guess we will just have to see what happens tonight (we are 6 hours ahead of you New Yorkers).

Exhibit B

Exhbit C

So yeah, now Kaleena and I are just hanging out in our rooms, might watch a movie, not real sure as of how the night will go. Tomorrow we have all day to explore until we head to the venue, the Rheinlander Theatre (which was apparently a hangout for Hitler before the war). I'm really excited to look around this place, so much history I'm not accustomed to being around. Here's the view from my room, goodnight!

AFE, MTV, and new shows!

Hey guys, I'm currently sitting at the airport in Syracuse, after ridding myself of my Greenland postings. We will head to Philly first, and from there fly straight to Frankfurt. I'm pumped that we're doing all commercial flights this way, a one-time baggage check kind of rules. We will be playing 5 different military bases over 6 days, and with travel we will be back in the states on the 27th. Not sure what to expect, at all, but this round we're hoping to have a lil more internet. You, and I, will just have to wait and see.

In other news, MTV's soundtrack website is now up! And we're on it! So please, feel free to visit our page, play our songs, make your own soundtrack... I'm not really sure of all the facets of that site, but it's pretty sweet, with all the music you've seen and heard on MTV :)

And, lastly, we have been added to our very first Syracuse Show on August 21 with Meg and Dia! Get pumped!


See you all in Germany!!

Greenland, part 2

So, on to Monday. We went 'Thule Tripping' with Sgt Spires (who's wife lived in Liverpool, NY), Susan (the services woman for Thule), Larry, Steve (the chef of the TOW club who made us vegan and vegetarian EVERYTHING), and a few others. We got to walk on the ice cap (we made snow angels and Kaleena built a snowman), and saw a waterfall. It was so windy and cloudy that day, probably below 30 with the windchill, and rainy. So yeah, cold day. But we saw so many amazing things that day.



Tuesday, we had our last show. But more importantly, we did this:

POLAR BEAR SWIM! Twice for everyone, Jon made it in 5 times. We're kind of awesome.

For the sake of time (as I'm in the Syracuse airport waiting for our flight to Philly that will then take us to Frankfurt), I will quickly round up the next couple of days. We were able to go into the air control tower, watch a NASA plane land, ride in a fire truck, see the mechanical generator for the base, see the satellites and radar and control rooms of every building there, and even an old missile launch from the Cold War, and so much more. I don't think I could correctly put everything I saw that week in writing, but it was by far one of the most exciting and exhilarating trips I have ever been on. The wildlife, the scenery, the weather... unbelievable.

So, thanks Greenland, for the great times.

Onward to Germany!

The Time Has Disappeared...

Hey everybody who happens to read this, I'm so incredibly sorry but we had absolutely no internet while we were in Greenland, and after we returned my week has been consumed by sleeping, unpacking, doing a news interview on the trip, watching the season premier of Project Runway, seeing friends, and heading to Rochester to see The Dark Knight at midnight. Tomorrow we're leaving for Germany, where we hope that we'll have adequate internet so that I can post every day and my posts (like this one) won't be as long, and I won't have to cram a week of awesomeness into one long essay.

I did, however, keep a log of every day in Greenland, along with a slew of pictures, so again, I'm sorry it's all so unorganized, but here, in a nutshell, was our trip to Greenland!

Wednesday, July 2^nd:

Our first flight left Syracuse at 11:30ish, and we landed in Philly for a brief layover to head to Baltimore. I’ve flown out of Syracuse before, but I never noticed the large community of plastic yard flamingoes at the end of the runway (anyone else ever notice this? Syracuse is cute). The plane that we boarded in Philly was quite possibly one of the smallest planes I’ve ever been on, and lucky for me I was in seat number one. Also, that flight was only 20 minutes. The question I have, is why do they even make flights that short?

Once we landed in Baltimore, our commercial flight streak ended and we had to check in to the military station. So from there we had to claim all 13 pieces of checked baggage along with each of our 2 carry-ons (equaling a LOT of luggage) and transport it to the other side of the airport. Lucky for us, we got ourselves someone with a large cart. Unlucky for us, we arrived in Baltimore at 2pm and the military people don’t even go to the windows for checking baggage until 8pm.

So we found ourselves a nice little corner in the ‘Observation Deck’ of the BWI airport, complete with little playgrounds of rocket ships and planes and lots of little kids. My friend from Fredonia, Paige, moved out to Annapolis for a job and thankfully she had nothing better to do that day than to come to the airport and keep us company. It was great to see her, and by the time she left it was about dinner time.

Once 8pm rolled around, we got all our stuff back together and made it to the military terminal. At the same time we got there there must have been a military plane arriving from war because there were so many people cheering, so many balloons and flags, and so many families reunited with lots of tears and smiles. It was definitely an awakening experience to say the least. It made me realize how amazing the trip ahead of me is going to be, and how amazing the people will be that are in the audience, watching us.

We got all our bags checked, but our flight didn’t even board until 1am. So, we did more sitting in a different part of the airport until we could pass through security. From there things seemed to go pretty quickly, and before we knew it we were boarding the plane.

I have never flown military before, or heard of the C-80 (I think that’s what it was), but I felt like I was back in Disney World. We entered the terminal through the usual tunnel. Then we passed through double doors. Then we were all herded into a large group room with four double-doors. The doors then opened to 4 horizontal rows of seats, which was (a surprise to me) a bus that took us to the plane, which we boarded from the back. The plane itself was really large, but it was only equipped to hold about 30 passengers; the rest of it held cargo for the base. They played three movies that night, I can’t even remember what they all were. I hardly slept but I was a groggy mess.

from the plane as we were getting into Greenland.

Thursday, July 3^rd:

After a grueling day at the airport and a 2am departing flight to Greenland, we arrived at Thule at around 9am local time (an hour ahead of what I’m used to). Our pilot was a saint, because flying over glaciers the whole way, and then seeing nothing but clouds gave me real depth-perception problems. I thought we were still way up in the air when we dove down into a cloud and it ended up being the base. I guess visibility for today is only a half a mile, and let me tell you it’s pretty darn foggy. And cold, like 35 degrees.

our hotel! and fog...

Friday, July 4^th:

Show day! We got up and met up with Klaus (our sound guy) at 11am at the outdoor stage. When we got there, we found we were… really playing outside. We weren’t really sure if we would be in a tent, or in an extension of the community center; but no. We were playing on an outdoor stage. And man was it cold. We helped some people set up the stage/monitors/speakers/etc and then took an hour break to grab some lunch.

When we returned we hung out and sound checked around 3pm (the show was to start at 4:30), and whenever we could we got ourselves inside with our instruments to try and keep them (and us) warm.

Around showtime, we headed back to the stage where there was a Danish barbeque going on. There had been a softball tournament up until the barbeque, and a golf tournament on top of Mount Dundas (apparently it is the northernmost golf tournament in the world). When everyone had gotten to the site, Cornel Cox announced the winners of the golf tournament and the softball game, and we were set to play.

We decided on doing a shorter set due to the temperature outside, so we were thinking (2) 8-song sets with a break of about 15-20 minutes. We finished the first, and then took our break. While trying to make it inside I ended up talking to a few people, one of whom actually went to college at Alfred State (and he didn’t look too much older than us). By the time I realized it was about time to go back on, I hadn’t even gotten inside. Then Cornel Cox handed me hand warmers before I got back on stage. I have never been around so many wonderfully kind people in a show setting like this. We were and are so thrilled to be here, and it seems as though the feeling is incredibly mutual.

Susan, the director for all of the activities, told us before we went back on that our second set should only be about 4 more songs, because the people were too cold to stay out. So, we did just that. And by the time we got back to our hotel, we had been outside for almost 8 hours.

We showered, got warm again, and then headed to the TOW club to hang out with the people for a little while. We talked to Susan, Larry, and Mike, and tried some Danish liquor (…a mixture of vodka and cough syrup…), and then some of the guys at our show let us try another signature Thule Drink, ‘Green Goo.’ Needless to say, I only tried it, and then made it back to the hotel early because I was exhausted.

Overall though, what a great show.

Saturday July 5:

We woke up this morning to meet up with Larry and Mike for brunch, and then from then we kind of went ‘joy riding’ around Thule. Thankfully the fog cleared and we were able to see Mount Dundas, and… wow. We rode out to the coast and saw the iceburgs and pieces of ice floating around the ocean, and drove anywhere and everywhere we could. I am so amazed by what was covered in a fog for the past few days, and in awe that I’m actually seeing it with my own eyes.

Mount Dundas!

Iceburgs!

So we were gone for about two hours or so, and then when we got back we basically crashed. We headed to the tow club around 7:30, got some dinner, and then started our show around 10:30. We had a few technical difficulties, but thankfully the show went out without much of a hitch. The crowd was amazing, and we ended up playing for around 3 hours. We finally made it to bed around 3am, but still I have never been so impressed by a crowd. Their support and the fact that they all stayed the whole entire time (and the fact that we met almost every one of them afterwards) is still just so amazing.

Sunday July 6^th:

We made it to brunch again around 11ish (it’s our day off today), and then decided to climb Mt. Dundas. We were told that the last leg of it would be kind of difficult (involving a rope), but we’ve all climbed mountains before, and so we were all just pretty stoked on it. It took about 20 minutes by car to get to Dundas, and the scenery along the way was nothing short of amazing. It seriously looked like we were driving through the set of Lord of the Rings, with mountains, hills, and water as far as the eye could see. We also drove past Dundas Village, a small hunters camp where Innuits come in the wintertime. It was unbelievable.

When we got to Dundas, it immediately looked about 50 times more intimidating. I’m pretty sure it was about a 60 degree angle the entire way up. And it was nothing but loose rock along the ‘trail.’ We took about 45 minutes to get to the top, where the very top was about an 80 degree angle of sheer rock with nothing but a rope to get us to the landing. And to make matters worse, there were two Danish men that were determined to climb and descend the mountain ten times in one visit, and they just waltzed past me, struggling on the rocks, at least three times. Worst.

But, eventually we made it up there, and the view from the top was AMAZING. The climb down, on the other hand... awful. awful awful awful. I haven't been that scared...ever haha. When we finally returned back to the hotel, it was movie-night and a whole lot of nothing.

tomorrow, tomorrow...

So, tomorrow. Greenland.

I managed to get my hands on a little map so that you (and I, thankfully) can see where we'll be spending the next 10 days or so. So here you have it:

We did some research early on, and Nuuk is 2 hours ahead of us... and as you can tell, we will be absolutely nowhere near it.

The Thule Air Base website says that it's only an hour ahead, so hopefully that won't mess with us too much. On the other hand, we'll be in 24 hours of sunlight because of the summer solstice...

Anyways, we got our final itinerary fed ex'd to us this morning, complete with 'mission number' and so on (the guy who brought it to our door was all like "I think it's from the Pentagon..." so good.) And basically it said that we will for sure have shows on the 4th and 5th of July (Fri and Sat), and possibly a show on Tuesday the 8th. We also got an email from one of the men on the base, telling us that when we don't have shows they'll be showing us around, including a 'Thule Tripping' day on Monday.

Yes.

Tomorrow will be a full day of traveling, and we leave Syracuse at 11:30 to go to Philly, where we will then catch a plane to Baltimore that arrives at 2pm. Then we switch from commercial to military flights, and our plane for Greenland departs at 2am. So... we'll have some time to hang. I'm bringing some books to read. We'll be video-blogging. Kaleena got her computer and camera all hooked up, so in addition to this you'll be able to see a little bit of what's going on from the top of the world. We tried it out today:





For all of our upcoming vids, check out www.youtube.com/thescarletending.

We'll be updating that, and I'll be updating this, as much as possible.

See you in Greenland!

Bridge Street and The Lost

The past week or so has been pretty awesome, got together with some friends, played a lot of music, went out to Rochester, and visited a goat farm. I'm a fan, always have been of those little buggers. As a matter of fact, driving out to Rochester I had to find myself a detour due to a train apparently stuck to the tracks that landed me driving alongside the CUTEST field of little goats, all hop-running. And that mixed with the ting tings blaring out of my minivan stereo, a half-eaten box of sugar babies, and no one behind me so I could slow down and watch was just a fantastic combination.

Sooooo anyways, yesterday we were on live on Central New York's Channel 9 morning show "Bridge Street." We had a really great time, got to play outside on a beautiful day, and everyone at the show was really great. We had a little interview regarding the upcoming tours, played a song, and then played out into every commercial break (so we got to basically watch the entire show from our own private gazebo. rock and roll). There is a link to the main interview and song right here.

We will be keeping in touch with the show, sending pictures and whatnot and may come back on after we return from Germany; I'll keep everybody posted via this and/or our myspace page.

Also, we will be playing our last and final show before we become an INTERNATIONAL touring band (yayyyyy!) at The Lost Horizon in Syracuse tomorrow (Friday the 27th) with Vapor Aevum, Endive, and The Andrea Doria. The show starts around 9:30 and we are slated to go on around 11:30. It's all ages, and $5 at the door. We will also have you know that we got some new stickers in this afternoon (well, like 10 minutes ago) that will be tagging along with us to that show. So yeah, do it up.

12 days and counting...

I can't believe we're leaving for Greenland in less than 2 weeks, it's so exciting/scary/nerve wracking/etc. Basically we're just practicing our tails off just about every day of the week, and we find that when we're not practicing we're talking online about how weird it is we're not practicing...

I guess that means I'm adapting well to my new "lifestyle."

Over the past few weeks I have also been contacted by Bambi Weavil, the CEO and Publisher of Out Impact Magazine out of North Carolina. Bambi heard our song "The Way We Used To Be" on 'The Hills' and got in touch with us asking to review the album. Completely flattered by the request, I quickly sent it out and today we got an email from her with the link to the review.

You can view it right here.

From the other albums that site has chosen to review (Duffy, Rihanna, and Rufus Wainwright just to name a few)... I am completely beside myself. I am so honored and amazed at the support we have gotten from so many people, and I am so incredibly grateful.

Soon, pictures.

Iceland is green, and Greenland is...

As of this morning we have an email confirming that in addition to the Germany AFE tour we will also be doing a 9 day tour of Greenland. We will be heading out on July 3 and returning 11 days later, only a week before we depart for Germany. Now, there are many questions that I along with our other bandmates are wondering, and so I thought I would enlighten you all as to what I have discovered, as I have become a Greenland scholar over the last 24 hours or so.

Q: What language do they speak in Greenland?
A: Lots of different ones. I think it will be hopeless for me to learn Danish, Greenlandic, and Innuit by the time the beginning of July comes around.

Q: What's the weather like?
A: Cold.

Q: What is the Greenland time zone?
A: No such thing. It's too cold.
*EDIT: I just checked, and I think it's 2 hours ahead of us.

Q: What can you do in Greenland?
A: snowshoe and dog sled. And wrangle sharks (...this is true.)

Q: Where will we be playing?
A: Thule Air Base in Greenland... I think it's the only US military base in that country. It is however pretty cool, as it was at one point and time invaluable to the US during the Cold War to intercept messages involving the possibility of nuclear attack.

Q: Where is it located?
A: Not quite sure yet. On the Thule Air Base website it states the base is "695 miles North of the Arctic Circle, and 947 miles south of the North Pole on the Northwest side of the island of Greenland. The base is approximately 550 miles east of the North Magnetic Pole." It also says that "The closest Inuit (native Eskimo) village, Qaanaaq, is 65 miles away." Oh, and that "There is no "off-base" except for the bay, the ice cap, and miles and miles of rock." And "Thule is locked in by ice 9 months out of the year."


All joking aside though, I'm super pumped about this trip. Never having truly been out of the country, the opportunity to go ANYWHERE is incredible for me, but being able to visit somewhere I never ever thought I would seems unbelievable. And maybe I'll see a polar bear. Either way, I still have a lot of research to do on this place.


On one other note, Bently has been doing much better and is back to normal. We opted not to go with the surgery unless we find that this 'problem' he has acts up again, as it very well could have been a freak accident. And he's a very happy dog without having a procedure to alter his life.

Other than that... not much going on. Just practicing, German-ing, and hanging out. Working the Greek Fest tonight with my friend Megan and Kaleena, hoping to check out the Taste of Syracuse this weekend, and spending time with Michael, and Brian (who is coming to all our AFE tours with us as our manager). Tons more other stuff going on that I will fill you in with at a later date.

The Sheep Song

Correction from my last posting about those Germany dates- sorry about that; they are as follows:

Sat, Jul. 19- Depart US
Sun, Jul. 20- Arrive in Frankfurt, drive to USAG Baumholder
Mon, Jul 21- Show, USAG Baumholder (Army)
Tue, Jul 22- Show, USAG Manheim (Army)
Wed, Jul 23- Travel/OFF Edelweiss Lodge and Resort
Thur, Jul 24- Show Edelweiss Lodge and Resort
Fri, Jul 25- Show USAG Grafenwoehr (Army)
Sat, Jul 26- Show Spangdahlem AB Open House Festival 2008
Sun, Jul 27- Depart Frankfurt

We actually have a site on the AFE page as well (on the home page it says we're R&B and hip/hop) that you can check out here. Dude. Hinder is out with them at the same time. I wonder if there's the slightest possibility we can cross paths... (one can hope).

Oh, and there might be even more overseas shows coming soon...