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Bob's entry, 5/30/2000 The saga continues..... Well we're finally there, out on the open road with nothing to call home but our van. I personally feel a great sense of liberation, although I must admit the notion of touring "till you make it" is something you don't truly understand till you've left everything behind and your are living out of a van. The first leg of this life-long journey has been better then we could of ever expected though. It showed us not only do we attract the same kind of good people to the shows from state to state, but that our music speaks volumes to our fans and we could not be more blessed to have the ability to share that with others. Leaving LA was hard, but not for any bonding we might have attained with that dirty ol' plastic city (I do love it) but more so to try and pack your life into a back-pack and know there's no turning back now.
Most of the shows so far the turnout has been much greater then we expected. Each new place we go people who never heard of us before are buying CDs, t-shirts, and even offering us a warm bed and a good meal. If this is any indication of what is to come, (if I can be so naive), I want to play the open road till there "ain't no more to play".
We are currently enjoying two days off in LA to catch up with everything and everybody. We have added many dates to the tour including some dates with 311 and Incubus, this will be a true test of what we do as a band and we are very excited for the challenge. If ever there was a time I was more sure of what I was doing was the right thing to do, I can't remember it. I only hope that we can share our love and enthusiasm for what we do with everybody throughout this whole country. It has been a great start to 3 young boysÕ dreams, everyday is a new day with new experiences that can never be imagined or duplicated. The swarm is upon us as the saga continues...... Much love to all. Bob/GTO |
Once
we were out, we had to "get into a routine" as quickly as possible,
after we left a big bag of pedals and chords at our second gig. It
is not cheap to overnight heavy bags of equipment to your next show.
I will say we have developed kind of a pattern of doing things so
far, but could not be happier that we are finally having a fourth
member come along with us. John Kardell, a great friend of
the band all the way back to the Kind days, has joined the
GTO wagon to help us keep this ever-changing insanity people call
touring under control, we couldn't be happier.
Some
highlights have been The Fox in Boulder, Double Door
in Chicago, Graceland in Seattle, Herman's Hideaway
in Denver, and of course the shows in Omaha. The Ranch Bowl
show was one of the best times I ever had playing, having 100 people
on stage and singing Esta Vida with us was like no feeling in the
world. Those are the kind of shows that bands want to go back to when
they become so big they are no longer accessible to the general public.
If I had my choice, I would always want it to be like that, a big
show that still has an intimate vibe.This
was only a short-two-week-get-your-feet-wet-taste of what will be
coming once we get out on the full national tour starting in two days.