Keith and PlateFace

I want my 400 dollars…

Guitar Center Sponsorship and Teddy

Day -1 and 0… AIDS

Day -1

            Andy, Theodore, and Timothy Fincher (world traveler) ventured to Columbus, OH to pick up our U-Haul… THANKS U-HAUL! However, they returned at 2:30 am with Theodore feeling a little under the weather. So they parted ways for quick cat naps only to awake two and a half hours later with some bad news.

Day 0

            Teddy woke up with AIDS… not exactly but he did shit his pants and throw up all over himself. After hours of home remedies, Thera-flu and some empty hope we had no choice but to throw Teddy in the van and head to NYC. We told Bob we would leave Ohio at 5:45 am, but the actual departure time was 5:30 pm. We arrived in NYC around1:30am and met up with Bob. Considerably behind schedule we navigated the streets of NYC to pick up Vic the master producer/sound engineer and went straight to the studio.

After meeting the exhausted members of The Vanguard, who were waiting for us in the studio, we started laying some tracks. The time is now 2:30 am. With Teddy on death’s door, an unfamiliar interface and still struggling from a lack of sleep we set up and recorded until the sun came up. After a relatively productive night we are informed by Bob that it’s time to hit the road. Fuck that guy! Time well spent for a first timer in NYC. 

~William

Day 2 Nashville Pussy

Today started out with an ad-hoc trip to the thrift store where we met our first fan. After some cross dressing and the discovery of some good old fashion “Nashville Pussy” it was off to the house party.

Jason Gentile and 40’s played great sets despite the freezing temperatures and party crashing neighbors. However, the party quickly moved indoors and within seconds Keith had a PBS worthy sing-along session in full effect.

After warming up we headed to after-party at Bristol Bar where all in attendance were witness to the phenomenal dancing skills of Will, Keith and Andrew.  Thanks for the killer party Colby!

Day 1 Kelly’s Diner

To prelude a 2,000 mile road trip from NYC to SXSW is redundant. However, a recap of all things that transpired on day 1 alone is a novel in itself.

9am:Trailer hitch breaks off on FDR. If you are unfamiliar with FDR drive, it is the “highway” that runs adjacent to Manhattan along the East River.  As we enthusiastically examined the extensive damage to our vehicle, we all met god through a barrage of drive-by profanity and near misses.

10am: We camp out in a gas station parking lot in Harlem that ironically rents U-Hauls. However, they were unable to repair our hitch due to company protocol to send roadside assistance professionals. Upon the conclusion of a 45 minute phone call with said assistance, we are informed that someone will “fix us up” shortly.

Noon: As we continue to wait oblivious to the obstruction that the RethinkPopMusic  caravan is imposing on potential customers we are approached with an ad-hoc solution. Basically, the guys in the garage will fix our hitch if we “get the fuck out of the way.” The benevolence of a Manhattan mechanic still bewilders me.

2:30pm: As I am driving and everyone else is fast asleep Will saunters from the bowels of the van to bring me a cookie. Quite the gesture in my opinion.

Will: “They’re good right?”

Me: “Delicious”

Will: “Please don’t get mad… but I think I locked the keys to the trailer… inside the trailer.”

9:00pm: We pick up Jose from Cleveland and search out the equipment necessary to unlock the trailer. Although the kind employees of Walmart refuse to remove the lock from the trailer they did offer to call the police after my “critique” of their customer service skills. Nevertheless we acquired Dude, our chocolate god of awesome, at Walmart, so all appeared well.

1:00am: With the keys to the trailer residing inside the trailer, we pull into Canton to load the PA system into said trailer. Sparks! That’s what results when you use a bandsaw to break into your own vehicle in the middle of the night.

5:00am: We arrive in Columbus 23 hours after we left the recording studio in Queens. Mom had fried chicken, mac and cheese, chili and beer our awaiting our arrival. Kelly’s Diner!