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Saturday, September 10 The last few shows (in Georgia and Florida) have all been marked by a noticeable increase in attendance and merch sales. It may have also helped that, it being the final week of the tour, we've gotten a lot more used to playing with each other and as a result the sets have been sounding a lot more flowing and together. It has also been rather liberating for us to ride in the van without the company of Jaret the photographer and our non-roadie party boy Luke Randall. Shoving all seven of us in the van, along with the bags and gear was a fail proof recipe for claustropobia and a mini riot. But even with the removal of their earthly bodies, their unwashed body odours have continued to remain and haunt us from within the van. I'm sure it's just not them though. Our mixture of sweat, dirt, fast food, alcohol and farts have contributed to the unpleasant scent that currently greets us every time we climb into the van. Thank heavens we aren't doing this for another month. The gas prices have not been skyrocketing as dramatically as what the news networks have forecasted. We've been filling up at around $2.59 a gallon lately, which still isn't cheap but sure beats the three bucks and over prices we had to deal with in Georgia last week. But the drop in gas prices does not represent any kind of an improvement in the situation over in New Orleans. From what I can tell, the crisis is far from over and it's going to take plenty of time, money and help before the lives of all those affected will return to a somewhat normal level. We did however get a kick the other day when a lady waved at us just as we were pulling out of Jacksonville. None of us recognized her so we immediately assumed that maybe she was someone who had seen us play at the show the night before. Then she proceeded to mouth out the words 'Good Luck', complete with a thumbs up. We had no idea what was going on. It then occurred to us that she probably saw our Mississippi license plate (and perhaps also noticed how much of a wreck we all looked from sleeping badly), and mistook us for Hurricane Katrina refugees making our way to greener pastures! Our show today in Hattiesburg got cancelled because of the hurricane so we spent the day off hanging out in Birmingham. It's a far prettier city than I thought. I guess my previous experiences here had been limited to that of Furnace Fest and hanging around that part of town so I never saw the full picture until this weekend. The rent is also ridiculously cheap for what you get. We spent the day checking out the exhibitions of local artists, which was part of some annual Art Walk that they hold in downtown every summer. A fantastic band photographer by the name of Ryan Russell also invited us for an informal photo shoot. The portraits looked beautiful and he also took some pretty nice ones of us when we played last night as well. Ryan is a really neat guy who says some pretty funny things, so please keep checking out www.ryanrussell.net and add him on myspace or something. I think he should have some of these gems on his site at some point.
Sunday, September 4 As far as the band is concerned, our guitarist Eric, a Louisiana native, has undoubtedly been hit the hardest by this mess. With his parents losing their home and jobs as a result of the hurricane, it's amazing that he's been able to stay focused and continue on with the tour. My wish is that the remaining 8 shows will go by quickly so that he can head home as soon as possible and be there with his family. It looks like they might be relocating to Birmingham, AL to start afresh. This is another thing that I also haven't been able to come to terms with yet, the thought that thousands upon thousands of other families like them will also have to leave everything behind and start a new life in a new city. Gas prices have been skyrocketing like crazy. In Savannah, Georgia we saw one gas stop selling regular unleaded at $3.49 a gallon. I hear the situation's been worse elsewhere. And to think that just a couple of years ago, people were paying $1.79 or so. It wouldn't be so bad if everyone was living in cities like New York with an efficient public transport system, but the suburb is the reality for most Americans, where gas is a necessity like water and electricity. Without it, life as they know it would cease to exist. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe this would force people to live differently and cause communities to be redesigned in a way so that walking or cycling would be sufficient for most things. It's definitely been hurting us financially though, as that's the only way for us to get from one city to another. It's just ridiculous that the government is doing absolutely nothing to promote alternative energy resources, when the technology is already in place. One good example is that of my friends from Me Without You who tour around in a vegetable oil-powered tour bus. The vegetable oil they simply obtain for free from the grease traps of restaurants, which sure beats paying $3.19 a gallon for gas like we are. And you know that when all the gas stations dry up and we're all stranded in our cars and vans, they'll still be cruising happily down the highways, unaffected by any of this. I just hope that we'll have enough gas to at least finish up the tour. |