Same Day Service

    So, I've decided to start keeping show journals. I don't know if anyone will actually read them, but I think it'll at least be cool for me to go back and read about the shows we played. Tonight we played at Emo's, which pretty much guarantees a cool show...which it was. Alot of people came out to watch us, and we had a lot fun playing. I think the best part was during Bobby No Morals when I looked out in the crowd and saw a bunch of people singing along! Tonight was also the debut of my new Marshall cabinet, and our Stars n' Stripes T-shirt. After we played, Meanest Capacity was up. I didn't get to see much of them b/c I was helping Maggie break down her drums, but what I did hear sounded pretty good. Greyline was next. I'd seen them once before and they didn't really sound like I remembered, but I liked them. They were tight and have a couple very catchy songs. The Victory Drive played last. They are really good, and everyone who didn't stick around to see them definitely missed out! Thanks to Joe for selling merch and Megan for driving up from San Antonio. 

    The show tonight was very last minute. Our friend's band UTI was supposed to play but had to cancel, so we took their place. It was the first time we played 710...it had really good sound(I could hear my vocals perfectly) and a great air-conditioner. A few people came out to see us on really short notice, so that was cool. Lisa's sister Julie was in town, and we wanted to show her around 6th St., so we didn't really hang out to hear the other bands. We had the option of getting paid, or donating our money to the United Way and we chose to donate it, so it nothing else, we played for a good cause. 

Oct. 3, 2001 @ The Dixie Taverne in New Orleans, LA w/ Backhand and Out of My League 

     Today was the first day of our tour to the East. We got up at 5AM, left Austin around 6AM and drove to San Antonio to pick up Megan...who is coming along as our roadie/merch girl. The drive to New Orleans was pretty uneventful, although we all got very excited when we drove through Houston and passed IKEA and the Vans Skate Park. We drove across some really long bridges in LA, and we tried to spot some crocodiles(no luck). We also got to test out the TV in the new van. Maggie and Megan watched Pee Wee's Big Adventure and then Megan and I watched Harold and Maude. 

    Anyway, we got to New Orleans, found the club, then drove downtown and walked around Bourbon Street. We ate red beans and rice, and po-boys. We finally got tired of tourists and strip clubs, so we went back to the club early, and played spades(woohoo). Finally, the show started. Backhand played first. They were a typical highschool pop-punk band, and alot of their friends were there. I kind of felt like I had crashed a party, instead of being at a club. After they played, they left and took most of the crowd with them. We played 2nd. It went ok, even though I only had 1/2 a mic, and had to sing into the exact right spot for it to work...it was very stressful. Lisa jumped around a lot, and she overheard someone say that a record deal was in the works for us...Go SDS!! The Berlin Project was supposed to play next, but I guess they decided it wasn't their scene, and split during Backhand. It's ok, they seemed a little odd, and when Maggie tried to talk to one of them, he thought she was propositioning him to get in our van with her. So, Out of My League played. They were entertaining, although they kind of got carried away at the end playing Weezer covers...we were all tired and were afraid they would never stop. 

    Thanks to Mel, Monkey and Oriah for letting us sleep on your floor, and to Brian for setting up the show! 

Oct. 4, 2001 @ The Boiler Room in Birmingham, AL w/ Roller Hockey Heros and Zotic 

     Drove to Birmingham today. We were really excited b/c the Alabama welcome rest area had free coke! Got to the club and it was a huge warehouse with a really big stage. There were fliers posted around for other shows, but none for ours. We asked if they'd fliered for the show, the guy said "yes, but he'd torn the fliers down at the show the night before." Sounds alittle fishy to me....they also thought we were from Nebraska. 

    Anyway, we unloaded, then went to eat with the hopes that when we returned the place would be packed. No such luck...only the other bands were there, with a couple friends, and that's pretty much the way it stayed the whole night. Roller Hockey Heros played first. They had a fill-in bassist and were missing their singer, but they still sounded alright. We thought we were playing next, but it ended up the other local band Zotic played. At this point we were getting a little grumpy, and thought about leaving w/o playing but we decided since we'd already loaded in our stuff, we might as well get the practice with a good sound system. Anyway, Zotic was a heavy metal band with a girl guitar player, boy drummer and girl singer. They weren't bad, but they played too long, especially considering no one was there. We finally played. It was actually really fun b/c we just goofed off, and pretended we were at practice. It was a fast, short set..just the way we like it. I forgot the words to Part 2, so Lisa screamed them at me, while I tried to figure out what she was saying. After we finished, we loaded the van, and took off for Athens. We got to use our badass pimp lights in the van, and Lisa, Megan and I watched ET, while Maggie drove. I'd forgotten what a great movie that is. Lisa and I got so into it that we even cried (see...we aren't so tough)  

Oct. 5, 2001 @ The Caledonia Lounge in Athens, GA w/ Donkey Punch and Catfight 

     Got to Athens at about 2AM. Pulled into a Hampton Inn parking lot and slept in the van. Lisa got the choice position of sleeping on top of the amps, while the rest of us sprawled across the seats. Amazingly, we all slept pretty good, except it got very cold. Sometime during the early morning hours, Lisa said she was cold, and asked for her sweatshirt. I mumbled "I've got it", rolled over and went back to sleep, leaving Lisa confused and shivering. Turns out I thought she told me to get my sweatshirt, since I had also just complained of being cold. Nevertheless, poor Lisa spent the rest of the night freezing, while her sweatshirt lay unused on the floor. Finally, we got up around 8:30, and went across the street to McDonalds to brush our teeth, etc... 

    We decided to go make fliers to pass of the UGA campus. Ended up spending the whole day walking around campus, and downtown Athens. At one point we went to Starbucks to get frappacino(Lisa's new favorite drink) and the guy behind the counter asked if we were a rock band...either that or we were dressed up as rockers for Halloween. I guess 4 tired-looking girls walking around in black T-shirts getting coffee qualifies you to be a rock band in Athens...it was pretty cool. 

    Finally, we went to the club, where we rocked the house. A couple friends from Norman that now live in Athens showed up, so that was a nice surprise. The other bands were really cool too. I usually don't like girl-bands but Catfight was very entertaining, and they even had a pregnant bass player! Crazy! If you get a chance to see them, you definitely should. One of the guys from Donkey Punch decided he thought Maggie was pretty cute, and everytime he walked by her, he poked her in the stomach....she finally started avoiding him. No one bothered to inform me of the crazy, drunken, tummy-poker, until the end of the night when he mistook me for Maggie. I didn't recognize him, but he was talking to me like I'd had a conversation with him already, so i just went along. All of a sudden he grabbed me, and made me dance with him, said he'd email me, then poked my stomach and walked away. Lisa said the look on my face was mix between confusion and horror. That's pretty much was I was feeling. It was a weird experience.               Thanks a bunch to Jennifer and Catfight for setting up the show. 

Oct. 6, 2001 @ Hampstead Skate Barn in Hampstead, NC 

    After the show, we drove all night...well Lisa drove mostly. We got to my sister Elanor's house in Wilmington, NC at about 9AM. Lisa went straight to the spare bedroom, shut the door and went to sleep. The rest of just hung out, played with the cats, and rested. Maggie made us egg sandwiches on some of the best bread I've ever eaten. Finally, about an hour before we are supposed to be at the Skate Barn, Elanor remembered to ask us if we had a PA...the answer to which is no! So, she worked her magic and managed to rustle up a pretty nice PA in under 30 min. 

    We finally made it to the SK8 Barn, where we did some more hanging out, and watched people skate (there was a contest going on). After the contest ended, we started setting up, which was a little scary because people were still skating all around us. I wasn't scared for myself, but I was a little worried that an out-of-control skateboard would go flying through Maggie's bass drum head....or even worse, slam into the borrowed PA. Fortunately, nothing bad happened...and the rain even waited to start until we had everything loaded in. All the other bands canceled, so we felt a little weird playing....kinda like we were getting in the way, instead of putting on a show. It was pretty laid-back though, and we even started Part 2 (what's the problem with this song?) three times before we got it right and no one cared. It was kind of a weird show, but everyone seemed to like us...or at least they told us they did after we were done. Loading back into the van was an adventure, because the ground around the park was mostly sand. Since it was raining, the sand turned into mud and we ended up tracking a ton of it into the van. Fortunately, mud made of sand, turns back to sand when it dries, so it was pretty easy to sweep out. 

    Thanks to Elanor for hooking up the show and running sound, Jimmy at the Skate Barn, and Lisa's mom, dad and sis for driving down from Raleigh for the show...especially to Lisa's mom for the Hershey's, Whoppers and gum!! 

Bessie's in Wilmington, NC w/ Convix 

     After the Skate Barn, we drove to downtown Wilmington for the second show of the day. Loaded into Bessie's, played Sound Check Song, then Elanor took us all to Firebellies for some cheap, but tasty Mexican food, and then we went back to Bessie's where we played a really good set. Even Maggie's technical difficulties with the kick peddle didn't phase us. There were a lot of Oi/working class type punk rockers there, and we were a little worried they wouldn't like us, but everyone seemed to be rockin' out. After we were done, we signed some CDs, and Maggie even signed some guy's butt...right across the right cheek. This was definitely our best show yet, even with the guy that told us "For a girl band, you guys rock!"...the funny thing was he thought he was giving us a huge compliment. 

    Convix played next. It was a kind of reunion show for them, so there was a huge crowd. They were really good...straight-up punk rock...very catchy. After them 2 more bands played, but I can't remember their names...sorry!! I'm not sure how to describe them..really heavy/ hardcore/death metal...all of those terms come to mind. I'm just glad Convix played between us, to kind of ease the way into the harder stuff...otherwise SDS would have sounded about as tough as the Spice Girls. 

    Once again thanks to Elanor(and to Eric for giving up his bed for the night, so we could sleep in comfort)

 

Oct. 7, 2001 @ The Cystic Fibrosis Fest in Winston-Salem, NC 

     We got up really early to drive to Winston-Salem....had to be there by 11AM. One more big thanks to Elanor for getting up at 6AM and making us eggs and pancakes. Drove to WS, and were walking into the Convention Center at exactly 11:00...one thing you can say about SDS is we are a very prompt band. We loaded in, then went to eat at Bojangles. Lisa had been raving about it (the fries and sweet tea) for weeks before tour. I have to say, my first experience at Bojangles was not that great. The food wasn't too good, and it took forever to get our food. When we reminded them about our order, the girl accused us of eating our food, then claiming we never got it. The decor was pretty cool though, I felt like I was at a party. 

    We played second at the Fest....there was a decent-sized crowd, but it felt pretty small b/c the room was so huge. The sound system was awesome though, and it was really fun having a huge stage to run around on. We were pretty hyper...i think due to sleep deprivation....so both Lisa and I did some pretty weird rock moves. Looking back, I can't really describe it, I guess you had to be there. A couple girls danced through our whole set, and during "Crazy", another girl ran right up to the front of the stage and boogied down. All the other bands that played today were pretty good. Probably the coolest moment of the day was when the guitar player from one band blew fire. It was totally unexpected. 

    Megan left us today to go chill for a few days in Boone. She's a great merch girl, so I 'm glad she'll only be missing one show. Thanks to Megan Jones for setting up the show...we were really impressed by all the work you put into it. Best of luck to you and your brother. 

  

Oct. 8, 2001 @ Lisa's parent's house 

     Our first day off...a much needed break. I always read in other band's tour journals how they go shopping for boxers on their day off...well, we didn't do that, but we did go bra shopping....it's kinda the same. Anyway, the highlight of the day was pot roast and mashed potatoes for dinner. Thanks Mrs. H!!

Oct. 9, 2001 @ Record Exchange in Raleigh, NC 

     Went over to the record store and set up. It was easy b/c they had a house drumset, so all Maggie had to do was set up an extra cymbal. Had a pretty good crowd, although a lot of them were family...both Lisa's and mine and Maggie's. We had fun playing, and when we finished, a couple yelled for more. Someone requested Moto-X... I think Lisa's mom, so we played it again. After the show, we ate some really good pizza at Lilly's, then went and hung out with our friend Leigh that lives in Raleigh (although I had to practically drag Lisa and Maggie away from the jigsaw puzzle they were working on.) 

Oct. 10, 2001 

     Got up and went to eat brunch with Leigh at Bojangles. He has the same fascination with the fries and sweet tea as Lisa(both their eyes light up like little kids when they talk about it), and when he heard about our bad experience, he thought we should give it another try. I have to admit, it was much better the second time around. Left Raleigh, and drove to Boone. Pretty drive, lots of leaves changing colors. As soon as we got to Boone, Lisa sat down, and started getting her tattoo worked on. Maggie and I just wandered around Boone, and reminded ourselves why we like cold, small towns so much. 

Oct. 11, 2001 

     Packed up, grossed Lisa out by eating some poached eggs, got Megan and started the drive across the state to The Outer Banks. We saw lots and lots of cotton, and fed some ducks our stale Pirate's Booty. Eight hours later, we drove into Kill Devil Hills and immediately stopped at one of those huge, tourist beach stores...it was pretty exciting. After buying postcards, magnets, etc..., we drove around to a bunch of different hotels checking prices, while Megan and Maggie hid in the back of the van. Every place we went, the desk clerk asked Lisa and I if we were over 21, and one placed even asked if we were over 18. We thought about sleeping on the beach, but we decided that we all really wanted showers. We finally found a place right on the beach for only $26.00...what a steal. It even had two beds. When we said we'd take it, the clerk reminded us that "The Cavalier is a family establishment". I guess that was his way of warning us not to party to hard.... Later that night we hung out on the beach for awhile and almost got run over by monster trucks zooming by. 

Oct. 12, 2001 @ The Pit in Kill Devil Hills w/ The Strap-Ons and Fugiwara 

    Any show that is in a town called Kill Devil Hills is bound to rock, and this one did not disappoint.. Not only did I get to eat some bombdiggity bread pudding at a cool little Christmas-themed breakfast place, and climb the tallest sand dune on the Atlantic Coast, but we also got to play an awesome show. We all played well, the club was cool, and there were hottie surfer boys everywhere. After we played, the Strap-Ons were up. Their singer was insane, so they were prettyfunny to watch. Last was a local band called Fujiwara....they had kind of a hard Pennywise sound. We were told that they are basically the only punk band in the area. They were cool..the crowd was definitely into them. After they finished, they called us back onto stage to play a couple songs for the late-comers who'd missed us. It was sooo much fun. We rocked out...probably the hardest of the whole tour. I think mostly b/c it was the last time to play on the tour, but also b/c they had better equipment and it sounded rad. I've decided I really need a new guitar. This was a great show to end the tour with. 

    Thanks to Fujiwara for the place to stay...even though the news channel was left on all night and I had nightmares about anthrax..., Bucky for all the Ocean Potion, and Ben for setting up the show. 

    The NC tour is over..I can't believe it. It went by really fast. We had an incredible time, drove 4000 miles, with about 1300 of those being in NC alone. Even the 27 hour drive home from the Outer Banks wasn't too bad...except for getting gas, we only took one break to get something to eat. Thanks to everyone who helped us out along the way...especially Megan for putting up with us and keeping track of our merch. 

Nov. 6. 2001 @ Emo's in Austin, TX w/ The Honor System, Balsa Phono and 40 Second Scandal 

     Yet another fun show at Emo's. Even though we played first, there was still a big crowd and they were rockin'. It always makes me feel great to look out and see people dancing and singing along...especially when it's people I don't recognize. After the show, one of the Emo's guys told us we needed to write more songs about Motocross... It was cool because Moto-X is one of my favorite songs, and it never seems to get the recognition I think it deserves. 

    40 Second Scandal and Balsa Phono were both good, although I think 40 Second Scandal played a little too long. It was also a little weird because they(40SS) seemed to think selling merch was a competition between the bands. Last to play was The Honor System. We'd heard a lot of good things about them, so we were excited to watch their set. They put on a good show, plus they were really nice guys which is always a plus. The best part was their bass player was like a boy version of Lisa...it was funny. 

Nov. 15, 2001 @ Room 710 in Austin, TX w/ Fruntbutt 

     Let me start this show journal by giving a little background into our day...that way you can appreciate the fact that this show actually happened. (and what hardcore rockers the SDS girls really are..hehe) Maggie and I were sitting around the house b/c it was raining really hard outside so we couldn't go anywhere. I had been playing Dr. Mario but I lost my game, so I thought i should turn on the news and see what was up with the weather. As soon as I put the news on, they started talking about a big tornado heading north on I-35 towards Austin. They started naming off predictions of when it would reach certain places...and it was going to reach the I-35/Ben White intersection in 20 min. I realize this means nothing to most of you reading this, but this particular intersection is very close to where we live, so Maggie and I were kinda worried. Being from Oklahoma, we were expecting a huge tornado to come ripping through our flimsy little house. We didn't know what to do...should we leave and go someplace safer, or would it be better to stay and take cover. We finally decided to stay put since most of the Austin roads would be flooded and we might get stranded. All of a sudden, the news said we had 5 min. until it reached the intersection....so we put our tornado plan in action. We pushed one of the couches in front of the hallway, pulled Maggie's mattress out of her room, got lots of blankets and a flashlight, and turned the TV up really loud so we could hear it from under the mattress. We scrambled around looking for Lisa's weather radio, but couldn't find it....we settled on a walkman(in case the power went out.) We got under the mattress and prepared for the worst. We were under there for about a minute when the news said "the tornado is north of Ben White and heading towards downtown." We were in the clear...all that work for a measly minute! The tornado broke apart before it hit downtown, so there wasn't much damage. Poor Lisa ended having to drive home from work in a monsoon. It was pouring rain, hailing and the water was so high on the roads, her brakes weren't working. 

    So...back to the show. Since most of Austin was flooded and power was out in a lot of places, we thought the show might be canceled...plus we weren't sure we really wanted to drive anywhere. We called 710 and they said if we wanted to play, be there around 10:00. We didn't think we were going to make the show, but around 9:30, it pretty much quit raining. Since the van was already loaded, we took the chance and went downtown. When we got to the club, we found out two of the four bands had canceled...so we were playing first. Since 710 was one of the few places on 6th St. that had electricity, there were actually more people there then we expected. It turned out to be a really fun show. Lisa ran all over the stage and at one point almost hit me in the head with her bass. 

    Fruntbutt played after us, and they were crazy! Their singer kept diving off the stage into a trashcan, and throwing footballs at people. Thanks to Al for setting it up, and to Brent and Trey for walking all the way to the club in the rain...even though you missed us. 

Dec. 7, 2001 @ Carlsbad Tavern in San Antonio, TX w/ I Love BJ 

     Tonight we played San Antonio for the first time. Just like at our last show, four bands were supposed to play but two of them canceled...I'm not sure why. Anyway, the bar was kinda weird. I'm pretty sure it was 16+, but the majority of the crowd were old guys that looked like truck drivers....this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more often than not, those kinda crowds don't buy much merch...or really pay attention when we're playing. 

    Anyway, we got there right on time, which means we sat around forever. We really need to stop being so punctual. Finally, all of the members of I Love BJ showed up. They sounded good, but between every song they would have a little band meeting...it was like they forgot there was an audience. Also, in the middle of the set, their drummer ran to the bathroom and puked...we found out later he'd just eaten a 1/3lb hamburger. My advice to I Love BJ(and any other band) is make a set list and don't eat big meals before playing a show. We were up next. While Maggie finished setting up her drums, I went up to the bar to get water. Lisa joked that the bartender would probably charge us because he'd charged her for a coke earlier....I hate bars that don't give bands free soda. So, I asked for "3 waters, no ice". The bartender said " That'll be $3.00" I could tell he wasn't joking, so I said "You charge bands for water?" He just looked at me, then nodded and told me I could also get bottled water for $2.00 a piece. I walked back to the stage and told Maggie and Lisa we'd have to do without. Fortunately, a regular at the bar overheard the conversation, and managed to talk the bartender into giving us some water. 

    So, we played.....I think we rocked pretty hard. Lisa went crazy jumping around and even threw herself off the drum riser. At one point when she was running around the stage, I got tangled up in her chord. I'm proud to say, I managed to untangle myself, and not fall over, without missing a beat. After the show, the bartender went up to Maggie and told her we should play there again. Maggie said "Why? So, you can charge us for more water?" The bartender got all flustered and said he didn't know we were in the band because we hadn't played yet...even though I told him we were, and we were up on stage setting up. He said he thought we were roadies or girlfriends. What a retard. Overall, I guess the show was alright. The few kids that showed up to watch were really cool, and they all stuck around to talk to us after the show....plus it ended early, so we managed to make it back to Austin by 2AM. 

    Thanks to Noe for setting up the show. 

Dec. 9, 2001 @ Room 710 in Austin, TX w/ Chris Toast Trio, Blood Burnin', Electric Cock and Flametrick Subs 

     This was a benefit show for Toys for Tots. The turnout was a little smaller than what the organizer had hoped, but it wasn't bad. We played first...at 8:00...kinda early, but there were a few people there. Mostly just friends who we'd told to show up early, but at least we had an audience. We were all pretty tired from a long weekend of no sleep.. (we played Friday night, then Hot Water Music played Saturday), so I don't think we had quite the energy we usually do. People told us it was a good show though, so I'll just take their word for it. We stuck around to watch Chris Toast Trio and Blood Burnin'. I'd never seen CTT before and I was pleasantly surprised. The songs were catchy and Chris Toast was very entertaining to watch. He bounced all over the stage...it was like he had springs in his shoes. Blood Burnin' was good as always. My favorite part was Aileen on the therimin. Sorry to the other bands for not sticking around to watch, but we were wimps and went home to sleep. Props to Steven for setting up the show. 

Dec. 14, 2001 @ Emo's in Austin, TX w/ Thrice, Piebald and Dynamite Boy 

     We showed up at Emo's a little early because we were too excited to sit around the house any longer...about 8:45. Doors had opened at 8:00, and even though the show didn't start until 10:00, there were already a bunch of kids there. While loading our stuff in, Lisa overheard some kids talking about us....saying they were psyched to see us. That definitely helped us be less nervous about playing. By the time 10:00 rolled around, Emo's was packed. We asked the doorguy later, and he guessed there were about 400 people...more by the end of the night. 

    Anyway, we got up on the stage and let loose "a can of rock" on the crowd. Lisa and I even had some synchronized jumps. We left out a few songs that we normally play because we didn't want the set to be cut short, so it seemed like it was over way too fast. Next up was Thrice. These guys are always awesome and this time was no exception. They did a really great cover of "Elanor Rigby" by The Beatles. If you haven't seen this band, definitely make a point to check them out if they come to your town. Piebald was next. I had never heard them before, so I was excited to see a new band. I was working at the merch table, so I couldn't see them very well, but from what I heard, they were really good. They were poppier than I expected, which isn't a bad thing. Apparently, a lot of kids agreed they were good, because it looked like they sold a ton of stuff after they finished. Last was Dynamite Boy. It was their CD release, so they had a very enthusiastic crowd. I've seen them a few times, and they sounded good as usual. I'm always impressed by their 3-part harmonies. 

    This was an awesome show to play and we had a lot of fun. Thrice and Piebald are both really nice bands and we had a good time hanging out with them. The most amazing part about the show was we sold all of the knit beanies we had made!! Thanks a bunch to all our friends for coming out and watching, Grahm for asking us to play, and Teppei for the knitting tips.