Nashville and Artpark

This week we are coming off our longest break between shows this summer. The band had 10 days-off between playing in Nashville at Live on the Green and last Saturday’s show in Lewiston.

Nashville was a great time, although the downside to playing Tennessee in August is that you really are pushing the limits of wearing pants outside. In the tradition of almost all non-rapping musicians that came before us, we’ve fostered a pretty rigid no shorts on stage policy. The few exceptions being if we are opening for Jimmy Buffet or thrust into a climate change-induced, post-apocalyptic water world (which might be more possible than we all think…take public transit, people!). The prison of skinny jeans is very real. I am waiting anxiously for roomy-ass pants to make a come back. But when your biggest problem with your job is that your pants were kinda uncomfortable one day in Nashville when it was 35 degrees, it’s a good problem to have.

Luckily, the temperature was far more moderate on Saturday and we had a great time playing at Artpark – a beautiful outdoor venue inside of a state park near Buffalo. If you get a chance to see a show (Tony saw Avett Brothers there), or hiking is your thing (I personally believe it to be  glorified walking) it’s definitely worth a visit.

While it was nice to spend a few extra days at home, it wasn’t all fun and games: we worked out some Neil Young and Alessia Cara covers for a couple of live project-thingys we’ve got coming up in September; went hunting for a new practice space; and Mike made sure his new amp was in tip top show-shape. The unintentional pyrotechnics that arise from amps catching fire is never a good thing, no matter how cool it might look.

We are all rested and ready to hit the road once again. Tomorrow night we will be making a guest appearance at Cure-A-Palooza in Toronto and then heading to Fort Mac in Alberta for the weekend. It’s a long trip, so we will have plenty of TV and movie recommendations for ya next week.

Nick