Music I've learned writing this tour blog that I'm unfairly prejudiced against Juggalos.

(And I'll admit it when I'm wrong. Juggalos are awesome people and they mean us no harm, right?)

Writing this blog has been like a journey of humbling, personal awakening.
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Music Toronto:

The caveat to Toronto's wonderfulness is that there was a cat in the venue who freaked out during Thao's set crying “MEOW!!!” really loudly over and over again. And then as we played a scent rose through the stage of ammonia cat urine—completely awful. ...   More

Music “HAPPY F&#*IN' HALLOWEEN, JUGGALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!”

This low, bellowing voice was the greeting of a big bald dude in the middle of a wrestling ring with “Hallowicked” painted on the side of it. The packed hive of demented clown people cheered back. If...   More

Music Loch Lomond Night Bats
(Hush)

[FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION] If local chamber-folk outfit Loch Lomond can be accused of anything, it’s being too nice. The band’s songs, which take singer Ritchie Young’s quivering voice—one that often switches from a deep register to an androgynous falsetto in the same verse—and surround it with layers o...   More

Music The former Pedro the Lion frontman’s fall from grace begets one hell of a solo debut.

[BLANK SLATE] David Bazan doesn’t know what to tell you about God. After nine Pedro the Lion releases, a decade as indie rock’s scholastic defender of Christianity, and hosting theological QA sessions at every show—followed by a very public loss of faith, a couple years of b...   More

Music Seattle

I just got the most frighteningly insane news about this tour:

When we play Detroit—ON HALLOWEEN—we're playing in a venue that immediately after us is having an INSANE CLOWN POSSE AFTERPARTY.

It'll be Halloween and the ICP Juggal...   More

Music
Electric Light Orchestra, “Last Train to London”
What’s not to like?Harry Belafonte, “Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)”
A wonderfully energetic and rhythmic calypso jam about a lady dancer,“Senora.” “When she wind up she bottom, she go like a rocket!” Beyoncé, “Crazy in Love”
Beyonc&eacut...   More

Music Santa Cruz

What a beautiful town (but anything is after L.A.). As contrast to the bigger venue the night before, we're now in a Crepe Place, called The Crepe Place. It's wonderful. The food is amazing—the people are the sweetest and yet most professional people.
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Music A brief note on the logistics of this tour: Thao/PCP and David Schultz are on tour from Oct 15 – Nov 21. Beyond playing with Cello Project Thao and her band the Get Down Stay Down have been asking me to join them as their multi-instrumentalist, so there are times when this blog will kind of rel...   More

Music Drats!!! Too Entertaining???
(Self-Released)

[FUNNY/FRENZY] Though we enjoyed the first album by Drats!!! immensely, there was reason for concern with a follow-up. 2006’s Welcome to New Granada was a disco/circus music/punk record meant to accompany Matt Dillon’s 1979 cult classic teenage rebellion film Over the Edge, so many of its lyrical...   More