Subject: Staple of the Road: "Beef & Cheese"
It's not everyday you can say you're returning home from
Wisconsin on a Sunday afternoon for the second time in a week's period.
At least if you're us. Before last weekend, we hadn't set foot in Wisconsin
to play a show since the Winter of '01 and already in the Spring of '05
we have a couple shows under our belts. Let me tell you, it was great
to be back.
Shows aside, Wisconsin has something to offer us that we can't live without;
CHEESE! Yes, we can get cheese in Michigan quite easily, but if you've
never been to Wisconsin, then you don't know the satisfaction of fresh
cheese. It makes everything better, pizza, sandwiches, cheesecake, and
the band favorite, BEEF & CHEESE. If you don't know what Beef &
Cheese is, then I've included a picture with this journal. A quick description,
it's a stick of cheese and a stick of jerky beef packaged together for
a scrumptious, hearty snack. Not suggested for those with a weak heart
or arteriosclerosis. It comes in many package styles and is distributed
by a plethora of companies. There hasn't been a trip logged this year,
where Scott traveled without the nutritional aid of Beef & Cheese.
It's actually become quite a tradition, and may never get old. Everyone
always asks the secret of how to get backstage, well, you don't need a
pass if you have Beef & Cheese.
As for the shows, they were both a blast. We were guests of a band from
Madison, WI, The Profits, both weekends, and really enjoyed playing with
them. The guys in the band are a whole lot of fun. They have developed
quite a following over in the Cheese State so they provided a large energetic
crowd for us last night at The Rave in Milwaukee, and we were happy to
share our tunes with them. Can't wait to have The Profits back in Michigan,
and we definitely look forward to returning to Wisconsin in the Fall....for
Beef & Cheese.
Subject: Chinese Miracles
Well, we're back in New York City which is always exciting, but this time there's an added bonus. We're playing with our long time best buds, Granian. This is the first time in our 3 year relationship we have hooked up for a show in their territory, the Northeast. We've had many a good time back in the Midwest, not to mention that one incredible night in Hollywood, CA in the Summer of '02. So tonight we were all set to reunite for a big show in the Big Apple.
Garen (Granian) had a show the night before in Chicago so he was flying in today for the show and we weren't going to meet up until we arrived for load-in and a non-existent sound check. What we didn't know is that he had been sick all week. So upon arrival, we found our good friend being pumped up full of Vitimin C, Echinacea, Robitussin expectorant, Airborne, tea, honey, Tylenol sinus, zinc, chicken soup, you name it, by his tour manager Dan and his Rep princess extraordinare, Miss Gina. Someone reccomended some Chinese Molasses. Where could we find Chinese Molasses? So Dan, Gina, another friend of their's Jordan, and myself decide it would be great to adventure into China Town to see what we could uncover. Unfortunately, by this time of night, most all pharmacies and drugstores have closed, despite the busy, patron filled store fronts still booming with vitality at dusk. A few odd turns into the depths of China Town, we stumbled upon a hidden Chinese herbal health food store. Think Gremlins, with some bright flourescent lights, but no Mogwais in wooden boxes. Upon entering, we realized that not one thing in the store had English writing, and the sales person couldn't speak a lick of English, either. We were desperate at this point, so I was ready to communicate in a very primitive form of language, charrades. After a few hand and face gestures, we were offered 3 different solutions. Only one of them, however, was in liquid form. The catch was that we had no idea what it was and there was a picture of what appeared to be a hairy backside on the cover. Our only positive clue was that when I made a coughing gesture, the clerk gave the most universal, positively reinforcing hand gesture in return, the "thumbs up." So it was purchased.
We made Dan do a taste/poison test first (that is the role of a tour manager) before we passed it onto Garen. Wouldn't you know, the boy could sing again. Maybe not at his 100%, but he was going to get through the show.
The turnout was incredible. We had a blast on stage, and the crowd equally looked like they were having a wonderful time. I can't say Garen was as excited about how his set turned out, but from the crowd's point of view, it rocked the house. Another great evening in NYC!
Subject: Winter DISASTER
It was Friday,
February 25th, and the band was preparing to play the first of our last
2 shows before going on a 2 week hiatus from the road. The truck was packed
up with all of our equipment and the four of us hit the road for St. Clair
Shores, MI a little after 7:30pm. It had just started to snow and there
was a fresh layer of unplowed powder on the streets, but nothing out of
the ordinary for Michigan during the winter. We were not even 2 miles
into the trip when a pick-up truck going the opposite direction spun out
of control, came into our lane, and while Mike tried to avoid a collision
between the 2 vehicles, the pick-up t-boned us on the driver side of the
car. The impact, at around 45 mph and between to full-size trucks, was
enormous and launched us off the road and into a snowy ditch, just missing
a fire hydrant. The other vehicle spun off wrapped itself around a telephone
pole.
All I remember is closing my eyes and being ejected out of my seat and
my head striking the ceiling/rear driver-side window. When I came to and
opened my eyes, the cab was filled with smoke and the smell of burnt plastic/rubber.
Both airbags had gone off, the truck horn was going off, and the driver
side door was ripped open with the glass blown in. I heard Scott's voice
asking if Mike was okay. Soon enough, everyone was accounted for and voiced
that they were okay. We walked away with barely a scratch and a few bumps
to the head by the good grace of God, to which we owe a tremendous debt
of gratitude. Once I noticed I couldn't open my door, I got out the passenger
side and joined my bandmates outside in the snow, all of us quite shaken,
and witnessing the devastation the crash had on our truck. The force of
the impact ripped the front driver-side wheel right of the truck and was
laying 20 feet away in the middle of the road. Fortunately, the back of
the truck had not busted open and our equipment seemed in tact.
There was no way the show was going to happen, and after waiting over
10 minutes, the police, ambulance and tow trucks had finally arrived.
The driver in the other truck and her 89 year old mother, were tended
to by the medics, and it looks as if they were going to be okay despite
the ambulance taking the elder lady to the hospital for good measure.
Luckily, Mike and Matt's parents were near by and had arrived to the scene
to help us out and load the band equipment into their car. We finally
were able to go back to the house. Mike had been covered in pieces of
glass from his window being blown in so he showered and we re-evaluated
that we would probably be able to still make it to the show, and play.
Joe and Alex were already at the venue making arrangements and relaying
our status to the management and patrons.
When we arrived, we were blessed to be greeted by a bar full of people
so considerate and caring, concerned with our ordeal and health. We were
blessed to be there, safe and in decent health. Mike was in the worst
shape with a big welt on his forehead, but that didn't stop him or any
of us from doing what we love to do and live for, entertain. All thanks
to God, his good grace, and the talents he has bestowed upon us.
Until next time....
Subject: Winter '05 Opener in Oxford, OH
Wow, it
was great to be back in Oxford! Easily one of our favorite campuses to
visit, Saturday night we played for the first time at Brick Street (formerly
First Run). This is a place that I had once been to exactly 6 years ago
on a visit to Miami U., visiting a friend my Freshman year of college.
Now, I was there to perform for a whole new generation of students. Little
has changed since back in '99 except the name of the place, and also,
girls have since hung up those hot little tight black "sex" pants (was
that enough adjectives?) for tight jeans and pashmina scarfs. They're
all still drop dead hot, though. Is it true that Miami has there very
own custom J. Crew catalog?
So we got into town, dropped of our equipment at Brick Street, then checked
into the Scottish Inn a little off campus, cleaned up and headed back
to Brick Street. We were back playing with
Oval Opus
again and looking forward to a fun night.
Ryan Creamer
opened the show once more, but this time due to his time slot and the
large size of the venue, he had a little harder time keeping the crowds
attention and getting them involved. Understandably frustrating, but he
plugged through and played a good set. We went on shortly after, with
the crowd still shuffling in. This was our first time playing the new,
studio versions of our songs going on the EP to a large crowd. Overall,
a good set. A little anxious at times with a lot of material the crowd
had never heard, but the set slowly built momentum so by the end the now
much larger crowd responded very well. We were grateful for their enthusiasm
and ready to unwind and enjoy Oval Opus's set. It was like a homecoming
for them. A few members of the band went to Miami University. Oxford definitely
hadn't forgotten about them since their departure from the University.
They packed Brick Street wall-to-wall and stayed all night singing along,
dancing and having the time of their lives.
Another fun night, great crowd, and Brick Street's signature Water Towers
(best described as a Long Island on cocaine) flowing of plenty. To cap
off the night Oval Opus invited me on stage to join Aaron in singing U2's
Where the Streets Have No Name
before their encore. A great bunch of guys, I appreciated the invite.
Look forward to seeing everyone back in Oxford this year!
SET LIST:
What Do You Want From Me
Don't Stop Until Dawn
Crushed Eyeliner
On the Weekend
9:30 -> Dancin' Machine outro
Sanity
Rider
Rock 'n' Roll
California
Subject: Winter '05 Opener in Athens, OH
With our last month of work in the studio starting to get wrapped up, it was time once again to head out onto the road for another season of shows. The touring we'll be doing this Winter '05 is shaping up to be our busiest yet, with shows being played every weekend for the next 4 months. We couldn't be more excited. So until Scott finishes up with school in May, we'll be "weekend warriors" once again, and when it's all over, we'll have an EP released and ready to back full time in the summer.
So yesterday it all got kicked off in Athens, OH, home of Ohio University. We were fortunate to make our first visit to the campus after a last-minute invite by our new friends, Oval Opus. So our winter on the road started a week early and during some frigid Midwest weather. Luckily, the snow storms dropped their last foot the weekend previous, so no further precipitation this weekend and prefect traveling conditions. We arrived early in Athens, something we aren't able to boast often, and spent some time at the shops in the area. We also decided to stop somewhere for a drink, but found it was Dad's Weekend on campus and the bars were filled, wall to wall, with parents and their sons/daughters. Not only that but since it's the NFL postseason, and Athens isn't too far from Pittsburgh, there were mobs of Steelers fans routing them on against the New York Jets in hopes of advancing to the AFC Final. So after an awkward entrance and exit from about 4 bars, we finally found a place called The Pub on Court Street where we could watch the game peacefully, get around 30 oz. of beer for $3, and have some elbow room on the bar rail. The game ended in favor of the Steeler's, and we were off for the show at the Blue Gator. We didn't really know what to expect with it being Dad's Weekend, and what exactly the turnout would be like.
A cat by the name of Ryan Creamer opened the show, talented guy, and played a real cool hip-hop medley to finish off his set. The place really started to fill up by then, and by the time we went on it was about at capacity with a line out the door. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect setting to get this season started off. We moved a lot of the groovier tunes like What Do You Want from Me and Crushed Eyeliner to the beginning of the set to get the crowds attention without being too loud, and then kept the energy high for the rest of the performance. Athens was great and responded really well to a lot of material they'd never been exposed to before, which made our job a lot easier. You know you're dealing with a cool bunch of people when you don't have to play a ton of covers to get their attention and they appreciate original music. They had so much fun I had to take a picture from on stage when we finished and I've included it with this journal entry. Maybe you can see yourself in the crowd even though it's really blurry and the flash only made it about 8 feet into the front row of about 400 people.
So hats off to the folks at Ohio University (and their
parents). You guys are awesome and we can't wait to come back. Hopefully
the Blue Gator will have us again before the end of school. The staff
was incredibly accommodating and friendly. Also, a big thanks to the guys
in Oval Opus for having us and packing a great crowd into the Blue Gator.
Their fans were eager enough to get there early to check us out and stay
all night, many with parents, to enjoy a fun and entertaining evening
of Oval Opus music. It was really nice hanging out with all of you in
the crowd after the show (too many to name specifically). We'd love to
check out any pictures you guys took with us. Please send them to info@greenstreetband.com
so we can check them out and possibly add them to the photos on our website.
Hopefully see you next time!
Set List:
1. New City
2. Crushed Eyeliner
3. What Do You Want from Me
4. Sanity
5. On the Weekend
6. Again w/ Stairway tease
7. 9:30 -> Dancin' Machine outro
8. Crosstown Traffic
9. California
10. Rider