runnin scared

July 19 metropolis montreal
Nice to be in the French speaking zone and the weather is gorgeous and of course the day is long and mighty of the inside of the club. Last time I was here, a certain soundman had a psychobilly freak out and ruined everyones day. Today , though , will be different. Things are shaping up to be real smooth, and it is nice that the ladies all have a few friends here. The show has sold well, and brian the promoter is in flying form. They have laid out a gorgeous spread of a French breakfast, which only solidifies the sweetness of the day. And building on the momentum of last nights show, the eagles tee it up and the ladies whack it out of the park. The crowd is wild again tonight, and get even crazier when the eagles come out to be the hankie code dancers. That red bandana in big hands pocket must be scaring the bejasus out of the punters who may be thinking that rocking the shocker with this cat might lead to a fissurectomy. After settlement, I have a drink with the de costas, and head back to the hotel.
July 20 montreal off
Stay out of my room stay out of the papers stay out of jail. Paper work and pho with droadie and the de costas and then some crappie rose. The moules frites earlier in the day were rocking. Finally we board the bus and go to boston.
July 21 boston Avalon
Just the two of us tonight, neal and his young assistant have laid out a gorgeous spread for us and we are looking forward to a nice day in the fenway. Kates and his assistant Brenda o keefe are in attendance, as are the malloy brothers, and even ms auf der maur is in the house. The show is rocking, though it is the first and only time I notice a little drop off after the eagles set. It is a disco load out tonight on Lansdowne street. Not a fan of this, but the locals do a great job of sorting us out. Afterwards there is a bbq party from blue ribbon bbq in Newton, and we move the Guinness drinking to the bus. Tomorrow is a hometown gig for a few of us and we are excited to get home.
July 22 nyc irving plaza
Since we downsized from roseland, the show is sold out. But before all this I get the kids in a hotel early, park the bus, get a ride home, see the ro/c and junior, and boy is it nice to be home for a minute, and before I know it , I am back to iriving with a production meeting with jeff Webster and his crew and like I said, it is real nice to be home. It is a zoo tonight, and maybe ms nisker and I are not hitting it off today , but hey it is nyc , it is a mad house and everyone is stressed out. Her sis is in the house and the j bird has flown in l.a., not to mention some of the blisters in the upstairs lounge. The show is good as usual, I had made it out with the missus and dr lerner and the bitches of bushwick. Tis a great night all round, and I real treat to be home, if only for the day.
July 23 philadelphia TLA
We get parked up nice and proper and Malcolm and his guys get us looked after real well.
Dr hankenstein will be in attendance tonight, as will the zach. It is a well attended show, and the first night with dad boy and the elephantmen. I don/t rate them much, I just want to eat a cheese steak and hang out with the hankster. But alas, we are here to work, and I am filming the show. I say my adieus and get us back to the shack. Easy drive to towson tomorrow.

oh canada

July 16 granada theatre, Lawrence, ks w/ eodm and ssion
Well to flog a dead horse it is hotter than a kangaroos arse in alice springs in april. The temperature on mass ave reads 108 degrees at high noon and I have showered and sweat through my clothes twice. We are shuffling through the streets of this college town like sonambulists in a clonapin haze. Not nice. Christ no wonder why gunslingers met at high noon in tombstone, the possibility to get out of the effin heat- a bullet in the head can/t be any worse than 2 nights in the bush.
Nonetheless, as I digress, we are here to do a show and the Granada is stifling. The eagles bus loses its AC along the way, poor bastids, it is the smelliest sauna outside of Istanbul on theat van hool. As ever, Lawrence kicks ass, with nearly 800 people rocking the shocker through the night. I manage to watch all bands side stage, quaff some bartenders vodka special and hammer down through the corn fields…….
July 17 chicago the vic with eodm
A weather advisory for the windy city means that I am going to be dropping ,my kids off at the indoor pool. I love Chicago, I love the vic. 2 great parts about my job are they aforementioned. Zach and the jam crew always make you feel welcome there on Sheffield and today is no different. It is a real cruisy day as it is only the two bands and the whole shebang is done and dusted by 10pm. I don/t manage to see my personal glossary of chitown all stars, instead hunkering down in the bunker in the basement. The j wards and finkelmans and franz/s and tillmans and whatnots will have to wait til next time. It is so fast and furious that when the winds kick up and blow the roof off the building across the road(not unlike the peaches of death metal experience across the road, we are half way to Ontario.
July 18 toronto kool haus w/ world provider
I cannot sleep and when I finally do, it is to keep the kids from their continuous training for the iron man competition. WTF? We get to the ambassador bridge as the sun is rising over the Detroit river. How many goddamn times have I seen the sunrise over the Detroit river in the last decade? To wit, at least 6 times in the last year. And don/t ya know we get some sort of hans brix character that sends us in the wrong direction AT SHIFT CHANGE. The cannucks are well on for our arrival as they are aware of the fact that ms peach is an Ontarian. But hey, the maplesters make us actually go back on the bridge and return thropugh and everyone off the bus so they can go on the bus and cherche la gange. All is cool, though, all they want is an autograph, so I am back in the sack sans tim Horton, and we are homeward bound for the peach.
We load it into kool haus early, and assume a nice leisurely pace for the day. Stuck in the production office with a hob guy whom I had yet to meet but loved by the end of the day. We have a blast trading quips across the hall, and the peach has the whole family in attendance tonight, and a huge transgendered dance troupe that kkick out the jams.
The eagles are deadly tonight, squid has got their sound down, and though they are a tough act to follow, peaches and herms deliver the goods. It is an ambisexual Canadian love fest out there tonight and a show not soon forgotten by those 1400 odd folks in attendance. The ladies hit up the after party, I rock the beck and the Guinness on the bus and wake up in montreal.

see ya next thursday

Monday july 3 verizon wireless amphitheater Noblesville , in
Last show for a few days and it is hotter than hades out here. I can/t wait, early am flight to l.a. and then mi Corazon. But we go through the motions of the day-lunch, email, a flurry of phone calls to some promoter in Chicago who is or is not sending a limo for peaches and sam to some july 4th dj event.
That remains to be seen the drama of the day, the limo, or lack thereof. Abduls crackhead car service from wicker park, leaves late from Chicago on a holiday, does not discount for the lost hour, gets himself lost in transition, and arrives 1 minute before bus call. We say our goodbyes, jd and I , and check ourselves into the airport hotel for the am departures to lala land.
July 4 la off
Sun sand surf suds and bbq. Sunset beach style, sans sausages.
July 5 the trailer breaks an axle in godknowswhere,ok. The kids are alright but I have slight pangs of guilt out there in l.a.la land. Squid and todd the driver are on it, and the ro/c and I are inland bound for mi madres casa, where the temperature is sole meltingly numb. And we bbq! Pretty goddamn good, but bbq. Crikey that/s like bringing a date to the whore house. Wtf!
July 6 off
We bid adieu to mi madre, the bus is also moving, sam and peach have made it safely from Chicago, and mi Corazon and I are moving to manhattan beach for the week.
Manhattan beach, in a word, is paradise. Like Australia or something. Real nice. We treat ourselves to a boozy dinner, and pass out to the sounds of the pacific hitting the beach.
July 7 verizon wireless amphitheatre Irvine California
Feels like the second to last day of school, and I spose it is. The missus and I go for a power walk all the way to Hermosa beach and back, and even jog some of it. I feel like I am going to die, but I make it all the same. Then it is down to Irvine toute seule, as mi Corazon has wisely opted for the beach. I wish I could do the same. Note to self, in the future, stay in a shitty hotel so you cannot wait to get out.
To continue the theme of the summer, it is effing hot. And all the dick wagging blisters are out. Ron Jeremy even announces the show. Pretty funny. I manage to hang with jim spizz and brett from the greek, tony b also in the house. It is a day devoted mainly to a bs guest list drama, then pass drama, then aftershow histrionics. In a nutshell, a normal l.a. show.
July 8 shoreline amphitheatre mountain view California
It is the last day of school! We made it and boy are the NIN crowd a good bunch of peeps. They have really looked after us, and yes it is still fucking scorching. The soft serve is rendered even softer. I do my best saying my goodbyes and thanks a millions. It has been kinda fun, in hindsight. I was a little scared going in, but it was all good. The girls delivered the goods, and our crew were consummate professionals. But alas it is still work and there is still guest list drama, and poor security during the set and a kooky load in and out. Bill graham presents under whatever banner, well it stinks.
We try a little after party but tomorrow is a busy day. Setting up rehearsals, etc. instead it is the bus, ol reliable the bus.
July 9-13
Mates studios, Burbank airport, tour supply, fucking kinkos, the 405 to the 101 to the 134, poquito mas, in and out burger, the kettle diner, the hanks family, the all star game, the beach, the drama, the manic panic. The tour starts…………
July 14 day off Richfield utah
Hotter than(yr word here). Some locals tell mark and I to go home. But hell they have everything ya need here. Indoor pool, wifi, health food stores, kmart, heat, the pirates of Caribbean, the corporation, the post office, my bunk. 1 stop stopping, me thinks.
July 15 gothic theatre w/ eagles of death metal
It is 102 at 10am, another day in paradise. We get accosted by the sub nazi, and then move the bus over to the lot and get rid of todd for the day to the hotel. Load in is a piece of cake, and the day is spent chasing up our nonexistent merch order. It is sposed to be one big love fest for the next 4 weeks, and it appears that the love will be emanating from the eagles dressing room. I spend the day hiding in the production office, advancing shows, printing scheisse, listening in, checking up, passing out money, ssettling, hanging with the raconteurs(my new favorite band, natch) watching the eagles kick ass, chasing peaches around the venue, bsing, drinking some bourbon, and breathing out my ass hole, wondering how I am going to do much more of this………….but hey, at least the cribs called, and that warmed the cockles of my heart.

the rust belt blues

Friday june 29 burgettstown, pa (insert sponsor) AMPHITHEATRE
Hot and muggy and in the sticks, we are in pennsyltucky, friends. But alas, it is a nice place, the peeps are very friendly, and all the NIN crew are knocking golf balls in a lake next to the busses. We watch some glorious world cup action, namely italy beating the Ukraine, and go about our day. Peaches keeps rocking the early crowd and even the west Virginians get into it tonight. I am still running into the crowd, which will not likely change. We do our bit and it is back to the bus for some ddraft Guinness and bbq, at which point I am summonsed to catering to hang out with nick z and his missus. Tres bizarre, but life is too short innit. I have a great time with the two of them, and even manage to watch the show until I am booted from the luxury box. Backstage we rifle through Bauhaus wine stock, catch the lobster tank activity, say our farewells and hit the high road towards chitown.
Saturday june 30 tinley park , il (insert todays sponsor) AMPHITHEATER
We get in the a.m. and it is all about the humidity and the world cup. Nice, almost home, and I can feel it. Great venue in the sticks outside Chicago, all spirits are heightened, me thinks.
I watch a little bit of the brazil match, then it is off to collect a journalist from Scotland who is painfully lost, not unlike englands world cup chances. Poor, peach is ensconced in euro phoners au gogo. Sounds painful. The show is another crowd pleaser,, I am completely shagged out from the night before and actually fall asleep , or try to, at 10pm. Waking up in Milwaukee to the sight of lake Michigan.
Sunday july 1 marcus amphitheater, Milwaukee , wi
So here we are at summer fest, mark the lampy and I head off to catering and are frightened away. Hey now and I head out to say hey to the odb, who is here with ray davies. Nice day on the lake to eat a culver butter burger! Everyone is out on bikes and what not, and joan jett is in the house to catch peaches set. Afterwards, the girls head out to see joans set, I chill on thye bus with my butter burger, and at one point , we laod and go towards Indianapolis for our last show before a couple of days off.