With lots of catching up to do, I'll skip the set lists in this blog, as by now I'm sure you've discovered our magical pattern. On that note (pun fully intended), our version of Lady GaGa's 'Bad Romance' is continuing to blow minds and we're still quite amazed by the unexpected response to our version of Cheap Trick's 'I Want You To Want Me'. Since my last blog, we've played 98 songs over the course of 4 rockin' shows, another good reason to skip typing the set lists for each into this blog. :) Oh, and if you're like us, keeping track so far, we've played a grand total of 215 songs this tour. Cool!
Show #5 found us in our favorite, small neighborhood bar called the Wander Inn just outside South Bend, in Mishawaka, Indiana. We discovered the stereotypically Midwestern watering hole during our tour last fall and were elated to return. Oddly enough, the routing of this tour originally had us missing Mishawaka until I saw a forwarded email out of the blue from a guy named Rich. Apparently, after having a BLAST last fall with us he took it upon himself to track us down and lobby for our return. He visited our website right about the time our spring tour dates were announced and started the ball rolling. He sent an email to us and also emailed the bar owner requesting another 7k performance. From a business perspective, with the demand in place it was time to get our supply in gear but honestly, our hearts led us to book another show at the Wander Inn. Our experience last year is still one of our fondest memories and we simply cannot say enough about the AWESOME people that frequent the decidedly Cheers-like small town bar. We saw many familiar faces and were surrounded by many new friends at the merch table during every break. Like last year, the crowd begged us to finish off the night with ANOTHER SET of our original songs. We were more than happy to oblige and continue to feel lucky about being asked back. Having the chance to spend more time at the Wander Inn on this tour (and not breaking my foot this time) was a treat we'll cherish until next time.
Show #6 was at Ohio Dominican University, or lovingly 'ODU'...almost a displaced Garfield reference everytime I say it. Another show on another breath-taking Midwestern college campus on another gorgeous Spring day...WOW!! We arrived Wednesday afternoon for our show Thursday night in the Student Center. A campus safety officer escorted our bus as we pulled into a long row of empty parking spaces near the fitness center reserved for school athletes. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon, with a delightful lunch in the student center after a tour of the building and some show planning. Sitting on the bus, adjacent to the beautiful tennis courts we happened to notice the ODU Women's tennis team about to begin practice. There is something pleasant about tennis skirts, sunshine, ladies playing tennis and an overheard comparison between teammates about strapless bras and sports bras. After reading a book for a bit, I curled-up for a nap to the sounds of quickly skidding sneakers and the unmistakable chorus of tennis balls bouncing from racket to clay to racket to clay to racket....and so on. We woke the next morning, show day, and the lads hit the gym while I strolled around campus clicking photos of architecture and flowers. I also got a guided tour of one of the main academic buildings and an exquisite theater. We began our load-in about 3pm, set-up, set lights, soundchecked and headed for dinner. The students in attendance had a ball as we blasted our way through a 3 hour show. They sang and danced, had fun onstage and cheered loudly after every song. Although the student center was supposed to be closed and vacated by 11pm, the students flocked to the merch table to get their hands on their very own 7k gear, or have a photo taken with us, or get an autograph....or, most commonly, ALL THREE. ODU showed us a great time and a ton of school spirit!! Columbus, Ohio was beautiful and the students ROCKED!!
Show #7 is where the rockstar parking battle took place....well, kind of. Jake's Night Club in Bloomington, Indiana was a hot bed of inebriated merry-making during the uber-popular 'Little 500' weekend. The entire downtown scene bubbled with non-sober shenanigans as our bus pulled-up in front of Jake's. On a weekend like that, many popular acts roll into town, many of whom require a space to park a tour bus. In this case, 7k was added to that list and had previously arranged the City to cone-off a 60ft area at the front curb of the venue. As it turns out, Snoop Dogg was set to perform nearby and the after party was scheduled to be in Jake's just as we were finishing. Presumably, his audience was fun, gigantic and intoxicated although I'm not sure where he got to park his pimped-out bus as we beat him to the prime spot. As I stepped out of the bus, I was informed Snoop Dogg's bus maybe parked there too. I surveyed the PACKED curb, our sexy bus with trailer and replied with a smile on my face simply "Not today." Ding, thanks for playin' Snoop. We proceeded to load-in and the crowd proceeded to bump and grind, onstage during our SOUNDCHECK! Little 500 is to Bloomington what Marti Gras is to New Orleans and everything was CRAZY right from the get-go. The show was a blur of music, dancing and onstage sing-alongs. Everyone had so much fun and there were even a few that had too much fun. It was truly a night to be remembered and marked the VERY FIRST TIME 7k concert tickets were available through Ticketmaster. I will be framing mine for sure. What a memory and a milestone.
Show #8 was our third show, in a different city and state in three days. We arrived at the Vernon in Louisville, Kentucky and were tired. Walking through the door, though, gave way to excitement as we saw the venue. You may remember last year's tour we played at the Vernon and were set up straddling a bowling lane in the popular bowling alley upstairs. We played as bowlers flanked us- it was awesome. This time, however, we were the featured headlining act downstairs in the very Sunset-strip-in-its-heyday club. After our soundcheck we were met by my Godfather for a tour tradition of sorts- dinner a block away at Sergio's. Boasting thousands of different kinds of beer you've never tasted, much less heard of, Sergio's is an experience not to be missed. For Jeff and I it's like giving a chocoholic keys to the Hershey factory. For David, his true rockstar status was honored as he sipped a bottle of his favorite wine...a bottle he WALKED IN with. The food and drink were the perfect preamble for a memorable show. Serpent Wisdom, a talented local, eclectic, super-fun act brought their crowd and set the tone for a great evening. We took the stage and played a spirited set of originals with two slammin' covers, 'Life is a Highway' and Prince's 'Kiss'. At one point, Jeff came toward the drums and scooted back near me to rock-out. In the dark, his shin unknowingly gave my mixer/click station a gentle nudge (a bit of 7k humor) and it nearly toppled to the stage. Hurriedly I reached over, mid-tune, to catch it and everytime Jeff trotted toward me for the rest of the show I was overwhelmed with the music from 'Jaws' as I anticipated my gear hitting the deck. LOL. The crowd enjoyed the show, clapping and singing along....many of whom were familiar with 7k from last year's performance. After the show, Nick (famous producer, Louisville resident and sound guru at the Vernon) informed me that he had recorded our performance in what he called "an insane set". The digital files should be waiting in our inboxes when we get home....with any luck, we'll have a few great live tracks available in the not-too-distant future. Sound cool?
We enter the home stretch this week, with three HUGE college shows on the East Coast. Before we do, however, we are taking care of our bodies (and our laundry) recouping in our favorite KOA campground for a couple days in Madison, PA. We were here last year and we fell in love with the grounds. This time around, it's rainy and a bit chilly, but we're making the best of it eating Jeff's famous chili, drinking David's jet-fuel coffee and enjoying two care packages from my loved-ones. One included the movie 'I Love You, Man' (hilarious...a must see for sure) and the other, a fine bottle of Four Roses Small Batch (the REAL crown jewel of Kentucky). Here's to no alarm clock, no driving, no loading......at least for a couple days.
Til next time,
Jeff, David & Corey
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