confessions of a merch girl: descending into the south.

hi. ali here. i am writing this curled up in the van with the painful beginnings of a massive sunburn--the day was enjoyed immensely, despite said burnnigs. we're late afternoon cruising in western louisiana (an afternoon delight, if you will) and it looks like we shall literally ride into the sunset as soon as we scoot on over to the lone star state. ahhhh.. but more about that later. time to get y'all up to speed!

much fun was had at the next stop after virginia: soapbox laundromat and exxxtreme music venue in wilmington, north carolina. first suprise/ freaky amazing coincidence on the agenda: our buddy andrew lipke would be playing the same night downstairs! andrew is also on his way down to sxsw and oh my! t'was lovely to see him and his bangin band, the prospects. upstairs good old war and hoots and hellmouth played, killed it, some whiskey was had, and then as dan and tim loaded up the gear into our mobile mansion i was able to sing a few songs with andrew, some more whiskey was had, then on to project keep danny boy entertained whilst driving us overnight to simpsonville, south carolina--home of the one. the only. arnold fam! since we had a few days before sxsw we decided to take some time and visit lots of people we love!

and oh what a treat beyond all treats! tim's parents are only like the most awesomest people ever. here's johnny a (tim's dad) enjoying a private performance from the boys:



we had a glorious time maxing and relaxing and eating chicken pot pie and strawberry shortcake and practicing for a super-top-secret sxsw performance! here's a little hint: i catch tim practicing the special song in his mom's quiling room...

what a super guy!

after some beauty rest for the boys, and buttloads of snacks from super mom betty a, we hit the road for the great state of my birth--loUiSiAna!!! my mama's bestie miss nora lives in baton rouge and knew it would be the most perfectest place to stop off before austin! so off we went! (after a brief stop/rendezvouz with our dear friends melissa and jamie, the terlecki twins--and a major feast at EATS! ughhhhh... soooo insaaanely gooooood. dude i'm STILL full) into the deep fried south.

nora's was a deeee-light. she waited up for us until we rolled in at 2 am with a giantesque snack platter of soup and brownies and ice cream. (all i'm sayin is... this tour we got treated weh-eh-ell!) we spent the next day lounging in the backyard--some outdoor sports were played, pedicures were given, some more top secret sxsw practices were held (hahahaha) and an impromptu good old war performance was held for miss nora to thank her for her kind southern hospitality.



notice the blazing sun beating on bare, pale, philadelphian skin and please consider the pain we are all about to endure. owchi-wa-wa!

we gave our hugs and hit the road once more for the final glorious stretch to texas. updates to follow on the wild and crazy texas antics of these fair gentle men.

in sunsets and spurs,

ali ali ali!

confessions of a merch girl: a frat house and the boot.

so yeah. i'm on tour with my good ol' pals good old war en route to the gloriousness that is about to be SOUTH BY MOTHERFUCKING SOUTHWEST. aaaaand boy oh boy, i am already having the best time ever!

so we started the old tour out in DC at the rock and roll hotel and the show was totally sweet. free falafel and keith's strapping young fratboy cousin. charming fellow. he rolled through with his entire fraternity and danced and drank and bought buttloads of merchandise. after the show we all packed in the van for a late-nite tour of our glorious capitol (mainly just the local starbucks) and a sleepover at sig ep. which was, btw the most fancy schmancy frat house i have ever been in. they had maids! we knew it was going to be a wacky night when we walked into the main area and they were having jew-cino night, which i didn't really know what that would entail but i guess it was just hosted by the only jewish brother. what? keith won his first hand at blackjack then retired with his winnings (fitty-cent) like a... good little saver. we then traveled to a real-life college dorm room and almost got busted for underage drinking... but that's another story. a funny funnyyyyyy story. needless to say, it was a sick start to the tour. here's keith's cuz the morning after fun frat-tiiime on his way to take a test. ha! (notice excellent bed head)


after NOT getting to see the white house (i'm still upset about it. what. EVER!) we hit the road for norfolk, virginia. i spent most of the drive snuggled up in my snuggie--a MUST for tour. luckily snuggies are sold on infomercials in pairs so there is less bickering among the non-snuggled.

we arrived in norfolk, virginia mad early so we checked into our cheapo hotel, which turned out to be incredible! immediately upon dropping off our bags tim and i ran in the rain to the pool house for major pool/hot tub sesh and sauna time. the sauna sucked ass and just would not get hot enough. tim refused to believe that it wasn't hot enough so sat in the sauna forEVER and yelled at his pours to sweat. a few minor droplets dribbled out and the man was satisfied.

then we were off to the venue where we got fed a giant and amazing meal. they even made me my own glutarded dinner that was deeeelicious! the staff was so friggin nice. oh! and all of the men working at the boot were mustachioed and in vests and so very very cute. an excellent plus in my book. the boys also had a chance to sit in the van and warm up their angelic little voices. check it out.

so we've been sharing the shows down to sxsw with the lovely and talented band hoots and hellmouth. an amazing gaggle of bee-you-ti-fil musicians. ali harbors a major band crush on hellmouth. shhh...

after the show we sailed back to the hotel, slept like big fat logs, and embarked on the massive drive down to wilmington, north carolina. check back for north and south carolina deets.

to be continued...