Day 1 - The Winter "You Must Be This Tall To Tour"...Tour

And so it begins. The blog, the tour, the Ed. The pieces are all in place. But this year is a new adventure. As some of you may know already, Drew is having a kid in the next month or so and Jeff had a last minute thing come up (non-shower related as far as I can tell) that requires him to hold down the Denver base. We already committed to the tour and plus, we already purchased a bunch of Star Magazines and peanut butter so we did what any band in our predicament would do. We found the two fucking tallest guys in town named Tim and started some intense training. This works as an advantage for many reasons, one is that they are talented musicians but mostly it was that we decided we weren't going to bother learning 2 new names. Not now. Not ever. We've taken a liking to having to only say "Tims" and watching both respond. Plus it's really funny watching Mike reprimand them both for one guys mistake. So with that, we welcome Tim Reed (of The Sound Collapse) and Tim Stinger (of Red Stinger).

Although we did make a return to West Wendover, the journey there was the real adventure this year. Our plan was to be at the studio at 6am to try and make it a little further this year. Everyone of course is running late. Everyone except Jeff Dew. He's totally on time even though he isn't going. By the time I get there, there is a parking lot full of booze, groceries and a spanish sword. Being that Mike almost blinded us with baby powder last year, I have my reservations about a sword, but then again, should we happen upon a gang of pirates or a Legend of Zelda convention it may come in handy. Finally loaded up, we (to use Manny's words) break out of there at the crack of 9am.

Travel days without shows make for long days. Well...long days if you don't have whiskey. We do, which means a good for us, a long day for Ed since he's driving and has to listen to us ramble all day. Between the 5 of us, we shoot through the fireball and Beam somewhere in Wyoming. Luckily there is a liquor store next to one of the gas stations. We pull in to the drive through and Tim Stinger asks for a 30 pack of PBR. No go. How about Natural Light? Nope. Busch? Negative. Ok. Do you have 30 packs? Yeah of course. Ok what do you have 30 packs of? Bud Light, Coors light, and something else inaudible because I have whiskey ears at this point. Ok cool, we'll take the bud light 30 pack. Apparently, what we've now come to affectionately refer to as the "Wyoming 30" is just 5 six packs stacked in a random piece of carboard.

At this point, we're all feeling pretty awesome. Wyoming doesn't feel awesome though because the roads are closed due to high winds. We wait it out over a cheeseburger. Not too long before were back on the road. What seems like hours later (but probably only about 15 minutes) We stop and pull of to the side of the road somewhere between nothing and not a lot else to piss in the wind. Much to my drunken entertainment is a six foot long road sign on the ground that says "First Unitarian Church" or F.U.Ch for short. Ha. We'll take it. Tims (one of them) and I grab it and make it our inside table. Saved by Tims (the other one I think), he finds my phone outside on the ground before we drive off.

I have no concept of time at this point, but it's definitely still light out so I think maybe 2 or 3? Manny passes out. I pass out sitting up. Tims pass out. Ed drives on. Wakes us up in West Wendo where the party continues, but at this point I am too hungover. Shit. 8pm and I have already had the ups and downs of a full day of drinking. Good work me. Good fucking work.

See you in Walnut Creek...