April 28th to May 6th.Seattle, WA to Tempe, AZ.
Two bands: one from Los Angeles the other from Boston.
We drove 3300 miles to perform 6 shows in 9 days.
With music, with friends.
I hold a deep sadness at this trek's end, but it warms my heart knowing that I've shared this experience with my bandmates and best friends. What tugs at my heart the most was having to say good-bye to four of our closest friends in the rising heat of the Arizona desert after 9 days of epic music; 9 days of gorgeous weather from LA to the Apricot Inn to Portland to Bellvue back to Portland baaaack to the Apricot Inn (for the third time in three weeks totally by mistake...that's definitely a story for another blog) to LA (and my day job) to Tempe; 9 days of hours upon hours of never-ending asphalt; 7 instrumental rock shows with old friends, new friends, strangers, musicians, music fans, old men in suits, young kids in rolled up jeans and seriously wonderful hosts opening their homes to BoS in all of those cities.
When leaving Los Angeles for Tempe on May 6th, we never thought the trip could be any more special, any more satisfying...little did we know that we would cap that night and the entire tour with one of the most emotionally filled shows we've ever played and without a doubt the best evening with our friends and brothers Caspian. Jefe, our friend and host in Tempe, was gracious enough to open his normally closed bar after the show just for the BoS and Caspian lads. Our two vans (Van Jackson and The Green Monster) rolled up to Frank's, we parked, hopped out and turned the corner to find the front door open, the lights on and Explosions in the Sky ripping through the speakers. To top it off, the bar is owned by a guy from Marblehead, Massachusetts who's a Red Sox fan. We were in the only Boston Bar in Tempe and probably the only Boston Bar in Arizona. Utterly poetic for a group of Sox Die Hards. We were obviously overjoyed and moved. We couldn't have asked for anything more. Thank you Jefe.
Parting ways with Caspian the next morning was extremely saddening...but forever memorable.
This trip showed our mettle and offered us an inspiration that we could not have received from any other source. Our lives have changed even if only a little.
We'd like to thank the following folks for their hospitality, kindness, help with directions, musical inspiration and overall support on our journey:
Tina and James in Portland, who went above and beyond their duties as hosts for two nights. Brandon and Brian of You.May.Die.In.The.Desert in Seattle for taking care of us and giving us two homes where we could toss the football around. Brian Connelly for his stellar recordings. Jonathan and Christopher for flying to Seattle. Steph Casey of Fall of Snow in Portland for hooking us up with such a sweet venue. Jeff at The Someday Lounge for the Green Room filled with free beer and whiskey. Nico at Cal State LA. The mighty North from Tucson, AZ for sharing the stage with us for three of the seven shows. Nico at The Cocaine in Little Tokyo, LA. Andrew and Justin at The Space in Tempe. Jefe Okrepkie in Tempe for opening his bar and home to the eight members of BoS and Caspian. Our bros and the hardest band in LA, Signal Hill. And of course our friends and our brothers, Caspian.
