tuesday, may 2
5-2-00 - Home - 10:53 PM
There’s nothing grand to say here. We’re home. Tee-Dub is back in Boston. David has bought some crazy keyboard to make new and wild Pedro songs with. Trey is dreaing of the newest Nokia phone, and I’ve come to decide that he's my favorite cell phone user out there. The boy hooked it up all throughout the tour.

I’m back to work. Back to work. There’s nothing like driving around the country in a van with guitars and laptops. Work. Back to work. I've been home for two days and both mornings, I'm certain that if the van were parked out front and the guys sprawled out on the floor and couches just waking up, I'd be ready to pack right back up and head to the next town for weeks to come. It's an unrealistic life, when the van becomes your anchor, your security. But driving 8 hours across the desert or the plains or down the coast fights a good battle against punching the clock.

It's unfortunate, saying all of these things. I'm just as tired as you are of all that "the man gets me down crap." Excuse me please.
posted by Adam Voith 5/2/2000 10:45:44 PM

saturday, april 29
(written 4-26-00) California - Los Angeles - 12:31 AM
This is about compulsion, order, and (the result) some kind of attained happiness. When I walk o the 7-11, it's just like every other 7-11 on every other corner in every other city in this great nation. I know, I know... I'm in Los Angeles and I should find some authentic hole in the wall where the cook is a greasy mother of nine. And when I was in Louisiana, I should have gone after the Cajun. In Texas, I could have found some Mexican... something spicy, maybe. Smothered with red sauce and sour cream, with black beans and clumpy rice. Anyway, I'm in LA and I'm going with the 7-11 hot dog (1/4 lb.) from the metal rod rotating steam table. Later in the night, after the show, I'm back at 7-11 for some grape juice, Ding Dongs and cigarettes. When I buy the pack, I'm annoyed because there's still two sticks left in the pack I bought earlier (Walgreens) and this is far too complicated... messy... not compact. To remedy, back at the club while we're packing up the van, I smoke two right in a row, just so things feel right in my pocket right away.

(written 4-26-00) California - Interstate 5 - 11:32 AM
I thought we might actually get out of LA without talking about how much I hate it. But no. The place is having technology failure, cell phones not working, dial-ups freaking out. David's lost finding some post office, and we're late leaving for San Francisco. I keep getting disconnected when I try to call Buchen to arrange meeting up once we get there. Trey can't get his email because AOL is shit. Tee-Dub seems calm somehow. Even that pisses me off. Not a good morning. The smog is so thick today. But now we're on Interstate 5. If you follow it straight you'll end up in Seattle. We'll stop off a few places. There are a few more shows, but we're on our way home and that feels good. I miss my cat, and the other guys miss their wives.

(written 4-27-00) Oakland traffic - Interstate 80 - 4:46 PM
We're in a line of cars we're in competes with any jam I experienced living here for a year. Do this: Cross the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland at a quarter to five after poor sleep on a dirty floor and no shower.

The show last night was the best sounding of the tour in my own humble opinion. The set had to be short to make room for the soundman's band called A Night of Serious Drinking. Apparently, he's a big Pedro fan. Seems to me that if you really like a touring band, you don't play a set twice as long as said touring band one step on top of them on the bill.

I think I'm sounding bitter and you'll have to excuse me. I'm blaming it on California, although I'm certain that I'm over sensitive to the state. It felt good to be back at Amoeba Records where the selection just doesn't stop, but I didn't buy a damn thing. It was nice to eat at Escape From New York Pizza up on Hippie Street, but I couldn't even finish my second slice. The Bay Bride was stellar, but the sky was full of clouds spitting rain this afternoon.

But Oakland. A quick drive around last night, and once again this morning. Past the old apartment. Into the old 7-11 for smokes (Donuts! They've added donuts!) and the familiar faces of the Middle Eastern family that owns it. I do miss Oakland.

The rock and roll has three more days of life left in it. The band sounds so good these past few nights. Although it seems like I'd want to trade anything from the past month for my own bed, cat and toilet, I'm gonna feel some sort of withdraw from the clubs and bars. Sitting behind the table selling, for good prices, stuff that I think holds the worth of the money forked over. Four dudes in a van driving around the country, playing songs and selling records, t-shirts and books. The simplicity of it beats the stress of remembering to pay credit card bills, taking out the garbage and browsing the new releases at the video store every few days. The normal life is the normal life, and that's all fine and good. We're all in our mid-to-late 20s and giving in happily to all of that by now. But a month in a van with rock and roll is the closest thing to those revolutionary Junior High pipe dreams our parents told us would never come true. Except for the cell phones and laptops. We'd have probably been anti-tech back then or something.
posted by Adam Voith 4/29/2000 02:17:56 AM

monday, april 24
california is hot. it's only april, dammit. the bazans have a nice spread down in southern cali, including a whirlpool. short drives the last few days, which is nice, except for the impenatrable fog last night on the way back from san diego. i'm currently at the venue in pomona, with a posh backstage "apartment" including full kitchen and bath. budweiser in the fridge. never eat dinner before singing. the gulf of mexico is brown. some kid jeremy(?) offered me mentos.
posted by TW Walsh 4/24/2000 09:20:08 PM

sunday, april 23
(written 4-23-00) California - Interstate 10 - 6:02 AM
In Austin, 6th Street was like a massive combo of every party street we've seen so far on this trip. It was a Thursday night and I'd not like to see what happens there on a real weekend night. Although I searched, I couldn't find that crazy building with the graffiti I saw last year. "Trust Jesus," Jesus crossed out. "Trust Moses," Moses crossed out. "TRUST ELWAY!" I didn't even see any rotten cacti. I still love Texas, get some great feeling from the big empty mass, but I slept through most of it.

We're on the last all-nighter drive. It's Easter morning. Last night was Phoenix, and the worst PA system yet on the tour. After the show we climb in the van and head toward David's parents house in Menifee, California. We should arrive in about an hour and we'll sleep until the afternoon, waking to some home cooked Easter bliss. David's currently driving the van, and says with a smirk: "Tell everyone hello from me." Whatever. None of you even want the Bazan on here, do you? While you logged on, originally, to read the scoop right from the Lion's mouth, you're slowly loosing interest in the band, in rock and roll in general. You're feeling much more attached to my lazy postings, pecked out from the van at 85 miles per hour. The ramblings of a rock and roll tag along!!!

Just a few minutes ago, I was slipping in and out of consciousness, half dreaming the exact same scene that was actually taking place in the van. The same song on the stereo, the same landscape. The same dim morning light. Just as I'm out of real life and into dream world, the van's tires slip and we're spinning out of control. In dream world, David, Trey and Tim are laughing wildly about how we're gonna die. In real life, I'm apparently mumbling the same words. I shake out of it, see the straight road, feel the van's grip, and David is looking at me like I'm crazy.

I'm stoked to be back in California. I feel like I fled this place like it was some sort of plague when I moved from Oakland to Seattle. It was no where near that dramatic, but there's always going to be some strange tragedy association for me here. But what you cannot ever deny is that the place is magnificent, beautiful, gorgeous, glorious, heavenly, majestic... and any number of other words my mom uses when she talks about vacation beaches. California holds true to all of them. Good morning. Good night. Happy Easter.
posted by Adam Voith 4/23/2000 02:18:32 PM

thursday, april 20
new live photos

biloxi
the beach for once. a long pier. folks fishing. the gulf of mexico is brown.

new orleans
on bourbon street you can purchase a 20 ounce miller lite for two american dollars and walk around watching all the other folks with the 20 ounce miller lites watching you. beads, daiquiris and screaming drunks. crawfish etoufee and three diet cokes. fried food. beignet donuts. better than krispy kreme. the mississippi river is brown.

baton rouge
drunk soundman. drunk cook. mtv doesn't show. i am glad.
posted by TW Walsh 4/20/2000 10:02:45 AM

(written 4-19-00) Texas - Interstate 35 - 6:46 PM
Can you believe we've wrapped all the way around the great US to Texas? When we left, I got excited to see the rotten Cacti scattered around by the highways here. We're near Dallas, and I've not been paying enough attention to see if the water-holders grow in this part of the state. It's the drive along the bottom, ending in El Paso, which I get the most stoked about.

The South East was kinda hit or miss. New Orleans (and, I'm starting to suspect, every other tourist spot you can read about in books or see in movies) is exactly like you'd expect. The one surprise being the middle-agedness of all the people walking Bourbon on a weeknight. I'm guessing it's some sort of last hurrah; a chance to cut loose one more time before admitting that college tuition and tired legs don't allow for party vacations anymore. There were lots of couples pulling wide-eyed youngsters along. "Look, son. That woman's naked. Look, son. That man's trashed."

Trey is sitting next to me in the van, saying that if he were to post to this journal, he'd talk about fast food etiquette: Lights on: Store open. Lights off: Store closed. Just off the freeway in Baton Rouge at 1:30 AM we drove through about 6 different fast food joints thinking we had scored this time, because "surely this place wouldn't leave all the lights on after they've closed." In the end, we ordered four bags of Doritos, three cans of Dr Pepper, a bottled water, two Reeses Cups, a 100 Grand bar and a pack of Camels through a bulletproof drawer at a ghetto gas station.

I've been reading an amazing book and I want every person who visits this site to go out and buy it immediately. It's not in paperback yet, but trust me... It's worth the dishing out. I've resigned to the fact that this journal, although touted as the Pedro journal, is really the ranting of a writer along for the ride. I'm not telling you a thing about rock and roll from stages with clapping crowds. So instead you get thin descriptions of landscapes and people that might turn up (under different names, like a fiction writer does) in another book I'll write.

Anyway, this book... "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by David Eggers. Go buy it. I'm only on page 107, but I'll vouch for the remaining 200 or so already. Hands down, one of the better books I've read.

Tonight is Denton, Texas. We're home in 11 days. I miss my cat.
posted by Adam Voith 4/20/2000 08:54:38 AM

tuesday, april 18
new orleans is amazing. little powdered donuts and european architecture.
posted by TW Walsh 4/18/2000 09:14:25 AM

sunday, april 16
here at florida state university crazy homeless men come to the student union to watch star trek:voyager. they babble incessantly and swear throughout. orlando has lots of tattoo parlors and bars with signs that say stuff like: "DRINK YOUR FACE OFF".

sleep all day or drive all day. makes no difference to me.
posted by TW Walsh 4/16/2000 04:57:32 PM

saturday, april 15
(written 4-13-00) Georgia - Interstate 85 - 6:03 PM
This van is late to its every destination. In most cases, this isn't much of an issue. You've got a promoter telling you that load-in and sound check is at 4:00 for a show that starts at 9:00. So you blow it off, very nicely, and Trey calls on the cell phone 120 miles out saying: "Yeah, I'm really sorry. I think we're probably about 30 minutes away. See you soon." But today, we've got a deadline that can't be stretched. Jason, a friend of Tee-Dub's that's been along for the ride for a few days, needs to catch a plane at the Atlanta airport in an hour and a half. Although we could try, I don't think calling the airline will buy us any time.

Everything I said earlier about the nice warmness of the South... Scratch that. It's 45 degrees and raining today. Before we left for the tour, I was bragging about how the routing puts us in the best places at the best times for glorious Spring temperatures. Truth is, we've had a fair amount of cold weather, rain and even snow. Whenever I call home to Seattle, I secretly hope to get a report of soaked streets. No such luck. I guess it's been in the 60s or 70s since the second we pulled out of town.

Last night was a college show in North Carolina. The room was some dorm room lounge type of situation, with all the kids sitting on couches. Together, Dan from Ida and I blew about ten bucks on a tweaked (broken) version of Fun House pinball.

Dave and Trey have still not moved to post on here. Once again, I'm gonna apologize to all of you who expect to log on and get the scoop right from the horse's mouth. Hey, at least you don't have to listen to me sing the songs. I promise, that'd be much much worse.

(written 4-16-00) Orlando - In the thick of tourism - 12:22 AM
Florida has been messing with us. After the show at the tiki-like outdoor number in Tampa, we were eye witnesses to a head on two pickup crash, complete with a hysterical woman climbing out the window of one of the trucks involved while it was still in motion from the smash. From our view, there was no question that everyone involved was killed. However, everyone walked away from it, including two drunken brothers piloting the Chevy that ran the red light causing it all.

Later that same night (morning) we pulled into Orlando looking for a room. Leave it to us to count on a vacant hotel on a Friday night (morning) in Orlando. There were literally strings of 20+ hotels. Finally, around 5:00 AM, Trey had a revelation, remembered the 800 number to Super 8. The operator hooked us up with directions (another strip of thousands of food joints, fruit stands and Disney beach towel shops) to an open room. Before the show in Orlando, we were a few feet from out own car pileup. Solid anti-locks in the rental van.

It's been raining here. The crappy weather is, for sure, following the Lion.
posted by Adam Voith 4/15/2000 09:34:02 PM

friday, april 14
jerry from turing machine rules. he drove up to the atlanta show from athens, and made black metal seem interesting after the show. we had a good show, and the folks down there even seemed to enjoy my singing. go figure. gunshots downtown before we ate dinner. best burgers on the planet at earl's. pint of guiness, poured very well.

we dropped jason off at the airport yesterday...everyone enjoyed his visit with us. the show in asheville was weird. giant, wobbling stage. i forgot the songs.
posted by TW Walsh 4/14/2000 12:30:50 PM

wednesday, april 12
(written 4-12-00) North Carolina - Interstate 40 - 3:47 PM
It's almost an immediate change once you get below Washington DC. We're in the South. Warm weather and sunshine. Different looking trees and long draws from fast food attendants. We joined up with Ida, who will be on the rest of the tour with us. 18 days left. I'm already feeling jittery about re-adapting to the working world of office desks and phone extensions.

I skipped the New York City show and hung out with my lady in DC for a few days, which was a nice break. From what I hear, the show there was a regular rockfest with backstage mayhem. In DC, the Black Cat started the show pretty early and had some new icicle type Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling creating a solid mood. But the real highlight was outside the club while loading the van.

Blelvis is a dude that hangs near U Street. He can sing any Elvis song you name, including any song he recorded in foreign languages. Release dates. Soundtrack information. Starring. Co-Starring. Concert dates. Something about an all spoken word record of clips of The King talking on stage. My mom was at the last Elvis show ever. Blelvis knew the date and location of that one.

I asked him if he knew that someone in the hip-hop community was using his identity. "Kool Keith?" he asks. "Yup," I say. "He's an asshole," he tells me.

I forgot to mention that while we were in Boston, we watched some of Radiohead's documentary called "Meeting People is Easy." That thing is out of hand. The scene where the lights come on and you can see the crowd in Glastonbury. Unreal. There's an amazing scene where Thom York is being interviewed and the question is something along the lines of "What do you think about all the Hollywood celebs coming out to your shows?" His answer, paraphrased: We're from England. America's obsession with stars blows.
posted by Adam Voith 4/12/2000 11:37:55 PM

monday, april 10
fugazi? at the dc show. i feel weird even talking about it. anyway, they were all pleasant, and ida was nice, and the show went really well. we met blelvis, the black elvis. he knew all the elvis trivia. incredible.

we visited jade tree headquarters. it was green. we had vegan food and talked about sneakers. those guys rock over here. i love rock and roll. new york at the knitting factory yesterday. turing machine kicks my fat ass. they rok so hard, and i'd let them babysit my kid. rock makes me feel nice.
posted by TW Walsh 4/10/2000 11:33:01 PM

friday, april 7
(written 4-6-00) Ohio - Ashland - 5:18 PM
Like my days in college, the Midwest seems endless. The drives are shorter, and while we were doing the 8 - 10 hour haus I complained, I might want to trade the past few days for those at the beginning of the tour. When you're the only non-song writer in the van, the numerous stops at guitar shops get old.

We've still yet to force Trey and David into posting on this thing, but i assure you that they are, indeed, on this tour. Due to their absence on here, I'll summarize...

Trey (aka: The Chaplain) does much of the driving and tends to make numerous jokes about his own anatomy. Psychology majors are encouraged to post insights on the now riotous Jade Tree Message Board. Look under headins such as: "Pedro the Lion Suck My Fat Ass." His obsesion with all things cyber never ceases, today's highlight being the purchase of a hands-free headset for his cellular phone. This came complete with after-purchase tests where each of our phones would ring to try out the new gadget stuck inside the ear of Trey, stationed one seat away in the van. As the tour progresses, we have encouraged Trey to hit the drums harder, bringing the rock louder, cause you know... Pedro's an emo band now, right? Excuse me while I get bitter on it.

David (aka: The Seeker) spends no less than five hours a day on his cellular phone conducting interviews with various media sources across the nation. Note to potential interviewers: Your questions have been asked no less than four other times today. To summarize: The band line-up changes all the time. The record was recorded entirely by David because the line-up changes all the time. The new record is about self-rightousness and not about getting a mansion in heaven. The words "emo" and "Christian" coming before the word "band" makes for a really bad sentence. There's an assload of dates left on the tour. Thank you very much. Give mea by-line.

I take no responsibility for typing errors in this post. I had to type it in at 3:00 am.
posted by Adam Voith 4/7/2000 11:37:48 PM

tuesday, april 4
more photos.

kinko's rules. where else can you stroll into a comfortable store, sit down, plug in and dial up? all for free? yowza. tonight we're playing over at the lonely hearts club...an upscale restaurant decorated with beatles memorabilia (duh) and blaring beatles music (duh) all the time. i love the beatles as much as the next guy, but it is sure to get on my nerves eventually. yesterday was a day off, and we slept in this morning. so far we've missed out on the good eats in ann arbor, settling for some second-rate ethnic food knock-offs.

boy am i looking forward to boston.
posted by TW Walsh 4/4/2000 05:12:35 PM

monday, april 3
Stolen quote: "I just want to know when music became a competitive sport."
posted by Adam Voith 4/3/2000 09:44:17 PM

chicago was really good. i sold more cds that night than all the previous shows combined. it was well-attended like all the shows...the support for pedro the lion has been uncanny. last night we played a good show in bloomington, where we met secretly canadian's chris and ben. we saw the offices and had steak and shake.

today, a day off in ann arbor after a round of hospitality at the voiths'. tomorrow we rock the lonely hearts club after watching high fidelity, starring one john cusack. i love rock music!
posted by TW Walsh 4/3/2000 09:15:38 PM

friday, march 31
first off, tour photos. we hope this is just the first of many installments.

madison, wisconsin. the beautiful weather can't even be spoiled by the frat house street football games or the bad pre-show music at the student union. what a glorious day! we dropped jonathan ford off in chicago this afternoon. nice guy. he did a great job pushing my disc on the disinterested kids at the last few shows, and succeeded at turning a few of them on to my whiny little voice. i owe him one. it's strange that now a 5 hour drive is extremely short to me. i was so excited today to hear that we'd have a couple hours to stroll around the city...so far we've been absurdly late to almost every show, and gone on without eating a bite all day.

last night we played the festival of faith and writing at calvin college in grand rapids, michigan. my perspective as a secular-type was an interesting one...attended a nice speech on "chance" by chaim potok, a fine novelist and learned rabbi. pedro the lion was one of 4 musical performers, playing in a giant theater with several thousand seats. it was perhaps 1/4 full, but none of us could have known for real because we couldn't see the audience at all from the stage.

i like tour. the food sucks, it's cramped and stuffy in the van, but the music and company make it worthwhile.
posted by TW Walsh 3/31/2000 07:24:52 PM

thursday, march 30
(written 3-30-00) Michigan - Interstate 94 - 3:21 PM
I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking. I'm bad at not smoking.

Driving last night, we reached a point where mileage signs noted the distance to Indianapolis. I've not been home for a year and a half. Mouth starts to rain saliva at the sight of Steak and Shake billboards.

Websites are blowing up with Pedro the Lion discussions. Post all hate mail to the message board at www.jadetree.com.
posted by Adam Voith 3/30/2000 11:10:55 PM

(written 3-29-00) Iowa - Interstate 35 - 1:39 PM
Last night's show in Minneapolis felt something like a high school reunion. Lots of people I've not seen in a long time. The band was on it like they've not yet been with this lineup. All three of the guys in the band snore like madmen. If this continues, the tour might not... Sleep come quickly.
posted by Adam Voith 3/30/2000 11:08:02 PM

wednesday, march 29
(written 3-28-00) Iowa - Interstate 35 - 1:00 PM
The beginning of the tour has all these long-ass drives. Last night we got four hours of sleep in a hotel. Back in the van. Long hauls. But the shows have been so good. Last night was a total rocker. Trey and David are learning more of Tee-Dub's songs and his set is getting stronger and stronger with a fleshed out band. Lawrence, Kansas was totally uneventful. We drove in, unloaded, played, loaded up, and drove away. I'm looking forward to the Midwest and East coast with their close together cities. Shorter drives, and more time to see something other than a pizza joint, a back alley and smoky bar.
posted by Adam Voith 3/29/2000 08:02:25 AM

(written 3-27-00) Colorado - Interstate 70 - 10:53 AM
'American Beauty' took home all the Oscars last night. Instead of a rock show, it was a night off at a friend of Trey's house near Denver. Watching the stars come out, I have no complains this year. I'm a little bummed that 'Magnolia' was more or less buried. However, if it has to be buried, best that Kevin Spacey and company bury it.

Yesterday provided some of the craziest scenes I've seen. I've still yet to get to the Grand Canyon, but we were for sure driving through its second cousin. At one point, Tee-Dub claimed to experience vertigo while driving. "Breathtaking," he said, without any need to apologize for the cliche.

Today we've hit the flat, dry farming lands of the Midwest. I haven't seen this type of land for a good few years. Miles of blue sky and telephone poles.
posted by Adam Voith 3/29/2000 08:00:14 AM

ah, the twin cities. i can't believe we've made it this far. while the drives have been long, it's still amazing that we're halfway across the country. last night we played at foxfire coffee, where they have a huge warehouse room in the back. the pedro the lion set was a lot of fun. earlier in the day we played live on k radio...they made us sign something promising that we'd a.) not swear b.) not tell people they should come to the show c.) not describe how we thought the show would go with any qualitative language(for instance, "it's gonna be a good show") d.) not mention how much the admission to the show was.

today we drive to urbana, il. jonathan ford is with us for this ride. he's in a band called unwed sailor(they're good) and he used to be in roadside monument. oh yeah he played bass on it's hard to find a friend. nice guy!
posted by TW Walsh 3/29/2000 07:47:49 AM

sunday, march 26
(written 3-26-00) Utah - Leaving Salt Lake City - 10:17 AM
The mountains, and everything else around Salt Lake City, look strangely industrial. Nothing of the natural element appears touched or dug at, but somehow all is hazy like machines. A gigantic vaulted and unfinished highway runs up to the city like a cliffhanger waiting on the 2002 Olympic Games.

So far we're 2 for 2 in getting lost 5 miles from the show locations. Turns out Kilby Court is a damn fine little rock space tucked away in a dusty alley. Shabby and thrown together like something from Mad Max, the place immediately reminds me of some of the places I saw my first punk shows in Indiana. The promoter talked to me about the straight-edge murder scene and his tactics for keeping that crazy stuff away from Kilby Court. I'm somehow fascinated by all of this. While the Indiana clubs might have looked the same, I don't think the religious vegetarians ever stuck a knife in anyone. I asked him if he'd seen the movie 'SLC Punk,' and whether it was accurate. He hadn't rented it, thinking the inevitable representation of the scene would be annoying. I told him that he might enjoy it, that it's by no means genius and it's more about a few losers that listen to punk rock rather than any type of scene. Some funny scenes, I tell him.

We drove downtown before the show. The mysterious two extra bands that always turn up on a bill were playing early so we had some time to kill checking out the Mormon Temple, which had just let out a huge service. What's up Saints! LDS. I hadn't heard the acronym before today.

We stopped off at Office Depot, which is quickly becoming my all time favorite store in the world. Trey and Dave looked at new model cell phones and we all discussed the comfort level on your ear in conjunction with sound quality of calls, and which was easier to be sacrificed when upgrading your mobile telecoms. Did you know that Office Depot plays Bachman Turner Overdrive's 'Takin' Care of Business' constantly in a loop all day long? Poor Depot employees.

Back at Kilby Court, the show's packed. My lame ass smokes three cigarettes after making it two solid days without. I sit at the merchandise table for hours, but it's nice. I'm set up outside the actual garage-like space where there's a small fire and a crowd of fashionable young rockers happily milling around. There's beer at the show. Lots of people are gettin' trashed.

I'm mixed-blessed with some company early. A nice girl, slightly buzzin', is talking to me about Bukowski books I've not read and I'm thinking that she might be into it for more than the tired alcoholic thing. She buys my book and tells me she's got some writing she'd like to send me to see if I'd be interested in putting something of hers out. "Sure," I tell her.

She splits for a while, and returns a little more toasted. She's talking closer to my face, and talking about more things I don't understand. Beer after beer comes out of her purse. At some point, I'm pushed off my stool with a request to "share it with her." By the end of the night, she's told me how much she loves her Nike tennis shoes and how lame it is that the band is selling shirts. "Why don't you just give the stuff away for free." I'm bored at this point. After beer gets spilled on the merchandise, I'm slightly annoyed. More beer from the purse. Speaking closer and closer to my face. "Don't you want to go watch the band?" I'm asking. Eventually, my irritation starts to show, but I'm not sure she'll remember at this point. When she routed the conversation back to the book she'll write, she told me "If Black Sparrow was still around they'd publishing it without a second thought." I decided that she wouldn't remember much after the second opening band. More beer from the purse. After the show, everything packed in the van and all the kids long gone, I made a last check sweep for anything forgotten. There she was, still at the empty merchandise table, eyes like slits, sippin' on her last can.

At Denny's after the show, some kids came in yelling about "this fag we just kick the shit out of." On top of the greasy fries, this made for a good feeling in the gut.

In the hotel this morning, we turned on the television just in time to catch thousands of pounds of explosives tearing the Kingdome apart. MSNBC's cameras were overcome with a hoard of dust and smoke, and we loaded up the van and left, not even seeing the great lake.
posted by Adam Voith 3/26/2000 10:44:42 PM

(written 3-25-00) Idaho - Highway 84 E - 2:18 PM
While Dave says touring techno-style is the way to go, we've had a few blowouts. Yesterday, the ThinkPad was out of commission. Thanks to Tee-Dub's skills, it's back in action. Now the iBook seems to be tired and worn. Some type of freezing.

The kick off show was tame. We pulled up totally late. There was no time for a Tee-Dub set which was frustrating.

The house where we stayed last night was chalk full of dead heads from big animals. The nice woman who cooked us breakfast asked if we all ate meat. "We do," I said. But when she asked if we'd like 'game' for breakfast, I mentioned she might want to steer away from the bullet-holding carcasses stored in their meat freezer. "Okay," she said. "Store bought bacon it is."

It's fully entertaining to watch everyone in the van answering their email and telephones. The frustration that builds up during a desert stretch when the LCD reads NO SIGNAL: comedy.

Dave's getting ballsy with interviews. The press for the new record is picking up, and he's doing electronic interviews from the backseat, asking us now and again if he's coming off as an asshole. Today's kick, and really the kick all along but just stated clearer today, is that the collective group or 'people' feel real benefits when art (created honestly) flourishes within a culture.

That could be stated with any number of big words and phrases. We give our opinions. Tee-Dub thinks it's fine. I've got no issues, but offer a slight warning: "Be careful, dude. You're actually saying stuff there." Trey stays quiet.

We go over a few of his answers to other questions; ones that get a bit heavy. When it comes down to it (and these aren't necessarily my words, but I probably wish they were) cool is evil.

Outside: Crop land and clear skies. Desert splotches. Low hanging clouds far off in the distance, hanging around snowcapped mountains appearing painted onto the sky. A farmer is burning part of his field with a blowtorch.
posted by Adam Voith 3/26/2000 10:41:27 PM

(written 3-24-00) Washington State - Highway 82 E - 1:53 PM
Equipment Check: IBM Think Pad, Macintosh iBook, wireless modem, four cell phones, digital snapshot camera, digital video camera, GPS direction finder, which is currently contacting three satellites in order to pinpoint our location on the LCD screen within one foot.

I'm hyper conscious of my teeth. Constant clenching; the first signs of a heavy nicotine fit creeping. There's also the "thorough cleaning" that the dentist gave me a few days ago. I was more than overdue for a regular checkup. I'm now six hours without a cigarette, tongue swollen from lack of toxins in the form of steam. Worse, the tip of the muscle now hits (with violence) the retainer stuck to the back of my bottom row of chops causing tiny cuts. Before the "thorough cleaning," the metal wire itself was hidden under a year or more of plaque. The dental assistant, who seemed to really get off calling the main dentist woman "doctor," had a new "tool" she was very proud of. Something about sonic waves instead of abrasive scraping. My mouth still hurts like hell. I'm probably sucking up brain cancer from more than one source in this van.

While it sounds like I'm complaining, I've been counting down to this day for months. The number of the computers in the car is funnier than hell. And still, the view outside the van holds more attention for Tee-Dub who's not seen much of the country. From snowcaps to a poor excuse for a desert in a matter of half an hour, he says: "We don't have trees this big in Massachusetts.

Trey has already won the gear award from my standpoint. He's not mentioned the trees much, but talks about some "processing power issues" now and again.
posted by Adam Voith 3/26/2000 10:35:46 PM

saturday, march 25
we're having sizeable computer problems. we left the wireless modem thing at home, and my laptop died yesterday. trey's new iBook works fine though, so i hope everything works out. at worst, we won't be able to publish photos...boise went fine. off to salt lake city today.
posted by TW Walsh 3/25/2000 09:20:53 AM

friday, march 24
the eTour is about to leave seattle. in just a few we're loading up the van and motoring to boise idaho. did i spell that right?
posted by Adam Voith 3/24/2000 08:36:57 AM

tuesday, march 21
dave just bought a wireless web connection kit for the laptop/cellphone combo and it seems to work just fine. it's a little slow (14.4 kbps) but who are we to complain about this kind of hi-tech fun?
posted by TW Walsh 3/21/2000 12:34:42 PM

monday, march 20
agreed. the record release show was totally fun. everyone try this: sit on your butt for 7 hours straight selling stuff to a bunch of kids two shows in a row. then, run out of your books, the whole reason you snuck onto this crazy tour, after the first show. forget to tell tee-dub this information so that he still announces that the books available at the second show, then look like a fool when people ask about it saying: "uh. yeah. i didn't bring enough cause i guess i really DON'T believe that people sorta like to read still."

my merchant skills aside, the band rocked it and tee-dub held it together just fine. i've got a few days off work, which is a nice treat. i gotta say i'm ready for some time away from the low-hanging grey seattle skies.

tomorrow i'm gonna make some slick "look what we've got for sale" signs and some handbills tellin' kids at the shows where they can find this crazy journal online. the tee-dub.com ladies and gentleman!
posted by Adam Voith 3/20/2000 11:24:14 PM

sunday, march 19
the record release shows went well. they were brilliantly attended and pedro the lion sold a ton of records. adam sold a few books and i sold a few cds of my own. the kids were nice, and so were the adults. it was fun and nerve-wracking to be on stage in front of 800 people in one day. unheard-of for me. josh and dave played on some songs.

i miss home, but i've been having fun hanging out. yesterday josh bought a guitar amp and today we rocked out over at blake wescott's studio. blake is a really cool guy, and his studio is amazing. i'm really tired, so i think that's it for now.
posted by TW Walsh 3/19/2000 06:12:53 PM

thursday, march 16
it all happened around the time media began to promote the fact that it was seducing you.
posted by Adam Voith 3/16/2000 08:50:09 PM

about the flight - i got a great deal through southwest - $99 each way, coast-to-coast. with only one connection, it sounds like quite a deal, right? hold on a second. i flew from manchester, new hampshire, into kansas city, missouri. the connecting flight was about an hour late, and while i was getting my boarding pass i noticed something strange about the board listing the flight details. there were three destinations - los angeles, oakland and seattle. what they do is they stick you on one plane that makes three stops, and since you technically don't get off the plane, it's not qualified as a connection! i took off and landed a total of 8 times yesterday. that has to do some serious damage to my chances of getting killed in a plane crash. damn.

rehearsals are going pretty well, but i'm a beginner at the bass. i think i have to stop thinking like a guitarist. or something. anyway, dave says he's going to post to the journal once we get on the road, so keep reading. they only non-convert left is trey, but he's net-savvy(as evidenced by his creation, pedrothelion.com), so i'm sure he'll come around.
posted by TW Walsh 3/16/2000 08:35:10 PM

wednesday, march 15
hey here i am at adam's house with david and damien. i made it and i am still alive after a grueling trip. more later.
posted by TW Walsh 3/15/2000 09:04:21 PM

three days of work left before the unofficial tour starts. i've got to train a temp to handle all of my work chores while i'm gone. tee-dub arrives in seattle tonight. trey and i worked out logistics of sellin' crap last night. he made fun of the blog site, sayin' "wow, that's a lot of posts considering the tour hasn't started yet." obviously, he's not quite the internet addict he pretends to be.
posted by Adam Voith 3/15/2000 08:37:26 AM

monday, march 13
last night, trey suggested that during the tour, we have a laptop at the merch table so people can just enter their email addresses directly into the computer for the pedro mailing list. his thought: people's handwriting is really bad these days. my thought: i'm NOT going to be the geek that has a damn laptop handcuffed to my wrist at every show. no way. i like to think of myself as a Y2Ker, cyber adoptee, and all around good old modern boy... but this laptop at the merch table thing is a tiny bit too OK iMac for me. pedro the lion eTOUR coming your way in just under two weeks!
posted by Adam Voith 3/13/2000 07:40:25 PM

alas, i am still alive. my waking hours have been spent betwixt learning songs, buying supplies for the tour(new knife, watch, sleeping bag cover) and visiting family. don't worry adam, you'll be very sick of me quite soon.
posted by TW Walsh 3/13/2000 09:26:39 AM

tw walsh is missing in action. someone call an ambulance. i've not heard from the boy in days. this is abnormal, considering he's on the computer no less than 29 hours a day. the dude is scheduled to arrive in seattle on wednesday. tee-dub-- where are you?
posted by Adam Voith 3/13/2000 09:18:18 AM

thursday, march 9
rumor: after the pedro the lion tour, tw walsh will release a brand new record of hip-hop/trance/jungle beats under the name: tee-dub.
posted by Adam Voith 3/9/2000 03:09:43 PM

this guy joshua has the most active and seemingly accurate pedro fan page. it used to be gray but now it's orange and it looks pretty. by the way, he's from oklahoma, which i though was a fake state that they invented for movies and stuff. i bet it's nice! it seems that way from the wizard of oz. oh wait. that was kansas. anyway, i'm sure oklahoma is great. unfortunately i don't think we're playing there so i may never find out for real. but really, you should check out that site.
posted by TW Walsh 3/9/2000 11:15:06 AM

wednesday, march 8
wow. i got the cds. kinda made me blush to realize dave re-recorded almost his entire catalog just for little old me.
posted by TW Walsh 3/8/2000 10:26:42 AM

tuesday, march 7
i worked for a company in oakland that shipped everything ups. usually next day or second day delivery. i would take about 30 orders in an eight hour shift. like clockwork on a calendar with no errors, i'd get 15 calls three days later with people complaining that their package had not arrived. ups is cleaning up with all the start ups trying to save a buck on shipping, while the customers get brand new gadgets that don't even work that well. but stock prices are up!!!

on the other hand, i shipped out a tube with some film in it the other day for fed ex next day delivery. this ultra convenient box and ship place charged me $46. i think it made it there the next day, but $46???

i can't wait til you can send objects via the internet.
posted by Adam Voith 3/7/2000 08:04:11 PM

dave swears that he sent it out yesterday. the guarantee for usps overnight mail is worth shit!
posted by TW Walsh 3/7/2000 05:44:49 PM

resting my case! bazan the slack master. who else can pull off a national tour with a bass player that doesn't know the songs!
posted by Adam Voith 3/7/2000 03:59:41 PM

apparently i like to dream a lot too because there is no cd here at home. oh well, it's only 2 months late. no harm, no foul.
posted by TW Walsh 3/7/2000 03:56:43 PM

when i get home i expect a million dollar check from the greatest 'nice' publishing company buying second rights to my book. but i like to dream a lot!
posted by Adam Voith 3/7/2000 03:41:23 PM

well when i get home i expect a package from dave with "practice" versions of all the songs. there are going to be two versions of each song, one with the bass "turned up real loud", and one with the bass completely absent. cool.
posted by TW Walsh 3/7/2000 01:10:33 PM

monday, march 6
i'm officially $65 richer from sellin' all my cds and thanks to the wonders of hi speed/tech dupping i've still got all the tunes. my thought is that now i don't have to keep artwork/song titles in my mind. less clutter up there. all white jewel cases. band name. record title. that's it. it's the songs that really matter, right?

come to think of it... $65 for ALL of my cds is pretty pathetic. for the past few years, i've been dumping off cds and records in mass heaps at used stores. i used to be proud of my record collection. now i'm somehow proud of my lack thereof...

but this journal is about the rock, isn't it? rock update: i heard pedro's new record on college radio this morning! it's seepin' out.
posted by Adam Voith 3/6/2000 04:38:06 PM

sunday, march 5
adam just told me that he bootlegged all of his own cds with damien's cd burner, and now he's gonna go sell them. i'm ratting him out. that shit's illegal. who the hell do i call to get him in trouble?
posted by TW Walsh 3/5/2000 04:57:54 PM

friday, march 3
my goodness. someone send tw some sleeping pills please. the kid's out of control.
posted by Adam Voith 3/3/2000 02:08:29 PM

for the umpteenth night in a row, it is after 3:00 am when i head to bed. recently, my excuse has been java servlets and css style sheets, but soon it will be the rock keeping me up late! and then oh then it will be worth it!
posted by TW Walsh 3/3/2000 12:19:17 AM

tuesday, february 29
adam's posts are much longer than mine. let's change that right now. since we'll be driving quite a bit, here's a little story about a different road trip i took with different people.

i haven't seen much of the country. i have family in baltimore, so when i was younger, we made annual trips to the mid-atlantic. i like the south enough, though maryland is nowhere near the mason-dixon line. once, i visited some friends in detroit but the entire weekend was spent twiddling nobs in a little studio. recently i visited the northwest and was blown away. then there was the time i went to cleveland.

cleveland is the home of the rock and roll. naturally. anywhere you erect a statue to a thing is the home of the thing. no matter how lame it was, being an rocker, i had to see the hall of fame. i had to see elvis's diamond-studded sunglasses. i had to see ringo's penny loafers. i had to see soundgarden's sub-pop contract, scrawled on a sheet of notebook paper.

i have trouble sleeping. i've had to deal with it all my life. a friend was driving, so i figured i would exploit my insomnia by staying up all night, and catch some z's on the way. better to stay up all night than to wake up for your ride at 4:30 am. something had triggered the beginnings of a cold, and the later it got, the more my throat hurt. i had aqcuired approximately a gross of halls throat losenges("cherry" variety) and for several hours i ingested one every five minutes.

all went as planned and i was collected at approximately 4:45 am.

about 4 hours into the drive we stopped at a dunkin' donuts. i was still unable to fall asleep, so i decided to try and even the score by having a jelly donut and a large coffee with cream and sugar. around the third sip in, i started to feel a little funny. my sides got sore and white spots appeared in my eyes. then i couldn't see at all. my heart was beating very quickly, and i thought i was going to die.

i asked the driver to pull over. we were on the highway in syracuse, new york, and i got out of the car. i passed out and fell down beside the highway, and i thought i was dead.

as luck would have it, while i was regaining conciousness, some sort of official "good samaritan vehicle" passed by and stopped to see what all the fuss was about. the good samaritan inside phoned an ambulance which arrived shortly thereafter. the ambulance attendants ushered me into the back of the ambulance and proceeded to take my blood pressure wearing suspicious faces. it was clear to me that they assumed i was on some sort of hallucinogen, and i had simply been victim to a "bad trip". i was feeling better, so they left me alone. we continued on to cleveland.
posted by TW Walsh 2/29/2000 11:20:32 PM

tomorrow i am, officially, no longer a temp. the place i've been working for the past 4 months has hired me full time with benefits. so tomorrow is the first day as a real employee, rather than a chump with a yahoo! mail account. tonight, i'm feelin' the creep of a sore throat and worried about that whole "calling sick in on your first day" thing. how many jobs hire you only to let you run off for six weeks right away? i've got to stay on their good side. 13 more days until the tour unofficially starts ( translation: my work vactaion begins )
posted by Adam Voith 2/29/2000 09:20:37 PM

aw man, you know how hard it is to find an affordable flight for stays longer than 30 days? pretty hard. finally got my tickets.
posted by TW Walsh 2/29/2000 02:17:01 PM

monday, february 28
there's a spot in texas, somewhere on the highway, and it seems like you've been driving for miles of cactii. Then, along the side of the road, you come to a torn up white cinder block building skeleton. On the side is spraypainted: TRUST JESUS. but the jesus is crossed out and in a different color it says: MOSES. But Moses is crossed in yet another color and then: ELWAY. i'm hoping we'll drive by it this year. it's one of my favorite tourist attractions.
posted by Adam Voith 2/28/2000 10:08:04 PM

less than two weeks to go. got me a brand new LL Bean sleeping bag and a couple work shirts. we are all keeping it real this time around.
posted by TW Walsh 2/28/2000 01:06:19 PM

friday, february 18
preparations are being made. songs are being learned. days are being counted. not sure how frequently this will be updated in the weeks leading up to the tour, but if something interesting happens, it will be recorded here. in the meantime, eat some cookies or something. and drink some milk. yeah, milk.
posted by TW Walsh 2/18/2000 06:23:26 AM