German acoustic/screamo/power-pop band Pull a Star Trip is on an American tour, hitting 10 states in 16 days. Their manager Shawn is keeping up a diary of their experiences over the tour. As we are hosting their diary in its unedited entirety, the opinions of Pull a Star Trip are not necessarily the opinions of IndependentClauses.com.
On no sleep I climbed in the drivers seat and started up the van. Steffen and I searched for the directions from Brooklyn to Scranton, where we’d do a van switch, but concluded that we lost them. We however did find directions from Scranton to Dayton and from Brooklyn to Dayton so we figured we could just start heading towards Dayton and we’d hit Scranton along the way. We knew that we had to get on 81 and that Scranton was on 81 so, in my sleep deprived stupidity, we just started driving.
After several hours of driving through foggy Pennsylvania, we found 81. The problem was that we had already driven so far south that we had to go North on 81 and it was 95 miles to Scranton. We had wasted 3 hours of travel time. Thankfully, my mom agreed to met us half way, in Hazelton, and our detour only cost us an hour and a half.
Somewhere around 10 hours later exhausted, frustrated, tired, and sweaty we emerged from the van into the warm Ohio night on a brick street in Dayton. For the record, Dayton is amazing. In the course of a 2 minute walk to the venue we passed a cowboy, a thug, a street side barbeque, a pickup truck decorated with Lincoln logs and seashells full of free books, an adult video store, and a motorcycle cavalcade. I think the juxtaposition of those things sums up the eclectic nature of Dayton, Ohio.
We were met in Dayton by two of my best friends, Nick and Kevin, who drove 14 hours from Massachusetts, spent their own money on gas, and went through an entire case of Red Bull, to hang out for the weekend in Ohio and watch the shows.
The show at the Nite Owl was a much needed morale booster. The opening band, The Kyle Sowashes, was fantastic and entertaining and everyone in the crowd was enjoying themselves. Nick and Zach of Beautiful Lies grew up around Dayton and had brought all of their friends and family from the area to the show creating an even more friendly and intimate setting. Even the sound was fantastic, allowing both Beautiful Lies and Pull a Star Trip to play their best sets of the tour so far. There were a lot of great group dynamics between the touring bands as well, everyone from Pull a Star Trip came up and sang the outtro to “Preparing to Leave,” and later Beautiful Lies came up and sang the “Kiss me like they do in movies,” line in “Starving-Geisha.net.”
At some point in the show, between sets, Steffen, Kevin and I went to the gas station to stock up for later. I stayed out in the car figured I would have a snack of crackers and nutella. I went to pick up the jar of nutella, which had been sitting in the hot car all day, but the cap wasn’t on tight and the chocolate hazelnut goodness spilled all over my lap and the seat. I tried, in vain, to clean it up with a box of tissues but I mostly just spread it around and made it look like I shit everywhere. I changed into my only other pair of pants, I had lost my other pair along with my contact solution and deodorant somewhere on the road, right in the gas station parking lot.
After selling some shirts and CDs after the show, we ventured to a party right outside of Dayton at Zack’s friend Holly’s house. Everyone at the party was unbelievably friendly and half of the people there actually spoke German, which I found to be a little uncanny. Beautiful Lies taught everyone in Pull a Star Trip how to play kings, in exchange for Steffen teaching them how to play a Peruvian drinking game. The night stretched on until the early morning with more drinking, balcony conversations, and fun.
Isa and I lounged around the apartment all day, trying to sleep away the cold that is going around, while the rest of team PAST spent the day sightseeing. After waking up at 7 AM the day before and walking endlessly around NYC and then spending the day on congested highways and eventually going to sleep at 4AM there was no chance that I was going to spend another day in the city.
Later in the evening, team PAST minus Steffen, who was on Ellis Island, came back to the apartment to grab the guitars and head out to the venue. The train of course took forever and we were subjected to the music of a sidewalk evangelical musical group. For what seemed like an eternity they sang the same f*cking line over and over again, “I will be forgiven.” Then between the tired refrain a guy would list off sins that you would be forgiven for if you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. I don’t see homosexuality as a sin, but I also don’t believe a man in the clouds listens to my thoughts, governs my actions, and grants salvation.
As we rode on the subway with instruments in hand I thought of the iconic picture of the Ramones riding on the subway with their equipment with the caption “Commuting is a bitch,” underneath.
Arlene’s Grocery was a short walk from the subway on the fashionable Lower East Side of Manhattan. It’s the kind of place where everyone you pass on the street is attractive, fashionable, and wealthy. Even the “starving artists” have bourgeoisie parents that pay for their lofts and wardrobe. Take that comment with a grain of salt as it comes from an angst ridden middle class suburban white kid.
The show at Arlene’s was lackluster to say the least, arguably my least favorite show so far on the tour with the exception of Burlington which didn’t actually happen. Most of the audience left before Beautiful Lies and Pull a Star Trip took the stage and the sound guy was for all extensive purposes a douchebag. The sound was terrible and he blamed his incompetence on “language barriers.” I wonder if he would understand the finger.
After the show we headed back to the apartment where we spent 20 minutes trying to unlock the door. There were 4 locks on the door but the key only fit in 1 of them and it simply refused to turn. Bart tried in desperation while Henning and Isa sat down in the hallway and cracked open a can of King Cobra. Yes, it does come in a can.
As soon as we made it inside everyone feel asleep with the exception of Jonas, Jenn and I. They went up on the roof and took pictures while I worked on the tour diary. I figured it would make more sense to just stay up all night rather than sleep for 2 hours and wake up to drive 12 hours to Dayton, OH. I was wrong of course but that is only the tip of the idiocy iceberg, tomorrow I sink the Titanic.
30 AM the alarm rings and we begrudgingly rise to spend the day navigating the Byzantine maze of New York City Streets. I’m convinced I was still asleep when we pushed through the turnstiles of the subway station and boarded the train to Manhattan.
First stop was Ground Zero. I understand why people want to visit the former site of the World Trade Towers, the significance is evident, but from a tourists point of view, there is little to see; a fenced off construction area with signs on never forgetting and the construction plan for Freedom Tower. We ate breakfast afterwards and Henning wrote a few pages in his tour diary which I’ve been told is hilarious but can’t read because it’s written in German. It amazes me that Steffen can speak fluently in 5 languages and that I can only speak fluently in one and clumsily in another. I think this is revealing of a kind of American stubbornness, “I won’t learn yours, you’ll have to learn mine.” I’d like to think that I don’t fit into this mold and can’t speak German because my German professor freshman year was completely incompetent but I’m not sure that’s the case.
From the café, we hopped back on the subway to the empire state building which, for the record, I believe to be a huge tourist trap. Don’t get me wrong, seeing New York city from above is amazing, but the fact that you have to pay to go up an elevator seems absurd. I feel like you could go to any skyscraper in Manhattan and just take the elevator to the top without having to pay $20 and get a comparable view. Though maybe that’s just the miser in me speaking.
After spending the day perusing the City, we rode the Subway back to Brooklyn and packed the van up for our supposedly short drive to Long Branch. Mapquest said that it would take 1 hour and 18 minutes but due to what can only be explained as the longest traffic jam ever, it took us 4 hours. Luckily we were still making good time and had time to stop and eat in Long Branch at a restaurant across from the Brighton Bar named Chicken King.
The owner, I forget his name so I’ll refer to him as the Chicken King, is a character out of a movie. He was unbelievably charismatic, almost uncomfortably so, and talked to us about The Scorpions, soccer, and the legacy of the Chicken King restaurant all across Jersey. We ordered a family style meal of chicken, fries, and shrimp to split between all of us and we received perhaps the biggest portion of chicken I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It had to be more than we’d eaten during the entire tour combined. Surprisingly, we finished off the entire feast and promised to help spread the legacy of the Chicken King across the US. Before we left we sold a CD to a girl who was working there and walked to the Brighton Bar where we met another character out of a movie, Jacko.
Jacko, the owner of the Brighton Bar, is the living incarnation of Rock and Roll. His Santa beard contains the cigarette smoke and stale beer smells from the Stones in 73’ to Springsteen in 86’ to Nirvana in 92’. He was birthed through a guitar solo, raised on distortion pedals, and will die with the Fender amp at 11. The entire night he was egregiously drunk buying rounds for Pull a Star Trip and rocking out; his hand forming the international sign for metal.
The local band, Respond, played first and were not only fantastic but actually fit the show really well. It’s especially refreshing to play with good bands when you’re on tour and have no idea what to expect. Essentially you could be opening for an ABBA tribute band and basically have no idea until you get to the venue. The internet has alleviated this problem somewhat but it’s difficult to find the time to listen to every band before every show. I digress. Respond were a tight indie-progressive band with catchy hooks and impressive instrumentation paired with a solid live show. Beautiful Lies were up next and, as expectedly, played a fantastic set. I swear they get a little bit better with every show. Pull a Star Trip were up last and played a passionate and energetic set that actually brought people in walking outside. After a solid 45 minute set, Pull a Star Trip started to break down their equipment but were met with the chant of “One more song!” They shrugged, picked up their guitars, and played their first ever encore in the US. I heard the familiar chords of “Yellow Birds are Flying Faster,” and jumped on the stage to sing the chorus, “This is everything we have and everything we need!”
After the show, Pull a Star Trip were treated to another round of beer and then we left to explore the Jersey beach. The tides were heavy as we walked barefoot in the cold sand. I looked for rocks and shells as souvenirs for the trip while Steffen and Jonas took pictures of the dark rolling ocean.
I drove us back to Brooklyn where everyone promptly fell asleep after traversing the 4 flights of steps to Jenn’s loft.
Monday, August 20th: “Americans are getting drunk faster.”
We slept late today. It was refreshing to be at the venue already; no directions or driving, just drinking and dancing. We ate generic cereal for lunch and gathered around the Super Nintendo where Henning was destroying Super Mario Bros. Normally I don’t think someone being good at video games warrants a compliment, it’s just muscle memory and reflex but Henning made bouncing on goombas and launching turtle shells look like art. Eventually we got around to some much needed house cleaning. With 8 people in a 2 ½ bedroom apartment, which is usually disorganized, all havoc breaks loose. Yet, at the same time, 8 people can thoroughly clean up a 2 ½ bedroom apartment relatively quickly.
The basement was the biggest project, it was like turning the dustbowl into premium real estate. At one point I had decided that a vacuum was the most convenient way to dispose of the membrane of dust and dirt covering the floor. In essence, I just blew dust everywhere and for the next several minutes couldn’t see anything in the basement. After the dust had settled, I settled on using a broom and pushed all of the trash into a closet my roommates and I are convinced leads to the core of the earth.
Everyone started showing up between 5:30 and 6. My drummer was actually later than that because he thought I told him the show was in the basement of my parent’s house, man was he pissed when I broke the news to him that he had another hour drive ahead of him. Regardless, the show began with a friend of Jesse’s, Tony Vecchi, who is an unbelievably talented songwriter. It feels like there is not a lot of ground to be broken in the acoustic singer/songwriter field but Tony’s music is pleasantly original and unconventionally catchy. My band played next and it was easily the best we’ve performed in our short existence. I can attribute this to the atmosphere of the basement packed with our closest friends and a few new ones as well. I kept playing the same Against Me! lyric on loop in my mind, “Just give me a scene where the music is free and the beer is not the life of the party.” Beautiful Lies played next and it was perhaps their most entertaining set so far. They played a few requests and had everyone dancing and singing along to a couple choice cover songs. Pull a Star Trip were up last and the basement filled to complete capacity, everyone was arm to arm with the person next to them as PAST strummed into, “For Me to Know and You to Find Out.” Steffen and Bart actually managed to fit the “Cuz’ we’re so drunk right now!” chant that developed from the haphazard jam session on Saturday Night. After a half an hour set, Pull a Star Trip took requests and played a few songs I hadn’t heard since the last US tour more than a year and a half ago. The night ended at 10 PM with a complaint from my landlord and the PAST song, “How to Inflame a Match,” one of my personal favorites.
The night carried on in ridiculous fashion with more singing, dancing, talking, shots, construction paper valentines, Super Mario Bros., pant switching, spooning, and eventually at 5AM, sleeping.
Sleep was heavy on my mind as I tried to wake up this morning; one of those mornings that you hit the snooze button a dozen times in hopes that the next time it rings you will magically be awake and ready to start the day. Eventually my feet found the carpet and I stumbled around the house in the same clothes I wore the day before in order to gather up the band for breakfast at my parent’s house in Lunenburg.
We all sat down over coffee and muffins and talked over the plan for New York City with our new friend Jenn, who has an apartment in Brooklyn and is generous enough to allow us to stay there for a few days while we’re in town.
Still feeling exhausted, I gave up driving privileges to Jonas who drove back to Lowell so we could get ready for the show in Nashua, which fortunately is only a 20 minute drive from my apartment. After the drive yesterday, the van is the last place I want to be and I cringe slightly at the thought of driving over 10 hours to Ohio later in the week. After a nap and a wonderful pasta dinner by master chef Bart we headed up to Nashua to check out the mall before the show.
I had forgotten that the malls close exceptionally early on Sundays. It’s hard for me to imagine the endless greed-induced drive of capitalism impeded by “a day of rest.” Yet, at 6PM, the metal gates were folded down over each darkened store entrance. Despite only having a dozen or so minutes, before the closing rituals were performed, to walk around and shop, Steffen managed to by a small assortment of shoes, some candy, and assorted hygiene products. It takes me 10 minutes just to pick out candy.
It was only a ten minute drive to Drifter’s, an all ages/ Christian based venue. Although I am a huge supporter of all ages venues, as someone who grew up in the local music scene, I had previously been against Drifters because of their fundamentalist views. I strongly disagree with Christian, the club owner, over his anti-choice stance and his absolutist views in terms of, “you believe in Christ as the messiah or you go to hell.” However, after meeting Christian in person, I am convinced that no matter how much we disagree on religion and politics we can both agree on the importance of music. It’s easy to dismiss the views of others, and I’m not convinced that it is wrong to, however, I think it’s a mistake to dismiss the actual person because of their views.
The show was full of acoustic/singer songwriter acts that set a casual and intimate atmosphere for the night. Despite Beautiful Lies playing full band they fit in very well with the night and played a great set, the highlight of which, for me, was their full band rendition of “Preparing to Leave.” Initially a stripped down acoustic number, the song was transformed into a beautiful ballad. Pull a Star Trip took the stage next and were plagued for several minutes by technical difficulties. Bart’s guitar was moaning out feedback, Steffen had forgotten his second guitar, and the camera immediately died from low battery. However, Pull a Star Trip showed grace under pressure and played amazingly. It was evident that a connection was made with everyone in the audience.
Afterwards, we sold a bunch of merch and while were standing outside we heard a few cars blasting “An Internship in Optimism” on the way out of the show. We drove back to Lowell and went to sleep early in order to mentally and physically prepare for the house show the next night.
Today we had a leisurely morning. Slept in and made a big breakfast to hold us over for the three and a half hour drive from Lowell to Burlington, Vermont. Although the drive is somewhat arduous, it is breathtakingly scenic with a view of the forest and mountains. It’s the same distance from Lowell to Burlington as it is to New York City but it is such a relaxing and beautiful drive that it feels like much less. We easily found the venue, 242 Main, and parked the car. We walked around to the front and were caught off guard by this:
8/18/2007-
Tonight’s show is cancelled. Sorry…
-242 Main
So essentially we traveled 7 hours round trip and spent more than $70 on gas for a cancelled show. I called the promoter I booked the show through but he was on tour with his band and had no idea why the show was cancelled. I made several calls but was unable to get any explanation of why the show was cancelled and why I received no notice of the cancellation. It is bad enough that any show is cancelled but when someone doesn’t even have the courtesy to tell you ahead of time it is not only unprofessional but personally insulting.
Feeling dismayed we walked around Burlington which fortunately, is a really great city. My roommate and a few of his friends drove a few hours from Lowell to see the show and we met up with them and ate pizza for dinner. After dinner, we walked down the street to Lake Champlain and took pictures in the park, although it really sucked to drive so far, our walk left us feeling a lot better about the night and we hopped back in the car to go to a friends house party in Lowell.
Vermont is absurdly dark at night; no streetlights or city lights and everyone in the car except for Steffen and I fell asleep right away. Steffen and I talked for awhile about the nature of the music industry and more generally the nature of things. Long drives are good for long conversations, good for thinking about anything and everything.
After a close call with getting pulled over, the cop turned on his lights and pulled over the guy right behind me after I passed him doing 85, we made it back to Lowell. Henning, Steffen, Bart and I then headed to the party. It was one of those parties they show in movies, the crazy drunken college kids bouncing balls in Beirut, hooking up, falling down, and dancing. My good friend Josh let Pull a Star Trip play an impromptu set in his bedroom, and after the short, well-received set, we had a jam session with a kid who freestyles. The jam session yielded a group chant of, “Cuz’ I’m so drunk right now! Cuz’ we’re so drunk right now,” in terrible hip hop fashion. Steffen partied all night and Bart, Henning and I opted to sleep back at the home base.
In conclusion, cancelled shows suck, Vermont is beautiful, and house parties are amazing.
After everyone had woke up and showered, we left the apartment to go to brunch at Denny’s. Generally, I have a policy against going to Denny’s during the daytime because I go there so often in the middle of the night when nowhere else is open but I broke it for nostalgia’s sake. During the last Pull a Star Trip tour Bart, Steffen, my brother Eric and I all ate at Denny’s and Steffen flirted with a semi-attractive waitress (really attractive in terms of Denny’s waitresses). This story, and I apologize if it’s one of those you-had-to-be-there (a catch all for unfunny stories) things, but we filled out a survey at the end of our meal and changed around all the questions to impress or offend “the hot waitress.” For example, the question was, “Was your meal delivered hot?” We replied, “Our food was cold but our waitress was hot.” I think the actual humor in the situation was the reaction on her face when she read the survey. It’s something I can’t describe in words. You had to be there.
Regardless, this time at Denny’s our waitress was not attractive but did spill an entire plate of food and a coke all over Steffen, which surpassed the survey in terms of hilariousness. For some reason we have the whole thing on video and throughout the day we repeatedly watched the plate fall over and knock over the coke; saw the anguish in Steffen’s face. I would estimate that we’ve seen it…200 times.
After a quick trip to the mall to get some essentials and do some last minute promotion we went to my parent’s house to pick up the PA and bring it to the hall. We had to take two trips but eventually everyone got there and we unpacked the van and set up the hall.
I have always had a high opinion of hall shows. The DIY aesthetic is evident when an empty church hall can be transformed into an all ages venue filled with people. It’s not that I don’t appreciate “real” venues, but I think there is something special about the transformation of a space unintended for musical use for concerts. It’s this reason that I continue to put on shows at Andrew Hall in Lunenburg, MA. They aren’t very profitable from a money standpoint but I’ve always thought that the experience and enjoyment that people get out of local shows is worth the work.
The night began with New York’s Aficionado, a talented collective of musicians that travel in a modified school bus, possibly the coolest tour vehicle I’ve ever seen. The Bell County Silence, also from New York and touring with Aficionado, played a phenomenal set next playing a style reminiscent of the underrated 90’s indie/emo movement spearheaded by bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, and the Promise Ring. Monostereo, local favorites from Lunenburg, brought on the rock next and played a solid set. The crowd gradually built throughout the night, more and more people for each band coming to a climax with Beautiful Lies and Pull a Star Trip. Beautiful Lies are a band that is fantastic on recording but even better live. Their stage presence is something enviable and they played a fantastic set. And then the moment of truth, Pull a Star Trip’s first full band show in the US. As a friend, fan, and business partner I can honestly say they were f*cking right on. The full band facilitated PAST’s incredulous amount of energy, passion and stage presence. The house was packed and they put on a fantastic show, something I’ve been waiting eighteen months, since the last US tour, to see. My band, Camp Keep the Quiet, concluded the night, with what I thought to be a solid set. It was our first show with a bass player and really only our second show period.
After clean up, Team PAST and Camp Keep the Quiet rode down the street for taco night at my friend Michael Ray’s house. Michael Ray is simply put amazing, anyone willing to take money out of their own pocket and make tacos for 10 people at midnight is hospitable to say the least. The taco party was a huge success with lots of great conversation and tequila (are you starting to see a recurring theme with the tequila?) We all fell asleep around the house; another testament to Michael’s character is that he gave up his bed so we wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. A testament to his personality is that at 5 AM he and my friend Nick left the house to play airsoft in the rain with his 13 year old nephew. Amazing.
The airport is a place of redemption. The arrival gate is akin to the Christian conception of heaven, a place where the distant, or dead, become a part of our lives again. Everyone is running to their loved ones; yelling, embracing, kissing. Jonas, who had flown in on an earlier flight, and I decided that it was probably the most uplifting place on Earth.
The rest of Pull a Star Trip came through the gates, an hour after their plane had landed, and it was one of the most exciting moments I’ve experienced in a long time. I had spent the last few months working on the tour but until I saw Bart, Steffen, Isa, and Henning get off the plane, it hadn’t become real.
We proceeded to drive back to Lunenburg to drop off some of the equipment and then on to Lowell to hang out with my roommates (Justin and Jesse) as well as Ross, Kristen, Nick and Michael. At this point, 12:30 AM, most of Pull a Star Trip had been up an entire day but rather than sleep, we stayed up all night and drank a lot of tequila. No records were broken (The standing record is 15 shots for Justin and Steffen) but everyone had an wonderful time drinking and having a grand sing-along. 3 guitars, 1 melodica, and everyone sang. We played so loud that our somnambulant landlord told us that we needed to be quiet. Then, since we couldn’t play music, Ross suggested that we switched pants. Hilarity ensued. Everyone in the apartment had switched entire outfits: Jesse and Jonas wore a skirt, I had on the baggiest part of pants ever (Hennings), and all of us were pumped (new word for Bart I’m Pummmbed) to be swapping sweaty clothes, drunk, and on tour.
