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Subtle's For Hero : For Fool Tour Diary Part Five

By Dose One | 3 February 2008

>Read Part One: 9/8 - 9/17
>Read Part Two: 9/18 - 9/25
>Read Part Three: 9/26 - 10/2
>Read Part Four: 10/3 - 10/7
*****

10/8 denton texas.

so we got some good sleep.and awoke to cater to patrick's vegan breakfast desires for once.he deserves it ten times over…running with us meat eaters across diet un-friendly portions of the u.s.a. and Europe…

and we drove back into Austin for mother's breakfast…
We then went to two closed guitar shops…

Jordan had a premonition he would buy a new guitar with Patrick in austin…and so we set out to see if he was right…
We went to waterloo, and bought some music.I got me a couple Daniel Johnston shirts.couldn't help it.his art is more gangster than god…jordan got the police dvd…and then we went into whole food central, to get lost looking for juice and toothpaste…

Texas is fucking hot, no other way to word it…it's like an activity in and of itself, simply being you in such heat in mid autumn…

We then went to guitar center of all places…where.dun dun dun…jordan found his guitar of Patrick and his choice…a Silvertone '63…

Can't wait to hear it in the set…

I am trying to get Jordan to let me smash his old guitar into jeff's old mpc…but they are both being bitch made about it… And then we rolled slow and brief to big denton…which is always a welcoming crowd for our many selves…

We arrived nearly late.to the nice folks who work at hailey's…we loaded and checked…jordan's new guitar sounds vundeba…and then we got shitty bar food around the corner…

Our openers were four nice whiteboy's with 6 laptops…they also had two syzurp southern rappers who did two songs with them…i have always wished I had a southern accent…in some far corner of me…and I truly admire the drawl and syzurp style, when it's at its best…this sort of commandeering of all slang…and their swagger, the heavily sedated yet in complete control delivery…gave me some fodder for thought…

We missed fog on this hallowed night…this was the city where we had a terrible turnout, and a shit load of fun…andrew had bought tim a knight's helmet, and we all had fun trying it on and slapping each other…

This time around despite the Sunday-ness…we had a pretty good turnout.enough humans to fill the front of the room and make us feel at home…

The show was good, we were all a bit bushed…it has been a long two weeks…14 shows in 15 days…is always somewhat brutal…nonetheless there were some bright moments…
The uncomfortable thing about hailey's is that there is no backstage, so we have to get changed in the slight hallway where they stash the monitors and old disco globes…
As usual with denton, we had some thoroughly drunk fans in attendance…saying the most interesting things in confidence to you…

Before the show, there were a large handful of folks stuck outside the door, waiting for it to open so alex lit off his south acquired fireworks…apparently it was a big hit…

And that was that…it was one of those shows that fell into the category of work day… And then motel 6.and then sleep.and then day…


10/9 drive day…

ahhhhh the sprawling and arid lengths of texas…

Today we will drive all day and still not reach its ends…

Still no clearskull for darkboy…i got close, I found a skull smoking a joint on an ashtray, but alas this is not the point I'm trying to get across…

I leaned into the subtle writing again…when it rains it pours, I had another very healthy fleshing out of things…and uncovered some things I had zero recollection of writing…which is always nice, it's like finding jewelry in a box in your attic…

Not that I've ever had an attic to find things in, and know what that feels like…but that's what movies are for… I got into the reverend pitman and his twin sons quite a bit, which led me to debts officer promise and his origin…it's nice to finally write these pieces, since these characters have been in my head for so many years now.sort of waiting their turn to become word…and not just whimsy…

I also did a word count, and was rather shocked…14,684 words…looks like I have me some editing to do…and quite a bit of it, at that…i'd say I have another two or three months of raw writing before I really can get into editing it and approaching it as a whole…these are the best of writing times.where it's all about the fresh meat…no grooming, no stressing…only unfurling…

And the day rolled on, nothing terribly exciting…some hail…some thunder and lightning displays…some cheeseburgers…some restrooms.and so on…

We stopped in vanhorn texas for motel6ing.and quickly realized we have stopped there before…jordan recognized our hotel, and jeff recognized "chewy's" the Mexican restaurant dedicated to john madden…it's called john madden's "haul of fame"…yet from the looks of the place, he had only stopped there once…and they just took that shit and ran with it…

And that was that, sleep was had… And morning came.


10/10 tucson az

well today is my father's birthday…unfortunatly he is france, so I can't ring him…i hope he's painting the town red.he deserves the savored day…

Jeff and I both need to go to bank of America today, the desperate deposit before our bills set on fire once again…i assume we'll do so in el paso…just before we leave texas…

Tucson is always interesting…it has always been a 68 person audience, however we love steve eye, the guru of all things Tucson, unfortunately we won't be playing in his palace, we're playing plush…which sort of sucked last time…

Lasttime.
Jeff and I both spent an hour with a shit talking fan who was telling us about all the shit talking sole had been doing about us to him.as much as we expect this sort of thing…it sort of made for an unpleasant cap to a medium evening.

Alas, ricky, jordan's wife is driving out to see us…or Jordan more specifically, which will be nice, it's always a pleasure to kick it with her…and it gives us someone to play for…in the family.

This morning before we left vanhorn, we stopped in "van gogh's museum"…i was sort of determined to get a new "merch bitch" painting to paint over.and had feeling he had one…so we swung in.it was actually interesting, this gentleman had been repainting and revamping van gogh's paintings, they were all 1000 bucks and 2000 bucks.and I don't know that he had ever sold any…but somewhere in a back corner I found the perfect painting…a woman with a guitar…whom which I would paint over by the days end…

Bit of confusion as we hit town…apparently we were playing second…yet the headliner had not showed up yet.asobi sesku…so we sound checked anyway…
Limbic system opened up, and were great.this was one of the few, all good music concerts of the tour…

There was great turnout for a tucson Tuesday…150, just shy.
The crowd was a bit sleepy.attentive yet they felt timid…unfortunatly this was not actually the case… Seeing as some ten minutes after we performed.someone stole patrick's laptop from behind the mixing desk…
Another gentleman told us he saw the guy swipe it and storm off…whether this guy was a fan or a professional asshole, we were all shocked to say the least…
There is no undoing a thief…which seems to be a theme on this tour…so jeff and pat and I ran around a ten block radius, looking for anyone with a laptop.but with no luck…

So the night ended on a heavy note…

Jordan went to the congress with his wife ricki, and we motel6'd it.
The motel was crawling, with what smelled like pimping.a sort of weird and paranoid permanent two point men, who would point the way to men of various shape and size…either pimping or drugs.either way they were not saints.


10/11 scotsdale AZ

well we awoke to sirens and a young girl who had tried to kill herself, she was laying face-down in the dirt beside our van…

It's like a rooster on a fence, only different.

Patrick called all the pawn shops in Tucson while I faxed in the soundscan sheets.

Today we get to see jeff's sister and husband to be.jeff has a little niece on the way, who will be in utero attendance tonight at the show.watching her uncle play zip disk with the nimblest of digits…

And so we rolled on into the phoenix greater area…

Got in very early…and met all the facing new york people in full force…truly beautiful folks.we hit it off quite well at a moments notice…and so we frolicked in the dollar and bible store isles together, talking shop over subway…until load in ensued.

The venue was indeed dive-like…good vibe but more bar than club.more dive than bar almost as well.

In the dollar store the old man behind the counter sold brass knuckles in a package that read "belt buckle"…and a hounddog cain that sheeths a scabbard…he suggested we would need them later at chasers.our venue for the evening.

Alas it was peaceful.no new violence.
Facing new york killed it from stem to sternum…despite some lowtech housesound problems…

And the audience was both ample and into it…
Jeff and I got to see our old friend Jason aka nobody the unkown stuntman, a rapper breakdancer, and homie from the 1200 hobos cincinati days.it wzs good to see an ever friendly face in the low club light.

And then poof it was the next morning.


10/12 l.a. CA

the day of the rush…we got up awful early to make the amoeba instore in l.a…which we did with relatively no major pains…

We pulled into the knitting factory around 4:30.soundchecked like Rambo, and bounced to amoeba to do the subtle "unplugged" set for the first time…
However technically it's not unplugged, since jeff has a shitty boss drum machine…
I'd say subtle "simplified" is more appropriate.

Alex on cello,
marty on sax, bass clarinet, flute…
Jordan on acoustic guitar.
Jeff on shitty drum machine.
Me on mouth.

So we learned a few things…one we need a pick up mic for jordans guitar.and two we could stand to rehearse it a bit more…

That being said it was nice to do something new…and parts of it were quite dope…but on the whole it was defiantly something to "undo" when performing at the knitting factory later on…clean the slate on ourselves.

We got our store credit on…i got wondershowzen season 2…god bless them and their way with wit…a used robot chicken, which my non cable having ass has yet to see, but alias said I'd like it, so I'm sure I will.

Then on the way out, resolute in my not spending any money…i don't have to spend…patrick shows me the "this heat" box set, with everything they've ever done, most of which I do not have on cd or vinyl since its so hard to find…and I am a late bloomer to them…
so I shelled out the 90 beans.and a smile spread across my face.

Facing new york was again, gargantuan…made my neck heart.or hurt rather…

Got to see the extended family of course…robert curcio from mush…boombip…chris martins from filter.and chris ruffatto of awake films

Always nice to have more than one friend in the house.helps me be in the moment a bit more…sometimes a packed show with no friends makes you feel like the guy in the micky mouse suit at a theme park…

For us, it was probably the best performance of the tour…both loose and tight…relaxed with pep as rakim would say in his first twilight…

And then we packed up slowly, spending as much time with our friends as "loadout"-ingly possible…and rolled to jordans home in ventura to crash the night away…

Unfortunately winona rider did not show up with Edward furlong and devendra banhart.maybe next time…
however I did piss on an abandoned spotlight on Hollywood boulevard…


10/13 pamona CA

we awoke and did money math over coffee.paying out the dole on credit cards maxed and fully extended…rental cars.plane tickets purchased.and so on…
We also did our head-down individual e-mail rounds…and saw more kind words on pitchfork, this time about mercury craze…all hail to the fork…
Once again a great wording of someone seeing eye to eye with our work…
Makes us grin…

After said money counting and cleaving, and emailing, we got some breakfast…

And then we were off to Pomona, a whole one and some hours away…
I have a good feeling about the show tonight , we shall see, if we are in the big room it could be a bit creepy.but you never know, it is a Friday.…

Well turns out that facing new york brought in quite the healthy amount of fans…we actually had 4 more people than we did in l.a…which was a welcome surprise…

The show was good, a bit underwhelming on our part…after the big l.a. show it was kind of hard to stay focused…in comparison…but we played loose tight again…the sound on stage was a bit rec-center.to boomy…no clear earful…
We had fun nonetheless…

I would have to say that getting to know the facing new york guys was one of the highlights of the tour for me.great fucking folks…true blue…and they're one hell of a band…pleasure all the way around.

I also got to see yet another old friend…
This has been by far the most old friend reconnecting tour jeff and I have ever been on… our boy andre highland, aka tracey dean…was there, and it is always good to see him.let me rephrase, I haven't seen him in 6 years, so it was really great to see him again…he is in fact. one of my favorite artists…always himself…

What else…the nice young woman who made the all felt purple dressed as jesus shirt.made a for hero: for fool dress…which was rather lovely…she consistently blows my mind…i like that in a person…lots of other familiar and friendly faces in the house as well…

Chris martins was there again, and it was a pleasure to spend some more human time with him, since we are usually rushing around in concert/work time…squeezing in emails between tasks…more ever good people in my book…

During the show.I was doing my schtick before the mercury craze.and all of the sudden.this fan has an uncontrollable love for jeff outburst…from nowhere he was consumed with the urge to yell "JEL" at the top of his lungs…gotta love the name callers…shouting out our real & code names with all their heart.

Marty got some sort of food poisoning…he was Ralph cramdening all night.…nothing worse than poison…in food.or worse still poison food in marty.

And we watched wondershowzen season 2 in the hotel…ahhhhhh the genius…more raunchy than we could ever anticipate…we the subtle6 are fans.to the bone and beyond…

One more soundcheck…left.


10/14 sanfrancisco CA

so on the last European tour, we made zero dollars…costs ate profits…so in order to keep us going on the tour, in a lighthearted but focused fashion…we would say "last show in Europe", before every show…

So in honor of such practical practices,…tonight we will also say. "last show in Europe…"

Spoke to dax this morning, he is not feeling so well…said his operation last week went well…but he sounded exhausted…hopefully he can still make it to the show tonight…won't be the same without him there…so our hopes are crossed.

We have some photoshoot before the show…we will be wearing our sweat stained and paintchipped 20 shows deep performance outfits…should be nice and riperaw…like grandma's hair in the morning…

We did denny's breakfast for the last time until the spring…oh woes us…

This Heat box set for president…

And then we passed cow-schwitz…the five miles of cattle crammed corrals.the air is thick with animal dissasemblage and excretion.it is a treacherous tourist detraction that features itself on the drive from l.a. to s..f. …or the otherway around…

Hot damn…when all was said and done…s.f. was the best show of the tour…
All of our loved ones in attendance.dax's being there making things especially significant…
It is still very difficult to deal with the dichotomy that has become, our new situation…to go on the road without dax, is something that is truly heart breaking.simply not having him there for the everyday nuance, nonsense and dilemma of being on tour…and when I see him, like last night, I get pretty overwhelmed with how much I miss him…so long story short, it was a joy to see him, for the twenty minutes of cramped club time…

And inspiring yet heavy to see him watching us.his presence will always be missing on stage…

The show was soldout.quite early…and the crowd was a dream…we played like kings for our friends and hometown.

Got to see branden (the pedestrian).and catch up.it's been 8 months or so since we last saw each other.and that is too long…something I realized lately.with a fresh face, is how much I miss these guys…

Passage played a stellar set…complete with pure passage and pantomime…it was really great to play with family…and big shaun.dj sodapop scored the evening for us…

Also got to kick it with tony espinoza…and to hand him our combinate baby.a finished copy of for hero: for fool…he is our new ushermuch.

Lucy brought me "the toe lover" a R&B rap-ish demo about a young man from the streets and his foot fetish…there is even a spoken word accapella ode to toes…

We slowly loaded the gear for the last time.dispersed the merch.and then Jordan and Patrick and I went home…to motel6 one last time…we actually did not sleep…jordan stayed up to take Patrick to the airport at 6am…while I counted money…

Alas we cracked a profit.slim but rentlike…and more than that the tour was a total success…we played our hearts out for those we love, and who love us…from dive to dive…from promoter to gas station…

That being said boy is it nice to be done.to fall from my skin and songs…into an irresponsible and recharging two weeks of rest and loved one…

And then there was the trip back home…to erin.
Brief and typical airport experience.I worked on the straights of this here tour diary and began to relax…

And will release to the stiffened schematics of planning the lengths of our European tour specifically…coffee mapquest and bestguess based decisions…in two weeks time it will somehow all get done…between Jordan and i…
We are hoping that we see the effects of Emi behind us, when we get across the broad water…the states seemed to be more of the warm and gradual welcome of our hard work.and wonderful fans… We shall see.
The air of gamble surrounds us…

And when it all came to a halt, there was still no clear skull to be had.