So i’m writing this blog from an airplane above Texas.  Before I get into why i’m on a plane I want to back track over the past couple days.  Yesterday in Phoenix we had our first morning news TV interview of the tour which was awesome and went really well but it also meant we had to wake up at 4 in the morning.  Then from the interview we went to the venue for the show which in all honestly didn’t go as well as I would have hoped, mainly due to the fact that it was the hottest day on the tour so far and the sun was pounding in our faces all day long.  Needless to say when we got back to the bus and all showered up everyone fell right asleep for the entire bus ride.  I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.  So todays show was in New Mexico and it went really well.  The weather was hot but not too hot and all the people there were really awesome.  So during the middle of the day our tour manager Scotty pulled Jeannine, Jessica, Trife, and myself aside and said right after we pack down this evening i’m putting you four on a plane to San Antonio to do a TV interview in the morning.  So that’s why i’m on a plane right now flying above the state of Texas, ready to check into the hotel and get some sleep for the interview tomorrow.  It’s just really awesome when you think about it my schedule was wake up in New Mexico, do the show, fly to San Antonio, then when we get there, stay the night in a hotel, wake up and do a TV interview, then head back to the venue to do another show.  It totally feels like living the rockstar lifestyle, which is soo freaking awesome.  Till next time, party like a rockstar.

-Mickey

Last night I had a crazy dream, that I was trapped in the floor of the bus, it was tight, small, dark…I woke up in a panic, and thought that it was really happening, couldn’t breathe, feeling around for a way out…when I realized that I was only in my bunk…My heart continued beating out of my chest until I fell asleep again… Night terrors suck. I wonder what this indicates about the state of my subconscious…

Since we have the day off today in Arizona, I decided to take some ‘me’ time to work out. I ran on the treadmill, rode on a stationary bike, and even pushed myself to do some yoga to wind down. I think it helped clear my mind. Since I’ve been on the tour for about 2 weeks now, I’m starting to feel a little homesick, a little overwhelmed with this new lifestyle, desperately in need of some ‘centering’. I have to say though, the other truth marketers have made this process much easier to digest. They are friends that I will never forget, we’ve become extremely close. Although there have been moments of conflict, at the end of the day, we’re all devoted to getting ourselves back on the same page. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they move me, they surprise me, they inspire me, they are an amazing group of people.

I can’t leave without mentioning how cool yesterday was. Tara, Jess, Justin, some of our friends from the Fuse network and I ventured around Santa Fe. We even met a woman who had moved there from Philadelphia. She overheard us talking about the Morning Glory cafe…small world. I took a lot of pictures, ate a superb egg white omelet (which Jess and I have been literally craving and talking about everyday…we’re dorks), took a public bus with some creepy people who kept telling us to stay together and be safe, and indulged in the yummy goods that Whole Foods had to offer. All in all, a fantastic day.

I have one complaint, and that is that I have apparently developed allergies for the first time. I have had to empty my face several times a day..haha, ew.

Going to check out the pool now.

Signing out, J-Love.

PEACE.

p.s. Dear George Bush, I caught some of your speech on CNN today…why? why? why?…

I saw Transformers last night in Sante Fe, NM with Chris and Mickey and it was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

It just occurred to me that I have been crossing far more borders in such a short period of time than ever before in my life. It feels good, like the differences, the walls, are dissipating. I’ve spent a long time studying the social constructs of this world that I’m living in, the many limiting binaries, how they came to be, how to possibly deconstruct them. Since I’ve been here I haven’t given much thought to those ideas that once fueled me, but what I realized today is that this whole experience is very much a part of a bigger journey for me. Maybe enlightenment, hah, probably not, but I’m drawing connections between the many layers that make me who I am and the diverse elements that make up the lives of the people I’m working with, the people we meet on the road, the tour community, man, everything. I hate categories.

   I want to watch I Heart Huckabees right now. I want to live my life in such a way that advocates ACTUAL equality. May not be possible, but I am going to try. I have really learned thus far on this crazy blur of a trip that you really, really, really can’t judge a book by its cover. 

  On a lighter note, Salt Lake City was a blast because of late night political rants with Tara, a trip to Sage’s Cafe, the bombest vegan restaurant around (except for Kate’s Joint in NYC- where Emma and I do Sunday brunch every weekend- I miss you Kate’s!), and fun truth bonding   dinner at Squatter’s, courtesy of Scotty. Salt Lake City is cool in my book, quiet and clean, which was a bit foreign to me, but whateva.

   Denver, Colorado came next on the tour, and we had perhaps one of the best marketing days of the summer. To anyone who came to hang out with us there, you are AWESOME! The altitude got to all of us, but any ailments were cured by Jess and I attending Bad Religion’s sets two days in a row with our buddy Matt who is the drum tech for Starting Line. We’ve decided to make it a habit. Dude, Bad Religion rocks!

   Enough for now, except for a shout out to my family; I miss you all terribly and wish you could experience some of this with me. Sorry that I don’t call nearly enough. Can’t wait to share more pictures so you can see some of this through my eyes.

Stay tuned folks…

PEACE.

Utah…interesting place.  I was a lil nervous about coming here at first, but it turned out to be a really nice town.  I ate at a vegan restaurant for the first time which was really good, we visited downtown a few times and went to their malls and some pubs, and our hotel rooms had the most comfortable beds we had so far.

Warped Tour was a different story…

Transitioning from a week off back into work mode was definitely a challenge, but that wasn’t the problem.  First off, it was REALLY hot, like more than 100 degrees outside.  Our electricity also blew out for the first half hour.  We had shipment come in, but out of the 50+, we only had about 30% of them come in at first and the rest didn’t come until about the last 3 hours we were here.  Additionally, we were BETWEEN main stages so a lot of people just walked straight through the Truth zone.  We were all lost in the sea of people trying to fight the current and catching people to stay in the process.

Okay, so it started to cool down a little bit, but then it started to drizzle a little bit.  Still not that bad, but then the wind came and blew all the dust toward us.  It almost blew our canopy away and the speakers almost fell on some poor old lady.  What’s more is that it was a relatively clean day until about 5 (an hour before we were finished) when the dust wind made us all gross and forced us to take showers tonight.  Oh, but before that we had to carry the rest of our shipment at the end of the day (like 40+ boxes) all the way to the other side of the fairgrounds.  While carrying boxes though, I heard ska music, which I’m TOTALLY into and it made me get in a better move.  Oh, and when I took my shower I felt waaaaay better,

Bus call was pretty early tonight (10PM) so we’re on our way to Denver.  Hopefully tomorrow will be  better day.

So far tour has been filled with sunscreen, canned water, Karate High School, bandanas, gyros, Play Radio Play, Parkway Drive, sunscreen, more screen, port-a-potties, catering, sleeping, more sleeping, rain, rain, rain, and more rain, wind, dust, old friends, new friends, and lots more.

I still need to check out the new Transformers movie and the latest episode of Entourage.

Everyone should also take a listen to the new Smashing Pumpkins and Evergreen Terrace albums because they are amazing!

Today I tripped over a turkey leg. Actually, I tripped over a few turkey legs. Mickey says the silver lining is that at least i didn’t fall on one and eat it. Literally. I am not sure what is up with Denver but this venue served these actual turkey legs. So there were all these kids walking around eating and looking like cavemen. Apparently cavemen can’t find a garbage either because the pavement was littered with carcass.

Eww.

I think the real silver lining of today was the downpour around mid afternoon.. I throughly enjoyed hanging out in the truth ponchos and getting a break of sorts when all of warped tour was made to shut down due to lightning storms in the area. Dozens of kids huddled under our truck and tent and we got very,very soaked. It cooled us off for a bit and helped counteract the altitude sickness some of us were experiencing at the mile high stadium. Which I am told is actually a mile up in altitude…if that makes sense? (It doesn’t does it?). I am fairly excited for the long drive ahead (I just bought Yahtzee and Connect 4 travel editions) and am looking forward to schooling the rest of the team.

I had a good day as far as meeting people. Denver’s kids were so receptive and really spent a lot of time with us. Especially the kids who did the worm,made the human pyramid and had a dance party after and most especially the three twister boys. An old friend Stacy made it out today and I got to catch up with her and her friend Annie for about a minute.

This will be short as I am about to join up with a kickball team-official warped tour kickball contest starts today and I found a team and am very excited.

Locals Only,
TaRa
XXX

P.S.
Today is my brother’s birthday,so happy birthday Marc.

Also, HI BUFF DUFF!!!

Someone must like us from up there.  Denver was waaaaay better than Salt Lake.  TONS of people dropping by the truck, almost a constant crowd on onlookers and lots of people wanting to participate in games.  All the people there were friendly and awesome.  It might’ve been the best day for us so far. 

There were a few “mishaps”…we had to move the truck 2 times in the morning which resulted in us moving everything back and forth and there was an hour worth of rain and lightning which gave us an hour break and an inch of water in our shoes, but it eventually stopped, the sun was out and hot again, and it was back to business.

Right after work, for one of the first times on the tour (cuz I actually felt energized still) I got to see a couple of bands.  I caught Amber Pacific’s whole set and I must say that they were really fun to watch and really got the crowd going.

Afterwards I played kickball on the field with Tara and the Fuse TV team against another team of people on Warped.  The field was slippery and muddy and it was so dark we couldn’t see the ball, but I was able to at least fall one fly ball, which was pretty awesome.  After kickball a bunch of us went to the Warped Tour after-party for dancing and pizza.  Fun times hangin out with the team and a bunch of people on the tour.

So that was my day yesterday.  Good day if I might say so.  We’re off today in Santa Fe and tomorrow in Phoenix so we’re just going to shower up, relax, and explore.

Oh and btw…Wyoming DOES exist and I went to the bathroom there.

So today Warped Tour was in the parking lot of Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos.  First the crowd here was soo awesome, everyone was great.  Second, the weather here was the best it has been all tour, even with the rain in the middle of the day (it was very refreshing). Oh, and third, I got to shower in the Denver Bronco’s locker room.  I thought it was soo cool caused they were the same showers that the players in the NFL use it was like the most exciting shower i’ve ever taken.  I also finally took some time after work to go check out Paramore cause it always seems like they’re playing when i’m going to dinner or going to shower.  So today i took the time and hoped up on stage to check them out and I must say they put on a really fun live show. I had a blasty blast.  All in all, today was a very good day.

Peace,

Mickey

ok, so this post is mainly about today and the shenanigans that went down….

1) our inventory was lost for a while…. we were all so stressed…

2) the gas on our truck went to empty…. so we had no mic or dj

HOWEVERRRRRR after an hour, we got everything worked out….

welllllll so it was more than hour….

I came across Two-time X Games Inline Park World Champion Jaren Grob [in picture]… he talked about how he is a non-smoker and proud of it…. I gave his some truth gear. I DEFINITELY hope I see him soon. VERY cool guy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRIFE!…. I’m going to eat his cinderella cake now…..