1:02pm - Aug 11

Despite the number of days we have had off on this tour, things have been going pretty well. Our new van hasn't had any incidents *knock on wood*. We've played with some really awesome bands. Our show Saturday night was canceled so we went to see Across the Aisle and spend the day in Manhattan. We played with Across the Aisle the day before in Jersey and were really impressed with their set. We got a photo with them after the show. I spend most of the day trying to find wifi in new york. They only place i found wifi was at starbucks. So I go in, buy my small (wtf is a tall) iced coffee, sit down and pull out my laptop only to find you have to pay another $4 to use the wifi for 2 hours. Whatever, I was able to get got up on my e-mail and talk to some friends back home.

We were tempted to not even come out here at all with three shows falling through a week before we left, but we did and it was definitely worth it. We met a lot of awesome bands in Jersey and got to see our friends in The Waffle Stompers. Touring is one of the best things I've ever done. The only down fall of this tour is that Kate is currently on the train back to Seattle and I wasn't able to be there when she left. I'll be touring out there in October/November to visit but these first couple months without her will be difficult.

I still have to find some studio time to record my solo EP, I'm not sure how much money I want to put into this. It will be an experiment if anything.

11:42pm - May 6

Ever since I was in my first band in the 6th Grade, I have wanted to play Warped Tour. I decided right then and there that music was my career. But I thought about the music industry a lot differently than I do now. My commitment was never in question, but my attitude and my expectations were. We just had to play that one show for some big league music executive and we had it made. Like for some reason they hung out at youth centers in the suburbs. I didn't get it. I had so much faith in magic.

Then I became an independent music junkie. Trying to pick the brain of every successful independent artist I met. They all had something in common; they all worked hard at their craft and promoting themselves. So it was right about that time that the MySpace phenomenon hit. Finally an easy way to reach hundreds if not thousands of music lovers. Then I realized there is a big difference between networking and spamming. Adding random kids who probably will never have any interest in your band and copy and paste messages spread like the plague. We also would get offers for this or that and things like "I love you band, I work for ...." Really? And you sit around all day on myspace looking for the next big thing?

Would I do that?

No.

I started to think about how I heard about my favorite band and what made them awesome. It was almost always word of mouth. So how do bands get talked about? They tour, they play awesome shows, they do something new. So my senior year of High School, when everyone else was picking out what school to go to for some job they hadn't figured out. I decided to stick with what I knew. We spent nearly a year before we had a complete line up, but it was something, something great.

After a few months of playing shows, I started to realize there is a big problem with the local scene: Over Booking, which leads to bad shows. Who wants to go to a show with 5 people. I don't. How come some bands had huge shows, when band that were just as good, if not better had fewer kids there. The bands with huge shows played less. That was the key. You over book your band and you will start to cut your fan base in half for every show.

Then one day I was showed a website that confirmed all my beliefs about being in an independent band. EarnItYourself.com The EIY philosophy was exactly what I needed to keep going, to work harder. I didn't care that I had lost my job, my apartment, my car, because I got it. There will always be set backs, but as long as you work hard and promote, promote, promote, you can do what you want to do. Nearly 9 years after my I set my goal, I have gotten one set closer. 2 Tone Runts will play on the Kevin Says Stage at Warped Tour this year on August 2nd in Minneapolis, MN.

Never give up.

4:02 pm - Mar 25

First let me apologize for my last blog and video blogs. They suck, I know, I'm sorry.

The tour was amazing. Everyone we met on the road was awesome. The show in Michigan was insane. We packed a coffee shop and everyone really connected. CIB 800 played an awesome set. They are all very cool guys who know how to put together a great show. I talked to a couple kids who where starting a ska band of their own. Can't wait to see what they got. It was truly awesome to see Kenny and the other kids in front singing along to the songs. After CIB 800, The Waffle Stompers from New Jersey played. Their brand of ska was a site to see. Towards the end of their set a recorded track came on and they broke out into possibly the greatest dance break I have ever seen. It's also featured in the music video for their song "serious." They closed their set with a cover of "Rollin." After their set I talked to Nathan, trombonist, and Ted, guitarist, for a while about everything from all ages venues and vans to future shows together and being an independent band. It was an honor to cross tour paths with them. I'm sure more shows together lie in our futures.

Saturday we played in Bradley, IL, a small suburb about 45 minutes outside of Chicago. It was a young crowd. It looked like most of the kids were 15 and under with their parents there to support their band. Hardly any of the kids their had ever heard of ska much less been to a ska show. We heard a lot of comments like "Trombones!?!?". The Projection put together the show in a local bakery and they did not disappoint. We often take for granted all the great all ages venues in the Twin Cities, but in most other parts of the country they take what they can get. I was impressed at how The Projection was able to turn that place into a venue. I spent a lot of time talking to a kid named Austin after our set. We talked about about the beginning stages of being a band. Little did I know that his band, At Rifts End, was playing that night. Those kids got a lot of heart and put on a great show. They are all 15 but if you were to hear them recorded you would never be able to tell. Their lead singer and the only female in the band rocked hard. Great voice and great energy.

Sunday we played in Madison, WI. We arrived late Saturday night and spent the whole day on State Street. The boys fell in love with Madison. The co-op we played in was huge. Build in the 1920's and taken over by squatters in the 70s. They build a fire in the fireplace before we played. The atmosphere for the show was just right. I saw an unexpected friend who appartently now lives only 6 blocks away from the co-op. It was quite a relaxed show and we played nearly the entire album. Another DIY venue with bass amps as a PA. Laura's brother, Brandon, put together the show and his band, Flowerbaby played a great set. A mix of covers and originals and a special encore of "Sexual Healing."

Around 3am I returned the van to the rental and returned to Connor's for a much needed night of sleep. I can't wait to get back on the road and am very excited by the thought of one day owning a van and traveling non-stop.

5:48am - Mar 20

Yesterday would have been my Mom's 53rd birthday. If only she could see me now, I wonder what she'd say. The album was released on Wednesday and so far the reaction from friends and family have been great. We just made it to Tony's parents house in Lansing, MI. 11 hours on the road, ready to sleep for a few then head over to Highland for the show today. I think this show will be a lot of fun. We're playing with some great bands. I'm not sure why I thought I could blog right now. I'm pretty much falling asleep. More later. Check the youtube for video blogs.

12:27am - Mar 18

Sunday night I played my first acoustic show by myself. Youth Against War & Racism had their benefit concert at Eclipse Records in St. Paul. 2 Tone Runts were not able to play, so I was asked if I would do the show solo. I don't think I've ever been that nervous for a show. At 6pm, I took the stage. The venue has no windows and a couple bright lights on the stage. I couldn't see the crowd at all. I started the show with an acoustic version of "Chaotic." By the third song in the set my voice was starting to go. I stumbled over chords, forgot lyrics but made it through. I played a few songs I had written in high school. It was a very personal set. After the show, a couple people said I should keep it up. I'll try anything twice.

The past few days have been non-stop tour prep. We did our first screen print poster. A limited run of 26 and they turned out pretty good. I managed to fix my bass amp. Hopefully I won't blow another fuse on the road. It's looking like we'll be renting a van for the tour. One day we'll own a van. I completely satisfied with the way the album turned out and I can't wait to play the new songs.

12:16pm - Mar 12

Everything is finally starting to come together. I've been streessed out and anxious all last week or ... month. I picked up the masters today and dropped them off with Noiseland to be duplicated. The album is the most accomplished thing we've done so far. I just finished editing the "Making of" video. I'll be putting up the website this week. The album will be called "On The Front Line"

We still haven't found a replacement van for the tour. We leave in 1 week! Worst case scenario, we go into more debt, rent a van. I also play my first acoustic solo show on Sunday at Eclipse records with some local punk bands. I'm pretty nervous. I'll be playing a lot of my original stuff that no one has ever heard. I'll through in some 2TR tunes as well. I can't wait until we are actually on the road, where I'm truly meant to be.

1:10pm - Mar 2nd

It's already March! Time is flying by. I met today with Bruce at Magneto Mastering. Everything seems to be right on schedule. We are still having some issues with money and how to distribute the album. We may DIY it again since we can't seem to afford $2 a cd for 500 copies to be made. Since dez E. and I are learning how to screen print we may be able to print the disc artwork on ourselves. We can always get it professionally duplicated later. The guy who does our t-shirts offered to give me some lessons tomorrow after his shop closes.

Personally money is pretty tight. And by tight I mean I still haven't found work and am completely out of money. We talked about all going in together to donate plasma as a band and use the money for the tour. I have been applying for a couple jobs a day. I hate it when they don't even send a reply but then I remember there is probably 200 people applying for that one opening. So I wait patiently and live for the days of free lunch days at the University of Minnesota. Like today, free mini donuts and cotton candy and for the meat eaters: hot dogs.

1:53pm - Feb 26

The album is almost ready. The mixes are done and the mastering process will start on Monday. If I can manage to get a couple personal loans from friends and family, it will be out before the start of the Can't Stop Won't Stop Tour. I think I find the title of this tour more hilarious then most. The whole Spring Break attitude that college students have is hilarious to me.

I was supposed to be in Mankato right now meeting about the album. Unfortunately we are supposed to get nearly a foot of snow today! So, we decided to postpone the 2 hour drive there until tomorrow. In preparation for the meeting, I read almost the entire text book "Music Law, How to manage your band's business". I don't think I've ever read a book that fast. Andrew loaned it to me Tuesday evening, by Wednesday night I was done. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is managing they're own band.

We did a DIY photo shoot this week. I borrowed some 1930's costumes from Youth Performance Company, where I used to work. We set up some lights and some taped up some white fabric in Nathans basement and we were ready to go. They turned out all right. I posted some unedited ones below.

6:09pm - Feb 10

We finished tracking for the album on Sunday. We recorded all the vocals at our practice studio to save money. My favorite part was on Sunday when we recorded gang vocals. I sat outside while Tim finished up his vocals. With an acoustic on my lap and lyrics hand written on the back of old show posters I taught the group of 7 a couple choruses. Neighbors stopped and listened to a sound and sight I'm sure they where not used to. When the time came, we circled around a single microphone in the center of the room. I wish all those faces had been in the room when I was recording my vocals. I think I would have been more relaxed.

I was supposed to meet with an independent label on Saturday in Mankato to discuss promotion, touring and releasing the album. Laura and I made a day out of it. We got down their and ordered lunch at a small coffee shop. Then I had an appointment to get a RNC solidarity tattoo that some members of the Mankato Area Activist Collective had already gotten. I called the office of the label before we started. No answer. So afterward I called his cell phone only to find out that he was in Minneapolis. Laura and I then headed back to the cities. We'll see about this label.

12:45am - Feb 1st

Just got to Tim's after a long day in the studio. We finished basic tracks for the whole album today. I've never accomplished so much in one day. We started at 10am this morning and locked up at 11:30pm. Today was different then yesterday. We were relaxed. Just a group of friends hanging out making music. It was also sunny and warm outside today. Well, warm for January in Minnesota. For our hour lunch break, Tim, Nathan and I ran around in the parking lot and took a short walk. Then I took another walk with my Dad at dinner. He stopped by to check out the studio and we went to Mesa for some awesome pizza.

The entire process of recording is so exciting to me. I like to be involved in every aspect. And for the first time in my life, we're making an album that will sound great. No more basement recordings, tracking one instrument at a time. I agree, there is something magical that happens in the studio.

1:47am - Jan 31

4pm, Friday
We moved into Sapient Sound. We set up and sound check. I went through 4 different bass amps until finally going direct and deciding to re amp it later. Starting off, I played my music man, but ended up using a vintage Rickenbacker I borrowed for the weekend. I love the way it sounds, melodic, but with a slight edge and kick to it.

We laid down basic tracks for Take It Slow, Rise Up, Let The People Know and Cute Girls in Combat Boots. Cute Girls will probably need to be redone tomorrow. I really enjoy recording and I haven't done a full length album since high school. The stuff I did in high school isn't really worth listening to now.

The studio is ours to use for this weekend and this weekend only. It costs a lot to make and album, so we are tracking most of it in three days. A lot of time was spend in pre-production for this album. We have been more than ready to do this for awhile.

12:41pm - Jan 26

We have found a studio! We move in Friday at 5pm and I think the place will be perfect for 2 Tone Runts. We also are working on a couple leads for labels to release the album. Our target release date is March 15, which is coming up fast. The release will be followed by a brief Midwest Tour. Starting this Friday, I will again have daily blogs, photos and videos from the sessions.

I've been working with Dez E on the artwork for the album. It's going to be a 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike theme. I took out all of my favorite albums and looked at the artwork, all of them had the same color scheme: red, white and black. Needless to say, that is not the color scheme for this album.

Sometimes when it's this cold in Minnesota, I wonder why anyone would live here. Then I go for a walk and remember why.

3:57 am - Jan 11

There have been a few set backs with the album. We where supposed to be moving into a brand spankin new studio to start production this week. Because of city code issues with the building, which should have been worked out before they rented out the space, are pushing the opening date of the studio way back. So what do we do now...
We started looking into other studios, which would be way more expensive. One spot was the same studio The Replacements recorded at. We may also record much of the vocals in our practice space. One thing is for sure, we are not going to compromise the quality of the album and we are still hoping to release it right before our march tour.

Some Good Advice for Bands...
DON'T BELIEVE IN MAGIC.
Seriously, this is the best advice I've ever gotten. I wish someone would have told me this in high school. Bands don't form overnight, play the one "magic" show in front of a producer and hundreds of fans and get signed and release gold records the next week. It's about being smart, creative, and working your ass off. I used to think to make it in this business you have to be extremely lucky. I thought a lot about this tonight when I was standing in the freezing cold outside a Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish concert handing out demos with stickers and a flier for our upcoming show. Sounds like a painstaking task, but it actually turned out to be something I enjoyed. Half of the people responded with, "I've heard of you guys!" Others where surprised by the fact that there is a local scene.

I've leaned to treat every show like it's special. We market each show a little differently and we limit our local shows. It really hurts the scene when one halfway descent band play every friday and saturday night. If every band maxed on one local show a month, more people would be at each show and every show would be a lot more fun. Believe me, If I go to see a band and the only other people there are either related or dating someone in the band, I know I'm going to be bored. If every show is special, everyone wins!

p.s.
Everyone should checkout Tom Gabel's blog on "Chinese Democracy"

3:30pm - Jan. 2

New Year's Eve in Mankato was interesting to say the least. Everyone was really awesome to us. After we played we were shown around to parties and given a place to sleep. It's good we found somewhere and didn't end up spending the money we had just made on a hotel. The police were going crazy around the time of "last call" at the bars. They where calling all the locals names and being more annoying then helpful. But when are the police ever helpful? We woke up around noon, ate some sandwiches and headed back to Minneapolis. It was a bright new years day. Which reminds me, I still have to make some resolutions and see how I did on last years.

I've been sleeping a lot lately. Somehow, it feels like if I just sleep I won't have to deal with any of my day to day problems. Like when I wake up, I'll have money to pay the rent and then some. Or when I wake up, I won't have to worry about how I'm going to eat today. Maybe when I wake up all the work will be done and I'll nothing but free time. But I wake up and nothing has changed, so I go back to sleep for a couple more hours in hope that next time I wake it will be different. After I do finally get out of bed, I find that there is no longer time to accomplish all of that. The doors have already opened and closed. And it hits me like a ton of bricks. Anxiety and migraines kick in. But I'm hopeful, because when I do work hard, it does pay off. And in the end, as long as I still have my friends, everything will be alright.