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In the Studio!

My extremely talented friend, Travis Vick and I are venturing into the studio this weekend before he leaves for his european tour to record a couple songs.  I will have much more details about this later, but as of right now, Travis and I are each going to record one song and release a split [...]

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Another Weekend on the Road

Last Wednesday we kicked off a weekend on the road in Stockton.  The whole band came out and we played at the Plea For Peace Center, which was seemingly a decent little venue.  It was like an old warehouse type building with Plea For Peace stencilled on the side with black spraypaint.  There was no stage, just a room full of couches and a PA.  Upon further exploration, there seemed to be a large stage in a seperate room which must be reserved for bigger, louder shows.  Seemed like a venue with a lot of potential.  We made some new friends, including this great band, Telegraph Canyon, from Texas.  Sharing a bill with them was very cool.

Thursday Daniel and I packed up our acoustic gear and headed down to Long Beach.  We played at a really radical Coffee House called Viento Y Agua there.  The venue definitely exceeded the shows standards however as only a few people came out to the show and the opening acts weren’t exactly what we expected.  We did get to see some old friends though and had a good time in Long Beach overall.

The next night we headed to Santa Barbara to meet up with our old pal from Modesto, Charlie.  Charlie set us up a show on the front patio of a local cafe with this local kid, Evan Effres.  It was one of the best shows we have played in a while and really lifted our spirits.  The crowd was very responsive and attentive and everyone was super laid back and cool.  We may have spent the night sleeping in a dorm lounge, but it was well worth it.

We closed off the weekend in Santa Cruz at the Abbey.  The Abbey is a pretty large coffee house venue with a big stage that is actually housed inside a Church.  The people there were very friendly right off the bat, and very professional.  We got to see our old friend Steve W. and make some new ones.  Jared met us at the show and we did a little old fashioned folk trio set to end the night.

There was a lot of driving this past month, and a lot of practicing, and sometimes not very many results.  But this past weekend was a boost we all needed and helped us remember why we spend hours in a car, and the other hours practicing songs we already know for days and days and days.

Touring may be exhausting at times, but when you get that one show where everyone is listening and cares that you are there, you don’t feel so tired anymore.  Really you just start remembering why you wish you could do it everyday.

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More Website and Blog Disclaimers

I am still tweaking everything on this site and figuring out what it should ultimately be, but right now I am just having fun with it, posting information and random stories and such.

I am still struggling with the pictures and I cant quite figure out why my Wordpress app isnt allowing the pictures to upload very successfully.

I am kindof just enjoying myself while we all stay focused on the new band lineup and tweaking everything.  We are playing a lot coming up and while we certainly can pull off a solid set, we are still learning to play off of each other, as well as tweaking the songs and really finding our sound and what we want to do.  The next few months will be oriented towards tearing everything apart and building it back up exactly the way I want it.

I foresee much work to be done, but I am excited to have an amazing group of musicians to collaborate with.  I couldn’t ask for a better situation to watch my songs grow and become what I’ve always hoped.  Working with Daniel Edward Harris over the past couple weeks while on tour was just a small taste of how much we can really do.  Throw in Chris and Jared and you have one excited Nick.

I feel as giddy as a blogger at a Social Media gathering.  Whatever that means.

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In the Studio!

My extremely talented friend, Travis Vick and I are venturing into the studio this weekend before he leaves for his european tour to record a couple songs.  I will have much more details about this later, but as of right now, Travis and I are each going to record one song and release a split 7-inch later this summer.

I am very excited about this as I love Travis’ music and am thrilled to have the chance to work with him as always.  More details to come!

Asides

• Being a recent iPhone purchaser, and with the many thousands of blogs out there dedicated to discussing which phone is the best phone these days, I decided to put in my two cents from a touring bands point of view.  I am still a bit young in the touring world, but I have seen a few ups and downs, and thought about this a lot.  Mostly because during the May Tour, I decided last minute to leave my laptop at home, because I was that confident in the ability of my iPhone to do everything I would ever need.

  And it does.

  (With the exception of the fact that I cannot get my pictures to upload to this site properly using my wordpress app! - But I am in the process of blaming my server/domain)

  The iPhone keeps me plugged into all the social media sites everywhere I go thanks to the respective apps available (Myspace, Facebook, Twitter - I use Tweetie), it helps me keep track of tour expenses and earnings using a spreadsheet of my design thanks to the Quick Office app, it helps me post to this site somewhat effectively (see earlier bitchings about pictures uploading), it provides me with access to our show calendar, venue information, and much much more using Safari, Google Maps, I can find cheap places to eat, cheap places to sleep, my iTunes collection using Simplify Media (as long as I leave my computer on at home), and hours of entertainment with games, rss feeds, and youtube while Daniel Juggles and Travis sleeps.

  It is the ultimate touring tool.  Its in my top list of things I need right after Car, and Guitar.

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