home for a while

hello everyone,
we're home for a bit, and we have a new record coming out april 12. pretty exciting stuff. we're supposed to go on tour in mid-may, and the hope is to be out for a long time after that. come september, i'm moving out of my parents house, though to be honest, i don't know where i'm going. we've all realized that we've been playing in th is band for two years after college, and i think we're all ready for something to change. so, within the next year or so, either we'll all have full time jobs and the band will just be a weekend thing, or we'll be touring bigger and better. so, we'll see what happens, but it's nice to know that some change will occur. to be honest, my life has gotten a bit stagnent as of late, because going on fun tours and then coming home to work boring jobs is not a fun life. the dichotomy is a bit rough. oh well, we'll work something out. but, hopefully you'll tell all of your friends to buy our record and come see us and talk about us on the interweb so that other people check us out. that would be sweet. thanks dudes and dudettes. i hope you're all well. come say hi one of these days.
pj

Maguire loves driving

I'm sitting at home now, which means this tour is officially over. The final show last night in Athens, GA was an amazing time. The only thing better than playing with the Guff guys is playing with the Guff guys in their hometown, and having it be Ash's birthday to boot. It was pretty crazy. And oh yes, the show was sponsored by the "Champagne of Beers", Miller High Life. As it goes, there were plenty of silly promotional items around. I helped myself to some High Life guitar picks, ear plugs, and even a cigarette lighter. Boring Chris scored a sweet Miller High Life hoodie. Of course most of the dudes put away the free beer, a good time was had by all.

In true Outsmarting Simon fashion, we decided to wrap up the tour with a long, inane overnight drive. As usual, Maguire was totally up for it, and he and Chris stayed awake up front while the rest of us slept. Actually, we discovered a new way of sleeping in the van, and PJ and I were relatively comfortable. Greg, however, got bonesawed with a cramped spot on the floor. Well, might I say, Maguire is an animal. I nodded in and out for a while, but next thing, we're in Richmond and it's noon. That dude is crazy.

It took a little convincing to get Maguire to give up the drivers seat, but I eventually took over and Greg sat shotgun. After that it was DC, Baltimore, DE, and then we were on the NJ Turnpike.

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that we won't be on any bonafide tours for at least a little while. Although this tour treated us well, it will be nice to be home for a month or so to recuperate. Nonetheless, we're planning things out to hit the road forever after the record comes out in April. We're also playing a bunch of local shows and weekends, so I'm sure that will tide us all over.

Finally, thanks to everyone that made this tour enjoyable and successful. We will be back soon.

Pizza and Police

So, things have been going pretty well on this second leg of the tour. Last night, we played the Grace Church in Mount Pleasant, SC and it was a blast. The bands were great, everyone was super friendly, and it was just such a great time. Thanks so much to all the guys and girls that were hanging out and singing along. You totally made the show for us.

Anyhow, afterwards we headed to Tim and Tina's place to crash for the night. It was great to sleep in real beds and get some food. Today was just such an awesome day, and the weather was phenomenal.

As it goes, we decided to treat ourselves to CiCi's Pizza Buffet before the show. Yeah it's gross, but it's so cheap and so much. And sometimes, it's just the perfect thing on tour. First of all, PJ and Chris were up front, and the rest of us got annoyed at them for getting a little lost. But, we finally made it there. Much to our dismay, this Cici's was a little "bobo." The sweet tea was particulary bad, and the salad bar left a little to be desired. Oddly enough, we all left there with new CDs. We met a guy from SC called Blackburd and he hooked it up. It was pretty cool stuff, of the hip hop persuasion, but we could dig it.

Then it was on to the show. Tonight was a fun time. The Glory of This dudes had some van trouble and unfortunately, were not able to make it out. I'm hoping they'll be here tommorow, since it's our last day on the tour. Afterwards we cruised over to Athens to crash with the Guff guys. So, here is where things got a bit interesting. We cruised up to Reed's place in our van and trailer, and were out in the parking lot for about 5 minutes waiting for him to get there. Suddenly, 5 cop car surround us and we all have to get out of the van. Reed pulled up at that moment and for about a minute, things were a little confusing. No worries. We explained our deal and actually gave the cops a few CDs. They were pretty agreeable and just doing their job. So no offense taken.

Tommorow is the show at the 40 Watt and then it's a long drive home. Well, it's super late and I'm way tired. Maybe this didn't make any sense, but I'm hitting the "Publish" button and then going to sleep. Goodnight.

stay posi

Hey everybody. We're enjoying a brief 2 day respite while the Glory of This dudes continue on their way in the Northeast. After being a bunch of losers, we'll meet back up with them in PA, and then things will really get wild. The shows so far have been good, and I can't wait to get down south too. All in all, things are shaping up pretty well.

We played on Long Island yesterday, and Maguire skillfully guided our van and trailer through Manhattan and then onto the other island...the long one I guess. Anyhow, it was quite ridiculous driving that monstrosity through the city, so we were sure to find an alternate route home. We did get inspected before entering the midtown tunnel, and I think we may have also scraped up against the side of it. But no harm done.

The show was a lot of fun and Glory of This sounded extra good. A few of our friends were nice enough to make the trip, and we also had the pleasure of meeting 2 people from Japan. It was crazy. The show ended early too, which I always like. All the better, since at 6:30 am today I was sporting shirt and tie and leaving for work.

On another note, I'd like to say an all-inclusive "thank you" to everyone that has supported us in any way. Things have been going well lately, and we could never do it without all of you. Our second full-length will be out in about a month, and I'm simultaneously surprised and extremely grateful for having such awesome opportunities. Being a part of this band has meant a lot more than just playing for 25 minutes each night. We've had the chance to meet and befriend such great people, and we are constantly overwhelmed by their kindness and positivity. Thank you all.

my apologies if i come off a bit crass, but i suppose its this guys duty to elaborate on "getting a little wild" for your reading enjoyment. so yeah, play a pretty good show in virginia beach the other night with our new found tour mates glory of this, and also cartel who i had seen a few weeks ago in philly so hey, cool, playing with good bands is always fun. so the dude at the venue tells us free beer for the bands. alright. specifically free half keg for the bands. uh oh.
so anyway, show ends, we all start enjoying the keg quite rapidly before we have to leave. thinking it was a good idea, and admittedly already a bit out of sorts, i approach the cartel dudes and pose the question "hey, if the bartender will let us, you guys are doing keg standz." after some initial resistance i managed to convince them that hey, i'm not that creepy, and maybe they should go for it. so long story short it turned in to fifteen dudes in the kitchen in back of the bar pretending we were still in college. more importantly, we stopped the action at several times to teach the whole crowd our signature sing along songs including "mardi gras", "beach party", and of course james hello's legendary "titties in my face". it was a fucking mess but it was awesome. oh man you should have been there.
and thats how i spent my wednesday night.
bye.

Jersey Breakfast

So, other than the fact that we've gotten off to a bit of a false start on this tour, things have been going amazingly well. Our first show in VA beach was a great time. All the guys got a little wild with the Cartel dudes, and we also wound up with a hotel room right on the beach. By the way, thanks to the Glory of This dudes, and the girls who got us the room. It was much appreciated.

The next day, we fought our way through much traffic to the show in College Park, MD. Unfortunately, the show didn't really happen, but it was still a good time. Thanks to everyone at the posi house for the hospitality and the food. Well, after that it was back in the vans, and back on the road to NJ. Our friends in New Brunswick were nice enough to let us sleep on their floors and bum around the next day until the show. Oh, and I should also mention, Greg and I enjoyed a classic Jersey breakfast in the morning: pork roll (taylor ham?) egg and cheese on a bagel. Perfect.

The New Brunswick show was great. Thanks to Trina for setting it up. We all got free food from the grill, which is always a good thing. A bunch of our friends came out, and it was an awesome time. Afterwards, we all enjoyed food, drink, and lodging courtesy of Kristin, Amelia, Ross, and Pinagio. We're now chilling at PJ's place for a bit, and then it's off to Long Island tomorrow. Until then.