Archive Sunday #58

 So in February we kicked off a little promotional run for the new album. First on the docket was making a short trip down to Los Angeles to showcase some of the new material. I remember we got this air bnb house that seemed like the best bang for the buck considering the expanded lineup. The ad listed it to accommodate eight people, so we thought it would be our best bet. But we realized when we got there that two of the fold-out beds were locked up with a couple bike locks haha. It took us a bit to get in contact with the owner, but eventually we managed to get him to come out to get them unlocked before we crashed for the night.

  The next day we drove into downtown LA and loaded in to this cool little venue called the Moroccan Lounge. We rented all the large cumbersome gear like amps and keyboards because it honestly probably wouldn't survive the flight. So you typically have a backline list that you give the gear rental company with a few different alternatives so they can send over equipment based on what they have in stock. But yeah, I remember this time Gianni was so surprised they sent over an old MiniMoog when he was expecting just a simple Minibrute haha. It was surely an upgrade, and I remember all of us crowding around as we marveled over this relic from the 70s. Gianni took a bit to tame the wandering oscillators during soundcheck, but it was a struggle to keep it consistently in tune.

For shows like this one when the Naked Giants couldn't play the opening slot, we typically would throw one of their songs into the set. This time I think we all played their song TV off of SLUFF. It was kind of a weird show with the crowd mostly consisting of press and label-invites, but it was fun regardless.

The next day we went to Amoeba Records in Hollywood. I had been to the ones in Northern California, so I was excited to check this one out as well. They always have a ton of music to look through, so I was super bummed I couldn't cram anything else in my suitcase I brought a long for the trip. We played a short set on their stage on one end of the store, and we were surprised with how many people came out. Afterwards there was a signing where the four of us got the chance to chat with some fans. It was a great time and Andrew got the word out about Dirtplug by wearing his new shirt.

Next up we had another record store show, but this time back in Seattle. It was at this super cool record store out in West Seattle called Easy Street Records. We had done a previous signing a year or so before at their record tent at the Sasquatch festival, so it was nice to see some familiar faces. We got to play a longer set this time which came as a welcome surprise, plus the place was packed to the gills with a ton of local fans. I remember the signing part happened afterwards in the upstairs loft and we brought some free stickers to hand out. I'm not sure if it just reminded me of a bunch of similar free record store shows I used to frequent as a youth, but the vibe of these shows was amazing. It turned out to be the perfect way to kick off a busy year of touring.