Archive Sunday #2

Continued Disclaimer: These write-ups will be very similar to the ones posted on the 1TD channel. So for anyone that's already subbed to that channel, hang tight until we catch up to where that channel ended Archive Sunday...

Continuing along with the second half of the first CSH tour, we arrive in Richmond, VA (Seth's hometown). This is the house show where we first met Don Babylon, and they were putting on the show. They were big fans of CSH and were not afraid to express it - Aubrey their lead singer was front row, leading the moshing for the whole set.

Continuing along to Princeton University where we were to play a college radio show. We caught a tan on the way there. You always gotta get your D (Vitamin D)! When we got to Princeton they gave us access to the food court which was a nice gesture. We ended up sleeping in the radio station that night (sleeping bag pic).

After Princeton we made our way to NYC where Will was apparently sent off alone on a subway. Hopefully we can dive into those subway pics in the chat stream. So Jacob's friend was an MC at an open mic comedy show so of course we all went one of the days to check it out. It was crickets in that room the entire show except for me (Andrew) in the back losing my shit. I tend to find comics bombing to be super entertaining, and they sure were bombing. One comic literally mentioned that he was bombing in the middle of his set. I had a great time.

After a night or two in NYC we are off to Connecticut to play at Wesleyan college. We were booked to play at the "Buho" house which is short for Buddhist House. Apparently at Wesleyan they have houses you can join that are aimed at grouping people up by shared interests. Our old publicist did their undergrad there and said she was in the "Eclectic" house where their shared interests were music and acid.

The kids at the Buho house were super friendly and made sure we were taken care of. They even made us a home cooked meal. We set up to play in the common room and I remember the show being super fun. The crowd was great and at one point they even all sat down for one of Will's acoustic songs.

After our set we got a free show ourselves. A couple of the Buho boys started flexing on each other a bit and it turned into a wrestling match. It's always interesting to see how these things can go from playful to serious in a matter of seconds. So while these guys were trying to hot-weld their bodies together, I of course had to pull out my phone to make sure I remembered it. After they fizzled out it was all smiles and hugs though. That's the Buho way, I guess.

Moving along to Bard College we played in a barn out in some field. I have no idea what this event was but I know we were playing on top of hay.

Wrapping up the first tour, we roll into Philadelphia. North Philly, not too far from Temple University. This night was wild! Every time I've told someone who is from Philly that we were playing and staying in North Philly for this show I get a wince. It was so rough up there, and had we known what was going to unfold there is zero chance we would have stayed the night.

So the show was at a house show venue called The Petting Zoo. The venue was a pretty typical house show scene with all of the people living there being college students that just loved music. I have to give props to the kids putting on the shows there because it was actually a really fun place to play, just not that great to stay.

When we got there we were given the grand tour of the joint. It was one of many row houses along the street. All of them sharing a wall, shoulder to shoulder with no alleys between them. All that separated their backyard from their neighbor's was a busted down razor wire fence. It was definitely beyond the typical grime of a college house. Sure, I also had a dirty bong and trash on my coffee table at school but the place itself was a bit decrepit. I guess those old Philly buildings and non-stop partying make for a bad mix.

Before the show we ventured out to explore. Will wanted to head to the library to check it out. I think I remember it being nice, but you’d have to ask Will. I’m not the greatest judge of libraries. I think I just browsed things on my phone while he read books. After the library we walked back towards where we were staying to grab some food. We had to order through inch-thick bullet proof glass. It wasn’t the place pictured here I don’t think, but it was a very similar set up. I would imagine every joint in the neighborhood was like this. In the picture above we were grabbing snacks from a convenience store where they sold “loosies”, a single cigarette taken from a full pack. This was my first run-in with a loosie. I thought it was hilarious. Later I found out if you’re in a neighborhood that sells loosies, you’re in a rough neighborhood. As if I couldn’t tell from the bulletproof glass. I definitely had my head on a swivel though. Sometimes I feel responsible for my band mates even though they’re all capable. I feel like I’m our best bet if things go south so I definitely try to stay alert whenever things seem sketchy.

So we set up the merch table upstairs and played the show down in the basement. It was shaped like a narrow corridor so I can’t imagine the people in the back could see much, but I remember it being a blast and a perfect way to end the tour. After the show a lot of people stuck around to party. I was into it because we didn’t have to play a show the next day so I wasn’t too worried about getting to sleep early. Our beds were the couches in the living room, so we didn’t have much of a choice either way. The party was a pretty cool mix of people which included a big group of skate kids who lined up their skateboards nicely against the wall like motorcycles on the street. Don’t dare knock them over!

As the party was going, I noticed some commotion at the front door. Apparently some of the neighbor kids (college aged) saw the sign on the front door that playfully stated, “Hail Satan”. I thought it was funny when we walked in, but I guess these Catholic boys did not. They banged on the door until one of the housemates opened up and he was greeted with a fist right to his lip. These guys were hammered drunk and fighting for the lord! Luckily the housemate kicked them and they fell back down a couple stairs so he was able to slam the door. Everyone was confused and asking what was going on. He said they mentioned the sign on the door and then just hit him. We all thought that was insane but figured they were gone, so we kept partying. A few minutes later bricks start flying over the razor wire fence in the backyard. It turns out the boys of the lord are staying at the house right next door! And they’re fucking pissed. One brick flies through the kitchen window, shattering glass all over the floor. Another hits a girl in the leg who is out back. It turns out this girl is the girlfriend of one of the skater kids. Bad person to hit with a brick. The skater girlfriends immediately tend to the injured girl (she ended up being ok) while the skater guys grabbed their boards off the wall one by one like they were rifles. They were going to war.

Of course I’m sitting behind the merch table watching this from the window in absolute awe. My only concern at this point was making sure this fight didn’t come into the house. I didn’t need Will and Jacob getting hit by a stray punch. Thankfully it didn’t.

So the skaters walked out our front door and immediately started banging on the next door down. The guy they were looking for was not coming out, so they were coming in. They proceeded to kick the door down and file inside. They went through the house and found the dude throwing the bricks and beat the piss out of him. I mean like really beat him up. They came back inside and announced that they “trucked” him. Which I can only imagine is beating him up with the trucks of their skateboards. Trucks are the fuckin metal part on the bottom…

So the cops are obviously called, and this guy they beat up is now bloodied up and out in the street. The skaters bailed and flew down the street cheering on their boards. When the cops showed up they had to put on gloves to arrest the guy he was so bloodied. Turns out he was the brother of the guy that lived at that house. The brother was extremely apologetic.

After everything cooled off and all the party had died down we had to somehow just go to bed right there in that living room. Doubt we slept well.

It was a crazy ending to a fun first tour, and it was the start of many tours to come.

WT: How was the library? Reader, I do not remember. That "DMT is fun" pic reminds me that DMT was a bit of an in-joke with the band at the time, which is why it shows up in Destroyed By Hippie Powers. (I have never tried it.) I remember the skater showdown happening, but I think Andrew was tracking on it more closely than I was; I mostly remember getting reports on the current status from him as we hung out in the living room. I don't think we slept well this whole tour. No hotels for us at this stage - except maybe New York, where Matador might have comped us a night. I think those CD packs you see in the picture were also courtesy of Matador - the beginning of the end of the era of self-printed CDs.