A Very Long Week Indeed

I’ve spent a lot of time the past few days catching up on reading my best friend’s travel blog (see, I’m not the only one out there still doing a blog).  In their writing he and his wife go into detail about each day and discuss all the interesting things they’re seeing as they travel the world, and really get introspective about the whole thing.  Btw, this is the same best friend that I mention in the first verse of “Friends Like These”.  As I have been reading their stories I keep wondering to myself: am I as interesting and descriptive in my writing as they are in theirs?  Probably not.  Maybe I should be going into more detail about the day to day activities we encounter, or more about how those things effect me or make me feel.  I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with unique or interesting things to discuss, when maybe the most interesting things will just come as I talk about our week and what is going on with us.  I don’t know, it is all trial and error anyway.  I actually spent the good part of a show the other night thinking about things to write about.  So I have plenty of material, plus it has been a busy week for us.  Guess we’ll see how it all comes out. 

Like I said, last week was pretty busy for us.  We had six shows in a row in 3 different towns, so there was also lots of set up and tear down included this week.  Plus, I got another cold at the beginning of the week to go with it.  Singing for six nights straight is tough; singing for six nights straight while fighting a cold and being congested is a nightmare.  Coughing up blood, taking long steaming showers to try to get some of the congestion out; plus the overall feeling of achiness and grogginess; it was brutal.  Anyway, on to the shows.  We started on Monday night at the Lonesome Dove in Mandan.  I think we might be the only band that they allow to come in on a Monday night.  It helps us make some extra money, which is great, and I’m sure it is advantageous for them as well.  We have been playing there for 5 years, so it is worth it to go in on a Monday b/c people will show up to see us.  It wasn’t a large crowd, but everyone was there just to see us, and stayed pretty much the entire time, which was great. 

We tore down our gear Tuesday and headed up to Minot to play at the Udder Place on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  The Udder Place doesn’t usually have live entertainment through the week, but again is one of those places that will let us come in on random nights like that when we need it.  Another club that will make an exception from their routine to help us out – very cool.  Tuesday was a long day for us; tearing down from one place, driving up to another, setting it all up again, then playing a show that night.  Story of my life, right?  Tuesday and Wednesday were like Monday for us: not large crowds, but most of the people in attendance were solely there to see us. 

From there we went to Williston for the weekend (Thurs-Sat).  Thursday was much like Tuesday: tear down the gear in one town, drive to the next town, set it all up again, and play a show that night.  By Thursday I was starting to get past some of the illness, but was really worried about my voice holding out for the next three shows.  When you’re sick and trying to sing all night, you have to push your vocal chords a little harder.  Since I had been doing that the past three nights, I was starting to get concerned that they wouldn’t hold up for the next three nights. 

Williston is great.  They get a bad reputation there, but we have felt very welcome every time we’ve been there.  The people there seem to genuinely like what we do, and are very appreciative that we come to their town to play music.  They buy our albums and merchandise and sing along to songs off those albums.  Crazy thing about playing in Williston this past weekend: we sold almost as many copies of our old album “Rowdy” as we did our new album “Back In Town”.  Actually, I think the people in Williston have purchased more of our merch than anywhere else.  We are usually pretty well stocked when we are on tour, but we have actually ran out of certain products while in Williston.  It is a very good problem to have. 

Also while up there this past weekend a friend of ours hooked us up with a radio interview.  Since getting our music out to the masses is a major goal for us, getting some air time at the local station is a huge bonus.  The problem was that the interview was scheduled for 6:50am on Friday morning.  It is tough to get up that early and be upbeat on the radio after playing a show late into the previous night.  When we found out the interview was scheduled so early, I told the guys that if they wanted to sleep in, then I’d just go do it by myself; no big deal.  Actually, I just wished they could go do the interview and I could sleep in; but since the band is named after me, I should probably be there.  Lesson learned: don’t name a band after yourself and expect to skip radio interviews and sleep in.  Steve and Josh ended up going with me to the radio interview that morning.  I was surprised when Steve actually called me to make sure I was up.  We went to the station expecting to be on their local country station, since that is what we were told.  When we got there we learned that our friend had actually hooked us up with the DJ on the A.M. station.  That kind of sucked to find out since I had just posted on FACEBOOK and TWITTER that we would be on the F.M. station, and even took the time to put a link on those sites so fans all over the country could listen in online.  But other than that, it was still nice to be getting our name out to new people, and we are always grateful to get any airtime to promote our band and our music.  So thank you to our friend Frank for hooking us up!

 

Anyway, the weekend was good (as always) in Williston.  We had fun crowds each night.  Oh, and I didn’t lose my voice either.  One more night probably would have done me in though. 

Steve, Kevin and I also went to their brand new Rec. Center on Friday afternoon to work out.  I had been to their old Rec. Center before, but it now has limited hours b/c of the new place and was closed on Friday, so we checked out the new facility.  It was huge: had several basketball courts, two indoor tracks, weights, cardio, and even a water park for the kids.  The only negative was that there were too many people on the basketball courts so we didn’t get to shoot around, but I did get to lift, and was able to get some cardio in on one of the indoor tracks, so it was worth the trip. 

On Sunday we tore down our gear (again), had Easter dinner at some restaurant, and left Williston. 

Speaking of Easter…

One of the things I did for Lent this year was to give up eating French fries.  Since Sunday marked the end of Lent, it also marked the end of my fry restriction.  So what did I do when we got to our destination on Sunday evening?  Went straight to Five Guys and had a massive burger and a ton of fries; so greasy, so bad for me, but so tasty.  I probably should try to stay away from fries though as often as possible.  I really did feel much better by cutting them out of my diet.  But they’re so good!  And to be fair, I did go for a nice long jog before we ate there, so that should count for something, right?  Mike’s horrible weight loss plan: jog a few miles, then pig out on high calorie fattening food.  Perfect.

To continue with just writing about what we’re doing: today (I say today as in Monday – I’m actually sitting up late at night writing this, so technically it is Tuesday morning right now) all four of us went to the gym together.  That has to be a first for this group.  It was great to see all of us working out though.  Josh and Steve played some racquetball together (wish I had my camera for that).  We all did some lifting and cardio.  It was a pretty great afternoon.  We’re all planning on going back tomorrow as well.  We’ll see if that actually happens though. 

Since I’ve already let you know I’m up extremely late working on this, I guess I will also let you know that there is no way I’m finishing it tonight, and I’m finally getting tired, so this seems like a good place to stop.  I will hopefully pick up right here tomorrow and finish up so I can post it Tuesday evening.  I guess we’ll see if that actually happens.  Much more to write about tomorrow. 

Alright, back to writing.  It is now Tuesday a little after noon.  I just read back to myself all the stuff I wrote last night, and wanted to add a few other thoughts from things that happened or that caught my attention throughout this past week. 

The first one is this: I continue to be amazed that people will come out to see us play during the week.  We played 4 weeknight shows this past week, and while they weren’t packed, there were still several people out to see us.  I think this means one of two things: either these people really really like our band and our music, or we are just a great excuse to head out to the bar for a drink.  I’m hoping it’s the former.  I don’t know, it is just difficult for me to imagine going out late in the evening to see a band if I had to work the following day.  Maybe that’s it; they don’t have to work early the next day.  I honestly don’t know.  I know I have a tendency to make assumptions and group people together; I guess I’m just assuming that everyone who isn’t a musician must have a day job they go to during the week.  I know that isn’t rational; there are thousands of different types of jobs with all different hours.  So maybe the people who come to see us during the week don’t have to be up early the next day.  Or maybe they do, but they enjoy our music so much that it is worth it.  Or maybe they work on the weekends and can only come see us during the week.  I just don’t know.  Whatever the reason is, I do know this: I am so grateful for those people that will come out on a weeknight and listen to our music and support our band.  Seeing people in the crowd on a weeknight really helps keep us motivated; it reminds us that what we are doing has some relevance.  So if you are some of those people who will come out to an MDB show on a Monday or Tuesday night, we really appreciate you.  We hope you’re not too tired the next day if you have to work. 

The next thing I noticed about this week was that we sold an unordinary amount of our first album (which I mentioned earlier in the entry).  We always carry some copies of it around with us, but hardly anyone purchases that one anymore.  I’m guessing either because they already have it, or because we aren’t playing as much material off that record lately.  Also, we have been promoting our new album so much, I think the old one kind of gets lost or forgot about.  But for some reason this week, we sold a higher volume of the old cd than we normally do.  Someone this past week asked me which one was better, and I suggested that he get both and decide for himself; and he did.  Maybe that’s what I should say to everyone.  I personally think that “Back In Town” is much better than “Rowdy”, but I definitely don’t want my opinion influencing what other people listen to.  So sure, get them both and see which one you like better!!! I guess I was just surprised that so many people were getting the old album too.  It has been so long since I’ve listened to any of the music off the old album that I don’t even remember what it sounds like.  I never listen to my own music though. 

Here is something that I find amusing: when we are playing a song, people will come up and try to talk to me.  It is funny for one very important reason: I can’t hear you!  I wear in-ear monitors during the show, which also act as ear plugs.  Think about when you have your headphones in and the music cranked up, you can’t hear people talking to you – it is just like that for me.  If we’re in the middle of a song, the only thing I can hear is the music.  And if we are in between songs they become ear plugs, so I still can’t really hear the crowd.  But inevitably someone will come up and try to tell me something during a song.  It becomes even more comical when I’m actually singing right when they’re trying to talk to me; I can’t stop singing to hear what they have to say.  Oh, and also, I am horrible at lip-reading, so not only can I not hear them, I also am not able to read their lips very well.  But as long as we continue to play shows, I’m sure people will continue to try to tell me something during a song, and I will continue to be amused by it.  

Oh, on a related side note: We enjoying wishing people a happy birthday over the P.A. system, and are thrilled that they will come celebrate with us, but I am awful with names.  (Example: Jim comes up to me during the break and says “can you wish Sarah a Happy Birthday?”).  By the time I get back up on stage and sing a song or two and am ready to say happy birthday to Sarah, I have completely forgotten her name.  From the time Jim comes up to me to the time I am ready for the announcement, I have focused on way too many other things and the person’s name is long gone from my memory.  I will have talked to several other people, signed a few cd’s or shirts, gone to the bathroom, and focused on the lyrics of a couple of songs.  That person’s name is long gone by that point.  Best solution: write it down for me.  I am a list maker anyway; if I need to remember to do something, I add it to my list – correction, one of my lists; I always seem to have at least a few running lists going at a time.  So the best way for me to remember not only to announce the birthday, but also to remember the person’s name is to write it down for me.  Bar napkins are great for this purpose.  And it can simply say ‘birthday Sarah’.  Anyway, just thought that was something funny that happens all the time, and wanted to share with you all.  

Wow, this has turned into quite a long entry.  Guess it is time to wrap it up.  If you don’t already have both of our albums, go find them right now on I-TUNES.  You will be glad you did.  Be sure to check us out at www.themichaeldband.com for tour dates and much more.  And if you’re not ‘following’ us on TWITTER or haven’t ‘liked’ our FACEBOOK fan page, now is the time.  And continue sharing us with your friends.  As always, I enjoy receiving your messages and comments about this ‘journal’ so please continue to EMAIL me with your thoughts and idea about what you’d like to hear about. 

As always, be safe out there!