seattle /  by Bryan Lackner

it was a soggy day in Seattle.
it was soggy, and i've never heard louder thunder in my life.
the turnout was small, and i guess as a result, i started drinking earlier than usual.

(post-show cypher)

some bars have been super lenient with drinks, others have not. Vermillion was the former, so i was consuming my fair share of whiskey. before we left the venue, the bartender poured a shot for Eze and myself, which was wholly unnecessary, but i didn't turn it down.

this is how drunk i got:

we were staying at Eze's friend's house, about 40 minutes outside of Seattle, so by the time we arrived i had just enough energy to slur aloud, "echhhhhh, i'll just stay in the van for now." problem being, when i finally got up to go inside, i didn't know what house it was. the van was situated between two, and i was still very not sober (see: me peeing openly in the street), so i patiently waited for daybreak.

portland /  by Bryan Lackner

on the way to Portland, we stopped at Yak's Diner. we were greeted by a particularly bubbly waitress that inquired about Brent's Check Your Head shirt.

do you like the Beastie Boys?
yeah i like the Beastie Boys.
do you love the Beastie Boys?
well...

she proceeded to tell us she was in the "Hey Ladies" video, and just moved to northern California from LA. we immediately pulled up the vid, and sure enough, there's our girl:

i really should've slept more before the show. 

the 10+ hour drive to Portland had me z o n e d  o u t. sometimes -- oftentimes, really -- i prefer not to talk, and just take in what's around me, which can be awfully difficult when you're on the road. rap and sleep was all i wanted to do. slim turnout on a monday night, but hey. i've always felt like, if you can win person over any given night, you did good. we did good. 

ate a voodoo donut and zzz'd my way into the twilight.

our day off in Portland honestly felt like 3 days off. last monday we were in nashville -- shows every night, coupled with the long drives west, weighed heavy on us. 
showered, recharged, recorded a podcast with Haute Garbage (available here), laughed at that Tidal press conference with the fellas, and worked on a video for the Boggs School back home. 

feeling groovy again.

san francisco /  by Bryan Lackner

it's true.
it was an irrational, delirious, love, and i'm perfectly okay with that. 

peace to Al Lover and this Zig Zag Wanderer flip:

los angeles /  by Bryan Lackner

after resting our bones in Tucson friday night (thanks Amanda!), we drove the remaining 10-some-odd hours to los angeles. Larry from Future People hosted us, and after downing some enchiladas we headed to Los Globos. shortly thereafter Charles showed up.

our friend Charles, known to many as SelfSays, just moved out to California a month or so back. it was really good to see him, and to see him in such high spirits. our boy's gone Vertical.

Detroit was well represented in LA, and that felt great.

outside of the show, a woman set up a taco stand directly in front of our van, so Charles, Height, Larry, our friend Yessica and i went to town on some al pastor boi's before crashing in Silver Lake. 

shouts to Larry's Swordfishtrombone tat.

austin /  by Bryan Lackner

or... The First Time We Performed In A Yoga Center.

​first, let me say it was good to perform in Austin outside of South By. we've discussed this several times on the tour, but it feels much better to be touring and getting paid for our shows leading up to this one, versus, going down to SXSW, spending a lot of money we don't have, not getting paid for the show, and performing for next to no one. i respect anyone going down there to do their thing, but, unless we're a part of a sweet showcase, i don't see a point in returning to South by Southwest. 

Paulie Think, who helped put together the show, also instructs at The Center Spot, and instead of trying to hunt down a venue, height suggested we just perform at the yoga spot. i guess i didn't realize The Center Spot was what it was until we arrived in Austin, but hey, let's go!

after the round robin, DJ Jester the Filipino Fest ended the night with a killer set. i was going up to give him dap and he said, "hey, take these", and he pointed to his merch. 

dog, his merch? 
mentos and whoopee cushions.
Jester is that dude.


we drove straight out of austin to make it to LA by saturday. lot of backroads. fortunately we found a hotel in the middle of the nothingness, and fortunately a mile up from the hotel there was a whataburger. i like eating well, but i also like trying shit that i've never tried, and whataburger won me over. also, the lone dude working this whataburger (at 2:30'ish in the morning) gave us some free apple pies. we called him Walter. 

Walter, stand up.

houston /  by Bryan Lackner

on the way to Houston, Eze picked up a questionable drink. we decided to film the results:

the show in Houston was known as SXSW Overflow, which implies you're going to have a slew of talent traveling back from austin coming through the venue -- Super Happy Fun Land -- and it's gonna be a raucous time. 

what ended up happening, though, is the performers were playing mainly for the other groups, and then leaving. a show is a show's though, and having gas in the tank is nice. plus, the vegan chili they had for everyone was spicy and on goddamn point. frito pie life.

shouts to Alexa Dexa for sticking around and having a killer performance despite the low turnout.

little rock /  by Bryan Lackner

we pulled into Arkansas around 2 in the afternoon.
Brent has family in Hot Springs and Little Rock, so he planned on kicking it with them. we arrived at the house we were performing at, and his aunt literally lives across the street from said house. kismet.

while Brent hung out with fam, height, eze and i farted around LR until showtime.

now, 'showtime' is very loose. and that looseness can drive me up a wall -- though i'm getting better, i'm constantly battling anxiety, and it seemed like it was at its peak as we waited for 'showtime'. maybe it was the 4 dogs roaming the house (and, eventually, peeing on our stuff), or not having a desire to talk to anyone, but being stuck at the house with seldom place to go. but, once the show starts, it all washes away. 

the locals in Arkansas were Don't Cry Paula, 607, and O.T. Ray Vizza.
both 607 and OT know Brent's cousin, who happens to be a Little Rock staple that goes by the name of Mean Green. 607 told Brent that, as he was trying to push his music to the local radio stations, they weren't really having it, but they were having some Mean Green.

fter the show, we had another incredibly solid Waffle House trip, and a bit of a bizarre housing situation, which i don't feel the need to delve into here. i'm just writing this so i remember it for later. #topher

Nashville /  by Bryan Lackner

we picked up Eze from the airport, but not before we had some killer Waffle House.
now, on a previous tour, brent and i were thoroughly unimpressed with WH, but Height and Eze consider it a staple of the tour life, so we accepted that and now have our go-to items down pat. Jeremy was also the first person i ever saw to rock the waffle house long-sleeve. shit's so fresh:

as everyone soaked up some mcdonald's wifi, i went and caught up with Adam, Ryan and Charles Trees from Jamaican Queens. super happy our paths crossed on our respective tours. our last time on the road was with JQ in 2012, and it's crazy how far both groups have come in that time.

our boys.

not pictured: Charles Trees (buying a burger)

Having Detroit people in other cities gives a boost to our shows. our friend Lauren came out, as well as my friend Sarah, who i hadn't seen in 6 some-odd years.
the vibration was high at Cafe Coco -- Magnetic Forces and Since When did their thing, and i felt the energy was incredibly well-balanced between the 5 acts. this was the second night in a row where someone (S.W.) left the show before the show finished, this time explaining to the audience why he was leaving, which isn't entirely necessary, but sure why not.

a local guy named Masseyvibe ended the night after the round robin, and i really enjoyed him, but one thing i don't enjoy about performers is when they ask people if they have a dream, and that -- if they do -- they can do anything they want, just keep believing in that dream.
i get it, but let's all not do that. i feel like music should inspire you to pursue your dreams, and being told to pursue them so explicitly is a disservice to the idea. i tune out when people say that shit. but, again, all love to Massey, i liked his stuff.

big thanks to Lauren for letting us crash at our house. another in a long line of excellent hosts on the tour thus far. #CoOwnaz

Knoxville /  by Bryan Lackner

overcast, knoxville / 
miles away from magic /
it is what it is

sometimes when you're holed up in a motel, hundreds of miles away from the ones you love, and don't know how to properly use your time, you can go kind of nuts. it didn't help that the day was dreary, and there was little to do within walking distance. eze had headed to columbus to take part in The Real Nigga Show, which might have contributed to the mood for the day. and, personally, too much time in my head can be nasty..

rain was coming down when we set up at the pilot light.
drank a beer in silence at the bar.
however -- and in most instances this is the case -- as soon as the local acts arrived, the whole, i'm far too deep in my own head and i'm feeling sad-shit was diffused. David Dalton's soundcheck alone had me laughing a very necessary laugh to put the night on an upswing for me. 

another local, Angel (b/k/a Rather Unique) had the most fitting rap name on the tour, given that his beats were on his phone, online, and started one song by saying, "Aw naw man, this is just a commercial for YouTube."
he also left the show early to catch a bus, which i guess out of context isn't that strange, but the announcement of essentially, "Hey, y'all can keep going, but i'm out of here" was *ahem* rather unique of him.

we headed back to the same motel for the night, but the clouds weren't as dense.
off to Nashville in the AM.

asheville /  by Bryan Lackner

after two days off in Georgia with Eze's cousin, we set out to Asheville. got into town around 11, and Eze and i went downtown to get a beer.
now, the thing about Eze is, it's never just, "we're going to get a beer." he has an uncanny gift of gab, which is nice for me, because i've always been a shy dude, and getting a beer often means just that.

we grab a drink, and Eze steps outside to smoke. he comes in a few minutes later and tells me he saw someone he met at his last show in Asheville, and so we go to hang out with her. turns out, she lives/works at the record store next door, and she proceeds to put on Little Ann and Numero's funky gospel compilation, and just like that, i'm in love with Asheville.

after hanging a bit at Static Age, we go to the Lazy Diamond and meet up with Sam Herring, who's performing with us at The Odditorium. Sam's the singer of Future Islands, and is recognized just about anywhere he goes these days, which was funny to witness first-hand. at one point, a guy was talking to Eze and i, thinking -- since we were hanging with Sam -- that we were in Future Islands. "i love your guys' work! i was showing my friend that one tv appearance, and man! they just think you're great." 

after a few drinks, we were headed to a nearby house when a dude on the street just walked past us and said, "cypherrrrr". like, i don't know if he knew we rapped, or he just wanted to rap real bad and was saying "cypherrrrr" to everyone? but Eze stopped and said, "okay, go.", and the dude had the worst breath control i think i'd ever heard in the 15-some-odd years i've been rapping. Eze proceeded to body him with a freestyle about how dude's breath control sucked, and that was that.

the show at The Odditorium was packed, and Sam (Hemlock Ernst) and his brother Joel (Plucky Walker) brought the house down. bless you, Asheville.