Sixteen: Driving age? Two, tesseracted? Back to back Sing Off shows in a row? Yes. Yes. Yes.
Towards the end of February we began one of the toughest touring stretches I’ve ever had. For sixteen straight days, we did a show, jumped on the bus, and did it again the next day. Showering in the tiny venue showers, sleeping in the bus. Even the season tour crew who’d been around the world with A listers to F listers started losing their minds. At least it was out of the -20 F° Buffalo-style North to the balmy South. Along the way I got to see my aunt and uncle in Raleigh; my sister in DC; my dad, stepmom, and step brothers in N. Charleston. We even performed in front of the home crowds of Fredo, Chris, and Jamal–a huge confidence boost to have the crowd on your side before a single note. Here’s the full March schedule…can you find the 3 off days?
- Sun, Mar 1, 2015 Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA
- Mon, Mar 2, 2015 Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA
- Tue, Mar 3, 2015 Community Arts Center Williamsport, PA
- Wed, Mar 4, 2015 Sands Bethlehem Event Center Bethlehem, PA
- Thu, Mar 5, 2015 Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC
- Fri, Mar 6, 2015 Chrysler Hall Norfolk, VA
- Sat, Mar 7, 2015 Warner Theatre Washington, DC
- Sun, Mar 8, 2015 North Charleston PAC N. Charleston, SC
- Mon, Mar 9, 2015 Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Atlanta, GA
- Tue, Mar 10, 2015 Maxwell C. King Center Melbourne, FL
- Wed, Mar 11, 2015 Mahaffey Theater St. Petersburg, FL
- Thu, Mar 12, 2015 Coral Springs Center for the Arts Coral Springs, FL
- Fri, Mar 13, 2015 Day Off Mobile, AL
- Sat, Mar 14, 2015 Saenger Theatre Mobile, AL
- Sun, Mar 15, 2015 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN
- Mon, Mar 16, 2015 Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, TN
- Tue, Mar 17, 2015 Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL
- Wed, Mar 18, 2015 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak, MI
- Thu, Mar 19, 2015 Devos Music Hall Grand Rapids, MI
- Fri, Mar 20, 2015 Bogart’s Cincinnati, OH
- Sat, Mar 21, 2015 Hobart Arena Troy, OH
- Sun, Mar 22, 2015 House Of Blues Chicago, IL
- Mon, Mar 23, 2015 Day Off Cleveland, OH
- Tue, Mar 24, 2015 Playhouse Square-Connor Palace Cleveland, OH
- Wed, Mar 25, 2015 Palace Theatre Louisville, KY
- Thu, Mar 26, 2015 Murat Theatre Indianapolis, IN
- Fri, Mar 27, 2015 Crystal Grand Music Theatre Wisconsin Dells, WI
- Sat, Mar 28, 2015 Riverside Theatre Milwaukee, WI
- Sun, Mar 29, 2015 Mill City Nights Minneapolis, MN
- Mon, Mar 30, 2015 Day Off Peoria, IL
- Tue, Mar 31, 2015 Peoria Civic Center Peoria, IL
We’d started to become closer with the other bands. No longer was the “who’s the best group?” question in any of our minds. It’s cheesy but these guys were becoming my brothers. I had started a hair-cutting business called Dick Cuts. Street Corner hit us on stage with nerf guns. We routinely went out after shows with the other guys. Layne even asked me to sub in for them for a couple VoicePlay shows.
The first break of the month came in Mobile, Adam’s home. We got to meet his mom and some friends on a trip to the Original Oyster House where I actually enjoyed the oysters! That was a first. The VoicePlay guys hung back at their homes in Florida so we spent the day with Street Corner and even hit the rooftop bar/dance floor with Adam’s mom!
Before some of the shows, Jeremy and T started doing some stretching to alleviate the residual hangovers each day, and just about everybody gave it a shot, skinny jeans and all.
Oh, by the way, if you have 30 seconds, check out time lapses of the show here:
and here:
It was a long fucking tour, and we started to feel the true size of it all. The hardest part was in the subtle reminder that this wasn’t as big a deal as, say, American Idol. The venues were generally smaller town theaters (beautiful though they may be, rarely the biggest in town) and only mildly advertised or in competition with big shows (Stevie Wonder next door, for example). It wasn’t until the Ryman that it felt legit again. They were giving tours as we walked across the stage to our dressing rooms. The place was packed. Everybody was buzzing. On top of that, we got to see our Timothy’s Gift friends again 🙂 That night we followed Street Corner and Voice Play out on the town to meet their Nashville friends.
Now, if you look at the schedule, you may notice a show in Michigan the day after a show in Alabama. This was either the brilliant or necessary but altogether unfortunate scheduling of a tour like this. They’d even considered cancelling it, but we made it up there and even got to see Teresa’s house (the hot tub, huge bar, video game collection, and basement of instruments made the long Über worth it). I filled in for Layne for 3 shows, and at Bogart’s in Cincinnati we got to meet Kurt’s family.
Chicago came a couple of shows later. I walked out to a snowy Navy Pier and checked out a Greek cultural festival before catching a movie and walking back to the House of Blues for the show. Despite a billion stairs to the dressing room, it was an awesome show and we got to go out with some of our friends from the Semester At Sea tour we did in 2012. Good night (except for losing my GoPro…) and the beginning of a day off (to be spent in Cleveland).
With our SingOff Tour Live! passes they let us into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for free. That was good because there was nearly nothing else in Cleveland to see. No offense Cleveland. In Wisconsin Dells we ran into Cat’s Pajamas (from Season 3) and we grabbed a beer in town (thanks for the ride Skinner).
A few days later at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis came the most notable shit-show of the tour. At the whole sound system shut down seconds before the opening number. We stood there on the awkward stage in front of a strangely-shaped bar-style rock-box and sang off mic. Adam and Geoff told jokes to kill time while Richard (the lighting guy) snap-fired our sound guy Thomas. Our set was shitty (and cut short because of ‘tired voices’). CD sales were shitty. Just a lot of shitty. The next day in Peoria we had an off day and yet another drunk night, this time at Big Al’s trying to console Thomas with lap dances.
The show there on the last day of the month came and went, marking the end of the Midwest with our alcoholic cycles in full swing. Show, bar, sleep, repeat. Can this month be done please?
