Different Worlds Part 1

Well after the show in Newburyport, we were excited and slightly terrified about our first show in New York City. Also, it was mine and Jake's first time ever even in the city, and as much as we pride ourselves on being big city Chicago boys, it's still a little intimidating to drive into New York.

First off, we took the Triburo Bridge to get to Manhattan where our show was, and like impending doom, the whole city was shrouded with fog, so we knew there was a giant somewhere, but we couldn't really see it. We soon got our first "welcome to New York, you sonofabitch" by paying $5 to cross a bridge (and to think I thought $3 on the Chicago Skyway was ridiculous). We found the venue, which was clearly a place where you need to pull in your own crowd. So needless to say, no one was there. Also, apparently trash is picked up off the street, because the streets were covered with trash (in bags, though there was plenty of loose trash as well).

Then we had a total surprise when our friend Grace (who has been one of our most loyal fans for a couple years now) shows up out of nowhere. We should point out, she lives outside of Chicago. She provided a tremendous source of comfort for us, and we can't thank her enough for managing to be at our first New York show. We love you dearly, Grace!

More people did trickle in as we played, and overall we played pretty well, considering Mike and I were still getting over sickness. We also met a great band named Less than Treason, who I'm sure we will work with more in the future.

Then the adventure really began. Our good friend Amy came out and suggested that since we were only in town for the night, we should really experience more of the city. So our mission became clear. Ride the subway into downtown and get a New York slice of pizza. And what better place to go than Grand Central Station.

So in the span of about half an hour we experienced the New York Subway (which goes by numbers and letters, so score one for Chicago, since it's far cooler to say "Brown Line" then "the #7"), Grand Central Station, and Times Square. My take on Times Square is that it's an adult circus where everyone is pissed (and all the clowns are hookers). So at 1:30am we walked through the field of lights and sounds like we were in some Hunter S. Thompson acid trip, and eventually stumbled into Ray's Pizza to experience our New York Pizza. We folded our slices and went to town. It was pretty good, I won't lie.

After venturing back through "Hell by Fellini" we were more and more blown away at just how many people were out at 3am. This city is crazy! There were department stores open at 3am, and people actually going in and shopping! What kind of drinking do you need to do to decide that the one thing you need in the middle of the night is a DVD, or some packing tape.

My personal favorite part was the fact that food vendors are on the street all night. In Chicago, food vendors are done by 8:30 at the latest, so hats off to New York on that one.

Now you may think that getting from New York to Jersey City (where our friend Amy lives) would be a piece of cake (heck, it's just on the other side of a tunnel), however, we would prove that was no easy feat, as you do still need to find said tunnel. After performing a couple illegal turns, driving through a building (Grand Central station no less. It was kind of awesome), and driving through what appeared to be Haiti, we decided that following Amy's handwritten directions was no longer ideal. Luckily my car charger fit her dead phone which had GPS, which we used to finally get back to her place.

The next day was even more stressful, as Jersey City would prove to be even more perplexing. According to Google Maps, there were about 12 steps before even getting onto any sort of highway. Those steps seemed to include alleys, driveways, and airport runways, all of which seemed to have secret codes needed for discovery and entry.

So eventually, after a few thoughts of "we're never going to leave this city" we did emerge and headed up north to Interlaken, New York, in the middle finger of the Finger Lakes.

We only drove about 4.5 hours, but it was a different world. More on that later.

no other way

Being sick on tour sucks. Majorly. I kicked off the tour with what doctors believed was strep (that then moved entirely to my head), and Morgan had the same thing within a day. It was all too easy to complain: being on the road just does not lend itself to doing any of the things that doctors say to do to get over illness. "Drink lots of fluids" gets ruled out when you have a 12 hour trip to do in 10 hours; "get lots of rest" just isn't usually possible with a couch to sleep on and even more to drive the next day.

I was even more frustrated that I perhaps wouldn't enjoy our first-ever East Coast show as much as I might usually, just because I couldn't think of much outside of how annoying my throat, nose and cough were. Etc. Our first show on the East Coast just so happened to be in Newburyport, Massachussetts--about 20 minutes from where I spent the first 8 years of my life. I was quite looking forward to having three of my close friends and workmates see an area of New England none of my other friends have ever seen. But again, sickness sickness sickness. The thought I kept having was "I can imagine how much better this would be if I (and Morgan) weren't sick."

But--and this next thought may seem pretentious--I had a stoner-like revelation on the road the first day. As I was dwelling (as I do) on the annoyance of being sick, a small voice seemed to suggest... "It can be no other way." I thought about that for quite a while. It can be no other way. This was how it was. This is the way things have gone, I got whatever bug I got, and my body would just have to get over it. Things were the way they were. There was absolutely nothing I could do about it, at least in the short term.

That thought gave me a surprising peace. And it's a simple enough thought that I've probably had it before, probably forgot it, and will probably forget it again. But for now, it's brought me a great peace. And the show went incredibly well, and Morgan and I are basically better. And I can't thank God enough for the amazing things we've already experienced, and it's been a week.

I truly love you all.

-mikey

Day 0.5

So Jake and I (Vijay) have been on the road for a day. We are currently in the library at Miami University in Ohio. I'm explaining to Jake exactly how the whole college thing works: classes, books, professors, etc. Man I wish I were back in college when life was easy.

I think Jake broke a new record today when he was already sleeping in the car only a half hour into the trip (I have a picture to prove it and will get it on here shortly). However, we did make great time (as I'm sure you were very curious).

Tomorrow it's on to Philly to hang out with old friends and also scout some potential places to play next Sunday-Wednesday. I'm sure you're thinking, "hanging out at a random college, hanging out with old friends, finding places to play. . . What Kind Of Tour Is This?!" But don't you worry it's gonna be great. Our first show is in Newburyport, MA and we can't wait to be reunited with our other half.

Now it's off to do some really important rock star type things.
CSLOVESYOU,
-V&J

Our Very First Post

Hey all you beautiful people. This is the new blog for Common Shiner. You may already know, but we're going on tour in a couple days, and we wanted to notify you of all of our adventures.

Now you can be notified. Tomorrow we'll be in Grand Rapids, MI at the Easttown Street Fair. Here are all the pertinent details:

September, 20 2008 at BILLY’S LOUNGE (Bud Lite stage at Eastown Street Fair)
1437 Wealthy St, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
Cost : FREE!

Come be a part of this fantastic festival! We’ll be on the Bud Lite stage inside Billy’s Lounge.

Now that said, we mainly want to use this blog to tell stories, not to promote our shows. So stick around, as we talk about our adventures (the good, the ugly, the uglier, and Jake).