Tour Update
You guys, I think I understand why people tour in busses. After years of starting every show day with a long drive in a minivan, it’s a great pleasure not to be driving at all. We go to sleep after a show and magically wake up in the new place. It’s more expensive than the other way for sure, but it means that I have time and energy for other things during the days. And I think it makes the shows better because I’m not starting every one with the road grumps. Right now I’m drinking coffee on a bus in a hotel parking lot, which may not sound glamorous, but definitely feels that way.
Shows have been wonderful – thanks so much to everyone for coming out to see us. The band has really been clicking lately, and it feels like we’ve been playing together for years. John Roderick and I have been slowly but surely working songs from One Christmas at a Time into the set, and they’re awful fun to play. And of course it’s nice to see all you folks in this part of the country again – it’s been a while!
We’ve been doing these tour bus happy hours. It’s one of the things that I wouldn’t be able to fit in if it weren’t for this bus situation. Now I get to enjoy a cocktail and some conversation with a bunch of strangers on my tour bus right before my rock show, LIKE A NORMAL PERSON. I can tell that some of you don’t really like Manhattans and are just pretending to drink them, but I don’t care because Manhattans are delicious. There’s still time to enter these various contests for the remaining cities.
Yesterday was my birthday. In what has become a long-standing tradition, the superfans from the forums got together and made a celebratory video called JoCo Day. I don’t say it as often as I think it, so it’s worth saying again now: you fans are amazing. Your support over the years is an ongoing phenomenon that continues to surprise and delight me. Thank you.
File under “where do they find the time?”: Susan made 250 cupcakes with different JoCo song themes for the Houston show last night. I’ve never made 250 of anything in my life. There are now an awful lot of cupcakes on the bus. Here are the various species in all their glory:
Perhaps you have been following the adventures of @RealBusPig and @RealBusCat on Twitter. It would take too long to explain, so I won’t. But anyway, big ups to Molly, who sent me this robot cat for my birthday:
And finally, huge thanks to John Paul, who works the Environmental Control and Life Support System desk in ISS Mission Control at NASA, and who took us on an amazing tour of the Johnson Space Center. We were there watching the live feed from emmer effing space while the emmer effing astronauts were going to sleep for the day. Crazytown. Here’s us with the flight director:
So yeah. Going pretty well I guess. Another week of shows coming up…
12/2 Dallas
12/4 Nashville
12/5 Atlanta
12/6 Charlotte
12/7 Orlando (supershow with I Fight Dragons and MC Lars)
12/8 St. Petersburg
12/14 New York City (One Christmas at a Time Show with John Roderick)
Streaming Salt Lake City Show
People of the world: I’m playing at The Stateroom in Salt Lake City tonight with John Roderick. Through the magic of radio (probably not radio actually, dunno, demons maybe?) we’ll be streaming the whole show live in HD with a great audio mix in a fantastic room. It’s going to kick ALL YOUR ASSES.
Go here to watch. Showtime is 8 PM MOUNTAIN TIME, but the buy button and all the show details will be on that page starting at 7:30 MOUNTAIN TIME. It costs $5 for the whole show and you can pay with Paypal.
I’ll also be taking questions from the internet audience during the show. And don’t feel bad if you miss it, because I think there will be a way to buy it later. Maybe?
It’s an experiment!
Tour Bus Happy Hour Contest
I am writing this post here on my luxurious tour bus. YOU HEARD RIGHT MISTER! Tour bus. After years of renting minivans and driving myself around like a chump, on this tour we just loaded everything onto a giant bus and are riding from town to town like kings. We have couches and televisions!
But you know me: I’m a man of the people. I’m not going to keep this bus to myself like some power crazed egomaniac. No! I’m instead going to leverage it in a social media context, I MEAN share it with my fans. Before every show we’re going to do bus happy hours. Three randomly selected lucky show attendees (and their guests) will join me on board before the show for a happy hour featuring snacks and beverages and general bus luxury (technically it will not last an hour, and technically you don’t have to be happy).
It’s a contest you see: if you’re coming to one of these shows, tweet about that show and include its hashtag and link (use the table below). We’ll select three winners at random the day of the show. Schedules will vary, but generally we’ll try to start the party about a half an hour before doors open.
Never has spamming your friends been so potentially beneficial for you!
| Date | City | Venue | Time | Hashtag | Ticket Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/25/12 | San Diego, CA | Anthology | 4:30 PM | #JoCoAnthology | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourSD |
| 11/27/12 | Salt Lake City, UT | The State Room | TBD | #JoCoStateroom | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourSLC |
| 11/28/12 | Denver, CO | The Soiled Dove Underground | TBD | #JoCoSoiledDove | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourDenv |
| 11/29/12 | Tulsa, OK | The Shrine | TBD | #JoCoShrine | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourTulsa |
| 11/30/12 | Austin, TX | The Parish | TBD | #JoCoParish | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourAus |
| 12/1/12 | Houston, TX | Fitzgerald’s | TBD | #JoCoFitzgerald’s | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourHous |
| 12/2/12 | Dallas, TX | Granada Theater | TBD | #JoCoGranada | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourDall |
| 12/4/12 | Nashville, TN | 3rd and Lindsley | TBD | #JoCo3rd&Linds | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourNash |
| 12/5/12 | Atlanta, GA | Variety Playhouse | TBD | #JoCoVariety | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourATL |
| 12/6/12 | Charlotte, NC | The Visulite Theater | TBD | #JoCoVisulite | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourChar |
| 12/7/12 | Orlando, FL | The Beacham | TBD | #JoCoBeacham | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourOrl |
| 12/8/12 | St. Petersburg, FL | The State Theater | TBD | #JoCoStateTheater | http://bit.ly/JoCoHappyHourStP |
Nov/Dec Christmas Miracle Tour
All tickets are on sale for the big Nov/Dec tour with the band. You should totally buy them!
11/24 Los Angeles
11/25 San Diego
11/27 Salt Lake City
11/28 Denver
11/29 Tulsa
11/30 Austin
12/1 Houston
12/2 Dallas
12/4 Nashville
12/5 Atlanta
12/6 Charlotte
12/7 Orlando
12/8 St. Petersburg
This is my first ever bus tour, and I’m pretty excited about it. For those of you who don’t know how this works, and I was one of them until recently: you do the show, then get on the bus and go to sleep while someone else (a robot I think?) drives it to the next city. It’s a little more expensive than what it would cost to rent a van and a trailer and pay for hotel rooms, but it allows me to reach some cities I couldn’t otherwise get to by driving myself. And it means that when we start the show, we won’t all be strung out and exhausted from a 6 hour drive. Also probably hookers and blow I think.
One more thing: we’ve all noticed that the internet has lately gotten pretty crowded with people asking other people to come see things, or buy things, or kickstart things. Even I want the internet to shut up sometimes. The truth is, it’s harder and harder to get anyone’s attention these days. I can guarantee that some people are just hearing about these shows now, and some other people will not hear about them until after I’ve already played in their city. THIS IS A TERRIBLE CRIME! This doesn’t EVER need to happen here in 2012. So I’m saying this for all of us: if you know someone who would want to go to one of these shows, you should make sure they know about it. Spread the word: retweet, retumbl (?), re-facebook-erate (??), and pinterrupt (pretty sure that’s a thing) your friends.
I’m only trying to help you!
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