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    The TOUR OF OUR LIVES : PART II: Singing With the Pumpkins; Inside BAM's house, PLUS 1 Genie, 1 Goat, 8 Tattoos..

    Posted on September 20, 2010 at 02:47 AM

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    My fav new mat pic 

    Hello Raccoons! 

    I’m writing to you today from Teany café in the Lower East Side of Manhattan -Listening to a 4 yr old girl order “Tofu scramble on toasted baguette” but making sure that the cream cheese is vegan, and “ONE slice of tomato not TWO”. Hey guess what? GO FUCK YOURSELF. I ate Cheerios every day when I was your age. REGULAR sawdust Cheerios. Not even Honey Nut, u little dick.

    Sorry, I get easily distracted… anyway, Teany is owned by Moby, has an adorable staff and the most VAST selection of exotic teas you’ll ever find…  

    As you know, I'd rather snort ANTHRAX than suffer through the music selection at Starbucks, so this is a perfect nook for me to hide like a unibomber, in my hoodie, and reflect on the SECOND HALF of our tour with Smashing Pumpkins and Bad City.


    Picking through my treasured heap of wrinkled bar napkin notes, and scanning over gigabytes of Blackberry pics, it’s easy to relive the excitement of this leg of the tour… As jaded as we think we’ve become, and despite our decade-long friendship w/ Billy, there were STILL geek-ed out moments each day when we felt like SP Superfans, who, by some stroke of Mentos Commercial luck, got to share the stage with our heroes. 

    IMG02950

    ORLANDO, FL:

    Not a break area? Oh I respectfully disagree, sir.IMG02896 

    People don't realize... but Florida is another world. In the blunt words of the ear specialist i consulted before the show, "It's a weird mix of old people and the criminally insane." 

    Within the same state you have some of the most cosmopolitan, sophisticated minds living among a large population of sketchy inbred maniacs who, evidently, still need to be informed that, 'Yes, the Civil War DID end..like 145 years ago.. and... yeahhh.. you lost.. sooo... Progress? Culture? Maybe try it out? Take it for a walk, see how it feels?

    What else... Alligators.. REAL ONES. -even on the side of the highway...and some of the best strippers in the world. Am i missing anything? Tourists. Oh, -and some of the most incredible music fans anywhere.

    Case in point:

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    Pumpkins destroying the crowd as usual

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    Some of the best fan tattoos i've seen

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    -DAY OFF- DISNEY WORLD

    i puked here when i was 7. Guess what.. i'm baaaack.

    Teacups. This ride is a godamn nightmare, and much like Nickleback, i have NO IDEA why it's successful. How many times do you need to spin around in a circle? honestly. IMG02886 

    As you know by now, I don't 'do' direct sunlight.  

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    This is me sitting with a complete random family. You can tell the dude in the back is really stoked.
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    Here i am with that blue furry thing.. from that one movie about that blue furry thing.

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    Tribute to Leota Toombs outside the Haunted Mansion--(my fav ride as a kid)  

    [Dear sweet leota ; Beloved by all ; In regions beyond now ; But having a ball]

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    FT. LAUDERDALE, FL:

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    Best overheard quote from hillbilly bouncer at venue:  “Every now and then I gotta get nasty w someone. 'Cos there are some people out there that need some nasty to be gettin' at them.”

    Personally, this show was a bit of a struggle vocally… i took all precautions; warm ups, steam, hydrating, resting, and yet, whenever i tried to reach for a note at the very top of my range, and I sounded like this goat….

    The crowd was fantastic, tho, and very forgiving.

    This toad was outside our hotel. He was standing up yappin away about how much of a fan he is.. singing our songs and everything... then i pull out my camera and he sits down, turns around and acts all cool.

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    Greg DJ'd the after-party, and it was the first real chance for ALL 3 bands and crews to finally hang out together. Great night.

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    TAMPA, FL:

    It was in Tampa that our guitar tech, Wooter, first started referring to his penis as a “meat thermometer.”

    Backstage before the show, i literally wretched laughing backstage from this vid that Tom from Bad City showed me. I think i broke my fallopian tubes

    Good ideas for bad Emo band names are all around you. -sometimes you just have to look down.
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    Members of most road crews learn very quickly that you have to sleep with one eye open. Here we see poor unsuspecting Jack fall victim to the time-honored classic "i-love-cock-tape-on-the-back-of-the-tshirt" prank.

    When father was my age, he had 3 children, a house and a serious career. That was the thought running through my head as i took this pic.

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    KNOXVILLE, TN:

    Photo 52 

    GPS took us through the smoky mountains on narrow, very very steep back roads. -Burned through brake pads, but saw some beautiful scenery.

    Small perks to a life on tour. Woke up next to this quiet lake in Tennessee.

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    Solid show.. solid fans...

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    As it turns out, ogres and goblins prefer metal, but GENIES LOVE Smashing Pumpkins. 

    Can you believe, he almost FORGOT to bring his gigantic 8 ft crystal-covered staff to the show.. Now THAT could have been embarrassing.

    Genie 

    Kat Turner and Nicole Fiorentino enjoy the 'champagne of beers' backstage.

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    C'mon America. How are we going to continue making fun of Canada if WE keep making signs like THIS?
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    PITTSBURGH, PA:

    We love playing Pittsburgh. On the ride up we blasted Sigur Ros as we winded thru the lush Pennsylvanian hills -passing several sad, eerie, coal mining towns, straight out of Deer Hunter.

    The venue is in a haunted old church, which we've played many times before. It was pouring rain outside during the sets, and this was probably my favorite performance of the tour. It was also my first and only time taking steroids (Prednisone) for my swollen vocal chords. 

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    WESTCHESTER, PA:

    Sign in shop window: 

    "Monica" makes punctuation her bitch.

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    Stuffed leopard in a shop window. NEED THIS. 

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    Today was a day off on the SP tour, so we booked a headlining show at Bam Margera's club, The Note.  It was a blast to play a full 75minute set in front of some of our biggest fans and favorite people. 

    -saw some more wonderful fan tattoos. 

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    Of course, the REAL entertainment came after the show when we all slept over at Bam's house.

    Predictably, it was a total riot... thank you so much to Bam, Novak, and the entire posse for welcoming us into your psychotic world xo

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    The next day at Starbucks, I demonstrated what body part Novak had placed on our drummer, Paul's face while he was passed out at 4am. 

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    NYC, NY:

    NYC was predictably EPIC. The show was at Terminal 5, and was hosted by SPIN Magazine as part of their 20th anniversary celebration.

    KH terminal 5 NYC 

    My fav pic from the tour

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    Our friends at Harley Davidson displayed  some of their new bikes outside before the show...  i'm literally obsessed with the new matte black IRON 883

    DSC_0061better 

    61156987zootopia20087292010115849AM 

    The venue is only 2 blocks away from the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. 

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    WAIT. Sir... SIR! i think you're holding the camera the wrong... !!! Oh nevermind.
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    Ah. that's better. Take 2.
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    Well played, sir. 

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    -with my bff, impresario Josh Madden after the show

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    Fan from Wisconsin presented me with this terrifying doll... 

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    FLIGHT BACK TO CHICAGO

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    CHICAGO, IL.

    Teenage dreams coming true... 

    Standing on the Metro marquis hours before homecoming show (benefit for Through The Pain)

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    My first time getting acupuncture backstage.. 

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    Attempting to re-memorize the lyrics to 1979: "...And we don't know just where our bones will rest. To dust I guess. Forgotten and absorbed to the earth below." beautiful.

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    ANDDD... This is surreal. Hours later... one of the highlights of our entire touring history:  Joining Billy and the band on stage.


    It was hard to say goodbye. Total separation anxiety before we even left... 

    There moments of real magic on this tour... the ghosts of the theatres were good to us... some unforgettable times were had, and some lasting friendships were forged.  

    Thank you to the crew members of all the bands.. whose sweat and blood (and smoke) behind the scenes kept the circus rolling... and SPECIAL thanks to the fans who supported the tour.. some traveling great distances to multiple shows... the real believers.. you're everything. xo

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