The Tour Life: An Entry on Observation and Immersion

Excited and eager at the chance to write to you guys and gals who read our blog or who may read this blog in the future, I quickly jumped at the chance to write this blog post about our last, recently finished, tour. Now sitting down and trying to put into words the past thirty five (35!!!) days proves to be as if looking up at the mountain as you stand at the base mumbling to yourself “How did I get myself into this?”

Neither daunting nor negative, it is however a challenge to put into words the experiences, the people, the inside jokes, the frustrations, the stresses, the hilarity, and the moments that we share and go through with one another. It’s a life lived one day at a time. Each day conquered by six men bound together by ambition and a desire to live out and fulfill our dreams. This is our lives. This is what we do. This is the Tour Life.

Before I get ahead of myself there’s a bit of personal policy I must adhere to, and first and foremost say from the deepest depths of sincerity I can muster, “Thank YOU.” YOU are the ones that make this possible. YOU are the reason we are able to fight the fight we do and grind away in this beautiful country in the manner of which we do. I could write an entire blog on just this, and I just might. But, before this post becomes a novel, I will reiterate a simple yet most heartfelt “THANK YOU” for supporting us.

This past tour had us traveling practically the entire length of the eastern United States: from the northern reaches of Burlington, VT to literally the southernmost point of the US in Key West, FL. Shout out to any of our Roxy Rollers who brought some friends to see us play, or spread the word to friends in places we visited on this tour. That grassroots, word of mouth attitude is invaluable to us. So again - Thank You.

Through the beautiful countryside that is the Appalachian Trail, further west through Pennsylvania, and north into Virginia, and New York, we experienced autumn in full swing. As we danced through the hills on two-lane highways, we were saturated with the most beautiful colors. The air got colder and crisper, and we witnessed massive forests full of colorful trees hoisting their red, yellow, orange, and green leaves proudly. It was quite the sight. We even got some snow!!!! The week of Halloween we shopped for costumes in a snow flurry. It’s the little things. And that’s Tour Life.

On any given day during the tour, it’s not uncommon to find your six heroes sprawled across a two-bed hotel room, two to a bed and two on the floor, but all across the country we have friends, family, and fans who open their doors to us and invite us into their homes. We count ourselves lucky that our hosts would put up with six smelly, occasionally grumpy grown men. THOSE ARE THE REAL MVPS OF TOURING! We spent many late nights with these incredible hosts filled with board games or cards, deep conversations, campfires and overall buffoonery: unforgettable experiences—gems along the road.

Other tour highlights include:

· A four-day stay in Vermont showed us the supreme strategies of the board game Risk.

· An extra night in New York allowed us to explore the city.

· No less than 100 hands of Cards Against Humanity were played over the tour

· Midway through the 35 days, we camped two nights outside of D.C., and got back in touch with nature for a small “reset” before continuing the tour.

· Three days in Orlando had us poolside, well fed, and a chance to catch a Friday night movie.

Now home in Austin, I look back at the tour and I’m filled with nothing but positivity. It was a privilege to share our music on the east coast. We played a TON of new music, including songs from the new record, and we hit the Ain’t Nothing Fancytunes hard as well - the classics you know and love. We will continue to play all of our music and get you ready for next year’s new record release.

To wrap this up, a long tour like this can be life changing. Life Changing. It’s over a month on the road, with the same family, the small tribe of people we surround ourselves with to adventure with and to go after our dreams together. We talk, share, explore, bicker, debate, laugh, joke, climb trees, see movies, make dinner, give lessons, play board games… we live. Together. Work. Together. It’s a beautiful and strange and fulfilling life. Thank you for making it possible, and thank you for being a part of it. A big part.

More blog posts to come!!!!

- “Magic” Mike Hayes