Friday, November 30, 2012

Backstage in St. Louis

Well, here we are again at the Old Rock House, St. Louis, MO. What a trip it's been.

Not a whole lot of new info to report to everyone. The band's out again after the Thanksgiving break and back into the swing of road life. The shows this week have been great - the audiences have brought the love and reminded us all that we're exactly where we want to be: performing for fans all across this country and building the T-Ward fan base step by step.

It occurred to me earlier that during my junior year of high school, I bought a new drumset to play for a talent show. I ended up winning that talent show (along with my bass compatriot Joshua Corbett), and that very same drumset, albeit with a couple newer additions and tune-ups, is still with me tonight for my second show in St. Louis. It's crazy how life goes sometimes.

Kinda like this....

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Joey turns to me and says...

...half-jokingly, "Is this God's country?"

And I reply, not jokingly, "Absolutely."

(These pictures have been shamelessly stolen from the Instagram of merch guy and all-round great conversationalist, Brent Buckingham.)

 

On the Road Again

the 1st leg
There's a bittersweet quality to having breaks during a long tour: getting to come home and see my family, my friends and my dog is always a plus, but having to leave them again is never a pleasant thing (especially during the one time of year when I want to be at home more than any other). Alas, this is the nature of the gig and the ever-present reminder that dream jobs are not always perfect ones.

Thus, the band has set out on its final leg of touring for 2012. The first North American portion went swimmingly: we had better-than-expected attendance at just about every show, the crowds were great (by-and-large), and nothing even close to catastrophic went down. (Here's hoping our good fortune continues to hold out!) In the midst of all this, some pretty huge developments are brimming behind the scenes in the dark, musty, and pungent corners of... bum ba da bum... the business side. Seeing as how it's neither my purview nor area of expertise, I'll just leave it at this: next year's probably gonna be big. Huge, even. Maybe even... riesig. (wink, wink)

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A few things you might want to know...

...before coming on the road with the Tyler Ward Band.

1. Sometimes abbreviations just aren't enough. Which is why, more often than not, we just end up using the first letter (even if it doesn't save us any syllables).

"Hey bro, let's go grab some d." [dinner]
"I really need some s." [sleep]
"I am gonna punch you right in the f." [face]

When you think you're ready, start trying to one-letter multiple words per sentence. That's when things really get crazy.

2. Offstage Entertainment. House, MD. Happy Endings. White Collar. Homeland. Go On. New Girl. Friday Night Lights. TV? Yeah, we like the good kind.

The Warmup

Getting warmed-up backstage. Anyone care to guess whereabouts?

 

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Take A Seat

Before the tour started, I made contact with a company out of Georgia that was promoting a new product they assured me would change my overall drumming experience. Now, a little more than halfway through our current tour, I can honestly say that they've delivered on their promise.

The people at Carmichael Drum Thrones have developed the best kind of idea: a brand new one that should make everyone else plant a palm firmly against their forehead and declare, "Why didn't I think of that?!?" Carmichael's goal was to create a drum throne that would actually help drummers relax and play without the usual side effects of back pain, especially after a 90-minute set or two hour practice session. The solution was both simple and sensible: a seat that supports the drummer on either side of their butt without compressing the base of the spine.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Word Of The Day: Europeany

Seriously. Say it. It's funny.

Anyway, I thought I'd update the blog with some completely random and totally unmusical photos from the last European tour. Who knows? You all might think it cool to get a little peek into the weirdness that is what the T-Ward Band finds interesting enough to capture on camera.

After our first van died, we were forced to rent a moving truck and a BMW wagon in order to make it to our show in Malmö on time. Here's the crew manning the truck; nail-biting, to say the least.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Reflections at the Fifty-Yard Line

Alright, well.

Here we are: back in the States, a little bit jet-lagged, a little bit rested, and one day from embarking on the American/Canadian leg of our Fall 2012 tour.

Reflecting on the last month and everything that came along with it is causing me to feel a bit daunted at the prospect of summing it up here in a blog. But, here goes anyway.

As anyone who's paid attention to this blog is probably aware, our European tour was a bit of a comedy of dichotomy. A lot of things went wrong. A lot of things. But I'd be less than honest if I told you that all the things that were, shall we say... less than optimal... ended up being bad in the end. I, for one, have learned quite a lot because of it all. I saw my band function in nightmarish touring conditions with what could only be described as remarkable aplomb & unity. Nobody freaked out and lost their mind in some kind of overly dramatic rock star tantrum (even though there may have been a few circumstances that might have almost justified such a reaction). The band went through everything together, as a unit, and got through it all without alienating anyone or fracturing any relationships. Believe me when I say that this is quite a rarity in the world of touring musicians.

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