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Today I got myself off the couch and into the recording studio for about thirty minutes. It may not sound like much, but believe me, it meant everything today. Getting home from a five-week-long tour sounds like it’d be a relief, but that sudden stop in movement always gets me down. I always snap out of it in a matter of days, but after waking up in a different city every day for so long it’s hard being stationary. But I made it to the studio… got very little done… added some distortion to a bass line, tweaked a drum line, nothing major. But it got me wanting to write and record again. I conjured up a lot of new song ideas out on the road inspired by all the different landscapes and people I ran into, and now I have some motivation to make them materialize.
I have plenty more to say about the tour, and I’ll continue posting on it ‘til the well runs dry. For now I’ll just say that it was one of the best, most enjoyable tours I’ve ever been a part of, and it left me wanting more. I can’t thank all the fans who came out to the shows enough, and hope that every damn one of you is listening to BEFORE THE FLOOD non-stop right now! 
-Andy
Last lunch of the tour:
Troublemakers:
Shaving before the show:
By Kristen McFarland:
Our fans drive 5+ hrs to see us…
… And cover their cars in Bella Morte decorations!! (and we love them for it!)
“Bella Morte bound! St Louis or bust!”
“Honk if you love Skully!”
Fans bring us cookies…
And we love them for it!
Bringing People Together
I’ve noticed that we’ve been seeing a lot of fans that we hadn’t seen in ages on this tour. Last night in Milwaukee was a perfect example of that… Saw some faces that took me back to our early tours. It always rocks seeing those folks, gets me feeling all nostalgic.
Club Anything in Milwaukee is great. Every time we’ve played there the experience has been excellent. Our show last night rocked, and we even pulled an unplugged song out of our hat to close the night. And after the set I was lured back to the dance-floor when I herd Ladytron, and stayed there when the DJ followed it with Shiny Toy Guns.
The night before that we were in Kansas City after a very long drive from Salt Lake City. Had a fun show there for a small crowd. Before our set we saw a gay couple in a pretty serious argument… They almost got tossed from the club! However, during our set they were standing beside each other…. I asked them to kiss from stage and they did. It was a beautiful moment. Bella Morte truly does make the world a better place!
See you tomorrow night, Nashville!
-Andy
Lunch in Kansas City:
We live a simple life:
Tony!:
Live in SLC:
Tour Journal – Distance
We played Salt Lake City for the first time in years tonight and had a great show. It’s awesome to see how much audiences are loving our new songs from Before The Flood… Feels very good after how much time, heart and effort went into making the album.
Tonight I saw some faces I hadn’t seen in a while, but everyone was as nice and enthusiastic as ever. It’s funny, we play a city, make a few friends there and sometimes don’t return for a year or more. When we do get back I always expect things to be as they were, but they rarely are. Relationships go sour, others flourish. Same with friendships and local bands. In my mind, ten minutes has gone by since I last saw everyone, but the reality is that these folks have been living life the whole time. But regardless of the changes, I love seeing the friends I’ve made here and there who have made touring so much more fun.
We’re on the road to Kansas now, a drive that will last 16 and a half hours. I foresee lots of coffee in my immediate future.
-Andy
Dinner before the show:
In the bathroom picture messaging Eric, who was also in the bathroom:
Left on our van window after the show in LA:
Tour Journal – From Hollywood to a Ghost Town
Saturday night in LA was great. We always have a blast at Bar Sinister, and this show was no exception… The place was packed! We played our longest set of the tour and would have kept going if we could’ve. After the debacle in San Francisco we needed a show like that…
We had the following day off, so we got to hang out in LA. Tony hung out with his hot aunt, Jordan and Eric wandered the walk of stars, and I stayed at the hotel and watched football all day… which was great. The Steelers kicked ass and I got some time to veg out. Sunday night we moseyed down to the wax museum with some friends, but got there as it was closing. So we crossed the street and went to the Ripley’s Museum instead, which was basically like paying someone $15 to let you look around at articles on Wikipedia. Really, most of the exhibits involved manikins stationed beside wall-plaques that spelled out why the manikin should be worth looking at.
Today we started toward Salt Lake City, where we’re playing at Area 51. Along the way we saw a billboard advertising a place called “Calico Ghost Town.” We decided to stop, pulled off of I-15 and drove toward a 50’s-style diner called Peggy Sue’s. And the air was thick with bees! Like, thousands of them, literally. They were everywhere. I pulled up to the diner, baffled by the swarm of bees. We got out of the van, fearless adventurers that we are, and I asked a random guy what the hell was going on. Apparently, a truck carrying bees had been through, and some had escaped. It was crazy! No one was stung, and I can only hope that the bees were able to start new, happy lives in the desert. We got directions to the ghost town from a waitress and made our way three miles to the front gate. An older couple was manning the welcome station, and I believe they might have been the nicest folks I’ve ever met. We talked briefly about our band, and it turned out the guy was a guitarist that had done a lot of touring as well, mainly with old-style country bands. He waived the entrance fee and told us to have fun. And we did! The little mining town is definitely a tourist trap, but it’s still cool, and has one hell of a history.
After leaving we made our way back to Peggy Sue’s Diner for shakes. The waitresses were all great, and the shakes were to die for. Good stuff. Then it was back to I-15 east at eighty miles per hour. We’re at a hotel now, and tonight we’ll be performing at Area 51 in Salt Lake City!
-Andy
Calico Ghost Town:
We just had to:
Shakes at Peggy Sue’s:
Tough Guy:
