DOWNLOAD: Harry & The Potters and Uncle Monsterface, "Tyrranotour" (mp3)
Day four:A belated appreciation of Ben’s Chili Bowl; singing along to Manowar; pony farts; in which the tour is compared to Apocalypse Now, in reverse
Paul: Ben’s Chili Bowl!
Joe: I ate two chili dogs! I went to heaven on the wings of Ben’s chili, received the sword of the half smokes, and was sent to hell to dispel Evil from the Universe.
Paul: We’re leaving DC and getting lost. I’m asleep in the back of the van. We keep driving around and around DC. I’m so glad I’m asleep. Dan and Jesse are talking about how they would re-make The A-Team with a new group of actors and stuff. Being asleep is great.
Marty Allen: I coped with the anxiety of suddenly being separated from my tourboys and rockvan well enough. This was definitely helped by having a tremendous hostess who plied me with delicious teas, yummy food, and who knew where to find a playground with swings. I missed the Great Chili Dog Experience, but I trust that it, like everything we are doing, has been eerily well documented.
Paul: I’m still asleep. Everyone is rocking out to Manowar and singing along. I’d like to join them, but I also like being asleep.
Marty Allen: The good people of the the Twisted Branch were exceptionally kind and welcoming. Their little sound system didn't know quite what to make of us, though. But when the rowdy young locals spontaneously joined in on the bridge of ‘deRockracy’ shouting, “FARTING PONY FARTS IN THE FIELD AND YOU FEEL IT IN THE IRELAND COLD!” at the top of their lungs we were utterly moved. This particular aspect of audience interaction will henceforth be actively encouraged. Thanks, C-ville rowdies!
Joe: We did our best to rock Twisted Branch Tea Bizarre despite the fact that their sound system was not powerful enough for wizard monster rock. Tonight there were no faces melted. But everyone there was rocking. It’s okay to rock every once in a while and to do so while keeping your face intact. They have amazing milkshakes here, and people that know what it means to rock, even without the loud part.
Paul: I could tell our ambitious projects were starting to wear on everyone, so I sucked it up and “recorded” the music for our song-a-day on the 10-minute car ride back to Marisa’s. And by recorded, I mean I put together a handful of loops in GarageBand and then passed the computer off to someone else so they could finish the song.
Jesse: Having never been on a tour before, I can’t tell how typical our experience is. By and large every show goes very well. Granted, we stack the deck with cartoons and puppets, but those don’t get people singing your songs and buying your CDs after the show’s done unless the music is also fun. I’m not saying that Uncle Monsterface is singular or, to quote Kanye West, that this is “history in the making,” but it is a good start.
Staying with a friend’s family in NC, we’re luxuriating in a comfortable, beautiful home nestled just in the woods on a quiet street. Mom here is a Buddhist and we are put up in the meditation room. We’re fed delicious homemade minestrone soup from the family recipe. Afterward, as I’m enjoying my first hot shower in days, I think about this trip. We’re not making a lot of money, but it’s enough to eat well and have a few bucks in our pockets each day. We’re meeting good people, with good friends, eating delicious food, seeing a new city every day, performing and making people happy. It’s like Apocalypse Now in reverse; we’re moving south, where it’s warmer, toward a world that makes more sense, toward a life that we want.
Marty Allen: Marisa read us all a bedtime story about a mouse that becomes a cat and then, with an utter lack of moral compunction, eats a mouse. This strange modern parable filled us with confusing feelings, and we slept heartily in a big smelly pile, hoping that we wouldn't wake up and realize that we had been transformed into amoral vampires.
From the sockpuppet journal of Mister Alien Eyes: I have been drinking. Now, I haven't had too much to drink. If I had, someone would have most certainly let me know. Most certainly. Nonetheless, as I said, I have been drinking. Now, I feel . . . sociable. Lubricated. Ready to talk it up and spill my guts. You know? You do know, don't you? . . .You get it . . . you know . . . like . . . in the Ireland cold . . . you . . . and Bono . . . you guys! You're the guysssss . . . you’re the onessss! Ah, this song is sweet! Listen, Shhhhhh . . . listen. It’s like, sometimes, I have just enough drinks. And then all of my eyes, it’s as if they become one, and I see it all so clearly . . . I feel it . . . In the Ireland cold.
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