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max's tour diary
california dreamin' 28th september to 12th october 2009
The flight to San Francisco was traumatic, with a stop over at Philly. Small kids were screaming for much of the flight over the Atlantic with a portion of banging on the back of my seat. Including the two hour change, we were travelling for 14 hours. By the time we got to San Francisco airport Matt was having a good whinge.
After securing the lipstick red cherry Chevrolet for the tour from the car rental we headed out. We crossed over into Oakland over the Bay Bridge and then it all got a bit messy. We were looking for a bar that we had been given directions to and our mobile communication had broken down completely. Alan had failed to charge his phone and so we had no numbers for The Hot Toddies. Adam and Kayla had flown separately seven hours earlier.
We finally arrived at destination, Lucas Bar. This was after travelling all around downtown Oakland avoiding eye contact with large groups of shifty characters. We found the bar at about 11pm. None of our friends being there was a bit of a disaster for group morale to say the least. We all worked out later that this was Alan’s fault.
After a beer we got directions to a nearby supermarket and got a power adapter so we could phone Sylvia Toddy. She started to give Matt directions to her house when Matt cut her off and pleaded for her to come and lead us to her house. Patience was wearing thin. Alan’s fault.
When we got to Sylvia’s awesome flat we found Adam and Kayla fast asleep. Apparently they had been calling until sleep overtook…we woke them up and recounted our journey. This was when Alan was portioned blame for the most part. I got back at him the next day by waking everyone early for our first day out on our holiday. This most displeased Alan although everyone else was up for it. I drove everyone into San Francisco over the Bay Bridge from Oakland. We headed for free parking I knew near Haight Street and did a bit of shopping. The day was mostly spend wandering around San Francisco, on the trawl, looking at sea lions and going into second hand shops.
Kayla and the sea lions on Pier 39 (before they scarpered)
Matt told us about a dream he had where he was interviewing Lady Gaga and she had a cleft lip. Bit odd. Matt is a crazy guy. We finally met up with all of The Hot Toddies in a radio-station-cum-coffee-shop. The coffee took a long time to be made as the character behind the bar talked a lot, all interesting stuff of course. Everyone cheered up when we found out about the secret beer you could get from under the counter. After a strong black coffee and a beer I felt I was in a better state to greet The Hot Toddies.
The toddies consist of four lovely girls Erin, Heidi, Sylvia and Jess. One of the first things Jess said, which made me laugh, was that she didn’t drink coffee normally but the other day she drank three cups and nearly bought a ticket to Jamaica. Well I thought it was funny the way Jess said it.
At the radio station, Foxes! were booked to do an interview. Unfortunately, a traumatic driver’s driving had made Kayla feel sick so I had to take her to Jess’s place in a very convoluted and logistical mess.
The others did the interview, which apparently Jess stormed out of, where they were asked some interesting questions such as “Have you written a song about Subway (the restaurant chain)?” to which the answer was always a surprising, “No”.
That night we stayed at Jess’s house that sat high up on a hill. It had a rickety, windy flight of wooden stairs up to the front door. We only had a few beers that night. The Hot Toddies were still working and we were pretty jet lagged.
The next day I woke in a grump and felt like sitting and watching TV. Foxes! finished writing a new song called “The Nineteen Fifties”. After the slow start, we headed out to Berkeley campus and wandered around for a bit. After a couple of beers we headed back to Oakland, later than previously planned. Then we were distracted by Lucas’ Bar, where we played pool until we were late to get back to Jess’s house to eat her amazing lentil, vegetable and sausage soup which she had prepared for us before we went to a joint rehearsal together. We tried to call and text her to no avail.
Next, we tried to find our way to the rehearsal room ourselves by foot. After trekking around most of central Oakland we concluded that we had failed and the USA was not designed for walkers. We called a cab.
The practice went OK. Foxes! were using The Hot Toddies’ kit for the tour so it was a bit of a warm up before they arrived at the first gig of the tour. The Hot Toddies and Foxes! had a jam together and practiced Dream Dream Dream by The Fox! Toddies. The rehearsal room was small with a high ceiling, which allowed for a large shelf to sit and watch from above. The jet lag was still there and I soon needed to go to bed. The rehearsal room was one of the many in a labyrinth of corridors, random lounge areas and hard-to-find toilets. Apparently there used to be a cool bar in the block that all the musicians used to go to that had really good and cheap beers…that was according to Heidi, I think.
Fox Toddies rehearsal
Again, the next day started off slow. I drove Adam and Kayla to Office Depot, which took ages to find. The weather was so perfect in Oakland and we all enjoyed sitting around in the garden smoking. The sky was perfect blue. Tonight was the first gig of the tour at The Bottom Of The Hill. The venue was reportedly one of the best in San Francisco and the past line-ups certainly looked cool.
I was having a huge sugar-low strop in my head when I got there. I waited at the food bar for the massively friendly black chef to make me a Louisiana sausage sandwich that saved me. I munched this whilst the bands did their soundcheck. Everyone was very excited about the gig as it signalled the start of the tour, which had been so hotly anticipated since the Hot Toddies left the UK after the Binary Tour. Now we were in California for the California Dreamin’ tour and everyone was primed for revelry.
Foxes!’s first show was one of their best performances. The guys were joking around onstage and the audience got more and more into it. I was given the task by Kayla of taking photos and directed exactly where to take them from. Adam was giving it all, which included a couple of little kicks and rolling about on floor, all captured on the camera. The prepared CDs were all sold out and people were clamouring for more. The San Franciscans loved it. Alan was enjoying the attention of some girls that had come specifically to see them. A couple of radio stations had representatives, who were talking to Adam.
The Hot Toddies had clearly drummed up lots of the crowd and now took the stage. They put on a great performance, it was really fun hearing their songs again. Their music was as sweet as ever and the crowd knew it. At the end of their set The Fox Toddies played Dream Dream Dream with Adam and Kayla doing a sweet tambourine duet.
They kicked us out at the end of the night and a few of us kept the party going back at Jess’s house until the sun came up. The conversations went to great depths with Alan defining and unpacking a range of subjects, ideas, theories and beliefs. These ranged from the ghost world, fate, religion and the general state of the human race.
The tour 'kicks' off at Bottom of the Hill
Naturally, the next day was off to another slow start. We spend most of the day preparing EPs so we could keep up with the demand on tour and also slipping in some shut eye. We set off to Santa Cruz at about 5pm. When we arrived, I settled down to a large crepe with a whole mix of different ingredients. Whilst eating, I chatted with The Huxtables, who were headlining the gig. Apparently, everything was really nearby, more specifically the place where we were staying, which turned out to be the really nice Huxtables’ lead singer’s house. So as everyone was less in need of a driver tonight, I decided to enjoy my holiday and felt like having fun.
I was chatting to a couple of people, one guy was raving about how good Foxes! were to which my response was “Yeah, that’s why I drive them”. This got me a whole load of free drinks. I may have come to define the meaning of the expression lairy. It was another great set from Foxes! and The Hot Toddies. The place packed out for The Huxtables and loads of people were dancing. Both The Hot Toddies and Foxes! had great energy and were clearly enjoying playing. Foxes! sold another bunch of EPs. The night started to get a bit sketchy for me and perhaps wasted for be a more apt description of my state.
We got taxis back to The Huxtables’ singer’s house, where, I believe, there was a rendition of Alanis Morrissette’s ‘Isn’t It Ironic?’. This song seems to plague Foxes! and Hot Toddies’ tours. Is the joke wearing thin? Alan was leading the music selection with his usual huge mental library of guitar songs. The Hot Toddies were singing and I spent much of the time getting to know a three-legged cat called Lieutenant Dan.
I woke up in the morning with a mouth like Gandhi’s flip flops, lying next to Alan who was wrapped in the stars and stripes. I was running through my last memories of the previous night, which included some guy buying me an Irish car bomb and saying he was coming to our next show in Monterey.
Adam, Kayla and I went for a coffee at a nearby café. Neurofen and coffee was the order of the morning. Kayla headed home, the poor girl was feeling ill and had been trying to get to bed as early as possible each night. It was hard to get a good definition of the illness.
It was a 40-50 minute walk to the car, if we had gone straight there. However, Adam and I were only taking directions from hot girls we saw on the street as we thought it was funny. Unfortunately, their directions were often sending us in the completely wrong direction with wild inaccuracy.
When we finally found the car and made it back to the house, we found the others awake and packing for Monterey. After a bagel lunch with amazing homegrown tomatoes and cream cheese, we went to get some supplies including guitar strings and a razor, as I was growing one of my scraggly ginger goatees.
Before leaving Santa Cruz, we spent some time on the beach where some of us went on the rides and Kayla made a video of us messing around in the sand. I waited a long time in a queue for some ice cream. At one point Matt said, “Does anyone else feel at some juncture in their lives they will take up metal detecting.”
Hangin' with the locals on Santa Cruz beach
The drive to Monterey didn’t take long down Highway 1. On arrival, I sat down and got on with this journal and ate some tacos for dinner. I chatted with the friendly bar staff and security. I met Josh again, an attendant at the Santa Cruz show. Josh got really drunk and needed some monitoring and lecturing after bothering a member of the Hot Toddies. This was provided by a drunken me and then a drunken Alan. The Hot Toddies played one of my favourite gigs of theirs so far. I have only just felt completely over my jet lag, I think that this was a contributing factor to my enjoyment.
Adam had a bit of a mid-west farmer thing going on. His attire happened to be a wife beater and rolled up jeans. The Hot Toddies thought it was really funny and I am not sure but I think that it may have affected EP sales. Jess and I did some dancing at the end of the Foxes! song Who Killed Rob?. I did a random shot with an angry shouting American. Adam had a cheeky special cigarette with some guy on the roof and we found Matt slumped comatose in The Hot Toddies' van after scoffing some space cake crumbs.
We were put up by a friend of someone’s called Todd, and Todd was very drunk. There were all sorts of traumatic experiences in his house. Josh, the guy who had followed us down with wandering hands, was so drunk that he passed out immediately standing up and then on a sofa. Todd was in some kind of on-going dispute with his housemates and found it necessary to play Wilco as loudly as possible within hours of us finally getting to sleep. For the sake of everyone’s sanity, Adam stepped up and used his politeness broadside to defuse the situation and the music turned off. We awoke to find an uncomfortable atmosphere and everyone was happy to leave as quickly as possible. Kayla wrote a sweet thank you note to all the residents on our departure.
So back to Highway 1. We filled up the gas tank. The drive down to Big Sur was the beginning of the country drive with the big red woods and deep valleys. When we got to the resort where the bands were playing, we had Brisket and watched American football. Everyone had a nap in the afternoon and evening to make up for the uncomfortable sleep the night before.
The show went without a hitch and the crowd seemed into it. They were well dressed and I liked their style. They moved more than the Monterey crowd, which had been static for the most part.
I was still shattered and apparently missed out on an amazing fireside sing-a-long, although this was what happened most nights so I wasn’t that bothered. The next day was a long drive, route 1 was waiting and after a breakfast with a great view and a blue jay we headed out. On the road, we listened to Alan’s mix tape that he had made for drumming. Alan’s name was slowly changing to Aslan as the tour progressed. Whenever there was an intellectual problem or a knowledge lateral cliff we called on Aslam to sort it out.
The scenery was epic as we wiggled our way south. The weather was reliably good as ever. It was a three-hour drive to Pismo Beach. On the way we saw elephant seal pups lounging on the beach. One scratched its foot flipper with its hand flipper. There was a large bird of prey following us for a while. At a vista, we met some strange furry little creature, which we called the spotted cliff squirrel. It might have been a chipmunk, however. We had a conversation about jumping off the cliff or pushing people off the cliff.
We got to Pismo Beach, parked the van and eventually headed down to the pier. It was our night off and the evening was spent talking in the hot tub drinking, eating space cakes, smoking and having fun. These views all melded into each other after a while into a great state of mind.
The next day we did our washing in a local laundrette. Whilst waiting we hung out in a retro bowling alley and played pool. Matt won the most games this time. I played on a hunting video game. Adam thought the game was immoral.
We soon got back on tour again at Santa Barbara. The venue was a co-operative, this is where hard-up students live in a kind of commune set-up. Matt was dubious about the hippy vibe that we might see there. The surrounding area was populated by an astonishing number of cyclists. Everyone was on a skateboard of some variety or bike of which there was a wide diversity.
The co-operative was home to eighteen students, they had rotas to organise everything from household chores to who was staying. There were information books explaining how everything worked and how to behave. When asked, one resident said that it honestly wasn’t much work. The house was constantly filled with people doing one thing or another. There were chickens in the backyard. The venue was a vividly painted garage and also our room for the night and it worked great for both functions.
On arrival, we were greeted by Fire Penguin Disco Panda who said that he would explain his name to us later that evening. At the show, the crowd looked young and enthusiastic and responded to the bands well. At the end of Foxes! set there was a storming swirl of bodies dancing around.
The crowd rocked hard in Santa Barbara
The Hot Toddies’ set was marred by a technical hitch with one of the keyboards. They got their act together eventually and the small garage really worked in their favour, especially with their vocals. The last band on, Watercolor Paintings, was really great. It was a really cute twee couple that had just got back from a tour. She had a lovely voice and the excited students all sat down and listened in perfect silence. They played the harp and the ukulele.
After the music the campfire was populated and our secret weapon, Aslan, came into play. Matt was particularly wasted after a whisky or two. I had got in a joyous and overexcited mood and was charging around chopping wood for the fire. Fire Penguin stepped up to demonstrate how he got his name. Apparently there was an exceptional fire play display and I played an unstable reckless part in it, although I have no recollection of this event.
The garage was a great place to sleep. It granted complete darkness and I got up early with Matt and went to get a drink from the house. As I bumbled in the door with my hurry in full swing, Mohamed, a well-hung nudist who was only wearing a t-shirt, greeted me. Kayla later named him ‘massive cock Mohamed’.
I sat outside with a motorcyclist called Ben. We sat and chatted all morning. He had biked all over the USA and was equipped to sustain himself. He made me the best coffee I had had all tour using a small material filter and a gas burner. Just before midday a small naked woman marched round the house and Matt noted her nice arse.
We rolled out of town via a great diner. The drive to LA was long with a nice bit of slow traffic once we hit the outskirts of the city. This was expected but didn’t make the wait any less aggravating. The venue wasn’t the most welcoming I had seen. The guy behind the bar was particularly unfriendly. The flat beer grudgingly shoved in front of me summed it up perfectly.
The crowd only half followed the bands and the few that did barely demonstrated their appreciation. Only myself and Aslan were up for the after party and we headed out to the house of a friend of The Hot Toddies who was also in the first band that night. Her house was small with a nice garden lit with fairy lights. Jess showed me an orange tree that we ate from. I reclined next to an outdoor fireplace and let off some steam chatting to a local about soccer. The chap was satisfyingly informed which raised my spirits after the limp gig. When we got back to the house where we were staying, we found it necessary to stay up as late as possible drinking everything in the house. It belonged to an actor in a well-known TV show.
That man is not listening.
The next day we headed to a wall that was very dear to Foxes! as it was used on the cover of an Elliott Smith album. I didn’t know who that was. Now we were heading to Long Beach for the penultimate gig. I wanted to visit a nearby museum as I had heard there was an interesting collection of modern art pieces to peruse but I was overridden by everyone else. The Hot Toddies were lying under some palm trees waiting for us. We met them and then headed off to get some food at a diner. Aslan was having a grumble about his food, I took 20 minutes to decide what I was eating. Team decision-making was particularly poor as everyone was feeling a bit on edge. The LA traffic was really taking its toll on our patience and sanity.
My mood was lifted by the purchase of some new Converse shoes that I desperately needed as my Dunlops were falling apart. The next venue featured in the TV series True Blood and looked pretty cool. The duke box was topped up with quarters and only British tracks were played. That’ll let them know that we are here. We still didn’t know where we were staying that night so we were planning on heading to a nearby hotel. With this in mind, I started drinking good vodka. I hadn’t really appreciated the higher standard of vodka, which had been purified more, which dramatically reduced my hangover the next day. I may have got a bit carried away. This put me in a funny ‘that’ll teach you Adam’ frame of mind when Adam said sarcastically, “Come on Max you’re not being rock and roll enough on this tour.” I decided to take this as golden and promptly ordered two large vodka shots and necked them in front of Adam right before he went onstage.
This is what American vodka can do to you
I really enjoyed the set and had a good time dancing with some hot Japanese girls and The Hot Toddies. After the show we took some group photos in a booth. We had stayed with a friend of The Hot Toddies that put us up in his wicked games and music room. He had every Xbox 360 game but I spent most of the evening reading some classical literature that was lying about the place instead.
The Hot Toddies got lost trying to get me back to the car, which made both bands late for a radio interview in San Diego. The interview was on a student radio station that was fiercely independent and incredibly relaxed. The student campus had a Super Nintendo with Super Mario Kart and a trolley of books parked in the corridor along with a lively open air bar.
The interview went a little better than the last and The Hot Toddies put on a really good live performance. Adam gave a rundown on what he thought of the UK music scene and Kayla told everyone about her favourite made-up creature, the muffin cat. It’s made out of paper and barks like a dog.
Four fox toddies looking tired/confused on San Diego student radio
We were staying at Erin’s boyfriend’s parent’s house. His name is Ryan. They were so kind and fed us so well which was very much needed. I think most of Foxes! had only been eating one meal a day because they had been so busy. They had a cute dog called Bell that was really small with long hair.
We spent a long time sat in their yard unwinding in this friendly place. We arrived at the venue later than planned and I went off to get Erin some Jameson’s for her birthday present and a card. I was not feeling good and sat in the car until Foxes! went onstage. As soon as 6 O’Clock came on my mood picked up and after my one beer, as I had to drive, I was happy. The sound at the last three gigs had been really lacking apparently because venues are not fussed about doing a soundcheck. In my mind, I would prefer if they did the checks especially as I have driven the band there. On getting back I had a few drinks and everyone was joking around until late. The mood was good and everyone was pleased with the tour so far. Erin said that she was impressed with my drinking which meant a lot to me.
It was a struggle getting everyone together and out of bed and ready in the morning. We needed to move out ASAP so we could get back to Oakland in time for Erin’s birthday party. This was an eight-hour drive straight up California. There was a delay in San Diego as Kayla needed to get more meds. This started to grate a little, why couldn’t Kayla give us more warning? I settled into the biggest drive of the tour entertained by thoughts of my lady back at home. Thankfully, we cleared LA with only minor delays. Then we weaved into the large mountain-like hills where we saw a whole bunch of fire trucks. They had just put out a large bush fire on the hill.
After the hills it was down to flat land, which carried on in a particularly flat way for a long time. The road was completely straight too and I drove for an hour without making a single turn. The landscape was largely arable farmland and there were cows, lots of cows. There was also a dust bowl that had allegedly been created by Congress. Aslan and Adam had become very excited to visit an In and Out Burger restaurant. This chain hadn’t changed its menu since the 1950s, according to Matt. Also, it was owned by some serious Christians who put a Bible reference underneath each cup.
When we got to Erin’s party, people were just starting to arrive. I felt satisfied with my driving. The tour was over and soon we would be flying home. We were all sad to be going home and some of us would have liked to stay if we could.
There was plenty of Jameson’s and beer at the party. I dived in with my usual gusto. I found talking to The Hot Toddies friends difficult, as my concentration was waivering and exhaustion was an issue. Matt and I had a great exchange. Apparently he insulted me, calling me a Purple Princess. My drunken response to this was to bite back and give him an earful. Matt always gets a bit emo after whiskey, which might be the funniest thing, especially when combined with my overexcited behaviour amongst friends.
The next day we surfaced at around 2pm and after everyone had showered we went to play baseball with The Hot Toddies and friends. We all had a go at batting and fielding. Matt and I had the most success. Adam was out a lot and Aslan didn’t have much skill at the game either. The talk turned to joining a team when they got back to Brighton. I think it was just talk. We returned The Hot Toddies' kit and headed for a Vietnamese restaurant where I ordered the spiciest dish I could. I needed to sweat the poison out of my system. Then we headed back to Erin’s for some Beatles Rock Band and White Russians. I think I will end this journal here. Thanks Adam, Kayla, Alan, Matt, Erin, Jess, Heidi and Sylvia. Thank you US Airways for getting another flight for me after I missed my schedule one the next day!
Until next time!
written by Max Pozzoni, 2009