Touring full-time is a lot less crazy than you’d think. It seems pretty wild: a bunch of kids driving around the world together in a van (sometimes a bus), a different city every night, never really knowing what the next day is going to bring you. It sounds exhausting. But I cannot express to you just how truly mellow this life can be. 

We’ve recently had the rare chance to stay put for a few days, since we’re still just working our way up to Canada to start the real tour. So we’ve spent the last 3 days in Boise, Idaho. 

Our first day here we drove up from Salt Lake City, and made it in time for the show. It was a fun show, and the guys had some good friends here that they’d made a few years ago. So after the show we picked up some pizza, and headed over to said friend’s house where we got to stay the night, which was a fun change (they had dogs and comfy couches, I was in heaven). Also, the wife was a wedding photographer, so it was great talking with her about cameras, tour, music and everything in between. 

The next day we got up and headed to our hotel so we could shower before finding some breakfast. The hotel was a mess; our smoke alarm kept going off, our room got double booked, it smelled like feet and cigarettes, unfortunately I could go on. So we decided to upgrade, and headed out to a Hilton in the suburbs. We were starving by that point, and our hotel shared a parking lot with a restaurant called Twin Peaks, so we walked over there in search of the first thing we could put in our mouths. Seriously, We were so hungry. Well we soon discovered that “twin peaks” was a very obvious euphemism, and we found ourselves in what was essentially a cabin-themed Hooters. But we were starving so we stayed. It was interesting to say the least, but the food was good. (I’m not lying when I say thats the craziest thing that happened all weekend).

After our 3pm brunch, we booked it over to a movie theater across the street to watch Planet of the Apes, then headed back to the hotel to finish off the night with Chinese delivery and an face mask (I wish I could say the face mask was a family affair, but unfortunately I was the only one who partook). 

The next morning we got up and found lunch at a nearby diner, Elmer’s. We were the youngest group in there by about 40 years, but the food was exactly what we needed and the coffee was great. Then Ralph, Tyler and I headed to the mall to run some “errands”. I found a camera store and got some gear I was severely lacking, the guys stocked up on jeans and plain t-shirts at H&M* , and we finished it off with a run by GameStop to pick up Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and another xBox controller (MvC is my favorite game in the entire world. I was pumped about this purchase, let me tell you). 

We came back to the hotel, I worked on the computer a bit and the guys went for a swim. We ran to Whole Foods for dinner, since our suburbia options of Chili’s and Twin Peaks (not making that mistake again) seemed less appealing than the salad bar at our favorite grocery store. And now here we are: the guys just finished a game on the xBox, Tyler’s reading A Brief History of Time and I’m working on a special wedding surprise for my brother and his bride-to-be. So really, tour is not much different from real life. But it is my real life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. – xx

*H&M is amazing. It is the most reliable clothing store in the world: you could get the same thing (and I have) in San Diego, Boise, Frankfurt or London for under $20 and wear it ’til it falls off your body in rags and threads. Not to mention I’ve literally been in Boise for a little over 48 hours and I ran into two new friends there today in the span of 15 minutes. Seriously, I love this store.