Today was our final day… I realized this when I woke up this morning and was immediately saddened; it turned out to be a great one though! We grabbed some coffee, loaded in and set up for the last time, and then a few of us grabbed a snack before we took the group picture. I had a drum head from when we replaced Chris’s drums and Mark was nice enough to help me get everyone to sign it! We spent the off time of the afternoon at the beach and enjoyed the warmth and the water- I came back with a lot of freckles.

Coney Island was hot, weird, and slightly frightening. The venue was really cool being half outdoors; it was right on the board walk and one of the crew members brought his dog (his name was jack and he had his own “all access” pass; he really liked to lay by the drum riser! Today was tough being the second to last as tensions rise while people are getting antsy to go home and there’s not as much to learn as we have done each of these jobs before and are starting to get the hang of it!

Today was a very slow day, we got in on the later side and weren’t allowed to get into the venue till 11:30; the crew was nice but the catering lady was very strict and very strange. We talked with some of the band members during class and learned about the realistic lives they lead when not on tour and how they get on tours and that they are all very flexible and seem to have multiple projects going on at a time! I worked at merch today and we have been selling more shirts than expected so we are almost out of all the best selling sizes; which upsets quite a few people.

We have discovered that it is very hard to get back into the swing of the tour when having a day or two off… It was a slow start to the day and seemed to just be rather uneventful and somewhat frustrating as we dealt with another spinning stage that was actually smaller than the first. The venue was basically made out of a giant tent that kept heat very well, but it was a new environment and was unique which was fun!

Today was somewhat uneventful; stress levels seemed to be high… I got in an early workout, a few of us went to breakfast and the afternoon was generally uneventful as far as the tour goes; a lot of relaxing. We all met at Fenway Park a little before the game, got some hot dogs, t-shirts, and saw the green monster. The Red Sox killed the Angels and it was a pretty predictable game but good overall, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves!

Today was another day off, luckily we got here just fine… although our bathroom was not working apparently so I had to run into the hotel at 4 am to find one (that was fun…) but we were parked right out front so it really wasn’t bad. It took us a while to get checked in so we went and checked out a local Greek breakfast diner and then got ready and headed to the city. The trolley was an experience but turned out to be easy to navigate!

Today we were at the old Casino Ballroom where so many legends have played! We had a little extra time before class and got to walk on the beach and see the winners of the annual sandcastle contest (which were unreal). The show was awesome as always, and we are definitely starting to get the hang of it all! There were some monitor issues during the second half that are still unsure of the cause but it was quickly solved and the show went on! We talked to Mark Lindsay during class today and he had some amazing advice.

Our bus faced a multitude of problems that were “jimmy rigged”, as we were told… and finally got on the road around noon and to the venue around 5; just in time for dinner! We helped out with the show as normal and as always it was great! For the most part it was pretty uneventful other than Savannah and I playing a few songs on the curb during our down time and getting video taped by a few early fans. We had class with Ron Dante today and he had a pretty crazy story!

Today’s venue was awesome; it was a spinning stage with seating all around it, making it very intimate and cool! The famous Johnny Cash picture was taken in the hallway where we were back stage, which was pretty cool too! It was another Merch day, and we are pretty much getting the hang of it by now! We learned a lot about improvising and rolling with the punches through having to deal with the spinning stage and not have certain set ups the same way. We are having more bus trouble and the worry is that it won’t get fixed… fingers crossed THIS mechanic can figure it out.

Today we were at Penn’s Peak, which so far has been the prettiest venue by far with the best view! The cedar looking interior reminded of distilleries and mountain town restaurants and event spaces in Colorado and was somewhat home-y to me. They set up chairs that covered the floor and sides, which was different from all of the other auditorium style seating in other venues. I was on FOH today, and J.C. was easy enough to talk to and walk me through what he was listening for and how it all worked, but as it is a delicate machine, he did most of the work.

I think the venue today was my least favorite so far. It was poorly remodeled and there was obviously no one who cared enough to keep up with it. The food however, was awesome! The way they had the backstage set up was very family style and welcoming which made it very fun around the meals because we got to sit with everyone. I was on Monitors tonight, which to be honest was quite boring. It was a lot of watching and moving mics between sets, the rest was just up keeping the preset sounds. However, it was a great show, as always and a fun night in the end.

Today started off with an early walk to Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken where I got an apple tart that would’ve been killer good if it was warm but was enjoyable either way! We went back and I did homework until we got on the bus to head to Englewood. We helped with load in until we got called for merch set up. During class we heard from Bob and Paul Cowsill who had amazing things to say from what they’ve learned from their life experiences, which were really very unique. Though interesting, I found our views on some things are very different and I felt a little bummed after the talk.

Our bus broke down last night before we left the venue, so we spent the night in the parking lot. I went on a run through the town in the morning and by noon we had finally gotten the bus fixed. We finally got to the hotel around 5 and into the city around 6:30.  We stopped at a market to get some food and made our way to Time Square where we wandered all of the Mn’M, Hershey, and Disney store. It started to rain around (and we headed back to the fairy, swam at the hotel, got cleaned up, and watched a movie after ordering pizza!

Today was full of laughs and curious experiences. I started off by calling my Dad and saying happy fathers day, of course! Next, we had load in and such as always but then Savannah and I decided to explore the absolutely adorable town that is North Hampton (Waaaaay cooler than Lynn) to which we found a cvs, a music store where I found a cheap little guitar that we have so far greatly enjoyed on the bus, and a brunch place called Jake’s that had phenomenal pancakes! During class today we talked with Susan Cowsill who has more stories than Dr.

All buses actually arrived on time today which was good because the door to back stage was about 25 ft up in the air and used a giant lifting platform to get the cases from the ground up.