JBB: Saturday, September 19, Bellvue, CO

By Mike Keenan

Pics by Chris Gee

We've been hearing about Mishawaka from locals for years. It's an outdoor venue in the hills surrounding Fort Collins. It is decidedly not a mini Red Rocks (as we had heard) but is a very cool place to play. There is a beautiful river full of trout about 30' from the stage. When we arrived people were fly-fishing along the banks. They'd fish for a bit, walk over to the bar, grab a pint of Fat Tire and then head back to the river. My kind of place.

When the sun went down the cool mountain air felt great. There was a 5-camera film crew on hand so with any luck there will someday be a JBB/Black Seeds DVD available. Film crews can sometimes be mentally intimidating. I think I made a million tiny mistakes, but didn't let it shake me because I felt like the collective vibe was on. I hope I'm right. We'll see.

The Black Seeds: Saturday, September 19, Bellvue, CO

By Tim Jaray bass player for The Black Seeds

Pics by Chris Gee

10 days, 4000+ kilometers, 9 hotels, 6 states and 7 gigs.

The Road We are past the half-way mark now after a mammoth trek across the Midwest. After a short stop in Iowa, corn capital of the U.S.A. we put the plains of Nebraska behind us and arrived in Colorado, home of the Rocky Mountains. The band were all exited about checking the Rockies out and while driving into Boulder we got a glimpse (through the late summer haze). The word 'vast' comes to mind and we realized that to check out the Rockies properly you need to spend some time. Can't wait to show John Brown's Body the Remarkables in Queenstown when they tour with us in N.Z.

Boulder is a university town and was designed with the same concepts as a few other university towns in the US. These are really cool places with narrow leafy streets and open European style plazas. I love the feel of these towns.

The Gig The Gothic Theatre in Denver is an original vaudeville theatre built in 1908. It's a classic old theatre and famous among musicians in the US for being a great gig. While it lives up to its name in terms of some of the gear, the atmosphere is thick with history and we had a blast. Very cool crowd and it was great to meet some of the US fans, in fact two people had driven from Mexico to see the gig. Right on!

One of the biggest questions that occurs in my day while on the road is what to eat. My top three food stops in the US so far;

1. Any Whole Food Market. These places are oasis' of culinary paradise in the great strip mall of America. Organic food and products. Incredible salads, great coffee (!!!!) and more.

2. Short Stop Deli, Ithaca, NY. The Grand Slam Ithaca Cheese Steak with horseradish was the best post-gig chow down I've ever had. If you go here, keep a good hour to get through one. Open since the sixties this place delivers the real deal. See photo.

3. Sals Pizza, NY, NY. Many places claim to have authentic New York Pizza, this is what they aim for. The bass player from John Brown's Body (respect) put me on to this one, cheers Nate!

So, onto Park City, Utah tomorrow and then the West Coast. Can't wait to see the Pacific.

Ray Ray.

JBB: Friday, September 18, Englewood, CO

By Mike Keenan

The Gothic Theatre is in a very odd and run down part of town with some decidedly strange stores. Several of them give you this creeped out, gimp in the basement, Pulp Fiction sort of vibe. To further that feeling Nate got questioned by a cop for J-Walking. I've never heard of that happening to anyone before.

The set went well with the exception of the house sound crew ignoring Elliot when his mic cable kept cutting out. It got to the point where I stopped playing, found a new mic cable and started unraveling it when they finally decided to do their jobs. As they say in the military - "unsat."

JBB: Thursday, September 17, Boulder, CO

By Mike Keenan

We are lucky enough to get out to the Rockies about twice a year. It's always beautiful and there never seems to be enough time to really experience the scenery. Someday, maybe.

Boulder in particular is always a band favorite. I try to spend minimal money on crappy road food so that when we arrive someplace with good options I can throw down a bit. After skimping for several days Hopa Sushi was amazing. Their sushi features interesting ingredients, searing certain rolls and suggestive names like the "Orgasm Roll" or better yet the "Multiple-Orgasm Roll." They aren't afraid to rewrite the rulebook on sushi.

The long drives and makeshift accommodations have left Drew, Scott, Chase and Elliot a little under the weather. Normally the vibe w/r/t sickness on the road is sort yourself out, keep your distance and don't let the singer get sick. That being said, sickness travels fast with 10 people in a 15-passenger van. With Elliot not at peak efficiency we played several instrumentals. I don't think the crowd would have known Elliot was struggling had he not begged their forgiveness.

Barnaby has been sitting in with us on Be At Peace for the last few nights and has been absolutely great. He sings very effortlessly. We've tried to incorporate a little of that style into some of our new songs. So in case you were wondering- yes, the Black Seeds have already influenced us a bit.

JBB: Wednesday, September 16th, Uuuuggggghhh

By Mike Keenan

I guess we couldn't book a gig in any of the college towns in Nebraska so, we're driving from Iowa City to Denver in one shot. Back to that Martin Sheen head space.

JBB: Tuesday, September 15th, Iowa City, Iowa

By Mike Keenan

This is a new city for me. It's a fairly cool college town with a good coffee shop (the Java House). As I've mentioned previously that is one of the most efficient ways for me to assess the value of a community, coffee and food. So far, so good.

The show was poorly attended, but we did meet some people that drove up from Oklahoma to see both bands play. That's impressive.

The Black Seeds: Monday, September 14th, Philadelphia

By Nigel Patterson

Well the day started like most other tour days, too early with too little sleep. Unlike most - we had had a night off the previous evening but I had decided it was a good idea to sample a few examples of the American classic "Budweiser" and as a token of their gratitude they had given me a mild hangover to help me enjoy my day with.

Morning routines completed I headed downstairs for some breakfast. Unfortunately my vegan dietary requirements had me heading back to my room empty handed apart from an OJ. I then attempted to open some granola packets I had purchased the previous day - obviously it was still too early for my brain to be functioning and I missed the easy to tear line and instead with all might sent almost half the packet showering over the hotel room (my apologies to the cleaner).

Breakfast completed met up with the rest of the band at the van. The van is like our home on the road, we spend most days in there often for long periods of time and often not in ideal comfort. It is a place to try and sleep (if your lucky) play Playstation, give each other shit, watch movies and basically anything that can keep us occupied whilst we traveling to our other tour favorite: the venue.

This mornings mission was to play four songs for the World Cafe Radio Show in central Philadelphia. Traffic was slow but allowed for some unscheduled sightseeing, I especially liked the building with a large whale mural across one side and also the building made entirely of mirror glass (it managed to camouflage itself in the clouds with its own reflection).

We were greeted jovially at the World Cafe and we quickly got the gear inside and setup. The studio itself was awesome! Nice acoustics and a relaxed atmosphere. We spent the next hour getting the sound right and then recorded our songs. A surprisingly good early morning effort from the guys had us all feeling good about the performance and leaving World Cafe in good spirits!!

The rest of the day was spent in the van driving - destination Iowa City!!!!

JBB: Sunday-Monday, September 13-14

By Mike Keenan

The one-two punch of being stranded in the Syracuse ghetto followed by a drive from upstate NY to Illinois left me feeling like Martin Sheen's character in the beginning of Apocalypse Now. I could relate to that image of him bored to the point of insanity in his hotel room awaiting orders and punching his own image in the mirror.

JBB: Saturday, September 12th, Ithaca, NY

By Mike Keenan

We play a small but artist friendly venue in Ithaca called Castaways. It's on a canal that feeds Cayuga Lake. This sets up a nearly perfect day on tour scenario: sound check, drink a couple Cascazillas while fishing at sunset, enjoy a home-cooked meal at my mother-in-law's house then play a sold out show. Perfect. If I could repeat a similar pattern across the country and somehow include my wife and kids I'd wake up laughing each day. We need a hit.

The last time we played upstate NY was the Grassroots Festival. It always seems odd to me to go from playing to 20,000 psyched festival-goers in July to a 500ish capacity room down the street in September. This is a strange business. Given that information you can imagine how jammed the club was. The air during the show was heavy and sauna-like. We were completely drenched by the end of the set. I think that somehow makes people believe that you mean it or are feeling it more if you're soaked. It does seem more rock and roll.

After the gig all but Elliot and Matt, who live nearby, went to Jocko's studio in Syracuse to save the band money on our day off.

JBB: Friday, September 11th, NYC

Mike's Notes From The Road

JBB's guitarist Mike Keenan

On the ride to NY Chase noted that there are probably tons of Toby Keith type jerk-offs that would kill for a gig in NYC on this ominous anniversary. They'd likely wave flags, praise the Bush administration, drool, denounce Obama as un-American, wipe their drool with the flag and further promote xenophobia and war in the names of the fallen and of course - freedom.

We addressed the issue by playing Ghost Notes and Be at Peace. They were requested by fans that were directly effected by 9/11 and its aftermath. While these songs aren't about 9/11 people can and do find some solace in the lyrics.

We were happy to help in some small way.

The Black Seeds: Friday, September 11th, NYC

NYC by Michael Fabulous

Arrived in Manhattan on a rainy afternoon on that infamous day, Sept 11.

The first thing that struck me was the umbrellas everywhere. A Wellingtonian would never consider using an umbrella - the wind simply doesn't tolerate them. (Wellington is the New Zealand capital where The Black Seeds are based, very windy).

We dumped the gear and had about 45 mins to get some food before sound check. I set my personal music playing device to shuffle and had a very enjoyable walk, touching on Little Italy and Chinatown.

List Of Top 5 Tunes From My Walk, in chronological order:

1. Three Minute Party - Disasteradio

2. Theme From Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye

3. Love And Happiness - Al Green

4. Du Ar For Fin For Mig - Dungen

5. Could We - Cat Power

The thing I've learnt about enjoying a city like NY is to not get sucked in by the crazy amount of attractive consumer options available. Even if you can't afford anything, just looking at the shit is ultimately draining and soul destroying. You gotta not get sucked in and keep your eyes on the bigger picture to feel the city and preserve yourself.

That being said, food is a necessity as well as a consumer item, and as soon as I saw the welcoming neon green sign of the Excellent Noodle House, I knew that was for me. I ordered Bok Choy with roasted garlic and dumplings (great) and Tiramisu (average).

Sound checked, and did the gig not long after. It was fucking great to kill a show in NY at The Bowery Ballroom, great crowd. I really enjoyed myself and met lots of nice people. None of this would be possible without JBB, who played a killer set to a packed house. Ups!

After, our friend Deva Mahal (great singer and songwriter - check her) took us to a great diner. I aced driving a 14-seater van in NYC on a Friday night! It seems like with NY in general, you just gotta jump in or you're gonna get your ass whooped. Had an amazing waffle with rum butter, maple syrup and blueberries. Thanks Deva!

Photo Chris Gee

Drove 40 mins to the accom, only to discover the Navman had reverted to LAST night's accommodation - another 50 min drive to the right accom. Trying to get there before the hotel computers shut down at 5 am and we would be locked out till they reopened at 5:30. Made it, few hours sleep, back on the road.

I love you New York! xx Fab.

Photo Chris Gee

JBB: Thursday, September 10th, Burlington, VT

Mike's Notes From The Road

JBB's guitarist Mike Keenan

Our first night with The Black Seeds! We've been looking forward to this for a long time. They were in great spirits after having just crossed the Earth. As predicted by Carlo from Blue King Brown we had a fairly instant comfort level with them. Chicanery is sure to follow...

After sound check we got a chance to meet a long time fan named John that made a substantial donation to the Hector Fund (thanks for that). He was very cool and lives on a cabin on Lake Champlain.

Photo by Curtis Bergesen

Being a crypto zoology nerd (something I catch a ton of shit for) my obvious half-joking first question to him was - Have you seen "Champ?" (Lake Champlain's Loch Ness monster). To my surprise he said he and his brother had! Brilliant! I instantly texted all of our skeptics to hear him out. It was a great story. He and his brother were in a small boat at night not far from shore when they heard something that sounded like snoring coming from the water. They then heard a disturbance in the water and saw a giant tail break the surface. Cool!

Sam heard this and said he would have tried to wrestle it. There's a reality show that needs funding - Sam being sent to crypto zoological hot spots to wrestle unknown beasts. Monster Quest meets WWE.

Where's the plot, ah yes, Burlington. The Black Seeds say they hadn't played together in six months before the Burlington show due to recent additions to their families. Congratulations to them. In all honesty I never would have known they were scraping the rust off. They sounded amazing and are not to be missed.

Special thanks to the Higher Ground for their kind treatment and for feeding both bands an amazing meal.

JBB: Wednesday, September 9th, Unity, Maine

Mike's Notes From The Road

JBB's guitarist Mike Keenan

I spoke with a local farmer prior to the show that left the Boston area in the 60's to raise his children on a farm that he purchased for $7,000. He had no idea who we were but likes to support the arts. Nice one.

Special thanks go out to Richard Cruz from Carvin for helping me solve my seemingly endless and distracting amp issues that drove me to distraction on the Passafire tour.

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John Brown's Body / The Black Seeds USA tour podcast ~ Episode I by johnbrownsbody

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