Halloweeeeeeeen!

Well it's October 30th, 2 days off in a row and we're driving from Corpus Christi, TX, to Rockford, IL.  Matt, Chachi and Tony flew to Chicago this morning for a little visit to the studio, it seems like we just can't get away from that place!  For some reason, the Lions game is blacked out on our TV, which sucks, but it's whatev..
I finished shopping for pieces to my Halloween costume earlier today, not sure what we're going to be doing tomorrow night, but I felt that I needed to make one for tradition's sake.
We drove through our first snowstorm of the year a few nights ago and had a show cancelled because of it.  We were driving to Denver, CO, with Theory of a Deadman and we both got stuck in a McDonald's parking lot somewhere in Wyoming due to the roads being closed down.  It was cold.  Only 3 days later, we were in Corpus Christi, TX, and it was sunny and warm!  The weather can change so quickly from one part of the country to the next.
There will be a new tour video featuring the song "Purple" posted very soon!  Stay tuned for that, it's really good! (I know, I made it...)
It's been so long since I've blogged that I barely know what to talk about!  This last month with 3 Doors Down and Theory of a Deadman have been a lot of fun!  There are always smiling faces backstage and people riding by on longboards and scooters and what have you.  It's a very friendly atmosphere on this tour, you can never be too sure who will be lurking around the next corner!
In 5 days, we'll be in Grand Rapids, MI, our hometown, but just for a day, and just for a show.  It's gonna be a weird visit, for sure, but that's the life of touring, I guess.
We have these sweet rugs in the bus!  I am not a fan of hardwood or tile floors in living spaces.  They're just so hard and cold.  Carpet is a much better feeling when you dig your bare toes into it first thing in the morning, or afternoon, whenever I happen to get out of bed.  Shoes suck, and I'm going to be stuck in them for the next 5 months.  Ugh, that's the worst part of winter!  I can't wait to get out snowboarding, though.
OO!  Matt is giving away one of his basses!  How sweet is that?  I made up some flyers to hang around the merch table for it and I even put those little 2D barcodes on them that you can scan with your smartphone and they take you right to the sign-up page for it!  CLICK HERE! to enter!
I want to watch a movie, see y'all soon!

Does that shirt come any bigger?

Now I don't know how well most of you know this, but there are some small people in bands.  This one specifically, most of us wear size small or medium shirts, with the rare exception of a large.  80% of the guys on this bus are small or medium, and yet when we get promo tshirts, (radio, sponsor, random giveaway) they're always large or xlarge.  Come on now, tshirt people, if you really want us to wear this stuff, ya gotta get it in sizes that fit us!  Otherwise, they'll either be regifted, thrown away or used as rags.  If you would like me to hold one of these outcast shirts for you, I accept PayPal donations to PopEvilDrew@gmail.com, which goes into my "New Laptop Fund" so that I can bring you more exciting videos from the road quicker than ever without having to fight everyone else for computer-time!
Ok, my shameless self-promotion is over, and back to what's happening!
If you're a Baltimore Ravens fan and haven't seen this video yet, go HERE right now!  And don't worry about my focus points, that's all part of the production process.  It's a creativity thing...  ;)
If you're not a Ravens fan, sorry, your team didn't ask us to play their kickoff party.  :(
On a related note, if you're a Michigan Wolverines fan, go HERE right now and check out our song "In the Big House!"
So I've felt that the last few posts have been a little thin and dry when it comes to actual things going on, so I'll try to remedy that in this one.
First of all, of you are one of those who has brought us food in some form any time at all, but I'm mostly thinking this month just because it's the most fresh in my memory, THANK YOU!!!!  It's very much appreciated, and you've made all of us very happy and brought us a little closer to home.
I have a green plastic baseball bat for sale at merch right now for $20, and I realize some may ask
"why the hell are you selling that??"  Well the answer is simple: Chachi was running around hitting everyone with it on and off the bus for about a week, and finally Chris got sick of his shenannigans and made everyone sign it and told me to sell it.  That got me thinking, how many of you would interested in random nik-naks from our travels along the road if they came with signed pictures indicating authenticity of said object?  I can't guarantee that it will happen, but I've been tossing the idea around along with the idea of making jewelry from used guitar strings and picks.
It's raining in Jersey, today, I've been up since 9:30am, and it's definitely the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon, as John Mayer would say.  Load in is going to start in a little while, and I'm definitely not looking forward to pushing heavy, rolling equipment up and down wooden ramps in the rain, but that just makes things interesting, right?  I'll let you know if anything bad happens.
How many of you are sitting at work right now wishing it was the weekend so you could be out and about doing whatever it is that you like to do when you're not working?  I can't say I feel exactly the same, but I'd definitely like to be out in the woods in a big truck splashing through the mud right now!
I'm really a dirty and crazy country boy at heart.  Give me a big muddy truck, a tent, a campfire and maybe some hotdogs and a frosty brew and I'll be a happy man.
Tour News:
We've had 2 shows so far on this tour with Kyng and Finding Clyde, Egypt Central joins in tonight at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ, and if you're nearby, I definitely recommend that you come out, because... well... because I'll be there and so you should come visit me at the merch table and pick up a copy of WAR OF ANGELS!
We've really been looking forward to this tour, and if you remember wayyyyy back to when I first started this blog 3 years ago, Egypt Central was the first national band that we ever toured with, and they've been great friends ever since.  You'll definitely see things on this tour that won't happen anywhere else, and that's a promise!
Finally, I noticed over the weekend while we were enjoying a day off at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, a lot of you do not like Krispy Kreme.  What's up with that?  It's so delicious, and light and fluffy and amazing!  I've had a lot of donuts in my day from places like Dunkin Donuts, Tim Horton's, Voodoo Donuts and numerous small, local eateries and bakeries, but my favorite still and by far is Brownwood up in Northern Michigan where I grew up.  We used to get bags of fresh dounts before work, and the bags would get all grease-stained and the donuts were warm and delicious.  Yummm, I'm starving!  But anyway, I think Krispy Kreme takes second place, so to all you haters, you're missing out!
Ok, my battery is in the red, I gotta go.  Questions, comments, concerns?  Leave me a message here, on Facebook or Twitter!  See ya!

The Milky Way and Oreos

I don't get to look up at the sky very often and see what's really up there, anymore.  In most places we're at these days, there are too many street lights and other types of light polution that block space out in a dull, orangey haze.  It's really too bad, because the stars are beautiful.  I hope that someday we'll be able to travel to distant planets and moons and return to Earth within a lifetime, maybe even fast enough for weekend vacations!  How cool would that be??
For now, I guess I'll have to stick to terrestrial tourist destinations, and there's a lot of them that I haven't seen yet.
So I know I kinda lied back when I said I'd write a new blog and then didn't for a week and a half, but I'm getting it out now, and I guess now I have another week's worth of stuff to write about!  (I'll probably just end up rambling about myself, though.)
We're nearing the end of a long and uneventful drive right now going from Grand Rapids to Baltimore, after a nice little collection of weekend shows near home.  I had to skip out on one of those shows, last Saturday in Rockford, IL.  My cousin got married up near Traverse City, MI, so I had to go do the family thing and support.  It was a great outdoor-ceremony and the weather went from hot, humid and cloudy, to cold and slightly rainy throughout the day, but the party went on, anyway.  There was beer brewed specifically for the occasion by the groom, himself, lots of champagne and other assorted liquors floating in the river, staying cold, and some amazing pork that had been smoked right in the driveway.
This box (or bag?  I'm not really sure what those packages are classified as,) of Oreos is staring at me from the table, taunting me, willing me to eat them, but I don't have any milk to go with them.  What a cruel situation this is.  I can outlast you, Oreos!  You will not defeat me, my will is strong!
I'm loving the weather, lately!  Not the crazy stormy catastrophe weather that's causing all kinds of chaos, but the mild, slowly cooling weather in the midwest.  The temperature is in the 50's, clouds are moving quickly across the sky and the sun is moving south.  Soon, the leaves will change and football will be in full effect, and Hoodies will become common again.  (Hint hint...)
We stopped somewhere in eastern Ohio today, for a little pre-tour dinner.  Outback Steakhouse treated us very well, and I went against my norm and ordered the grilled chicken and vegitables.  The chicken was ridiculously juicy and delicious, I'll definitely get it again!
Coming up this week and next, we'll be in Baltimore, MD, Syracuse, NY, Uncasville, CT, Albany, NY, West Chester, PA, Clifton, NJ, Jacksonville, NC, and Charleston, SC.  I'm hoping the cool, calm weather follows us for most of the shows!  I just got my slippers and pajama pants out of storage for the winter months.
Oh, I got my hair done again, yesterday.  It's back to black and red, and I hope it stays in for a long time!
A Wii made it back on to the bus, this morning.  Mario Kart has once again taken over the back lounge, and I can't imagine it will be too long before the trophy makes its way back into the bunk room.  I swear we have the most intense video game competitions on this bus out of all touring musicians in any genre.  I obviously can't state that as fact, but it could be.  I wonder if there's a way to find that out...
Sounds like I'm running out of steam here, so I'll just end it at that.  See ya soon!

The Black Hills and Four Forefathers

[I had this whole nice blog typed out, and when I went to go get the video link, for some reason it logged me out and when I posted it, everything was erased!  GAH!  At least part of it was saved up until the TV link]
Looking out the window of the bus right now, I see some campers and what looks like a pole barn with the word "BUFF" on it.  If I lean to my left, I can see that it actually says "BUFFALO CHIP," but I think I'll stick with my first glance because it makes me giggle.
Unfortunately for someone on the way in, we saw a bike in minor shambles, looking like it had been laid down on some gravelly pavement.  Ouch!  I send my condolences to whom ever that may be.
This morning we stopped at Mount Rushmore, a place I've wanted to visit since first hearing about it at a young age, when ever that was.  Although there were some mixed feelings about the size of the monument from the driver's seat, I was definitely in awe of such a huge accomplishment, as well as the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape.  I definitely hope at some point we will be able to stop back for a longer period of time and get to go hiking on the trails all around.
For those who haven't seen it yet, go check out my new tour video (#16) right now, and then come back and finish reading.
Back?  Okay, good!
Word on the street is that it's getting a little chilly outside, and I think I may have to dig out one of my hoodies or jackets for an evening stroll.  I might even put on shoes!  Oh my!  Last I heard, it was 67 and dropping.
So yesterday we were lucky enough to be invited out on a boat in Minnesota, and it was a beautiful day to be out.  I lost a pair of cheap sunglasses somewhere in the murky abyss, and with the help of some goggles and our nifty little waterproof GoPro Hero camera, I spend many minutes scouring the bottom for them.  I was unsuccessful, unless you count the many beer cans and Sony Xplod receiver faceplate that I came up with.  I like to think of them as bonus items.  If you lost that faceplate in whatever lake it was that we were in, I'm sorry, but it probably doesn't work anymore.
Soon after, we were engulfed by a school of ravenous sunfish, nibbling at our toes and hopelessly staring us down (or up, as physics require.)  I've got some nifty video of that too, although not quite Discovery Channel quality, I like to think it's pretty good considering what I had to work with.
After a few hours of floating, sinking and burning, we cruised over to Lord Fletcher's Old Lake Lodge for some dinner.  I gingerly enjoyed a burger while my coarse tshirt rubbed against my sunkissed flesh, then it was back to the bus for me to finish the releasing process of previously mentioned TV16.
Alrighty, the great outdoors is calling my name, so I must wander.  Have a great weekend, everyone!  Catch ya on the flipside.

(Over-used cliche saying about Band Camp)

Two days off in a row.  That's what we get, and for once, we're not spending the entire time driving a ridiculously long distance between shows!  It's good to be parked in one comfortable place for a day, and tomorrow the plan is golf!  If you're new to Pop Evil, yes, we are avid golfers.  You can see some of our outings in past tour videos I've put together.  This time, I'm more excited than most because I actually have my own clubs with me now!  I'm really hoping to beat Leigh and Dave tomorrow, but the outcome will depend on my ability to stay relaxed.
Last night at Band Camp, Dave and I were hitting some balls with a 7 iron in this big grassy area next to the busses, and after the turn, dave almost hit one of them.  Shortly before that, a ball was hit into a crowded area, and everyone scattered.  Whoops!  Sorry!
So more on Band Camp!  What a great show!  Aside from the intense sun and heat, there was All That Remains, Anew Revolution, Aranda, Saving Abel, Egypt Central, Clutch, Volbeat and many others!  It was an awesome lineup, and a bit of a tour-family reunion!  Have I mentioned that I love festival season?  First time I've ever seen Volbeat, and I was very impressed!
Dylan made it out to the show as well, it feels like forever since we've seen him and it we've definitely missed him!  I've got some more chest-cam video to edit up for y'all, I'll get to it soon, I promise!  I've got about 15 videos in the waiting line right now, so I'll be busy for a while!
It feels strange to think we'll be playing in Sturgis with Alice Cooper in a week.  It feels like summer has just begun, even though tomorrow is the first day of August.  I'll have some new tour dates for you, soon!  I'm expecting a new itinerary any day now, and when I get it, you'll know!
I think I'm ready for bed, already.  It's been a long day of slip-n-sliding, grilling and relaxing, and we have to do it all over again, tomorrow!  I'm gonna need to get my energy back.  Gnight, everyone, hope y'all had a great weekend!