Day 31
The Patio, Indianapolis, 26 April 2005
What up G's? Y'all are rappin wid da ultiMATE, mudafuckinest, exTREMEist troubadour of da ROAD, Mistra BEN HALES. Shout out to my Aqualung crew! Say Woooaaa! Yeaaah! Respeck to all the peeps diggin on droopy lady music! Das sum fuked up shit, man, right there [where on the stair? Right THERE!] droppin it in a Herbert Kornfield styleeeeee. WORD!
So anyway, we're back again. Had a nice time at home, but maybe it's best to think of home as a holiday location, to be remembered from afar.
Things are different this time. The record has been out for a few weeks now, the movie featuring Brighter than sunshine has just opened, and things are building nicely. We're building things up ourselves by introducing a new element to our live shows. He's called David W Price. Lung followers will recognise his name from sleeve notes, and remember his face from the UK tour last March. I would characterise him as a kind of musical monk, if I could, which I can't, because the word 'monk' suggests abstinance and moderation, neither of which apply to Dave. He says he has an addictive personality, and I certainly can't get enough of him. [Have I done that joke before?]. Anyway, he's playing the drums and percussion and also the violin and anything else that drifts into his transom.
Also accompanying us is Matt's pretend piano, which is pretend in the aspect of its sound-making but thrillingly real in the aspect of its weight. By contrast, much of the bass will be provided by the tiny Korg Micro which will sit on top of the piano, helping Matt to look like Ray Manzarec while he plays it with his left hand. It's an unusual ensemble.
We can tour with these unwieldy items because we have hired our first American bus, which is silver and slightly smaller than a regular bus. Attached to the back is a trailer which is silver and slightly bigger than a regular bus. The bus and the trailer are driven by a man called John. He appears not to be psychotic, but it's hard to tell on the first day.
We are joined once again by the trusty, caffeinated Roberto Pieroni, TM FOH who is 'in charge'.
He is being assisted by a new member of the Aqualung family who is called Claire. According to my tour book she is in charge of 'Press and Merchandise'. She's from Canada. She 'seems nice'. You know, the way people do when you meet them for the first time.
Finally we're meeting for the first time Cary Brothers and his friend Jason, who will be opening the shows and also sharing the bus. Now, Matt and I are brothers, so we could be called the Hales Brothers. Cary Brothers, on the other hand, is just a guy whose name is Cary Brothers. He plays with Jason, who is not his brother, but on account of his name, people assume that they are 'The Cary Brothers'. I believe that Cary has some brothers, but they don't tour with him. If they did they'd be called 'The Brothers Brothers' and not 'The Cary Brothers' because Cary is his first name, and by chance, 'Brothers' is his family name. I don't know what his brothers names are. Anyway, it's an incovenient name that leads to a lot of unnecessary confusion and pain for him. Cary doesn't help the situation by referring to himself as 'The Cary Brothers', meaning 'the actual Cary Brothers'. "Yes, I am the Cary Brothers," he'll say, "and this is Jason." I don't know what Jason's surname is.
Anyway, they 'seem nice'.
