New York Last Show
Posted 11/19/2007 by Vagrant_Admin
I am about to walk on stage to play the last of our NY shows and it is starting to dawn on me that this tour is only a moment from over. I have to tell you frankly that I have never had a finer tour than this one. There are so many reasons.
To begin with, I have spent this tour with so many friends. I have been looking forward to a tour with John Ralston for a long while now. Back in the old days Further and Recess Theory a band comprised of my friends Nathan Jezek, Steve Eshelman, Jeff Snow(later of John Ralston) and John Ralston (later of John Ralston) did a split together (does anyone do splits now?) and toured extensively. Later RT was renamed Legends of Rodeo and toured extensively with me in Dashboard. Last year I scooped John Ralston, the man not the band, into Dashboard for about six months during which John Ralston, the man and the band, opened for a handful of dates. Now I have spent two great months of this fall touring with John Ralston, whose band is comprised of many of my best friends, Dustin, Nick, Jeff, and Dan (who I am in The Andy’s with and who once was the bassist for Dashboard). Still with me? Good.
Then there is Augustana. I have been a fan of this band for about a year and a half, and I have been friends with Dan for about as long. I had hoped that they would fit in with this circle of old friends without feeling left out. They have done more than that, becoming some of my favorite friends and a big inspiration to me musically. They spend equal time chasing fun and honing their musical skills. They are never afraid to have their fun spill into your day. They are so inviting and refreshing to our fans (to quote one fan anyway).
Of course if you were there for the front of this tour, you will remember that Max Bemis joined us for a couple weeks. I have done many dates with Say Anything and our friendship is as genuine as I have had with anyone I have ever toured with. I love these guys. I love their approach to music and the challenges that they raise as they fearlessly change and grow as a band.
Then there are the surprise guests. Fred from Taking Back Sunday has been a friend of mine from years back and has made a solo record, under the name The Color Fred, which I love very much. I couldn’t resist having him join in for the AC show and he is here in the dressing room now with me and Johnny and I am about to invite him to perform one of his songs in this, the last show of the tour.
And, surprise surprise, Adam from the Counting Crows is back here with us now, rehearsing with us for a guest appearance in our mega-encore of five or six songs. All of you know of our friendship but I have to tell you how much it means to me to have a hero of mine join me for one of my shows, in one of my favorite cities, for one of my favorite audiences.
And of course the best surprise of them all was the talented John Lefler. I think it may be no secret to you by now to know that he joined me for a third or so of my nightly set. I haven’t said much about him in these notes to you, preferring to let those of you who didn’t know he would join me would enjoy it for the surprise he was intended to be. There were many days in the beginning of Dashboard that I played truly solo with no other players at all, but only if I didn’t know anyone at all in this or that town. I have always enjoyed inviting my friends up for a spell and a story, and I have always thought of that as something that always made me better. No one has ever made me asgood as my band mates John, Mike and Scott, and no one has been as good as they have as players in this band. Having John on this tour and watching how inspiring his performances have been to you, and I, has made me proud, and no one has ever been as entertaining to me in my life as this guy. I hope you have gotten to know him a little better in this setting.
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