What was to be a 10 show 13 day tour became a 5 show 7 day adventure.
The reason's why it was cut short are not the point of this entry, it was just was meant to end that way...I am here to leave another scratch on this digital domain for my friends and those who will one day be my friends to revisit or discover who we are..Why we struggle on.
Against all odds, we have survived as a dream made flesh, and even as the sound and face of it all changes, the roots of it creation remain, and even though We Are Still Lost in America,it is clear that the phoenix is on the rise again.
So even though this tour was cut short, this tour was fucking amazing. we returned home from ice blizzards and finacial ruin with a smile because of the new alliances, and the promise of more to come. For all that went wrong much more went right. We may have found a potential new base camp, U-35 is begining to expand, the streets are starting to respond.
We created a new version of Apox that not only rocked, but for those who witnessed our friendship on and off stage understood why the music was only the soundtrack of something bigger.
We now return to lick our wounds, heal, and prepare to once again return to the lost highways. So, to all those who doubt the validity of this thing called Apox, we live on, in the dark corners, secret gardens, and underground domains. We have survived the test of time again and again. To those who wish us ill, we simply state. Your hate is making us stronger. And to those who validate us with support, you are why we are here.
thank you.
I am going to end this post with a paste up ripped fro the blog of Lindsey , one of the Apox singer's.
here is my friend's Lindsey's straight talk...
"Every time I go on a tour with Apox, my graditude and sentimentality will drive me to write a blog about it. This one will be a bit different. The events to take place have been very special to me that I needed to document for myself which would explain why this blog is very long. The strange events of this wacky tour must be recalled. As anyone would know, when you're on a tour with a group of people, it eventually becomes its own little world. And the world outside becomes small as you become more surrounded by this inner circle. It becomes its own entity. For the Apocalypse Theatre Wild, Wild West Recon Tour, the line-up consisted of our regular members V.Mercy, MadKat, Joolie, Calvin, and myself. We have been very lucky to get Mercury Mad to join us on guitar, who is based in Lawrence, Kansas. Best known for his work with Vibralux, and now is Mercury Mad and the Plastic Bitches. Who was also the opening act for this tour. We had also managed to hijack Ken Symptom from Chicago, who is currently the drummer for Project 44 and The symptoms. As these 2 members had a tie-in from our last tours, they went ahead and joined us. We also had DJ Nature, Johanna (violin/bass), and Stacy (roadie/Evil Bunny). Here is an example of the moments shared on the road and definitions of the phrases managed to be repeated constantly throughout this time:
KUM N GO- Gas station with funny name founded in the Iowa/Missouri area.
GOTH JELLO- Is a term Merc mangaged to come up with. As we were stashed in this circle of love seats in the van with the equipment crammed behind us, this brilliant term came to birth. As everyone was sitting upright, eventually everyone managed to fall asleep on eachother, sliding down from our seats. Which caused us all to meld together till we're all tangled in eachother's limbs...Which caused us to become "Goth Jello".
VENTROLOQUIST FARTS- On a road trip, there's always the one that's shamelessly farting. That would be our drummer Ken. Who has this incredible talent for "throwing" farts. As I was walking up the hall towards the social circle of my bandmates, Ken managed to turn a little bit toward my direction, pinching off an echoey fart my way. Rather than make the fart sound like it was coming from his direction, it sounded like it came from behind me and down the hall. I paused, looked around, and said "It wasn't me". I almost got the blame until someone figured it out and Ken confessed.
THE "KERNEL OF TRUTH"- In a deep conversation with Mercury, I told him that If I didn't talk out of my ass, I'd probably never have anything to say. In his supportive nature, he replied, " Yeah, well, with all the corn coming out of your ass, there's probably a small kernel of truth hidden somewhere".
THE BUTT-FUCKING BRADY BUNCH"- This gas station attendant asked me if we're all dressed up for a costume party. The results of the question are given.
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION CODE 01001100101- This is the language we speak when border police arent around...MUTANTS.
"ASS WRATH"- Possibly a reference of spooning till one's ass manages to push another person completely to the other side of the bed, or a really great band name.
TILT- An energy drink with the alcohol already combined. Or getting "Tilted" is saying, "Im going to bar next door to get that energy drink with the booze already in it".
TITS- A reference to something that is awesome "Do I look totally tits?" or "That is so tits!" I had to assure Merc this is how he looked before most performances.
WHAMBULANCE- When too much whining from a faggy glam/goth band takes place. We need "Whambulances". Me especially.
NIPPLE STAR AND BALLS- Ken wore a star on his nipple and talked about balls a lot.
BRINGIN' SEXY BACK- We have all agreed that Justin Timerlake's new song will end up in a Subway commercial "Bringin' sandwich back". Bringing up this song became a circular trend.
"YOU CANT SAY "FUCK" ONSTAGE, ASSHOLE"
Now for the details of the tour and my personal diary (LONG):
The 1st night, we played at Balanca's in Kansas City. Which is always our 1st stop when doing a U-35 Recon Tour. The 2nd night, we played a town in Arkansas. We had a great crowd that loved to dance. The show was really fun except for the annoyance that we were all poor and had to pay for our own beer. As I was prepared with my cheapest of all decent beer. I had it set onstage to start a minimal buzz, until Mercury, the person who gave me shit about how gross beer is and how he's allergic. He takes a swig then hands it to Calvin (Notorious Beer Stealer), then hands it back to Merc to play beer bottle slide metal guitar (Steve Vai shit). Hands me an empty bottle during the song. Jesus Christ...The hotel was a fancy condo. Ken breaks into our suite, raids our candy basket and runs out manically. Merc steals the cute Dorothy (OZ) basket with the black linen. V. cancels the tour :( Then Waffle House people think we're famous and wants us to sign shit, take pictues and makes us wear hats. We played a freezing night in Amarillo,TX. Then Bisbee, Then Tuscon @ the Congress Hotel, which is this beautiful historic hotel they set us up in with a great venue. Not many showed up for that. But it was OUR show. WE had fun! It was our last night to all have fun together before going home. It was an Apox love fest! (metaphorically speaking). But we did get naked.
NEW YEARS/ BISBEE STORY
If I can recall all the events of Bisbee, AZ. This has been the most memorable experience of my life! If I can describe Bisbee in anyway, Think winter in a misty desert mountain. It is a beautiful seemingly sleepy mountain town that gave birth to memories of a romance of Rock N Roll and great friendships. The people have been so warm and welcoming and were only strangers for a mere second after meeting them. We drove 15 hours to get to Bisbee. As our van was pulling in, the streets were lined with hundreds of people. We couldn't even get through, it was so crowded. We loaded our equipment into El-Change-O, which is an art gallery as well as a music venue. Mercury went on 1st, then Apox. Just before the ball dropped, we were invited to lead the New Years parade near a 20ft dragon from the gallery. So we went ahead and led the parade with the Tom drums, pirate flags, and lanterns. The parade went up the main street and followed up to the tip of a hill which was the city park and ended up on a dome stage. As the parade settled up there, it was all dancing and celebrating. I've never seen such a display. It seemed like a festival, only there was nothing organized about it. After that, Apox went back down the hill to finish our music set. Bisbee has the most bazaar people, I love it!
After that intense night, we were invited to stay at Gretchen's house, who owned the venue. Only 3 blocks up, she had a house that sat wedged into the mountain hill overlooking the neighborhood. The next morning they made us a huge breakfast and went out later for bloody mary's. By then we had a chance to walk around and meet locals, who are so nice! If not even that, we were invited to play yet even another show. Rather than do a heavy Apox set, it was a mellow acoustic one. Mercury pulled off an amazing, energetic set. I went up up afterwards to play guitar, Merc playing lead for me. Unfortunately I had been really sick with a cold that night, so I couldn't sing very well and my energy was low. This night was special as well because the crowd and the solo acoustic sets were more intimate. We felt closer, The setting was amazing. After I finished, V went up to do his thing and we finished with an acoustic version of Rouge Anthem. As the night continued it became even more special talking to all the individuals and learning more about those I didn't know very well.
As that went on, I realized I was getting tired and wasn't quite drunk enough. So Mercury took me to the next bar to where I could get "Tilted" (see definition above). Another great moment to where you can hang out with fellow bandmates and locals away from your venue and listen to jukebox music. We had locals approaching us saying they had a great time at the show the night before. The Tilt almost gave me a heart attack. Fucking great town! Bisbee is. I will never forget. Bisbee will always be a special place in my heart. Thanks to all of you!!! Especially Gretchen!
CORNY ASS KERNELS OF SENTIMENT
It is sad the tour had to be cut short, but once again that short time made me realize I now have everything I've been looking for. I have now traveled to some of the most beautiful places, Im playing music almost every night, I have the most wonderful friendships, and met strange, amazing people on my journey. Im in OZ... In my head, it is one beautiful epic love song. Something by The Cure, maybe...Pictures of you...? haha. Even though Apox is the 2nd band I've ever played with, I know there's something different and very special about it compared to others. There is so much heart, I am grateful for. And when I say this, it also includes other people who have worked closely (Venus, Harsh Reality, Mercury Mad, and Flat Atom). For now, my life is perfect. I need to be on the road forever! Because I will get bored again soon ;) "
XOXO Lindsey