So, we got invited to play the Black Summer of Doom and Fuzz Festival in Oakland, CA (at the STork Club) last weekend (July 26th, 2008) and we had a BLAST!! I know I haven't finished my Tour blog yet (and i'm wondering, is it too late to finish up the last dates??), but getting in that big white van and meeting the guys and loading up and riding down the open freeway made my heart beat a little faster. i'm itching to get back out there and play. i LOVE touring. Every day is like Saturday...and I looove Saturday's!!

We got to Oakland around 5 pm and started looking for a place to stay. Of course we didn't get all of that settled before we left because...well, i think because we're just musicians. all we think about is playing music.....and none of the logistics behind it. i think we would all agree that i'm probably the most organized on the business side, but compared to joe and john, anyone probably is..and that's not supposed to be a put down. i swear. i love those guys so much. it just means, i suck at it too. i didn't even rent the van until the day before we were supposed to leave and almost had an anxiety attack when every rental company i called was sold out.

but, we got a van, got to oakland, and eventually found a place to stay. got to the stork club at around 8 pm to load in and we made a couple over/under bets to make life a bit more interesting.

bet no. 1: how many girls (that aren't working) would be at the festival. john's number was 5. i (being the pessimist) took the under, and joe the over.

bet no. 2: how many times would we be hit up for money (if you don't know, the stork club isn't in the best part of oakland. the last time we played there, we were hit up countless times for change from all the homeless people on the street). john's number was 7. joe took the over, i took the under.

the punishment for losing? eating a hard boiled egg from the continental breakfast the next morning.

anyone else want to join in on the over/under? i'll wait to tell you the answers.

back to the show.

the bands we heard were excellent. the only bummer was not being able to play w/ greenhouse effect since they were on sunday, but we were stoked to be there and stoked to share the stage with so many good bands and really stoked to be back in the bay area. we love every one there!

we got a great review. i'm attaching it below, but if you'd like to read the whole thing, go to this link http://tencartrain.com/?p=802more-802

review from www.tencartrain.com:

A real delight was Los Angeles-based HDR. Their sound is as unique as their name—HDR stands for Hotdogs and Rice, says guitarist vocalist, Joe Mora—and their members. Reminiscent of desert-stoner rock legends Kyuss, HDR have a really fat, low-end wall of sound. Drummer John Lord describes this as a sonic boom, but unlike a normal sonic boom, which rumbles briefly and then peters out to a whimper, HDR booms through their entire set. They tread styles from Clutch-esque blues metal, to straight sludge with enough groove action to satisfy anyone looking for a little funk in their rock. The head bobbing action observed throughout the crowd is a direct result of the aggressive pounding of bassist Amy Tung. No pick for her: she sticks to the fingers and plucks without remorse. However, her skills might be rivaled by her culinary talent, as I discovered she provided an awesome recipe for fried rice in the booklet of their CD. Want the recipe? Pick up the disc next time they're in town. Music aside, the three members truly have a knack for showmanship and a great sense of humor. Take, for example, the lyrics of their punk anthem set-closer, "We Are HDR":



Time to show them all
One day it's gonna be ours alone
Power Trio swarm
Like Voltron we form.

Pure genius.

*****

we'll be playing Bender's Bar in San Francisco's Mission District Aug. 30th if anyone is around!

thanks so much.
Amy