As the members of Quest Theory Converged on the Tri-State area we were all psyched to make music and memories. The fun started Friday October 24th in New Paltz, NY with the opening tune of the tour being the Dylan cover "Wagon Wheel". There was a special moment during "Contact, Relate and Define" when the band really hit stride! The crowd went wild for "Vincent Black Lightning". Then the long ride home at 3am and alarm at noon the next day for the wedding of Yellowbeard! Heading straight to Surf Taco after the wedding, the show was made extra special with a nice showing from the Freehold Twp class of 88. (Thanks old friends) The band was ON and the small room in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Jackson, NJ was thumpin for the folks that made it out through the monsoon! "Dazzling Monkey" was extra funky and "Claim" was tight. The peeps stayed till the end and it made the night! The next few days were spent recording and rehearsing. It got a bit "hairy" on Halloween but the band made it to the Old Bay on Saturday November 1st sans some brain cells! The Bay was as fun as always with a full house. It was great when during "Rye's High", a group from a costume party strolled in dressed as and Amish Ordinon. Those Amish sure can get down and the straw hats were bouncing! I think I also saw Marty Mcfly and Doc Brown! The following morning was a tough one, but on this day, the whole posse headed out to John and Peter's in New Hope. Always a fun time in Pa, the band was greeted by familiar faces and new ones alike. Thanks to the gang that drove out to support the band and laughed every time I hit my head on a very low stage ceiling J The new tune "Walk Strong" stood out and continued to grow into what it will become…The national anthem of the world. The hard hitting Reggae tune "Viva" was also especially lively. "I agree in full protest…" Also the second time out for the Beatles tune "Baby's In Black"….Mandolin anyone? After the gig the band and friends hugged and said goodbye as Brother Josh hopped in his fully loaded truck and headed out to San Diego and new horizons. See you in four days in Big Sur you crazy bird!
It was about one am when Brandon stumbled into the ranch for our five am flight to San Jose on Thursday morning. Where the hell was Josh? Hopefully passed Nevada by now??? We slept for an hour or so and then headed to the airport. The trip was long but we were at Justin's pad in Santa Cruz by lunchtime and had a day of work ahead of us. Packing for the gig and getting the west coast instruments in playing order. The ride to Big Sur was amazing. We hit the coast at five pm and watched the sun sink low on the horizon. Big Sur is a place everyone should see before they don't see anymore. We got to the resort and checked in. A few moments later that same pickup that had stormed to the west last Sunday in New Hope came barreling down Hw 1. Filled with coffee and nicotine the Road Warrior pulled in ready to go. We set up had a quick walk among the redwoods and played to the always fun Big Sur audience. Peeps were dancing and smiling, the way that only the Cali gang seems to! "Lush and Low" was especially rockin and I heard a guy yell out "That Last Fargin Tune kicked Ass..." One guy took off his shoes, put them on his hands and got down on the dance floor on his newly shoed hand-feet. It was funny as hell!
We got up the next day and hung in Big Sur for a bit and then made the drive to King City. We ate a nice meal at the bar and the hung in the van for a few hours, talking music and being entertained by the local crazies who had no idea we were in there. Then, after the gear was set on the stage, the club owner showed up and whisked the band off to chill at his pad. We got back to the club around ten and got right at it. We were feeling it now and the crowd was really digging the tunes. This was a new room for us and it was going great. We were all ear to ear when we broke out the new tune "Poor Man's Princess" it went over well and we knew that as this song continues to grow it will be a QT staple. "Baja" was especially fun as groovin as was "Certain" and they both received loud responses. The crowd also really got into "Canary In A Coalmine". I'll Party in King City with all of those great folks anytime! Mas cerveza!
Getting up Sunday morning at eight am to drive to San Jose to watch the Jets beat up on the Rams was exhausting but there is nothing like being the lone Jet Fan in Cali at ten am, watching the green and white win! Sunday night was band private party night in Santa Cruz and once again it got crazy late night. It was nice to have a night "off"!
Rehearsals and recording on Monday and Tuesday. The new CD "The Eye of Truth" is due in March during the USVI Tour. The Tuesday night gig in Santa Cruz is always fun. We ate an awesome dinner at the bar and the got right into it with "Things We Said Today" The crowd was especially boppin for "Feed The Birds" and "Poor Man's Princess". "Miles" was also especially rockin! The show ended with "Viva" and the new tune "Silent For The Day" Release the weight………
After going to Brown Town on Wednesday and recording all day, we were in the mood to kill it in San Rafael by Thursday night. Sitting in the bar watching Favre drive the ball in overtime and seeing the Jets beat the Pats, moments before we played was all the red bull needed for a fun late night. All of the new tunes continued to develop and the older songs were really being performed with passion and confidence. We headed to our pad in San Anselmo feeling good. After a night of being tortured by a twenty pound cat that wouldn't let us sleep, we got ready for the ride out to Bolinas. The show started off great as if it were a continuation from the last few gigs. The band was in the zone before the first note and the night was great. A group of gals from Truckee, Ca harassed us before we started and offered us gifts to get going an hour early. We rebuffed and left the club to retire to our suite to prepare for show time. After a rippin first set, they all bought Cds and apologized for their pre-gig enthusiasm. They were blown away by the tunes and energy. It felt nice and they were really great peeps if not a bit over anxious J The whole room danced and hollered through all the reggae and bluegrass. The band was on fire after eight shows and rehearsals to boot. A crazy guy in a cowboy had been making crazy bird calls after every song. "Living For The City" and "Struggling Man" were especially fun. "I Might" and "Hold On" were all highlights. The band stretched a bit more in the last set and the crows was in a trance. There is no place like Bolinas.
Thanks Don!
The last day of the tour was great! We headed back to San Anselmo and chilled all day in Marin. We drove out to Pt. Reyes in the late afternoon and got to the club early for setup. Once again we were accosted by a group of overzealous females with a list of demands for the night. I ran out the back door as soon as they were informed that I was the man to attack. We stayed outside until we hit the stage and the bar was full. Everyone was dancing from the first tune to the last. We opened the same way we had begun twenty two day prior with "Wagon Wheel". A guy in a cowboy hat danced with his wife and everyone was ear to ear. The aggressive clan of women from earlier had been transformed into the "San Francisco Quest Theory Girls" They wore stickers on their clothes, took tons of pics of the crowd, the band and even their own body parts J They truly made the night that much more fun! "Blue Moon of Kentucky" really got the crowd going and it was our best night yet. At set break the cowboy and wife pulled me aside to thank me for such a great night. He was especially into "Lush and Low" He liked the combo of a waltz and funky groove in one tune. Everyone was having a blast drinking and buying our CD which is also available at cdbaby.com and iTunes. (Shameless plug) We finished the night with great versions of "Walk Strong", "Viva", "Hold On" and the tour ended with "Silent For The Day".
The band once again had Released the weight….and had made music for fans on both coasts. It was a blast and should prove to be the catalyst that propels the music to the next level. Special props to Brother Brandon who sucked it up for the cause and went on tour with a bad back. Nobody can imagine what this guy went through for the good of the vibe. All we can do now is finish the new cd, prepare for a great run in March down in the Caribbean, and wish him the best with his recovery. The horizon looks bright for Quest Theory. Thanks to all the special friends that helped lug gear, take pics, sell cd's and be part of the Quest that we all share!!!