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2006 Hawaii / Japan Tour
Sunday, January 22nd - At The End Of The Tour

Touring Japan is a total glimpse at the future. Everyone and everything is so efficient, its amazing. But that also means space is maximized and the ceilings are low enough for some of us to bump our heads if we weren't careful. I wanted to video tape my shower the night we stayed in Nagoya because it was just like the shower scene in Lost In Translation, where I'm hunched all the way over trying to scrub my face and hair... but I figured that'd be super inappropriate and blinding. Our hotel was not only inside of a shopping mall, it was the 10th floor! The club we were playing was on the 8th floor... Dinner was served on the 7th floor.... Our favorite cd's were found at Tower Records on the 6th floor and strings, picks, guitars were all found on the 5th floor at the music shop. Talk about efficient! The Nagoya show was rad, and the best backstage moment came during This Day And Age's set, when the japanese crowd rushed to silence after applauding a song... Rufio and over it killed the silence by thirty seconds of loud partying behind the curtain and chanting 'chug chug chug'. Everyone got a kick out of it, but I'm sure some of the kids were confused. This Day And Age rocked hard, and it was a pleasure being on tour with those dudes. We all went to bed early so we could get up and catch the bullet train to Tokyo!! This was our second bullet train adventure on this trip and we were starting to get the hang of it. It was a little bit longer then the ride between osaka and nagoya, but we got to pass Mt. Fuji and snap some killer photos. On our first afternoon in Tokyo, Peter and Nick played an acoustic set at a venue called Lush in the Shibuya area. We caught up with Akila and Tami from Hurley Japan and our buddies Ken and Ken. Rufio didn't play this gig, but Jeff, Joe and Mike from TDAA rocked the acoustic show. That night people went to the punkrock bar in Shibuya and crashed out for a big morning ahead of us... The first thing we did was go for sushi! This was one of two meals we had been waiting a lifetime for. Sushi in japan! Miso soup with clams, marbled tuna, sweet shrimp and crab, yellowtail, urchin, eel, salmon, seabass, redclam... Good stuff! Mike from Rufio was the only guy outside of OI to heed the sushi calling... Everyone else opted for pasta. Pansies! James tried to eat the sushi with his drum sticks and made a huge mess! The Tokyo club was awesome! Again it was in a sort of shopping mall, but this time we were staying in a free standing hotel so it didn't feel so strange. The club really did rule and they had an ever lasting supply of this vitamin c/energy drink called oranami c. Scott from allister was around hanging out with us both nights because his band had just done the same tour a week before. He helped us figure out that the dvds we bought were no good because they were region 2 dvds. Bummer. The first tokyo show ruled and the man, hiro from grindhouse, hungout with us before and after. We went to an american meal: TGI Fridays, and then called it a night. Saturday was our last tokyo show, at the same club, so we had plenty of time to run around Tokyo. It was snowing heavily and we were running loose through harajuku throwing snowballs and checking out toy stores. After going to Shakey's pizza and grubbing on anchovi pizza (gag), we met up with Akila and Tami and cruised by the Hurley Japan offices to kick it until press/soundcheck later that afternoon. It was so cool to be kicking it with them because they are friends we met over a year back in california. Like greenday said in their new dvd 'the second night is always better!' The saturday Tokyo show was the best of the tour and the japanese kids were so damn cool. During our set, Jon Rufio went flying by us and jumped right out into the crazy crowd! Rufio put on the best show I can remember seeing from them and overall everyone had a seriously good time. We ate korean bbq for dinner which was the final big meal we had been waiting for! You are given plates upon plates of raw meat and you elect a grillmaster per table... Grill it up and make several cheers along the way! We were also celebrating our bestfriend Kenichiro Arima's 23rd birthday. That guy is cool as hell. The next morning we took off for the airport and were a little late because Moto forgot to bring his mask to present the biluss.... So he went home to get it. That was okay because our flight was delayed 3 hours for snow anyways. We said goodbye to moto and mie from bigmouth japan and everyone from bullion and toys factory and played the waiting game by having push up contests. The flight sucked with tons of turbulance, but we made it! Every single show went really well and we had a blast in two very different lands. (Ghoul)

Wednesday, January 18th - Rock Rock In Osaka

...Good morning from the illustrious Shinsaibashi Hearton Hotel, Osaka. I have seen the future and im about to break down and give it to ya. Well, not exactly but i have seen some really fascinating and even exotic stuff around here. First of all- how can everyone be so well dressed while i remain a frumpy, uninteresting tourist? Its truly unfair, i think i might move to Japan just to develop a hint of style. I hope i'm not entirely beyond help. Secondly, whatever the Japanese say, don't believe them when they tell you about Ooparroopaa- allegedly the cutest animal invented since the early 80s. Its actually horrible and scary and might as well be dead because it floats around in its fish bowl like so much pink slime and weirdness, kind of like one of those animal shapes we used to soak in water when i was a kid until the thing became many times its original size. One way or another the Japanese have created a living version of this phenomenon out of what some of you may remember as the Sea Monkey. If you don't know what i mean, you may be too young- are those things still around? Fortunately they also sell many adorable creatures as pets here, some living, some inanimate, some with artificial intelligence. If an I-dog doesnt cut it for you, the Hello Kitty robot will only run you roughly 4,500 US dollars. Cat allergies can't stop the Japanese. Our hotel is in the heart of a mazelike shopping district. Streets upon streets of skyscraping shops and restaurants and everything else stretch as far as the eye can see. Our show with Rufio and This Day and Age, who you should check out if you hadnt already since they are really good, happened on the 8th floor of a building containing, among other things, a Starbucks on the first floor, a toy store on the fifth and, of course, Club Quattro. We all had an amazing time. It was so great to meet everybody again and hug lots of sweet little Japanese people. We even managed to track down the culprit behind the painting we found two years ago at the end of the Quattro show. She was very shy, but I think we managed to explain how grateful we are for her talent and affection. Our new portrait features a red snapper and a radical nu metal rendition of nick with blue hair and a bad@$$ goatie- this girl is amazing. Its weird when you aren't used to being recognized on the street and then suddenly it happens. The language barrier makes it all the more surreal, so when it does go down normally i'll just grab 'em and hug 'em. What else are you supposed to do confronted with such love?? Give it back people, always give it back, and don't be coy. Our night wound down with a hilarious dinner featuring a drunken raw egg slurping contest, and many giant pitchers of Asahi. Afterward we made our way over to "Rock Rock", Osakas very own, one of a kind, "hollywood" bar. Practically every last band that plays here parties at Rock Rock, and last night we had the intensely surreal pleasure of meeting the guys from Stratovarius- probably the most widely influential Scandinavian Power metal band since Helloween. If you guys don't know who i mean too bad, but those of you who do are freaking out, i know, its so rad. So yea, those guys were super cool and maybe we will cross paths with them again in Tokyo. We came, we saw, we got a little silly...Amen. So here are some images from our travels around town yesterday and of course, from the show and festivities that followed. It's time now to pack up and catch the bullet train to Nagoya, where we will play yet another Club Quattro and with any luck, not upset the spirits of any haunted hotels- they can really be a collosal pain in the butt. More still to come very soon. Sleep tight America. (Peter)

Monday, January 16th - Good Bye Hawaii, Hello Japan

What ever happened to Sunday the 15th??? I think i actually saw it slip away from us the moment we sailed across that international dateline. Trippy, yet true. Before i elaborate let us move back several days and i will relate to you, friends, a few of the events that have transpired this week. Wednesday afternoon Alex, James, Seth and myself took a trek, circumnavigating eastern Oahu and the legendary North Shore. Along the way we made pit stops at Kualoah Ranch, and just about every subsequent Beach town along the northeastern coast. Kualoah is a cattle farming reserve that has appeared in many famous films and television shows and even hosted our very own show last winter at the 2004 Surf Fest. Its simply epic and beautiful, need i say more? Nope, I needn't. The Pipeline surf contest is the kind of event i could watch for days. It's strangely comforting albeit surreal, to feel those twenty and thirty foot swells pounding the shore as you recline in the remarkably lazy-boy-ish sands of Pipeline. The pros look like ants out there but it is amazing to behold the grace and athleticism they possess. I wish i could paddle out there and have a shred of a hope of survival. Maybe i'll be born in Haleiwa next time around. Thursday was less interesting really, we scoped out the Pipeline Cafe and spent the afternoon/ evening canoodling and eating Burgers/ Drinking Pina Coladas with the All-American Rejects. That's not to say the Rejects are anything other than interesting company, in fact they are lovable and hilarious and write the most infections, awesome music to boot...but this is already starting to feel like Friday's story to me. Hawaii, i have to reveal something personal about our band to you, and heck why not, everybody else as well. We would not love what we do nearly as much without you. Without getting lei'd every time we come to town, without the privelege of rocking out for you at the dingiest and sweetest spots on the island, without everything you guys teach us on the stage and at the show. Seriously, how sick was our evening together at the Pipeline Cafe? We promise to do our best to return this year. In summary, the Rejects are a model band to me; they have amazing personalities, raw talent and some of the coolest fans. It makes me feel like its day one all over again in the best possible way every time one of their fans decides that we can have some of their love as well. Thanks for hooking us up boys! On our last day on Oahu, Nick took me out to Bowls in Waikiki, a popular surf spot by the marina, lined by volcanic rock jettys that stretch for hundreds of yards across the shore, and even jutting out into the sea itself. After a quick dip in the foam, (i dont surf as of yet and didnt want to get in the way of the local boys where no other haole's were swimming), i spent the next few hours making phone calls and scaling the rocks. what i discovered was that there is no end to the teeming and wildly varied animal life in this place. The rocks were crawling with these shiny, black-shelled stone crabs that saw me coming miles away and ran for their lives. Fortunately, with great stealth i was able to creep up on one and steal his virtue. voila! I know they kinda look like those terrifying carnivorous bugs from the chasm in Kong, but they are still beautiful and "wilderry" as they say on Wildboyz. And as swiftly as it began, our time in paradise was gone. We prepared a feast for the Kaimanas and spent the rest of the night telling each other how much we mean to one another and making every effort not to get teary eyed in front of papa. I still really want him to think im a big strong guy, especially after all that cookin'! As much as it stinks to leave, however, i feel in my heart that the island will again draw us into its tractor beam-like charisma. I know it won't be long before we return. Which brings us to today's/yesterday's events. A beautiful sunrise met us at gate eight of the Honolulu airport, as did Jack from Lost, or at least so i'm told. With or without him we jumped on the 777 and took flight. Forty-thousand feet somewhere over Midway island you could have found me watching The Corpse Bride, which was both fantastic and romantic, and Brothers Grim, but the highlight of my trip had to be creeping over to the opposite end of the cabin to snap a portrait of Mount Fuji (Fuji-San) as we passed Tokyo and began our descent. I never realized that this epic volcano pierces right through the clouds and into heaven. It was truly a sight to behold. Moto and Mie, our Japanese bosses and parents met us at the Kansai International terminal and we had no trouble with customs or immigration once i was finally able to tear Nick away from that adorable drug dog. Good thing were clean fun loving people huh? I'm running out of steam. It occurs to me that the myriad lights and sounds outside are all too overwhelming in my jet-lagged state, so i must resolve to end here and return later after a much overdue dinner and a tall glass of habu sake. That's the kind with the deadly serpent pickled in the bottle; apparently it gives you "power", whatever that means. Dinner, a drink, and then Seth can carry me to bed. Aloha...errrr....Sionara for now!!! (Peter)

Tuesday, January 10th - Aloha From Hawaii

I have made a new friend. His name is Ghetto Kaimana, and he is my official guide in the crater of this here dormant volcano in which i am making my temporary hideout. Together we watch the Cardinals and Finches take cover from the afternoon shower. He is an orange tiger stripe with Ronald Reagan eyes- you know the kind you get when you press your hands to your temples and squeeze your face till its silly. Everytime i get to a really riveting chapter in "Memoirs of a Geisha" the guy sails into my lap and demands to be the center of attention; my kind of guy. Point being that Ghetto is the embodiment if you will, of the spirit i feel radiating from the heart of this island. Warm, independent jungle love and personability. About this time, thousands of miles from here, the Rufio guys are soaring in the general direction of Australia, bound for their shows`down under, and i would normally envy their busy schedule, but today is different. Although we too might have visited Australia this week had our music ever come out there these rusty frustrations are far from thought today. Making up for all that is clearly another story. Why is this, you ask? Well, its simply because i have the day off, right HERE. Since our delayed arrival on Oahu we have been enjoying the company of so many friends. Our foster family, the Kaimanas have been caring for and padding us with weight so that we are ready to brave the brutal Japanese winter still ahead; We rocked yet another one of those muggiest nights ever with Rufio and 500 or so of our wildest new Oahu people- and our former neighbors from California have wined and dined and dunked us in shorebreaks and coral shallows in Hanauma bay to make sure that our skins become infused with enough of the Hawaiian elements to sort of fit in around here. Yes people- paradise feels really nice, but don't you feel left out; It's not like she isn't dying for a visit!!! Like i said our show at the Pink Cadillac felt like a massive success. We really needed a good sweat to follow up our holiday indulgences and everyone that showed up pushed us right to the edge. I was totally seeing spots and peoples faces melting during the last song on account of the heat alone. Honestly though, i can't believe how many people still remembered how much fun we had at last year's Surf Fest and made sure to come back for another dose. I can hardly wait to see everybody again on Friday with the Rejects. After the show was wrapped up we returned home and set our alarms to rise with the sun. Stopping first in Waikiki to scoop Rufio and their gentlemanly Buick we drove out to the Bay for a swim with the fishies and other coral reef dwellers that look like the stuff of fantasy. Once we remembered how surprisingly easy it becomes to breathe underwater with a snorkel things quickly got rad. words can't really do justice to the amazing lights and colors and shapes that race throughout and about the coral reefs. Seth and I fell in with this massive iridescent parrot fish and followed him around the bay until we were exhausted, stopping from time to time to freak out over this or that weird fish that turned out to be a member of Rufio swimming in the bay. So as i sit here reflecting on this fine beginning to what i expect will be the craziest year yet in our brief history I am thinking wow, spam must feel really special. Everybody on the mainland tends to write it off as processed junk, and Spam doesn't even really mind because it knows that here in the midst of all this exotic beauty, it will always have a home. So everyone promise themselves a trip to a Hawaiian 7-11 real soon for some Spam musubi- just think Spam and sushi; together at last. Aloha all of you...more soon. (Peter)

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