imperative reaction

Monday | 10.09.06

10.07.06 - St. Paul, Minnesota

St. Paul was a lot warmer than I expected. In a city that has tubes connecting buildings so people don't freeze in the winter, you don't expect it to be over 80 degrees in October. The other band members went to the Body Works Exhibit, which I had seen in Los Angeles so I opted to sleep on the bus for awhile. The show was a smaller show, but the crowd was definitely there and showing a lot of energy.

-Sam

10.08.06 - Day off.. sorta

Last night was our 8th straight show in a row, with no nights off. It was nice to have today off. It was more or less of a travel day, so we decided to make most of the trip and stop about 4 hours outside of Denver and get hotel rooms in Ogelalla, Nebraska. There really isn't very much out here, but that's fine by us. We took showers and naps at the Best Western, watched some TV then headed next door to Spurs Grill and Saloon. An amazing barbeque place if you ever find yourself in Ogallala, Nebraska. Best bloody mary I have ever had.

Here's where things got interesting. I was feeling a bit adventurous, so Joakim from Covenant and I decided to order mountain oysters. For those who don't know, they are essentially bull testicles that are sliced up and then deep fried and served with cocktail sauce. We dove in, and DAMN were those balls tasty. Yummy, delectible testicles were soon consumed by almost everyone there. Right now I am back on the bus, getting ready for some hot Soul Caliber III action, and then we wake up at 10am and make our way to Denver, CO.

-Sam

Saturday | 10.07.06

10.05.06 - Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is a city that is as alluring as it dangerous. We played at St. Andrews, which is where they filmed a lot of 8 Mile. There was a beautiful view of the GM building and the steel skyline. I wanted to ride the sky train but never found the time. It was great playing to the Detroit crowd, but unfortunately we didn't get much of a chance to meet people as we had to go directly to the hotel room after the performance. Immediately attached to the hotel around the corner was Labyrinth, which was where the after party was. I was the first person there, so I was bored out of my skull until people started showing up, then it was a lot of fun. Eskil did an impromptu DJ set and spun songs such as Rythm Is A Dancer, Technotronic and other interesting choices. Trying to get band members to leave an after party is like herding cats.

-Sam

10.06.06 - Racine, WI

Wow.. Racine, Wisconsin. Who would have thought that this would have been one of the most enjoyable shows so far. The venue, Optyx, is a small club built inside of a bowling alley. Eskil and Joakim of Covenant, Rascal and Krishan of Rotersand and Clint and I decided to have some black russians and go bowling before soundcheck. Clint schooled everyone. The show opened early and Sensuous Enemy and The Gothcicles both put on really good sets. A ton of people crammed into the small venue, and it esentially just turned into a gigantic party. I never thought I'd be saying this, but Wisconsin sure as shit knows how to get down. Another whacky dance party ensued on the bus in the parking lot, with Joakim manning the lights. It was awesome to see Kicking The Habit and a few IR Forum members as well as a few repeats from the Chicago show 2 nights prior. Yes, I'll sort out the issue with the forums soon and try to bring it back online when I get back home and I recover from Wisconsin.

-Sam

Thursday | 10.05.06

10.01.06 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Before we got to Canada we had a brief stint at customs. I think we spent most of the time trying to figure out which vending machines accepted US currency. The coffee was like ass mud, but at the time it was the best cup of coffee money could buy. We cleared customs, hopped on the bus and were off to Montreal. It didn't take long to realize we most definitly were in a different country. As opposed to British Columbia, everything in Quebec was written almost strictly in French. Montreal was definitely a foriegn city, and was very captivating, what little of it we got to see. We got to Les Saints, which seems to be staffed by drop dead gorgeous women for the most part. Unfortunately the whole light rig couldn't be set up, but the show went quite well. Montreal seemed like it would be a tough crowd, but they were very accepting and gave us a great response. After the show, Eskil of Covenant, Krischan of Rotersand and myself went to a party at this really interesting 2-story club with 2 small floors, one was electroclash and the top floor was industrial. It was nice, because we got a chance to talk to a lot of the people that were there in a less hectic environment.

-Sam

10.02.06 - Toronto, Canada

Toronto was more our pace as we could read the signs there. We didn't get a chance to really do any exploring, but enjoyed the city anyway. The theatre we played at in Montreal was a nice venue with a nice, big stage and big accoustics. After an interview on the bus for DJ Goldie, some goofy band pics and the like, we kicked it backstage with a few members of Decoded Feedback and the rest of the bands.
After the shows, we had another inebriated game of "Let's toss an Aerobee disc on top of random shit for points and profit".

-Sam

10.03.06 - Cleveland, Ohio

The shows are finally starting to tighten up in terms of production. This was the first time Jurgen did sound for the tour. Jurgen is the sound engineer for Covenant and many other acts in Europe, and is definitely a master at his craft and it's a real treat to have him doing the sound for the tour. He has a real ear for electronic music. Ash from Filament 38 was there, as well as many other familiar faces from shows past. All of the bands spent a few hours on the bus in the parking lot. Apparently the area wasn't the best, and a crackhead knocked on the door insisting somebody walk with him to the gas station and buy him a cup of coffee. I think that sounds like a great idea at 3am.

-Sam

10.04.06 - Chicago, Illinois

DAMN this show was awesome. We played at the Metro, which is an amazing venue. A nice high stage, excellent sound and ambience. I think it was an old bus station of some sorts by the looks of it. This show went over really well, so well in fact that in order to show appreciation, if you bring your stub from the show in Chicago to the Racine, WI show, you get a $5 discount on your door purchase.

It was good seeing Paul and Kevin from Assemblage23 and Ned Kirby from Stromkern. Before the show we met up with Gerber from Kontrol Faktory and Hack for dinner and drinks. I was also happy to see Jhonen V come by, as I haven't seen him since he left Los Angeles. He had a brief reunion with his old V-Drum set that he sold me last year.

After mingling at the merch booth and talking to everyone, I definitely have to say Chicago definitely shows the love. Almost all of the members of the bands and some of the crew then went downstairs to the after party, which was tons of fun. It was definitely a pleasure to talk to more fans and meet new faces.

After the after party, I went back to the bus and everyone was in festive spirits. We played another round of music trivia, which I feel is rigged by the Europeans as they keep winning. Music trivia pretty much descended into a loud bus party with myself, Alex, Ted, Eskil, Joaka and Joakim getting down to such favorites as "Sexyback" by Justin Timberlake and "Toxic" by Britney Spears. "Sexyback" has got to be one of the most bitchin' songs currently on the radio. And I don't give 2 shits if you disagree. Take it to the briiiiiiidge. The scary thing is that this freakish music party was captured on video by Joakim. I hope it's lost and never found

-Sam

Wednesday | 10.04.06

09.26.06 - St. Petersburg, Florida

This was the first stop of the Skyshapers Tour with Covenant, Imperative Reaction and Rotersand. Holy SHIT this place is muggy. Due to a bunch of confusion at the airport, Ted wasn't there to meet us, and then went to the St. Petersburg airport to get us instead of the Tampa airport. I was tired, grumpy and just wanted to get a shuttle and I just tripped on some guy who was sleeping on the bench outside's bags which were scattered around the sidewalk in the front of the terminal. Just as Clint and I were about to pony up the $55+ cab ride to St. Petersburg, Eskil from Covenant comes walking out of the terminal, soon followed by Krischan from Rotersand and Joakim and other crew. It turns out the guy sleeping on the bench who's bag I accidentally kicked was Rascal from Rotersand. After our introductions, we come to find out the bus is coming, and a gigantic white bus pulls up and whisks us off to purchase beer and off to the hotel. A brief production meeting at the bus, back to our hotel room later on for some sleep. We wake up the next day to all hell breaking lose. In a matter of seconds, it went from clear to sheets of rain, at the most inopportune moment as we were loading our gear into the bus, dragging it through the sand parking lot. We finally get it loaded in, and get to the State Theater in St. Petersburg. The initial day went well, despite a few hitches which is typical for the first day of the tour, and the crowd was awesome.

-Sam

09.27.06 - Atlanta, Georgia

After St. Petersburg, we left for Atlanta. I somehow managed to sleep on the bus, which has been less and less common for some reason. Something about the constant motion keeps me awake. This show was at a venue called Masquerade, which seems to be built in a historic factory or textile mill of some form. The building itself was amazing, with giant gears on the ceilings and a rustic hardwood interior that you can tell has been that way for many years. Ted's mom and her husband showed up, as well as a good handful of old friends from Nashville. The shows went well and there was a lot of fun and many touchdowns and sour apple shots to be had. On the bus to Washington, Eskil from Covenant hosted an amazing game of music trivia off of his iPod, which later turned into teams of America Vs. the EU. The EU won.

-Sam

09.28.06 - Washington, D.C.

We arrived at the nation's capital. Unfortunately we had been sleeping all day so all I know of DC is that venue. We played at a new venue called Envy, which is still somewhat of a work in progress, but is already shaping up to be an amazing club with tons of different rooms spinning different genres of music. The catering upstairs was hands down the most elaborate hospitality I have experienced on tour, with everything from excellent beers and foods to catered gourmet foods. I can't thank the promoters in DC enough for how well they treated us. It was really good to see Jim from Metropolis and Petra, as we haven't seen them since the VNV Nation tour.

-Sam

09.29.06 - DAY OFF!

Today was a much needed day off. We rode from our hotel in New Jersey in a cab with Joaqim into Times Square. There we wandered around the 3 story Toys 'R Us, and then met up with an old friend that Ted has known since childhood. After a little bit of walking and a stop at Sam Ash Music, Ted soon realized we were having fun, and fun to Ted is like kryptonite. A short rickshaw ride to the bus station later, we got to the bus terminal and went back into New Jersey. Later that night, Ted, Clint and myself watched the latest Jackass movie at the theater and retired to a night of beers, Soul Caliber and Burnout in the lounge on the bus.

-Sam

09.30.06 - Brooklyn, New York

I woke up that morning to the sound of a gigantic bus trying to navigate New York's pothole-infested streets. After a tour through one of the scariest neighborhoods I have seen to date, we found the venue. It felt like that movie Judgement Night having a van full of clueless white dudes riding around in a bus through sketchy neighborhoods. We arrived at the venue, which was essentially this really cool artist community center on the bottom floor with an empty shell full of graffiti at the top. We played at the top, of course. After creating a stage, adding in the lighting and throwing up a few makeshift bars, the festivities began and all in all it turned out to be a very enjoyable night with many friends such as Issac from Cesium137 in attendance. In the rush to get everything out of there, unfortunately I left my favorite hoodie, my parents digital camera, and a very sentimental article at the venue. Sorry you had to find out this way, mom. I'll replace it ASAP. After a game of some bizarre makeshift ringtoss involving an aerobee disc and a dirty sidewalk, Eskil and the rest of us retired to the bus.

-Sam

Though Sam believes I am the enemy of fun, it's not true. We had a great time in New York ! Unfortunately, I lacked the energy Sam had once we were in the city. Out of five trips to New York with Imperative Reaction, this was the first time we actually got to see Times Square believe it or not. Really had a great time! Despite what Sam may have you believe :).

- Ted

Thursday | 06.09.05

Hey Everyone

We're here in our hotel room in Toronto taking turns waiting for the shower. Things have been a blur lately as we have covered quite a bit of ground in a relatively short amount of time. It was fun to be back in Salt Lake City after not playing there on the last tour. The crowd seemed very enthusiastic for all three bands which was cool. Unfortunately, I had to leave early that night to get some sleep in order to make the drive to Denver the next day. The Gothic Theater in Denver is an amazing venue and if you ever have the chance to check it out, you should. The crowd was very large and very into the shows. Next up was Kansas City. The show went well and the venue there was amazing as well. Turns out the place used to be owned by Al Capone. The backstage was underground and featured two vault-like doors that were original used to lock off interrogation rooms. There are still bullet holes in the walls. Crazy place... We managed to make it through Tornado Alley unscathed although, there was a small thunder storm waiting to greet us in Western Canada. Next up was Minneapolis, which was a lot of fun for us because we had not played there in the past. Everyone there was very nice which is always cool. We filmed the Minneapolis show which may see itself being chopped into clips and posted here in the near future. I will keep you posted regarding that. Milwaukee was great and The Rave/Eagles Club is easily one of the coolest places we've played at. The backstage was huge and looked like something straight out of the movie, The Doors. A much needed day off followed which we all spent in Gurnee, Illinois. The whole town seems to be built around the Six Flags Park. We took the opportunity to do laundry, sleep, and get some shopping done before heading over to the bowling alley with some of the VNV crew. It was nice just to hang out and relax without having to rush to get to the venue/hotel/next state, etc. Chicago... What can we say? Amazing venue + an awesome audience = one of our best shows to date. We will definitely make it a point to return to Chicago as soon as we can.

Well, that's all for now as it's my turn to take a shower. More to come soon!
Ted

Sunday | 05.29.05

Los Angeles Recap

Sleeping in my own home after the Anaheim show was a joy like no other. Unfortunately I had to get up the next day and drive 45 minutes into work to sort some things out, then high-tail it to the Avalon for soundcheck, then to my brother's to see him.
It was good to see him, and he was in a lot better shape than I had expected to see him in, and a weight had been lifted off my chest. He was in good enough spirits to go to the show. Ronan was awesome. He set it up so they had VIP with a private balcony to watch the show from. It was great to look up and see Josh and Molly up there enjoying the show. Ronan even dedicated "Homeward" to Josh when he performed it during his set.
Seeing friends and family was awesome. The crowd response was amazing as well. It felt great to play at the Avalon, as it's one of the best venues out there in my opinion. Here are some pictures from that night.

-Sam

San Francisco Recap

The drive to San Francisco from San Diego was nowhere near as bad as we had expected. Playing 2 nights in San Francisco was great. We got to leave our gear at the venue for the first night, so we got to hang out and interact with people more. The crowd on the first night was amazing. We haven't had a show quite like that up north to date, and it was definitely one of the better shows so far.
The venue was a block away from Little Tokyo, and that's where our hotel was. Little Tokyo is now my favorite part of San Francisco.

-Sam

Gabe and I spent the day wandering around the Asian Cultural Festival that was going on that day.

The Fillmore is an amazing venue. Excellent woodwork and covered in large pictures of the legendary acts that had played there from the 60's through today. I was especially excited to see the Fillmore posters gallery they had in the dining room.

The dressing room

Many people came by the merch booth to talk to the bands and have merchandise signed on the last night.

Seattle Recap

Seattle was my last stop on the tour. Unfortunately I was only able to be on tour for the first 3 1/2 weeks. It's weird when you get off of something as big as a tour like this. It's hard to decompress and it's almost impossible to relax or shake the feeling that you don't have to be somewhere at a certain time or don't have to drive anywhere the next day. You begin to miss it as it becomes so routine. I also miss everyone I worked with on the tour. I went a bit picture crazy, and ran around like a tourist snapping shots of everyone from the tour. I'd like to thank everyone in Imperative Reaction, VNV Nation and the entire crew, as it truly has been a pleasure working with everyone.

-Sam

Here I am with Christian from Icon of Coil, who played keys with VNV Nation on this tour

Here with Karloz (Manufactura) and Ronan (VNV Nation). Note the curious expression on Ronan's face as he's saying "Who's hat is that. Do you own this thing?!?"

Ronan: "What! Are you a fuckin' Chav?? Why on EARTH would you own such an attrocity! Get it away from me!"

Clint's hair and myself backstage

A live shot from VNV Nation's set

I don't think passing gas is an effective method to selling merch

Another pic from VNV's set

L to R: Steve, Moe (my mom), Clint, Gabriel, Erik (my dad)

My parents with Kolja (Soman/VNV Nation)

My parents with Ronan Harris (VNV Nation)

I should feel fortunate his hands are where they are. Mark gets grabby when he's a tad bit drinky.

Axel is the most amazing sound tech I have ever worked with. I'd like to thank him for making every show sound great. I encourage you to check out his band, Girls Under Glass

Jim, VNV's merch guy. Excellent company, and Jimli is perfect for taking on any long treks with hobbits and elves to find The Ring.

Jokka: One of the light techs. Him and Sylvain did an excellent job running the multimedia and lights for the tour.

Mark "The Chav" Jackson

Mark Guy: All around awesome guy (when he wasn't kicking my ass for wearing a Burberry Chav hat. Under the smile he was angered by it, and punched me in the gut. He threatened my life many times that day)

Saturday | 05.28.05

Tempe/Anaheim Recap

Tempe, AZ
Sam here again.. It was great to finally get out of the thick humidity of the south and the expansive and never ending freeways of Texas. The trip from Dallas to Tempe was especially difficult for me as I had gotten news from my mom that my brother had been brutally mugged the day before in the LA subway. His jaw was wired shut from it being fractured, he had a fractured eye socket, and fractured sinuses. He was found at the subway platform, and luckily someone brought him to the hospital. I spoke to his girlfriend and she told me that he was fine, he was out of the hospital and he insisted I keep on touring. He reiterated that in an e-mail to me when he got home, and that made a world of difference. I was glad to know he was alive. Being in Arizona was good, because I knew I was only one state away from him and would see him in a day.
It was good to start seeing more familiar faces again, as I needed that. There were also a few people I got to meet that I had talked to online (thanks for the drink!). The show went off well and Gabe managed to take a lot of good pics.

The Vicks Incident
Holy shit on a shingle. I have never witnessed anything quite as weird as this. I never knew one could overdose on Vicks Inhaler. Somehow, Ted managed to do so, and while driving flew into a sneezing fit that was so violent he had to pull over on the side of the road. So what do we do? We grab our cameras and taunt him, of course!

What a fantastic place to pull this kinda crap in. Ted's fired. Maybe we should get some oversized sunglasses and use this as our next video locale.

What better time to light up that cigarette.

Tell us how you really feel.

Anaheim, CA
Damn it felt great to be back in California. Even the traffic made us feel nostalgic. Del Taco never tasted so good.
We arrived at Downtown Disney in search of a way into where we were to load in our gear for the House Of Blues. Finally a bizarre old fellow sends us to this security hut where there were bomb K9 kennels and a guy with a mirror on a stick poking under our car in search of bombs. After we show some ID, we are finally granted access. We are given the coveted slip of paper with a Goofy stamp on it. Life is good. The park is now safe again.
The Downtown Disney House of Blues was laid out virtually identical to the New Orleans location. The stage was the same, and the wooden decor and balcony setup was quite similar. Behind the scenes it was completely different. This one had a crazy system of stairs and elevators that seemed to be able to take you anywhere except for where you actually wanted to be.
Tonight was a nice break, as I worked the merch booth and Gabe was on drums. It was weird yet cool to see a band that I am in live without being on the stage. I had never had a chance to see the lights or hear it from the audience perspective, which was nice.

-Sam

Friday | 05.27.05

Nashville Recap

These posts may not necessarily be in order, but there was a lot that I wanted to post that we didn't quite have the time to post properly on the road, so I am posting some updates way after the fact.

It was great to see some old faces in Nashville. Unfortunately the heat at the venue was unbearable, so the VNV set had to be cut short as Ronan collapsed as soon as he got backstage. I had a hard enough time going for 40 minutes onstage, I couldn't fathom doing an encore. Thanks to Ichabod, Jimmy, Andrew and everyone else. I would also like to thank Asli and Eric for the new shirt, complete with cap guns and cowboy hat to complete the look:

-Sam

Atlanta Recap

The venue in Atlanta was downright amazing. We played at the Earthlink Live, which is laid out like a small arena.

Clint taming his hair in the stands. His hair needs to be fed nutrients for at least 6 hours prior to it's performance

Frank being his chipper self

Nawlinz!

New Orleans is definitely a unique city. We drove straight to the venue, so we never really had a chance to check it out. The House of Blues out there was amazing. We had our own concierge in the backstage bringing things for us, who made an amazing tea that helped all of us feel better. Millie, you rock!

The show itself went well. The crowd didn't seem to know what to make of us at first, but warmed up to us quite well. After we loaded up and took off, Gabe and I decided to go to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of NOLA. We were lucky enough to run into Frank, Christian (VNV/Icon of Coil) and Kolja (Soman/VNV). It was great to see some familiar faces in an endless sea of drunken retards and gangsters. We hit up some bars, and Frank proceeded to get Kolja acquainted with Bacardi 151. Man, I felt bad for Kolja the next day. Everyone headed back to the bus or hotel.

To sum it up, I'd like to give NOLA another try. But if Bourbon Street is any indication, maybe not. That street is one of the most foul smelling places I have been to in recent memory. The rest of the city seems like somewhere I would like to spend some time, though.

The French Quarter in the AM

Ted digging through trash for chicken morsels. He gets quite frugal on tour, so he never passes up an opportunity for a free meal.
I'm just bullshitting. I just couldn't think of a good caption for that image. Regardless, whatever he's doing seems to be the point of everyone's interest.

-Sam

Austin Recap

The drive from New Orleans to Austin was a damn long one. Saw a few armadillos, but no gators or swampmonkies or bluegrass bayou people playing washtub basses and jugs on the side of the road. It's a good thing, too. Imperative Reaction might have lost a drummer. I just have that swamp music runnin' through my veins and there's no stoppin' it.
We arrive to the venue in Austin, La Zona Rosa. I am completely exhausted, mainly due to the lack of sleep from the ride in the van and from dreading the 18 hour drive from Austin to Dallas. Or so I thought. Ted, Clint and Gabe took advantage of my sleep deprived state, and had me convinced that the drive from Austin to Dallas was 18 hours, thus causing me to lose more sleep as I can't sleep in moving vehicles and I was dreading the drive.
Turns out, they were full of shit. The drive was only 4 hours. Bastards.
The show went on, and our gear was loaded backstage. To our dismay, Clint's laptop was placed by someone right under the dripping air conditioning unit. I felt so bad for him as I saw him tipping over his laptop and mixer, and watching the water run out of it.
We actually have pictures of us playing at this one! Unfortunately Gabriel had to shoot them from the vantage point of the merch booth, but I still like the way they turned out.

-Sam

Dallas Recap

The next day we drove to Dallas and arrived at The Gypsy Tea Room. The backstage at this venue had the weirdest medical green foam rubber couches I have ever seen. The doors open, the first band starts, and all is well. I got to meet a few people I have spoken to on the SomethingAwful forums as well as a few people I had met on MySpace. Things are going seemingly well, and we take the stage. Right at the very end of the last song, the laptop goes beecock and just dies on us. Turns out the A/C unit dripping on the laptop from the night before did a number on the laptop's power supply and it was fried. Ronan and the VNV crew were amazing. He offered to go on before us. That was awesome. My burberry hat is off to you, Ronan and Mark! Ok. On with the pictures.

We left the stage late as we played last. After the show we all headed over to The Church. What an awesome venue! Good music, really friendly people. I had a great time there and met some cool people that were at the show.
Afterwards we went back to our hotel rooms. I can't honestly think of when I have had a better sleep. We stayed at the Stoneleigh Hotel, and each bed must have had at least 10 feather down pillows on them. I know, no stories of debauchery, no sordid tales of boomerangs and midget sex. But dammit, those comfy beds were the next best thing.

Tuesday | 05.24.05

Portland

So we are here in the hotel in Portland and we just picked up Steve from the airport. We stopped by Ozone UK and now we are getting ready to head over to the venue. The Los Angeles show was amazing and we would like to thank everyone for coming out to see the show. San Diego was very cool although the drive down there was pretty rough. Basically, distance in Southern California is rarely measured by actual mileage, but rather the time it will take to get wherever you are going. Normally, San Diego is about 2 hours from L.A. Somehow, the drive took us 5 hours this time which made for a pretty stressful rush to get in to the venue, sound check, get back to the hotel, shower, eat, and be back in time to catch Soman. All in all, it turned out well and we know now to leave much earlier when heading down to San Diego in the future! Next up was the first show in San Francisco. I had never been to The Fillmore before but I had heard quite a bit about it as it is a pretty historic venue. Pictures don't do it justice as once you are inside the place, you realize how cool it really is. In the lobby area, there are pictures on the wall from past performances. Pretty much anyone you can imagine is pictured on the wall. The show was absolutley insane. We were very happy with the way everything went with both shows and are definitely looking forward to returning as soon as possible. Just talked to Sam and we should have some pictures posted within the next couple of days. It's nice to see so many new forum members! Thanks for joining, everyone.

Ted

Thursday | 05.19.05

Home For A Moment

Hey everyone! I am sitting at home for the first time in three weeks and it's almost surreal. The last two and a half weeks have been insane (in a very good way) and we are having a great time. Phoenix went very well and Anaheim was awesome as well. It's good to be back in our home town and tonight's show should be amazing. It's been really nice meeting all of you after the shows! Thanks to all of you who have been coming early to the shows and checking us out. We have a ton of pictures that we will be uploading and editing to include in this journal shortly. If you have any you would like us to post, please feel free to send them to info@imperativereaction.net. Since I have the personality of "sand paper" ahem... We should have some updates from the more amusing members of the band shortly... hint hint (That means you - Gabriel, Sam, and Clint... And Clint's hair as well... Although the hair always seems to end up messing up my screen and keyboard but I suppose it's a small price to pay considering how famous those tenticles are...

-Ted

Sunday | 05.15.05

The Awesome List...

Last night, a group of people at the Austin show told Clint and I that we are now part of their "Awesome List" which was very nice of them :). Well, we now have to make our own "Awesome List" and add VNV to the top. After the show in Austin, our gear was placed under a dripping air conditioner which caused damage to Clint's laptop. 20 seconds before the end of Severed (first song in the set) tonight, the laptop shut off and we were unable to get it working again. We apologized to the crowd and told them we would make sure to come back and make it up to them. When we got backstage, Ronan told me to go get my laptop from the hotel and come back. He then went out and told the crowd that we would be back on to play our set after VNV was finished. They didn't have to do that and there are plenty of bands that probably wouldn't have. So, if we actually had an "Awesome List", VNV would be right up at the top. They are playing right now and the show is going extremely well. We will be going on after they are finished.

Ted

Tuesday | 05.10.05

Ft. Lauderdale/Charlotte SC/Tampa

We are currently on our southern leg of the Formation tour. Git 'er done! Ft. Lauderdale was an excellent kick off. We got acquainted with the guys from VNV, Soman, and the road crew who are all some of the hardest working and nicest people in the industry. The Ft. Lauderdale show went quite well. The stage was a bit cramped with all of our gear, but still looked amazing, and the sound was excellent.
The next night was Tampa at The Masquerade. The venue was amazing. It's a large old theatre in Ybor City/Tampa with a built-in pub, a huge stage, and awesome sound. We would like to thank the Tampa crowd for their respose. We went over a lot better than expected. It was a pleasure hanging out with Jasyn, Courtney and Byron of God Module, and we would like to thank Tom Gold and The Castle in Ybor City for throwing an amazing afterparty. The Castle is an excellently themed club that we implore you to visit when you get the chance.
Charlotte was defintely an experience. The venue was a large warehouse, that was efficiently converted into a venue. I'd like to extend our gratitude to the people of the Tremont Music Hall for having us there and for being so accomodating. I'd especially like to thank the people in Charlotte. They showed some of the most support and enthusiasm of the whole tour.

Until later,
-Sam

Notes from Clint's Hair

Hey all, I just thought I'd throw in my two cents. I second Sam's comments on the koolness of the folks in VNV, Soman, and the whole road crew. They are all a bunch of great cats to hang out and drink with. I figure it will just take one or two more shows before all of our livers are completely pickled.
Hanging out with the God Module crew was a blast as always. I love those bastards so I was happy they made it to the show. Also, Alex Matheau from Negative Format showed up to the after party, so I finally got to meet him in person after having talked to him online for the past couple years. Such a kool guy!
We had today off so we took a trip to Ted's grandfather's house in South Carolina, and then drove up to Athens, Georgia, which is where I'm writing this from. Ted and Gabriel are catching up on sleep, and Sam and I are watching "Starsky and Hutch," and waiting on a pizza to arrive.

more to come,
Clint

Pics from the first 4 days

Here are some pictures from the tour so far. We don't have a lot in terms of actual show imagery, but we will post it as soon as we do.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Meeting up with the members of the tour crew and VNV Nation in the hotel parking lot

VNV Nation sound checking

Tampa, FL

Ted Phelps doing an interview

The stage setup: It consists of 3 huge screens, projections and tons of intelligent lighting. It takes at least 4 -6 hours to get up and running, but it looks amazing. Some of the best stage lighting I have seen.

Soman performing

Charlotte, NC

Putting the stage rig together

Clint's Hair: Also plays live for Imperative Reaction

The monitor tech

Peddy the Tour Manager and Ted

Gabe working the merch

We decided to pay Ted's grandfather a visit in South Carolina. A tractor on his property

Ted, his grandfather and his grandfather's wife