Complete US tour schedule

Tour Diary
Page 1: Wed, Sept 29 through Sat, Oct 9
Page 2: Sun, Oct 10 through Wed, Oct 20
Page 3: Thurs, Oct 21 through Wed, Oct 27

 

Page 2
Day 12: Sun, Oct 10: "I get the high score, man!"
Day 13: Mon, Oct 11: Lobster races
Day 14: Tues, Oct 12: Staying out of jail... so far.
Day 15: Wed, Oct 13: "All the untidy activity continues. Awful but cheerful."
Day 16: Thurs, Oct 14: Strawberry Fields Forever
Day 17: Fri, Oct 15: Sex with a NYC subway ticket dispenser
Day 18: Sat, Oct 16: Autumn Cometh
Day 19: Sun, Oct 17: "So when is D1 the new hang-out corner?"
Day 20: Mon, Oct 18: Laundry Day!
Day 21: Tues, Oct 19: Radio Nationales meet the Banditos
Day 22: Wed, Oct 20: Don't Be Yankin' My Red Sock

 

Dangerously Delicious Pies.

Sunday, Oct 10
"I get the high score, man!"

Before leaving Baltimore, we stopped by Dangerously Delicious Pies to thank Rodney for setting up the show Saturday night and pick up some fab pies for the road... which we had to devour right away since we had no room in the van.

So Jared has been playing this game while driving through construction zones. You know how sometimes they set up those electronic signs that display your speed when you drive by ("Your speed is...")? Well, Jared has been speeding up to get the highest score over all the other cars. Yaaaaaay!

Our next stop at a gas station somewhere in Delaware was to fuel up and get some ice for the cooler. Jared went in wearing his "C.B.G.B.'s Home of Underground Rock" shirt and the woman behind the counter looked at him and in a sweet Appalachian accent said "C.B.G.B.'s? Underground rock? Do you know what that means or did you just buy that shirt at a flea market? Do you think that's like that alternative music, like that band that sings "Shiny Happy People"? Cause I like that...." Jared replied "Do you have any matches?" and the woman shot back "No we do not... do you see all these gas pumps?!?" Ah yes, making friends everywhere we go.

Driving Votes Boston represented at our T.T. the Bear's show in Boston and again Linda was a wonderful host... we listened to an advance copy of Elliot Smith's new album until the wee hours of the morning. Absolutely beautiful. RIP Elliot.

And yes, I just said "wee."

Monday, Oct 11
Lobster races

Richard ate tofu.

Seven shows under our belt... 15 to go. We left Seattle on Sept 29th and we have our first day off today. With a day off and apparently uncomfortable anywhere but on the stage or in the van, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. The solution? Hop back in the van and drive to Maine today, enticed by the wonderful generosity of Rick's parents and their invitation to lobster dinner (although we guess Richard the Vegetarian will just lick the butter or something... boo hoo. Fuck off Rich. Ow. Stop hitting me.).

Rick and his Dad enjoying the sunset in Maine.

A relaxing evening in Maine is exactly what this band needs before we head back to NYC for what will inevitably be a huge cluster-fuck of fun.

Tuesday, Oct 12
Staying out of jail... so far.

Drove to NYC this morning to play live on KEXP 90.3 FM. During CMJ Music Marathon week, the station broadcasts live from the Museum of Television and Radio in midtown Manhattan. And yes, we hauled three loads of gear through the posh lobby much to the chagrin of security. But seriously, we had a blast with Cheryl Waters and Kevin Cole... you can listen to our performance on KEXP's website... listen carefully for the references to the woman stripping in a room in the building across the street.

The famous Lakeside photo booth.

Before our Lakeside show, Aaron and Richard stopped in at a little Mexican restaurant in the East Village for a bite to eat and ended up on MTV's Boiling Point. Well, the people at the table next to us were the subject of the show, but if the cameras were wide enough, you'll for sure see us right next to them wondering why there were hidden cameras all over the place. Funny thing is Richard kept getting up to pee and he had to keep asking the woman at the Boiling Point table to scoot forward so he could get by... at the end of the episode, she thought he was part of the joke. Watch for us on a future show.

Tuesday night we played the Lakeside Lounge–famous for its photo booth. And we took full advantage of it. Did we mention that the band got free, unlimited drinks at the bar?

Led by our most hardcore fan, Lisa, our posse eventually had to leave the Lakeside before we got thrown out and we ended up doing karaoke somewhere in Soho. This was the night of Aaron's demise. And the night there were one too many people in Richard's bed. The bed post went straight through the floor. Literally.

Staying out of jail after our Lakeside show:

You will drink another beer with me.		Pit-stickin' on stage.		This is Lisa. She is our #1 fan in NYC. She brings people to all our shows and works during the day while we're sleeping off our hang-overs. We love Lisa.

Richo Suave		I'm going outside to have a smoke.		Rockin' out at the Lakeside Lounge.

 

Wednesday, Oct 13
"All the untidy activity continues. Awful but cheerful."
- Elizabeth Bishop

Ride 'em cowboy! The one-and-only Kevingerrard goes wild outside the Alphabet Lounge!

We played our CMJ Showcase at the Alphabet Lounge tonight. Richard's Mom and Step-Dad came over from New Jersey to watch the show. We partied with Kevin Devine, the excellent solo artist who played the show with us. Later that night after much more beer, 90-lb. Kevin ran really fast and tried to tackle–yes, tackle–Jared on the streets of the East Village. Needless-to-say, Kevin simply bounced off Jared. That's all we're gonna say about that one.

Thursday, Oct 14
Strawberry Fields Forever

Wednesday night was the last of our 6 shows in the New York area over the previous two weeks. And apparently we made an impact. We were recognized on the street in Hoboken by someone that came to our KEXP performance in Manhattan. And Jared was stopped on 6th Ave in the city with "Hey, aren't you in Radio Nationals?" Cool.

Rick, Kevingerrard, Sylvia, Aaron, and Richard at Sylvia's in Harlem.

The honorable fifth Radio National, Kevingerrard, took us on a grand tour of the city today. He is absolutely awesome, and Richard must say that he looks smashing in his silk yellow underwear set. We started out in Harlem where we ate soul food at the one and only Sylvia's restaurant. Then we journeyed to Strawberry Fields to pay homage to John Lennon. Moment of silence please.

Give Peace a Chance

Okay, get this. Kevingerrard took us to the members-only Player's Club midtown. Men and women of distinction. Kathryn Hepburn was a member. As are all the Golden Girls. An air of sophistication enters the Radio Nationals experience. But of course we quickly took the place down a notch in class. The pictures below tell the rest of that story.

Shit. The cops. 86 it out of here. Kevingerrard and Aaron at Chumley's.

Okay, get this part II. You know the term "86'd?" Kevingerrard took us to the place where the phrase originated. A completely inconspicuous place tucked away in the West Village (really... no signs, no nothing, you simply enter through a plain-looking door on someone's back-alley apartment patio), Chumley's started out as a speakeasy during Prohibition. When the cops would try to bust in at the false entrance, patrons would all escape through the backdoor at 86 Bedford Street. Now that's cool.

Oh, we got our second parking citation in Hoboken today. Fuckers.

 

 

More photos

Aaron ponders Arthur Miller's pondering at the Player's Club.		Men of distinction. Rick and Jared at the Player's Club.		Radio Nationals taking the Player's Club down a notch.

 

Friday, Oct 15
Sex with a NYC subway ticket dispenser

Richard with KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters at the Presidents show.

Richard toured the school where (New York Driving Votes co-captain) Elena works. The band rocked out with Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven at the Bowery Ballroom. Aaron partied at Cherry Vanilla's 61st birthday party, reliving the NYC 70's punk scene. Richard saw Brendan Benson and the Presidents and ran into more people from Seattle then there are in Seattle. Afterwards we went to the one-and-only Yogi's bar on the upper west side. Honkey tonk in the middle of Manhattan. Man, what a place.

Ticket dispenser gone wild.

Jared finished the evening with a few near sexual experiences with both the NYC subway ticket dispenser AND the New Jersey PATH train booth (we have video–email us to see it). Apparently the machines liked it rough.

 

 

 

Photos from Yogi's

Making our parents proud.		#1 fan Lisa making our parents proud.		"I feel pretty, oh so pretty!"

Saturday, Oct 16
Autumn Cometh

Bon Voyage Kevingerrard.

After leaving our mark on the Big Apple and having a blast during CMJ week, it was time to climb back into the van and, believe it or not, start heading back west. We wished our hosts, Kevingerrard and Spencer, all the best, and got the hell out of Hoboken before we got another parking ticket. As we headed west for the first time in 2 weeks, all of a sudden our fabulous days of warm, sunny weather were seemingly over. A few hours into Pennsylvania the temperature dropped 20 degrees and God peed hail on us. There were also a few freak windstorms that thrashed falling leaves against the van with such force that we thought we were getting pelted with acorns or something. I guess this was the penance we paid for NYC.

This is not us.

We pulled up at the 31st Street Pub in Pittsburgh as the club was blasting the Supersuckers. There was a huge poster of the Makers on the wall... this was a good sign as we rocked the evening with fellow bands the Bessimers and 4-Barrel Ghost.

Sunday, Oct 17
"So when is D1 the new hang-out corner?"

We love the Old Town Tavern!

Acoustic show at a tavern in Ann Arbor. We thought this would be an easy, early night and we'd get laundry and other business done. Boy were we wrong. The acoustic show absolutely rocked (in fact, we're going to incorporate more acoustic shows into our schedule) and we partied with the bar staff until 4am. Yup, partied in Ann Arbor until 4am on a Sunday night. I guess you could say we brought a bit of the Big Apple to Michigan.

Moe from Southpaw in Brooklyn has a surprise reappearance in Ann Arbor. You don't know what we're talking about, do you?

After we played, we ended up gathering around table D1 in the back corner of the tavern. Liz brought out tons of food, and Jared and Chad's impromptu acoustic jam broke out around 2:30am as Christina challenged Richard to a game of Othello (she won by ONE piece). Thanks to everyone at the Old Town for a memorable evening–Jess, Paul, Liz, Christina, and Dave. Also a special thank you to Chad Williams for putting us up for the night... we rolled in at 4am and he needed to be at work at 9:30am. Thanks Chad for accommodating us!

Thanks again Moe!!! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Monday, Oct 18
Laundry Day!

Our third day off on this tour. We went back to the Old Town for lunch, did laundry, watched the Yankees/BoSox game, and drove to Columbus.

We can deal with dirty underwear, but clean socks? YEAH!

Freakin' in the van

I see dead people.		Give me a @&^%#@* peanut M&M!		I'm on acid. Just kidding. Mushrooms. Just kidding. Red bull.

Tuesday, Oct 19
Radio Nationales meet the Banditos

We are now an official touring band. At 4:45am this morning, some asswipe tried to break into the van in the Red Roof Inn parking lot. Luckily, Jared has been sleeping in the van to guard the gear (well, he also snores really loud) and he woke up and FREAKED OUT the would-be bandito. Jared wins the HERO award for this tour and as his first act as hero, proclaimed that "Columbus sucks." We immediately went to a truck stop and bought what's called a "tire pressure checker." You see, truck stops can't legally sell weapons, so this "tire pressure checker" is really a hollow hickory stick to kick someone's fucking ass without killing them. Don't fuck with the Radio Nationales!

We played a show with the Reverend Glass Eye at Bernie's in Columbus. They are good. Very, very good. You should check them out.

Jared falls asleep on Aaron's back during our show in Columbus.		Reverend Glass Eye is awesome.		Asian Yum Yum in my tum tum.

Yesterday we did laundry, today Aaron and Jared cleaned out the van. Martha would be proud!

Wednesday, Oct 20
Don't Be Yankin' My Red Sock

BoSox... duuuuuuuuude...

Today the Red Sox made history (YEAH!)... during our set (BOO!). The Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to win four games in a row, beat the Yankees, and secure a spot in the World Series. Can you believe it?!?! On a related note, tonight we'll be rooting for Houston. Why? Well, if St. Louis gets in the Series, game one is on Saturday... during our show in St. Louis! (Sorry Lori!)

David strikes a rock-god pose.

We played at the Abbey Pub in Chicago tonight and boy was it nice to be in a club with a killer sound system, great sound guy, and a big stage. Although some drunk guy puked on himself and passed out right at the front door to the club, summoning an ambulance and the police, who proceeded to block the door for about half an hour.

Remember when we mentioned that Jared started hitting Richard randomly? Well, we finally caught it on film! Bitch-slap commence!

Driving Votes tabled at the show, spreading the Get Out the Vote (GOTV) messaging. After the show we partied with David (who also put us up for the night–thanks!). We watched the greatest movie of all time, PCU (c'mon, don't deny it), while Kendra and Richard played backgammon until the wee hours of the morning. Richard broke into the veggie tray (our first healthy late-night snack) and the Southern Comfort (um, not so healthy) while rockin' out to David's band, Janus.

A special thanks to our #1 fan Lisa and her friend Jane in Chicago. All the way from NYC, Lisa had shots delivered to the band via Jane. Awesome!

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Complete October US tour schedule