FP Day 4, Hell's Kitchen, Tacoma WA

Day 4..
Woke up at the hotel in Spokane, had time for a quick shower, then had to run out for bus call..
we hit the road to Tacoma.. a super pretty drive! It was sunny and nice for awhile..
We finally get to Tacoma, and find that Hell's Kitchen has moved downtown.. nice!

Ace and I head out in search of food.. after walking up and down the street and finding NEARLY NOTHING.. except a rad looking vintage store that is.. CLOSED on Sundays. OF COURSE.
We finally decide to go with Pita Pit.. and the chicken ceasar pita I picked was pretty damn good..

This was the start to a very interesting show.. the band was pretty unhappy.. the promoter decided that he just didn't feel like coming to the show to pay.. uhoh.. no good. Taime decided to mention that during the show, along with the fact he was unhappy there was no drinking or smoking allowed on the stage.. he also decided halfway thru the set he wanted to go outside to smoke.. yep, made for a VERY interesting set.
I also learned that mixing vodka, monster and jager all in the same night was a bad idea.. I remember everything up to counting out and tearing down my merch.. then I'm not really sure what happened, how I ended up in bed.. or why I was not wearing pants.

Day 3, Spokane WA, Studio 54

Woke up at 9 today, in the most comfortable bed in the Jupiter Hotel.. so amazing.. the room even has plastic Eames style chairs!! Of course I love it.
Chad and I went off to breakfast at Doug Fir, the restaraunt at the Jupiter.. enjoyed an amazing breakfast with potatoes n poached eggs.. and oh yeah a Mimosa.. nom nom nom...
Had a few hour drive to Spokane, it's super pretty.. spent a while chatting on aim with Ace who was sitting right next to me.. weird, right? Yet hilarious.
A quick wally world trip and I've got a pillow and an awesome green throw blanket with spiders on it.. and Ace n I got some candy corn, while Chad got a ton of kettle corn, including caramel apple flavored... Im gonna be fat if I keep goin like this!
We get to the club and its FUCKING FREEZING!!! But no real complaints.. like 4 opening bands.. we'll see how they are..
All I can think is that we get to stay in a hotel tonight, and I can sleep in.. and shower.. ohh yeahh!

FILE UNDER: THINGS ROCKERS SAY:
Said to me earlier.. "Ya know, since you're the only girl on tour.. i wanted to ask you a favor.. my back and shoulders are killing me.. I wanted to see if you would put on a nazi hat and pee on me...?" ...classic.
After having cheese thrown at me from the balcony of the dressing room.. yes, cheese.. thanks, Ace and Chad.. (I think that's how they show affection..)
rocking out with a GIANT fucking Elmo.. seriously, Elmo was at the show.. along with a green army man, a creepy vampire that kept hitting on me, some girls who couldn't tell their costumes were 3 sizes too small, and some other strange costumes.. the one woman who decided it was totally cool to ask the band "how big their cocks are"..
we packed up in the rain, always fun.. LOVE load outs where everything gets wet..
and headed back to the hotel.. enjoyed a post show beer, and some post show Jagermeister.

Day 2: Portland, Oregon

I wake up to a loud rv, rattling like hell, snuggled up in a borrowed blanket and my jacket for a pillow.. yeah, I still need a wal-mart stop..
After a couple Love's stops (..gotta love truck stops!!!) and a best buy stop (I, being a dumbass, forgot my netbook charger at home!) we finally get to Portland.
The first thing I notice when we get to the venue is a giant line.. not for the show, but for VOODOO Donuts.. yesssss....
Then I notice a giant billboard that says "KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD" ...AWESOME!!!
So after a late load in, I finally get set up.. and I have a few moments before doors open.. so I run next door to VOODOO DONUTS. Fuck yeah. I've seen them on Travel Channel, or something.. and I heard they had a BACON WRAPPED DONUT.
So I fortunately caught the shortest line of the day.. apparently the line is usually out to the corner, and I caught it right at the door.. I paid 2.50 for a bacon donut.. BEST 2.50 I HAVE EVER SPENT.
The show was pretty entertaining, lots of drunkasses..one woman was sleeping.. yeah. Met a grandmother who introduced her daughter and granddaughter to FP!
Some drunk guy kept bribing me to get to meet Taime.. I had to explain that Taime is MY BOSS and I cant sell his time.. it's the other way around!
Another guy got kicked out, and continued to be obnoxious at the front door.. at one point cawing like a crow as loud as possible.. yeah.
Finally it was time to head back to the Jupiter Hotel where we stayed.. The hotel was AWESOME. It was an older style motel all redone very mod-60's-retro Eames style..LOVE IT.
I took off with some friends to a club up the street.. no, no details there :)
Ended the night with a shower.. sooooo nice.. you'll never appreciate a shower like that till you've been living in close quarters with 6 dudes and haven't showered..

Faster Pussycat Tour 2010, Day 1, Avalon, Santa Clara, CA

Day One.. where to start..

I'll start with the band members - Taime, Christian, Danny, Ace, and Chad.. Tommy is our Tour Manager, and I'm the merch bitch..

I arrived at the secret meeting spot at a little after 9:30.. With Tommy as driver, Taime , Ace and I immediately hopped on the road.. We had a 15 passenger van that didn't seem to like driving in a straight line..with conversations ranging from music to how we are going to make Ace into clothes (I get an Ace-leather jacket..!) over 6 hours later we arrive at the Avalon in Santa Clara. Right then our new home pulls up.. (dun dun dunnn) The RV.
LA Guns had been using the RV for their tour, and switched with us for the van.. It's a toy hauler RV with essentially a trailer as a back end. Interesting.

Faster played a good set, of course. During this set, one woman comes to buy the "Pussy Power" booty shorts.. and puts them on standing at my merch table!! Another fan was really rad- he was missing an arm.. and I have a strange obsession with anyone missing parts.. weird, I know. He bought a hoodie and asked me to help him tie it around his waist.. that guy was rad.
did LA Guns, midway Jizzy Pearl decides to point me out to the crowd.. "Go buy some merch from the lovely Savannah Smiles.." ..now normally I yell at bands for shouting me out, I prefer to remain as under the radar as possible.. but since he mentioned the movie I was named after I let it slide.. Later on during the set, two drunken fans get into it and escorted out.. seriously, how do you fight to LAG?

Finally, with much entertainment from the drunken fans, it's time to hop back in the RV and head onto Portland.. I passed out as soon as I could..

A foreword by the author..

I'm starting this blog to keep track of my travels as merch bitch.. Partially so others can read what it's like to be on the road, and partially so that I can remember everything! :)

I started out a couple years ago as a waitress at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, CA.. I decided I hated customers, so my boss decided to throw me backstage with the bands.. I guess I'm demanding enough she thought the bands might listen to me :)

My first show was with Eek A Mouse.. very interesting, considering he was wanted for allegedly raping a young girl.. ahem. Thanks, boss. Throw me to the wolves, why dontcha.

After that I worked with tons of different bands, ranging from TSOL and DI to Eddie Money, George Lynch, Michael Shenker, LA Guns, Nitzer Ebb, CJ Ramone, The Misfits, even Ray Price.. and so many more I can hardly remember..

Anyways, I got my first tour with VNV Nation.. more on that later. I hit the road and had a blast, and made some awesome new friends..

So now I'm back at it again. I'm hitting the road with Faster Pussycat.. this is gonna be interesting.