life of a full time musician

Paso Robles: It’s my birthday!

The day started off with a free birthday burger at Sylvester’s in Atascadero on our way to Paso Robles. Sylvester’s has awesome huge burgers so it was totally awesome to get a huge mushroom burger for free… After stopping by the club to set up we head over to our buddy Ruben’s place to chill before the show. After a short nap at Ruben’s place we head back to the venue for the show. This time we played at the 463 Club in Paso Robles. The 463 Club is a sports bar/music venue. We ended up having a pretty small crowd but the few that were there were our good friends and we had a blast playing for them. After the show we let Ruben show us downtown to do some birthday partying. The first bar we stop into has one of my favorite pastimes going on…. Karaoke… To say that I have a good time singing Karaoke would be a bit of an understatement. So Ryan and I sang a few songs and Liza even ended up singing a couple of songs. It was a ton of fun. After the karaoke we headed back to Ruben’s place and finished the night with a few drinks and a lot of laughs. Great food, great friends, a fun show, and Karaoke. All and all it was a great birthday!

Los Angeles / Tarzana

When i think about our time in Los Angeles a few Wednesdays ago I think mostly of the great people we spent time with.

• Our gracious host James Leffler was hilarious as usual (check these vids for examples of his humor)
•  Ben Carson threw a pre-party and is now the only person to make it to all of our LA appearances.
• Surprise Rice friends I did not realize live in the area including Lila and Will
• I saw Marty who I studied in Ghana with for the first time in a couple of years
• Joe – one of our Ashland buddies we met through Karrgo Bossa Jova -was an absolute hoot to hang out with. We had some lively and engaging discussions about the purpose and character of higher education, with many references to Harry Potter. Nothing more can be said that is fit for print.

We played an awesome show, as usual. Los Angeles really reminds me that when it comes to my life, it often comes down to this: I love people. I used to hate the city because of the traffic, the pollution, and the superficiality. But the fact that there are so many people I love there – cousins with babies in the belly, old camp friends, comedian advisors – I can’t help but enjoy myself.

The intensity of travel and the nonstop social interaction of our tours challenges the psyche. Yet, I get so much energy from the good people surrounding us, that even a week of sleeping on the floor can’t suppress my almost constant giddiness. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to stay connected to these people distributed across the world.

Introductions: Liza

Let’s start with the basics: My name is Liza Mitrofanova and I’m accompanying your favorite Achachay! boys on their 2011 West Coast Tour. Why, you ask, do I have the supreme honor of making this pilgrimage? Well, it’s all quite simple, really. The only cosmic alignment that had to take place was their need to promote and sell merch on the road, my availability and pre-existing plans to forage into the West, and a tiny amount of social network intervention.

This is why there has been a random girl you probably don’t recognize popping up in the later posts by Jordan and the Ryan’s. So let’s get cozy – here are a few factoids about Yours Truly.

I was born in the wintery month of February in Siberia…. As a point of reference, pull up a map of Russia, now point with your index finger to the exact middle of that glorious country, and Voila! You have now, more or less, identified my birth place: Novosibirsk.

Three of the people I consider my parents are either biochemists or moleculuar biologists. Nevertheless, neither my sister or I have (or intend to) follow these career paths.

As is made obvious by my decision to embark on a six week tour in a van with three strangers, I like journeys, people, music, and all kinds of new experiences… preferably the ones you can’t predict. The elements just mentioned have brought me to an appreciation of Peruvian box drums and sharing yerba mate.

I don’t get homesick really ever (though I do love my family very, very much), but I do miss my 120 pound pooch. Home is where your dog is, I say.

All in all, I’m a pretty simple being, and all I want right now is to see the West the way Thomas Moran did… and despite all the domestication of the Wild that’s taken place, I’d say I’m feeling it.

Nice to meet.

-Liza-

Stubbs

We pull up to Stubbs running late…. I’m not going to say as usual… But well… It’s pretty usual. But anyway I’m a little bit stressed about being late and then I see the line of people out the door and down the side of Stubbs. It’s such an exciting feeling to see a line outside of a venue that you are getting ready to play! So after a moment to take it all in I have to start the pre-show agenda. Get the merchandise together for the merchandise person… Get all of my equipment together to go on stage. Run back to the van to get more CD’s, go pee, tune my bass, etc…. After all of this then we get to step on stage and that is the best part of the night (and week for that matter). Looking out to see our friends, family, fans, and soon to be new fans in front of us. It’s funny because I normally don’t have any nerves before a show. I’ve played well over a thousand shows. But when I play in Austin for the hometown crowd the butterflies are there. It’s a welcome feeling that reminds me why I do this. Why I sleep on floors and spend half of my year in a van. I love playing music. I especially love playing with Achachay! ‘my own band of brothers. So needless to say the show was awesome. The crowd was full of energy and fantastic. Full Service rocked our faces and The Rafiki Project was tasty as always. It’s only a few days before we hit the road again for a few weeks and I have to say that this was one of the best feeling shows yet. Thank you to all of our friends, family, and fans for making what we do worth it! Hooch out! (There are a few pics below and check out FB for more pics!)

Tilapia at IHOP?!?

Enid is where Hooch grew up. Fugly’s is one of his best friend’s brother’s bars – so when he heard we didn’t have Saturday booked he offered us the night. Even with only one day’s worth of time to promote, we got a decent crowd digging our grooves. We tried out some experimental new songs. They were received well. We also really enjoyed the high quality PA. It was possibly too loud because the room is a brick and tin box, but man the vocals sounded awesome.

Tilapia at iHOP?

For months, I’ve been saying I’d get the tilapia at either iHop or Denny’s. Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy. They assume I’ll have gastrointestinal issues for days. But it actually looks good to me, and its probably the healthiest thing on the menu. I like to eat healthily, finding protein on the road can be difficult since I only consume free range meat, and if I extend that to cage free eggs there’s almost nothing I will put in my belly at those all hours diners. Friday night, I finally ordered it!

The waitress gave me a horrified look. I immediately doubted my choice. “What – is it bad?” I asked. “I don’t know, no one’s ever ordered that before” she responded. The rest of the guys laugh maniacally. I mention something about fish and the waitress responds, “Tilapia – that’s a fish?”
OK i think, she really just doesn’t know what she’s talking about. My resolve is bolstered, and I stand by my decision.

Turns out, the Tilapia at iHop is good. I recommend it to anyone. Not only is it tasty, but it’s been over 48 hours and I’ve had completely normal bowel movements.

Enid, which is “DINE” backwards, I’ll always remember my for my first fishy late night diner experience.

Denton for the first time

Yesterday was the first day of our late summer mid-western tour.  Over the next 10 days we will be playing shows in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Last night we were in Denton, TX at Andy’s Bar.  Andy’s is a pretty sweet music venue. There is a nice sized stage with good sound. There is also a basement where you can get away from the loud music if you just want to chill out. The show went really well. There was a group of 20 or so really enthusiastic people hanging out and dancing during our set.  They reallllly liked screaming Achachay!

While we were loading out of the venue we saw an episode of cops first hand. A woman that had come into the bar for a drink and was turned away because she was too drunk. After walking out of the bar she got in her car, backed out of the parking spot, and then proceeded to pass out at the wheel. Fortunately the car just idled up against the curb. It took about 5 minutes for the police to show up to arrest the woman. It is pretty scary that people will get behind the wheel of a car in a state like that.

Overall it as a great night. We played a solid show, made some new fans, and got to see an episode of cops in person. Gotta love life on the road! That concludes the fist installment of our Midwestern Summer Tour. Hooch over and out!

Achachay! has been very busy

What’s up y’all. It’s been a long time since we updated the world on our whereabouts. Email coming soon. We’ve been staying very busy playing all over Texas and writing a ton of new music. Can’t wait to share it with you!

We’ve also been booking a lot of shows. We’ve got a little mini-tour to Oklahoma and Kansas coming up quickly, and then we’ll be traveling throughout the Western US in October and September. We’ll be missing a lot of our favorite towns in Colorado, but it’s only so we can give you the love you deserve when we come back just for Colorado and Park City in December.

We’re also gearing up for a SWEET show in Austin at Stubb’s with Full Service and the Rafiki Project. We’re preselling tix now -more info in the next post.

Don’t forget, we’re also playing Voodoo Fest on Friday October 28th!

In addition, we’ve gotten an incredibly graphic designer to create a new shirt design. We’ve got a sick music video on the way, and we’re just finishing up the creation of our business plan.

We love you all… and we’ll see you soon!

Jordan

Upcoming shows:Jul 21 in Elgin, TX @ Quoffer’s (8:30-11:30)
Jul 22 in Galveston, TX @ Float Bar (9-2)
Jul 29 in Austin, TX @ Bat Bar (4-7:30)
Jul 30 – Corpus Christi Show CANCELLED
Aug 5 in Houston TX @ The Mink (10:30 – 11:30)
Aug 12 in Denton, TX @ Andy’s Bar (8P)
Aug 15 in Stillwater, OK @ The College Bar (10-2)
Aug 16 in Enid OK @ The Q Spot (8-10)
Aug 18 in Norman OK @ The Brewhouse (10p)
Aug 19 in Oklahoma City @ The Belle Isle Brewery (8p)
Aug 20 in Wichita KS @ The Pumphouse (9 P)
Aug 21 in Stillwater OK @ Ell’s (benefit show, 5p)
Aug 22 in Kansas City MO @ The Riot Room (9P)
more August dates TBA

Sep 10 in Austin TX @ Stubb’s w/ Full Service!!! 9p (PRESALE ONLY: BUY TIX TODAY 512-626-7898)

Sep 20 – October 22 Western US tour including Arizona, California, Oregon, Southern Colorado, and Oklahoma.

October 28 – Voodoo Fest!

Ashland, Oregon at the Caldera Tap House

After spending the afternoon watching some great bands play at Apple Jam we head into Ashland to play at the Caldera Tap House. We have played the Caldera two other times and they always treat us right. With 18 of their own brews on tap it really makes it easy to have a great time! My personal favorite is the Oatmeal Stout. It totally hits the spot. We had an awesome crowd that was totally into the funk and really made for a bad ass night. After the show it was back to Apple Jam to have a little more fun! Those Karrgo Bossahova guys know how to throw a party! That pretty much does it for the night.  Hooch over and out!

Bay to Breakers and a show in SF

It’s 8 AM and after a Red Bull I’m feeling almost normal on the ride into San Francisco. We arrived in Los Altos at 4 am the night before from Sacramento and that my friends makes for a short night…. You might ask why we are awake at 8 in the morning. There is good reason and it’s called Bay to Breakers. You may not of heard of The Bay to Breakers Race (I had not) so I’m going to give you the ‘low down’. Bay to Breakers started out as a race across San Francisco to raise the spirits of the city after a devastating earthquake in 1906. It still starts as a race for the runners at 7 am but for the rest of us it’s a huge walking costume party. The race starts at one end of the city near the bay and ends at the beach (aka ‘the breakers’). Every costume from sexy saxogram guys, balerinas, lumberjacks, superheros, flashers… they were all there.  There was even a group of smoking (cigarettes and well they were pretty cute) flight attendants hassling walkers.  We didn’t really know what we were getting into so we were pretty much the only people not in a costume or nude.  There were 55,000 registered for the race this year and thousands of unregistered taking part in the event. We walked the 7 mile route making new friends and just enjoying the fact that we had a reason to party at 8 am with 50,000+ other people. There is really no way to describe the energy that is created and all I can say is if you get the opportunity to participate… Do it.  It was the most fun I’ve had in a while and well…I have a lot of fun a lot of the time!  Check out the pics below to get a little taste of the fun.

After getting some much needed rest we headed to the Grant and Green to play a show. We had a decent sized crowd for a Tuesday and the show was fun as always. It’s been another great time in the bay are and now we head north! Hooch over and out.

Long Beach

Last night we played in Long Beach at a bar called DiPiazza’s. DiPiazza’s is a restaurant/bar/live music venue. The bar has a good vibe and a friendly staff. Before the show we had some time to kill so we made our way down the street to a coffee shop called ‘Daily Grind’. Good coffee with a good atmosphere and most importantly good prices. We’ve always had a good time in Long Beach. There’s a nice laid back vibe and people are friendly. The show was fun. We had a crowd that I would call small but fierce. Jordan had a few friends come out and they were our ‘fierce’ fans. It was a fun but overall uneventful night.