Rock

OKC and the Wonderous Belle Isle Brewery

The Friday after Norman we played a really awesome show in Oklahoma City. The show took place at a brew-pub called the Belle Isle Brewery, which had a kick-ass stage and great sound, as well as some really amazing beer. We shared the night with a local band called the Aguilar Brothers and they were also great.

It was our first time in OKC and we couldn’t of asked for a better show. The place was packed, and we had a good crowd of friends show up too. I thought we killed the show, and I can’t wait to go back.

The night finished in true style. After partying some with a few members of the bar staff, we headed back to our friend’s place just outside the city. We were staying with our friend Autumn and her family, and it was her son’s girlfriend’s birthday the next day, so we stealthily drove to her house and decorated her yard with paper hearts and the like to surprise her. From what I hear, it was a hit! The gesture definitely took me back a few years. OKC was fun…off to Wichita!

Ye Old College Bar: A Love Story

On Monday we played the College Bar on the legendary strip in Stillwater.

Us switching it up for "Fight for Your Right"

Friends at the College Bar

I can’t stress enough how awesome it is to have a good gig on a Monday, and this one was great.

Though we left the venue a little after 2 am, the night continued for six more hours (at least for a few of us). We all went to hang out with some friends at a small gathering which was fun. Hooch and Jordan got rocked in beer-pong, but in their defense, the cups were huge Joe’s cups (of Eskimo Joe’s etc) and had I not been the DD, I think I would have wrecked. The night ended back at Jared and Megan’s with us sitting on the front porch, waxing on the topics of the day. I decided to head to bed with day break, but Hooch and Jared chatted until around 8:30!

That’s Oklahoma for yah! Next stop, Enid. Round II

Two Days in Telluride

The view driving up main street

We had the privilege of spending two nights in Telluride this time around. Unfortunately our gig in Gunnison was canceled due to what I will refer to as “bar drama” and so we drove straight to Telluride from Park City. Telluride is a magical little mountain town on the Western Slope in Colorado. It has all the fine scenery of the Alps and close to no pretension (which can be found in some places around CO…).

My friends Kate and Wily live in Telluride and were awesome hosts once again. We took it easy the first night, stopping by the Bubble Lounge (our venue for the next night) and it just happened to be ‘open mic’ night. So we got on stage and ripped through some jams to build some excitement for the show the next night.

The next day was great: we hung out around town and basked in the sunlight and clean, crisp mountain air. The show was good, too. We once again played the Bubble Lounge, a local oxygen bar and watering-hole, and they took good care of us. We played for a small, but energetic crowd and ended up having a fun time hanging out after hours. Telluride is one of those places I hope we can continue to come back and play for a long time to come.

Apple Jam

A picture I don't really remember taking...

OHHHH MAN, Apple Jam was awesome! For those who don’t know, Apple Jam is a 3 day music festival outside of Ashland, Oregon and put on by our friends in the band Karrgo Bossajova. We had the pleasure and honor of opening up this year’s festivities with a killer 2 hour set. After getting everyone amped for the weekend, we proceeded to get wild and crazy dancing around the festival bonfire and mingling with the other musicians and festival-goers.

We left the fest to play a show (see later post) and came back to enjoy another night of partying. On Sunday there was a scheduled “free jam” but the sound engineer for the festival had to go, so we came to the rescue and set up our PA to project the sounds for the day. Unfortunately rain ended the jamming early, but by then I was pretty much cashed anyways after seeing the sun rise only a few hours before. The weekend overall was super fun, and I can’t wait to come back next year!

PS We have recordings from this show…if you want to get a copy write a comment or email us at booking@achachay.com and tell us a good (creative) reason why we should send you a copy for free!

Friday Night in Santa Monica

On Friday we played TRiP in Santa Monica. This was our 3rd time to play TRiP, and they always treat us really well. I have to admit that I wasn’t sure who was going to show up to the show, but we ended up getting a really good crowd, and a bunch of my friends in town came out.

In the past, we usually were in a ‘throw-and-go’ situation at TRiP. A ‘throw-and-go’ is where you show up a the venue, and immediately have to rush all of your equipment on stage and start playing so as to not waste any time. This time around we had the last slot and did not need to rush. We were also able to play a longer set and we even threw in one cover that we have been doing lately: “Some Chords” by DEADMOU5.

Over all the show was great, and our stay in LA was awesome as well. I can’t express all the gratitude I have for our friends who take care of us on the road with places to stay and food and showers etc. Our friends the Durlester’s, who have been great supporters since our inception, were amazing hosts while we were in LA for a few days. I also want to shout out to my friends from Tulane who came out to the show, Deyan, Pete, Evan, Emily and Westbrook, and my friend Zach from Houston who came out as well. It was great to play for all them.

Sunset on the Santa Monica Pier...pre-show

Sweet Springs Saloon!

Sweet Springs Saloon!

Our second show with the Nada Rasta guys was at the Sweet Springs Saloon in Los Osos which in español means “the Osos”. This show was really fun because it was the Nada guys’ drummer Chris Boyd’s birthday. They were getting him all kinds of drinks and shots while he was playing (and he actually played very well!).

We closed the night with a 2-hour set of mostly originals and a few fun surprise covers. We also played the Beatle’s “She’s So Heavy” for Rubin, the singer of Nada Rasta, as that is his favorite cov

Ryan and Jordan playing cowbell with Nada Rasta!

er we play.

Overall it’s just been a real pleasure hanging out and playing with Nada Rasta again. They make our Central Coast stints infinitely better. South bound for the week!

Tempe !

Our friends Darkness Dear Boy rockin'

Tempe

I am a big fan of Phoenix and Tempe. This time of year the dry heat isn’t yet stifling, and with a nice breeze and the mountains in the foreground the vibe is just about perfect. Phoenix is also great for us because we have a great place to stay with my family friends Gary and Angie who are just awesomle and have an amazing house.

The show itself was in Tempe at a place called Long Wong’s. It’s a cool venue and we got the show through our friends Darkness Dear Boy who also played a helluva set before us. There was also another cool local band that played with us called What’s Left who had a cool sound with a guitar and violin dynamic. Our set was killer and we definitely won over some new fans. Our bartender was f’n awesome too. His name was Tony and he’s actually the manager for a pretty kick-ass band named Stuff Laura Says. Tony took really good care of us.

Overall I enjoyed playing Tempe a ton and I can’t wait to come back and rock it next time!

Blatt

Denver

After fugly’s Friday we immediately left for Denver. The ride up was boring in geographic feature but a tad interesting because of some “tainted” pizza. We eventually made it to Denver by around noon Saturday and all of us went to bed directly.

The show Saturday was at the Lions Lair: a small dive bar located in the heart of Colfax Ave. We feel right at home here (and in most dive bars). I, personally, love a good dive bar. The show was good and we played well for a small but rowdy crowd including one random cross-dressing flame-haired guy who wandered in for our set, rocked out and left. It was a sight when I looked up and saw this guy freaking out on the dance floor.

I want to shout out to my friend Aaron Segel and his crew that he brought out, as well as my friend Jen Wolchanski who also came and brought some people–y’all made the show for us!

Blatt

Yes, this is actually a picture from Fugly's. We didn't take any Denver pics

The Q Spot

(Thanks to Cassie Himes for the pics!)

On Tuesday we played a show in Enid at the Q Spot, a bar/billiard hall. The place is really big and has a great stage that gave us plenty of space. Space on stage becomes a luxury on the road when many places have really small stages that cramp even a band as small as ours. Before the show we hung out at our favorite local coffee shop Da Vinci’s and they even bought us a coffee! When we arrived at the venue it was starting to fill up, and I already had low expectations since it was Tuesday, so this was a very pleasant surprise. By the time we started playing, I’d say there was at least 80 people or so watching us and we later found out that just under 100 people came out.

What a great show! We ripped through 18 songs without a break and played for two hours straight. The energy was high, and we were all playing very well. The performance was caught on video as well, so hopefully we will be able to release to our fans in the future. The response was extremely positive after the show and we also sold a ton of CDs and shirts. Our new merchandise, namely the flame-spitting-weiner-dog shirts are going fast! Right now I vote this the best show of the tour so far and I can’t wait to come back and play the Q spot again!

BLATT

Perkins America

Last night we played our second show of the tour at a VFW in Perkins, Oklahoma, or as the Oklahomans call it: “Perkins, America”. The show was not exactly incredible, but still very enjoyable. For instance, I didn’t know you can line-dance to every one of our songs, but apparently, you can! (and what a relief to know that, too) The show wasn’t as bad as that scene in Spinal Tap when they play the Air Force Base and there is air-traffic controllers coming through the speakers, but it had that feel because there was only a small (but enthusiastic) crowd, and we were at a VFW. Anyways, we sold some merch and got to play a few new songs at the request of our patrons (average age 60+) including “Proud Mary” and “Sangria Wine” which both came off surprisingly well. It’s another 5 days in OK for the Achachay! boys and I’m lovin’ every minute of it.

BLATT