RIP Big Boy

It feels good to be home for a few days before we go visit Fly Me to the Moon Saloon in Telluride, Colorado.

This post goes out to Big Boy, our giant white box with wheels. This tour was his last voyage for us, and it's with fondness that we say adieu. Big Boy, you were the best van we've ever had. Even though you were insecure about your weight in the beginning and popped two rear tires under your big booty, you never stopped trying. Even when your gearboxes gave out, you let us liposuction your transmission. And though you were anything but nimble, it was your luck that got us around a few would be car crashes. So today we wipe the tears from our eyes and watch as someone else takes you by your fat hand and leads you on into a new life.


Got to take a minute and say thanks to our great friends the Joneses (all five of them), the Nashes, and Meg and Chris, Cardon E., and the Petersens., who all showed us lots of love while we were on the road. Thanks for all your ridiculous support, help, generosity, and for believing in Elizabethan Report. The admiration is mutual.

Rusty Bicycles, Mr. Lee

I'm feeling the slightest cool afternoon breeze blow across the back of my sunburnt neck as I listen to the whine of rust being shaved off an old bicycle with a drill outside my window. Tony is asleep on the couch over here, and Spencer in the trailer over there. The new family cat, Chonto, who resists knowing any better, just walked across the computer keyboard I'm slouching over, twice. Although he kept me up late with his unpredictable head landings the first night, I still can't abandon mercy in my response to his persistant naughtiness. There's a part of me that never seems to die that holds out hope for naughty cats and people. So I throw Chonto off the keyboard, but just before I release him at full speed into the screen door, I slow my hand down and soften his landing. A careful balance between forces has run like a thread through the days of this tour.

Like last Friday, when we played at the Whiskey a Go Go. We were eagerly anticipating playing the same gig our heroes had made history in, like Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and Led Zeppelin. However, as soon as the high school band who played before us asked their girlfriend to prom over the mic, it sunk in. That night, we had paid for our admission to Disneyland for bands. Literally, we paid for our spot. The music from each band clashed with the other bands, like the people in line at a rollercoaster clash in styles. The only difference is that you don't spend a lot of time noticing how people in a line at a theme park don't match. But with our admission paid for, we walked up on stage and gave our loyal fans the best show we could put on. And we had fun doing it. And even though the machine they made out of the Whiskey was less than what you'd dream it would be, the cogs in the wheels were all genuinely nice people. And everyone had a good time.

Or like Monday night, when our van, the Big Boy himself, broke down in the best imaginable location, the corner of the best mechanic in town. But that's not all. Let me tell you the tale. Accelerating through a turn, the van spontaneously shut off, and ER got out and pushed Big Boy to the curb, where a nice man offered to help. Time was tight, since our high school gig was at noon the next day, three hours away, and daylight had faded. The jump the man gave us didn't work, but he directed us to Mr. Lee, whose mechanic shop (right on the corner we stalled in front of) was the most trusted in the neighborhood. We happened to catch Mr. Lee at Winchell's donut shop later that night, and he said he would get up early to get us on the road. We enjoyed the snot out of a bad movie, got some yogurt, and crashed in a cheap motel. But as we wandered on foot through suburban Burbank streets at night, the smell of eucalyptus overpowered any foul city odor. The next morning, although we didn't get out of Burbank soon enough to get to our gig, we did get the nicest Vietnamese guy we'd ever met to massage our ignition system back to life. And we got donuts made by a Mexican guy whose smile made you feel cared for. And we got rides to get car parts from a recovered drug addict whose helpfulness and humor overpowered any discomfort his extremely graphic vulgarities may have caused us. And though we stayed in a sex motel, the Hindu couple running it said they'd say a prayer for us that our car would make it.

So now we're here in Santa Ynez, caught between slumber and consciousness, between expectations and indifference, between break downs and pick me ups, reveling in the great balance of it all.

Bad acting

Check out this wonderful scene. There are so many splendid elements to discuss. I expect dizzying activity in the comments section.

Muderer Release Pics

Here are a few fave pics from our CD Release show in Provo.





More on the retreat later, but I'll just say it was good to finally write new material again after nine months of sitting on ideas.

Last thought before hibernation

This is Aaron, at the wheel of the blogmarine as usual. We just packed our stuff into the van and are heading off into the Wasatch mountains to write new material in complete isolation. Apparently there's no cell phone service, even. It's going to be a trip; Tony won't be huddled in a corner on his iphone, Tom won't be looking down at his hi hat foot where he usually keeps his cell phone in case of texts. And Spencer and I won't feel holier than thou about not texting during band practice. Naw, it's not really like that, but it'd be fun to write about if it was.

As you may know, a film shoot involving ER was setup and then cancelled this week. We were going to come down from the mountains to shoot it in the middle of the night, but now we will be able to stay in complete isolation and have unhindered hibernation.

We get back Sunday. I won't be able to communicate with you until then. Stay strong. Have courage. Treat the world well while we're away.

Reverb Nation

Did you know that ER has more fans than the Strokes on Reverb Nation? Go get on there, check out all our stuff.

er on reverbnation

Tom's arm is almost ready to go; he's been nursing it for awhile after a bit of an injury. You have to know that if Tom's nursing an injury, it's actually pretty severe. He might be the skinniest one in ER, but he takes pain like he's the thickest.

Let's get lazy

Do you ever do so many things that you just want to do nothing?

That's what we did yesterday for band day. We started with German pancakes topped with powdered sugar and lemon juice, talked to our designer about our press kit, and went up to the cabin to shoot a video. Get ready to be whelmed, we'll be done with it in a matter of days. It stars Prince Early, who was really fun to work with. It was so much fun that we made him late for his date last night. So if you were Prince's date last night, we're sorry. Except not really, because honestly, it was totally worth it. You'll see in a couple of days what I'm talking about.

When we walked into the cabin, we realized it was colder inside the cabin than outside. Then, when we found a jar of honey roasted peanuts in the loft, we found that it was colder inside the peanut jar than in the cabin. It's like a black hole for temperature up there. It's probably like 4 kelvins in the middle of one of the mattresses.

Tony directed the video with help from our friend Ephraim, who is one of those guys who's from a foreign country, but you'd never know because his accent is so good. Thanks to Sweden for providing us a fine Director of Photography.

And none of this would have been possible without the fine work and god-given talents of ten McDonald's Double Cheeseburgers.

Let us know if you have a cool house, one with character, we'd like to consider shooting one of our videos there. It takes about three hours, and we will probably make you smile at least a little. Plus the world will be able to behold your excellent taste in decor.

But now, to get to the point, after a hundred errands, a handful of meetings, a ton of hard work and a couple of Mexican showers, it's time to take it easy. Do it with us; just sit back. Don't let anybody tell you you need to go do something, because you were doing that, all last week. Now's the time to do nothing. You don't need to feel anything about what you did, just start checking out your couch or bed, and get to be one with it. Look at that arm rest, that's for holding up parts of your body. Look at that pillow, that thing's concerned about you and wants to take care of you. Look at those walls in the room you're in; those are for keeping you warm and cozy while you drift into a state of righteous apathy. Finally let gravity have its way with you. Don't readjust, that amazing bed was born to adjust. Close them eyes. Think of nothing. Let go of everything.

Eff it. Elizabethan Report.

Buy California ER Tix Now

So, we're planning on coming to California from March 18 to 27. Are you gonna be there? If so, you should think about buying tickets now. They're on sale here:

er.bigcartel.com

Buy a ticket for yourself. Bring someone you love to the show. Or maybe you can't be there, in that case, join the Adopt an ER Fan organization, opening opportunities for young people.

Bottom line: come and party with us. It's California, and what the heck are we doing if we aren't spending some good time in the Golden State treating our selves right for a change? That's how we feel, anyway. Cruise over to the beach with us. Then we'll grab a cup in the afternoon. And at night, we can get out to Rainbow Room, or Whiskey a Go Go, and make some noise and feel some feelings. What do you think?

Coming up for us, this Saturday is band day. We're going to eat pancakes together in the morning, meet with our designer, and then we're going to go out and make some videos which you'll see soon. Maybe if we're not too tired, we'll take in a little jam.

Eff it. Elizabethan Report.

Tony

Did you know that Tony is a film director?

I'm going to embarrass him over the course of the next few weeks by posting videos from his reel here. The thing is, I'm not just going to show you the well done stuff, I'm going to try to show you his bombs, too, if I can find some. Who knows, maybe he's failure-free. But I'm going to start with the good stuff. This is a video he did for Chris Merritt, who came out of Provo and lives in Virginia now.



Watch out for guest appearances by Spencer Petersen. Oh, and our friend Cole Webley was the director of photography, you should check out his stuff. Geez, do you know how much talent there is here in Provo?