dirt jake replicas: Home

june 30th
That Ain’t Working. That’s The Way You Do It.
(day 14)

MTV!
MANCHESTER!
Somehow someone thought that we were special enough to be on one of the largest music television programs in England!
This has easily been one the days I have been most excited about. Well…sort of. What is supposed to go down keeps changing. Initially it was supposed to be an interview and a live performance and then it changed to playing to a BACKING TRACK! What are we Ashley Simpson? Nope…so then they said we would be doing a music video instead or acoustic….pffff…..and well. We were not really sure what to expect when we pulled up to the most incredibly strange…but still cool building on earth.
Honestly it took us forever to get inside the thing! We had no clue where the door was because it is all glass. I pressed the intercom button and the guy gave me directions to get in but I couldn’t hear him….and not wanting to ask again I just so “oh okay!” well…that didn’t work. We still didn’t know where to go. So I had to go back to the intercom again. Dumbass.
When we actually made it up to the studio it became a race to get us the hell out!
Apparently there will be no interview at all….and Adam, Julius and I will not even be mentioned at all….instead it is going to be only Dakota and Ashley performing to our cd….at least they actually had to sing( the vocals were cut off the cd. It was actually great to just relax on the comfy couches and watch them perform. But the race was on. The sound man basically came in and set everything up in seconds and was out of the room. It seemed as though within a minute the track was playing and they were off. Ashley and Dakota KICKED ASS! It was really awesome. For being so early the just went off and it was nice to see them blast it out. The track ended and they let out the dogs.
We were escorted out of the building…given a nice big fake smile and bammm…out on the street.
It was awesome!!!!
The coolest part for me was watching this group of kids stare in through the windows at us. They were totally intrigued.
One thing I have noticed about this tour. It is really easy for people to think that you are famous or rich or I guess well known? You know how rappers where tons of bling bling? And spend way too much on stupid shit to act like they have money? And some people fall for it and actually think that are kick ass because of their getup? I finally realized that it is easy to “fool” people. NOT that we were trying to do that at all…it just sort of happened that people were drawn to us because of some of the things we were doing or because of where we are from.
It was really cool having the little kids watching us. It made me feel like what we were doing was actually important….being able to see them so interested was a nice change from what we are used to.

See the thing about todays show is that there is none!
The freakin venue burnt to the ground…wait…my mistake that was the other venue. This venue just closed and we were unable to find another venue to let us in (big surprise.)
But the cool thing is that it gave us a night to be with Brian and Jane and Isobel!
We asked them out on a date (sex?…fingers crossed!)!!!!!

This night was the BEST night.
We went to a restaurant that they had picked out and sat in the back corner.
We started the night off with drinks of course….hobgoblin I believe the name was….nice nice nice indeed! Highlights highlights ‡Ashley will most likely hate me forever for mentioning it but she accidentally spilled her drink all over herself right away….so she was soaked the whole night long. And then Dakota pulled the emergency cord in the handicap bathroom because he thought it was a light switch and the alarm was going off FOREVER!!! Fucking hilarious…and we were seated right next to it so it was blasting in our ears! Brian said that we had been “prank calling” or “pocket dialing” them at all hours of the morning! And then had said that Jane had answered and scremed “ YOU CUNTS!” not knowing that it was us….later she said she still would have said it even if she knew it was us! Hahaha. The food came and apparently Ashley was just having a bummer of a day and the pepper shaker opened up on her food L. We gave the family and autographed guitar as a present for letting us stay at the house which was nice…but the coolest part of dinner was when we were discussing movies and we were talking about the Blair Witch Project. Brian was describing the ending and then he held up his arm and honest to god all the hair was standing straight up!!!! It was soooooo kick ass!!!!!
After food there were more drinks and then we decided to head back to Brians homestead for a few more. They took us through the backroads, which were basically one lane roads…through huge fields and under sweet bridges. We had no clue where we were going and I think even the GPS was lost but it was one of the coolest roads we went on the whole tour.
When we arrived we opened up a bottle of whine and had warm Stella and watched the sunset from the backyard. For a minute I forgot we were on tour. Again it was like hanging out with one of our good friends…just having drinks and enjoying ourselves. I really STILL cannot get over how great that is. The friendships we have made while on tour made it totally worth every second of effort and money that we put into it.
We climbed over the couches in the livingroom….spreadout…buzzed….relaxed…and watched some TV shows together. There were some of the most comfortable moments of silence at this point.
When we left, it was actually sad.
Anyone reading this…I have never been the kind of person to care about traveling around the world sight seeing and doing all of that stuff. It just has never interested me. But now…if I could suggest one thing. It would be:
Start a band (preferably a kick ass band)
Then go on tour.
And talk to AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
I swear that you will not regret it in any way. Even the strange, or angry, and crazy ones are great.
This is becoming less and less about music and more and more about relationships and friendships and all of the cheesy stuff.
Its cool when things in your life change right before your eyes and your are able to see it happen and sit back and enjoy.
Sleep well.
Joshua of dirt jake replicas

june 29th
Meeting People Is Easy
(day 13)

Aye aye!
As odd as it is to say it…dirt jake replicas playing in a pirate bar is really not a big surprise to me. It really almost fits us…not that we are pirates, or even huge fans of pirates (to me the only reason to watch pirates of the caribbean is because of how hot keira knightly is.) It fits because it is probably the most odd situation possible. Odd as hell. And for some reason, ODD follows us…maybe even hunts us?
Hark to Towler is the name of this pirate venue.
And our soundman/ booker/ promoter/ real pirate host is Jon. He is AMAZING! So cheerful. It is obvious that he has just found his way out of bed at 4 pm…a long night partying with a deep purple cover band. I get the vibe that he loves his job and music and also just people in general.
There is a dart board in the back room which is also said to be haunted!!! That’s right…we have officially become obsessed! We have been asking everyone for as many ghost stories as possible!!! Now that I think about it….i just realized that ODD doesn’t follow us…nor hunt us….i think we unintentionally hunt odd.
Back to darts. It has been so long since I have played. Probably…shit….12 years? It is kick ass though! I love friendly competition…games….DARTS!
The bartenders name is Matt and he is just a younger guy, also full of smiles and not anxious at all. We hook him up with some gear and I decide it is time for a drink. I wanted to try something different something that is not in the states…I ask for something nonalcoholic and he gives me the worst tasting drink EVER! I took one sip and that was the end of it. I pass it along to everyone….even matt cringes!!!! But leave it to Julius to take the beer on! He takes a swig and shakes a little bit…”it tastes like toast!” but then keeps on drinking! Hahahhaa
Some time passes and i am on the edge of falling asleep…I actually think Julius is asleep. Dakota and Ashley come bursting in “GET YOUR SHIT! WE MUST GO NOW!!!!”we get up and follow them….not really sure what adventure we are going on…its not really important to know. Just go. We take off out the back of the building and down the street and cross through this small park and then a bocce field.

My face hurts from smiling and I think a small tear glides down my cheek. This is what we have been waiting for. THE FUCKING BEST PLAYGROUND IN THE WORLD!
A GIGANTIC ROCK WALL…CRAZY QUICK SPINNY THING….AND THE WINNER FOR BEST RIDE ON EARTH…..TWO MAN SPIN IN THE AIR KDJFBIAURGFIUAERGB THING!!!!!!
Like five year olds we drop our bags and cameras and drinks and spread out towards all the exciting toys ahead of us….i race for the same one as Dakota and get caught behind him slightly….”oh my god get out of my way!!!” one shoulder and then the other….a race!
There is only one thing to do….A VIDEO BLOG! Please check the video section of our site…we did a killer blog on the play ground!!! The end is priceless!
When we arrived back at the venue…aye aye!! We were full of dirt, sweat, and blisters!
WANG!
The show was fun for me because I broke a string for the first time on stage and had to replace it as fast as possible…and a few other things went wrong that normally would cause us to get really bent out of shape. I think since being on tour we have really learn to not sweat the small stuff. And to be honest, it has really helped our show because we are getting more and more relaxed. You can sense the comfort level increasing with each performance.
Although the show was fun for me….i think the overall opinion of the show was pretty poor from our point of view. I am not speaking for everyone….but I really felt like we were all a little disappointed at the end of the show. But at least they had a fog machine!!!
The crowd really loved us though. It was cool. We met some really great people and chatted for a while.
The coolest thing for me was after the show because Andy and Dani (andys daughter) came AGAIN! Their third show!!!! By the end of the night it is obvious they are now a part of our family. We talked for hours…mostly about music…but a little bit about girth brooks as well! I really can’t stress it enough…how great it was to just meet so many positive people on tour. Andy and Dani are two of the greatest people I’ve ever met. They go to concerts all the time together…which I think is so cool. And there was never even a second of awkwardness. When they came in they walked right over and it was as if we had made a plan to meet them out at the bar for drinks. “Hey guys! Pull up a chair!”
I really don’t mean to go on and on about an encounter that might not be super exciting for all of you…but it is really hard to deny the fact that there are great interesting people around you at all times that you never get the chance or get enough courage to start a conversation with…and you could be missing out on so many killer stories and adventures.
Hmmm…this kind of feels like a Walt Disney Movie.
I’m a little uncomfortable now. Hey have a good night everyone. If you ever get a chance to go to a pirate bar….do it.
Sleep well
Joshua of dirt jake replicas

p.s. watch the video blog on our myspace site!

june 28th
Zombie. Zombie.
(day 12)

Why do people love cover bands? I can’t think of even one person I know that has ever said to me that they love a cover band or a tribute band. But somehow shows are always PACKED when one is playing.
This happened today.
But unfortunately the “packed” venue was connected to our venue and our crowd was less than last nights show! After our set was complete we could hear over a hundred people screaming and clapping…but only because the band on the other stage had just finished playing a Cranberries cover.
This is something that, I would think, gets a lot of original bands bummed out. I’ve grown to laugh at it more than get upset by it lately but today it is really odd. We even talked to half the crowd before we went in to setup our gear and gave them free cds and fliers and let them know we were on tour from the states and not a single person came in. As for the musicians in these style bands…I totally understand that some people just want to play and have fun and are not out to “change things”. And some people play instruments for 20 years and never attempt to write their own song. I know this happens and if that is what someone wants to do then great…..whatever makes you happy. But I guess it would be great if the FANS were more open to new music. There are so many great bands out there that could blow you away if you gave them the chance. This has happened so many times…even on this tour. EVEN AT THIS SHOW! A band called kill it kid just knocked me down and kicked my face in. I am a fan for life.
To all of the people out there that do give musicians creating original music a chance…..thank you. It is the greatest feeling going into a room full of strangers and playing a show for them and not seeing anyone leave. Or hearing people clap. It makes all the hours spent everyday working on our art worth every second.
Today was really just another day in the “normal” tour grind. We played in Norwich, which was a MASSIVE drive. We continued to speak to as many people as possible and pass out tons of merch. Ashley showed me a place to get some wicked hummus which was awesome. But the best part of the morning was remembering that we had the football! We tossed it around the parking lot for a while and then Andy Slade pulled in!
Andy Slade is a promoter/ pit-viper label owner.
He was not at all what I pictured him to look like. I like when that happens. This man is incredible. Full of positive energy and excitement. He actually worked his ass off to get us in town at the last minute because a venue that we had previously booked had burnt down. He worked nonstop during the night. Running back and forth to take pictures and video tape then to cheer and right back to the door to check and see if anyone wanted in….nope~
The stage was really cool and the sound man Jake was great too. The whole night went perfectly and again it was exciting playing to just a few people…and people that really enjoyed what we are doing.
After the show we spoke to Andy for a little while. Just relaxed and laughed at all the people missing out on the three great original bands that had played tonight. When we pulled out of the parking lot, it was as if we were again leaving a great friend behind. It is great when you can become so attached to someone after just a few hours of time spent together.
The drive home was pretty rough today. Very long again, and having to keep my eyes out for the millions of rabbits that were on the side of the road eating! Maybe I only saw 8 or 9…but that is still a ton!
Oh I also had a freaking owl swoop down right inn front of the van and fly in front of us for a little stretch of the backs roads! That was cool….probably not for the bunnies though. The road we were traveling had signs along it declaring the amount of people that had been killed on it in the past year. Great news.
At one point there was a semi that had begun to swerve just as I was about to pass it. The whole back end came whipping into the lane I was in and then slammed back in line with his land only to fling its ass out once more towards us. It freaked me out because it stopped as far as the center of our lane!!! Not just a drifter here. All in all it woke me up a little bit and helped me make it home. “woke me up” might be a slight understatement.
Sleep well
Joshua of dirt jake replicas