I know it may seem as if we have been taking a break so far in '08, but nothing could be farther from the truth. We have walled ourselves in and have been writing and demoing for the last few months here in Bridgeport. As fun as that has been, I am glad that it is soon coming to an end. In a week we are heading down to Nashville to record a new record. We are teaming up with Jay Joyce and company (producer of Good and Reckless and True) to work on a new studio album. We are very excited to take some of the songs we have been working up on the road over the last few years and give them new life. I am equally excited about the new songs that are literally just a few days old. I think they will get along nicely. So I just wanted to check in and say that we are doing well. And once this record is done (hopefully in late April) we will get back on the road and start all over again.

e

As I am sure many of you know by now, our good friend Stephen Chopek has moved on to pursue other opportunities. We hooked up with Stephen a little under three years ago and at that time we were trying to turn Good and Reckless and True from a studio record into something we could take on the road. As a drummer, Stephen is a rock. One thing Tim and I don't always see eye to eye about is tempo. Chopek always took care of that. He plays strong, he plays hard, and he takes charge. As an artist Stephen is a fun guy to watch unfold. His contributions to the band were a lot like himself. By that I mean he asserted himself in very interesting and sometimes unexpected ways. Like screaming out "She Don't know!" at the outro of My Old Lady or turning around to see him playing standing up at the end of California. But the more we got to know him, we realized that drumming is just a part of who Stephen is. I highly recommend checking out his website www.sodacansodacan.com I am bummed to lose such important member of the Alternate Routes family, but greatful for the opportunity. And there is no doubt that Chopeks stamp will be on us for years to come. - eric

I feel like we have been talking about this for a while now, but i am excited to finally announce that we will be releasing an acoustic CD. This CD will feature songs from Good and Reckless and True, reinterpretated and played at our home studio in Bridgeport. The album will be available at shows only as of December 21st at the Ridgefield Playhouse. I would love talk more about the CD and how we approached each song, but I would rather you just check it out yourself.

"talking about music is like dancing to architecture." -Elvis Costello

Check out a couple tracks in the meantime at our MySpace page.

- Eric

I would like to introduce you to our new secret weapon Cody Reck.

Cody is our new sound man extraordinaire. He is a Montana bread ranch hand that we stole from North Dakota. He is a jack of all trades. He can ride a horse, he's an EMT, a professional skier, and squeezed in a degree in sound engineering. He is starting to adjust to life on the road with us. We got him sleeping in too late and Chip even has him wearing womens sunglasses. Baby steps. If you see him at a show come say hello to the newest Alternate Route... Cody.

- Eric

I have a bone to pick with North Carolina. We played in Raleigh last night and anyone who has been through North Carolina knows that the license plates read "First in Flight." This is because the Wright Brothers claim that they were the first to fly a plane in December of 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. However in Bridgeport Ct we are taught the truth. Bridgeport Resident Gustav Whitehead claims to have flown his own plane at Seaside park for over a half mile in August of 1901, two years before the celebrated Wright Brothers flight. If you don't believe me, look it up. My personal opinion is that the Wright Brothers were either better looking or had a better publicist. That seems to go far these days.

- Eric

About two weeks or so ago we officially launched "Ordinary" as our new single. Its not a magic button you press and all of a sudden the song is everywhere. Its actually quite the contrary. After going around the country promoting "Runaway," I learned how much work goes into making a song a household name. For our first try, I think we did pretty well. I think we got up to 15 or 20 or so on the Triple A charts, got to be on TV, and I personally got to tell the gambling story about 200 more times.

It's funny how you make this really expensive polished album, and then to promote it you have to get up at 5 am to go play it with acoustic guitars live on the radio after playing the night before. Or better yet to a conference room full of people who you don't know if they are there to see you or for the free pizza. All in all we made some good friends on the road and radio has opened a lot of doors for us. I hope that everyone who helped support "Runaway" feels up to the challenge again. "Ordinary" is a special song for all of us in the band, and I feel like we have kept it to ourselves for a few years now. I hope we get the chance to break it open. Please don't underestimate how much calling in and emailing radio stations, writing to your favorite TV shows, magazines, or just telling your friends about the band helps. I feel like now more than ever anything goes in the music industry. And fans have more power than anyone. Share the song with anyone you think will dig it and we will keep up our part of the bargain.

Thanks,

Eric

When we've played a venue as often as Jammin' Java in Vienna, Virginia, it begins to feel as comfortable as our own living room. Comfort can be hard to find on the road, so gigs like the one last Saturday are the kind we particularly love to play. After devouring the requisite massive bowl of chili, we took the stage and found that we were "going for lots of stuff" musically, as we like to say, improvising more than usual and trusting it to work for the greater good. Some nights, everything falls apart at once... strings break, guitars go out of tune, voices crack, monitors cut out... but others, like this one, it seems we can do no wrong. New songs like "Future's Nothing New" and "The Uke Tune" made their J.J. debut, and oldies like "Please Don't Let it Be" and even "Going Home With You" were given new twists. At the end of the night, we were the last non-employees to leave the building, as usual, not because we had to be though. It was because we enjoy the company of everyone who works there so much that we stuck around to chat and drink, despite the five hour drive home. Paste magazine recently included the club in their top 40 American music venues and I couldn't agree more. It's one of the best.

-Mike

There's something about Chicago that hooks us in every time. Maybe it has to do with the fresh Lake Michigan air. It's impossible to pass through town without stopping to have a few drinks too many and meeting some cool, friendly people along the way. It's a young, fun city, and The Alternate Routes are not immune to its charm. This particular stay began Thursday when we played an outdoor stage in Millennium Park. Workers flooding out of the offices across the street would stop for a song or two on their way home and have a drink in the shadow of a giant reflective bean, one of the many eccentric objects littered about the park that make it such a fun place to bring a camera. The response we got wasn't quite what Ferris Beuller earned for singing "Twist and Shout" down the street 20 years ago, but it was a trip to play in such a great location and to see some new faces taking it all in. Friday was a day off, so we met up with some friends from home and went for sushi at a place called Blue Fin (it was great. fun fact: all the Alternate Routes enjoy sushi, though Chopek sticks to veggie rolls). Then we hit up a tequila bar, a punk rock dive and a shady college 80s joint in Wrigleyville, staying out into the wee hours of the morning. Saturday we played the Taste of Lincoln Avenue, a street festival that it seems everyone in the neighborhood attended. We headlined one stage while Little Feat headlined another a couple of blocks down. Deep dish pizza fueled our hour-and-a-half-long set. The solid chunk of crowd that blocked up the street and gave their attention received us warmly, and before we knew it, it was time to jump back in the van for the now routine 15 hour, overnight drive home. Soon enough we'll be back to do it all over again...

-Mike

About halfway through soundcheck last night I heard an awkward crash and the words no musician ever wants to hear: “Whose guitar is this?” I looked over to see a waiter and a few waitresses standing over a guitar case, afraid to touch it. It was like the scene of an accident where no one wants to touch any of the evidence or make the damage worse. I had the unfortunate job to go investigate and possibly identify the body. It was exactly what I was afraid of. Someone had dropped a table on our beloved Tak. Short for the Takamine, the Tak has been in the Alternate Routes family as long as any of us have. It’s a beat up old acoustic that was Tim’s main gigging guitar for years. In the last year or so I had gotten very familiar with the Tak. It was my favorite guitar for acoustic radio performances and acoustic shows. I had never really enjoyed playing acoustic guitar all that much but I really loved the way this guitar played. I dug it so much that I started using it every night on songs like Louisiana and Desdemona. Not only is the Tak a road dog, but it is a great sitting on the couch guitar. Some instruments have their own personality, their own vibe. You swear just have songs in them. Being a guy a who breaks and loses things a lot, I try not to get too attached to things. But this one has me a little shaken. I am hoping some luthier back home can get the Tak up and running again. Wish us luck.

- Eric

It’s around 3 am on a Tuesday morning and I am having trouble sleeping, so I am giving the late night blog a try…

Occasionally people ask us what our main goal is when it comes to our future as musicians and the band. What I usually tell people is that the career artists I admire the most are people like Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and John Hiatt. These are people who continue to make relevant music over a span of decades who developed a fan-base close in age to them so that they could grow with their audience. These are people who appeal to not only people their own age as well as finding a way to appeal to many people on the fringe of their generation and others based on their musicality and their message. These are people who had some hits during their early days that put them on the map, but who still tour on their own terms and have the respect of their audience enough to play anything they want to.

This last week we played with a young, platinum-selling, grammy-award winning artist named Jonny Lang. We played in beautiful theaters for gracious audiences who came for the music. When you consider the kind of success Jonny Lang has had at 26 years old, the kinds of things he’s overcome and his raw talent and ability to perform, it's easy to be intimidated by him. What we found instead was a humble and friendly musician with a great band who has quietly won a Grammy for his newest album and continues to sell out theaters and play whatever he wants. What we stumbled into was the very situation we have been working towards from the beginning. There is some debate among our band whether it’s more exciting to play for a standing audience versus a seated one, but as far as I could tell this last week, I was in heaven. We were able to connect with the audience in a respectful environment that was big enough to play the loud stuff and intimate enough to play the ballads. After 9 shows in as many days, I had a day off Sunday along with the rest of the world. It was a busy week of shows we put our heart into that paid off in so many ways. If you get a chance to see Jonny Lang perform I think you should. As we continue with our summer schedule this year I can’t help but wonder if the best shows of the summer are behind us. I have a feeling great things lie ahead but until we get back on stage this Wednesday, I will be reflecting on a refreshing week, and racking my brain for ways to “get there” in our own right as The Alternate Routes. Until then we’ll see you in your town.

- Tim

So we are back at home for a few days for some much needed rest and recovery. Here are some of the stats.

- We hit up about 35 cities over 6 weeks.
- Two lost bags of luggage.
- One lost set of keys.
- Two debit cards left in ATMs.
- One broken pair of glasses that were glued and taped together.
- One lost set of contact lenses which meant i had to wear the broken and taped glasses for the entire last week.
- Lost all of the mailing list signups for the past few months.
- The outer layer of the trailer started to shed.

However the worst casualty was the Ipod thing as we call it (the device that lets you listen to your ipod through a radio frequency) broke and we were left musicless for part of the trip.



But at the end of the day it all worked out. It was our first driving trip to the west coast and back. Being away from home and all your stuff for a while really makes you question what you really need. Except for some loved ones back home you really don't need much. Alot of people have asked me over the last day or so how you can stand being on the road. More than anything I believe this trip taught me you need to be flexible and pack light.

- Eric

I think we finally drove into summer. I stopped somewhere between Iowa and Missouri for gas and opened the door and it was an entirely different season. Now the van is cluttered with sweatshirts and jackets that we don’t need but can’t get rid of till after Memorial Day. But the weather couldn’t have come at a better time because we were playing our second outdoor festival of the weekend on Saturday. Our second visit to Iowa State came during their annual Viesha festival. From what I gathered it’s a once a year campus wide festival that includes music, food, and all other sorts of Midwest goodness. We played on this giant stage around 3pm for a pretty small crowd. The guys who booked us remembered us from when we played there with Wertz a few months back so we were happy to be a part of the festival and we appreciated them wanting to include us.

At first we thought this giant stage setup was for us, which we found a little excessive. Actually the main headliner was Chris Cagle. For those of you who don’t know him, and apparently there are a lot less of those than I thought, Chris Cagle is a country star. A kick-ass rock and roll country star. About 5 hours after we played for a handful of people lounging on the lawn, Chris turned the campus into 10,000 person venue. We were shocked, especially after Chris pulled us aside after watching our entire set and took us on the bus to hang. I had heard of him before but was not terribly familiar with his music, or the country music scene in general. It was very eye opening. We talked about music, writing, and the business for over an hour. It was one of the nicest gestures we have ever received. He was particularly taken with Tim’s lyrics. After seeing the show once, he wanted to hang out talk to Tim about his songs and was citing lines that struck him during the show. He later took a few minutes during his set to hold up our record and give us a plug. Our first encounter with superstardom was a good one.

- Eric

There isn’t another group of guys out there that we have more respect for and more laughs with, then the Matt Wertz Camp. The opportunity to play with those guys again is an opportunity we will jump at every time. I had a great conversation with Jason, the tour manager before the sound check about their last 5 months on the road! We joked about other guys out there with the tour bus and the entourage, half the ticket sales and twice the attitude. We have a mutual respect for what we do on stage despite the fact that it is different, and on the business side of things we see that Matt Wertz has been touring the entire country for 5 years, and we have tremendous respect for what he has accomplished in that time. The truth is Matt Wertz sells out clubs throughout the entire country, and when you go to the show, you can sing most of the songs by heart, and even if you can’t, you’re probably tapping your foot. Some people tour the U.S. for 20 years and they never achieve was Matt Wertz has been able to. I got a chance to chat with Matt at the end of the night he congratulated us on the Conan thing and we spoke about the prospect of going home, and all the things you think about when you’re fronting a band and trying to the keep the business up and running. I know Matt is tired, (not of performing) but traveling in a six-seater van for 5 months is hard on your limbs, and its easy to forget that traveling takes its toll on your personal life that can wear a person down. Matt has earned a break more so then most artists I know, and luckily in a week he will get one. I can’t say this about other folks we play with but simply said, I believe Matt Wertz, and I also believe in the music he sells and the way he goes about it.

Another thing I want to acknowledge is the fact that Stephen sat in on drums for the show with Matt, and being in the crowd and watching him play drums was a real kick. We have been playing with Stephen for almost two years now and in watching him perform with Matt I truly realized how lucky we are. Stephen has more live and studio experience then any of us, he has been in pursuit of music the longest and to this day he takes nothing for granted when it comes to being prepared. I looked on as Chopek checked in with the notes he had made before every song started, cued up the metronome, and engaged Rufus on bass and Matt and Brad on Electric guitar. The show went off without a hitch that I could hear. Stephen is a pro, and whether or not we give him credit for it very often, he brings an air of professionalism to things that we all admire. The fact that he is willing to slum it with the Alternate Routes in the back of our 15-passenger van playing any and everywhere, means he must respect what we are trying to accomplish. Technically speaking, I have the least to offer our band musically, I pound on my acoustic guitar every night and I have a great time. The four guys I get to play with every night on the other hand earn the respect of everyone we play with each night, from the sound guy to the waitress. At the center of what we do on stage is Stephen Chopek, he is our organic, vegetarian version of Levon Helm and we’ll take it.

- Tim

Coming off my last thoughts concerning the debate over headlining verses opening, we played a headlining show in Madison. There were almost 20 people there, which was on the low side of what we were hoping. We had only been to Madison once but had some radio support there and so we gave it a shot. I think the crowd was more disappointed with the turnout then we were, but I think they had a good time. We tried some new things and like I said before, we didn’t have to worry about what to play and where, but we traded one monkey on our back for another. The first time you headline a city is always the hardest. The promoter warned us it was a busy week for music in town but everyone was really nice. The sound guy had an extensive Star Wars figurine collection, which he was happy to tell us about. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I haven’t ever really ridden the Star Wars wave. He was a great guy and did a great job with the sound. All in all it was a good first night in Madison and we can’t thank the people enough who did show.

- Tim

Josh Kelly packed em’ in at the House of Blues. The pre-sale was over 1000 and if you have never been in the House of Blues in Chicago, it was one of the more beautiful venues around. Once again, everyone at the House of Blues no matter where you are, is a total pro. We had a ball playing for more people then we have seen from a stage in Chicago and people afterwards were really excited to say hello and pick some music up. This was a great opportunity for us in a city that we had been to before, but never quite like the Josh Kelly show. I need to thank Josh for having us. I think he did the Oprah show the next day, which is about as big time as you can get. Talking to Josh in the back you would never know that so many people were lining up outside to see him, he is a cool customer, and I know he had a lot on his plate that day, but he still found a second to say hi.

As an opener I can never tell what the headliners think about our set. It wouldn’t be very artist-like to worry, especially because if I were in the crowd I wouldn’t want the band approaching the show like some sort of marketing team that had done research on my taste in music to try increase their percentage of cds sold on the night. At the same time I know our show is very different then a lot of people we open for. Who really knows what a shoe is if it is constantly changing anyway. There is a thought in the business that any headlining show is better then an opening slot because you don’t have to worry about this stuff, but I think I disagree. I do think that the hardest part for the band is to retain their identity and to not be so concerned with mimicking the headliner. I would like to think we have something different to offer and I want to be proud of that.

These are all theories, the kinds of things you think about when putting together a set list. Your set is sort of your statement. When you are young you have this anxiety about not being ignored. Younger kids throw tantrums and try to draw attention because they want to be noticed. Other kids are noticed for being different and for some of them it works, and others find themselves trying simply to fit in. I think there are some parallels there between that idea, and the notion of being a young band. The flip side of the coin is that you don’t need to throw a tantrum to be noticed, maybe you are just a little different and that comes with its own baggage. Should you bend to the crowd or give them something else? I wonder about this. I guess the nice part about being on stage is that you don’t need to think there. Some people think for a living, I get to sin, (not necessarily for a living, but that’s what I do). Some people think too much. Some people think a lot.

- Tim 
 


What can I say? I spent 10 years of my life playing competitive baseball, and to this day there are people out there who think I should have made a run at pitching in the bigs. We played on the field behind home plate for 15 minutes before the game start as people filled into the stadium. The sound check went down as Jim Thome took batting practice (He will more than likely surpass the 500 homerun mark this year, and he homered in the game). The sounds of a wooden bat and a ball, the comedic gab between players warming up on the sideline, the buzz cut grass cut in opposing shades of green and the friendly fire of the meet and greet between the managers are all experiences I will always wonder if I could have had first hand on a daily basis.

Amy Sheridan set the whole thing up and showed us around the field, I think she said it best, “For people whole love baseball, standing in the stadium and taking in the spacing of it all, the sounds and the size of things, can border on a religious experience.” I don’t want to upset the religious folks out there so I will leave it at that. I know I will get some flack for this too, but the area surrounding the stadium and the people who worked there had a genuine kindness about them, and it really reminded me of Bridgeport. The gentlemen parking the cars took a picture with us, and the guy who runs the scoreboard shook our hand and played “Time is a Runaway” in the stadium during the game. He also bought the cd on itunes later that day and sent us an email thanking us. Eric and I were parking the van when he turned to me and apprehensively admitted that he was becoming a White Sox fan. I have been to Wrigley Field a few times, and it may be the best ballpark left in the country. As a Libra I am definitely open to debate on this so rather then committing to anything, feel free to chime in on this one if you want. Everyone on the South Side was great to us especially Amy for showing us around and being such a lovely host. Hopefully we will be back on the field this summer. in the meantime, I will be clutching my old mitt and renting “Field of Dreams” for a good cry…just kidding.

- Tim 
 
 
 


The heart of rock and roll was a quick stop along the way if I remember correctly. The Cambridge Room at the House of Blues is a great spot, and we had been there recently with Matt Wertz. We opened for Josh Kelly and played to another nearly sold out room. It was a big opportunity, as Cleveland is starting to become a place we look forward to playing, and we wanted to win some folks over. The show as only 30 minutes but it went well. The bummer about Cleveland this time is that we couldn’t stay until the end. We had a 5 ½ hour ride to Chicago for the WGN morning show. We left at midnight because we had to be in Chicago at 7am. It’s always a bummer when you have to leave early. We are at the beginning of many things in a town like Cleveland and the opportunity to meet with people after the show is not one we like to pass up. All that being said the WGN morning show is a national news show and things went great there in the morning (despite the 40 minutes we got to sleep in the hotel). I wanted to group the morning show and the Cleveland date together because based on the amount of sleep we got, they sort of blend together in my mind. Thanks to everyone who came up to us after the show in Cleveland. We have our sights set on a headlining show in the Cambridge room some time soon and we hope to see you there.

- Tim 


We played our first show with Josh Kelly in a beautiful room called the 20th Century. The building had a great history about it and everyone who worked there was great. The bartender named Shelly and I had a laugh early on about an outfit that one of the fans had chosen to wear that day, it was more of a lampshade then a dress really but I’ve never really had a palate for fashion. The show was one of the better ones I can think of in recent memory. Sunday shows are typically more laid back, (whether or not people realize it, everyone relaxes a little on Sunday and that’s the way it should be.) We all played well and had the kind of night that we didn’t need to talk about or analyze at the end.

Josh Kelly and Co. we really polite, down for a pretty good hang before the show as well. Its always nice when beautiful women are walking around in the dressing room, its better then waiting for the wall paper to move and it makes you feel like you’re doing something right. The show was really fun as well, we had a nice view, taking it in on the balcony and even had a few chats here and there with Josh when he was around. There were many hidden rooms and spaces in the building that was on old movie theatre 40 and 50 years ago. We got the extra special tour complete with the private bar in the attic where the movie projectors used to be stored. Go Bengals. I hope we make it back to the 20th Century sooner than later. Looking forward to hearing the recording of the show as well and hopefully sharing it with all of you. We have some good friends in Cincinnati and I think we made a decent impression on some new folks. 


- Tim

The basement is very appropriately named. There is a lot of concrete, very little natural light etc. We had been to Columbus once before in the same room and there were maybe 20 people there so anything would have been better. Sadly it was our last night with the Will Hoge band so we did our thing and toasted to Erica for all her help with the merchandise. My favorite part of the night was when we got back to the club from dinner and a shower and found out we were on in 1 minute because they had bumped the sets back 30 minutes. Sometimes it’s nice not to have too much time to think. We did our show, and the cozy crowd responded graciously. I thought to myself as were loading out about a lot of things. It was foggy and damp in Ohio, as people spilled out of the club in various stages of drunk and tired. I thought to myself, “This is just another day in town, this is just another day in Finity.” Not sure what that means just yet but I am working on it. Good Luck in whatever it is you found yourself a part of this weekend, Good luck in Finity.

- Tim

We were running late for an afternoon performance at 92.3 WTTS in Indianapolis. We called to notify the station we were running late and we were all pleased to hear that there was a line of listeners waiting to get into the building for the short acoustic performance. We were a long way from home and we were all really excited that on our second visit to Indy, there were folks there who were excited about the band. We made it to the performance and things went well. Everyone at WTTS was really nice and they were all looking forward to the show that night which they had been promoting for a long time. They told us the place we were playing was small but that it would be packed. After a couple of years of learning how to play for next to nobody, knowing that a room you have never been to, in a town that you’ve been to once, will be packed thanks to a lot of hard work by people you’ve never met, is a wonderful feeling.

All things considered we had zero faith that anyone in town would actually come to the show, until we pulled up after dinner and the parking lot was full. There’s not a lot of faith in the music business these days but our day in Indiana made us proud to be in music, and proud to be on the radio. I want to send a special thanks to WTTS for all their kindness and hard work. These days we do things one day at a time, and every person we meet matters. As the door on our van swings open for some fresh air as we get some gas, you can hear the country music station from an outdoor speaker on the roof of the “Easy mart.” In the distance is the sound of little else. Except for the occasional break check from an 18-wheeled truck, I realize that the people hear value the sounds of silence, they value their time on the weekends and the way a beer tastes when you buy it for yourself, and its lucky for us that they value their music. Indianapolis…We will see you next time.

- Tim, Friday the 13th, April ‘07 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


We’d never been to Akron, Ohio before, but now that we have we’ll never forget it. The people at 91.3 The Summit were nice enough to provide a free show for their listeners, which translates to us into a full room of eager audience members. The venue was called The Tangier, a cabaret-style theatre with a Moroccan theme and a 1970s Vegas feel. The yellowing autographed photos lining the walls and the thick atmosphere betrayed the club’s deep and sometimes dark history, and the plush booths by the bar beckoned us to sink into them and indulge in a martini or two. Needless to say, we loved it. Though he probably didn’t know why he had packed it in the first place, Tim donned a pinstripe suit he had been saving for just such an occasion. We took a deep breath, poured ourselves a drink and dove into our set, once again paving the way for Will Hoge. We let it all hang out and experimented a bit, once again playing an extended version of the new “Go Away Stoned” tune with Chip on electric guitar and myself on bass. After the set we mingled with the locals, as usual. Lauren from 91.3 told me of the Tangier’s legacy, from it’s flashy glory days to the murder-for-hire scandal that almost closed the place down. Remind me to Google it when I have a few free minutes. By the time Hoge was finishing his set we had a few drinks in us, and had no reservations joining his band on stage to lend some sloppy background vocals to the final song, a cover of the Faces song “Ooh La La” (aka “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger”).

-Mike

We started off a two-month trip right around the corner in New York City, but when we found out that load in was at 8am we knew we were in for something different. For a new band the opportunity to play on a late night show was not only some sort of a milestone in our minds, but as we would learn throughout the day, our appearance on Conan O’Brien felt like a victory for everyone who has supported us so far. Half way through the day I had to turn my phone off because the best-of-luck wishes were coming in faster than I could read them. I am not complaining in any way about this, but people all of over the country were chiming in and it was starting to make me really nervous.

We loaded in at 8 and didn’t really have anywhere to be before 11, so we found ourselves trying to nod off in the dressing room despite the excitement. Eric and I took a trip down the hall and wandered into the front of the studio. In the dark and surprisingly cold room, Eric with his guitar in hand sat down on one of the guest chairs, and I (not having the guts to sit in Conan’s seat, sat on the foot of the stage facing Max Weinberg’s drum set. I felt like I was skipping middle school or something, as we had a few laughs, played a few chords, and took in the set before our hands got too cold, (they don’t heat the set because when the lights are on for the show they heat the place up just enough.) At 11 am you set up your gear, then at 2:30 you play through the song two or three times for the camera and sound crew, and then you wait four more hours to perform for 4 minutes in front of more people then you can admit to yourself (just in case it doesn’t go well). We turned off the TV airing the taping in our dressing room once they started at around 5:30. I had a funny moment with Stephen when we found ourselves in the dressing room and I asked him just how you go about taking your mind off something that had never loomed so large in your mind before. He responded by agreeing that the decision to turn the t.v. off, was a good one. So we bought a little Jack Daniels (nothing crazy) and everyone made sure their hair was in order (except me of course, as we all witnessed the static-hair-and-the-balloon look that I was sporting at the time, which was no fault of the lovely woman who cut my hair that day) and lined up outside the studio.





Conan announced the band was from Bridgeport and the crowd lit up. We all settled into the performance and when were through, it felt like we had been shot out of a cannon. We came offstage more excited then I have ever seen any of us. I think we did pretty well, and the rest of the night we could look forward to watching the show without having to tell people not to expect much. Cheers to the whole staff of the show and Conan himself for being so professional and friendly. Thanks to everyone who called and wrote wishing us well. You and the butterflies were there with us every step of the way.



-Tim

We finished up the run with Matt Wertz and the boys a few days ago. Just wanted to publicly thank them for a great few weeks. The trip started in the northeast during one of the warmest winters I can ever remember (it has since gotten colder I am told). We met winter head on in Madison WI and St Paul MI as we hit -30 with wind chill. The kind of cold where your skin starts to burn in a few minutes, We all got a breather in Des Moines on Superbowl Sunday. Rufus (Matt's bass player) made us chili, Wertz took our money, and we spent the rest of the night making music. We worked up a tune that Matt had started writing. We all dug it so much that we made it a part of Matt's set for the rest of the tour. We parted ways in Boulder after a sold our show at the Fox Theatre. It was a run we were lucky to be a part of. Thanks for having us guys. Safe travels and lets do again sometime.

- Eric






"The entourage on the last day in Boulder"





"somewhere in the Wisconsin"





Fox Theatre





Somebody told me Kansas city was slowly burning. (Ps it was a huge chemical fire and no one was hurt.)





Tim working on the superbowl song





chip wearing a stupid hat





backstage at the House of Blues Cleveland





Matt won the halftime and end of the game draw.

We had the pleasure of spending yesterday with the fine people of Charleston, West Virginia. I realize all my stories about the band start with us driving all night to get there so I'll get that out of the way early this time. We drove all night from Worchester, MA and arrived in Charleston around noon. We slept for an hour or so and headed over to the Cultural Center Theatre to play Mountain Stage.

For those of you not familiar with this show, Mountain Stage is a legendary radio program that showcases performers in a concert format and airs every Monday on radio stations throughout the country. I was especially excited because one of my favorite recordings is a version of "That Day is Done" by Elvis Costello that was from Mountain Stage. They even played it in the lobby before the show. We were lucky enough to be asked to play, and it is easily one of the best-run productions I have ever been a part of. Everyone involved was great at what they did and were genuinely nice people. Our friend Mieka Pauley was performing and sounded great - she is one of those people we keep running into out on the road and has a lot of exciting things coming up. We met a great songwriter and even nicer guy named Craig Caruthers from Nashville. Greg Brown is a performer we grew to know and love while living in Beverly with Tim's uncle. He is bluesman and a storyteller with a deep voice and a magnetic persona that closed out the show.

Being a part of a show like is a great feeling - you honestly get a sense of the history and a feel you are in another time. A time when musicians wanted to hang out with other musicians and just make music. That really came true when Mike Lipton, the fantastic guitar player from the Mountain Stage house band, dug our set and invited us to a small club up the street that he was playing at later that night. He said to bring guitars and plan on playing. We were all pretty exhausted but had a strange feeling this was going to be a night we didn't want to miss. We grabbed Mieka and headed over to the Empty Glass.

Mike Lipton's band is called the Carpenter Ants and they were hitting as we got there. On the downbeat of the first song Tim and I looked at each and laughed because we knew what we were in for. They sounded great and we knew we were going to close this place down. A few tunes in, they called me on stage and that's where I would spend the bulk of the night. Chip, Tim, and Sembos joined us a little later and we barreled our way through My Old Lady with some world-class ringers. We called our old standby Sweet Home Chicago and never looked back.

It's funny to think about the two extremes that took place yesterday. We went from playing on a world-class radio program and being genuinely nervous to drinking moonshine and screaming My Old Lady with the local band a few hours later. Both were great. There need to be more things like Mountain Stage and the Empty Glass in this world. I just hope there are more performers our age who think so too.

Eric


Mike Lipton, Tim, and Eric


Mike Lipton, Tim, Eric, Sembos, and Chip (with Beer)


Mike Lipton, Eric, Sembos, Chip (with Beer), and Mieka Pauley

About a month or so ago I was cleaning out my garage and found a copy of "This Wheel's on Fire," the autobiography of Levon Helm and story of The Band. I picked it up and didn't put it down till it was finished. I insisted that the rest of the guys do the same before our next trip and everyone complied. The Band has always been an important ingredient to The Alternate Routes. When I met Tim he had recently seen "The Last Waltz" for the first time. The movie had greatly impacted him. The image of 5 guys on stage, singing together, playing together, and telling stories from life on and off the road. There seemed to be no real line between them as people and as a band. We started The Alternate Routes shortly thereafter.

We left the House of Blues in Cleveland just before midnight on Wednesday night and drove through the night in the rain to try and make it home in time to enjoy Thanksgiving. As we pulled into Bridgeport around 9 am there was a contract from Vanguard Records waiting for us. We had been in negotiations with Vanguard for a few months by now, and everything was finally ready. We poured a few drinks, had a toast, and signed with Vanguard on Thanksgiving morning 2006. The 30 year anniversary of the Last Waltz. I wish I could say we had the foresight to have set it up this way on purpose, but it was all coincidence or luck or whatever it is you believe in.

I think Vanguard records is a great match for us. In meeting with them over the last few months, they have made it clear that they are committed to developing the band on our terms. They pride themselves on making quality records and treating their artists well. The other main selling point for us is that they want to put out "Good and Reckless and True" as it is. We are going to re-master it and redo the artwork and packaging, but the music will not be touched. Even though we recorded it over a year and a half ago, we are still very proud of "Good and Reckless and True" and want more people to hear it.

To everyone who has supported the band so far, we can not thank you enough. We would love to go back in the studio and cut another record  and give you something new to listen to, but we will just have to be patient. New songs that have become part of the live show over the last year or so (like My Old Lady, Shelly, or Suckers Dream) will still be a big part of our live shows, and we will continue to write and demo up material as we get it. The Alternate Routes are going to need your support more than ever to help us get to the next level, but we will bug you about that when the time is right. As for now I just wanted to share some good news. Hope everyone is having a good Holiday.... see you soon.

- eric

I will start this entry the same way I start most of my phone calls/ emails lately, sorry I have been MIA but it's been a crazy summer. So I figured I would share some of the highlights. Things really got underway when we headed down to Lafayette, Louisiana to begin a run of dates with our friends Sons of William and Rex Moroux. Those guys are the essence of southern hospitality. Possibly too much so. Ask Sembos about that. The great part of being on the road with bands you dig is that you get to hear music every night that you look forward to. I will save you my impressions of the show, but if you want something to check out, "Easy to Love" by Sons of William or "December 24" by Rex. Both killer tunes.

We wound up the run with those guys in Nashville. Got to see the gang that we recorded "Good and Reckless and True" with. Always great to see Jay Joyce and company. When we rolled into Nashville in March of 2005 we were 3 guys with some songs. Working with Jay was a big turning point for us. Before becoming a producer, he was a guy who had made his life in bands on the road. We soaked up everything he had to say. As a guitar player, I especially respected Jays approach. I really think we needed the year and a half on the road to develop the band and the live show. When we rolled into Nashville this time around we were 5 guys in a band, and he knew it. There is no better feeling than when someone like Jay says you guys sound great. lets get this on tape.

The last part of the summer wound us back up to NYC. I will be totally honest. As a musician I have always had a love/hate relationship with NYC. As a kid growing up in CT, NYC was the musical/cultural center of the universe. It was a place that both intimidated and excited me. Some of my favorite memories are nights playing at the Bitter End on Bleeker street and staying out all night. But NYC is also a very tough place to be a developing band. It is expensive and there is a ton of competition. Trying to out trendy the latest scene is draining. Trying to play a song like Hollywood in a club of people who are talking is a terrible feeling. Especially when they are on your guestlist and want "to take you to the next level." That is why we have done what we have always tried to do, write good songs, and play them well. No tricks. We played our first headlining NYC show at Joes Pub about a week or so ago and it sold out. That was awesome. I really feel like that show was a turning point for us in the city. I have always thought that you can judge a band by their crowd. And I was never more proud of the crowd that came out that night. It has taken a while to get there, but our fans that are coming out in NYC, and in CT for that matter, have been great. The best shows come from the best crowds. So thanks. It was a great night and please check out the video from that show that is posted on our myspace page. I am not one for secrets, but we have some cool stuff in the works coming in the next few months. See you then.

Eric

On the way up to Boston last Friday to play at WBOS's Earthfest, we were able to tune into 92.9 on our car radio. Living in Bridgeport, I can stream WBOS on the computer, but only get to hear it on a real radio when we are in the area. Obviously hoping to hear our own song, we shamelessly tuned in once we were close enough. As a measure of good faith we decided to request a song that wasn't ours. As Tim was sleeping in the back for most of the ride, Chip, Sembos and I had been reading Radiohead lyrics that Chip found, and then listening to the song right after. It was a very different way to listen to music, especially a band like Radiohead where the lyrics are so beautiful and haunting, and yet very difficult to understand. When the time came to suggest a song for The Alternate Routes to request, I immediately suggested Fake Plastic Trees. Tim (now awake and opinionated) said that it was too obvious. Radiohead is such a respected "critics" choice he said. We argued about it for a few minutes and decided to appeal to the Gods instead and request No Rain by Blind Melon. It was a no brainer considering the giant outdoor festival we were on our way to. I think the request worked because for the most part, the weather was great. The only blemish was about a 5 minute downpour that began as we rang out the last note of our set. I think the rain stopped before Brandi Carlile hit. It was beautiful. Playing on that stage overlooking the Charles River was great. The band has come a long way over the last few months. It is very easy for me to say that we are having the most fun on stage that we ever have had. I won't say much more, but If I were you I would check it out.

The day as a whole was a great success. They estimated over 125,000 people in attendance. The entire WBOS staff and volunteers were great. I think the thing that impressed me the most was the enthusiasm that they all displayed. It was refreshing to hang out in the hotel bar the night before the show and hear the guys who were organizing the event talking about the it like it was Christmas. This was a free concert. Nothing to gain except awareness of a great cause and to see some music. A very heartfelt thanks to the people at WBOS. They have taken a great chance to support an independent band and we know this.

The weekend came to a very satisfying conclusion for me as we played a set at the after party. In a haze of a long day and an open bar, in the middle of Going Home With You Tim sang the first verse of Fake Plastic Trees and smiled at me.

- Eric

Since we started the band, March has always been a time for recording for the Alternate Routes. In 2003 we recorded our first EP "This is When." The following March we went back in and recorded "Over Your Shoulder." In March 2005 we headed down to Nashville to record "Good and Reckless and True." Now it is March again and for the first time in 3 years we are not planning on making a new record. We want to keep touring to support Good and Reckless and True and hope it can reach as many people as we can. However that doesn't mean we haven't been writing over the last year. We have about an albums worth of new material that we have been working on, some of which we play shows, some of which we are still working on.

As March 2006 rolled around we found ourselves with some extra time on our hands. We decided to head down to Chips house and let him work his engineering magic from his days as a Berklee student. We have spent about 2 weeks down in Virginia making demos of songs that we have finished and have been playing throughout the year, and working up new songs that we have never played out. Its great to all get in a room with absolutely no agenda whatsoever. To be able to experiment and try new things without worrying about studio time or what anyone thinks. Chip did a pretty amazing job and we are very excited with what we came up with. Since no album is in the immediate future, we wanted to share a few of these songs.

We are going to stream a demo a week for the next few weeks or so on myspace. These are just rough demos that we did ourselves, so don't be too critical. Hope you enjoy and let us know what you think.

- eric

We met some good people in California. I met a woman named Carmen in Phoenix with Multiple Sclerosis. With one hand on her cane and the other on my shoulder she said, "never stop doing this, just keep going, you want to know why? Because one day you'll look back at your life and say, 'thank God I did that' and that's from your momma in Phoenix!" A chef named Lauren sent us on our way in San Francisco with some home baked cookies and something called "Chocolate Death;" and then she told us the cheapest places to get gas on the trip to San Diego. Earlier that same day I sat trapped in our rental car while two elderly people smoked crack from a pipe on a curb outside the passenger side door in broad day light while they laughed about the 50's. I sat on a tour bus with Rodney Crowell, a grammy nominated member of the royal family of songwriting in Nashville and he told me he thought "Ordinary" was a hit. He also told me that everyone he knew in the music business growing up with a back up plan was doing something else now. Keep writing songs if its the only thing you want to do, and you'll find a way to make it work. The importance and irony of all of these encounters is that going into this trip, I was seriously questioning my ablility to endure the harsh realities of the music business for the first time in 6 years. One of my favorite Dylan lyrics is, "Take what you have gathered from coincidence."

I looked for Carmen at the end of the night to thank her but she had left. We called Lauren to thank her for the food but only got a voicemail. And I will forever be in debt to Rodney for the things he told me on that bus. I think I am writing this journal from a Casino at 5 in the morning while they vacuum the floors, because there is no plan b for me. I have always had a love-hate relationship with the Casino. Like the music business you can make more money than you ever dreamed, and you can lose it all; but its the opportunity to stare chance in the face, indifferent to the outcome that is seldom seen as its own reward. I feel at home in a Casino, because like the world that I live in, it is filled with a lot of hope, and everyone is just trying to find a way to win, or at least finding a way to stay in the game.

I learned about hope in California. I learned that you can pull a car over in the middle of the night, half way through a 7 hour drive, smoke a cigarette under a full moon on the bank of the San Luis Reservoir, wonder how you're gonna make rent, trying to decide whether or not you even care, and thank God you're alive all in the same breath. It sounds dramatic but I needed so much to happen on this trip, and luckily it did.

-Tim

It's been a long time since our last journal entry; proof that even we have been pre-occupied with the upcoming holiday, and more time off than we have had in the last 8 months. In years past I have found that I do most of my writing in the fall when summer ends and everyone goes back to work or school, (the kind of routine that I have somehow avoided for the last 2 years). I've always felt a little under the radar in early September, but this year was different. Instead, I find myself on the couch of an emtpy house in between songwriting efforts, writing this journal entry in early December. The truth is I am 3 years out of college, wishing that my bank account could withstand more than a half day's worth of xmas shopping. The truth is I am grateful to have had both the hardest and most rewarding year of my life almost completely under my belt. I'm staring across the living room at the drums and guitars piled in the corner and the truth is I am a part-time newspaper delivery man in a band that is finally starting to make some noise. This year when they play "Auld Lang Syne" there will be a stiff drink in my hand, in the company of friends who taught each other about family, in a year when they became one. This year there will also be two tears in my eyes because in 2005 I started to see some of the darker colors that life has to offer. The truth is that even though the canvas is a little darker now, the picture, (and all the unaswered questions that come with it), is still beautiful. So I'll leave you with the only verse that didn't make the song "Ordinary" in the studio back in Nashville and cheers to health and happiness in the upcoming year.

I've been worried some days
That I've wasted my time
But the question is beautiful
And the answer is mine

All the best in 2006,
-Tim W.

About 5 hours before we hit the road for our latest stretch of dates, my aunt said to me, "Make sure you take lots of pictures." It dawned on me that I haven't owned a camera in years. The only cameras that I ever used were those Kodak disposable ones, and I would say that I lost more of those than I developed. So on a total impulse, I went out and bought my first real camera. We were going to a few places I had never been before, so I was excited to document the trip in pictures, a few of which I will share in the future... once I figure out how to upload them.

The highlight of the tour was getting to share the stage with Marc Broussard and his entourage. Those boys are the epitome of Southern hospitality... and they're some badass musicians. Gibb Droll killing the guitar, Calvin on bass, and Chad on drums were so much fun to watch. And Marc's voice is great. It was such a trip to go from the dirty rendition of "Home" to Marc singing "Gavin's Song" solo to close out the night. Not only were they fun guys to play with, but they were the first to invite us up on their tour bus. They imparted a lot of wisdom of life on the road, family, and friendship that we all appreciated. I can't wait to see what happens to them in the future and I hope we cross paths again soon.

The low part of the trip came at about 10:00am on the Mass Pike on Saturday morning. We left Madison, WI around 11:00am on Friday and drove straight through the night to Boston in our '91 Ford Ecoline van. We stopped for one last time to gather ourselves and get some more caffeine to finish out the trip. We were all a little delerious when suddenly we all stopped and silently watched The Veronicas' tour bus pull into the rest stop as we were heading back to our van. The bus was the biggest and most colorful vehicle since the Partridge Family bus. It had pictures of the girls, bright colors of splashed paint, and comic book characters as decorations. Plus, it had a giant sign that read "The Veronicas" in case you were wondering who was inside. It felt like the scene in "The Three Amigos" where they were all riding through the desert in the middle of the day and were dying of thirst. Martin Short takes a sip from his canteen and it's empty. Steve Martin takes a sip from his canteen and sand comes out. Then they cut over to Chevy Chase and he has so much water in his canteen that he is spitting it out and washing his face... and then offers the other guys lip balm. The look on Martin Short and Steve Martin's faces must have been what we looked like. And that's exactly how we felt as we limped back into the van and headed to the Avalon. But it was a great show and Boston is quickly turning into one of our favorite spots to play.

-Eric

It was such a funny position to be in for a week. Most of the day (and night) everything was normal -- five of us crammed into a van without a radio. This past week or so we had some impressive drives, even by our standards:

-Overnighter from Charlottesville, VA to Providence, RI (had to be there by noon).
-12 hour overnighter from Providence, RI to State College, PA.
-9 hours from Ithaca, NY to Chicago, IL.
-12 hours (a personal favorite) from Columbus, OH to Bridgeport, CT
-10 hours from Troy, NY to Chip's house in Northern VA.

That was the normal part of the latest tour. The crazy part was getting to open for O.A.R. and seeing how the other half lives for a while.

We rolled into Charlottesville, VA nursing a sick van and pulling a newly acquired trailer, generously lent to us by our friend Ari Hest, and awkwardly tried to park it amongst the sea of tour buses, stage hands, lighting rigs and union guys. I say awkwardly because that's exactly what parking a van with a trailer is. It was classic hurry up and wait mentality. We were told to get the venue promptly at 12, so we could sit around 'til 6 and line check. Yet every day we made sure we there on time so we could get the right amount of hanging out before we loaded in. O.A.R. was kind enough to share with us the splendors of being a successful touring machine: a catered lunch, food and drinks in the dressing room, and an amazing catered dinner everyday. The entire O.A.R. crew was great to us.

There is a lot of excitement surrounding the new O.A.R. album, Stories of a Stranger, which came out on Oct 4th (a day that their lead singer, Marc, and I also happen to share as a birthday). We played in four arena-sized venues (two actual arenas) and learned so many things about how perform for thousands, instead of hundreds, of people. The excitement that comes from hearing the crowd explode when the lights go out is something that every band feeds on, and it was a welcome addition to our pre-show ritual. I think we were well received by a notoriously hard-to-impress fan base.

There are certain bands that you meet on the road, whether you are the headliner or the opener, and you take the liberty of judging them as people and as musicians separately. From Joel, Quake, and the rest of the O.A.R. crew to the guys in the band... Benj (bass) has been our guy from day one, Jerry (saxophone) coming to sit in on a tune with us, Mike (keyboards) taking pictures of our set and seeking us out to give them to us... we were quite impressed with them. It's no surprise to me that they have the success that they do; they're a great band and really outstanding guys. On a professional level O.A.R. is nothing short of a class act, and their dedication to their sound comes first. On a personal level, I haven't met any other band with such a real combination of success and personality to date, I think it is this powerful combination that comes across most clearly at their live shows. In a music industry that is holding on by a thread, it is refreshing to see that real human appeal and a cookin' party are what is selling tickets and albums.

Reality started to set back in somewhere around Erie, PA as we drove away from our last O.A.R. date in Ithaca towards Chicago. We were able to raid the deli trays and water bottles back stage to sustain us on the trip. We played Schubas on Sunday and it was a great night. After getting in the habit of playing a strict 40 minute set for an arena of fans, it was nice to be the headliner again and get to play a few more tunes and a lot looser. Thanks for all the support all week long, and to everyone in Chicago who made our first headlining show a real success.

-Tim and Eric

The trip started off innocent enough. We arrived at State College, PA to play an opening set for The Clarks at a club called the Crowbar. The place was packed, and eager Clarks fans waited in line and throughout the club for hours. Most of them drank and chanted "Let's go Steelers!" to pass the time. After we found out the opener for this gig was booed off stage last year, we were a little intimidated. So we started off strong and managed to play one of my favorite sets to date. The next night in Erie, PA was more of the same. Another great energentic crowd and The Clarks rocked.

The real story comes the following afternoon. Mapquest told us we had about a 10 hour drive from Erie, PA to Dover, New Hampshire. We were to arrive in Dover at 6 to play with the Whatnot. About half-way through the trip the van started to act up. Tim could explain in better detail what was wrong, all I knew is that it was bad and that if opening the hood and closing it again didnt fix it, then I was useless. Chopek tried to chip in, but reading Rolling Stone magazine cover to cover and eating dried fruit didn't seem to help the van, either. Alas we found ourselves broken down on a tiny shoulder on the higway outside of Albany in a town called Amsterdam, New York.

With our van in the shop and no one around to fix it, we had to miss a gig for the first time. We nursed our sorrows in the bar at the Best Western and helped celebrate a 30-25 victory with the coaching staff of the school football team, the Amsterdam Rams. We were even able to bring a little bit of Amsterdam to Amsterdam when Tim ran into a generous acquaintance. So despite the breakdown, the day ended in good spirits... except for Chip who picked a fight with an infomercial and fell asleep.

-Eric

We've been rounding out the end of the summer with some sporadic college dates from Illionois to Virginia and back east. Gas prices skyrocket and we are on our way down to Nashville for what feels like a homecoming of sorts. A chance to play a show for the people we made the record with back in March (which feels like a lifetime ago) has got everyone in the van anticipating a great night. But another stop at Subway where a sign reads, "Donate two gallons of water for New Orleans, get two free cookies" forces a harsh reality that the country is reeling from the shocking loss of hundreds on the Gulf coast. I lay stretched across one of the seats with Nashville waiting in the distance. Chip is at the wheel, Chopek smokes a cigar on the shotgun side while Eric talks business with Danny in the seat behind me. The sun hits the rearview mirror bending the light across this pad and paper. In ten days the fourth anniversary of 9/11 will be upon us. This world has a way of reminding us all what is important in this life. God bless the people in and around New Orleans, and the extended family that I have been fortunate enough to discover this summer somewhere on the highway. Take what you can get in this world, and spend it all on the people who matter most.

-Tim

Red Cross

Due to some strange scheduling conflicts, we had to take 2 cars down for the trips to Philly and Vienna this week. So Chip and I paired up in my Jeep and headed down 95 South to his home in Virginia. One of the best parts of being on the road all the time is checking out new music. This summer in particular we have been checking out lots of new music and bands... everyone in the van taking their turn to put something on the iPod, usually in the form of shuffled up playlists so as everyone can get something they like. But knowing we were up for a long ride last night, we decided to pick a few records to listen to in their entirety, which is always the benchmark for a great record. So we picked three "classics", (at least to us).

The Beatles' Abbey Road was the first. Even though it is over 35 years old, there is something so modern and exciting about Abbey Road. It's one of those albums that, (aside from the first two tracks), doesn't really have any "singles" because all the songs are connected and flow so perfectly that to listen to it any other way is a letdown.

As we made our way through Delaware we started Guns N Roses' Appetite for Destruction. Chip is a little younger than me, and his tastes are definitely younger than mine. In fact, we had to explain to him that Pearl Jam didn't invent rock and roll and that there was a lot of music before them. Anyway, Appetite... is definitely a record that we both love. It took us back to being kids, and it still rocks. It's amazing how many great songs they had on their debut record. We kept saying that over and over. And we would also mention how badass Slash was every 30-45 seconds.

So as VA neared, we needed something we could sing along with to get us home. (Axle is fun to listen to, but not so easy to sing with.) We opted for Ben Folds' Rockin' the Suburbs. It's very frustrating that he can write and play piano that well, and also lay down every other track. But we put jealousy aside long enough to make it home. It's just a bunch of great songs all in a row... and I wish I had written it.

-Eric

The first thing we got used to was the van. The first couple of weeks were like some strange courtship between five guys and a giant machine. We are starting to realize that even when sharing such a small space with four other people, everyone is still entitled to their own, (even smaller space, that is). There was no way of knowing what the residency period was going to be like, but the opportunity to learn about each other on stage, (every night in front of a different crowd and a different brand of enthusiasm) has created an intrigue for performing that is likely to last a long time. Anybody who has ever moved repeatedly in their life can tell you that the more you move around the less you realize you have to bring with you. The suitcases get smaller every week. It's easy to loose track of certain things, and, unfortunately, certain people. Some of us have a lot of catching up to do, some of us are finally home, keeping a few old cards close and leaving the rest to chance.

-Tim

With the new album in hand we played a trio set in Vienna, Virginia. We realized there was a Famous Dave's Barbecue right down the street, which is a blessing on so many levels. We made the trip in one day starting to realize that 12 hours in the car to play a 45 minute set in support of an album you believe in is nothing less than worth it. The summer threatens to be both an adventure and a challenge. We're headed to Pittsburgh as my handwriting shakes constantly in the back of the van. Between the dirty blonde dry-heaving in the snack shop and the New Jersey gas guy giving me a hard time for pumping my own gas, it's bound to be another good trip.

-Tim

The Alternate Routes have spent the month of March in Nashville, TN recording a new album with producer Jay Joyce! Jay has worked with many talented musicians including Patty Griffin, Rubyhorse, and John Hiatt. The band checked in from the studio with the following message:

We got out of the car in Nashville, Tennessee almost three weeks ago. The first person we met was a 5 foot blonde with a Saint Bernard and a Southern accent we could look forward to getting used to. Twenty miles down the road there are at least a dozen lit candles while Jay takes a slow drag on a familiar cigarette, in a room littered with coffee cups and guitars. Recording is nothing less than the opportunity to see yourself and weed through the details in search of flaws -- all in the company of the few people you trust enough to be imperfect around. There have been heated arguments, frustration and a general difference of opinion in the face of a common commitment. Jay Joyce is a brilliant personality who has decided to put his head down and do what he loves; make as many great records as he can, giving his best effort and never questioning the results. More than his ideas, his drive, and his gifted team, Jay has given us this philosophy, and it is for that reason that we are fortunate to have met him:

"When you care enough not to care, that's when you're fucking free, that’s when you're fucking genius." -Jay Joyce, March 2005

-Tim