It sucks. I absolutely hate it when tour ends. Even if I feel like I couldn’t stand another second of it I still hate it when it ends. The road is an addiction in of it’s self. Plenty of bands have gone down the long, hard road of addiction but, I’m talking about something else … . .
Our terrific audio-engineer, Jay Minger, once described loading our equipment in and out of shows as part of the physical rhythm of the night. I got on board immediately. That’s what being on the road is … perpetual motion. There’s no stopping on tour. The moment we’re done playing Stone Cellar and sleeping through a light show we’re getting gyros and haircuts in Neenah with Rhonda … … and, icing our faces in the morning with our coffee.
(Sidenote: Icing your face is our new “wake up and get going” technique that I kind of concocted as a product of being a bit of a night dweller. Simply wake up, hungover or not, get an icepack or a bag of frozen veggies and slap it on your face. It’s cold but, extremely effective.)
Maybe we think Aberdeen will be chill on a Monday and we can haul up at a hotel and relax … instead they pack the Eagle’s Club and have a huge blowout for us afterwards. Then a quick face icing and a short truck (for us at least) to Fargo finds us a sweet radio show and a great crowd. Followed quickly by meeting the lovely Chelsea Ray and her wonderful roommates. We didn’t have a show that next night after The Nestor and they didn’t see us so we (constantly moving of course) found a coffee shop, grabbed the acoustics and did it to it. Oh, but the nights not over … . with one high-octane acoustic set under our belts, great new friends and a few sodas all we needed was a piano at Chelsea’s place and we were right back at it with what must of been three or four more hours of sing alongs … …
From bar to venue to theater to coffee shop … good, bad, fun, shady, plus show or empty crowd it ends up being what it is … . constant. I don’t actualize those details in myself from show to show. I don’t know if Chris, Clint, Jay or Yorg do. I’ve come to realize that once my blinders go up and my focus is on game time that every show, every night and every crowd (big or small) deserves the same passion, focus and drive as the next. That’s what makes the road monotonous and perpetually new all the time. That’s why I hate it when the road finally ends … . .

Once again Bump has strapped up our boot laces and hit the road. We’ve started out in a three week stint to continue on in pushing our (relatively) new album ‘Forward’ . . . .Night number one brought us to Appleton, WI to rip the patio at Stone Cellar. Great micro-brews, good food, kicking tunes and great hosts in Sarah and Craig, made for a special event. They’re extremely supportive and hospitable . . . .We also have an extra gun in our holsters in our new merch-girl and mascot Kari Vredevoogd . . . Kari’s cool enough to come out on the road with us, rock the merch booth and take some sweet pics . . . You’re the rock . . . .Eau Claire is next on our schedule of cities to melt and before you know it Bump will be in your back yard soon . . . .

Welcome again to another installment of Bryce’s blog. I’d like to call it "The Blog of Dick" but, Joey said it wasn’t politically correct and we’d get a bunch of people reading for the wrong reasons. Oh well . . .
Here we are hangin’ in the biggest resort town in the US at the lovely Kelly Cooper’s celestial apartment. A warm welcome and the dewy Florida night air are reminders of how sick I am of hotel rooms. Whether I’ve got one to myself or I’m sharing it the Bump Army (that sounds just a little G-A-Y, right?) Anyhooooooo . . . .

We’ve got a early show in Gainesville tonight at the Backstage Lounge and we’re off to Orlando to rock Underground Bluz. This is the beginning of a five day stretch up and down the coast of Florida which will eventually launch us north and on our way back home.
I’d like to take a second to thank Katina, Zoe and Tyler for all their hospitality in Auburn, Alabama. A great place with great people is the best kind of place to crash when you’re on the road. These lovely people let us, essentially, move in for two days and then brought as many people to the show as they could gather. If you’re looking to pick up hula-hoopin’ look Katina up in Auburn, AL. Mandy and her friends also deserve a shout out for filling the seats with their enthusiasm for Bump and our cause.

I’m pretty pumped about this week. First of all we entered Florida under good circumstances. A good drive to a cool person’s house to wake up to the Florida sun. Then, two straight shows heading deeper into the coast. After that I get to see my childhood friend Kate Holiday in St. Petersburg when we play The Garage. Then off to Miami (which is not far from my relatives place in West Palm Beach) and I’ll hopefully get to see my cousins. Laura, Don, my aunt and my uncle are the greatest and I really miss them. After all athat I get to see my Father (Hank), his wife Karen, my brothers Kane and Ty and my sister Brennan. I haven’t seen them in a very long time and I miss them dearly. It’s the perfect appetizer to seeing my darlin’ in Knoxville. I’ll leave that at that . .. . .
In closing, . . . . if you haven’t had a chance to see Bump on this recent tour or you can’t make it to one of our upcoming shows just hold your horses. We promise we’ll be back to see y’all real soon. I can promise, also, that we can’t wait for the good times ahead . . .

Peace out . . . .
 

Why oh why did the trailer wheel have to blow? Why? So close to the finish line for this massive tour? Damnit. . . . . Today Chris was simply going for a cup o’ Joe and a magazine and a random explosion of asphalt and rubber put the trailer of tilt and our guitar player on the shoulder.
But, we are Bump. We are thick skinned and road ready. We will press on and find the finish line on April 10th after our show in Cincinnati at Stanley’s Pub.
After we nurse our wounds and the wounds of Van Gogh (I think that’s what we’ve settled on. I like Van Haggar) we move on to play Two Stick in Oxford, MS and Olde Auburn Ale House in Alabama before moving down through a large portion of Florida. So, keep in touch. Keep checking the web site and know ahead of time if we’re coming to lay the law down in your city.
More soon from Bump Tales . . . . .

Dick on Bass (with less and less strings)

Over six weeks so far . . . . I’m pretty sure it’s only gonna get better from here . . .
Bump has been out on the road rocking city to city from Grand Rapids to Boise and Jackson Hole to The City of Angels and I don’t see us losing any steam with just over three weeks to go. When this tour started we had just finished recording our new release "Forward" . . . we were pumped about the new songs and ready to get on the road. And, it has shown over the last month and a half as we’ve gotten hot and started firing up every stage we’ve seen since February 5th.
It’s been a long road but, all the people along the way have made it feel like home every step of the way. Some of our friends such as Kari and Aimie V from Kalamazoo who saw us three nights straight from Grand Rapids to Chicago. Thanks girls . . . . Or Nate and Emily who were nice enough to put up with our shananigans on yet another tour. All the people up and down the Northwest and on down the coast were just outstanding people with nothing but generousity and positivity in them. Thanks everybody . . . . .
From here on out (and, since we got into San Fransisco) it’s sunny days and sweaty shows. I can’t wait . . . So, if you’re gonna be in SXSW, N’Orleans, Florida or most of the deep south over the next three weeks come on out and see what we’ve got cooking . . . . because, if you’re not there we’re just gonna have a shit load of fun without ya . . .

Dick from the Low End . . .

I am still thinkin’ about this…