Another Update from Francy

Hello, Kelly!
Wanna know what feels weird? Being on tour and not feeling completely burnt out! Don’t get me wrong – it’s not like I wish we DID feel burnt out. It’s just a huge pleasure to be on a tour that’s so organized, professional and easy-going.
I think another part of it is that, before leaving, we had a little meeting and outlined some band goals for this tour and so far everything’s going really well. The goals were stuff like to have as few little band fights as possible, to get to know the other bands more, to spend more quality time with the people at shows and other stuff like that. We play our third show today, but it already feels like we’ve been out for a week.
I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun!
Okay, so here’s the update!
Last night, I took some time to really watch The Great Transparency’s set. They’re a pop-rock band from Ohio … a lot like us, I guess – but mix in a little more Run Kid Run, maybe? Anyway, their set was great! They did a cover of “(I Just) Died in Your Arms” by Cutting Crew. This is a song that I’ve wanted to cover for a LONG time! But after getting over my initial surge of jealous rage, I came around to thinking their version was really great. I loved it. Definitely check them out online.
The bad news is that their lead singer Jeremiah is sick and says he can feel his voice dying. We don’t get a day off for about a week – so it’s gonna be tough on all the vocalists. If you’re the praying type, you should definitely put in a good word for Jeremiah with the big guy upstairs. And then you should leave a sweet comment on their MySpace!
There’s something I need to explain to you guys right now. A while ago, we posted here that we were looking for a lead guitarist. Well, as soon as we start posting live photos and videos, you’re gonna notice something fishy going on. Here’s what happened: Our drummer Josh is actually a GREAT guitarist, so he dusted of all of his guitar stuff and he’s playing lead for this tour. On drums, we’ve got a good friend of ours – Ryan Donais – filling in. He’s incredible, and we sound great! If you’re in the USA, you should definitely try to make it out to a tour date. If you live in Ontario, you’ll have to come to our show in Toronto in October.
So Ryan, Josh, James and Mat all brought their hockey sticks and street hockey balls! The idea was to challenge the other bands to a street hockey tournament, but lately the guys have been practicing by playing against each other. (You know, they have to sharpen their skills before dominating everybody else on the tour.) We’ve got some videos posted now that shows you all of our street hockey fun, so you should definitely check that out!
There will be more updates to come! Until then, keep it straight – you’re doin’ great!!

-francy