Blog #2 - San Francisco
Greetings from the Pumpkin bubble. It's been a fun and busy last couple of weeks, and I'm sorry that I haven't been able to check in more often. I'll try to be better about that.

I think everyone in the band would agree that the first residency in Asheville, NC was a tremendous success on multiple levels. The people of Asheville-and all of those who traveled from distant places-completely happened their hearts and ears to us, and for that we will be forever grateful. So far, San Francisco has been a lot of fun as well. However, the energy here is much different than Asheville. Not better or worse, just different; it will be exciting to see what happens here as we get farther into the shows.
Some of you might be wondering what exactly we are do during these residencies. A typical day might go something like this: After we wake up, each us works individually in our hotel room-writing songs, working on guitar/bass/keyboard/drum parts, etc. After that, we head to the venue and practice for three or four hours. During these practices, we might work on something that didn't go well the night before, work on a new song Billy wrote in the morning, or just jam on new ideas. When we finish practicing, we usually have a few hours to ourselves before we have to get ready for the show, which on most nights lasts about three hours. It definitely isn't uncommon for us to play a song during the show that Billy wrote in the morning. So what you see during the show is a band actually creating and trying new things. I think we all feel it is a blessing to spend the whole day playing music, and I can't think of a better way to make strong musical friendships than playing together as much as possible.
After last night's show, Ginger and I, along with the War Tapes, headed out to Popscene to end the night. We had a blast, and I want to say thanks to Nako for treating us so well. The kids in the War Tapes are just wonderful, and I'm excited to see them rock tonight. If you have a chance, check their stuff out. You won't be disappointed.
OK, we're to Santa Cruz today to play one show out of the city. See you soon!

I think everyone in the band would agree that the first residency in Asheville, NC was a tremendous success on multiple levels. The people of Asheville-and all of those who traveled from distant places-completely happened their hearts and ears to us, and for that we will be forever grateful. So far, San Francisco has been a lot of fun as well. However, the energy here is much different than Asheville. Not better or worse, just different; it will be exciting to see what happens here as we get farther into the shows.
Some of you might be wondering what exactly we are do during these residencies. A typical day might go something like this: After we wake up, each us works individually in our hotel room-writing songs, working on guitar/bass/keyboard/drum parts, etc. After that, we head to the venue and practice for three or four hours. During these practices, we might work on something that didn't go well the night before, work on a new song Billy wrote in the morning, or just jam on new ideas. When we finish practicing, we usually have a few hours to ourselves before we have to get ready for the show, which on most nights lasts about three hours. It definitely isn't uncommon for us to play a song during the show that Billy wrote in the morning. So what you see during the show is a band actually creating and trying new things. I think we all feel it is a blessing to spend the whole day playing music, and I can't think of a better way to make strong musical friendships than playing together as much as possible.
After last night's show, Ginger and I, along with the War Tapes, headed out to Popscene to end the night. We had a blast, and I want to say thanks to Nako for treating us so well. The kids in the War Tapes are just wonderful, and I'm excited to see them rock tonight. If you have a chance, check their stuff out. You won't be disappointed.
OK, we're to Santa Cruz today to play one show out of the city. See you soon!