is this what touring life will be like?

dop did a double show this weekend, one in jersey, one in nyc. as we are currently booking a tour right now, we got a little taste of touring life with the trek to good ol' passaic. passaic is in the middle of nowhere. we all hopped in a van with the girlfriends, and happily zoomed on over to jersey. we found out that, as expected, dj is a swervey and aggressive driver. i thought we were going to die. but as the trip went on, he got better, so i guess practice makes perfect.

we ate dinner at some sporty bar that had like 10 big screen TVs, and one of the nicest waitresses ever. there was a dj who was pumping all this techno dance music from the 90s. i felt like i was in some kind of time warp. even the CVS was playing wilson phillips from the radio. sung bin ran around with a rubber lobster on her head, and annie and i perused the makeup aisle. yes, suburban life is this boring!


when we played the dead disco party at loop lounge (which is like the tiswas or misshapes of jersey), we were happy to see that the crowd was really receptive to us, including the local band that followed us, mynuskris (pronounced "minus chris" -- as in minus this guy kris who left the band). the party promoters todd and geoff were also totally sweet guys, and that made us feel good about playing a show in some area that definitely needed some good music to pass through. we were pumped to play our set, thinking it would be a great warm up show for the mercury lounge show the next day in new york. we were right. the set flowed beautifully, and dop were charged. and we left jersey. home sweet home!

the next day, i was feeling pretty rough. riding around in the back of a van with a bunch of amps and people isn't exactly my idea of comfort, but it was fun. my back was aching and my head was feeling heavy. i tried to chill out for most of the day to psyche myself up for the evening's show. it was part of a karipalooza celebration of one girl's awesomeness in the music scene. hot stuff. i especially love supporting other girlies in the scene, we all gotsta stick together, ya heard? the mercury lounge show promised to be excellent with its hyped up bill: dennis cahlo's new band, the sons of sound, benzos, the band kari manages, and the bravery (or rather, flock of seagulls!). the early part of the night boasted kick-ass rock, while the latter part of the night summoned tripped-up dance music.


dennis's new three-piece band, the sons of sound, completely blew me away. i had no idea what to expect, but i didn't expect the bold pairing of gentle jeff buckley vocals with such dark, badass music. wow! the textured sounds of two guitars and one forceful drummer is just explosive. i can't wait for their next show! i can't help but say it though... i will miss how dennis's solo stuff made me want to cry and yearn for sweet, beautiful things. is that cheesey? sorry i'm so completely bridget jonesin on you.


i love anytime george breaks out the bow in dop songs. i don't know how he makes it sound so beautiful and pure, but his bowed guitar parts simply soar over the crowd and makes my heart pitter patter with such sadness. i also loved that doug stood up front for "cheat death" three part vocal harmonies.

the band started with such a rockin' song -- "mind blindness" with a special extended ending that gets so fucking loud without losing any momentum or catchiness. they also debuted that brand new song, "your summer dress," which joe sings on -- his voice is such a trip, but i love its strange, sweet quality. it's almost other worldly.

there were these kids dancing up front like it was a fatboy slim "praise you" video. it was totally cracking me up. those dances were worse than elaine's from seinfeld. yikes!!! all in good fun though. all in good fun. ok this post is getting way too long.

i finally met mr. coolfer himself! i was so excited when i found out his blog name was taken from slang used by his friends, as in when your friends eat half of your meal, you say, "coolfer eating my meal, dickhead." hotness!

another slang term to add is my friend katy's new one. she was walking into our apartment building one day and the kids outside pointed to her and said, "that's my type. smell it." ahahahahaha!