11/15/06: Home for the Holidays
Autumn is upon us, and it's time for change! At the end of October, we came home from a great fall tour. With just one more gig before the end of the year (opening for GUSTER!) it's been a solid year of steady touring. We've gotten to know more about music, more about our country, and still more about each other. With just over eight months of road wear now behind us for 2006, we're excited to be home and bring in the New Year.
The next few months will be dedicated to the much-anticipated period of writing new music. While several new songs are already in the works, and have made it into our set lately, we're extremely excited to make time to develop a lot more for the next album. (It's coming, we promise!) It's been something we've been craving for months now, and we're really looking forward to giving ourselves plenty of time and space to just CREATE. It's funny; while there's nothing more raw and inspiring than traveling the country and sharing your craft with new folks every day, we were so busy it was nearly impossible to find time and space to jam, experiment, write. How ironic. So, here we come Los Angeles, home to dig into the glorious roots of creative inspiration. May it find us swiftly and wrap up around our feet, pulling us into a sea of imagination and prolific reflection!
Also this fall, we attended several NACA conferences (National Association of Campus Activities) where we promoted the crap out of ourselves (go indie artists!), gave away tons of CDs and other goodies, and got to catch up with a lot of the great folks we've met at colleges and universities these last few years. The college market has been a wonderful community for us, and we're grateful for the positive response we've received. We left the conferences this year with a whole new slew of tour dates for 2007, and two awards, which was an unexpected surprise, and quite an honor. The Northeast and West regions recognized us for our impact and success in the college market as a band that represents itself and reaches people with music. Thanks NACA! We can't wait to see you next year.
10/10/06: Mona's Summer Retreat '06 (posted retroactively)
Oh! It's the middle of July, and you know what that means! Summer bloggin baby! (yes, totally embarrassing). This is Raining Janes lead copier/first-chair percussionist, Mona Tavakoli, reporting from a cabin in Greenwater, WA. I decided I needed to take some time alone. Some time to be inspired without having to put on eye shadow, set up my drums, or jibber-jabber. I know you're probably thinking, but eye shadow feels so good on my lids. And my response is that sometimes we need to sacrifice lid pleasure in order to stimulate new ideas. No eye shadow = personal growth. Okay, that statement might be the first sign of cabin fever. Can you get cabin fever after a day and a half?
I'm listening to tons of music and watching a lot of live concert DVDs (and Arrested Development). Cooking up a storm (teriyaki chicken and broccoli! Holla!), doing some yoga, painting, trying to take pictures of myself as though they were candid (these are so awkward. I should probably post some). I am so hot for the Sigur Ros album, Takk. I might get brutally beaten for saying this, but they are my modern day Enya. Remember crying to Book of Days while studying for stats? No? Overwhelmed by the nutty landscapes they create. Ah, the Icelandic. They so crazy.
Doing my best to write music while I'm up here. It doesn't help that I kicked off the visit by bailing down the second story wooden staircase, bruising the entire left side of my body. Imagine landing head-first into the washer/dryer. No, don't. It hurts. Or, how about trying to start a fire in the wood-burning stove to get a little romantic by yourself and instead filling the cabin with smoke. Anyone? These are the moments when I realize that I shouldn't be left alone that often. Maybe just three days a year, in a centrally-heated, baby-proofed, fleece-lined, one-story cabin called my parents house.
I miss you.
XO
Mona
09/06/06: 36 Hours
Whats so rad about a 36-hour drive to Indiana (not including stops or a slow-ass trailer)? The question is, whats NOT rad about it? I know you know that I lie. Becky calls this the cup is half-full drive across America. She is sooo positive. I half hate her. I dont mind the long drive, but my body does. It whines and says, Please stop it! Get out of the damn van. Take a walk. I wonder how long it would take to walk to Indiana while pulling the trailer full of my drum hardware around my waist. It might even out with all the stops Mai makes for ice cream. Plus imagine how hot my calves would look. Hmm, what the hell am I talking about? Blogging quietly by myself in the back seat may be better than complaining to team positivity right now.
I am actually grateful to be back on the road after a little break at home in L.A. We are such a well-oiled machine on the road. (That reminds me, we need an oil change). Efficient. We work well together. I am proud of us (Becky may be holding me at gun point).
We started the tour in Stockton, CA, at University of the Pacific! It was the first night of freshman move-in! Yay. Now you can stay up late and drink beer in your room. Congratulations. Heres a first: a Build-A-Bear program was happening across the courtyard during our show. Theres something creepy about masses of college students clutching teddy bears and watching a Raining Jane show. Congratulations, now you can stay up late and drink beer in your room while cuddling a small, customized fluffy bear. Go college!
Our next show was in Eureka (8 hours north) the following afternoon. We made our way up the Pacific coast and ended up at the The Worlds Largest Organic Salad! Thats what happens every year at the Organic Planet Festival, an overall awesome celebration of organic/green living, featuring great music, vibes, food, hippies and more. A hospitality room stocked with an endless supply of yummy tofu, hummus, pretzels, fresh produce, gourmet cheese, coffee and organic beer? Yes please! New friends named Penguin, Honey Bear, Toast, and Snoop? Okay! Chaska calls this place Fantasy Island. Such a rad day, put on by the Californians for Alternatives to Toxics (www.alternatives2toxics.org).
04/27/06 + 04/28/06: Opening for Third Eye Blind + Lifehouse
April concludes all of our East Coast touring (until next fall!) It was an incredible run, and finished off a with bang. We were invited to open for 2 great bands: Third Eye Blind (at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania) and Lifehouse (at Central Connecticut State College.) Thanks to all the students and crew who made it such a success!
The show with Third Eye Blind was awesome. We played for about 1200 people, and did songs from "Diamond Lane" and some of our new ones (Pinball, Desperate Sails & Rotate.) TEB put on a great show and during their set Stephen Jenkins gave a really nice "Thank You" to Raining Jane.
Being an opener band has its pros and cons. While it's amazing to play for a huge group of music lovers, and to play on a giant stage with great lights and sound, you also know the crowd is just dying to see the headliner. So you're immediately faced with a sea of people anxious for you to either get off the stage or blow them away. It seemed to turn out pretty good though because heckles in the beginning of the set like "Take your shirt off!" quickly faded out to the shouting requests for songs off our first album.
The next day we were up by 4am and on the road to Connecticut to open up for Lifehouse. It was a beautiful day and so great to play outside for a Spring Fest. Also on the bill was "Black Violin" and "Rupee". We played a similar set to the night before, but rocked it out a little more for the "outdoor fest" vibe, and added in a new cover of "Mary Jane’s Last Dance" by Tom Petty. Lifehouse was great. And what a nice group of guys! (Don't get too excited, their wives were there!) They played a strong set full of hits we actually recognized from the radio, and also some songs off their new album.
It was a great final hurrah to the East Coast. We'll see you again next fall!
04/28/06: Becky says...
Tonight we opened the show for Third Eye Blind. It was really fun! Thanks for E-Town for the love. Everybody look forward to "Third Eye's Blind's" "Fourth Album Released" (I know it was a stretch but I couldn't resist) coming soon to independent record stores everywhere. You know they're pretty big so I'm sure the album will be everywhere, but I think if you're going to buy it, you should totally get it at an independent record store.
We just finished up three days of five shows in Salt Lake City. It was an exhausting three days, but SLC is a place where we almost feel like home, so it was great to play for so many familiar faces and supportive fans. Hooray! Thanks to Less Than Never for rehearsal space and playing the show together, also to Steph Smith and Mel Wade for sharing the stage.
After our show at Weber State in Ogden, we drove to the airport and caught a red-eye to Philly. We arrived, had a rental car mix-up, lost a bag, and then drove to Scranton, PA, where we set up for our performance at their Take Back the Night event. So awesome. We've done years and years of TBN's at UCLA, and played at one at Cal Poly. So we were stoked to add another to the list.
Tonight we get two hours of sleep before driving to Connecticut, where we will open for Lifehouse. Yay for caffiene!
Totally off topic... is it wierd that someone thought Mai was Alanis Morissette, and then at another show in another state someone thought Chaska was Alanis Morissette? It would be really wierd if anyone made that mistake with me or Mona. I have been getting Vemla from Scooby-Doo lately, which is also wierd because usually people think I'm not that animated. Don't worry, I'm not about to start wearing turtle necks and skirts.
04/01/06: An entry from Mona
There is so much to talk about. Maybe we could talk
about how awkward it is that we use a different
restroom five times a day or that the comforter in the
hotel has weird stuff on it when we put our black
light on it. Two questions here: 1. who uses the
bathroom five times a day? 2. where did I put the RJ
blacklight? Ok, Chaska is driving while Mai sleeps and
Becky snores (side note: Becky just woke herself up
from snoring so loud! Just another day in the bear's
den).
Oh, oh! Built a snowman for the first time in Omaha.
It was a goddess/wedding snowlady! In other news: it's
cold. I hope to make all of my journal entries full of
riveting information like this! Being at home for a
week was great but we had to leave so soon. I realize
I keep thinking that this tour is almost over... JK,
JK, we have three months left! At least we had our
beds and the same hole to pee in for a few days
(serious TMI over here).
Happy Persian New Year (a few days late)! Spring
Equinox, the renewal, the rebirth, the Iranian New
Year! Too bad I was away from my family and trudging
through three feet of snow at dawning of this
important holiday. They were all together in San Jose
probably drinking tea, hugging, passing out one
hundred dollar bills to each other... My brother loves
to call me whenever something awesome is happening at
home and describe every moment. "Oh, Mona, you have no
idea how tender and juicy Mom's kabobs are tonight!
Dad is killing me with his joke about the New Kids On
The Block. They apparently moved to the next block!
Too bad you chose to live in a van and not with your
awesome family!" I love it when family keeps it real.
Currently listening to: Imogen Heap.
All the love & extreme wind I can muster. Eid
Mobarak...
Mona
03/23/06: Lifehouse, Third Eye Blind
We're home! YAY! It's sunny and beautiful and smoggy.
We drove for two full days to get from Kansas City,
Missouri, to Los Angeles. We hit two snow storms, the
biggest one of the season being in New Mexico, of all
places. Not exactly expected. Now we're just hanging
out in our bikinis at the beach, you know, normal L.A.
life.
It's great to be home but we have a full week of shows
coming up. Then we're off again for touring in the
very large geographic area known as "the west," plus
two short trips to the east coast. We picked up a
couple of shows with Lifehouse and Third Eye Blind.
We'd like to state for the record that our third eyes
are open and fully-functional.
03/02/06: Important New Update: Merging of The Blog and The Journal
It has been brought to our attention that our two separate journals (that of our website and the other of our myspace page) are somewhat confusing. We have also realized that we're doing twice the work (two of us writing about the same events and not doing it very well at that. I never claimed to be good at keeping a journal). After some internal dialogue (and of course crying and holding each other), we have decided to merge our two journals! We are also going to attempt a new approach to our journal/blog. Instead of one person writing for the band, we will each individually be journaling/bloging whenever we feel like it, writing from ourselves! If you have an opinion about this and/or other suggestions as to how we can make this better for you the reader, please let us know! This will also help us to know if anyone reads this besides our moms. Thanks for your time. I love you mom.
02/23/06: Since U Been Gone
Here's a public service announcement: everyone in the world is covering the Kelly Clarkson hit, "Since U Been Gone." In a matter of three days, I've seen two bands cover it (equalling everyone in the world). Embarrassing to admit, certain members of Raining Jane LOVE that song. Come on, it's a great pop song. It's what all pop music should be. It puts all that wannabe pop music to shame, which is really sad if you think about it. Truth of the matter is, I think musicians love to play that song, which is why it's being covered so much. That doesn't necessarily make it a good cover. Yeah?
02/18/06: Boston! NACA!
We're in Boston, at the NACA National Convention. We can't showcase this year because we did last year and the rules say you can't showcase two years in a row. So all you NACA peeps should come by our booth and say hi, hang out on our "couch," eat some Hershey's Kisses, check out Mona's box, etc. It will be a total blast. Can you feel the enthusiasm? Actually, it's really fun to be here and see so many familiar faces, and we're happy to hang with you all for the next few days.
Let's try a little experiment. Come over to our booth and say you read the blog on MySpace and we'll give you a prize. I don't know what it'll be, but I think you'll like it. It might be a high-five, it might be a kiss (Hershey's) or maybe something else, who knows!
02/17/06-02/21/06: NACA Nationals, Boston, Massachusetts
This massive, overwhelming, laminated world of NACA was softened and brought to life for us by the amazing friends we have made in this community. There were so many familiar faces stopping by our little (and yes, overtly feminine and slightly over-the-top but none-the-less beautiful) booth. Seeing all of you there (you being the cool people who are actually reading this right now) was great because it made us realize all the work we've been doing, shows we've been playing and miles we've been traveling, in the best way. Even though we were confined to our 10x10 booth, you all came to us! We were going slightly stir crazy by 4th day, sleep deprived and aching feet, but with the help of Red Bull, James Brown and you, we made it through!! Thanks to everyone who has supported us and continues to support us. Sincerely, you are making this dream of playing music a reality for us. And to those of you who are just getting on board, we cannot wait to come rock out for you and get some more opportunities to hang and get to know you. Until then, Peace!
02/14/06: Vagina Monologues, Vagina Crafts and Vagina Music: Dartmouth College: Hanover, New Hampshire
All of this, offered on the day of love at Dartmouth College! What is vagina music you ask? Apparently, we are!! LOL!! It was Raining Jane and vagina crafts to kick it off on 02/13. There were supplies a plenty available for the vagina crafters: a plethora of red, pink, brown, grey and white sculpey clay was the most popular medium (but we thought it was hott!). Students and advisors sat at the tables with extreme focus in their eyes as they sculpted vulvas. Once done with their "design", the crafts were baked in a mini toaster oven and glued to pins for us all to wear. Each RJ member was pinned with a vagina by the end of the night and we wore them with pride! The following day the Vagina Monologues was presented by the student body. They spoke with such confidence and bravery, we were totally inspired -about our vaginas! We (the vagina music) were the after party and after two days with the fine people of Dartmouth, it was hard to leave.
02/12/06: Border Patrol
Yesterday we decided to run up to Montreal for a day trip. It's only three hours from Lyndonville, Vermont, which is where we are. Who knew?? The people who live here do, apparently, and they were the ones who suggested we go. So we did. The Canadian AND American border patrol stopped our van, searched it and ran our driver's licenses' through special machines that revealed our criminal records and past lives. What's suspicious about a big van with California plates driving into the U.S. at 4 a.m.? Yeah that's right, we left Montreal at about 2 a.m.! Crazy night of Quebecan dining, clubs and bars! Thank goodness Mai speaks French so well. Note to everyone attempting a similar journey: you're not allowed to take musical instruments between countries without a work permit, and it is likely that your credit card will be rejected at the hookah bar on St. Denis. All in all, a beautiful city but too cold right now. Sort of like a watered-down France. Hopefully we'll go back sometime. That was the first time the band's been out of the country together.
02/01/06: Girls (+Chad) Have First Sleepover in the Van
Maybe it's because we have a man with us on the road now, maybe it's because we couldn't find a hotel. We'll never tell. But yes, it's true, we slept in the van overnight! Well not exactly because we left NYC (after our show at The Living Room) at 1 a.m. and arrived in Maryland at 5 a.m. But still, we said "goodnight," turned off the car and slept in the Carroll College parking lot for three hours before load-in time for the next show!
A few pros to sleeping in the van for 3 hours:
1. We woke up in our show clothes + make-up from the night before, ready to go.
2. The outdoors serves as good refrigeration for bagel schmear.
3. Our beds don't usually come with such a good view of the outdoors.
4. First dibs on parking!
And who is this "Chad" man we speak of? Our dear/deer friend is on the road with us for the next three weeks to be our tour manager/driver/roadie/merch man/apprentice/comic relief! He has been an incredible help so far! Oh and ladies... he's single! (That sounds so rad).
01/30/06: Raining Jane on Sirius Satellite Radio with Jim Breuer
OMG what an unbelievable experience this was! Picture us (very pretty), on the 36th floor of a building in NYC's Rockefeller Center, the ultra-sheik and professional home base for Sirius. We loaded our gear in and waited in the narrow hall that lead to the 30+ studios on the floor. We weren't just in for an amazing first-time experience on satellite radio, but also a star-studded afternoon. First and foremost (our favorite and your's), Martha Stewart's daughter walked by! A few minutes later her mum was there! Martha looked at us kindly with a huge smile, said, "Hello" and ripped her top off. She is very polite.
Back to the music: we set up full band (drum kit, electric and acoustic guitars, cello, sitar, cajon) in the room with Jim Breuer and his three amigos Shaka, Larry and Pete (who are all hilarious), Jim's beautiful manager, Doreen, Lou the producer, Billy the amazing videographer, Dave B. and our precious Chad! As we sound checked, Howard Stern stood outside our studio and checked out his new favorite all female band (the Go-Go's)! Okay, enough about the celebrities. But we did see Danny Bonaduce and Phil Jackson too!!
Jim Breuer had us in stitches for the entire two hours we were on the air. Our cheeks were sore for days from laughing so much. We played a couple songs ("Desperate Sails", and then "Pinball"), answered questions from the ten-or-so callers that got through (including our dear friends Sara Bareilles and Stacey Politi), and called it another day at the office. Pretty cool day job. We will have some awesome video and audio footage up very soon! Check it out for sure!
01/26/06: On The Road Again!
We've officially kicked it off! Our shoes and bras, that is. We've been driving for nearly five days, across the U.S. of A, and nobody needs the constriction of footwear or over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders when you're chillin' in the car (thank goodness for the smoothly paved roads of our country)! Side note: there is construction on most highways in most cities to ensure pothole-free roads. So, we thank you citizens who pay your taxes to make this bra-less freedom possible.
Most notable road sign on this leg from Los Angeles to Maryland: "Welcome to Texas, the home of President George W. Bush." We thought about stopping to throw rocks at it but then decided not to because there might be surveillance cameras.
This drive has been particularly educational, as we are learning to maintain our van and trailer. Lesson #1: squeaking when braking could be caused by the need for new rotors and brakes. In Flagstaff, Arizona, we got both! Lesson #2: If it feels like your trailer is fishtailing you may have blown out a tire, and AAA only covers that if you have "RV plus" coverage. In Elliston, Virginia, we survived our first tire blowout and spent the day replacing parts and researching tires. Fun! In this process, Mai Bloomfield (now known as "Jr.") reaffirmed her status as Raining Jane head mechanic!
01/22/06: Oh Alaska!
You couldn't have been more beautiful! What a delight to finally experience this magical land of glaciers, moose and mysterious people. We arrived two days before the show to explore the city of Anchorage, and well, to fully experience the concept of "freezing."The average temperature was 10 degrees Fahrenheit, so we wore every piece of clothing we owned all at once (two bras = awkward).
Day 1: We drove along the coast towards Portage Glacier, stopping every few minutes to revel in the beauty of the massive, slushy-like frozen ocean and the snow-blanketed land. By the late afternoon, we arrived at Portage Lake and were surprised to see that we were the only ones there. Crazy enough, the visitor center for the Glacier was closed so we couldn't get any info. No matter, we snapped our photos and slid rocks along the frozen lake. It was amazingly quiet and peaceful, and the huge white glacier - gorgeous! Okay, so we found out later we were actually just seeing the mountain in front of the glacier, not the actual glacier, which is underwater this time of year (and blue, not white). How would we possibly know that? Maybe the sign that read "closed for the season" should have been some sort of clue? Um... no.
We were lucky enough to have two awesome radio interviews (KNBA, KRUA), and a great article in the Anchorage Daily News, leading up to a wonderfully interactive show with the students and community of Anchorage. We also finally saw the moose we were promised as we drove to the airport at 4 a.m.! It was a huge female the size of a pickup truck, just cruisin' in a parking lot, smoking a pack of Virginia Slims - Crazy!! We love you Alaska, and can't wait to come back (maybe in the spring or summer? No, seriously).
With numbness in her toes and humor in her heart, Becky wrote her first Alaska joke (promising it would not be her last):
A polar bear walked into a bar and asked the Eskimo,
"Where can I get some King Salmon around here?"
The Eskimo responded: "I don't know but Al-aska-round!"
Hooray! (The hooray was not a part of the joke).
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