Well. Sorry. I kind of missed out on the whole end of the tour didn't I. it's two weeks since i last posted and i just arrived home last night. I'm finally sitting at my own computer. and it feels really nice. my dog chloe is sitting at my feet. so i'm sitting here trying to recall the last two weeks that i forgot to keep you informed about. and i can't think of much in particular. i don't really like looking back in the past. i'm all about forward forward forward. i'll just say that it was really nice meeting all of you and that message definitely comes from not just me but my whole band...eric, ant and jon. The tour was great. Can't wait to see you all again. We should be hitting almost every city with the butch walker tour. i know all the dates aren't up yet but keep checking. in the meantime i am going to enjoy home life. watch movies, eat homemade food, hang out outside, and write some music. and you guys can do what you do. and we'll hopefully meet in the middle in a few weeks. take care..ve.

DIARY ENTRY #4 - 6/13/04

Today we are driving to Seattle from Salt Lake City. Last night’s show in Salt Lake was really cool. It was at Kilby Court which is a little DIY venue in the middle of a little alley. It was extremely hard to find but worth it once we got there. It was a little shed with an area outside that people were hanging out in. The attendance was great. This was our second show in a town in which we played with Dashboard so we were curious what kind of impact that opening slot had and apparently we made an impact. It brought a huge smile to my face to hear people singing along to the songs. Only a week and a half ago no one knew who the hell we were. Now they were enthusiastic fans. I really appreciate all you guys coming to the show. it meant a lot.

The night before we were in Denver for our first show in a city where we played with Dashboard. The attendance again was good. Largely in part to Jon’s buddies who live in Denver who brought all their peeps. Thanks also to the people who came from the Civic Tour. It was great seeing you all again as well.

Before Denver we were first in Phoenix and then in Albuquerque. In Phoenix, Anthony, Eric and I met Jon’s parents for the first time. They live in Scottsdale and treated us to a nice home cooked meal. it was really nice to sit in a real home and watch the Lakers finally pull a win on TV. Thanks to the McGarry’s for having us over.

So a lot of people have been asking me when the record is coming out and I thank you for being curious. I promise to post the date up on the site when it is finalized but it will hopefully be in August. At which time, we’ll be hopefully seeing a lot of you again when we hit the road again with the Butch Walker / American Hi-Fi tour. See ya…val

DIARY ENTRY #3 - 6/8/04

in phoenix today. done with the dashboard dates and now enjoying our first day off. thanks so much to all the awesome people we met on the civic tour. it was an amazing experience. so what happened after San Jose? went to LA and played at the first outdoor venue of the tour. it was a great venue but it kind of sucked that there was no standing room in front. the audience was kind of separated. off to vegas after that which was a particularly worthwhile night. after the show all the bands went bowling in the Cox casino. it was pretty rad. Me and Mike Marsh, the drummer for dashboard, were tied in the 9th frame and both threw 2 strikes in the 10th and were tied and lay in a gutter ball and blow it and now he has bragging rights. but i made him nervous, i know that. jon and eric stayed out pretty late doing some gambling and ant and i headed back to the hotel. after getting to bed at 5:30, we had to wake up at 7:30 to make it to San Diego for load in and our last show of the civic tour. the san diego crowd was really really energetic and enthusiastic. after the show we hung with the guys in the other bands and said our goodbyes and thank yous. i'm leaving out the details but it was pretty basic. we are eternally grateful for their kindness. Thanks to the Get Up Kids, Thrice and Dashboard Confessonal and the crew for having us along and being so warm and helpful. Hope to see you again soon. For the rest of you, we'll be back on our own. i hope to see you at some shows. oh, wait and THANKS SO MUCH to the people who have jumped on the message board of late. it's really nice to have all of you around. welcome. can't respond to all of them but i want you to know that i have been reading and am very flattered and appreciate. the band sends their love. be well, val

If this comes out somewhat wandering and full of tangents it's because we are waiting to go on stage in San Jose and i finally found a spot to plug in my computer and write you all something. So it will be quick and scattered but here goes. Some things that went down since last time we read aloud. I believe we were in Seattle. That show went off really well. We played at the Paramount theatre which is a beautiful piece of architecture. Everyone we met after the show was super cool and kind. Thanks. Oh by the way, we spent a lot of time in the market by the water. It was a bunch of little shops. Really nice. What the hell happened next? This is boring. Oh...we picked up a video camera in Seattle so we've been documenting the stuff i can't remember to write here and will eventually put some of it up on the web. After Seattle, off to Portland where we performed in some kind of exposition center that reminded us all of a training session from Top Gun. Then we started reciting all kinds of quotes from the movie, impersonating Maverick, singing Goose's "Great Balls of Fire," and of course the ballad "Take My Breath Away" at the dinner table with Eddie and Riley from Thrice, who were right on point with their Eighties movies knowledge. Had to leave the show early to start our drive to San Jose...10 hours. Oh..on that drive Anthony was driving a bit fast and apparently some airplanes caught us on radar on Interstate 5 driving down California. So the cop pulls him over and he gets his first ever ticket. He was bummed that his clean state was now dirty but we assured him that in fact he had only now truly became a man. That's the downside of traveling in a van when the other bands have buses. Can't see the whole show every night if we have a long drive and we have to skip out early sometimes. But fortunately tonight we'll be able to stay the whole time and hang out. Should be a good one. San Jose University. Fits 7,000 people. Currently hanging out in our dressing room which is actually the girls basketball team's locker room. There are still some scribblings on the dry-erase board from the coach to the team. It reads: "GOALS: Play Hard and Believe." Apparently i am now relating to a girl's basketball player. I shall somehow take the coaches advice. Time to hit the stage. Talk to you soon.

DIARY ENTRY #1 - 5/31/04

so we finally got to a computer. the first two shows were really amazing. thanks to all the people in Denver and Salt Lake City who listened to us play and came up and said hello. it was really great to meet all of you and i hope to see you again at our upcoming shows in your cities. the other bands have been extremely welcoming and have taught us a lot just by playing amazing on stage every night. Dashboard was particularly spectacular. their live show has really grown into a full blown show and Chris has an amazing ability to drag the fans into his world and make the show everybodies. thanks to everybody who jumped on the site after the shows and posted on the messageboard. welcome to our little family. in seattle at the moment. a day off. i'm going to go enjoy. talk to you soon....val