Jukebox The Ghost: TAS Tour Blog

Since Jukebox The Ghost's freewheeling, effusive new album is christened Safe Travels and the Brooklyn-based trio is tirelessly touring North America this year (they return to New York to play Irving Plaza with Motion City Soundtrack on November 6), The Alternate Side asked Jesse Kristin, Tommy Siegel and Ben Thornewill if they'd keep a blog documenting the very start of their summer tour.

The trio, slated to play Riverside Garden Park in Red Bank, NJ on August 3, supplied photos too, courtesy of their intrepid tour manager, as they navigated bowling, burritos, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, long drives and "the nicest fans in rock 'n' roll."

The van outside of the Jukebox the Ghost's practice space in Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Charlotte Zoller.

Boston to Cleveland Drive, July 5:
Despite two days loaded with sun and a little too much of everything, I woke up on the 5th well rested and ready to head to the Midwest with newfound energy. To what do I owe such a feeling? The assurance of black coffee in the near future and fans showing up to fill in these much-anticipated shows. We've been getting lucky lately. So, after a shower, some packing of the fresh-laundered clothes, a donning of my silly driving day attire (complete with a peach tank top, frayed jean shorts, boat shoes, and a straw hat), and with Bad Brains waking me up with brilliant ferocity, I left my mother's house in Massachusetts. Our tour manager Charlotte [Zoller] is a fellow Masshole so we met and hit the Mass Pike harder than that song by The Get Up Kids. Did I just reveal my age? Our itinerary: Boston -> NYC (to pick up Tommy and more CDs) -> hotel in West Jesus, PA -> Cleveland airport to get Ben in the afternoon the next day. — Jesse

Tommy and Jesse at a rest stop somewhere between NYC and Cleveland, OH. Photo by Charlotte Zoller.

So we, um, rode in a van for many hours. Highlights: Charlotte drove the whole time like a crazy person. Tommy brought sour apple Bubble Tape a fan gave us and it knocked us on our asses. We went to Wawa. We went to Sheetz. We woke and blasted T. Rex. Now we are on our way to grab Ben from the airport (he was at home in Kentucky for the 4th) and we are gonna hit up that there Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (clearly a business expense). Many Instagrams to be had. Big day. Do we have any more Bubble Tape? — Jesse

Jesse getting ready in the hotel before driving to Cleveland. Photo by Charlotte Zoller.

Cleveland, July 6:
I started the day flying in to Cleveland from Louisville where I was home for the Fourth of July (huge annual family celebration, parade, disco suits, fried chicken). After sitting next to various professional types with tucked-in logo-emblazoned pastel polos I deplaned, found the band van and was told, “We're going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

I'll leave the detailed explanation of the Hall of Fame to Jesse (see below), though it is worth noting that I arrived hungry to the RRHOF and after finding the "café" was recommended the beef burrito by a 17-year-old culinary expert in tie-dye. Halfway through my slop-filled tortilla, Jesse appeared and said, “You excited for Chipotle later?” Yes, the Grog Shop (where we were playing) is next to a Chipotle and, sadly, no, I was no longer excited for burritos. The show (since this is a tour blog, it seems appropriate to mention) was a delight — the heavily tattooed, long-goateed, career-smoker security guard said that we had “the nicest fans in rock 'n' roll." I happen to agree.

A group of girls had made us t-shirts that said “No Bassist We're Doing It Right” and on the back it had our names and the Ghost logo. Unfortunately they were made on child's extra-large belly tank tops, but we donned them for the encore and played "Good Day" with our midriffs showing. — Ben

Ben, Tommy and Jesse outside of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. Photo by Charlotte Zoller.

Last February my father and I embarked on a road trip plagued and undone by sudden painful wrist inflammation (mine), a stomach virus (his), and sleep deprivation (both of ours). We left our hometown of Boston excited to journey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville, Graceland and Memphis, but sadly never got as far as even our first destination. Regrettably, we turned home from Buffalo with the only thing on our minds being rest and recovery after too many strokes of bad luck in a 48-hour period; the odds were just stacked against our trip.

Driving the whole way home with my good wrist, I optimistically said, "We'll go in the spring when the weather's beautiful. It'll be way better." However, my father and I would never get to complete our rock and roll voyage, since he passed away at the end of March after a long battle with melanoma. The day of our Cleveland show, I finally got to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and certainly had my father there with me.

I was glued to the Elvis section (partially compensating for not going to Graceland) and watched lightheaded, motionless and filled with inspiration, as he sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water." I don't think I'll ever forget it. To the filmmaker taping the show that night, I shake my hip to you.

On top of the exhibits showcasing paraphernalia and factoids about the great major classic rock artists, I regularly found myself transfixed and geeking over displays I didn't expect to see. These included a section devoted to Joy Division/New Order artifacts, and particularly a small section devoted to one of my favorite bands, the Replacements. We had to get to the club for load-in and soundcheck before I could see everything, so next time I'm in town I must try to find the Smiths, T. Rex, and the Beach Boys (still kicking myself for neglecting the Beach Boys display). Before leaving, I picked up postcards from the giftshop — with the photographs of Bob Dylan and John Lennon in pensive "downtime" poses — for my father. Modest little sentiments for the wallspace above my desk. Quiet reminders of the calm side to rock and roll that my father appreciated and understood with a sacred fascination.

For the other side — those evenings spent as a kid cruising in the backseat of my his red convertible with the sun setting into wild colors and our favorite mixtape blasting against the open air, mingling with nature — I have a plan too. When I make it to Graceland, I'm going to pick up something nice and loud for him. — Jesse

Tommy inside the AV Club studio at the Onion in Chicago, IL. Photo by Charlotte Zoller.

Chicago, July 7-8
After waking up to the lullaby-like rhythms of motel air-conditioning, we set off on a relatively short drive (in tour-speak, that's anywhere from two to five hours) to The Onion office in Chicago to perform a cover song for an online video series they produce.

There were only a few choices remaining by the time we made it to the list, so we ended up with Lana Del Rey's "Blue Jeans," though in hindsight I'm glad we did. Ben came up with a great arrangement that we did a few takes of in the Onion's totally-circular performance room (whoa) before being treated to a big box of sandwiches they'd bought for us (along with a gift bag of Onion-related stuff that I totally geeked out about).

I'm majorly addicted to the Onion crossword, so I asked the staff if the creator was in the office. They said he was a solitary man who didn't seem to see the office (or daylight) often, which makes a great deal of sense. The show itself felt like a culmination of years of playing Chicago; it was hard not to get a little emotional finding out that we'd sold out Lincoln Hall for the first time after god-only-knows-how-many-times we've played the city since 2007. Plus, we had a green room well-stocked with Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale. Finally, Ben made a pretty great photoshop-ish picture of Jesse on some new iPhone app. Enjoy! — Tommy

Minneapolis, July 9:
Minneapolis was one of those rare nights on tour I knew I'd remember for a long time. Our last time through town had yielded a few dozen attendees, but we somehow managed to sell out the same venue on our return trip on Monday, which left us all glowing (quite literally; from spending so much time in our heavily-tinted van, we've all developed the same biological mechanisms for mate attraction as fireflies). I was also astounded, as I always am when we come to Minneapolis, that an actual restaurant exists named "Thom Pham's WONDROUS AZIAN KITCHEN" (inconspicuously emphasized by neon lights that would be more fitting for a Vegas strip club). We've yet to actually eat there, but it remains a serious future goal. — Tommy

Jesse in front of the Replacements star at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. Photo by Charlotte Zoller.

Drive Day/Day Off, July 10
The drive to Kansas City the following morning featured a lengthy stopover in Des Moines where we played six games of bowling in a row, during which I accomplished an all time high-score. As a side-note, Jukebox the Ghost would've quit being a band and become a professional bowling team long ago but we didn't think we'd be able to handle all of the beautiful women and great power that comes with the major leagues. Plus, being really good at bowling is one of those odd sports where taking it seriously is somewhat loathsome, like people who are really good at cell phone games, eating vast quantities of hot dogs, and playing Guitar Hero. It implies time poorly spent. Our tour manager Charlotte also returned to bowling for the first time in eight years (AMF welcomed her with open arms). —Tommy

Ben bowling in Des Moines. Photo by Charlotte Zoller.