Said The Whale: TAS Tour Blog

Vancouver indie rockers Said the Whale have toured with Stars, won a prestigous 2011 Juno Award and have a brand new EP, tenderly christened I Love You, but nothing prepared them for the disappointing tacos, stellar ice cream, desert beers and Vegas debauchery of their swing through the West Coast last month.

The Alternate Side asked Said the Whale's Tyler Bancroft to keep a photo blog for us and he did, even discovering a marvelous bit of Beastie Boys history at Capitol Records' rooftop in Los Angeles. Said the Whale embark on another brief North American tour on July 12 in Denver, Colorado. The band — Bancroft, Ben Worcester, Nathan Shaw, Spencer Schoening and Jaycelyn Brown — plan to release another full-length album this fall. I Love You is available now on Hidden Pony Records.

Check out Tyler's photo blog and the galloping title track of the EP, "I Love You," below:

Smitten Ice Cream, San Francisco, CA
Last summer Ben and I drank way too much on a flight from Toronto to Vancouver while watching the in-flight food network. What resulted was a sloppy list of must-eat places all over America, and Smitten Ice Cream was at the top. The woman who started the company also owns the patent for the ice cream machine she uses, which shoots liquid nitrogen into a mixing bowl that has the cream mixture, and turns it into ice cream right before your eyes in about 60 seconds. It's amazing.

Somewhere, California
We cut the drive from San Francisco to San Diego somewhere along the I-5. We lucked out and scored a hotel with a pool. The gas station across the street provided the 24oz cans of Tecate, and we provided the Waboba Ball, which is a little neoprene ball that bounces on water like a rubber ball on cement. Nathan reaches for it here.

Taco Tuesday, Old San Diego, CA
We had no idea that taco Tuesday is an actual thing in California. We had a night off in San Diego so we visited old town, which was absolutely packed with people. We managed to find a table, ate some mediocre tacos, and then started back in on the Tecate. Not much explanation necessary.

Capitol Tower, Los Angeles, CA
Some people we work with have offices in the Capitol tower and were kind enough to show us to the top of the building. Photographer Vanessa Heins captures a tender moment between Spencer and Jaycelyn. Somehow we all still love each other despite being stuck in a van together for the majority of the past six years.

Capitol Tower, Los Angeles, CA
Ben found a genuine MCA (Adam Yauch, Beastie Boys) tag that didn't get painted over. Apparently he tagged them all over the building during a Paul's Boutique album release party. RIP.

Almost Las Vegas, NV
Nathan prepares for Las Vegas with a quick shotgun at a gas station somewhere in Nevada. When he paid for his Coors Light, the clerk asked "are you gonna buy one for yourself too?" Zing!

Las Vegas, NV
While the rest of us were off gambling away our dinner per diems, Jaycelyn took in the sights. Las Vegas is the most ridiculous city I've ever seen, but also one of the most incredible. It's the height of decadence and the filth of the underbelly all at once, all exploding in a drunken mess of yard-long margaritas, vomiting frat boys and 6-inch heels. I'm sure we'll be back there soon.

— Tyler Bancroft, Said The Whale
July 2013

(photos: Vanessa Heins)