[See part 1 of Paper Route's tour blog.]

I'm not gonna lie. In fact, I'm pretty bad at lying. Unless you consider exaggerating a lie. If that's the case, I'm screwed. But this is beside the point. I'm not gonna lie. We've been invited by BlackBook to blog about this tour. Consistently documenting the highs and lows of touring, then turning in our tour "gems" at the end of the week. I would love to say that I've been on top of this ... but the reality of the situation is that besides driving, unloading gear, playing shows, loading gear, playing after shows, and sleeping on seats perfectly designed to ruin your back, all I've done is draw pictures (to keep my brain moving) and take some photographs. I haven't revisited any of these, so there's a chance I'm even a bit more intrigued than you. Let's begin ...

Touring is a game of survival. You find ritual in the smallest things. It's these things that you hold on to for any sense of rhythm in your days, month ... year. I tend to write out most of the cities we visit. I don't know, it just makes sense.

Just checked into our hotel in NYC and this was on the bed. Destiny.

A great show in NYC followed by an acoustic performance where we invited everyone into our trailer. People tucked into corners and ducked underneath each other to try and fit in. The remains spilling into the streets, drawing others in to join and sing. Some photographers showed up, and even the homeless brought cans to use as instruments. A celebration of sorts in one of the most beautiful cities on this planet.

In other news, I somehow manage to wound myself every night during our set. But all in the name of love.

Oh here are some other blog reviews of that NYC show: here and here.

I'm amazed at the construction and design for most clubs. I have never seen more narrow and steep staircases in my life. Steps held together by a single nail. Steps made of steel placed on the outside of buildings with random PIPES extending from the building! Ready to at any point take a piece of your face. In DC we strategically carry our gear up staircases and place them on a stage. We successfully dodge all obstacles and are able to perform live music with no wounds. My efforts are rewarded with a gift. In DC I'm given a set of dreamcatchers. I place them on one of my drum samplers. Looks like I'll dream well tonight.

Touring is kind of like summer camp. You find yourself thrown into social interactions with people you've never met for extended periods of time. It always takes a bit of time to find your groove, but when it works, it makes everything so much better. We've been lucky on this tour to share the bill with Audrye Sessions. A group of hard working talented musicians and artists. I'm flipping through my sketchbook and finding a lot of stuff with/about them. Like: Mike loves literature. Paper Route loves literature. A win / win situation. He recently mentioned putting together a list of books for us to check out. It turned out to be quite an extensive list of reads. Two pages that looked like this.

Here is a bear drawing a bear. Well -- Alicia loves bears.

Ryan and I in a deep conversation about The Legend of Zelda.

In New Jersey we hear rumors of a dock where the NYC skyline is the backdrop. We decide that maybe we should march down there for an acoustic set. The after-show party begins and a crowd follows and sings with us as we march a few blocks to the dock. We play our set and are interrupted by the law. A cop traveling at roughly 35 mph drives up onto the grass and ends our night quite abruptly. We debate the cost of bail and if we should carry on. But merch was under 2k that night, so we opt to pause our performance 'til next time. Luckily we got many-a-song in before the law shuts us down. Here is a blurry picture of the march.

We head back to our hotel for a few hours and awake to drive into Soho for an interview and performance on Rock This. We then drive BACK towards Philly for our show tonight. (This seems confusing and a bit scattered. But that was the point in communicating it). Philly was full of rain but people still made it out. (Thank You.) That night:

In Toronto, our border cross turns into quite the mission impossible. We are removed from our van while people wearing suits search through our bags with q-tips and flashlights. We're humiliated -- not because of anything illegal, but because we realize the sheer volume of our nerd-ness. All they discover are piles of books, Nintendo DSes, and vitamins. But I swear to God that if they touch my Acai Berry vitamins or Ayn Rand notes I will drop kick them in the teeth.

Success. We are Canada-approved.

Play a show. I. Love. Canada. People singing every word. It's nights like this that can fuel an entire tour. We come back feeling very inspired. (Thank You Canada.)

I'm out of drawings and photos. So I guess this is the end. Thank you to everyone who has made this tour so rewarding. Goodbye for now ...