July 3rd - 5th Recap

Hello! So it's been a few days since our last post and now that we have a little down time, let's see how much we can remember! To start we found ourselves in Tampa at the Hub Bar. The show was set up by a good friend of the band by the name of Ugly D, or Santo Feo. We didn't know what to expect mostly because we have never played the Hub before. Early on Ugly D had told us it probably isn't a good idea to head to the venue early and day drink, due to the fact that the place pours their drinks strong. Like responsible touring musicians, we heeded the advice. We ended up hanging out at Ugly D's for a while, where we were asked by him and his wife to shoot a little video in their bathroom. The results of that little venture are below. Afterwards we headed to the venue. We arrived, brought in our stuff, set it all up and grabbed a beer. Now this next part is crucial to remember as it comes back into play later on. When Ugly D showed up with his band he preceded to buy us a shot of whiskey. The shot that was brought to us was a full 3 oz glass of really smooth whiskey. Downed it. The opener went on. He was an odd duck, but had some good stuff nonetheless. Before his set, he was found walking around awkwardly, eyes focused mostly on the ceiling or floor, not speaking to anyone. After having to be tracked down wandering the streets of Downtown Tampa, he was persuaded to start his set. Again, his music was good but at one point he had finished a song and just stared at the mic while making "hmmm" noises for a good five minutes. After the Hmm song he played his last song and got off the stage then disappeared into the night. It was now time for Swamp Rats to take the stage.

We set up and started playing. The bar had filled up quite a bit since the opening act. We faced a crowd of people who hadn't seen us, let alone heard of us before. As the set started we were given yet another 3 oz shot which had to be taken in front of the person who had given the shots. Peer pressure still exists ladies and gentlemen. Not soon after, a third 3 oz shot came our way. Now normally we are very careful about drinking while at our shows but apparently it was Ugly D's mission to see just how inebriated he could get us that night. We finished the set. The crowed wanted one more. We gave them one more then quickly got out the way for Ugly D's band. We all went out side for some air and never made it back into the club. It seems Ugly D had accomplished his mission. Kristen, our tour manager, managed to pack everything up with the help of her room mate. At some point in the night I was asked by her room mate if it would be OK for him to take all our merchandise to Orlando, since Kristen was going to stay the night there and we had made plans to scoop her up on our way to St. Augustine. Long story short we made it back to Ugly D's, passed out, woke up and left for Sebring to spend the 4th of July with friends and family. It was there I realized I had a bag missing. I called the venue in Tampa and luckily it was there and it wasn't stolen or dropped somewhere. After spending the 4th with our family and loved ones, we got some well deserved rest for the night. We took off early on the 5th so we could hit Tampa to grab the items that were left. After we had the items in question in our possession we then headed for Orlando to get Kristen and our merch. What was supposed to be an hour and a half drive turned into a four hour drive from Tampa to Orlando due to three car wrecks, along with the ordinary crazy traffic Orlando is known for.  We thanked our lucky stars that we weren't one of the headlines the next day.

We managed to get everything we had started out with, including our tour manager, and we shot for St. Augustine with zero problems. Played an awesome show at Planet Sarbez who, by the way, have the best grilled cheese sandwiches we have ever had. We ended up sharing the stage with another band on tour by the name of Hivehead. Dude, they were pretty damn rad. The garage rock band out of Johnson City, TN was just a couple of young kids. But they had a great presence and an awesome attitude about life in general. A band called EC's Pickleliquid was also on the bill. Americana Thrash is how they described themselves and boy, were they damn good. They'll be jumping on the bill with us tonight in Daytona at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub.

There are many more stories in between everything that I wasn't able to get to. But that's the meat and potatoes for the last few days. Like I mentioned above we're headed to Daytona tonight and right now I need to shower while I have the opportunity. Below is a link to the Ensuite Songs video shot in Tampa, in a bathroom with awesome acoustics. Click to check it out! For now we say "bon voyage" to ourselves, as we raise our glasses to this tour!

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!

Swamp Rats


Ensuite Songs