#nightidea

Starting off 2014 with a tour, Fight Cloud (FC) and Night Idea (NI), both from Richmond VA, had the goal of spreading their tunage across Florida and Georgia.  And to put it simply, it was a success; a big jar of success filled with:

new sights and sounds

super cool bar tenders

a metal Monday made mathy

Sweetwater Brewing Company’s 420 IPA (damn good!)

Incredibly hospitable people

A very low riding Toyota Sienna and a crammed Jeep Grand Cherokee

  Fight Cloud ::

Guitarist/Vocalist             :: Justin Stuit

Drummer                         :: Miles Blunt     

Guitarist                          :: Mitch Clem

Bassist                            :: Paul McDonald

Night Idea ::

Guitarist/Vocalist             :: Carter Burton

Drummer                         :: Ethan Johnstone

Guitarist                          :: Reid LaPierre

Bassist                            :: Joey Anderson

                  It began with a New Years Eve show at the home of Carter, Reid, and Ethan.  Kicking the tour off in Richmond only made sense for these two bands as they wanted to entertain their hometown crowd.  Fight Cloud managed to sneak in another house show the night before they left too.

  1st stop ~~ Savannah, GA (Friday Jan 3rd)

The Hang Fire Bar was a prime first stop for NI and FC.  The guys were very happy to find out about drinking in public down in Savannah (so was I).  They played with Wet Sox, a kick ass, pumped up, garage rock band.  Shout out to Jen who is from Hong Kong and currently a student at the Savannah College for Art and Design for letting us crash at her place.  The NI guys stayed at some nice guy’s house named Ross.  Heather, Warren, and the other bar tenders were quite welcoming towards us; the bands look forward to seeing them again in the future.   

  2nd stop ~~ Lakeland, FL (Saturday Jan 4th)

Evolution Records is a sweet store-venue combo.  Never has there been so many drum sets in such a small space (well not that I have seen).  Tour highlight: a high school band opened up at this show, which is cool because Fight Cloud has been a band since high school (minus a few members lost and gained).  Pilgrimage was the headliner and they deserve some props because they have a very solid fan base (including fans that join Matt, guitarist/vocalist, at the mic).  They were even good enough to buy a cassette from.  Our shout out for Lakeland goes to Matt, Karen, and José for allowing us into their home for the night and the stellar waffles in the morning. 

  3rd stop ~~ Tampa, FL (Sunday Jan 5th)

The Hub was the spot in Tampa for a surprisingly lively show for a Sunday night.  On a side note, Tampa has this super cool riverside park and a train that runs right down the middle of the street.  In the beginning of Tom, I am standing here today (new songby FC), the train came rolling down the tracks right outside The Hub…..kind of an unusual sight to say the least.  Joey’s Grandma Ginny was our savior after this show by letting nine dudes stay at her lovely home in Holiday, FL and she made toast paired with sliced oranges for us in the morning. J

  4th stop ~~ Jacksonville, FL (Monday Jan 6th)

The Shanty Town Pub was quite unsuspecting at first glance as the two bands rolled up.  It honestly seemed like a biker bar from the outside.  It ended up being artsy and punk on the inside with about seven supersized portraits of animal and insect heads (ie a fox and a praying mantis).  Out back was a blissfully warm bonfire which seemed to make it easier to talk to strangers.  It was Metal Monday and of course Night Cloud morphed it into Math and Metal Monday.  The nine of us found a place to stay late into the night at the home of Sadie, Sierra, and Shea; we love them for their character and hospitality. 

  5th stop ~~ Carrollton, GA (Wednesday Jan 7th)

Kim, from Hot Mess Booking, invited us to stay at her place for two nights of the tour.  She helped the bands get a couple of the gigs and they owe her for that.  The Alley Cat in Carrollton was honestly a very cool restaurant.  Brian, the owner calls some of his food Asian Fusion. What that is, who knows?  At this show, FC and NI met some members of another band called Baby Baby.  Some of their influence comes from math rock but they don’t play math rock.  That’s interesting because FC and NI are influenced by many other types of music that is often very different from math rock.   

  6th stop ~~ Atlanta, GA (Thursday Jan 8th)

The Star Bar was the first fully mic’d show of the tour, the biggest venue, and the best attended.  It was also the most, I believe the word might be…..appropriate?  Two other, older, mathy bands played.  Hello Cobra and The Purkinje Shift.  Hello Cobra was very talented with a speedy Gonzales drummer (Clayton, guitarist, was our host at Kim’s house which is where Hello Cobra’s practice space is as well).  The Purkinje Shift was actually a band from ’96 – 2000, disbanded, and recently reformed and they definitely have some older math rock influence from the likes of Don Caballero.  With their slicked back, combed hair and tailored suits, they impressed us a great deal.  Another unique attribute to this show was John Harn from Math Rock News.  We had no idea that he was coming out to the show but both FC and NI were very glad to see him.  Our resting place that night was with members from another band that NI has played with in the past, Little Tybee.  A few of them attended the show.  Josh Martin and Pat Brooks (guitarist and drummer) hosted FC.  Brock Scott and Nirvana Kelly (guitarist/vocalist and violinist) hosted NI.

    7th stop ~~ Macon, GA (Friday Jan 9th)

Billy’s Clubhouse was a pretty low key end to the tour.  The two bands had a great time playin’ some pool and darts to wrap up the tour.  Just after 12 midnight, the two gangs hit the road back to RVA.   The end of the tour was very foggy which provided for a scary trip out of GA considering we took some country highways and couldn’t see more than 20 yards in front of the van at some points.  Mitch drove through most of that dense stuff then Paul took over, turning into a monster, and drove for like 7 hours straight.    

  On behalf of all the members of both bands, they would like to thank the people that were so incredibly hospitable  and gracious enough to allow us to stay in their homes.  Jen in Savannah.  Matt, Karen, and José in Lakeland.  Grandma Ginny in Holiday.  Sierra, Sadie, and Shea in Jacksonville.  Kim and Clayton (of Hello Cobra) in Atlanta.  Josh, Pat, Brock, and Nirvana (of Little Tybee) in Atlanta.  Without this type of people in the world, humanity would surely be lost….and the tour would have been a lot less cozy, intimate, and affordable.

Here in the next couple weeks, we will get Fight Cloud and Night Idea together to do a little post tour interview.....so stay tuned.

  Dan Zimmerman

Here and There Music

  (any questions?  hit me up, ladies and gents)

Night Cloud (Left to Right) Joey Anderson, Ried LaPierre, Ethan Johnstone, Miles Blunt, Justin Stuit, Carter Burton, Mitch Clem, Paul McDonald

At the Alley Cat in Carrolton, GA (photo cred: Mitch Clem, except for the photo of him, who took that one?)

Evolution Records in Lakeland FL

Scripting about Same Sex Love, inspiered by my Sisters