Tires Winter Tour 2013

Here's a write up by Dave Murphy about Tires playing this year's 80/35 festival in downtown Des Moines, IA.

Fairfield is a very special place. We all know that. We all have seen it through our friends, Trouble Lights, Utopia Park, Little Ruckas, Lane Weaver, and so, so many more. But playing our first show in Fairfield was the most ridiculously perfect way to end tour. Runaway & Mr Nasti again, just slaughtered the Beauty Shop, causing dance-party-mayhem. It has been a pleasure watching those two gentlemen the last 3 days. After their show we hauled ass over to Dom & Jason's (and so many others') house to play in their living room. So many people in a tiny room partying with us, so much sweat, so many kind words and support and that was all before the main course, Porno Galactica!! As soon as Dom & Phil (currently known as Utopia Park, but formally known as Porno Galactica years ago) started bumping the jams, all love on earth broke free and created the dance party of a lifetime. It was seriously the perfect way to end our tour. The only regret is that we had to hit the road back towards Des Moines after the dance party to miss the ice storm and we had to miss the acoustic show that was happening upstairs immediately afterwards. But Fairfield it was an extreme pleasure and we'll be back! And soon I hope. Thank you to everyone that made last night possible. Especially you, Dom. -P

Columbia, MO was an incredible city! Devin Frank was quite the host. He showed us around town a bit before our show at Hairhole. Which was by far the coldest space we have played yet! All degrees aside, we had a great night. We played with a local band called Jinx who tore it up! Everyone was very friendly and made us feel right at home. Even after Is Home Is & Tires both had tshirts stolen (?why?), Ben, who set up the show offered to pay out of pocket for our loss! Obviously, we couldn't except because their space deserved the money more than we did. We then caught the trail end of Inspectah Deck (of WU TANG)'s set down the street. What a wild night! -P

The Mill in Iowa City is always a pleasure to be at. Whether you're eating pizza, shooting pool (and whiskey), or there for a show (playing or spectating), I've always had a good time. Last night was no exception. Alientech, who opened the show were awesome. Check em out if you live in IC. Red running sound always makes it sound incredible on stage and off. It was great to see some old friend and make new ones too. We slept on Logan McDonald's floor. After he shared his liquor collection with us, we woke up and went to BlueBird diner and drank at least 2 cups of coffee each. Picked up one of my favorite records at the Record Collector, then hit the road. He we come Columbia! -P

Back on the road! We had a day off before finishing up the last leg of our Midwest dates. We are on our way to Iowa City right now to play the Mill with Alien Tech. The last two days out east were awesome. Richmond, VA was incredible. Jimmy, who set up the show for us, was a blast to hang with after the show. He let us crash with him & his dogs in his huge & beautiful house. We talked music till the wee hours if the morning then took off for Asheville. There we played a hookah bar called Blend. Tyler, hooked us up with a hookah and opened the show for us as his project New Color. Though a local drunky caused a little bit of an upset thought the show it was a wonderful night of music & seeing old Iowan friends. Joe Terry, Ryan Anderson & Matt Milne all came out to say hello and see us play. They really made out last show out east worth it. We are excited to play around Iowa (and Missouri tomorrow) for the next couple days. Tour has been such an incredible experience thus far and we're pumped that it's not over yet! -P

What a day we've had today! I finally got to explore D.C.! It was a brisk day, but we had a lot of fun walking around while they set up for the inauguration. Mickey got interviewed by some foreign TV station, Jordan (and maybe Chris & I) was on CNN, and we all exploited the Air & Space Museum. Last night we stayed with some new friends Racheal & Matt! They were awesome hosts. Perry, their kitty, kept attacking all of us throughout the night. It was awesome (I thought). He would pounce, perch and try to wiggle his way into our sleeping bags. I just kept waking up and laughing at the little guy. We are almost to Richmond, VA now. I an excited to play in Virginia & North Carolina, but I am also very excited to come back to play some shows in Iowa. Looking forward to seeing some friends at our Iowa City, Ames, Des Moines & Fairfield shows! -P

Well, we're on our way to Baltimore now after a 2-day stay in NYC. We had such a good time there! The first night we played in Manhattan @ Piano's. Coyote Bill opened the show. They are an 8-piece funk/jazz group from Montreal that just brought the house down with some rockin jams. Check 'em out if you get a chance. Our second night in the city we played at the LAB in Brooklyn. The couple that run that space are soo rad, very kind and welcoming. They will be opening the space's store-front to sell bands' (that play there) merch. They will be featuring Tires tshirts! Sparxx closed out the night there and blew everyone's mind. And of course, a dance party ensued. Thanks to everyone at the SchoolHouse (picture is of Little Man, showing off his climbing skills in their kitchen) for putting us up. It was an amazing stay in New York. We can't wait to come back. Iowa loves NYC. -P

This is Chris & Jordan's expression as they walked into the beautiful home we stayed at last night. The Parmenter's (parents of a good friend of Mickey's in St. Paul) were amazing to open their doors to us and let us crash in their utterly breath-taking Victorian house in Boston. The Tavern at the End of the World was a nice little bar near Union Square. Tim & Tom were a pleasure to work with and very generous. If I lived in Boston I'm sure that bar would soon become a regular hang zone for me. Great night, great people. -P

Three days ago when Mickey said, "got us a show in Albany at the Social Justice Center" I had no idea what to expect. Are we playing at a courthouse? No matter, we were excited to play. We pulled up to a dark storefront last night with the title, "Social Justice Center". While waiting for someone to show up we met block-overseer "Money Mike" who said next time we come to bring some Newports cause he can sell them $0.75/cigarette ALL DAY! Abe (opened the show as _11:34) showed up with the PA and things got going. What started as a dark storefront soon burst into a bumpin' dance party. The attendees (mostly hailing from nearby Troy) were very engaged. thanks Sheila & Abe for the killer last minute dance party!

Oberlin, OH! Rolling into town reminded me much of Ames. Beautiful campus with beautifully minded people. Such cool art everywhere, in every mode. We played in a hexadecagon art studio with a visual art student named Charlie creating original MaxMSP-generated projections on the walls while we played. Is Home Is played an absolutely beautiful set. Mickey finished his set with a Seedlings remix that we’ll be posting on YouTube soon. It was truly a ethereal experience. Matthew(photo cred.) and his housemate finished off the night with a dance party to their synthscape music “Wax Monsters”. If you are a fan of Com Truise, M83, or Neon Indian you should really check them out. Cool stuff. Thank you to Matthew for the “black label” brews and couch/floor space. We hope attack-cat Zeke finds his was home soon. -P

1/11 -Chicago, IL @ Livewire Lounge 1/12 - Oberlin, OH @ Oberlin College 1/13 - Albany, NY @ Albany Social Justice Center 1/14 -Charleston, MA @ The Tavern at the End of the World 1/15- New York, NY @ Pianos 1/16 -New York, NY @ the LAB 1/18- Richmond, VA @ The Republic 1/20 -TBA 1/21 -TBA 1/22 -Iowa City, IA @ The Mill 1/23 -Columbia, MO @ Hairhole 1/24 -Ames, IA @ The Space 1/25 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews 1/26 - Fairfield, IA @ Sweatpower Festival

Last night in Chicago at the Livewire Lounge was a blast! Is Home Is (photo cred.) killed it. Bumpin all new tunes. Its a blessing to share the stage with such a talented and genuine friend. We shared the stage with homeboys Caleb & Hungry Mountain. Steve (of Hungry Mountain) kindly offered us floor space and was a generous host. And to our complete surprise we had some Iowa (and Kansas City!!) friends show up to see us off on our first night of tour. It was a great way to start our journey. -P

Van is loaded and we're off to Chicago miraculously right on schedule! Playing with our good friends Hungry Mountain tonight @ the Livewire Lounge in Irving Park . Can't wait to see everyone.

Welcome to our new tour blog! we leave this Friday for our tour out to the East Coast and back. we’ll keep everyone updated through this tumblr as we make our way through the frozen tundras all month long. we’re beyond excited to be out there on the road playing music, meeting all the nice people, and seeing all the great bands and venues. See you all very soon! namaste, Chris PS the link above is to our Video for ‘08’ check it out if you havent already