Wichita, Sioux Falls

WICHITA, KS:

I had a great time seeing family here!  My Aunt and one of my cousins came out to see the show.  They loved it!

SIOUX FALLS, SD:

Unfortunately, I caught some sort of stomach virus that was going around in the cast.  I wouldn't wish what I had on my worst enemy.  The entire drive, yes I said drive, from Wichita to Sioux Falls was spent bent over in my seat with a trash bag beneath me.  I luckily didn't have a show that night, but I did have on the next night.  It took about a week to get completely out of my system. #theglamorouslife

#theshowmustgoon

Joliet, Dayton

JOLIET, IL:

We stayed in a casino here.  I think I only lost $40 this time....

DAYTON, OH:

I had a great time in this city!  I opted out of company housing and got an Airbnb.  This was one of the best ones I ever had.  The host was very accommodating and the house was historic and had plenty of space for the four of us.

The gym facilities in Dayton were probably one of the best as well!  This gym was on the top floor of a business building.  There were huge floor to celling windows overlooking the city while you got some cardio in.

I really enjoyed Dayton!

Indy

INDIANAPOLIS, IN:

Our trumpet player, Patrick, is from here.  

He allowed me and the trombonist to stay at his place for the week!

Patrick and I were born four days apart, his Birthday on 4/1 and mine on 4/5.

We had a few Birthday celebration outings here.

Got to see the National tour of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in a nearby city

Birthday gift from our Associate Conductor, Shane.

The Percussive Arts Society Museum is located in Indy.  Naturally, I went.

Gene Krupa's drum set

Buddy Rich's drum set

Neil Peart's drum set

An early drum set

Rockin' out

Got to see the Symphony!

Indianapolis Symphony

Dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant in Broad Ripple

Birthday festivities

Akron, University Park, Clinton Township, Erie

AKRON, OH:

It snowed!

Akron in March

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA:

We walked to the venue here!  This is a college town, so there were some great places to hang out after the show.  I specifically going to a bar with an awesome beer selection, but our bartender had no clue how to pour a beer.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI:

We had to commute from our hotel to the venue on our tour bus.

The hotel smelled like weed and prostitutes. 

If I ever play this city again DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL!

One of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in.

ERIE, PA:

Nothing too special here.  This is the second time I have played Erie.  It was nice to be staying in downtown and walk to the venue again.

Jacksonville, FL.

I saw PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, my first Broadway tour, here years ago.  

Pretty cool to come back and perform in the same space.

Amanda wasn't going to be able to be there for my Birthday in Indianapolis, so she came here and threw me a surprise party in the hotel!

One of my gifts!

NOLA

NEW ORLEANS, LA:

I really love New Orleans!  So much food.  So much music.  So much culture.   

This is my second time performing in this city and probably my fifth time visiting.

While we didn't stay anywhere near downtown 

(our hotel was about nine miles northeast of the city center), we did have some good times!

At least I saved some money not being tempted to go out every night and eat everything in sight.

Saw some great jazz and had some great nights out with friends.  Definitely my favorite time visiting this wonderful city!

We sold out every performance! 

Near my hotel.  And it wasn't even hurricane season...

Night out with the trumpet player and a dancer from my show.
We watched the amazing Jeremy Davenport (trumpet player for Harry Connick Jr.) perform at The Ritz.

The inside of our venue.

A cool light fixture inside a Starbucks off Canal Street.

No trip would be complete without it.
Café au lait and beignets from Café Du Monde.

Fort Lauderdale

We got to spend a whole two weeks here!

We had an AirBnB lined up, but it turns out it was a scam, but we found out last minute so we had to scramble to find housing...

We could get back in the hotel that our company provided, but not until two days into our stay.

Our Key II player was kind enough to put us up in the condo he was staying at in the interim.

 He had a beautiful view!

Condo view

Finally got to our hotel and found out the were suites, which was sweet!

Went to the beach...a lot!

I spent my day off with my girlfriend.  

She lives a couple hours away so I drove up to see her one last time for a while.

Good times in Lauderdale!

Daytona, Gainesville, Niceville, Talahassee, Sarasota

The Florida string of one-nighters.

They were okay because I had my girlfriend with me for most of it!

DAYTONA, FL:

The closest to my hometown of Titusville that we got to on this tour.

My parents and siblings made it out here to hang out before the show.  

They didn't see the show here because the theatre was too small for our show so me had to make some cuts.  

I wanted them to see the full show.

My hookah broke here!  I dropped the acrylic base on some tile in the lobby of the hotel.

Sad day.

The family

 GAINESVILLE, FL:

Amanda and I made a road trip out of these one-nighters.

This city is home to the Florida Gators.  There's a character in the show named "Gator" and he has a dance called "Gator Dance" where he wheres a gator head.  

The audience naturally went crazy at this part.  I'm sure they thought we did that just for them...

We met up with some of my old friends from high school after the show.

NICEVILLE, FL:

A city I've actually never been to.  And I found out why....not much there.

One of my good friends and musician came to see the show here.  So glad he made it! 

I miss performing with him!

TALAHASSEE, FL: 

Met up with a lot of people here.  Some of the cast from SPRING AWAKENING goes to college here. 

They got to come see MEMPHIS and loved it.  We actually did they show in an arena here.

Also met up with another good friend here from high school.

SARASOTA, FL:

I spent a lot of time here back in college.  

I did the pre-Broadway run of BONNIE & CLYDE at the Asolo Repertory Theatre.

Really cool going back to perform at the touring venue.

We lost our reed player here (he left the show).  The new one joins us in Fort Lauderdale.

Charleston

Well, there's really no excuse for not writing for this long.

The schedule did get a little interesting and WIFI was also a little tricky at times, but I could have been a little better at entries.

Onward.

CHARLESTON, NC:

Great city and great location.  Our hotel (a Hyatt) was across the street from the venue!

There were plenty of food options as well as a nice clothing outlet about a mile away.

The gym facilities were great, but we had to take a cab to get there.  

Free breakfast at the hotel was amazing!

The cab to the gym

Clever advertising

Kalamazoo, Ashland, Lexington

KALAMAZOO, MI:

This is home to the alma mater of our associate conductor and keyboardist, Shane.

He set up a masterclass for he and I to give at the university.  Such a blast!

I love speaking about music, especially about the business side of the music industry.

The students were very receptive and even had a few questions for us.

Fun times!

ASHLAND, KY:

There was a frozen waterfall next door to our hotel.  I wish I would have taken a picture. :(

LEXINGTON, KY:

We performed at the Lexington Opera House!  Beautiful venue!

Go to Limestone Blue for amazing food!

It was also Valentine's Day...
I had to spend it separated from My Love.  Not cool!
She did send me this though. <3

Wheeling, Shippensburg, New Brunswick, Easton

WHEELING, WV:

Very cold!  Hills mixed with ice equals this Florida Boy slipping al over the place!

SHIPPENSBURG, PA:

I walked through the frozen tundra to a mall across the HIGHWAY to get to a Lensecrafters that I found to be closing for the day when I got there....I think I may have gotten frostbite on my feet. 

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ:

I did not get frostbite on my feet.

The creators of the show, David Bryan and Joe DiPietro, came to the show here!

It was David Bryan's Birthday, so we played Happy Birthday for him at the end of the show.

This was a highlight of the tour for me!

EASTON, PA:

Yet another beautiful little town; unfortunately we were only there for the night.

It took us about 30 minutes to get our tour bus out from the backstage area due to the weather.

We got stuck in the snow and ice and then one of the other truck drivers from the show came over and directed our driver out of the mess.  

I've never had to drive in the snow before, but I can imagine the difficulties...

Pittsburgh!

LOVE THIS CITY!

So much to do and eat!

The best part?  We didn't have any performances here.  Just time off!

WICKED was performing here the days we were there so I got to meet up with my friend, the drummer.  I sat in the pit and watched him play the show.  So amazing!

The hotel was beautiful!  Gotta love The Omni!

The food?  

I had some pretty fantastic meals here.

I had some of the best Thai food I've ever had at Nicky's Thai Kitchen.  I actually miss this food!

Thai Food

I had to go to the infamous Primanti Bros. Restaurant.  

I got the grilled chicken sandwich, but it's not your typical sandwich; this one is complete with slaw and french fries stacked on top. Yum!

The Monster Sandwich

A View From My Room

Some Crème Brûlée From The Hotel

We also celebrated the Trombonist's Birthday in this city, complete with hookah, a hockey game, and Chipotle.

Fun times!

Brookville, New London

BROOKVILLE, NY:

It was the weekend of the Superbowl in New York.  Hotel prices skyrocketed.  

We get a housing allowance to pay for our hotels weekly.  

We also get discounted rates on hotels which makes our housing affordable.

This hotel was about $110/night for a single occupancy room, so that means a double is about $55.

This is considerably more than we are used to paying...

Not fun!

This was especially unfortunate because it was a one-nighter so we hardly spent any time in the hotel, not that anyone would have wanted to in this gem...

NEW LONDON, CT:

A really nice New England town, complete with a Thames River.  I thought that was kinda cool...

Nice coffee shop right across the street from the theatre.

Me With Some Of The Other Guys In The Cast And Band

Syracuse

I contacted the local YMCA here and they were kind enough to allow us to use the gym facilities!

It's always nice to be sitting in a city long enough to go to a real gym.

Another plus in this city was the fact that our hotel was within walking distance to the venue.  

No bus call to the venue!

Great college town.  Nice local bars and food a bit of a walk from the hotel.

Burlington, Wilkes-Barre, West Point

BURLINGTON, VT:

Such an amazing coffee shop here called Muddy Waters.  

I HIGHLY recommend checking this place out! 

The Cauliflower Soup Was Amazing!

Our music director got very sick here and had to be onstage with a trash can by his side.  So miserable!  I've been there...I don't wish that on my worst enemy.

WILKES-BARRE, PA:

We got very creative with the set here.  The venue was way too small to load our set in and out of.  As a result, we had to cut most of our set and re-stage our show to fit that stage.

WEST POINT, NY:
We got to perform at the Military Academy.  Really cool to learn about the history of West Point!

Morgantown and Utica

I'm WAY behind in posts!

MORGANTOWN, WV: 

This was another one-nighter on a college campus.  I used to have family here, but they moved away after college so I was confined to the Hotel Morgan, which was haunted!  

A nice town as far as West Virginia is concerned...

UTICA, NY:

Utica, NY was great the second time around, but COLD!  

We got off the tour bus and could hardly move.  It was about -15 F when we arrived.  

We stayed at this really cool historic hotel called Hotel Utica.  

I stayed at a Radisson the last time I was there so this amazing hotel was a nice surprise. 

We had to change rooms a couple times due to our heat not working and a burst pipe, but I absolutely loved this hotel! 

One of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants in the country is in Utica.   

There's just something about Pho Mekong House of Noodles that just does it for me.

My Pho With Lotus Tea

I also had a pretty cool encounter with some Bosnians in a Bosnian-run coffee shop.

I walked in and ordered a coffee from the guys behind the counter and his friend was sitting at the counter.  We start talking about music and they start playing Bosnian music for me (which rocks) and then in walks another guy with a plate full of Bosnian food.  They asked if I'd like to try some, so I did.  I can't remember what the dish was called, but it consisted of mashed potatoes, sausage wrapped in cabbage, and homemade bread.  Really delicious!

Newport News

I love Virginia!  I don't think I've been to a city in the state that I don't like.

We stayed at a Hampton Inn (which are amazing) and right next door was a Crunch Gym that we got a free pass to.  Fantastic amenities!  

Don't forget your I.D. at a Crunch Gym; they make you do push-ups as collateral!  

Or, "forget" your I.D. and get fit! 

Oh, and I got my haircut here....Should have waited till Utica. 

I Forgot About Birmingham

Birmingham, AL round two was pretty awesome! 

I performed here a few years ago with the tour of SOUTH PACIFIC and there wasn't much around.

Although eating in the city was oddly very expensive, I had a nice time here.

There was a mixology bar/coffee shop there called Octane Coffee that I HIGHLY recommend.

The coffee is brewed fresh to order and they have at lest three varieties per day.

The people behind the bar are EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the coffee and the alcohol.  I had the best Old Fashioned at this bar.  I was also introduced to knew delicious classic cocktails such as the Cynar Flip and Corn N' Oil.

Making my Old Fashioned

My Old Fashioned

Opelika, Morganton, Pembroke

OPELIKA, AL:

This marks the second time I have had the pleasure of performing at this one-nighter.  The venue in this city is a high school.  Yep, a high school.  Some of the locals (crew that is hired by the venue to help with the behind-the-scenes stuff) were under the age of eighteen.  

A pretty cool experience for these young adults to work with the professionals. 

MORGANTON, NC:

Here, I took one of the most interesting and entertaining cab rides of my life.  We called for a cab to go watch the new "Anchorman" movie and a guy in an unmarked Buick LeSabre pulls up to our hotel to take us to the movie theater.  In the most intense North Carolinian accent, he asked where we were from.  I was the first to respond, "Florida."  He then continued this story involving meth, human trafficking, and other experiences of he and his friend's time in Florida.  I can't remember exactly what was said, but trust me, this was the most entertaining cab ride of my life.

PEMBROKE, NC:

I was able to walk to and from the venue here.  We were performing on the college campus of the University of North Carolina.  There was a Starbucks.  Yum!

Columbia, Athens

I know, it sounds like I've left the USA....Nope...

COLUMBA, SC:

I got to see more family here!  They saw the show and really enjoyed it!  

I even got to stay with them for my time there because we were there for more than one night!

ATHENS, GA:

Great little college town.  I was able to eat some of the local eats, but our hotel was miles from the downtown area so I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I could if I stayed close by.  Oh well...

Apple, Oh Apple

I type this entry on the tiny keys on my iPhone. 

So I don't like to complain, but Apple has given me so many problems lately. It started with my MacBook Pro having an issue with the screen going black and making me log back into my computer.  Annoying, but I could still use the laptop so I waited until my break from tour to get the problem resolved. 

I get home from tour and go to the nearest Apple Store (50 miles away) and the "Genuis" says I had to send my laptop out for repair for this issue. Fine, but I didn't have my 750 Gig hard drive backed up and there was a chance they would have to wipe out my hard drive for the repair, so back home

I went to do that (50 miles away). I drive back to the Apple Store (in Egypt) and drop off my now fully-backed-up-to-time-machine laptop.  

I should get it back in 1-2 business days!  

Awesome, no?

No. Not. Awesome. I call the Apple Store four business days later to see what is happening with my repair. They have NO record of my MacBook Pro being there... Odd, I just dropped it off. Well, apparently it was put under another person's name..  Suffice it to say I eventually did get my laptop back about six days from the day I sent it out for repair with a brand new logic board and my hard drive completely wiped. No problem, I backed it up.  

Awesome, it's fixed, right? 

Wrong. 

I'm trying to restore my computer from the Time Machine Backup, but it wasn't working. The laptop wasn't even reading there was a backup on the external drive.  I call Apple Technical Support to help me. No sooner than I connect with the senior advisor does the same issue I sent it in for repair recur!  I tell the Apple guy that I was actually calling about my backup, but the problem I sent it in for just happened again!  

At this point, I'm four days away from going back out on tour.

Apple said they'd send a box to my house in 28-48 hours to send it out for repair...again. 

The box came four days later. I was already in Huntsville, AL. So, I had yet another box sent to meet me in Birmingham a few days later.  It made it!  I sent it out for repair....again.  I explained to Apple that I'm now back out on the road so I need to know right when the repair is completed in order to give an address of a hotel I'll be at for more than a night. They eventually agree to contact me to get a different address. 

I recently get an email that my repair is completed and wil be sent to the Birmingham address.  I get a phone call from the Apple person I spoke to about the address change and she said that the repair went through so fast that they had already sent it to the Birmingham hotel.  Perfect!  So she sent another FedEx label to the hotel to ship it to me in Utica, NY this coming Monday!  

I don't even want to calculate the time and energy that has been out into this problem. I just hope to get a fixed laptop back... 

We shall see.

Huntsville

We opened the tour in Huntsville, Alabama! The crowds seemed to enjoy the show, but they weren't overly vocal about it.  

There was a Guitar Center, gym, and Chipotle right across the street from us. Basically the best stop on the tour so far!

It was so disgustingly freezing cold outside, it was ridiculous. My Florida blood couldn't take it!  

Huntsville

We opened the tour in Huntsville, Alabama! The crowds seemed to enjoy the show, but they weren't overly vocal about it.  

There was a Guitar Center, gym, and Chipotle right across the street from us. Basically the best stop on the tour so far!

It was so disgustingly freezing cold outside, it was ridiculous. My Florida blood couldn't take it!  

Here I Am, On The Road Again

It's back to the grind here in frigid Huntsville, AL.

I came prepared with a hookah, coffee press, and slow cooker this time.

I'm also hitting the gym this half of tour!  I had to stop because of my wrist/shoulder injury.

Looking forward to playing this music again.

I've got a bit of maintenance to do to the kit before the show.