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Day in the Crazy Life of a Guitar Tech (Chimaira Music As A Weapon Tour Blog)


04/10/2009
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(antiMusic) Chimaira are currently out on the road on the Music As A Weapon Tour. The band wants to keep antiMusic readers up to date on all the happenings on the tour and will be checking in with a tour diary. Today we have a very special and fun entry from guitar tech extraordinaire Greg "Grizz" Middleton. You gotta read this one! Here is Greg:

It is 17 days into this tour [Music As A Weapon] and the party ball has begun to roll. The snowball effect is alive and well. Every aspect of every day is getting more and more intense. The parties are getting bigger, the nights are going longer, and the karaoke machine is turned all the way up!!! A few days ago was the first appearance of the karaoke party. It was put on by the nice people in the production busses. Tons of music, food, and Natural Light???? All it took was me commenting on the fact that the last time I drank Natural Light, I was shotgunning them at the age of 16 behind the wall that wraps around flax pond. Moments later 2 cases lay dead on the ground with very clear markings of a shotgun party. The next issue was that they invited 40 people to a binge drinking party with no where to go to the bathroom. The only option was a dimmly lit hill in the distance. It would have been a very nice spot to quietly take a squat if not for the fact that 95% of the party were carrying flashlights. Everytime someone went up the hill they were kindly escorted by heckling, laser pointers, and when the moment was right, they would be fully illuminate for the pleasure of the crowd. The party did however come to an abrupt halt when one of the members of the band "Bury your Dead" decided to cannonball through the laptop that was supplying the beats.

I have been challenging a lot of people to $1 bets lately and my odds of losing have been fairly high. So far I have losts bets on: How long Jim Lamarca would shower for? What song Metallica would play first during their Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction? Whether Metallica would change out of their suits to perform? Whether Adam D would be gone from the party for more than 10 minutes (that was a $10 bet which I ultimately only paid him $4 due to a lack of currency)??? I really need to start making better bets.

The other day in Little Rock Arkansas was Adam for Killswitch Engage's birthday party which was hosted by yours truly. Adam had told me that all he wanted for his birthday was a beer funnel and a beer funnel was what he got. I supplied him with a beer funnel or a shotgun beer after every song in their set. They play like 10 songs and he was actually in pretty good condition after the set. Happy Birthday Adam!!!

Yesterday was a day off in New Orleans LA... Anyone who tours know that taking a full day off in New Orleans is just a bad idea. Their drinks are too strong, too big, and they are available to way too late in the night. Matt DeVries and I started our journey to nowhere good at 3:00 pm sharp. We took a shuttle down to the french quarter and walked the three blocks directly to good ol' Bourbon St. Our day was pretty well laid out for us. Go to Tropical Isle (the one right across the street from The Dungeon) and drink as many Handgrenades (a cocktail consisting of grain alcohol and sour mix... the exact recipe
is a family secret) as possible. Once we cant consume those anymore we will go to the dungeon for beers. I came out of the gate way too quick. I am pretty bummed out about my performance. Last time we were in town I was able to consume 6 handgrenades in 4 hours and this time over the course of the whole day I couldn't drink anymore than 3. I probably should've eaten more than a grilled cheese before heading out. We had a blast even though I dont remember going to a strip club, or getting a cab home, or hosting a dance party upon my arrival on the bus, or going to bed fully dressed (including my hat) @ 10:30 pm. In closing, I would like to thank Matt DeVries for sending everyone I know a text message last night that simply read "GRIZZ CAN'T HANG".
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