The Elsinore Theatre, Salem, OR

Kyles ipod connection thingy is our vehicle for excitement and as with any vehicle worth owning, its giving us hell. Fuzzing in and out of transmission, the music pumps out in rift with our bumpy ride in the truck down the tar-black highway. I hear hurricanes ablowin blare the lyrics from some old song on the classic rock playlist Kyle had set some ways back.

Not here Kyle chimes in, looking around at the bursts of color the deciduous trees around these parts flash into almost overnight. With beautiful blue skies and some wispy clouds above us, we were on a road trip from Portland, where we had just spent a week and a half touring a ski film to Oregonian mcstonian audiences, and heading to a place, for me as yet unknown, somewhere called Eastern Washington. The drive through the Hood River area was just as beautiful as I remembered it from that summer spent coaching ski racing up at Mt. Hood. We had spent a week up training on Palmer Snowfield, and by the end, we all knew it was time to go play in the river. We even jumped some cliffs and jet-skied.

Or, there was that other summer, when Collin and I had sent an amazingly crazy trip to Seattle to visit our good friend Visco. Ahh, yes115mph on the drive from Portland to Hood River, OR, passing cars and trucks as if in a video game. The pure thrill of it all alone was more than the minds of some 18 year-olds could handle, much less the rash of lowly establishments we were leaving behind in our wake.

But, this time, I was on a trip to tour a ski film. As Kyle and I take in our surroundings, the reality that this little trip of ours is actually a job and were getting paid is enough to keep the high-fives going. Though, the bumble and grumble and mumble of the trucks jolts and shudders sure made for an interesting ride. The show in Salem went as planned, and nothing really stuck out of the ordinary. So, here we were, ready to pull a few stints in Washington before shipping out to the San Francisco Bay area for the next month.

Capitol Theater, Yakima, WA

Free gas! Kyle rings out as he steps on the trucks accelerator and guns it after Al and Evan in the Jeep. Were in a race with them, they dont know it, and no one knows whos winning.

The life of a roadie, I think to myself, as I look up from the computer again to soak in some external stimuli that does a body good. Not so bad at all.

My attention soon turns back to the flash of scenery out the passenger window, and my thoughts drift to what adventures lay ahead. Yakima, here we come!

Skullcandy G.I. Headphones

Kyle and I wish we had some sweet headphones to rock out to on our bumpy drive in the Budget Truck, so to avoid our mishaps with the radio, get your own pair of Skullcandy G.I. Headphones and get to rockin’!

Click here to upgrade your audio steeze

Evan Levine, Sponsor Liaison

This episode features Evan and Tats as they drive to their first show of the Warren Miller Film Tour. They’re looking for the Deb Fennell Auditorium located at the Tigard High School.

‘Nervous anticipation drove me to find things to keep myself busy on the drive, and what better than to shoot a little interview with our Sponsor Liaison for the tour,” mumbled Tats as he edited the footage in his hotel room later on.

Evan, on the other hand, is the busiest of the worker bees on this tour, as he deals daily with sponsor requests and fields phone calls left and right. Mucho kudos to you Evan…

[youtube]“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-mCtZlYVg4″[/youtube]

Ahhh, its been a busy few days. Recently, our little foursome has traveled back from Eugene to Portland for a weekends worth of shows. The film played at the McDonald Theater in downtown Eugene with both an early show and a late show. After our setup in the theater, Evan, Kyle and I strolled about town in search of some good eatin. Alas, after yet another iPhone experience, our search turned in few results for local fare within walking distance, and we found ourselves gnashing down some chicken and gyros pitas from a chain restaurant across the street. Well, gnashing for some, but in Evans case, due to his newly constructed two front teeth, it was more of a carefully strategized skirmish of delectable delight.

Starting Friday night we hit the Portland scene, screening the film to over 5000 ski and snowboard fans over the course of three different show times. The Friday night show was by far the biggest weve had, and will probably have for the remainder of the tour. With 2500 folks in the audience, the level of intensity was at an all time high. It was absolutely amazing to grab the mic and walk out on stage to the roar of such a giant crowd. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be a rock star walking out there, but instead of just introducing a ski film, to play music that you yourself have written.

The theater itself was giant, its architecture a cross between vaudevillian dcor and early twentieth-century classical style with glossy marble floors in the lobby and heavy ruffled curtains closing off the stage. With a balcony as big as the main floor, the place was large enough require over 30 staff members, from ushers and doormen to stage hands and beverage vendors. It was awesome to have all the help and it was one of the few times Ive worked with union labor, all an agreeable experience. The acoustics were amazing; the symphonies that usually play in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall must really be a tasty treat for the senses. But we brought a ski film. And we rocked the house. We even took a few pictures out in front of the marquee with its hundreds of yellow bulbs glowing and flashing brilliantly in the Portland night sky.

I was even lucky enough to have some friendly support amongst the masses, as old college buddies and high school friends were in attendance at the Saturday shows. It was great to catch up on new stories and share old ones from our early days of intellectual exploration. After two nights of cruising the Portland bar scene, Ive found my legs weary from over 60 blocks of trekking on foot in search of some local adult beverages. I guess thats one way to mitigate the calorie consumption such a quest involves. (click here to see map)

Were currently in the Warren Miller wrapped Jeep Liberty cruising down I-5 to finish up our last Oregon show in Salem tonight. It will sure be a shift from this weekends other shows, but it will be nice to play to a slightly smaller audience, at least a little more intimate. Kyle says the theater were going to is pretty cool, so it will be fun to check that out.

It’s been a long week, but we’re finally hitting out stride in the show. Kyle has solved our technical difficulties and Evan has the venue dialed every night. Al, on the other hand, knows what the rest of the tour is like. And, for that matter, what WE’re getting our selves into.

Ever wonder how I manage to stay connected to the internet while I’m on the road? It’s all because of my Patagonia Half Mass laptop bag. I carry so much equipment with me: laptop, external hard drive, helmet cam & mount, DC/AC power inverter for the car, etc. So it’s nice to be able to stow it all in a durable bag with clean design. If you wanna be a ski bum, get this bag.

About to go on stage...

Well…our second show went off quite successfully. The film was showing on the OSU campus in the Austin Auditorium with over 350 ski fans filling the room.

Evan, our sponsor liaison, felt good about the lobby displays, though the Jeep models that are supposed to come in and shoot pictures of attendees didn’t show up. Oh well…we’ll see more than our fair share of models throughout the tour. Our projectionist, Kyle, had a pretty easy job of it last night, spending most of his time peeping college co-eds as they found their seats in the auditorium. Lot’s of ‘bogeys’ as he calls them out on the radio…

And I found myself falling into the swing of things up on stage as my script dials in even more. It was fun to be amongst so many skiing fans in one room, and to be able to toss out prizes to them only makes it that much better. Last night, Peak Sports, one of the local retailer sponsors brought a Dakine Team Bag and a Dakine High Roller Bag to carry skis/snowboards. With such sweet prizes, it’s really easy to get the crowd going.

We even had our first athlete appearance last night, with Mt. Bachelor local ripper Ben Watts showing up to the delight of all the young girls in the audience. At only 15 years old, this soft-spoken snowboarder has the world wrapped around his finger and I expect nothing but great things from him. Not to mention, he got to shoot his segment while ripping around Mt. Bachelor with surfing legend Gerry Lopez.

We are heading to Eugene, OR tonight for our third show. I’ve heard Eugene knows how to party, so let’s hope they can bring some noise for me up on stage tonight!

- Tats

Dakine High Roller Bag

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