The Thumbs

JAPAN/U.S. Tour October 1999

Well we got back from The Japan Tour about about four months ago. Although it was the shortest tour we've been on in the last several years it covered 27,000 miles in 18 days and wore us out. For those of you that don't know Mike's job gives him two months a year to tour and we had used up 5 of those weeks in the spring so when faced with a 3 week tour we were at first discouraged. "What could we do in 3 weeks?" we asked ourselves. At about the same time we had been approached by the Japanese label Snuffy Smile to put out a split 7" with a great Japanese band called The Urchin. I must admit at first we didn't realize what an honor this was. Snuffy Smile has put out some incredible stuff over the years and a whole series of split 7"s that pair up great and often unheard of English, American and Japanese bands. We agreed to do a split and when they mentioned the possibility of us going to Japan to play some shows we jumped at the chance. Bug from Idaho had roadied for us for two weeks in the spring in exchange for a ride back to Boise and had mentioned the fact that he would consider moving to Baltimore to play drums for us full time. The news about Japan sealed the deal and he moved out in August. The months before our departure seemed to fly by and had us all doing our part making preparations. We decided to fly out of Portland , Or. and play a show every night and drive across the country in 4 days. Every night was a 12 hour drive and then an attempt to catch up on sleep in the van or on the promoters floor, only to wake up and play the show and then drive all night again. There wasn't really any time for any crazy adventures to present themselves or to meet or hang out with old friends. We were in a constant state of flux and it took its toll. We arrived in Portland and made it to the airport exhausted. Horror stories about Japanese customs made me so nervous I couldn't sleep the entire 9 hour flight for fear we wouldn't be allowed into the country and we would have squandered our 2,500$ plane tickets not to mention the $1000 it cost for the t shirts and postage to ship them over. We however made it in without a hitch and when I think back I'm amazed we had the faith to come at all. Imagine receiving an email from someone in Japan in broken english and accepting an invitation to come play shows there , going out and buying very pricy plane tickets for the band, driving across the country in four days with a failing transmission, spending 1000$ on t-shirts and silkscreening equipment and postage to ship it all over there. Needless to say I was extemely relieved to meet up with our host Yoichi. We had no idea how reputable his record label was and in what great company we have be placed. The first night I think they must have thought we were light weights because when we got to Yoichi's tiny record filled apartment we pretty much were dead to the world and only wanted to sleep. The next day we got a chance to go to a resturant and begin trying the cuisine. We went to a video arcade and played some of the coolest games I've ever seen. I played one where I was rowing a boat through rapids and by the end I was drenched in sweat. The show that night was in the top of a shopping mall in a 12 story building. If you pulled back the curtains backstage you could see the cityscape below. We borrowed bass and guitar and drums and pretty much just used the club's amps ever night. It was a totally different experience than we are used to because we only had to show up and we were led around from show to show with pretty much the clothes on our back and the yen we exchanged the first day. It was amazing to us to be received by all these kids so wholeheartedly. The bands Yoichi had brought over before us earlier in the year were Hot Water Music, Braid, Discount and Dillinger Four. While we may consider those bands our peers neither we or anyone else in the states would place The Thumbs in their ranks as far as popularity is concerned. You would never know by the reception we got night after night. I can only imagine it was the same reaction that the other bands received. Yoichi leveled the playing field for us over there.

WED 9/29

Sept.29- We left Baltimore around midnight. We had a show at the Fireside in the next night, and we preferred to get on the road, rather than getting up at dawn. It seemed surreal that in 5 days, we would be boarding a plane for Japan..

THR 9/30: Chicago,Il @the fireside w/Last Man Out, Low Profile, The Perps, Grinding Process

FR 10/1: Minneapolis, Mn @1021 House w/The Hidden Chord,Amp 176

SAT 10/2: Laramie, Wy. @'Da House w/Homeless Wonders, Custom Caravans

SUN 10/3: Boise, Id. @ Bug's House of Rock

MON 10/4: Depart from Portland, OR.

TUE 10/5: Arrive in Tokyo, Japan

The plane arrived on-time in Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon. We were so nervous. It was weird stepping out of the gate to the noise of a voice on the P.A. system, and realizing that we were not going to understand much of anything for the whole week. We are visitors in every sense of the word. We picked up our baggage with no problem, and headed off to the Customs office. Although most people we talked to said that they got through with absolutely no problem, we had heard a few horror stories of bands getting detained for questioning, and people getting sent home. We had a lot of money riding on this thing, and we were terrified that we weren't going to make it in. Luckily, we made it through Customs with no difficulty. Next, we had to go out into the airport, and find out if our ride showed up to pick us up. Yoichi (from Snuffy Smile) and Masa (from the Urchin) were supposed to pick us up "outside the airport" or "in the lobby". We found each other and Masa drove us to Yoichi's flat in Tokyo. Yoichi's place is tiny, packed with a ton of amazing records (he runs a distro.). We weren't playing a show that night, so we talked about going out on the town. But we were basically running out of gas. We had been playing shows every night, and then driving all night to the next town for four days. Then we drove all night to Portland to catch our flight. By 8:00 that night we were dead! We crashed out on Yoichi's floor-so much for the boisterous Americans! --Mike

WED 10/6: Yokohama @BB Street w/Cradle to Grave, Fribee, Zero Fast

We played in this bar on the 12th floor of this building in the downtown area. We all carried the equipment throught the first floor (which was a shopping mall), to the elevator. We got there early (4:00) and did a sound check-very official. It turns out that all of the shows we played in Japan were like that. When we got to the club, they were erecting a "riot barrier" in front of the stage. It gave people a good railing to lean their beer on. We played the show, drove back to Tokyo, and fell asleep immediately. There were a couple of American guys there. They were army guys. It was weird talking to them, like it's natural that we would get along, being Americans and everything. I like having the language barrier to lean on.

THR 10/7: Sendaii City @Birdland w/The Urchin, Myriad, Starter

This was probably the smallest of the shows-I think there were about 40 people there.

FRI 10/8: Niigata @Woody w/The Urchin, Sleep a Little Bit,Spraypaint

SAT 10/9: Hakata @Community Center w/The Urchin,Crop Circles, 8Roof,Pear of the West, Proof, Screaming Fat Rat

SUN 10/10: Fukuyama

MON 10/11: Nagoya @Huck Finn w/The Urchin, All Out, Navel

TUE 10/12: Tokyo @Shinjuku Jam w/The Urchin, Eat to the Full, Soon

WED 10/13: Plane Leaves Tokyo

WED 10/13: Portland , OR @ Ej's @Ej's w/Thorazine and Lopez

THR 10/14: San Francisco, CA @ Sneeky's Peep Show w/ Nofx, Thorazine and Divot

FRI 10/15: San Diego, Ca. @Scolari's Office with Tiltwheel, Peaceful Meadows, Gay Navy (Vena Cava)

SAT 10/16: Las Vegas, Nv. a Parking Lot w/ Tiltwheel, Civic Minded 5, X-Heroins memebers

SUN 10/17: Denver ,Co @Monkey Mania with The Facet,Man Alive

MON 10/18: Lincoln,Ne @UNL Culture Center w/Inhuman Form

TUE 10/19: Warrensburg, Mi. with Kosher

WED 10/20: Chattanooga, Tn. on the Riverboat w/ Jack Pallance Band and Dillinger Four

THR 10/21: All other Shows Cancelled

JAPAN/U.S. Tour October 1999 Well we got back from The Japan Tour about about four months ago. Although it was the shortest tour we've been on in the last several years it covered 27,000 miles in 18 days and wore us out. For those of you that don't know Mike's job gives him two months a year to tour and we had used up 5 of those weeks in the spring so when faced with a 3 week tour we were at first discouraged. "What could we do in 3 weeks?" we asked ourselves. At about the same time we had been approached by the Japanese label Snuffy Smile to put out a split 7" with a great Japanese band called The Urchin. I must admit at first we didn't realize what an honor this was. Snuffy Smile has put out some incredible stuff over the years and a whole series of split 7"s that pair up great and often unheard of English, American and Japanese bands. We agreed to do a split and when they mentioned the possibility of us going to Japan to play some shows we jumped at the chance. Bug from Idaho had roadied for us for two weeks in the spring in exchange for a ride back to Boise and had mentioned the fact that he would consider moving to Baltimore to play drums for us full time. The news about Japan sealed the deal and he moved out in August. The months before our departure seemed to fly by and had us all doing our part making preparations. We decided to fly out of Portland , Or. and play a show every night and drive across the country in 4 days. Every night was a 12 hour drive and then an attempt to catch up on sleep in the van or on the promoters floor, only to wake up and play the show and then drive all night again. There wasn't really any time for any crazy adventures to present themselves or to meet or hang out with old friends. We were in a constant state of flux and it took its toll. We arrived in Portland and made it to the airport exhausted. Horror stories about Japanese customs made me so nervous I couldn't sleep the entire 9 hour flight for fear we wouldn't be allowed into the country and we would have squandered our 2,500$ plane tickets not to mention the $1000 it cost for the t shirts and postage to ship them over. We however made it in without a hitch and when I think back I'm amazed we had the faith to come at all. Imagine receiving an email from someone in Japan in broken english and accepting an invitation to come play shows there , going out and buying very pricy plane tickets for the band, driving across the country in four days with a failing transmission, spending 1000$ on t-shirts and silkscreening equipment and postage to ship it all over there. Needless to say I was extemely relieved to meet up with our host Yoichi. We had no idea how reputable his record label was and in what great company we have be placed. The first night I think they must have thought we were light weights because when we got to Yoichi's tiny record filled apartment we pretty much were dead to the world and only wanted to sleep. The next day we got a chance to go to a resturant and begin trying the cuisine. We went to a video arcade and played some of the coolest games I've ever seen. I played one where I was rowing a boat through rapids and by the end I was drenched in sweat. The show that night was in the top of a shopping mall in a 12 story building. If you pulled back the curtains backstage you could see the cityscape below. We borrowed bass and guitar and drums and pretty much just used the club's amps ever night. It was a totally different experience than we are used to because we only had to show up and we were led around from show to show with pretty much the clothes on our back and the yen we exchanged the first day. It was amazing to us to be received by all these kids so wholeheartedly. The bands Yoichi had brought over before us earlier in the year were Hot Water Music, Braid, Discount and Dillinger Four. While we may consider those bands our peers neither we or anyone else in the states would place The Thumbs in their ranks as far as popularity is concerned. You would never know by the reception we got night after night. I can only imagine it was the same reaction that the other bands received. Yoichi leveled the playing field for us over there.
WED 9/29
Sept.29- We left Baltimore around midnight. We had a show at the Fireside in the next night, and we preferred to get on the road, rather than getting up at dawn. It seemed surreal that in 5 days, we would be boarding a plane for Japan..
THR 9/30:	Chicago,Il	@the fireside	w/Last Man Out, Low Profile, The Perps, Grinding Process
FR 10/1:	Minneapolis, Mn	@1021 House	w/The Hidden Chord,Amp 176
SAT 10/2:	Laramie, Wy.	@'Da House	w/Homeless Wonders, Custom Caravans
SUN 10/3:	Boise, Id.	@ Bug's House of Rock
MON 10/4:	Depart from Portland, OR.
TUE 10/5:	Arrive in Tokyo, Japan
The plane arrived on-time in Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon. We were so nervous. It was weird stepping out of the gate to the noise of a voice on the P.A. system, and realizing that we were not going to understand much of anything for the whole week. We are visitors in every sense of the word. We picked up our baggage with no problem, and headed off to the Customs office. Although most people we talked to said that they got through with absolutely no problem, we had heard a few horror stories of bands getting detained for questioning, and people getting sent home. We had a lot of money riding on this thing, and we were terrified that we weren't going to make it in. Luckily, we made it through Customs with no difficulty. Next, we had to go out into the airport, and find out if our ride showed up to pick us up. Yoichi (from Snuffy Smile) and Masa (from the Urchin) were supposed to pick us up "outside the airport" or "in the lobby". We found each other and Masa drove us to Yoichi's flat in Tokyo. Yoichi's place is tiny, packed with a ton of amazing records (he runs a distro.). We weren't playing a show that night, so we talked about going out on the town. But we were basically running out of gas. We had been playing shows every night, and then driving all night to the next town for four days. Then we drove all night to Portland to catch our flight. By 8:00 that night we were dead! We crashed out on Yoichi's floor-so much for the boisterous Americans! --Mike
WED 10/6:	Yokohama	@BB Street	w/Cradle to Grave, Fribee, Zero Fast
We played in this bar on the 12th floor of this building in the downtown area. We all carried the equipment throught the first floor (which was a shopping mall), to the elevator. We got there early (4:00) and did a sound check-very official. It turns out that all of the shows we played in Japan were like that. When we got to the club, they were erecting a "riot barrier" in front of the stage. It gave people a good railing to lean their beer on. We played the show, drove back to Tokyo, and fell asleep immediately. There were a couple of American guys there. They were army guys. It was weird talking to them, like it's natural that we would get along, being Americans and everything. I like having the language barrier to lean on.
THR 10/7:	Sendaii City	@Birdland	w/The Urchin, Myriad, Starter
This was probably the smallest of the shows-I think there were about 40 people there.
FRI 10/8:	Niigata	@Woody	w/The Urchin, Sleep a Little Bit,Spraypaint
SAT 10/9:	Hakata	@Community Center	w/The Urchin,Crop Circles, 8Roof,Pear of the West, Proof, Screaming Fat Rat
SUN 10/10:	Fukuyama
MON 10/11:	Nagoya	@Huck Finn	w/The Urchin, All Out, Navel
TUE 10/12:	Tokyo	@Shinjuku Jam	w/The Urchin, Eat to the Full, Soon
WED 10/13:	Plane Leaves Tokyo
WED 10/13:	Portland , OR @ Ej's	@Ej's	w/Thorazine and Lopez
THR 10/14:	San Francisco, CA	@ Sneeky's Peep Show	w/ Nofx, Thorazine and Divot
FRI 10/15:	San Diego, Ca.	@Scolari's Office	with Tiltwheel, Peaceful Meadows, Gay Navy (Vena Cava)
SAT 10/16:	Las Vegas, Nv.	a Parking Lot	w/ Tiltwheel, Civic Minded 5, X-Heroins memebers
SUN 10/17:	Denver ,Co	@Monkey Mania	with The Facet,Man Alive
MON 10/18:	Lincoln,Ne	@UNL Culture Center	w/Inhuman Form
TUE 10/19:	Warrensburg, Mi.	with Kosher
WED 10/20:	Chattanooga, Tn.	on the Riverboat	w/ Jack Pallance Band and Dillinger Four
THR 10/21:	All other Shows Cancelled