April 1, 2001
Lincroft, NJ

Hey, this is Brian here. So, you wanna hear about today eh? Today was grand. We played in this big gym and there were lots of people there. I got up around noon to go eat lunch. Let me tell you about lunch. We had soup and chocolate covered oreo’s. Mmmmm. After I talked on my cellular telephone for a while, that’s always a splendid time. Did I just use the word splendid? Ha, I did didn’t I. The show was good. I think I like New Jersey. Did we mention our love for combo’s and skittles? (hint hint) Well until the next time, don’t stop a rockin……Brian Lee Pittman

 

April 2, 2001
Erie, PA

Hello everyone! Thiessen back again today. We had a fun day today, though it was a little slow. Matt Hoopes’ girlfriend, Danielle came out to the show early to hang out. I slept in until 2:30 today. We had a great time playing the set, and I daydreamed about trained dolphins during a few of the songs. But, before the show, something absolutely crazy happened. This man, disguised as a robot, walked onto the bus, grabbed all of my coolest cd’s, and ate them. I just looked at him ,completely baffled, and said, “Man, you must have been hungry.” The robot turned to me and replied, “You don’t understand anything at all.” Seconds later he was gone. Weird, eh? Oh well, take it easy. Love, matthew Tea*psun. (silent “P”)

 

April 3, 2001
Day off- NYC (matt hoopes @ home)

Something that needs to happen at a certain point in everyone’s life happened to us today. We hit New York City (and the big apple never saw it coming… and we never saw a big apple). Today was an incredible day. I love going to New York City it makes me smile. The show in Pittsburgh was cancelled at the last minute which was a very sad thing but hopefully it will be rescheduled for the near future! Matt Hoopes decided to go to Ohio for the day and meet us in Scranton the next day. So the rest of us went to East Rutherford, NJ. and from there Dave, Matt Thiessen, and I took a bus into the city. Brian decided to hang out at the hotel for the day and take it easy. We walked everywhere and took the subway everywhere else. We ran into a few of the Supertones in Times Square right after they had been in the crowd for TRL smiling real big for the cameras. We chased pigeons in Times Square, had incredibly good Mexican food, went to the top of the Empire State building, chased squirrels in Central Park, then went to cool stores in Greenwich village and Soho, the World Trade Center, Battery Park, and topped the night off with some amazing strawberry cheesecake and milkshakes in Times Square. Then about 1am we started to head back to the hotel in NJ. We had a rough time getting back it seemed that no one at the port authority/ bus station knew anything or they just didn’t want to help us – actually they were pretty rude. so after getting on the sort of wrong bus because some told us it was the right one and a short taxi ride we made it back and we were not left behind! I would have to say that if you ever get a chance to spend a day in NYC you should. yep.
rock on. scott cannon.

 

April 4, 2001
Scranton, PA

greetings from “relient k land!” I thought that I would give you guys a little update through my eyes…dave’s eyes. I got up pretty late, as usual I suppose. I really don’t like sleeping past noon; unfortunately, I do almost everyday. my alarm goes off around 10 or 10:30 everyday, but I just don’t seem to be able to gather the strength to get out of my bunk….so I go to sleep again. it’s rather frustrating, in fact. anyway, once I awoke from my slumber I wandered in to check out the day’s venue. it was a gym, so the sound wasn’t going to be optimum for the show in the evening. it’s alright though, we always seem to have fun anyway. ….accept & adapt…. thiessen and I had to go to the post office to mail some things off, so we asked where one was at and promptly began walking. it was a fairly uneventful trip to the post office…just mailed our things off and walked back. brian almost got walked in on naked in our dressing room! he had just gotten out of the shower moments earlier and was getting his clothes on when some lady walked in to put food or towels or something into our dressing room. whoa! …remember to knock, ok?
later guys, dave

 

April 5, 2001
Philidelphia, PA

Today we played the Electric Factory. That’s the place where they make and manufacture electricity. It was a really cool club. Lot’s of people have played there, from Rod Stewart to the Foo Fighters to NSYNC to MXPX and Weezer. Matt T’s brother Randy and his wife Amanda get MAD PROPS. This is why…Their friends Christine and Bill (as well as Randy & Amanda) got us the biggest and the most wonderful bag of Easter candy ever beholded by mankind. Jerome who plays keyboard and guitar for Switchfoot hurt his foot during their set tonight he should be fine, but please keep him in your prayers. Matt Hoopes got a new road case for his Mesa Boogie cabinet which was definitely a cause for celebration. So we had a big party in the city of brotherly love…. oh yes Relient K felt the love tonight. Thank You, Good Night. Scott

 

April 6, 2001
Worchester, MA

Hold on a moment here!!! Are people supposed to be this cool? The crowd was amazing tonight! I guess that this evening’s show had been sold out for a month, and I suppose that everyone was really happy to be there. I think there was a little more than 3 grand in attendace tonight, and everyone was rad. We love playing in New England cause the scene is so fresh. I think it all kinda revolves around this super cool festival called Inside Out Soul Festival. I can’t wait till August when we get to play. I had a good day despite the chilly, rainy climate. I ate about 25 celery sticks for lunch, and chased it down with some grapefruit juice (my favorite). Brian Pittman did the silliest thing today. He had a cell phone, and he dropped it in the toilet!!! It totally busted, and he had to buy a new one….poor Brian. But, he had a good night anyway, cause he had about 10 of his relatives at the show. Uncle Jim is the best. Adam Ferry (the new drummer for the super*T’s) led a rad bible study in the afternoon. Everyday around 4, we have bible study on the tour. We sing a lot of praise songs, and read from the good book. Its always a good time of repentance and fellowship with my brothers from RK and CA. Good day over-all. I am happy. yay! matthew thiessen

 

April 7, 2001
Towson, MD

Today equals POOP. I had a rough one. I woke up and realized that I left all my clothes (which were in my suitcase) in Worchester, MA. Then, my wireless was broken, and my guitar (which I just fixed) needed more fixing. I missed an in-store, (time to hang out with kids at a bookstore) ’cause I needed to buy expensive boxer shorts. I found that I over-used my phone minutes by an hour, and I still have 10 days to go. BUT, the show was fun and I felt inspired to write a “Hip-hop rhyme” about it. Get a phat beat and rap it to yourself….

YO Yo kiddies.
We just played a show in Mary-land
Everyone yelled and clapped their hands
Tonight was a real good rocking time
A bunch of pigs is a herd of swine
Robots came from outer-space
One just tried to steal my face
I know I’m cute, but what’s the deal?
How’s that supposed to make me feel?
I just want to get back my suitcase
And blow up ‘bots from outer space.
UH…Yeah….Uh….yeah…..Matthew thiessen

 

April 8, 2001
Ocean City, NJ

When everyone else braved the cold, rainy weather to explore the beach, I slept in till 4pm. But, I thought Ocean City was supposed to be this modern day Atlantis. I mean, I was expecting this underwater town with mermaids and people riding around on sea horses and stuff. I have to admit I was really disappointed, but we were close to the ocean. The show was on this peir, and it was nice. We had a blast (as usual), but I’m still trying to figure out if the crowd was a group of human beings, or robots that were programed not to have any fun. I like horses. My friend Maggie (from Chicago) is sending me some clothes in the mail, cause I still don’t have my suitcase. She works at this rad vintage clothing store, and I am excited for some clean threads. She’s the best. Day off tomorrow. Wheeeee!!!! Love and Peace and Pizza…Matthew Thiessen

 

April 9, 2001
Columbus, OH (day off)

Whoa. Unexpected day off! Bonus. I totally didn’t realize that we had a day off today, and I was rather pleased when I realized that we would be in our home state. The weather was warm and sunny, and I decided to wear short sleeves. Wait. No, I had to wear short sleeves because I only had ONE shirt. (my others are with my pants and boxers in my suitcase in Massachusetts). Surprisingly enough, the way that I smelled was still rather pleasant. Matt Hoopes’ girly girlfriend, Danielle, came down to visit us, and she brought my buddy, Ashley, with her (they’re sisters). We all had a delightful time visiting the shopping mall and such. Then, we had a really weird coincidence. The manager at the hotel we were staying at had promoted a Relient K show in Massachusetts, and when he found out that we were staying there, he offered to take us out for dinner. We politely accepted, and we had a great time catching up with Matt, his wife, and their 2 month old son. I promised myself that I would try to avoid writing about robots, but I think I just screwed that up. The evening was sprinkled with a light April shower that seemed to say, “Ahhh…let me be the perfect end to a delicious spring day.” matthew thiessen

 

April 10, 2001
Owensboro, KY

Good old Kentucky. Nice state. Yummy chicken. Not many robots, though. The very first OUTDOOR show of the year was today! And, I’m sure there are many more to follow. The prospect of rain was a constant worry today, due to the fact that we had no covering over the stage. But, the good Lord sent the storms somewhere else, and we had a nice show in a field. The bummer was that the cops got called on the Supertones, cause folks 10 blocks away were complaining (I guess they don’t like ska). We played at an old college today, and it reminded me of when I used to have to attend school. I didn’t like it very much. I don’t think people should educate themselves at all (I’m kidding). I heard that I may receive my luggage tomorrow, and I’m pretty stoked. I wish I had a laser for an arm. Next time we’re gonna be in Kentucky will be the Icthus Fest. I think everyone and their mother should come. Especially mine. Love ya, MOM…matthew thiessen

 

April 11, 2001
Nashville, TN

Today was a hot day. It felt really good. I like it a lot when it is warm out. Today was the first day that I have felt the effects of pollen in the form of allegies. I think I forgot that I even had allergies at all, so it was kind of a surprise. But other than that, it was a pretty great time. This was definitely one of the better times we’ve had in the state of tennesee. Matt T. got his suitcase back today, but when he opened it, he discovered that it was filled with a starfish and 12 lobsters.. During the day we went around town and went to jack in the box for lunch. We also stopped in at the music store and this big used cd store called the great escape. Matt T got less than jake’s “hello rockview”, which is one cd that should just never be in a used cd store. But other than that, the show went pretty well and it was our most rockin show ever in Nashville. All our homies and dudes from the gotee came out. It was good to see them again. Even Toby MaC came to check out the show and hang out. There were lots of kids at the show and it was luckily not a bunch of dudes in suits. At one point in the show, I even thought I saw a robot in the crowd. But that will be all for today. peace* matthewHoopes

“Hey Joe, Get Out of My Bunk!”

a short story by Scott Cannon

There comes a time in everyones life that something not quite right – something that should not even happen, happens… that is exactly what happened to me last night. We left Nashville at approximately 2:30am and I promptly went to my bunk and went to sleep. A couple of hours later I began to wake up because I thought people were pushing me for some reason, I was confused but I wasn’t fully awake yet. Then I suddenly woke up and realized that I was pushed up against the wall and it was very very hot. Then I turned on the light and saw someones feet in my face, and realized there was someone in my bunk. Needless to say I was very confused and I thought why is there someone in my bunk, why is this happening to me, this is not right, all I want to do is sleep. So I tried to wake up the person and he wouldn’t wake up. then I tried to push him out but that didn’t work either. At this point I realized who it was, It was Joe who is the monitor engineer on the tour. So I began to say “hey Joe why are you in my bunk… hey Joe wake up…. hey joe get out of my bunk!” He would not wake up and he would not budge. All I could think about at this point was to escape. Since I was crammed into the wall and feeling clausterphobic I had to get out… but this would not be an easy task. So I pushed my way out and went head first out of the bunk ( this is not the best way since the bunk is not on ground level) so basically I roll out head first four feet down. You can imagine how relieved I was I was free! So I went to the back and slept on the couch. In the morning, John the sound guy, asked why I slept on the couch and I said because Joe is in my bunk. and he said “what?” and went to my bunk to wake joe up. he yelled “hey Joe! wake up” and Joe said “what” and John said You’re in Scott’s bunk” and Joe replied “what are you talking about?” So as it turned out, Joe was either sleep walking or got turned around and confused and crawled into the wrong bunk…. I just hope it doesn’t happen again!

 

April 12, 2001
Memphis, TN

Today was pretty much an uneventful day for me. I woke up at 11 and then I didn’t feel well, so I went back to sleep and woke up at 1. That was ok though, because I felt better when I woke up. Matt T walked to an outlet mall and bought a new pair of khakis for only $10. That’s a good deal for a pair of pants. The show was in the smallest room yet on the tour, also with the smallest stage. It was inside this church didn’t really look like a traditional church. It almost looked like a really huge trailer from across the street. When I woke up this morning, the bus was parked in a hotel parking lot and no one was around and I just couldn’t figure out where the show was. The show was really cool, it was a really small and a really hot. The kids were really rockin and I am sure the supertones are making everbody sweat right now. Right now Brian and Scotty and I are watching Seinfeld on tv, which is in my opinion one of the most inspired comedies of the 20th century. We have a whole lot of skittles that were given to us yesterday by our good friend sweet sara (our pal that works at Forefront records). We like combos a lot too, by the way. One of the funniest things that have ever happened to us occurred last night. But, since it happened to Scott Cannon (our beloved sound guy), we’ll let him tell the tale. Well then…I must go for now. So you will have to wait until tomorrow. Have a wonderful and blessed day. adios. MatthewHoopes

 

April 13, 2001
Ardmore, OK

Hello everyone! This is Brian. Today was friday the 13th. Ooooooo. Actually it wasn’t that scary, but you can imagine. I got up and decided i wanted to go for a walk. I heard there was a wal-mart about a mile from the venue so i set out to find it. I walked for a long time and realized i wasn’t going to find it. It would have been nice to buy some more boxer shorts. I did find a place called super cuts! That is where i got my haircut. They tried to shampoo my hair and do all this stuff! I finally got them to just cut my hair. I walked back to get something to eat b/c all that walking made me very hungry. It was a hot day but after a while i went and found a junk store. Matt hoopes and scotty came back with big striped socks, they think they are so cool….. I went to see what the store had for me. It had nothing. On the way back i found a shoe store. I bought shoes that make me run faster, jump higher, and do a lot of other stuff as well. The show was bunches of fun as usual and we had a great time in Ardmore! Till next time…. brian pittman

 

April 14, 2001
Six Flags over Texas (Arlington, TX)

Yeah Hoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! We got to play at the raddest place ever today. Want to know where? An AMUSEMENT PARK! Amusement. AMUSE. We were very amused. Roller Coasters? YES. Amusement? Double yes. Smiles all around? Of course. I woke up at 9 am and began my journey. Six Flags amusement parks are all themed around super heroes. This one centered around BATMAN. I love batman. I rode the MR. Freeze roller coaster 3 times. I rode the Batman 3 times. I rode some wooden ride twice. I had a great (GREAT) time. Our set was only ten minutes, and it wasn’t the best performance we’ve ever had. But, ROLLER COASTERS. take it easy. MATT THIESSEN.

 

April 15-16, 2001
Nashville, TN (Days Off)

Happy Easter…the Relient K boys decided to take it easy for the holiday. We ate food, slept, and watched a few episodes of the Simpsons. BORING. matthew thiessen

 

April 17, 2001
Clearwater, Florida

Hey everybody! Brian here. Today was so awesome! We got to hit the beach before the show! Matt Thiessen and I decided we wanted to catch a manatee. After we thought about it for a while we decided the next step would be to eat it. What else would we do with it? We swam for a while but came across no manatee. I think they are a lot faster than we had expected. What do you think a manatee would taste like? We thought it would be a good combination of bubble gum and peanut butter. We still hold the title as the whitest band on the beach. I think people actually stopped to behold all of us laying on the sand trying to be tan. I also had a incident with tanning lotion and my mouth. I was joking with Matt T. about eating it and all the sudden it shot into my mouth. It tasted nothing like coconuts. The show was a lot of fun and we had a great time playing for the spoiled beach kids :-) Well i better go check on my tan brian

 

April 18, 2001
Cleveland, TN

We played at Lee University today, and we had a good time. I daydreamed about robots that killed deadly viruses such as ECOLI. John Rueben had ECOLI, but he got rid of it. I’m glad about that. Anyway, we met up with a friend of ours from Ohio, and he showed us around campus. He hooked us up with some internet time, and repeatedly tried to force Ho ho’s and twinkies down our throats. We weren’t hungry. After the show, we were informed that there were some girls soccer games happening. I asked a chick if we could play, and she said we could. Brian and I went to the store and bought some yellow yarn to wear on our heads so we looked like girls. We kicked butt in the soccer match. It was also my Mom’s birthday today. Happy birthday mom. Rock on kiddies. matthew thiessen.

 

April 20, 2001
Snellville, GA

Good old Georgia. I bought a Journey’s greatest hits CD today. Its pretty good. We got to see some really good friends today, and our favorite Atlanta promoter (Barb Mcbride) hooked us up with some rice crispy treats. MMM…thanks concert mom. Scotty, Dave, and Matt Hoopes went out to steak and shake after the show, while I stayed back and played some Madden 2001 on my playstation 2. I beat the computer, which is kind of like winning against a robot. In Bible study we talked about unity and how God can use the tour as a body to have a stronger impact. With unity comes communication, and as a tour, we try to be really upfront with each other. But, after a lot of heavy pondering, my final thought for today was…Who in their right mind would name a town Snellville? That’s silly. Matt T.

 

April 21, 2001
Birmingham, AL

Birmingham, wow…. My name is Brian, I play bass guitar in relient k. So, lets talk about Birmingham. Today I had the awesome privelage of meeting our sound guy Scotty’s parents. They came and picked up Matt h., Scotty, and I. We got to go to the Alabama Thrift store, then a pawn shop, then to a cd store, then finally to a big mall. I had a great time hanging out with them before the show. On the way back we bought strawberry smoothies and I smiled a lot. The show was a lot of fun. The kids reminded me of robots programed to have fun. Although there were no robots readily available it would have topped off the evening. I think we have a rather busy week ahead of us. We get to go to GMA week in Nashville and hang out. I love you all…. Mr. Pittman

 

April 22-25, 2001
Nashville, TN – GMA week

GMA week was OK. We played a show, did a photo shoot for the new album with Ms. Pac Man and walked around in Nashville…Sincerely, Relient K

 

April 26, 2001
Ichtus Festival – Wilmore, KY

hey kiddies and internet fun-finders…this is the other matt. I know I don’t write these very much and mine are usually the most boring, but you will have to sit through this anyway. We had a rad show at icthus. We were the first band to play the entire festival, along with our homies Switchfoot and 5 Iron Frenzy, who played right after us. We received many a bag of combos and skittles, which was a nice surprise. Even some robots who were there with their youth group decided to bring us some combos. On the way to the show, Scotty played us this disc he got with the new weezer cd, it was pretty nifty. I met a man walking around with a pair of all duct-tape pants, it was something that you only really would see at a festival. We played some new songs and people seemed to like them, although it was a little strange playing on the main stage. After the show, we saw the five iron set and made them do some push ups afterward. Then we left for Nashville at about 1 in the morning in a van with all our stuff and also this guy aaron james who used to work at 5 minute walk. He is one great dude. But I guess that was all. I kinda wish that we could have stayed around for longer, but sometimes things are just really busy I suppose. So see ya later, bye – Matthew H

 

April 27, 2001
Nashville, TN

We played a showcase in a movie theater this afternoon. You know the bottom floor in those big theaters? I go see movies sometimes, and I think “It’d be kinda cool to have a show at the bottom of the theater below the big screen. We could have a movie going on at the same time…that’d be fun.” Well, we got to do it. We didn’t do that well though, but that’s the thing with showcases. If its for business, it usually sucks. Sorry. But, for all of you that were unaware (which is probably everyone) I had been waiting for Friday, April 27 for a long while. We flew into O’Hare airport in Chicago around 7p.m., and there waiting for me was my buddy Maggie. It was so good to see her. I can’t express my happiness and do it justice, but if you were here sitting beside me, I would give you a smile and two thumbs up. We hung out, had some vegetarian hot pockets, and joked about robots that can grow bushy mustashes. Over and out of style-Matt thiessen.

 

April 28, 2001
Palos Heights (Chicago), IL

We had a really good time tonight. I felt really good about the show. We love playing in Chicago. I got yelled at by this security lady, in a very not nice way. But that’s always fun. I read a poll in a magazine that showed that robots’ favorite movies are action films staring Mel Gibson. Go figure. Again, we had some good friends come visit today, and, in the evening, all of us had pleasant dreams about the delightful events of the day gone by. Matty Thiessen

 

April 29, 2001
Grand Rapids, MI

Hello everybody. This is Brian. I decided I would like to be called Bp from now on. Relient K always enjoys a good Grand Rapids crowd. I had a friend named Ashley drive down to the show with her mother and friend named Sara. They brought us these super rad wristbands in a yellow yoohoo bag. We ate most of the wristbands, but then these robots scolded us and said “hey, stop eating those wristbands”, so we stopped. Thiessen and I decided they were so mad b/c they technically don’t have wrists, and they became insanly jealous when they saw us wasting them. When dealing with robots you have to be sensitive. The show was great fun. The stage was one of the bigger ones on this tour so that was really tough to play on. I think this was one of the best food days ever. We had pasta, made to order, right in front of our eyes. The cooks were really cool and I heard they used to do cooking for destiny’s child. I never thought I would type out the band name destiny’s child but there is a first time for everything. I am a survivor, not gonna give up, ect ect ect…brian (maybe I should try and join destiny’s child)

 

April 30, 2001
Peoria, IL (Day Off)

Hey internet people. This is Bp. A day off. Yeah!!! Today I got up and took a much needed shower. One of the weirdest things about being on the road is not always having the best shower situations. Hotels rock b/c they always have showers, go figure. After I washed I decided to go hit the town. I caught up to our lighting guy 2-tone, and Dan Spencer (from the supertones) and we decided eating would be a good idea. The mall of peoria was no picnic. I don’t claim to be an expert on malls but this was one of the worst. The food court had this pizza place in it and we thought, how could we go wrong? Things went down hill very soon. Prices were bad, food was worse. I ordered a calzone. Their verson of this was two pieces of bread, pepperoni, onions, peppers, american cheese, served ice cold in the middle. I ate some of it, then decided I should let them know it wasn’t entirely cooked. The lady felt so bad and quickly offered my money back. I was really surprised b/c I thought she would be mad at me. I went and bought a mint chocolate chip milkshake and I was happy!! They did, however, have converse all-stars! I bought a pair. I think the rumor of them going out of buisness is true. I don’t really wanna talk about that though. Later we went to see Castaway. It was good cheap entertainment. Scotty has a really bad tooth problem. Everyone keep him in mind. Till next time…BP