February 2001
February 14, 2001
Hello world! Today is the fifth show on the tour so far. We’re in Anderson, SC and I’m really looking forward to getting out there to rock. The tour has been pretty fantastic so far, with lots of eventful days. We’re still trying to get in the groove of things, because a tour like this is still pretty radically different for us. We’re on a tour bus for the first time, and I think we’re slowly turning into stuck-up brit/rock stars with bad teeth. (just kidding-my teeth are fine) We’re really grateful for all the incredible things the Lord has given us. It seems like when things couldn’t get any better, God comes along and drops another blessing in our laps. Every show has been a blast to date. We’ve been through Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. The Norfolk, Virginia show was especially rad because we were in this really nice club that had pretty much anything a band could ask for. (video games, sauna, hot tub, amazing catering, basketball, ect…) The day after that show was a day off, and we hung out in Norfolk. That day was a lot of fun, because the busses were parked right by a three-story mall. Matt, Brian, and I got kicked out of the mall by security cause I was climbing on this marble planter thingy, but Brian and I snuck back in later to go to a movie. We disguised ourselves, and it was a lot of fun. Well, its Valentines Day, and I really need to go play so I don’t stay bummed out about this chick that doesn’t like me…Hope to see you guys on the road… Love ya, matthew thiessen
February 15, 2001
hey boys and girls that are currently observing our website tour diary….I am happy. We are happy. You should be happy too. Again we’re having a blast out here on what they call “the road”. The valentines show in Anderson, SC was really rad last night. The show was crazy fun, and I had macaroni for supper. The tour teamed up with True Love Waits, and a ton of kids pledged to pre-marital purity. Tonight we just rocked Augusta, GA’s swimming trunks off. It was what I like to refer to as a “good show”. We’re off to Jacksonville tomorrow, and I hope the sun decides to shine (cause I think I may just be the palest male-ist on the planet….[I just made up the expression "palest male-ist" by the way]) I hope you guys keep rockin. God bless, x MATTHEW THIESSENx
February 18, 2001
Dear diary…omigosh…its been so crazy lately. at lunch today tommy told rhonda that I had a crush on her, and rhonda told tommy that she caught me picking my boogers during science class, and that I was the grossest boy in school. I was soooo embarassed. And then, after I spilled my chocolate milk all over my pants… oh geez, wrong diary….um…so, Relient K, yeah rock and roll…. well, we played some shows. Shows are fun. Jacksonville, Florida is a great place to play a show. In fact, we did, and it was great. I had chick fil-a for lunch. mmmm. Then, the very next day, we played a show in Orlando. Now, Orlando is also one of the finer places to play a show. I woke up too late to get any of the split pea soup for lunch, but I made it till supper. Ethan, the new guitarist for the Supertones, and I finished working on a song for our new country side-project. We’re called Stuart Ransom Miller, and hopefully we’ll make some of our amazing music available to the public before too long. We had a lot of fun playing the set, and we decided to play a new song called “May the Horse Be With You”. It didn’t go over that well, but it’ a fun song. Next time I’m sure everone will eat it up… Ok, well, Hoopes is gonna fill you guys in on the two other rock shows we’ve had recently. Over and out…. Matt Thiessen
February 18, 2001
Ft. Pierce, Fl
Hi Kids. This is the other Matt. I’m probably not going to be as funny as Matt T, but you guys are just gonna have to put up with it. I don’t really know what to write in a tour diary, I have honestly never really written a diary before. But here is my best attempt. Once again it was great to be playing in the great state of Florida. We didn’t get to go to the beach at all but the weather was still a nice change. The show was in some huge arena, and it was really old, it is always strange to play in places so big. The guys in Switchfoot and the Supertones are really rad and it is fun to chill with them. We got to eat really big tacos for dinner. After the show everyone was goofing around on this huge grand piano and Matt Thiessen broke out a few of his pop-ballads from Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes. It was a fun time for everybody. The tour is going great so far. I miss home a little, it’s sometimes hard to be away from my family and my girlfriend and my dog, but I love to be out on tour and meet new people and see new places. Tomorrow we have the day off, I think we are rolling to Tallahassee. so I will check you homies later. Have a great day. agape – Matthew Hoopes
February 20, 2001
Mandeville, LA
Hello boys and girls. Day 2 of your Relient K tour diary with narration by Matthew Hoopes. This morning I took a shower because I haven’t taken one in 2 days. Ethan , Adam and I went to Burger King for lunch. I had a whopper jr combo and it was great. If you have never tried a whopper jr, it is a great thing. I haven’t been to a fast food restaurant since we left for tour. Today we played in an old skating rink just outside of New Orleans, I don’t think we’ll have a chance to go into the city, but that’s ok. The show was so hot, the lights and the crowd and everything just made everything hot and sweaty by the end of our 20 minute set. It was really rad. Switchfoot couldn’t play tonight because they flew back to California because they were nominated for a grammy, I am not sure what for, but I am sure they will have fun. So anyways, in place of Switchfoot the promoter got Christian rapper, T-bone…It was quite a wild night. It just isn’t everyday you get to open for a guy like T-bone. He’s a pretty nice guy and he still has got the mad skills. right on. It feels good to sit here and cool off in the bus, but for now I will have to say peaceout. Maybe I will say hi again soon. don’t stop a rockin… Matthew
February 21, 2001
Little Rock, AR
Hello everyone! This is Brian taking over today. We played a show in Little Rock, Arkansas and it was a great time. I believe the place was called the TNT POWERHOUSE. I found that it lived up to its name. Relient K loves to play video games. They had all kinds of pool tables, pinball machines, playstations, and this really awesome motorcycle game. They were also free so I spent a lot of time there. We were still missing the Switchfoot guys so it was just us and the Supertones. We got to play a half an hour set and it was hot! The food today was pretty great. We had this home-made soup for lunch, then Mexican for dinner. I like food. With that I must be signing out…. Stay in school, because Mr. T says so. Your home-boy on the low tones-Brian Pittman.
February 22, 2001
Oklahoma City, OK
So, you wanna know what Relient K did today, huh? Well, here’s the low down… ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Today is a day off in Oklahoma City, and I’m bored out of my mind. The Supertones got to go to Tulsa to hang out with our brothahs in Philmore. I’m pretty sad that we don’t get to see them. I happen to be in love with those guys. I decided to roll out of my bunk around 1:30, and since then I’ve played some video games on the bus and talked to some people on the phone. I’m so BORED. Dave (our new drummer) and Scott (our sound engineer/road manager) both took the bus into down town OK City. I hope they’re having fun. I want to find a local high school and walk around in the halls and try and get detention. I think its fun to get detention at a school you don’t even attend. Its like getting in trouble and not having to deal with the consequences. Alright, I better get cracking, school will be letting out soon. Love you guys-Matthew Thiessen
February 23, 2001
Albequerque, NM
(A conversation between a famous rapper and Matthew Thiessen.)”Ok, today was a good day. I didn’t even have to use my A.K.” said Ice-Cube. I replied “Well, Mr. Ice-Cube, I also had a great day myself. You see, I rolled out of my bunk at 10:30 am, and looked out over the wonderful town of Albequerque, New Mexico. I said to myself ‘Matthew, take this day that the good Lord has given you and make something of it’. And then I proceeded to do so. I did some really crazy things. I played video games, I watched a movie, I ate some Wendy’s for lunch, and then I thought about taking a shower (but I did not-I decided to wait until I was all gross and sweaty AFTER the show). The show itself was a blast. The crowd was one of the best yet on this tour, and they had this ability to put a permanent smile on my face. I couldn’t stop grinning even if killer dogs would’ve tried to eat my face. After the show, Matt Hoopes and Brian each gave me a dollar to wear my old-man pajamas to sign autographs and stuff. I am two dollars richer, my friend. And then, Ice-Cube, I ended my day by slipping into my bunk and indulging myself with my devotions. I read a chapter in this book that I’m going through by Max Lucado. It was about that one guy that was posessed by a legion of demons, but later was purified and commisioned to missions. God showedme that you don’t have to have a perfect track record to be a good witness of Christ. So…there you have it. That was my day.”
February 24, 2001
Las Cruses, NM
One QUESTION….What nationality group rocks out at Supertones, Switchfoot, and Relient K shows? ANSWER: New Mexicans. To be quite frank with all y’all out there, I like playing in New Mexico. I enjoy it. A lot. OK? The kids are nice. The adults are nice. The animals are a little shy (I was chasing some birds earlier), and all in all good times are had. The typical pre-show routine was carried out today. You know….get up, shower (I didn’t today), do the stuff you only do when there’s nothing super fun and exciting to do, eat, go deep sea fishing, set up the gear, ect…Hoopes, Scott, and I went to Bennigans for some authentic New Mexican cuisine…and we enjoyed ourselves. Um…I’m gonna write a little bit about something really cool that’s going on with the Loud and Clear Dance Party tour… We’re out with this really rad organization called Interlinc. Interlinc is a tool that connects the Christian music industry with youth ministries. Their representitive, Todd, is on our bus, and he is a really good new friend of the band. “I get to chat with youth pastors and kids every night, to see what they got out of the concert. Tonight we had some really great response. I talked to a girl that brought her two unsaved brothers, and she said that they were really into the show. She has a feeling that they may change their minds about Christianity being boring all the time.” Interlinc is a great way to tie in the music with the message, and I’m sure we’ll keep you guys updated with what’s happenin’ with Todd on the road. Love ya. Word. Matthew Thiessen.
February 25, 2001
Tucson, AZ
Hello everybody! This is the homie on the low tones, as Matt T. loves to say. I am writing from our hotel room in Arizona. We had the day off today. We are on route to San Deigo, California. I slept in pretty late today. Then Scotty (Mr. soundman) and I went walking downtown. We found some cool shops but everything was too pricey. We found that hippies love to hang out in downtown Tucson. After we got done hanging with the hippies we walked back to the hotel. There we met up with the rest of the K kids along with Todd (from interlinc) and called up some cabs. We went to the mall to see what was around. We ate at a place called Red Robin. Matt Hoopes once ate 8 baskets of fries there. He is a legend. If you didn’t know, they have bottemless fries, its very cool. We managed to not get kicked out of this mall 
We went to see a movie and then we ended up back at the hotel. It was a pretty good day. Matt Thiessen has been hurting lately. I think his wisdom teeth are bothering him. Please keep this in your prayers. If you guys would send money, lots of money, we could go get him all fixed up. Just kidding, of course. Well i better go get some rest, my head is killing me. We are looking forward to playing California the next week. Maybe we can hit the beach and show off our muscles. Till next time, Godbless……Brian
February 26, 2001
San Diego, CA
Hey guys…its me again. We had a fun day today in San Diego. We were hoping that the weather would be a little less rainy and overcast, but the sun was hiding today. It was a unique show today cause both Switchfoot and the Supertones are from the area, and about 200 people were friends with or related to the bands. I called it friends and family night. (nobody really thought that was funny except for me). Josh and Joey from Pax 217 came to hang out, and Matt Hoopes’ girlfriend, Danielle (and her “rad Dad” Fred) was there too. My wisdom tooth is really killing me, but I’ve got heaven to look forward to. Love you guys. Matthew Thiessen
February 27, 2001
Bakersfield, California
…another day on the road with the dance party tour, & it turned out to be a great one. unfortunately we’re in California and I have to wear a jacket ’cause its a bit chilly outside…isn’t California supposed to be warm? I’ve heard disappointing reports of the crowds out in California, but we wouldn’t have know it from this crowd. about 1800 people showed up, ready to jump around, dance, scream, and just have a great time in general. another bonus with the show was the awesome group of staff and volunteers who helped run the show. …and the food was excellent! we met a great guy at the show who has his own clothing company, his name is Jake…I love this guy. he has two lines of clothing, “crown” and “thorn.” he hooked us up with a couple of shirts that are pretty killer. both lines have great designs and some of the crown ones have bible verses on them; the thorn shirts are more subtle. I personally picked up a thorn shirt. it’d be awesome if you guys would check out his website and maybe even order something…you won’t regret it. …thornboardingco.com thanx guys & girls. I’ll talk to you soon.dave.
February 28, 2001
Fresno, CA
Sup homies. Today we played in Fresno and we had a great show. It was a bunch of fun and there were lots of skittles in the dressing room. So it was pretty much an all around good day. Earlier we did this crazy thing where we went to this high school and played a show at lunch. It wasn’t a christian school, and no one had ever heard of us before. The show was really rough cause we had lots of sound problems, and it was really kind of an awkward situation for us to be there in the first place, but we got to talk to some of the kids after the show and they were really cool. They all wanted us to sign their backpacks and stuff…The school was also really crazy, it felt a lot like a prison and there were sniper towers and lots of fences and walls. wild. California is alright, but I would like it a lot better if we could go to see the ocean. There were a lot of people at the show tonight, I really can’t complain about the crowd size on this tour so far. Switchfoot and the Supertones are also great people to hang out with. I really feel at home with those dudes…well, I suppose that is all for today. check ya later. matthewH