On the Road with Mooney Tyson
By Chris Reinbold, Staff Writer
I’ve written quite a bit in the past about touring as an independent band, from documenting the touring process of a DIY ensemble, to discussing where tours and the live experience fit in the modern business model of independent music. Well, here I am, at it again, this time with my newest band, Athens-based indie-punk outfit, Mooney Tyson.
Tour crew:
Judd Hynes: Lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Addam Ewing: Lead guitar
Myself: Bass, backing shouts and half-assed “whoa-ohs”
Tony Keffer: Drums, backing shouts and half-assed “whoa-ohs”
Olen Queen: Photographer and general “tour dad”
DAY ONE: 5/7 Cincinnati, OH
After rising early, I departed my hometown of St. Clairsville, OH and picked up Addam from our practice space two hours away in his hometown of Parkersburg, WV. We made our way to the point where we, along with Judd and Tony, would convene for a quick practice and some mighty nice hangs before tour started. We met at Judd’s house just in time for dinner. For not playing together in a while, we were unbelievably solid. We chilled out that night, got into some shenanigans and prepared for our kick-off the next day at Maudie’s Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati.
DAY TWO: 5/8 Cincinnati, OH [Maudie’s]
Mooney Tyson was awake around 2:30 p.m., albeit nowhere near fully functional. We snacked on some Totino’s and loaded up the van (affectionately referred to as “The Moosetery Machine”). We were prepared to take on what the next week would throw at us.
We departed from the suburbs around 8 p.m. and arrived in the craziness that is downtown Cincinnati one hour and incorrect trip down a one-way street later. We secured a prime parking spot at the curb in front of the venue, which was found above a downtown pizza shop, bustling with both club-hoppers and punk kids.
We loaded all of the gear up the creaking stairs, sweating worse than we did during our set. The stairs opened to a small foyer with the poorly lit Maudie’s entryway. The venue was a small corridor with a bar tended by a well-dressed urban hipster at one end and a stage area with a gigantic open window on the other. We set up and played our hearts out to open the show.
Next up was Go Go Buffalo, a Cincinnati ensemble best described as a manic Clutch with Jack Black as their frontman. They brought handfuls of energy to the stage, making for an incredible live show. Then was Lexington-native Bad People, a three-piece instrumental group heavily influenced by psychedelic rock and post-hardcore. Closing out the night was another local, Day Needs Night, with a sound akin to Beastie Boys with a large dose of reggae-rock. After the show, we crashed at Judd’s suburban abode.
DAY THREE: 5/9 Middleport, OH [Wayne’s Place]
The four of us jumped into the Moosetery Machine and departed for Racine, a small town in southeastern Ohio, to add Olen to the party. We knocked on his door as he was combing his hair and throwing all of his clothes and photography gear into a bag. We quickly hit the road again, stopping for a fast dinner at a McDonald’s, ordering a pizza. We noshed the pies and flew down the road to our next stop, Wayne’s Place, a dive similar to Athens’ own Smiling Skull, complete with a rowdy crew of bearded locals.
After loading in, we decided to shoot a few games of pool. In the process, some townies walked into the pool room very visibly intoxicated and tried to sell us weed, getting furious when we said we weren’t interested. Judd and I stepped out of the room and kept watch over our gear.
A couple hours later, the show started with the comedic and slightly metallic style of Parkersburg’s Sealed for Phreshness. They wrapped up their always entertaining set and next on the stage was another Parkersburg band and some of our good friends, What to Say at a Funeral, whose brand of black metal-tinged hardcore got the blood flowing and excitement rushing for our set.
Mooney Tyson was third on the night. We got up onstage and ripped as hard as we could, as shows are always better with some familiar faces! I flailed around like one of the inflatable tube people outside of a car dealership and stomped around with Addam. Judd brings a more theatrical presence to the stage with his show choir background and his insanely high energy whenever he breaks out his trumpet, jumping around the venue and climbing whatever he can. Tony holds down the foundation on the drums, flinging his arms like a mad man. The night was rounded out by Parkersburg’s We Are Funhouse who delivered an impeccably smooth and polished set of rock ‘n’ roll in the vein of The Neighbourhood and Arctic Monkeys.
During We Are Funhouse’s set, we could see police lights outside the side door of the bar. Sealed for Phreshness’ guitarist Brooks Martin stepped out and came back in. We found the store next door had been broken into and supposedly had a safe stolen. Judd and I immediately ran to the van to make sure everything was unharmed. After Olen reorganized the van because we packed it “wrong,” we loaded ourselves into a significantly more spacious Moosetery Machine.
DAY FOUR: 5/10 Canton, OH [The Buzzbin]
We awoke just short of the crack of noon at Addam’s. His mother was chilling in the living room with Tony, Judd and I as Addam slept sound in his bed. She checked and made sure we were okay and slept fine. We all answered in the affirmative, except for the fact that I had to battle their needy pug for the use of my sleeping bag most of the night.
The band had slept well the past few nights, despite not getting to bed before the early hours of the morning. We laughed and joked, still ecstatic to be out on the road and surprised that no fights had broken out among any members. By this point of the tour with The Welcoming Party, Addam and I were going at each other’s throats arguing.
Before we left, Addam’s grandma made a stop at the house, bringing with her a boatload of KFC. We tore through it as if we hadn’t eaten in days, trying to eat our fill for the rest of the day. After decimating the food, we snapped a few pictures with Grandma and hit the road for Canton, OH.
We arrived at Canton’s Buzzbin to an empty bar, except for some regulars and the bartender. The streets were deserted and nothing was open within an eight-block radius. It was only about 7 p.m. We were not feeling too hot about this date. The closing act Pizza Ghost had to drop off due to a family emergency, which left just us and our acoustic opener, Andrew Kilgore of Kneck of the Woods. Andrew opened the show with some loose, subdued acoustic covers, perfect for chilling out and sipping some tall boys.
Olen and I approached Andrew after his set and asked if he wanted to play guitar for a song before Mooney Tyson took the stage. The song was Blink-182’s “Dammit.” We took to the stage, with Andrew in Addam’s place and Olen taking the reigns at vocals. Olen spoke into the mic, “We’re The Shitties,” and abruptly a completely unrehearsed Blink jam began.
After playing only the first half of the first verse and two choruses, complete with an impromptu solo by Judd, Olen declared, “We’re The Shitties … Fuck you!” When Mooney Tyson finally took the stage, we looked out to the sparse audience and recognized some good friends from Athens. We still threw down, enjoying every second of it. That night we crashed with our future apartment mate, Dylan.
DAY FIVE: 5/11 – Detroit, MI [Phoenix Café]
We parted ways early that afternoon as we made our way to our next stop, Detroit. It had been over 11 years since I had been anywhere near the notorious hometown of Eminem and the MC5.
The Moosetery Machine encountered a monstrous thunderstorm around the Toledo area and got caught up in an hour-long standstill. A semi-truck had flipped and we saw that the cab of the truck was charcoal. We cruised up I-75 and saw the famous, giant Detroit Pistons basketball in an old manufacturing yard. We rolled the windows down as a pungent scent wafted through the breeze.
At eight, I was unaware of the state the city was in, except for the small remarks my parents made as we drove down 8 Mile Road. Now I was able to grasp the ruin the city was in and how it was driven there. It was poignant and rattling to a see a city that was once such a metropolis fueled by the automotive and manufacturing industries, now nothing more than a ghost town. Although we saw the dilapidated remains of a once vibrant city around us, we were bursting at the seams with exhilaration to try our hand at one of the most renowned punk and DIY cities in the region.
We arrived at the Phoenix Café under an overcast sky. We loaded in and met one of the opening bands, Big Donut, who we would also have the pleasure of sharing the stage with at our next show. We also met the owner of the café, who said we could sleep there, since we had no place to stay the night. The show was opened by one of the most engaging acoustic acts I have ever had the privilege of witnessing, Sean Neal, who is reminiscent of folk-punker Pat the Bunny. Next was Big Donut, possibly the biggest musical surprise of tour. The Davison, MI, three-piece took the stage and blew everyone away with its throwback sound, a combination of The Allman Brothers’ musicality and Frank Zappa’s witty satire.
After the show, we had some issues with the owner and money we were told we would receive due to us being a touring band. We were finally able to get enough to order a couple of rather expensive cheese pizzas before settling in for the night. After the day’s insanity, I still only slept for a little over two hours.
DAY SIX: 5/12 Flint, MI [The Good Beans Café]
After waking and loading the van, the owner returned and he suggested we hit up a great diner on 9 Mile Rd., Country Boy, which was hands-down the best diner food any of us had ever tasted. We had a hearty home-cooked meal including omelets, country fried steak, biscuits and gravy.
The drive to Flint was only an hour long, but the environment changed dramatically from Detroit’s ghostly metropolis to Flint’s suburban style. The Good Beans Café was fantastic and offered to record each band’s set free of charge. Ken, the owner, was extremely personable and was offering to help in any way he could. Without expectations for the show, Olen took to generating some buzz. He jumped onto Craigslist and in the “Personals” section, he would email the posters yearning to find love with a simple message, “Hey, come to the show at Good Beans, tonight. It’s cheap and the band I’m photographing is really good. We’re on tour. Love, Olen.”
With no luck through Craigslist, Olen took to Facebook to hit up some people he knew in the area, one of which was Nick Diener from The Swellers. Nick was unfortunately not able to make the show, but he did invite us to stay at his house since we didn’t have a place to sleep for the night. We played our set after a rousing performance from our new friends Big Donut and indie-pop locals 30th Century.
The show was closed out by ska-punk three-piece Dishwasher Troubles, similar to Rehasher and Rancid. After slinging some merch, we made our way to Nick’s place.
Nick welcomed us into his house at around 1:30 a.m. We could not have been more gracious. We made our way to his basement and continued to sit around and chat with him. Tony steered a majority of the conversation as he freaked out over all of the wrestling memorabilia. After some good conversation and hangs with his two insanely energetic dogs, we managed to sleep.
DAY SEVEN: 5/13 Wyandotte, MI [The Rockery]
I woke around 11 a.m. and decided to shower. I managed to rouse the rest of the band from their slumber and made sure everybody was showered and collected. I discussed recording with Nick and he regaled us with stories of life on the road with The Swellers.
We set sail for the closest KFC before we drove the short distance to Lake Huron. Mooney Tyson spent some time on the lake, taking a footpath that led to a swampy area. Judd and Olen pushed forward through the nearly knee-high water to meet the lake at a sand bar. We found a great spot for some fun photos and then made our way south to Wyandotte for our next show.
When Mooney Tyson made landfall at Wyandotte’s The Rockery, we felt at home. The Rockery was a small space with a drum riser for a stage and a pool table only 40 feet from this riser. The show kicked off with Detroit-area locals, Those Hounds. Those Hounds created a gargantuan wall of sound that toed the line between fuzzy indie and stoner rock--more impressive was that all of this noise emanated from a three-piece outfit. We played the middle of the lineup with Lower Lifes, an act evocative of Brand New’s Devil and God-era, closing out the night.
After the three-hour drive south to Columbus, we had grown closer to each other through a question game moderated by Olen. It was one of those nights where you pour all of your heart and secrets out without judgment. We arrived at the place we were staying that night around 5 a.m. We were exhausted and slap happy to the point where we laughed at giving each other goofy looks.
DAY EIGHT: 5/14 Clarksburg, WV [The Main Street Café]
We woke around noon and quickly stuffed ourselves full of pizza and wings, courtesy of Tony’s aunt. Without considering Columbus rush hour traffic, we left with too little time to make the three-hour venture to Clarksburg, WV for our final show of tour. Stuck in traffic without moving for two hours, I had to message the promoter and tell him we would be running late for the show. Luckily, he was incredibly understanding and the other acts had no issue waiting on us.
After a rushed load-in, I set up our merch and we immediately took the stage following acoustic opener, Ryan Glaspell. In my fits of stomping and flinging my bass around, I had stepped on a box at the front of the stage and gashed my foot open halfway through the set, leaving my portion of the stage covered in blood. Upon finishing the song, I quickly removed my gear from the stage and wiped my foot down.
I had Olen examine my trauma and give me a report, “Well. It’s not that good.” I had him glue my foot and cover it with a Band-Aid. Tomorrow to Forever closed out the night with some super chill alternative jams. We loaded the van, played one last game of pool and hit the road. We travelled to Parkersburg, WV to drop Addam off and then crossed the river back into Ohio to part ways with Olen. It was just Tony, Judd and I on winding southeastern Ohio back roads at 4 a.m. Never had I been more excited to see streetlights and a highway than after traveling those roads.
We arrived in Cincinnati as the sun rose from the horizon. Tour was over. The weeks of booking and stress had all paid off. Incredible friends were made and our friendships had been strengthened. Much can be learned about someone when you share a van full of gear with them. We all went our separate ways and cannot wait to reconvene once we return to Athens in the fall.
Until then, stay moosey,
Mooney Tyson.
