Life After Connecticut College

Well it's been another hectic few weeks for ol' C-Rei, but thankfully there's also been plenty of fun thrown in the mix, so my stress level is definitely manageable (Mitch's nightly shoulder rubs also help a lot (eww)). Plus, I'm taking a day off on Friday so it's almost the weekend for me already! Woop woop!

As frequent blog readers can probably guess, a lot of my time has been spent driving to, rehearsing for, playing, and afterpartying Welcome to Florida concerts (I liken the afterparty of a show to the follow-through on a golf swing: with either one you [OBSCENE BALL JOKE DELETED]). Since the other three members of the band don't currently have what I like to call "jobs," they all have plenty of spare time to book new gigs and network with club managers and other bands, which is great. We've also begun work on our next album, which is very exciting (most of our time in the studio thus far has been spent doing impressions of Star Wars characters into expensive microphones).

The WTF summer saga continues this weekend....

....On Friday night, we're playing at The Underscore in New York, which is a really nice venue on the Upper East Side, so the show should be a nice change of pace from some of the other places we play in NYC (the Hustler Club comes to mind). Hopefully our friends and fans will make it all the way uptown for the show, but just to be sure we'll be enticing them to come by having a pre-party hosted by UES resident and fellow blogsperson Nate "Baby Spice" Borgelt (Nate, I hope you're reading this because you're hosting a party for us). And as if two Class of 2007 bloggers weren't enough, I just learned last night that WTF will be joined onstage by Sam Garner on sax (don't worry, I'll make sure someone "misplaces" his mouthpiece), and Deniz Dinler and Ross Jordan will both be in the audience. Who knows, maybe we'll all get together afterward and blog about the show together!

On Saturday, we'll be jetting back up through New London and on to Somerville, MA, where we'll be performing at Razzy's, perhaps the awesomest awesome super-awesome dive bar I've ever seen (proof of awesomeness: $7 pitchers). Like The Underscore, we've never played there before, but Wes and JZ live right around the corner from it, so they've spent many a night familiarizing themselves with its, uhhh, acoustics. The best part is that they have a full karaoke system, so I'll finally be able to show off my vocal prowess to the fullest (free earplugs will be available for all patrons).

On Sunday, I'll be making my way up to my hometown of Nashua, NH (official motto: We Made Mandy Moore And Chris Reilly In The Same Week, So We're Just Going To Phone It In From Now On) to say hi to my parents and to get my car inspected. Coincidentally, my "Check Engine" light came on the other day, so I'll get that looked at as well (preliminary diagnosis: I should probably try to fill it with actual biodiesel instead of the bacon fat grilled cheese residue from my frying pan).

Here on campus, our summer is drawing to a close, as signaled by yesterday's arrival of students participating in Conn's Outdoor Orientation Program. It occurred to me as I was walking through a crowd of them trying to get to the ATM in Cro that many or most of these bright, fascinating students were probably born in the 90s. For a moment, I wished that I were 18 again, but then I quickly remembered that I receive regular paychecks, do not pay any tuition, have no homework, can drink legally, have my own apartment, don't sleep on a 5" thick vinyl twin mattress, and, most importantly, will probably never again have to avoid using the shower because one of my neighbors has puked in it (although Mitch is kind of a lightweight and a bit of slob, so you never know). That having been said, there really is nothing like being on the cusp of something as excited as one's college career. Best of luck to the Class of 2012!

That's about it on my front, y'all! I'll check in soon to let you know how the new school year starts off and how badly Sam plays at the show on Friday.

Posted by Chris Reilly at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow, I haven't blogged in a month, simply because the last four weeks of my life have been probably the busiest of my life (the winter break I spent interning as a fact checker for Outrageous Claims That May or May Not Be True Magazine is a close runner-up). I finally have a chance to catch my breath and update y'all on my recent goings-on.

I'll flash all the way back to my last blog posting, which occurred right before SailFest. For those who don't know, SailFest is the biggest annual event in New London (though it really only holds that title because Chris n' Mitch's Beers, Babes, Buoys, and Bratwurst Barbecue Beach Bloated Blowout is only semi-annual). Each year, over 50,000 people come to the Whaling City from all over the world the weekend after July 4th to check out classic cars, dozens of bands (including Welcome to Florida), street vendors, amusement park rides on the pier, painstakingly-restored tall ships, and of course, the main attraction, Saturday night's fireworks display, which rivals any in the nation. This year's crowd was definitely the biggest I've seen, no doubt due largely to the fact that the weather was simply unbeatable (plus Mitch had his shirt off for a while, so that was probably a pretty big draw as well). Our apartment was definitely party HQ for all our friends since we're right in the middle of downtown and we have the best deck on the planet. It was a great situation because when things got a little too crowded out on the streets we were able to just relax for a while (also, our bathroom is a lot roomier than a Porta-Potty, which was nice)....

....Naturally, I'm not at liberty to get into too much detail about the "evening activities" that went on during SailFest, but rest assured that fun was had by all. I'm already looking forward to next year!

The following weekend was just as crazy since WTF had three consecutive shows in three different cities! On Thursday, we rocked hard in Boston, followed by DC on Friday, and finally New York on Saturday. All three shows went off without a hitch, but it was just a little bit tiring to be crammed in a Jeep with three other dudes and a bunch of musical equipment for a total of about 20 hours in one weekend (in retrospect I really should have started a band with three totally hot ladies; that would have made the cozy car rides much more pleasant). Regardless, it was a lot of fun for all involved and definitely a good bonding experience.

The morning after our NYC show, we all had to get up absurdly early in order to get back to New London in time for me to carpool with two of my coworkers up to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, for a professional conference about higher education fundraising (I know, it's just like getting up early on Christmas morning, right?). Thankfully, this car ride was significantly less crowded than the WTF mini-tour, and my boss was nice enough to drive so that I could catch up on my sleep in the back seat. Despite the fact that I'm an acknowledged skeptic when it comes to the usefulness of professional conferences, this one was actually pretty good.

The highlight was definitely on the second night when everyone at the conference rode from Bowdoin down to Portland for a minor-league baseball game. As it turned out, the game was between the Red Sox's AA franchise and the team nearest to where I live in Connecticut, so either way I couldn't lose (I guess if I had gotten hit in the throat by a foul ball I probably would have "lost"). As a bonus, David "Large Papi" Ortiz was playing for Portland since he was rehabilitating an ankle injury at the time (and if he talks trash about my mom again it'll be both ankles, YOU HEAR ME, CHOCOLATE SHREK!?!?!) Watching Ortiz play injured against a bunch of minor leaguers was kind of like watching a grizzly bear with an arm tied behind its back wrestle a koala; technically it isn't performing at its peak, but there's still no comparison in terms of sheer destructive power (I think I may have made baseball seem more badass than it actually is with that metaphor).

The day after we got back from the conference, the Annual Giving team here at Conn had an off-site retreat at my boss's house. We actually got a pretty impressive amount of work done considering how hard her two adorable puppies were trying to distract us at all times. Afterwards, we all went out to lunch together, at which time I ordered what turned out to be the largest swordfish steak in the history of seafood (it was so massive that I suspect they may have grafted the meat of two separate specimens together to create one singular superlunch).

The following morning, Mitch and I flew down to New Orleans for a little vacation (yes, we are aware how odd it seems that we went on vacation together even though we already live together). We kept our itinerary pretty basic by simply trying to take in as much food, booze, and music as possible; I'm happy to report that the trip was a success on all three fronts! I want to extend a special thank you to fellow blogger and New Orleans resident Tahereh Coq for all the great restaurant and nightlife recommendations that she gave me. I knew going into the trip that the food down there was delicious, but even so my stomach was not quite prepared for the sheer number of calories I ingested in six days. By about Day 4 I had eaten so much salt and cholesterol that I could actually feel my lipid-laden blood course through the veins in my chest. Ordinarily, had I experienced such symptoms I would have immediately stopped eating bathtub-sized portions of spicy gumbo and 1/2-lb. cheeseburgers topped with peanut butter and bacon, but the food was so tasty that I soldiered on (the 32-oz. banana daiquiris helped clear my system out....I guess....).

I'm also happy to report that the city looks great! Certainly there are still areas that show signs of extreme devastation, but I found it inspiring that so many neighborhoods have bounced back from the flooding as much as they have. It was hard to understand what the city had been like pre-Katrina having never been there beforehand, but one sentiment that we heard a few times is that it now resembles other American cities much more than ever before. Certainly there are a good number of national chains to be seen, but I still felt that the city has a unique character all its own. Hopefully New Orleans will be able to resist getting too homogenized so that future generations can enjoy all the history and fun that it has to offer.

I finally got back home on Wednesday, after which I worked on Thursday and then promptly took a 3-day weekend (can't risk straining myself). Since returning, I've been trying to get myself back on a normal schedule, and accordingly I've been getting a ton of grown-up stuff done lately (get your mind out of the gutter). For example, yesterday I got an eye exam for the first time in probably 2 or 3 years. Though I passed with flying colors (I mean that literally; there were a bunch of flying colors when that bright light was in my eye), I did have a tough time concentrating because the doctor had a New Zealand accent and I kept imaging him as a character on Flight of the Conchords. Fortunately, I kept it together and collected the next year's worth of contact lenses.

This coming weekend has another couple Welcome to Florida shows in store. We're playing at Harlow's in Peterborough, NH, on Friday night and down at the 169 Bar in New York on Saturday. If you're in the area for either show, I hope to see you there!

Well that'll just about do it for this installment, but check back soon to see if it takes me less than a month to write my next blog entry. Toodles!

Posted by Chris Reilly at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)