A Funny Kind of Brotherhood

We were standing out in the back lot of RadioRadio, and Peter Rinaldi was keeping an eye on the generator repair on the oneEskimO tour bus to see if the power was going to be back on. "We have been back and forth across the country several times during this past year of being here", he explained, "and we have started to figure out places we like to be or go in each city- including where the Whole Foods stores are. We just went shopping this afternoon and got food to last us the next couple of days- and now the generator went out." This happened to them at least once before, and they lost the entire contents of the tour bus fridge, so he was relieved when their driver was able to make repairs. ( Guys, I am starting to think that you could cut a product placement deal with Whole Foods- an onstage thanks for feeding us and a link from your website... for free or reduced price groceries along the road...Heck, maybe even a record signing in a Whole Foods store?? ;-0 )

Peter returned back to my question. After reading their blog entry on the origin of encores, and knowing that in some part of their brain they thought they were silly, I wondered how and when they decided to go back on for an encore as they had tonight. "We don't often do encores, but when we do it is different every time- then you have to wonder, did we wait too long-- have they [the audience] lost interest? do they really want an encore or are they just being polite?". I for one, was glad they had done the encore tonight... I was just not ready for the dreamy trip that the concert had been to be over.

( their encore number)

Talk turned to life on the road and being away from home for a year now. "Last summer, we were touring with Tori Amos, and that was amazing. We did not want to leave that tour- we got treated very nicely. We had a bus and everything. After that, we were traveling in a series of 15 passenger vans with all of our stuff piled on the top and me driving. It is hard, you do a gig, then you have to drive for hours, get to a little hotel somewhere crash for a few hours and then get up and do interviews. We are really glad people want to have us- the opportunity is amazing. Growing up in a small town outside of Perth, I never would have dreamed that I would be here. Places like this were just places in the movies. What people don't realize is that we play for an hour or so every night, and that is the easy part- that's what we all love, that is why we are here. Then the other 23 hours you are living in really close quarters with 6 guys- who don't always have all the best habits. We are lucky that we all get on really well. It's a funny kind of brotherhood, really. We all understand each other and when you are having a bad day and just need some space the other people can read you-- you don't have to tell them to leave you alone. That makes it much easier." I asked if it was nice to be back on a bus and getting some sleep again. "The bus is great, because you have your own little space, and you have a driver so you get mo-re rest, which helps. But we are also dependent on the venue for showers. Some venues have showers, some don't. This was a no shower venue- and then we woke up this morning and had a TV interview to do. Some days are just like that."

They may not have had a shower, but they were still looking great during the concert. I streamed some of it live on my Evo via uStream and you can see the recordings.

Fans new and old will be glad to hear that they are working on new music while they tour. "It's hard, while you are touring, but we are doing as much as we can. We have been living with this music for a long time. The first single is just out, and we are glad to have that success. We are also ready to start thinking about something new." As we talked about the animation of the album ( available on iTunes), Peter commented that everyone is asking what will be next. "We don't know what we will do next, but it will be something different, not just more of the same." I am sure that whatever they do, it will be completely amazing.