I LOVE CASINOS

This is awesome! I get to quench my thirst for Vegas while I prepare for our show tomorrow night in upstate WI.

We walked into the Lac Couerte Oreille Casino in Hayward, WI this morning to find incredibly nice people, a fun little casino and Sanction posters EVERYWHERE! Oh, and these were no ordinary posters, my dear friends. No, no... these were GLOWING SANCTION POSTERS. I was beside myself with glee. Now if we could just figure out how the hell you pronounce "Lac Couerte Oreille."

I am pretty jazzed for the show tomorrow night. Wish me luck as I head to the blackjack table!

- Jay

5 Days Of Craziness

WOW.

What a busy busy week. On Monday we pulled into Minot, ND in the middle of the night and slept in the RV outside of the The Landing (our venue for the next 3 nights). There was a little bit of nervous energy in the air since this was going to be a first for us: not only was this the first time we have set up camp and played the same venue multiple nights in a row, but this was the first time we have done five nights in a row of 2+ hour sets! Needless to say, I was trying keep quiet as much as possible (something that I am NOT very good at doing).

We checked into the hotel ("The Vegas"... how rad is that?) and we proceeded to take full advantage of the pool, hot tub and sauna. Yes, yes... the tortured life of a touring musician! Actually, it was lucky for us that we had access to those things since it was F'N COLD outside. I mean, seriously people... it's MAY!

The shows were fun and we met some cool people (as evident by the incriminating pictures posted in the comments section of our myspace page). All in all, quite the good time! Thanks to all of you in Minot who came out to say hello.

Friday morning finally came and with it came the drive about 100 miles south to Bismark for our Friday and Sat night shows. The weather was AWESOME there - much more in line with what May should be: 75 degrees and sunny. Joker's Bar provided us with a killer stage and great sound. Dave and Dusty's diligent promotion provided us with a fun crowd for night one and some VERY cool holdovers for night two. By the end of our final set on Sat night, we were pretty fried. But it was an incredible experience and we had a blast!

Thank you to all the "NoDaks" and all the hospitality that you showed us! We'll see ya in the fall.

- Jay (the very very tired frontman)

travel days

We didn't shower today. Dave cleaned himself with a wet-nap. I didn't bother to put on deodorant, and am wearing exactly what I wore yesterday, which incidentally, I also slept in (sans pants and sweatshirt).

We began the day sleeping in a hotel parking lot outside the Mall of America. Lunch was Taco Bell in the food court; we didn't get up in time for breakfast. Dinner was a bowl of chili from some strange squeezable pouch, which I highly recommend over trying to open a can. Kudos to Hormel for thinking of this! An aside: I only know how to spell "Kudos" because of the candy bar.

It's midnight right now, and Jay's asleep in the back. Dave and Josh are up front, flying down the 52 in North Dakota, blasting chamber music and frantically dodging deer. The drive has been 500 miles of nothingness, yet simultaneously beautiful.

Tomorrow night Sanction launches into five straight nights of sonic chaos in smoky bars. Salt of the earth my friends.

_dusty