Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear The Meaning of 8...
Happy Birthday to you!!

Hello! No, I didn't give birth while on tour and name the baby "The Meaning of 8." It was actually our CD release date yesterday, April 10, 2007. The album has been burning a hole in our pockets since December now, but we had faith in the old adage--'good things come to those who wait.'

So, we waited...

And good things have come! We found out we charted #23 on CMJ's top 200 (and this is only our second week in!) We've had 2 safe days of driving and people are starting to catch up on their rest and sleep. No one is admitting to having a head cold right now (YAH-HOO!!) and we played our 1st show of our 5 week tour last night in Columbus, Ohio to an encouraging and supportive crowd. There were even a few individuals singing (quietly) along to the new songs! Go Sandy and g.f! The paintings, as seen above, went home with proud owners. It was a good night and a beautiful beginning.

We've got a country of new faces and new landscapes ahead of us to meet, greet and smile about. We've got shoes on our feet, a reliable van to travel in and good company...so we're "feelin' mighty lucky today, Hey! Hey!"

After a long 8 hour drive we arrive in Washington D.C during rush hour. Traffic is thick and we make it to our venue the Black Cat an hour and a half late. We still manage to squeeze in a sound check despite our tardiness. The opening band is called Exit Clov from D.C. and we are very impressed. They have two twin sisters who sing and play guitar and keys with a bass player, guitar player and a drummer. We will play three other dates with this band in Baltimore and New York. The venue feeds us which is awesome. The Black Cat has a significantly larger capacity compared to previous venues we have played and we are worried that it will be a thin crowd but over 200 people show up and sing along to the songs. Our set is getting tighter. We find out that NBC is there to do a review of the show which makes us a bit nervous but the show goes well despite some technical difficulties. We spend the night with a fan named Neil who was an officer in Iraq and works for the military. He will soon be leaving that life to go to film school. When we arrive at his place in Arlington, VA we meet a couple of his friends who have both been to Iraq as well. We spend a couple hours talking about music and their experiences in Iraq. It is humbling and fascinating all at the same time. Most of us don't get to bed until 4am but we get to sleep in as our next show in Baltimore is only 45 miles away. It is so nice to stay with friendly hosts as opposed to the sterile hotel rooms that we usually stay in.

We arrived to boarded up windows and prostitutes in Baltimore. The city has a personality of it's own with dedicated fans. Fans who said they became tongue tied when they saw Craig and wanted to say hello. That amazed me because he's such a down to earth guy. But it shows how much the music touches people and makes every show so worth while.

I've been looking forward to the Boston show for a while... partially because I love the city itself... partially because Adrian, Micah and Red would be joining us here... partially because I'm curious to know if our fan-base has picked up here at all (our past few shows here have been a little thin), and partially because I knew we were going to get to crash at Scott's friend's place (Candice). Staying in motels gets old and stinky, but Candice lives in a spacious apartment surrounded by a guardian ring of mighty pine trees. Connie and I miss the smell of pine and cedar, because that's the smell of Northern Minnesota, where our home is. Well, the scent was great (I took some of the pine and cedar and put it on our van dashboard to freshen up the vehicle a bit), but the show was even better. The place was sold out, and the fans we met here were some of the kindest folk I could imagine meeting in a dark club in the middle of the night in the middle of an unfamiliar city. We met quite a few people that drove all the way down from different parts of Canada, too. Come to think of it, a Cloud Cult Canadian tour is far over-due, and there's plenty of pine up there to make us feel at home.

Saturday the 14th at the Mercury Lounge in New York, NY. We played here for our CMJ showcase last fall and enjoyed the club tremendously so we're happy to be back for two more concerts.

One thing that has blown us all away is how great crowd turnout has recently been for us in the Big Apple. There are quite a few people outside the band who have worked hard promoting these particular shows and we are extremely appreciative of all that effort.

The show itself felt pretty good! We seemed to have played well and only had a couple minor hiccups (I think). It's always a trip to see a packed room digging the music and singing along.

Sunday night was amazing. During one of the worst nor'easters we've seen in years, we still managed to have a sold out show at the Mercury Lounge in NYC! You are truly spectacular, you New Yorkers! We are so thankful to all the kind folks that braved the torrential rains, gusty winds and flooded streets/sidewalks to make it to show. Thanks to the fine fellas from MTV that came to do an interview and get footage of our live show as well as the New York Times for the feature article and the review of the show! We had a memorable time in NYC and look forward to visiting again soon!

We arrived at Cincinnati and were welcomed with spring warmth. A refreshing change from the snow of Pennsylvania mountains. The show was at the Southgate House, a cool, old mansion in Newport. Rumor has it that it is haunted and I was looking forward to painting with the ghosts. This was our first show in the Cincinnati area so we did not know what to expect. I thought the city was beautiful, and the river between Newport and Cincinnati had a great calming vibe to it. Red (my lovely wife) and I took some time to wander by the river before the show. We met a kind man from the former Soviet republic. Who turned out to be an accomplished painter. We exchanged a few photos, traded e-mails and went on our way. I am looking forward to sharing work in the future. We returned to the club to find that the room was filling up nicely (always a good feeling for a new city). I spent some time chatting with folks in the crowd. I think that is the best part of touring... no matter where you go, the people are so interesting and kind. ( I knew that Minnesota nice was not just in Minnesota!) We played the show and it felt great! I really enjoy a smaller room... it feels more intimate. I feel more connected with the crowd and the painting went well. (the ghosts were kind to me)

After the show we headed down stairs to join some folks in the fine art of karaoke. Jeff D Johnson started us off with Jump Around by House of Pain. His vocal rendition was spotless... but the true treat was the tasty dance moves. ( it was quite a treat to kick back and have some fun after a show) Later on Dan Greenwood took down the house with his version of Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard. ( might I say that Dan rocked everyones world that night! ) After laughter and cheers were over we headed back to the hotel for a much need nights sleep. I want to say thanks to the fine folks of Cincinnati and Newport that made our show so much fun.

The first time I was at Schubas in Chicago was to see Damien Jurardo and Rosie Thomas. Even at that time, which was about 8 years ago, I had wanted to play this room. And now we're here headlining it! Woo hoo!

The club has a great feel to it with nice woodwork, a great staff, and a good sound system.

The opening groups tonight were really good! One group had a fantastic southern rock feel and the other was more of a danceable, fun, groovin kind of thing.

We'll be back to Chicago in June so hopefully that will also be a fantastic night!

One would have thought the bartenders slipped ecstasy in the drinks at The Stagedoor. We performed in front of an all ages audience that were bumping and grinding like there was no tomorrow.

Lake Michigan is beautiful as the sun sets behind the Milwaukee skyline. I walk out on a pier and gaze back at the hills and buildings. The temperature is in the 60's. Our venue tonight is Shank Hall, which got its name following Spinal Tap's appearance at the University of Milwaukee during the filming of the 1982 "mockumentary". Press photos cover the walls of Shank Hall. Anything from Liz Phair to the Smashing Pumpkins to Winger. Scott's wife, Red, actually met the Winger guy when he played here as he was nursing a drink. She was star struck and didn't remember what he said. The crowd is great and the openers are an amazing band from Springfield, Missouri called Amsterband. I can even detect the southern accents. They do a rockabilly cover of our song "Take Your Medicine." My longtime friend Jason comes to the show. Our host for the night is our friend David who is the nicest guy I think I've ever met. He is super talented at painting, music and he works at the local V.A. hospital as a social worker. A bunch of folks from the V.A. in Milwaukee come to our show. The owner and staff are super friendly and when we go back to David's we eat pizza and M&M's. I used to suck on them back in the day until the shell was dissolved but I just don't have the patience these days. Its like that with string cheese too. I simply bite into it and devour in two seconds rather than slowly peeling it.