Well, Mikey and I are officially home from touring!  It was such an amazing experience and really awesome to meet and perform for many of you.  We love you all and hope to see you at another show soon.

As we drove home today, there was only one song on my mind…

I now leave you all with Jonny’s list of things we will miss from the tour:

-mcdonalds fruit smoothies

-Denny’s grandslam breakfast meal.

-egg white english muffins from starbucks

-priceline for getting us hotels half off

-priceline again, for emailing me successful tips on how to bid for a hotel when my original offer was denied.

-the Cassoday Country Store.

-chick-fil-a.  the healthiest fast food chain. I hope that your restaurant makes it to NY one day.

-Howard 100.

-Satellite radio. You are better than FM in every way - even when I was in a tunnel and lost feed.

-all our sound and stage equipment. It was an honor working with you. Even if it did require an hour of setting you up each night.

-amusement parks across America. We had a blast.

-Deer. We never met, but I respect you.

-Mosquitoes that joined our outdoor shows. You’ve certainly left your mark.

-All truck drivers who stayed in the left lane and preferred we join you in driving 30 mph below the speed limit.

-slot machines in gas stations. It was hard to fight the temptation, but I’m proud to say you never got my quarters.

-wearing dirty clothes.

-Last but not least, the absolutely wonderful employees at jiffy lube.

Goodbye for now!

Love,

Jonny

It’s now time for the last version of Jonny’s Random Thoughts & Observations (well, the last version for this tour).  Do you have a random thought/observation?  Or maybe a question you want me to answer?  E-mail me and I may just post it in my next blog: Jonathan@4x4ArtistManagement.com

So, without further ado:

1) we passed a house in IL that didnt have a driveway, but instead a runway.  Next to it was a sign that said, “look out for low flying planes.”

2) i can never understand why there’s often tons of traffic at 1 pm on a weekday. Where do these people work?

3) the highway in austin texas has a different speed limit at nighttime (70 mph day, 65 mph night).  So what time does “nighttime” officially start? 

4) i saw two subway restaurants in the same shopping center.  business 101 anybody?

5) i finally get why people prefer “y’all” over “you guys”.  its faster to say, and therefore more convenient.

6) if you visit texas or kansas, beware that there’s about one gas station every 50 miles. come with a full tank, or prepare to fill up at the Cassoday Country Store…

7) No, i’d rather not stay in slaughterville (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughterville,_Oklahoma)

8) i don’t even think vanessa carlton realizes how long 1,000 miles really is…

9) they should remake the movie “space jam” and do it in 3d - Michael Jordan should still star in it.

10) the employee at mcdonalds asked me if i want my drink to stay or to go.  Does it matter where I drink it?

11) i’m tired of seeing billboards for casinos that show a guy holding a royal flush, or a slot machine that has 777.   I’d rather stop at the casino whose billboard tells the truth -  ”you’re going to lose, but come anyways for a good few hours of entertainment!”

12) Similarly, all restaurants that have pictures of irrestibable food on their menus should show what their food really looks like. We all know your hamburgers taste nowhere as edible as how they look on the menu.

13) Mikey got an arby’s sandwich with a side of fries - he then tells me “this meal is significantly better with fries.” thats like going on a date and saying “this date is significantly better with sex.”

14) fast food has gone from fast and cheap to slow and expensive.

15) trucks should ALWAYS stay in the right lane.

16) how many times does john mellencamp say the word “small town” in his song “small town”?

17) Whenever I send an e-mail on my iphone, it auto-corrects “Jonny” and changes it to “Jimmy”.  

Hope you all enjoyed my random thoughts & observations.

-Jimmy

8/18/10 - 2:49 AM

Dear loyal jonny wax blog readers:

I apologize for not writing another blog sooner, but let this be a good thing - In my first blog I had mentioned that a big reason I was blogging was so that I could still feel connected to my friends & family at home. Well I no longer miss you… kidding.  Truth is I’m finally getting over my fear of the open road where everyone is a stranger, which means I don’t feel the need to blog as often as I have.  Plus as the tour goes on, things become more routine, meaning I will only feel inspired to blog if something really awesome or strange happens.  Alright enough rambling.  Let us rewind a little:

Sunday, August 8th:  Mikey and I were heading 1,000 miles to Wisconsin.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Texas and Kansas it’s that there are very few gas stations.  My advice: fill up as often as possible.  Our car was on empty and there seemed to be no gas station in site, until we pulled up to the Cassoday Country Store:

I wasn’t even sure if this place still served gas - it looked like it hadn’t been open in 30 years.  Anyways, I removed the nozzle and attempted to fill up.  Everything seemed to be working.  We then went inside to pay (they have you pay after you fill up, not before - they’ll change that once a guy fills up and then races off without paying).  As we walked inside and up to the cashier, she informed us that what we just filled up with was diesel.  Mikey and I were completely unaware of what the consequences of doing such a thing would be, so we got back in our car and began to leave the station.  Not to mention, the cashier seemed like she was on all sorts of drugs, and the nozzle had a huge sticker above it that said 87. A little worried, I called my dad. his response: “Jonny if you filled up the car with diesel, the engine will start to smoke and the car will break down almost immediately.”  Safe to say we were sort’ve freaking out.  Anyways, we continued to drive.  One mile down, we’re still moving.  Two miles down, we’re still moving.  We were now in the middle of Kansas.  There were no homes, buildings, or what seemed like any human civilization around us.  It was just us between fields of grass. We then called our cousin Rob (the engineering major) for a second opinion - his words “dude you’re screwed if you put in diesel.”  Thank you Rob.  Well somehow our car never broke down and we made it to Wisconsin… either it wasn’t diesel or we lived through a ridiculous miracle.  

The next two nights were non-house gigs.  The first one was at Wildwood Pavilion in Marshfield, WI opening for singer/songwriters Tony Lucca & Ernie Halter.  Mikey performed for about 75 people and the show went really well.  The next night Mikey did a gig @ Uncommon Ground Coffee House about 30 minutes away from Marshfield.  It was another fun time and the crowd was awesome.  Quick shout out to Marcia, an amazing fan who drove both nights to see Mikey perform, and also an avid jwax blog reader.

Weds the 11th was spent at Courtney’s home in McHenry, IL.  She set up about 20 chairs in her living room and we played for a bunch of awesome college kids.  Another great show, and they all continued on the tradition of signing our stool.

The next night we performed @ the Milwaukee Athletic Club on the rooftop…our third and last non-house gig of the tour.  They were cool and gave us free drinks all night.   it was refreshing to have a cold beer on a night like this…

Friday’s show was at Christina’s in Remington, Indiana.  The previous two weeks of house shows were on Central time, so we were under the assumption that her house would be on central time as well.  Like I said in my random thoughts blog, when driving state to state it’s nearly impossible to guess where/when/why the timezones change in the specific spots that they do.  Our luck, her house was literally 5 minutes passed the border line of what would be central time, and was instead on Eastern time (for those bad with math, it’s now an hour later).  Fortunately we still made it to her home on time.  Plus the good thing about these house shows is that the start time can be pretty flexible.  Anyways, we played in her backyard where her dad set up a “tent stage” that we played under, while everyone sat in front on fold out chairs.  

After the show, Christina’s mom gave us the warning to “watch out for deer” on our way back to the hotel (the only way to leave their house was to drive on this 10 mile dirt road surrounded by cornfields) - of course deer wasn’t even something that crossed our mind when driving to their house originally.  She then told us that she sadly had a few deer accidents, which had cost thousands in damage to her car.  That was enough to convince me to drive 20 mph til we were on the highway.  You should’ve seen us- I was cautiously sitting up with my body against the steering wheel while Mikey was on lookout turning his head left and right.  Fortunately no deer ran out in front of us.  But beware, deer are not to be messed with.

The tour continued the following night at Claire’s house - once again a show for a bunch of fun college kids…it’s really awesome how often we have played for that market on this tour. they are all extremely supportive in spreading Mikey’s music.  After the show, Claire’s mom insisted that we get Mikey’s music to their family friend who works on the Ellen Show.  Of course an opportunity to perform on the Ellen show would be amazing.  So I went on Claire’s computer and typed up a letter to hopefully get in the hands of Ellen (I won’t get too excited… even with this connection it’s still a very very long shot).  But I did mention my blog in my letter to Ellen, so Ellen if you see this, what’s up!?

Moving forward (long blog eh?) - Saline, Michigan.  Two things were accomplished at this show.  One - we realized that Mikey’s music truly reaches out to all generations:

And two: a guy finally bought an “I <3 Mikey Wax” tank top!!

That brings us to this past Monday, which was our day off.  There seems to be only one way to celebrate days off: amusement parks.  Mikey and I went to Cedar Point in Ohio.  If you ever do visit this park, you must go on Top Thrill Dragster. This ride will give you the best adrenaline rush ever.

It launches to 120 mph in 2 seconds and then takes you up 425 feet before dropping you straight down.  it…was…awesome.

Tonight (Tuesday) was spent in Cincinnati, OH playing at Emily’s house.  It was perfect weather out so we played in Emily’s backyard for her and her high school / college friends.  We enjoyed every minute of it just like we have for every show so far.

Well that’s all for now.  Three shows remain and then we’re home on Sunday!

-J

8/8/10 - 1:12 PM

Howdy Y’all…Well it’s gotten to that part of the tour where I’m quite exhausted. We’ve played 5 shows in the past 3 days. Being on the road for the first time is like working out for the first time in months. your stamina is low and you’d probably prefer to just sit on the couch and watch TV.  Doesn’t mean I’m not having a good time…I’m loving this tour.  But I could certainly use a rest.  

The last 5 shows were spent in Texas.  We started it out in Austin @ Jennifer’s house. It was an afternoon show in her backyard playing for her and her college friends.  It was hot out, but Mikey and I wanted to burn a sweat after driving for hours.  We put on a great show and had a blast.  Not to mention Jennifer’s turkey & ham sandwiches were definitely a plus.

That night we drove to Bobs place where we played for bob, his daughter Chrystal, and all their Friends.  Another great show. That night I was really trying to live like a 60s free spirit… after the show I was sitting in a room with Chrystal and her friends playing music and sharing stories. We later crashed in Bob’s guest room.  The next day Bob took us out to lunch and gave us a tour of the city of Austin. This place is really awesome…  Great music, food, and people.  Definitely a place worth visiting (or living in).

Later that afternoon we played a house show for Stephanie and friends.  These guys were an awesome audience.  At the end of the show Mikey jokingly asked if we could keep the stool we borrowed for the performance (since our $30 stool from bed bath and beyond didn’t last more than a week).  To our surprise, they insisted that we keep it.  This was a definitely a special moment of the tour.  We had everyone at the show sign the stool. Some people left messages on it.  My personal favorite: “your bum goes here”. Thank you guys!

That night we played a show for Jessica and her family friends.  The show was in celebration of Jessica’s birthday.  After we performed we had delicious cake.  Jessica then asked Mikey to sign her iPod.  

Happy birthday Jessica!

Last night we played at a college apt for Erika and her UNT friends. We had an awesome time performing for them. After the show, Erika gave us “everything’s bigger in texas” tshirts to remember our trip.

I’m loving all these gifts, but they really are unnecessary.  Thank you Erika!

Well that’s all for Texas.  It was an amazing time.  1000 miles to go til Wisconsin = lots of music, sudoku puzzles, and howard stern.  til next time!

Last night we played a house show right outside Houston Texas.  We played in their backyard, and as you can imagine, playing outdoors in Texas can be awfully hot.  I admit though that it made us work even harder to entertain everyone in the heat.  We rocked out and had a great night.  Today we have two shows in Austin, and tomorrow two shows in San Antonio.  Busy few days…

I now proudly bring to you:

Jonny’s Random Thoughts & Observations, Part Two (dedicated to my loving cousin kacie who has repeatedly texted me requesting more of these):

1) i want to congratulate those people who traveled around the country before GPS systems were invented. you inspire me.

2) how did we discover that we need different timezones in the US?  When driving west you would never guess that the clock suddenly goes back an hour.  How was this accomplished prior to video chatting?

3) i know that photoshop has a red eye effect that removes red eye in pics, but how about adding the “stoned” effect?  It would automatically take squinted eyes and open them.

4) I was considered strange by a girl in Georgia cause I ate my eggs on toast.  Never, ever eat your eggs on toast in Georgia.

5) technology has provided hotels with way more movies on demand.  There used to be maybe 10 available for purchase.  Now there’s like 100.

6) we passed a billboard in Alabama that said “go to church or the devil will get you”

7) i love that satellite radio has 50’s music on station 5, 60’s on 6, 70’s on 7, etc… makes it feel like our car is a musical time machine

8) while listening to 60’s on 6, i heard this song:

I bet it sounds familiar.  recognize this tune?

9) is george bush still alive? haven’t heard that guys name in a while.  I wonder what he’s doing right now.

10) 3.5 and 4 star hotels charge you for internet and parking, while 3 star or less hotels are free wifi and free parking.  Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

11) In the north when you ask someone how far something is, they tell you in minutes. ex: “About an hour away” - in the south they tell you in miles… “about 60 miles away”

12) When I drive somewhere as far as Texas (thousands of miles), it’s amazing to think I could fly home in 3 hours.

That’s all for now.  If you were impressed by how similar those two songs are above, then you may like this mix I made:

There’s also this jwax mix which has been getting a lot of love:

http://www.4x4mgmt.com/jackjohnson-sugarray.mp3

enjoy!

8/3/10 - 11:39 PM

Yesterday we made our way to New Orleans.  We had the night off so we headed to bourbon street for some good music and beer.This place is quite interesting.  It has some amazing jazz and blues, but my brother and I both agreed, it’s the slightly sketchier version of vegas.   the town kinda feels like Biff’s empire from back to the future.

Everyone is out to make a buck. Regardless, New Orleans is definitely a place you have to check out.  

The pros of bourbon street when it’s not mardi gras:

• the music is amazing (if you like blues, jazz, or classic rock)
• can walk around bar to bar with beer in your hand
• people are always there to party.

The cons:

• expensive drinks
• waitresses bombard you with $3 shots every minute.
• when walking down the street, expect to be stopped often by someone trying to get a buck from ya.
• some strange people (one guy walked up to us and said “I’m having a great night!” while holding up a picture from his phone. I’ll just say it wasn’t a picture we wanted to see…)

I still haven’t figured out how to import footage from my camcorder, but i did finally figure out how to get the video off my iphone:

Tonight’s show was at Jessy’s, a police officer who lives about 20 minutes outside of downtown N.O. - when we got to her house, Jessy and her friends welcomed us with beads (which we wore the rest of the night):

Jessy’s kids:

Jessy brought in a huge buffet of food.  While eating, we talked to Jessy and her friends about hurricane katrina.  We’ve all seen footage on the news, but hearing the stories from those who lived through it really puts things in perspective.  Jessy’s house was completely flooded.  Her and her kids had to move to Texas for a year.  Her friend mentioned how bizarre it was to walk into walmart where you were greeted by a soldier with an AK47.  She said New Orleans became a 3rd world country…there was total chaos.   It’s really great to see how much the city has recovered since.

Anyways, after the performance Jessy came up to us and gave us this:

she insisted that we must take this HUGE bag of beads to cats meow (a karaoke bar that apparently isn’t just karaoke…).  unfortunately we are drained from the show and are about to pass out.  but rest assured, mikey and i will definitely be back in new orleans for mardi gras, and we will be more than prepared.

Jessy also gave us two gift bags as a thank you for playing the show (although we should be thanking jessy for having us).  They were filled with everything new orleans… new orleans chips, beer, beer holster, beads, etc.

All in all it was an awesome night and we really got a taste of life down by the bayou.

Before I finish tonight’s blog, I must give you all the results from voting on whether I should shave or not.  The votes were tied, 16-16.  So i left it up to the one person who I knew would give the best opinion…my mom.  her vote: 

clean shaven… en route to houston, texas!

8/1/10 - 11 AM

This weekend was a fun one.  We had the night off friday so we went and visited some friends in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  I knew it was going to be an interesting night when we were told that “we best bring our dancing shoes” as we were going to a bar where the only music would be country.  Sure enough after a few drinks i was dancin like a cowboy. kidding… but i did my best to fit in. it was kinda hard when mikey and i were the only ones in the bar who didn’t know the lyrics to the songs the band was playing. To make up for it, i knew there was only one solution…  at the top of my lungs i shouted “play sweet home alabama!!” - everyone in the bar instantly loved me. go try it yourself…they’ll be buying you shots.

Yesterday we played at a birthday party for a girl named Ana in Anniston, Alabama.  It was her 14th and she had her friends come celebrate with an MW house concert.  They were such cool kids and we had a lot of fun playing for them.

After the show we were taking some pictures and signing a few autographs.  I was then asked to sign a girls shoe.  I’ve signed quite a few things on this trip, but never a shoe.  I admit it was pretty tough to do.  After I accomplished it, the concept quickly caught on. Soon enough Mikey and I were signing sandles, slippers, shoes, whatever.

Ana had discovered Mikey at his show opening for Landon Pigg back in June @ workplay theatre (Birmingham).  At the time she drew a picture of Landon which she gave to him after the concert. This time she drew one for Mikey. very cool:

I really love how connected we get with the fans on a tour like this.  Don’t get me wrong, playing at club venues is awesome and something Mikey loves…but I don’t think anything quite compares to this.  Mikey really has the best fans.

As mentioned earlier, I have not shaved since the beginning of the tour.  I now leave it to you to decide.  To shave or not to shave?

VOTE HERE:http://www.pollpub.com/to-shave-or-not-to-shave.aspx

7/30/10 - 3:59 PM

Yesterday we headed to Columbus Georgia for our next house show.  While driving, we stopped for our first waffle house experience of the tour in Greensboro Georgia.

Now what I’m about to say is a pretty small complaint, but I must confess, we are having bad luck in things that shouldn’t require luck.  We sat down and each ordered eggs, as well as a waffle to split.  After a 40 minute wait, our eggs finally arrived (according to mikey, it never usually takes this long).  The waitress then informed us that the waffle machine is not working and therefore we wouldn’t be getting our waffle..

Yes, the restaurant is called waffle house yet they didn’t serve waffles. This is like a jiffy lube that can’t change your oil…

Anyways, we arived in columbus a little early so we went to their local bar for a beer.  When we walked in, it felt straight out of an old western movie where everyone stopped and stared at the cowboy that’s “not from around here.”  We didn’t mind and ordered our beer.  A few minutes later we ended up making conversation with one of the guys in the bar who was pretty friendly and welcoming.  When he asked us where were from he said “oh I’m a yankee too - born and raised in Pennsylvania.”  It’s funny that people still refer to the north as yankees.

When we got to the house show, Rebecca (the host) had cooked us dinner:

Before we ate dinner, Rebecca’s sister phebe asked if she could say grace.  Growing up in a liberal Jewish household, this isn’t something we’re used to, but we didn’t mind at all.  She was extremely sweet , and said: “may mikey and jonny have a great performance tonight.”   amen…

After we ate we put on an hour show in the backyard:

After the show, Rebecca’s parents assumed that because I was a film major in college I may be able to fix their dvd player. I always pride myself on being the technologically savvy guy - so I said I’d take a look.  After messing around with the dvd player, I was able to get the player to work, but the movies would only play in black and white. I couldn’t get it to play in color…we tried everything - but Rebecca’s family said black & white (with sound) was better than nothing at all… so we all then watched pirates of the caribbean in black & white. it was actually kind of cool.  The only movie that really wouldn’t work in b&w would be pleasantville (a movie about a town that starts in black and white and eventually turns to color).

heading now to Alabama. Loving the southern hospitality!

7/29/10 - 1:12 AM

Today was a weird but good day.  Our cousin Rob is an engineering major in college who knows way too much about cars.  Our car had occasionally been making a strange noise so we asked him to check it out when we stayed at his place last night… he suggested we take the car to jiffy lube and get an oil change (which we should have done about 4,000 miles ago).  We got to jiffy lube at around 11 AM.  They said an oil change was no problem.  So we sat in the waiting room for about 45 minutes when they came back and said “actually, we don’t have the correct oil filter here, so we can’t change the oil.”  frustrated and disappointed, we left jiffy lube.  6 hours later we arrived in Columbia, South Carolina.  About 10 minutes away from our next house show we saw another jiffy lube.  Excited that we had time to spare, we decided to stop at this one as well.  When we walked in, I warned the jiffy lube employee that the last jiffy lube did not have the correct oil filter…but that didn’t stop him from completely draining the oil before checking to see if they had the right filter as well…  of course, he then realized they didn’t have it either.  The employee then spent the next half hour trying to find local auto shops that may have the right oil filter.  All stores were either closed or did not have it in stock.  Finally, he gave up and placed oil back into our old filter (which can’t be good for the car).  Conclusion of the story: don’t go to jiffy lube.

Fortunately we showed up at the house show on time.  Tonight’s show was at Traci’s home.  We played for her and about 20 of her college friends / college friends parents.  It was a very intimate setting in her living room (and no guitar strings broke this time).  Once again I have video footage but my computer is really letting me down with the importing.  In short, the show went great and it was a really fun time (even though I was all worried about the current status of our car).  

I am now excited to introduce to you:

Jonny’s random thoughts & observations of the week

Some may be strange, but enjoy:

1) people who have dogs are more likely to host house concerts.  Why?  Because dog lovers are friendly and welcome to strangers.

2)  Theme parks are getting smarter.  You know how they take a picture of you when you’re on a roller coaster?  Well after we went on the intimidator I took out my phone and tried to take a picture of the picture (basically holding my camera phone up to the screen).  Within 2 seconds of taking out the phone I was told that phones are not allowed.    I got away with it in Disney two years ago. bummer…

3) If you need to gamble using the slot machines in a gas station, then you probably have a gambling addiction.

4) Mcdonalds fruit smoothies are awesome.

5) I have not shaved in 3 weeks.  This may be my longest streak yet.  In fact, Mikey has made a $100 bet with me that I won’t go the whole tour without shaving… Now I gotta keep the playoff beard going…

6) You shouldn’t call your company jiffy lube when you don’t change the oil in a jiffy…

7) Similarly to how you can get a free haircut at supercuts if they forget to ask you if you want to buy hairgel, jiffy lube should give you a free oil change when they guarantee an oil change and then make you wait 45 minutes before telling you they can’t do it. (i’m actually not sure if this is similar, but you know what i mean).

8) i hate jiffy lube

9)  BP should have a “half off gas sale” to win back customers.  It would definitely help lower our touring costs.

10) Is Leo still dreaming at the end of inception?  (I should probably mention this is a total spoiler alert).

11) Atleast one fan at each house concert asks who is older, me or Mikey.  This question was much more exciting 3 years ago when I wanted to look 21.

12) The south likes waffles way more than the north.  There’s a waffle house every few miles once you hit virginia.

13)  after the tour, my new management office will be at starbucks.  Not because I love their coffee, but because they have free wifi and you can actually get things done (working from home is distracting).  Plus they play chill music.

14)  My friend just offered me $300 to write him a 5 page paper on integrity… I don’t know if I could write 5 pages on integrity, but I can certainly write one now on irony…

15) Have you ever made a wish at 11:11 that came true?  Let’s start a new time to make a wish… how about 5:26?  May all your 5:26 wishes come true!

16) Don’t buy a stool before testing it out…especially when you plan to use it on stage for a month.

17) I can’t tell if the wedding band version of the star wars theme song is cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRWYYt47RI

18) I passed a drive through subway in carolina (first time i’ve seen one)

19) Does anyone ever drive the minimum speed limit on a highway?

20) the howard stern show can entertain you for hours while driving.

That’s all for now.  More random thoughts to come next week!

7/28/10 - 3:48 PM

heading now to SC!  189 miles to go…house show at 8 PM tonight. yesterday was a blast @ kings dominion park…went on this one ride called the intimidator:

it took you up like 250 ft before dropping.  here’s the dominator:

pretty cool park and a great way to spend a day off.

anyways, we just stopped at a gas station and there are slot machines inside.  This should get interesting…