Mike XVX tour blog

Updates!

2011-08-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

First things first: I now have my ticket back to Japan for October of this year! I will be spending 8 days in Taiji to document and help shut down the worlds largest live captive dolphin trade and slaughter. It's a somber achievement, because though I have finalized my plans for this campaign there are some horrible images and experiences that await me once I return. The past 6 months of my life have been almost entirely dedicated to this campaign, and now that I have my ticket and the support of so many awesome people, organizations and companies I can breathe a little easier. I want to take this time to send a HUGE thanks to Healthforce Nutritionals for not only providing me with amazing, raw, vegan nutritional products but also for putting me to work for them and helping me get one step closer to my financial goal. Japan is an incredibly expensive place, and even a short 1 week trip could cost a few thousand dollars!

I've had several fundraising projects going on recently, but one that I'm wrapping up right now is my 1 week photo exhibition of the Japanese tsunami here in Richmond, VA. Studio Two Three offered to host my exhibition in their awesome gallery in downtown Richmond, and the turnout and support I received was amazing. There are plenty of fundraisers I could be doing right now that could potentially be more financially rewarding, but the opportunity to share our story, talk about the dolphin protection campaign and connect with people on a personal level is something that I value very deeply.

I'm planning a few more photo exhibitions here and there, and hopefully doing another Bike to Protect ride next month if I can find the time. Again, if you'd like to donate or order a t-shirt there is a button on the side of this blog that allows you to do so. Please remember to phone the Japanese embassy and let them know you don't agree with the dolphin slaughter that happens in Taiji! Also, if anyone you know is thinking of going to a dolphinarium or a swim with the dolphins program please encourage them not to! Remind them what they're supporting every time they visit these places!

Thank you all so much for your support!

For the animals,
Mike XVX

Bike to Protect! Part 4: The Ride

2011-06-21T13:45:00.001-07:00

Bike to Protect! Part 3

2011-06-13T23:53:00.001-07:00

Bike to Protect! Part 2

2011-06-04T23:53:00.001-07:00

Bike to Protect! Part 1

2011-05-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm preparing for a 70 mile ride next month! I challenge people to donate $1, .50, or .25 for every mile I do!

Bike to Protect: Part 1 from Because We Must on Vimeo.

Donate with your Credit, Debit or Paypal account!

A weekend in Manhattan

2011-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a long weekend in New York. Staying in a swanky hotel, driving around in Escalades and limos, and getting interviewed for a Discovery Channel documentary about the Tsunami in Japan. Don't ask me how I end up in situations like these, because I truly don't know.

It was all a pretty strange experience, usually when I travel I do it on a shoestring budget and cut corners every chance I get. In this case it was the exact opposite, it was all so incredibly excessive and flashy that it made me quite uncomfortable. I was visiting some family in the Tahoe area when I first got the call about the doc, and though I was on vacation at the time I agreed to be involved in this filming because I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about the porpoise slaughter in Otsuchi. So a limo picked me up on Thursday and drove me the airport in Reno, had a lay over in Phoenix for longer than I would have liked, and then continued on to Newark airport where I was met again by a car service. I was driven to the Hampton Inn, which is a somewhat fancy hotel in Soho and met up with one of the other SSCS supporters, Tarah.

Tarah thankfully had gone out earlier to get me food from a raw place nearby, and though the portions were meager I was happy to have it. The next morning we were met by Eric, the producer for the show, had a strange complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and headed out to the studio to film our interviews. Hung around in a loft-style studio for the day, wearing a brand new shirt that I had just bought at American Apparel because I had nothing "nice" to wear, and got to catch a glimpse of the high-stress and forced-smile industry that TV can be. We met some nice folks though, including Paula Zahn who seemed genuinely interested and concerned about us. The whole process took all day, so by the time we came back to the hotel that evening it was time for Tarah to leave. My flight wouldn't be leaving until Saturday evening, so I hung out with Tarah till she had to go and started to make some plans of my own.

That night I walked a couple miles across Manhattan to a vegetarian/vegan restaurant called Red Bamboo that I'd be hearing about. There was a line out the door, so I waited for an hour or so before I was seated, and was treated to some delicious vegan fine dining. After walking back I made some calls back home, figured out some plans for the next day and went to bed.

The next morning I was greeted by sunshine, which was refreshing to see because the previous day had been cold and rainy. I packed up my bag, checked out of my hotel, and began my trek across town. I hopped on the C train and rode it up to central park, and then on to my ultimate destination; the American Museum of Natural History. The building was bigger than I could have ever imagined, and even all the info on the internet said it would take a few hours to see everything. I only had a limited time before I had to be back at the hotel, so I got a move on. I got into line for tickets which are normally $16, but when I finally got to the counter the womyn handed me one before I gave her my card. I said "how much?" and she replied "don't worry about it" and gave me a subtle wink. I thanked her, grabbed the ticket and went straight for one of the entrances fearing that someone had made a mistake and was going to try and stop me any second. They didn't, and I proceeded to explore the many floors and many many exhibits that the museum had to offer. I was really impressed by the size, I hustled through and it still took me over 2 hours to see everything.

By the end of it I was exhausted and starving, so I jumped back on the C train and headed south again. This time I ate at a restaurant called Vegetarian Paradise 2, which just happens to be 2 doors away from Red Bamboo. The food again was amazing, and this time I was afforded the luxury of being one of the few people in the place at the time. After that I decided it was too nice of a day to get back onto the subway, so I took a stroll across town again and back to the hotel to wait for my car. On the way back I saw a pug sniffing a broken and discarded umbrella. Thoroughly inspecting it inside and out, shoving his head into it, biting it, and then eventually peeing all over it. I stood and watched as the pug's humyn laughed and they both walked off together. I had a good laugh myself.

Picked up by a black Escalade at the hotel, and had a terrifying drive across Manhattan and Brooklyn to JFK airport. The whole time I was in the back clutching the door handle, and not saying much at all as we weaved in between traffic. The entire time the driver shouting "don't worry!! I'll get you there on time!!!". I also should mention that immediately when I got into his car I had to pee so freakin bad, but I figured it wouldn't take long for us to get to the airport. Being stuck in traffic and feeling like I was going to burst was excruciating, and when we finally got to the airport I thought I was home free. I went up to the first Delta employee I could see to ask where the bathroom was, and he informed me that I would have to go through security first before I could get to one. I was DYING at that point, literally ready to explode. I had to use 6 different ticket machines because none of them would read my passport, then wait in line to check my bag, and THEN had to put my bags on the conveyor belt and walk through the security check before charging ahead straight towards the nearest bathroom. Never been so relieved in my life!

Had a somewhat of a depressing flight home, reliving everything over and over again is not helping me at all, and I need to really take a break this time. The Tahoe vacation was supposed to be my time for solace, but it was cut short by a trip to noisy Manhattan. Though I can't complain about having the opportunity to share our story with millions of people, I do need to take some time for myself.

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support. Hope to see some of you soon.

Love,
Mike XVX

For those who have no voice: volunteering with SSCS in Japan

2011-03-10T14:16:00.001-08:00

"the flag is soaked in bullshit and lies, and the decrement of a million dead" -Struggle

So as some may know already, I've left for Japan to help put an end to the largest slaughter of cetaceans in the world. Carisa, Marley and myself left Vancouver, BC in the early morning hours of March 8th and caught our flight to Osaka, Japan (with a layover in Beijing, China). It was an exhausting 15 hour journey, filled with questionably vegan plane food and by far the most disgusting airplane bathroom I've ever had the opportunity to use. If I had scanned the room with a black light I would probably have been blinded by the fluorescence, just to give you a mental picture.

We landed in Osaka on the 9th, and immediately located the car rental building (rent-a-cah, if you will). Unfortunately they didn't have any Prius' at the airport location, so we rented a car to drive out to another and exchanged for one. Having to drive all the way across Japan would be a lot more affordable in a hybrid car. Drove about 9 hours the first night, slept in the rental car at a rest stop in the Japanese Alps in some freezing cold weather, and finished up the drive to take us to Otsuchi, Japan.

A couple weeks ago the hunting boats in Taiji were docked and put away for the rest of the season. The reasons are unknown to us, but I assume that the constant Sea Shepherd presence played a role in it ending early this season. So now our plans have changed, and we've driven over 1,000km to Iwate and a small coastal town called Otsuchi to document the largest Dall Porpoise slaughter in the world. Around 7,000 Porpoises are slaughtered here annually, and we won't be satisfied until that number is reduced to ZERO. As of this moment, the dolphins in Taiji seem to be safe, so now our focus will be put here.

We leave in a few hours to visit the killing dock and meet the molesters for the first time face to face. Not really sure what to expect at this point… so far the fisherman have shown some aggression towards other SSCS members, and our friends Scott, Tarah, and Bryan have already been followed around this area extensively by the police. As of now they don't know where we are staying, but assuredly when they figure it out we'll have another set of problems to tackle. I feel an impending doom, and an unspeakable horror waiting around the corner for me today; but I am confident I will act accordingly and take it as it comes.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your help in fundraising. I regrettably have to announce though that we do NOT have enough funds to stay in Iwate for the full 3 weeks like we had planned. This trip is and will be much more expensive because we've had to adapt to a new situation. If you could donate anything at all it would be much appreciated, visit our blog to donate by paypal or credit card:
http://thecoveguardians.blogspot.com
It's about $65 a night in the hotel we are currently in, and we are unsure if there are cheaper alternatives. We've been living off of cheap food from the grocery store, and cutting corners as much as we can. Every dollar we receive literally translates to more time documenting the slaughter, and helping put an end to this grotesque and despicable business.

For those who have no voice*,
Mike XVX

*or at least one that's recognized by humyns

Volunteering with Sea Shepherd in Japan...

2011-03-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody,

So for those who don't know, myself and 2 other activists are traveling to Japan this month to volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian campaign. We'll be documenting a dolphin slaughter (among other things) across Japan to help end the systematic murder of cetaceans. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this blog, though I will try to write everyday, so you should check on our groups blog for updates, photos and video of what's going on: http://thecoveguardians.blogspot.com

Wish us luck in not getting killed, arrested or both. AND if you have the means, please donate to our fund because as of now we don't have enough money to stay in a hotel every night or eat everyday. We'll be spending some time sleeping in our rental car and surviving off cliff bars, haha. There's a donation button on the blog and we'll be able to use those funds in Japan.

Thank you all so much for your help and support!

Stand up, fight back!
Mike XVX

Thank you Seattle!

2011-02-23T09:30:00.001-08:00

Had an awesome weekend organizing with the Seattle Animal Defense league. They were a huge help and we were able to raise $250 at our screening! A lot of really great local businesses donated raffle prizes such as: Sidecar, Pizza Pi, Chocolate Shoebox, Wayward cafe and many others. Campaign Coordinator Scott West from the Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians was able to come out and share with us his experience in Taiji and answer some questions. Thanks so much to Scott and Elora West, SADL, Josh Harper, Wayward Cafe, and all the businesses and individuals who donated and helped promote this screening. We're nearly at our initial fundraising goal!!

Thank you all so much!
Mike XVX

Thanks to everyone who helped make this weekend awesome!

2011-02-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

Just got back from an amazing weekend of events down in Southern California for our Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian fundraisers! I'll fill you in the best I can...

After a 30 hour train ride to LA, my friend Tim picked me up in the Healthforce Nutritionals mobile to be my private chauffeur for the events I had planned. The Healthforce van had it all: two beds, a bathroom, a refrigerator a sink and was even powered by Biodiesel!

First off was our screening in Venice on Friday night at an awesome vegan everything store called Eko Zone. Had some delicious vegan donuts, watched "The Cove", discussed the movie and had a pretty energetic and exciting raffle with all kinds of awesome prizes. Band of Mercy and Greenpeace both came out to show their support and wished us well on our trip, which was a huge morale boost! After the event Tim and I camped out in the Healthforce van right where we had parked for the event. Convenient? I think so!

Saturday morning we woke up super early and drove out to Whittier to join in on a demonstration against Pet City, one of LA's most notorious proprietors of puppy-mill dogs. Of the USDA's 12 worst puppy-mills in the country, Pet City buys from 4 of them! Boycott Pet City is leading an awesome campaign against these stores - get involved!

Later that day we were still feeling a bit sleepy, so Tim and I drove down to the beach in the van and had ourselves a nice nap a couple feet from the sand. Slept for about an hour and a half listening to the waves, the ocean breeze, the sea gulls and the occasional person saying "What mountain is that?!" referring to the giant Healthforce decal that wraps the van. It was incredibly relaxing, and when we awoke we had a lovely raw dinner consisting of tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce and snap peas while we watched a beautiful sunset. It was moments like these that really make a day great, and we both took note of that before we left.

That evening we drove down to San Diego to see our friends in From The Depths play a show, and to also promote the screening event I had planned the next night at the same venue. Watched one of the most passionate and inspiring performances I've seen in a very long time, and were able to share stories and ideas with a lot of like-minded people. It was great to have so much support for the Cove Guardian campaign and be able to make an announcement over the PA about the screening the next night. That night we stayed at the famous "punk mansion" with our dear friend Carly, where I was awarded the "princess bed" all to myself. It was delightful!

Sunday morning we awoke relatively early (some of us rose earlier than others, I'm not naming names) and headed out to Ocean Beach to have breakfast at the People's co-op. For those not in the know, People's is an all vegetarian organic grocery store with a vegan deli upstairs. By far one of my favorite places in California to eat at, and within walking distance of Sunset Cliffs - my favorite cliff jumping spot.

After breakfast we headed out to Casa Cove, a man-made beach that has been adopted as a birthing ground for dozens of harbor seals. There is a battle going on a the beach at the moment, a handful of people are disputing the seals right to have the beach to nurse their pups during their breeding season. Though it's not illegal for people to stay on the beach, the city has put a rope up discouraging people from walking down onto the sand. Taking a general poll around the cove every time we're there, the vast majority of people are interested in seeing the seals return and ensuring that we provide them a safe and comfortable place to rest and look after their young. A small group of people do not want to see that happen, and they've made a point of camping out on the beach in the middle of the sand to scare away any seals that attempt to swim up. These 3 men are not only apathetic to the still-births of the seal mothers who are unable to rest on the sandy shore (and the dead seal pups that have washed ashore), but also refuse to move from the beach on the grounds that it's "their" beach and they won't share it with anyone. Though it should be noted that at least 2 of these men don't even live in the community where Casa Cove is located. All of them have exhibited bullying and aggressive behavior in the past towards the pro-seal campaigners that line the sides of the cove, one incident even escalating to one of them assaulting and tackling a young woman to the ground. We decided that the bullying was over, so Tim, Carly and myself confronted them on the beach with our cameras and demanded answers for their behavior, and informed them that as long as they were putting the lives of seals (and humyns) in danger that we would be there to confront them. After some squabbles and many a-photo-taking of their vacant expressions, one of them had enough and left. The other 2 would not let their frisbee game be disturbed by our debate, so we organized the hundred or so people surrounding the cove to chant "WE WANT SEALS!" and "SHAME! SHAME! SHAME ON YOU!". The police soon arrived and informed the anti-seal "activists" that they were on the verge of being cited for inciting a riot and needed to do whatever it took to deescalate the situation. We left that day with tourists and locals all around us screaming at the men to leave, and felt satisfied that if they weren't embarrassed or ashamed, they were definitely afraid of the angry crowd. Get involved with Casa Cove up for the lives of threatened seals! http://lajollafriendsoftheseals.org/

We finished of our day with our San Diego screening of The Cove at one of my favorite venues of all time, The Che Cafe. Not a huge turnout, but still had some great conversations with people. Jane Cartmill from San Diego Animal Advocates came out and talk a lot about Sea World and how the captive dolphin trade plays into the slaughter that happens in Taiji, Japan. Had another awesome and rowdy raffle, at some delicious gluten-free and vegan cupcakes and passed out a ton of literature to people.

In the end, we made around $450 and also made some really amazing friends and allies. Healthforce supplied us with some awesome supplements for our trip abroad, and it's great to have the support of such a great company. 100% vegan, raw, 'truganic' vitamins and supplements. Every time I start my day with Vitamineral Green I feel like animal abusers don't want to mess with me. No joke! Thank you to everyone that has helped us out this weekend!! It was truly an inspiring and morale boosting trip. A couple more events like these and we'll be ready for anything!

Love always,

Mike XVX

Events in Southern California!

2011-02-05T14:32:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone,

I've abandoned my myspace so I'll be posting about shows here on my blog from now on. If you're going to be around southern California the weekend of the 11th there are some awesome events!

Feb. 11th is a benefit screening of "The Cove" and raffle at Eko Zone in Venice. We're trying to fundraise for our trip to Japan to volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian program in March. Come out if you can! More info here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133311516733620

Feb. 12th Im playing at Amber's birthday party at Fairmont Park in Riverside, CA. The show starts at 4 and there will also be a vegan potluck, so bring a dish!

Feb. 13th is also a screening of "The Cove" at the Che Cafe in La Jolla, CA. We'll have speakers, a vegan bake sale and another raffle. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=160798253968697

Hope to see some people at these events!

Mike XVX

p.s. also check out our blog at http://thecoveguardians.blogspot.com

In regards to the photograph and article posted on The Cove Guardians blog

2010-12-23T22:47:00.000-08:00

*the story and photograph mentioned are originally posted on our blog:http://thecoveguardians.blogspot.com/*

I have been thinking of the layout of this photograph for a while now, and about what it may symbolize and represent... Me, a white skinned male in the center, flanked by two womyn at my side who are poised slightly behind me as if submissive to my presence. It made me feel uneasy that what was originally intended to be a strong and powerful animal rights message may also echo a visualization of a tyrannical, sexist and male dominated system. A friend of mine brought it up to me tonight and confirmed my fears, and I don't want this photo to be a misrepresentation of myself and my political beliefs. The animal rights movement is not without it's faults, and even within what seems like a progressive and forward thinking community sexism and male-dominance are still present.

We took this photo as part of an article that was posted about us in The Nanaimo News Bulletin that can be seen on our blog (http://thecoveguardians.blogspot.com/). Marley, Carisa and myself met with a photographer at the harbor to snap some photos to accompany the story of our trip we are planning to Taiji, Japan to act as Cove Guardians, and so we all decided to wear our Sea Shepherd shirts. Unplanned and unknowing, Marley and Carisa both ended up wearing the same navy blue t-shirt while I wore the white. Needing to break up the colors (and me being the least camera shy) I was placed in the middle for the photograph. At the time we were busy awkwardly shuffling back and forth in front of the camera and freezing in the winter sea breeze, not considering the positioning in the photograph and what it may represent.

Marley and Carisa are both powerful, passionate and strong womyn and I am proud to be organizing and traveling with them. Although this picture might suggest otherwise, there are no hierarchal dynamics in our relationship as a group or in our personal relationships. We are all struggling for the same ends, and as an animal rights activist, environmentalist and feminist I strongly oppose all forms of oppression and domination. Bell Hooks was an author that originally encouraged me to identify as a feminist, though I am male-bodied, by stating that "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression" which is something that I believe in greatly. If you are a boy and those words hit close to home with you, then I STRONGLY encourage you to identify as a feminist, apply those principles to your daily life and research ways to be a better ally to womyn and anyone struggling for equal rights.

I hope this clarifies the photograph and any concerns, if anyone would like to discuss it more feel free to send me an email at: mikexvx@gmail.com. I don't claim to have all the answers, and I don't claim to be completely free of the sexist mentalities and mental binds that growing up in a patriarchal society have given me. But I would like to say for the record that all movements are important and necessary, and that oppressing a species deemed "weaker" and "less intelligent" then ours is no better or worse than oppressing someone because of their gender or race.

One struggle, one fight,

Mike XVX

A short trip through Thailand: Video

2010-12-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

Thailand XVX from mike xvx on Vimeo.

"A short video compilation of my trip across Thailand.

There were some amazing things about the trip, like our 3 day trek through the jungle near the Mae Tang river and the lantern festival in Chiang Mai. But there were also some horrible realities that we had to face while we were there, like the neglected cats and dogs that fill each city, the beatings and cuts the elephants endure when they're "trained" to give tourists rides on their backs, and the grotesque nature of the sex industry in Bangkok, where womyn and children are enslaved and forced to do disgusting sexual acts with and in front of paying tourists. Although this video highlights the more positive sides of my trip, the knowledge and memory of all those terrible things will stick with me. For anyone that plans to visit Thailand, or any other country for that matter, be sure you are not supporting any industry that profits off of humyn and non-humyn exploitation and suffering. We took whatever opportunity we had to voice our disapproval when people offered us these things, and tried our best to embarrass them, shame them, or at the very least make it clear that we want no part in what they were offering us. It's the fault of the paying general public that these things continue, and it's our responsibility to take a stand against it. If we stay complicit and silent in what goes on around us, and don't speak up for those who have no voice, we are no better than the perpetrators. Fight back."

Photos! Round 1

2010-11-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

Haven't had time to update this thing, but thought I'd share some photos with everyone... I'll let these tell the story for now. Maybe when I get back I can do a summary of the whole trip. One thing I will say though is that my dear friend Chonga, from the european tour with xTrue Naturex, is here with me right now in Chiang Mai! We are currently enjoying frozen watermelon juices in the sweltering heat of our hostel. Leaving tomorrow morning for a 3 day trek up into the jungle!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nofuckingwhey/sets/72157625435287218/

A short trip through Thailand pt. 1

2010-11-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

So today I'll be leaving for a 2 week journey across Thailand. I had initially planned on doing a short tour, but I decided that for once I'd like to travel and actually take some time and enjoy myself. Plus, not having to carry around my heavy, bulky guitar is a definite plus as well. Looking after that thing is almost like looking after a baby; can't be too cold, can't be too hot, someone will steal it if I don't keep an eye on it... etc. etc.

My journey began with a 1,400 mile drive from Vancouver Island, BC to Los Angeles, CA to catch my flight. I stopped off in Portland, OR for a night to visit friends and eat some delicious vegan food. I can't remember the last time I had decent Mexican food... spending so much time in Canada has gotten me used to eating dry, unseasoned beans and bizarre tasting "spanish rice". So naturally I went to Taqueria Los Gorditos and devoured an entire enchilada plate with soy curls and a tamale in about 15 minutes, and amazingly avoided slipping into a deep food coma as I usually do whenever I eat there. If you're ever around Portland I definitely recommend going to this place!

After my second day in Portland I left and headed south around 6 pm. I said goodbye to some friends, drove about 6 hours listening to "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" series on Audiobook, and ended up sleeping at a rest stop somewhere near Yreka, CA. Using my Liberate hoodie as a screen to block out the streetlights, foolishly I did not consider that my window had to be slightly cracked open to do this. I fell asleep immediately, slept for a good 6 hours or so sitting upright in the drivers seat, and awoke in the freezing air of Mt. Shasta with ice all over the windshield. As miserable as that was, it certainly made me feel alive... that's for sure.
Later in the day I stopped off at a gas station to buy some oil for the car. Walking into the store I overheard a conversation happening at the counter, little did I know that they were talking about me. I kept hearing a man say "watch him, WATCH HIM. I don't trust him.." over and over again, and when I approached the counter to pay (don't act so surprised) I heard him say to one of the employees "Charge him extra" as he was walking out the door. In a daze from staring at the road for the past 12 hours, I finally pieced together that he was talking about me and that he was most likely the owner of this gas station. Was it my long scruffy hair and beard? my sleeveless 7 generations shirt with it's prominent anti-christian message? The fact that I hadn't showered in 4 days and probably reeked of BO and Thai Food? Whatever. This asshole was wearing khaki pants with a blue tooth in his ear, who's he to pass judgment on me? The womyn behind the counter gave me an apologetic and embarrassed smile, I'm sure this isn't the first time he's acted like an asshole towards her. I paid, walked out and filled my car up with oil. On my way out of the parking lot I saw him changing the numbers on the front sign, which confirmed for me that he WAS in fact the owner. I rolled up alongside him about 6 ft away or so, gave him a friendly *MEEP MEEP* on my car horn, extended my middle finger and gave him the happiest, most excited smile I could muster. He turned to give a friendly wave until he saw that I was quite literally telling him to go fuck himself in the politest of ways. He was bummed to say the least. Fuck you and your blue tooth, I'm still punk.

After the grueling, traffic filled final leg of my drive into LA, I finally made it to my Uncle's house in Torrance. I took them out for some awesome vegan food at Veggie Grill in El Segundo which they all enjoyed and filled up on food bars at Whole Foods for my trip (did you know they sell jars of live ladybugs there?? so fucked).

I only have a few hours left on this continent before my flight leaves. As of now I have about $200 for food and accommodations while in Thailand. People are telling me that it's a stupid idea to go alone to a country you've never been to before with not enough money, but I'll show them who's stupid (or to phrase it more politely: I'll be just fine). It's not my style to go somewhere completely prepared, it just wouldn't be me.

I'll try and keep you all updated with photos and entries as often as I can, but I'm not sure how well that will work out. Take care!

Mike XVX

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 7 (FINAL)

2010-09-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

9/7 - 9/15

The night we headed back from the show in Victoria we were driving through the woods in our neighborhood when I saw a bike tire protruding from a bush on the side of the road. Never passing up a good opportunity for a trash bike I ran out and grabbed it. I threw it in the back of Chuck's truck and headed off back to the cabin, only to realize later how hideous (and awesome) this bike really is. It has: a Maruishi road bike frame, a knobby mountain bike tire on the back, beach-cruiser wheel on the front, bmx bars, cruiser seat, ancient brakes and a 5 speed shifter. As ugly as this thing is, amazingly it rides well and the tires are relatively new. The frame is a bit rusted and the back tire wobbles, but everything runs smoothly and it shifts properly. Anyway, it reminded me of a story that my friend Keegan told me about someone he knew finding a mountain bike in a dumpster and riding it 200 miles. The ferry crossing in Port Angeles, WA is only 250 miles from Portland, OR so I thought if someone else can do it why can't I? I scoured Craigslist for days until I found a cheap, pink Little Tikes bike trailer that I've managed to shove all of my belongings into, and plan to drag it all the way back to PDX. So I've spent this last week preparing for my trip home, and as of recently the cabin has been completely ransacked since 'Hurricane Mike' has come through. Considering that I'll be riding home through the Olympic mountains in potentially freezing weather, I've decided to only take items with me that are essential to my survival over the next 4 or so days. That means I have to leave a few important things behind for now, like my guitar and other bike, but on the bright side it'll give me more incentive to come back to Canada soon (not that I really need any more).

I am currently 2 days away from leaving Canada for an unknown period of time, and what was originally supposed to be 2 weeks here ended up stretching out to nearly 2 months. Ginny and Ron Weasley (the cats) are finally comfortable enough here at the cabin to come down from the loft and play through all hours of the night, and I am super excited for them. Every time I'm home alone Ron sees an opportunity for some bro time, and we usually watch The Office together or I play music for him. I spent my last day at the farm yesterday feeding the animals and shoveling horse manure out of the shed that Romeo (the horse) loves to shit in. I also got to groom Natalie Portman (the turkey) for the first time and he loved it! I wish I had taken a video but I didn't have a camera at the time. We've been avoiding and ignoring Keres every time we've come to the farm as well, and that works out better for everyone; though occasionally we'll see some of her handiwork around the farm when we're feeding on our days i.e. not refilling the chicken's water, leaving a mountain of trash in the tool shed, doing nothing about a horrible infection Romeo had in his eye etc.

This trip has been an amazing and informative experience for me. I got to spend time with animals that I never had the opportunity to be around previously. Got to witness how and why horses get their feet trimmed, learned how chickens eat their own eggs (kinda gross), how some turkeys (like Carl*) love to hump everything in sight and will crawl in your lap and cuddle if you let them, how truly anti-social most cats naturally are with humyns, and when I was volunteering at the parrot sanctuary in Parksville I learned how hard cockatoos can bite**. I made some pretty amazing and inspiring friends here, and I am hoping to come back to stay here again as soon as I can... until then I will miss them greatly. I can't imagine how hard it's going to be to have to leave here tomorrow.

Even though I've heard so many amazing stories of survival about the animals I've come into contact with, there are still millions and millions out there who are never afforded an opportunity at a decent life. Sanctuaries and rescues are amazing places and deserve support and admiration. It's hard work to take care of so many animals, and some people, like Chuck, have to work 2 or 3 jobs just to provide for the animals in their care. Look into a sanctuary or rescue near you and donate your time or money, I'm sure they could greatly use it. Sentient beings are not commodities, trophies or emotional or physical punching bags; THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS.

I don't trust anyone that doesn't love animals.

Love Always,
Mike XVX

Huge thank you's and much love to: Chuck, Stanley, Romeo, Timber, Natalie Portman, Ron and Ginny, Dougie, Reggie, Ebin, the chickens, the bunnies and all the feral cats, Justin, Shawna, Marian, Emma, Tarah, Brooke, Joe, Heather, Tara, Martin, Adrienne, all people who oppose the Canadian seal hunt, people who throw away bikes for no darn good reason, and lastly Chuck's mom for spending hours finding me a tent to ride home with. GO VEGAN!

*Carl used to live at the farm but now lives at a stable where he hangs out with kids all day and teaches them that turkeys are friends, not food.

**I was standing there minding my own business when a cockatoo bit me square on my Achilles tendon and it bled like crazy. I turned around to see 3 or 4 of them standing there so I didn't know who to blame, but it hurt really freakin bad.

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 6

2010-09-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

8/31 - 9/6

It's been getting a little bit colder the past week or so, and I'm excited for Fall to finally be here. We've often had fires in our fireplace here at the cabin and there's nothing more comforting then falling asleep to the crackle of wood burning.

A couple of days ago I needed to make copies, so Chuck dropped me off with my bike at the office supply store on her way to work. Unbeknownst to me, and because of a mis-communication she dropped me off at the store that's nearly 3 times as far from the cabin as the one I assumed we were going to. So with no food and very little water, my journey home began on the treacherous, yet beautiful, Parkway Trail. The trail itself stretches from one end of Nanaimo to the other, most of the ride being through the woods along the highway and over or across bridges. The hills are incredibly steep on the first part of this path, and I ride a brakeless fixed gear bike, so I literally came within inches of colliding with a family of deer while coming down a grade. Accidentally having separated the mother from her 2 babies, I was terrified she was going to seek retribution against me. Luckily she accepted my screamed apology as I flew past. After I had been riding for a couple of hours, I finally reached a nice, flat area that wound through shady woods along a river. Enjoying myself for the first time on the Parkway Trail, I was brought to a halt while coming around a corner to discover that the path abruptly ended. Amidst a sea of construction crews, bulldozers and cement trucks, one worker, who was oh so busy talking on her cell phone, took one look at me and shook her head. So with my original route closed I found an alternative among surface streets, and eventually made it back to the cabin.*

I played a show in Victoria on Sep. 4th at the BCGEU. A friend, who had previously invited me to play the Anarchist Bookfair, set up a benefit show for a womyn named Kelly that was arrested in the wake of the G20 in Toronto**. She is being charged as being one of the leaders of the black bloc which the government is trying to classify as a "hate crime". Hate crime statutes were created to protect people from marginalized communities, but it's now being used against an activist in a completely ridiculous and unrelated context. (you can read more about her case here: http://anarchistnews.org/?q=node/11810) The show went well and I met some pretty awesome people. There were a few performers that completely blew me away, I was seriously impressed! Chuck and I both finished off 2 gluten-free vegan pizzas***, cookies, and a cream soda before the show so after a long drive back to Nanaimo and settling in at the cabin at 3 am we both had some serious stomach aches.

Nearing the last days here in Canada, and I already know I'm going to miss it when I get back to the states. I've made a short video of some of the animals I've met on this trip and set it to some awesome 80's pop music. Let me know what you all think!

Love Always,
Mike XVX

*My thighs are still sore as I type this.

**For 3 years I've been extended an invitation to play the bookfair, every year I've said yes, and every year I've fucked up and missed it.

***Try Daiya vegan cheese, you will NOT regret it!

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 5

2010-08-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

8/23 - 8/30

I've been sick with whatever Chuck had for most of this week, some kind of flu I imagine. There were times when I felt comfortable getting up and walking around, but I pushed it too far when I went for a 30 mile bike ride across the countryside and through the city. I spent the next day completely bed-ridden and miserable... but now after some rest I'm starting to feel better.
I've been riding my bike as much as I can since I've been here, and I've seen deer almost everyday. The route I usually ride takes me through a southern part of town near the lumbermill. It smells terribly of rotting wood and chemicals, but to cross into Nanaimo there's no other way around it. There's a small community that I pass immediately afterward that is eerily quiet, yet there's always people meandering about in the roads that I have to weave around. It reminds me so much of this short story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" by one of my favorite authors H.P. Lovecraft. In the story, Innsmouth is a small and rarely visited town in New England where everything about the citizens and the architecture is detestable in an indiscriminate and unspoken way. Because of local legends travelers avoid it all costs, though one man chooses to visit despite the warnings of others and slowly pieces together a story of a fishing tycoon that makes a deal with demons one night on the reef that surrounds the town. The traveler gets trapped there and all kinds of crazy stuff starts happening... I won't ruin it for you, but I just thought it would maybe paint a better picture of this area. Anyway, I rode through there one night and immediately after I entered the neighborhood I regretted getting started on my ride home so late. Once through I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Maybe I'm just being silly.

I've been bonding with our 2 cats Ron and Ginny Weasley quite a bit. They both finally worked up the courage to come down from the loft on the crazy box staircase I made for them (which in it's own way must be scary enough to climb down on). Ronald came down for a visit this morning and was loving all over me while I slept. I also saw him kneading Chuck's blanket-covered head and was amazed that she didn't wake up. Though she rose to get the phone a little bit later and Ron, almost being crushed, panicked and jumped straight into the chest at the end of the bed!* I am so excited that they're starting to feel more comfortable here, as anti-social as they are I felt like we were keeping them locked up in a prison. They are both the sweetest, cutest little potatoes ever and it would be so lonely here in the cabin without them.

Stanley is doing better now, his hair is starting to grow back and his wound from the jacket is healing up nicely. We went by the other day and it was incredibly infected, so we sprayed him with some iodine and it's helped quite a bit. Hopefully it will heal up completely and not leave a scar, but only time will tell on that one.

Yesterday evening I was feeling a bit peckish, and with little food at the house I decided to head to the grocery store. My bike was in the back of Chuck's truck while she was at work, so my best option was to hitchhike the 13 miles into town. With the sun setting and remembering how few cars drive by on our road, especially on a Sunday, I was starting to worry that I wasn't going to make it before the sun went down and I would most likely have to walk through the pitch black woods to get back. Consequently I made it in 3 rides, and riding in the back of a pickup truck staring up at the sun setting behind the trees made me feel pretty glad that my bike was locked away and I was afforded this rare opportunity. I managed to get to my destination before the sun set, and while in line at the store another piece of good fortune was thrown my way. As I was paying for my food (surprised?) I was unable to afford 2 or 3 items and had to set them aside. I had got the truck back from Chuck, and as I was about to drive away I saw a young womyn running across the parking lot at me. My first instinct was to run, and then I thought maybe I just dropped some money. Well when I rolled the window down she had those 3 items in her hands, so she put them on the passenger side seat, stared at me for a minute and then said "Have a good night!" and took off running. I could barely yelp out a thank you amidst all the confusion, but left that night feeling pretty psyched on life.

Making tentative plans to ride my bike back to Vancouver, but things are so back and forth here that every time I plan on leaving something else comes up. Anyway, I have about 2 weeks left here in Canada and I'm going to try and make the best of them. Hope you're all doing well!

Love Always,
Mike XVX

*Don't worry, he's ok!

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 4

2010-08-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

8/16 - 8/22

The mayor of Nanaimo and myself.
I asked him to pretend like I was someone really famous for the photo. no big deal. Also, you know someone's a good mayor when they ask you what "chick" you're trying to impress right after you get your picture with him.

I picked up a free mountain bike from a craigslist ad, and one that assured me that it still had some salvageable parts on it, only to find that every component was rusted nearly all the way through. Not having much else to do with it, I traveled to the steepest hill in the city (which is about a mile long and pretty freakin steep) and launched it ceremoniously at 3 am after I picked up Chuck from work. Ready to jump back in the car to follow it down, it made it about 20 ft and took a hard right into someones yard. Needless to say I was disappointed.
That next morning Chuck had her appointment with her psychic, and woke me up at about 9 am with a call right afterward. What I can remember of the conversation was a flurry of excitement on her end, talking about how her psychic knew all about her family situation and that she's making the right decisions etc. with me adding a sleepy and muffled "mmhmm" and "ya" in between. The conversation ended as quickly (and loudly) as it had begun and later I wondered if I had dreamt any of it. Incidentally I did not, but now Chuck is pretty certain that moving to the United States is the right decision for her. Whether this came about from her psychic reading, or maybe a combination of something else I do not know, but I'm glad that she's figured out what she wants and is taking steps to make it happen. It's good to finally be able to spend time with someone who's driven and self motivated, you know?

Drove down to Victoria a couple days ago and visited with a friend. We stopped by a pretty rad art gallery, had some decent vegan chinese food, spent way too much money at the local infoshop, and then bought a vegan gluten free pizza (with daiya cheese!) for the drive back up. Chuck has been really sick with throat ulcers, a fever and an incredibly sore back, but we still had a pretty rad day. I haven't spent much time in Victoria since I've been here and I'm looking forward to going back pretty soon for a show that I'm playing, maybe even riding the 80 miles from here to there.

The liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who's running for Prime Minister, visited our town to give a talk and have lunch at a local french restaurant downtown. Michael Ignatieff is a big supporter of the Canadian seal hunt, so we organized a demo to hopefully have a discussion with him and raise awareness about the issue. He consistently uses the argument that the seal hunt supports First Nations people, and that opposition to the commercial hunt is a threat to their way of life. In reality, the commercial seal hunt is owned and run by white, male Norwegians, Newfoundlanders, Nova Scotians, and Quebecois; it has no correlation with any traditional indigenous hunt. Though we were getting media attention at first, we weren't sure Ignatieff was paying much attention to us protesting outside at all. We only had 10 or so people, but we still managed to be loud enough to disturb the proceedings inside. Eventually he had his PR person come out and guarantee us that he would answer some of our questions once he was finished inside looking like an idiot and kissing everyone's ass (my words, not hers). But, immediately afterward she asked us: "you guys aren't going to like, throw red paint on him are you?" we all had a really good laugh at that, so she responded with "well that's just what I heard some animal rights people do" hahaha. Here is the discussion once he came outside:

Last night I shaved off my beard, cut my hair and went for a 30 mile bike ride across 4 towns. Rode from our cabin to Chuck's work, treated myself to dinner, rode back to Chuck's work again, and then rode the last 13 miles back to the cabin at 10:15 (on a saturday night*). Riding across each town was fine, but once I got into the forest the moon went behind some clouds and I was left with only my 2 small bike lights to keep me safe on that windy rode. 8 miles of terrified biking, riding as fast as I could thinking that I'm being chased by Skinwalkers, bears, aliens or drunk drivers trying to run me down. Your mind tells you some crazy things when you're scared, and riding all alone on that stretch of road in the middle of the night was as nerve-racking as it gets. Because of how horrifying most of the ride had been I made it back in about 40 minutes from when I had left Chuck's work. Maybe I'll start doing velodrome and have Sasquatch chase me across the track.
Currently still dealing with family drama here and there, and our visit to the farm this morning was as shocking as it gets. Stanley (the ex-racehorse) had been wearing a fly jacket when we arrived and was kicking and shaking his head in a bizarre way. When Chuck removed the jacket she noticed that the chord had left an incredibly painful looking rope burn across his chest, and in seeing it immediately burst into tears. It was incredibly gruesome, and we spent some time afterward putting ointment on his cut and feeding him blackberries. Apparently his jacket had been on for several days, and Keres blames Chuck for "not taking care" of her horses, even though as of recently we've only been designated (and allowed) to come to the farm 3 days of the week. Set aside the fact that Keres was the one who put the jacket on him, which serves nearly no purpose.

We're still in the process of finding Stanley a new home. After all he's been through he doesn't deserve to be mistreated and neglected any further then he already has. It's hard to imagine that this incident wasn't intentional, and while running into Chuck's mom again while leaving lead to another argument and literally no empathy on her end. Animals deserve love and respect, and Stanley is receiving neither of those from Keres. Oh, how laws protect animal abusers... if we only lived in a world where people could actually be held accountable for the way that they treat other sentient beings.

Love always,
Mike XVX

*I will high five you if you can name the band that wrote this song.

A Song For Stanley

2010-08-17T20:12:00.001-07:00

A Song For Stanley from mike xvx on Vimeo.

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 3

2010-08-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

8/7 - 8/15

I don't know how this comes about, but often enough I'll be staying with a friend and manage to be there at some of their most vulnerable and life changing moments. Somehow my stays are queued in with some huge family drama, or to watch someone have to sacrifice what was once a huge part of their lives, or listen to elaborate and desperate plans to flee the country and start a new life, to realize later that they're convictions are sincere and they're actually going through with it. Not one, but all of these things have happened here in this past week, and it's going to take a minute to explain it all so try and be patient.

Chuck has lived on her family farm with her sister Keres* for the past few years, both of them together taking on the duties to care for the many animals they've rescued. Chuck being the oldest, and taking on most of the responsibilities, always felt that her sister lacked the drive and compassion to properly care for the animals she loves. There had been a lot of factors that slowly deteriorated their relationship and led Chuck to believe that the animals were no longer safe in Keres' care, but one incident in particular was enough for Chuck to feel she needed to re-home as many of the animals as she could. While away on a trip for the weekend, one of the chickens had developed an infection in it's cloaca**, and when Chuck returned she discovered that it had gone untreated by Keres even though she had full knowledge of the chicken's discomfort; her only suggestion was to just put the chicken down. What is the point of adopting a battery hen if you're just going to let it suffer and die from a treatable infection? It was at that point that Chuck made arrangements to move off of the farm and into the cabin on the beach where we both currently reside.

I thought that the space would help deescalate the growing tension between Chuck and Keres, but things only got worse from here....
There are 3 cats that live in the basement in isolation from the rest of the house (they have a peeing problem), "Dougie" and "Ron and Ginnie Weasley". Ron and Ginnie are brother and sister, and Ginnie absolutely refuses to associate with any humyns. She simply just wants to hang out up on her shelf and be left alone. But Keres always talked about how much she hated them and was trying to convince Chuck to re-home the Weasleys at the new cabin. Not wanting to take them away from Dougie, who they were very attached to, she intitially refused to break up their family since the three of them were all each other had. This didn't suit Keres, so she threw a temper tantrum where she threatened to report Chuck to the police and assured her she would "fuck her over so badly" if she didn't do as she said in regards to the cats. Keres was once a legit activist, so of course we were all taken aback by the way she handled that situation and the threat of legal action she made against a member of her own family. So (almost literally) with a gun in our backs we took the Weasley's away from Dougie and brought them to the new cabin where they are still getting adjusted. It was shitty enough to have to separate them, but having to see Dougie's reaction to it was a whole other level. We had no way to tell him it wasn't our fault that he had to live in the basement by himself and that Keres is just a fucking asshole.

The great finish to this is that Chuck's parents have sided with Keres in the disagreement, and fully support her in her own personal decision to ban Chuck from the farmhouse entirely (which probably means that I'm banned for associating with her as well). Their parents recognize Chuck as a very capable person, so they felt it necessary to support Keres regardless of the situation at hand. The only purpose Chuck has for visiting the farm now is feeding the animals that still live there and during this time is looking into new, safe homes for a few of them.

So after all this, Chuck realized there wasn't a whole lot here for her anymore now that she's been blacklisted from the family farm and far past a point of making a compromise with Keres. (But, if I were Chuck I wouldn't have compromised with her either... the day a fellow activist threatens to call the cops on you over a petty disagreement is the day that relationship is over in my mind.) Now Chuck is looking into plans to move off of the island, and potentially could be coming back with me to the states if she's able to get a work permit in the next few months. Her strength and convictions are a big inspiration to me, I don't know how many people I know that could handle the immense anxiety and loss that she's felt. It's hard enough to watch this all from the side, I can't comprehend how hard it must be to have to separate and say goodbye to so many loving and brave animals that had been in her care.

During this time we've been filling our days with snorkeling at the river and beach, reading, hanging out in town and attempting to make the Weasleys a little more comfortable in their new home. Days have been passing regularly here, and though I've felt I've gotten to know Chuck incredibly well, I feel these past 3 weeks have blown by with hardly a notice. Trying my hardest to keep my spirits up and stay positive for Chuck, though things have been pretty rough around here. I am very thankful to have her as a friend, and I hope I can be as strong a person as she has been for herself and for her animals.

Snitches get stitches,
Mike XVX

*Keres is a female greek name meaning "evil spirits". I chose a fake name for this womyn that I felt suited her actions very well, as you will read later.

**meaning chicken bum. Yes, chickens lay eggs out of the same whole they defecate from and humyns eat them. disgusting.

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 2

2010-08-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

7/31 - 8/6

A lots been happening this week and I haven't had much time for updates, so I'll sum up everything the best I can. I may talk about things out of chronological order and I apologize if it's confusing. This is just how my brain works most of the time.

Been spending some time with the animals on the farm, getting to know all of them and connecting with Stanley, the ex-racehorse, in particular. Stanley was kept out of races because of his crooked legs and was rescued by Chuck a few years ago. Since then he's been living on the farm with the other two horses, Timber and Romeo, and terrorizing the neighbor horses in the next yard. Apparently he would climb up their fence, grab one of the show horses from next door by their jackets, and lift them up off the ground bum first. So funny! The neighbors had a fit about it and eventually installed an electric fence to keep him away. He's such a badass.
Anyway, recently I wrote a song about Stanley... I have yet to record it but I'll post the lyrics here so you can check it out:

"the first horse i'd ever had the chance to get to know
you are gentle, you are strong and you are brave
and even if your scars are cut so deep they always show
you're a warrior, my friend, and now you're safe

stanley, stanley
you deserved a better life, it's true
stanley, stanley
I can't believe the things they did to you

they burned 6 numbers in your skin
and those numbers still remain
how could animals ever trust us again?
they would have run you to your death
a forced march till your dying day
humyns must look like nazis to them

stanley, stanley
the racetrack burned a number in your neck
stanley, stanley
a symbol that we'll never forget

sadistic gambling perverts, drunk and screaming in their seats
the scum of the earth in my eyes
horses forced to run until their heart ceases to beat
but it's all just torture in disguise

our anger begs for action
though I know you never would
we're just thankful that you are ok
we love to see you happy
there's every reason that we should
your presence just brightens our day

stanley, stanley
you deserved a better life, it's true
stanley stanley
we are all so very proud of you
yes, we are all so very proud of you"

On Justin and Shawna's last day with us we went to a flea market where Chuck was sexually harassed by an older guy asking her if she wanted to play "doctor and nurse". Fuck that fool. After Chuck embarrassed him in front of a bunch of his customers he complained to one of them that he "had no trouble with the lasses" when he was a "young lad". Yeah, maybe if you had some fucking respect for other people they would show you an equal amount. Either way, Chuck is a maniac and would have knocked him out. For some reason a lot of liberal/left-ish people in the US glorify Canada and paint this picture of a tolerant, respectful, open-minded place with socialized healthcare and low murder rates. After nearly 2 weeks here I've almost got into 3 fist fights with people for calling them out on their shitty behavior, so pardon me for not agreeing with that sentiment. One of the times was at Chuck's bar when a drunk asshole was making racist and homophobic comments. He was upset that I wasn't laughing along with him when he talked about how satisfying it was to have "a little black guy making you drinks" on the beach in the Caribbean. Our conversation:

"So, uh, what DO YOU think is funny then, eh?"
"Um, jokes that aren't racist and homophobic"
"whoa whoa, I'm not homophobic! what about comedians? they say racist and homophobic things all the time and you laugh at them!"
"I don't fucking laugh at racist jokes!"
"Well I know a lot of gay guys that make homophobic jokes all the time and I don't see you yelling at them!"
"Maybe they have the right to laugh about it because they have to deal with homophobia on a daily basis!"

and from there the yelling became so incoherent on his end that I eventually gave up and just sat there quietly. A womyn he was with tried to get him to apologize to me on his way out the door, and I just stared at him and didn't react. So he threw his hands up in the air and yelled that he didn't have to be friends with everyone and stormed out. This entire time Chuck standing behind the bar with the most awkward look on her face. Sorry homie. Comically, another patron commented that they must be American; and that would explain their behavior. Chuck shot me a look and I snickered. Sorry to break it to everyone: racism, sexism, heterosexism and specieism are everywhere. Challenge it every chance you get!

A couple days later, Chuck and I got to work big time on clearing everything out of her old room on the farm and moving it out to the new cabin a few miles away. The process was painstaking, labor intensive, and it was pretty freakin hot out that day but we got it all done in pretty decent time. Her new place is absolutely unbelievable, a tiny one room log cabin overlooking the ocean set in a small, quiet community. It looked totally wrecked when we first started moving all her stuff in, but now it's super quaint and cozy - wood burning stove and all. (I'm staying with Chuck now full time here instead of at the farm which has been seriously amazing!) The only downside to this house is that the tap water is absolutely DISGUSTING! NO EXAGGERATION! The water comes from a local well, and apparently this is the worst time of year for it because the water is so low that it smells horribly of sulfur. Literally EVERY TIME we turn on the tap it stinks up the whole cabin! I refuse to shower in it; the ocean is a 5 minute walk away. enough said.

Did some chores for one of Chuck's neighbors to make some extra money while I'm here, and got to spend some time with her listening to music and chatting. Listened to her stories about how she rescued her dog from a beach in Mexico and loving her undying hatred for the police. According to her, she gives them the finger every time she heads into town. I published a zine about my tour across Europe recently and I gave her one of those, I think she liked it. Well, I hope she liked it.

Initially I was only going to stay in Canada till mid/late August, but things have been going so well here for me that I want to extend my trip as long as I can. For those of you that don't know, I was arrested at an animal rights demo a few weeks ago and our first court date is in September. I had to have special permission from the court to come to Canada, and they allowed me to stay for a month. As I was preparing to call them I was becoming increasingly nervous about what I was going to say, how I would say it and their answer. This was my conversation with the release officer:

"Hey, this is Michael ****. I originally requested a month's stay in Canada? Anyway I wanted to stay longer because I've been offered a ride down and I won't have to do a bike tour back to Portland and.....
"Whoa, whoa, does it conflict with your court dates?"
"No, it doesn't"
"Then I don't care"
*CLICK*

Score one for Mike!

Yesterday Chuck hid me in the back of her pickup so I wouldn't have to pay for the ferry across to Vancouver, BC. I laid huddled in the backseat with a blanket draped over me while we went through the gates. There was an incredibly hilarious story to follow (ask me about it sometime!) that I'm a little too embarrassed to write about here... but I assure you it's a good one, haha. Later that day we attended a demonstration against a fur shop, leafletted, and then had a delicious meal at an all Vegan Buddhist Chinese restaurant here in town. It was super super good, but some of the names of the dishes made my stomach turn. In fact, Chuck ordered me "Crispy Baby Pig" that had no indication that it was Vegan other than it was being served in a Vegan restaurant. Little bit gross, not gunna lie.

Ran some errands today and tried to relax as much as I could. A bunch of people went down south to a benefit for Sea Shepherd (www.seashepherd.org) so I'm kicking it by myself tonight at a friend's place here on the mainland. Heading back to the island tomorrow and have some awesome plans that include: video montages of the farm animals, first-time-since-in-Canada movie watching, and Thai food. Tomorrows going to be a good day!

Love always,
Mike XVX

P.S. this morning I had the best tofu scramble OF MY LIFE! Check out my friend Tara's website and food blog: http://www.caringcook.com/

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 1

2010-07-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

This trip and these journal entries are dedicated to all the non-humyn animals who have managed to escape and survive slaughterhouses, dairy farms, vivisection labs, rodeos and circuses. Every rescued animal that I've met in the past few years has such an amazing story to tell about the life that they had led up to that point, and I am so fucking amazed by their strength and bravery. I've chosen to help out a friend in Canada on her farm for the month of August to give her a hand with all of her "kids", as she affectionately calls them. These animals, and every animal deserves a chance at a good life; one that's free of unnecessary suffering, pain and anguish. One that's far from the reach of humyn greed and capitalism. Animals in sanctuaries manage to forgive humyns after all that our species has done to them, and that's something I'm not sure I could do. I am so proud of them for what they've made it through, and I am so proud of the humyns that dedicate their lives to helping and providing for them. Support animal sanctuaries!

7/26

it was a full moon the night before I left Portland. Some friends and I had a fire going in their front yard, and every time I leave here it gets more and more difficult. I gave going back to a relatively stable life a fair go, but either I did it wrong or I was rejected.. either way I felt like I needed to leave. So, with a broken heart and trying to fight feelings of resentment, I left with Justin and Shawna on their way up to Canada. I made some plans to spend time with a friend on her farm on Vancouver Island, helping her take care of the animals she's rescued and spending the month in BC taking some time off for myself.

Our first day was spent driving up the Olympic Peninsula, stopping to check out 4 of the worlds largest trees; one of them being the worlds largest Western Red Cedar and also the worlds largest Sitka Spruce. As well as the Kalaloch Cedar, one of the most evil trees that I have ever seen in my life. Trees are amazing (if you didn't already know).

After our tree stops we spent some time on the coast, and while I was peeing amongst some driftwood I heard Justin yelling and I saw the most unbelievable thing: A bald eagle carrying a dead Cormorant in it's talons flying about 5 feet off of the sand down the beach. We all started yelling and Shawna managed to snap off a couple photos. We ran down the beach to get a closer look (but not too close) and while we were watching the eagle devour this bird we saw a fisherman run up, throw a rock and chase him off. It was fucked up. Shawna confronted him but there was a language barrier so after some awkward moments he just packed up and left. We kept our distance from the bird and watched as the eagle came back to finish after a bit, while having to fight off other scavenger birds that were trying to get at his prey.

That night we drove up to a campground called Heart O' the Hills, which we kept jokingly asking if it was anywhere near "Land O' Lakes". haha, so dumb. Anyways, we didn't have exact change for the campground, and we decided to just not pay unless the ranger came by and harassed us (yes, asking us to pay for things is harassment). It started to get dark, and still no sign of the ranger, so I went into the wood shed next to our campsite and grabbed a stack of wood for the fire. FYI everyone, the honor system about paying for things is not very appealing when it benefits the bullshit forest service that sells off millions of trees every year to logging companies that don't give a fuck about the environment and the devastation they leave in their wake. but yeah, we were also just psyched to save $17.

7/27

Went for a 4 hour hike at an amazing place called Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula. Had a beautiful view of Mt. Olympus and the Olympic Range all day, and were there early enough to avoid having to deal with all the asshole tourists and their loud, inane conversations. Watched some people trample the protected meadows for a photo op, and witnessed morons leaving litter in their wake. Sorry, but I lose more and more hope in the humyn race every time I encounter people on a hiking trail. Saw a baby bear and it's mama crossing the road on the way up as well, and were able to snap a couple of shots of them before they disappeared into the woods. That totally made our day.
Afterward we drove to the ferry crossing in Port Angeles, and a short boat ride later arrived in Victoria, BC. We were pulled over for some "extra questions" and were held there for at least 45 minutes, the entire time being completely positive they weren't going to let us in. They finally came over and gave us permission to enter after we were found out as being dishonest about our arrest records. I was amazed that we got through. Shit's crazy.

Drove a couple hours to our friend Chuck's farm, though she was at work by the time we got there. I gave her permission to wake me up at 2 am to go to the river to swim, but exhausted from the day of hiking I just read to her out of a horrifying book I recently picked up called "Communion" by Whitley Strieber that's about his alien abduction experience. Leaving us both feeling terrified we headed off to bed and somehow managed to drag ourselves up the next morning for our next day of activities.

7/28

Went to a beautiful private river spot where a friend of Chuck's lives and had an awesome time splashing around and floating on inner tubes. I had been eyeing a cliff that had a drop off into the river when we got there, and Chuck's friend assured me that she had jumped off before and the water was deep enough to be (relatively) safe. We walked up the side of the cliff together, and looking down I asked how high it was. She said she'd tell me after I did it. So I did it and fell for what seemed like forever, the whole time the roar of the wind going past my ears and my vision blurring. I landed as straight as I could, arms at my side, and rectum clenched (that's how you do it, not even kidding. sorry for the vulgarity). After I surfaced I looked up and she shouted down that it was 50 ft. My feet freakin hurt so bad.

Spent the rest of the day goofing off, making food from the garden, and taking care of the animals that live on Chuck's farm. All of them have such funny personalities, and I will give a brief description of all the ones I have met so far:

Natalie Portman is a turkey that was destined for slaughter before Chuck got to him. He's super friendly, and apparently likes when I play my guitar because he gobbles loudly after each song.

Stanley is an ex-racehorse that still bears a cold branded number on his neck just like the numbers the Nazi's tattooed on the Jews. He's 7 years old and loves to be scratched.

Romeo and Timber are the 2 older horses here, and they both got into some hay in the barn that they weren't supposed to eat and soon after I witnessed chuck chasing them away with a broom. So freakin funny.

Mikey, Reggie, Dougie and the 2 twin cats I can't remember the name of are a mix of semi-feral/domesticated cats that live here at the house. Dougie does a really funny bag trick
(that you can see here), and Reggie and Mikey are the kind of cats that don't want you to do anything except keep them on your lap all day.

There are also a bunch of other bunnies and chickens that live here that are too many to name.

Slept on the deck that night and watched the bats fly over my head for who knows how long. Got only a fraction of sleep last night, and woke up at one point to Justin saying to me through the screendoor: "So you're sleeping out there, huh? ...cool." Then stood there for about 3 seconds just staring at me. CREEPER.

7/29

Packed up our gear and drove out to Tofino to possibly go whale watching and camp out. Unfortunately all the boat trips were done for the day, so we drove a good deal back south and found a secluded, free camping spot alongside a lake. We blocked off the trail that led to our site with Chuck's truck, set up our tent, built a fire and just kicked it. I read some more chapters out of Communion for everyone and we all got super freaked out that night and were accidentally scaring each other over and over again in our tent. Talking about my Skinwalker experience didn't help matters either.

Oh, and we saw 2 bears 2 seperate times on the drive, one of them eating berries right next to the road. it was effing awesome!

7/30

After breakfast at the lake, we drove back down to the farm and got all our gear put away. We were greeted by Natalie gobbling at us near the driveway, and hung out with the cats. Tonight we're making some food and I'm going to try and focus on some projects I've been putting off.

I'm trying to set up some shows while I'm up here, but I'd be satisfied in just helping Chuck out at the farm and hanging around for the month. This place is beautiful, the animals are amazing and Chuck so far has been the sweetest and most accommodating host. Maybe I won't come home?*

Love Always,
Mike XVX

*Kidding, I have to come back for court. You can read more about that here: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/06/400664.shtml

UPDATES!

2010-06-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

So, I've been done with official tours now for over 2 months and it's nice to have some time off. I spent a week on the east coast for a show, and had one other in Southern California but other than that I've been taking it easy with music stuff. Though, I do have some updates for you all:

*Working on a zine about the European tour. It will mostly just be the entries from the blog, but also a little bit more explanation about certain entries because I realize now some of it can be confusing and hard to understand if you weren't present.

*Only have a few shows scheduled for this summer, but in the Fall planning to do another West (Best) Coast/partial Canada tour (though this includes Montana, Utah etc.) so get excited for that!

*Also been working on a zine for NFW! about contributions to the animal rights movement. Interviews, articles and some other stuff. Check out the blog! www.nofuckingwhey.blogspot.com

*Attempting to write some new music, I have a couple new songs that I think very few people have heard so far. I'm pretty psyched on them though, I hope you all will be too.

*Made a ton of new designs and printed a whole mess of stickers. Possibly making shirts again soon but I still have a few leftover from this last tour that I want to get rid of first. Come to a show if you want them! or if you live too far email me your address and we can work it out:
mikexvx [at] gmail.com

Other than that my life has been immersed in AR activities and events, bike rides, river swimming, forest walking, friend hugging, sunshine loving and vegan junk food eating (not such a good idea).

Anyway, Go out and enjoy your summer already!

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Wrap-up

2010-04-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

so i was going to wait until i got home to do the tour wrap-up, but since i've had so much time to myself here in Holland i feel i should write it now.

This tour was unbelievable. I'll start with that. Some incredible turnouts for our shows, both in numbers and in enthusiasm. I constantly question my contributions to the animal liberation movement, and whether what I'm doing makes a difference in peoples lives... but this trip has offered a lot of reassurance that there are some out there that appreciate my honesty and what I feel I have to share. These past 2 months have been exhausting, FREEZING, stressful, crazy, dangerous, exciting, revealing, affirming, hilarious and educational. I could fit a lot more in there, but I think that'll do for now.

Anyways, to break down my thoughts on this trip into a more palatable format I've separated them into sections.

Veganism + the struggle for animal liberation.
One thing I will never waver on is the emphasis of a strict vegan diet. For anyone exposed to the horrors of a slaughterhouse, dairy farm or vivisection lab, for anyone educated to the ecological impact that a meat eating diet has on the planet, and for anyone interested in maintaining a healthy diet and mental balance the choice is obvious. Humyns do not need to kill animals to survive, and anything less than a diet abstaining from all animal byproducts is complicity in the cycle of violence and systematic murder of other sentient beings. Change comes from within us, and if we ethically or financially support such institutions then we are no better than the ones sliding the blade across a cows throat, or tearing a baby calf away from it's mother, or ripping open a living dog to study the side effects of a household cleaning product. GO VEGAN.

I admit changing your diet isn't the ultimate answer for animal liberation, but the fight begins on a personal level of involvement. what's the point of going to an anti-rodeo demo if you're wearing leather shoes? protesting a vivisection lab if you're smoking out in front? fighting for animal liberation if you consume the disrespected and mutilated carcasses of other creatures? Dumpstered meat and dairy is still a product of rape and murder, how can you turn your back on the animals that suffered just so you can try to put a "progressive" spin on your meat-eating diet?

But to get down to the point, the AR movement in Europe is amazing. So much enthusiasm, creativity and perseverance. We've felt welcomed in every city we've traveled to, treated like we were family and got a glimpse of how strong the global movement for animal liberation is. Going home with some new ideas, and reinstating some old ones.

Travel.
I absolutely love to travel. I really do. I find it incredibly difficult to stay in one place for more than a month and even as I write this now I'm planning another adventure. I've seen some pretty awesome and inspiring sights on this trip, ones I was expecting and lot that I wasn't, and there are even more to come in the next few months. Very glad to be traveling with such positive and easy going people as well, it's rough spending 2 months in a small car on a stressful trip with only a few inches of room for yourself, but all in all I think things went really well.

I feel very fortunate for the opportunities that I have, and considering the way that I grew up I'm glad I've been able to make the best of my life with the hand that I was dealt. Though, I should say I recognize I'm a very physically capable person from one of the wealthiest countries in the world... aside from me being male-bodied and white skinned. so maybe overcoming a rough childhood and financial hurdles isn't that impressive; but I think it's important to be proud of ourselves sometimes. Regardless, it doesn't take much to get out there and see the things you want to see, and if you want to make it happen it will. If an opportunity presents itself (and they always do): take it. That's it.

Relationships within my community and self-accountability.
I've discovered that for anyone being direct and honest about things can leave that person in a vulnerable position to others who want to take advantage of that. And these past few months have been a pretty consistent reminder that not everyone is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, or are looking out for your best interest. Don't get me wrong, I want to be part of a community where people are held accountable for their actions, by themselves and others. It's just disappointing to be part of a society where you have to be deceptive and strategic with your emotions, and when others on the sideline are just waiting for you to show a sign of 'weakness' so they can take a stab. BUT, I believe we can live in an honest, compassionate and trusting world, and I won't let the actions of a few deter me from reaching that goal. Be direct! be honest! and show some fucking compassion!

End note.
It's been going really well for me these past couple months, though my head is still a bit torrential. Trying to get past this last year, and looking forward to the future. Had to cut some people out of my life, made new friends, saw some incredible things and had even more incredible experiences. Life is worth living, and the animals and the earth are worth fighting for. I can't lose sight of what's important.

MDG has driven this whole tour, and very well I might add. His home and his work ethic are definitely a big inspiration to me. In fact as I write this he's doing a massive clean-up job in the kitchen that I need to help with once I finish this. He's opened his home to us, and everyone in his life has been so helpful and courteous. To him, and to then I am very very grateful.

Chonga has been a constant source of positivity and fun for this trip. Always laughing and down to party. Ready for adventure at any time. He's definitely a reminder that you can still run a distro and live a relatively comfortable life while spending most of it out on the road. Oh, and we both love Saves the Day more than life itself.

Keegan booked 90% of this tour and has done a ton of work keeping it together and getting us organized. While at the same time having enough energy to rock out every night, and goof off with the rest of us. Always supportive, always willing to give constructive criticism and compliments. It's been awesome to have someone along where I can agree and stand behind nearly everything he says during his set. I got his back and he's got mine.

Endless thank you's to everyone who booked a show, gave us a place to sleep, fed us, kept us warm, argued with us, gave us criticism, sang along and just generally rocked out. If it wasn't for everyones gracious hospitality this tour wouldn't have been possible, though I fail to think of anything that could be possible without the support of your friends and comrades. Hope to see you all again and keep up the fight!

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

p.s. for those of you that hadn't guessed: I've intentionally changed the names of a lot of people written about in this blog, as well as omitted certain events, conversations or whatever else. For my protection and theirs. Practice good security culture!

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): A strange turn of events.

2010-04-19T09:43:00.001-07:00

"You know my love goes with you as your love stays with me, it's just the way it changes like the shoreline and the sea" -Leonard Cohen

So, finished up our last shows in Holland and were ready for our flight out the next morning. but, the volcano in Iceland that hasn't erupted in 200 years decides that it doesn't want any planes flying around Europe for the next week... so now I'm stuck at the squat in Emmen until Friday. Not so bad though, we went for a bike ride today to the woods and saw a few graves that were about 7,000 years old. pretty crazy, huh? (photos again on my myspace). went off some sweet jumps on our bikes out in the woods, and Chira (the dog) fell into a pond and heroic Chonga had to go and save her. so funny.

killing time till I have to go home still. planning on doing a lot of reading and finally catching up on e-mails. yep, exciting.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Emmen, NL / Den Bosch, NL / Hengelo, NL

2010-04-17T01:59:00.000-07:00

"It's Escapist shit of a feeble kind, a fucked up institution for fucked up minds" -Rudimentary Peni

Had a couple of well deserved days off at the squat in Emmen, NL. Luckily the sun was out and we got to lay around on the roof for most of time. Spent some time at the skatepark, went shopping, cooked food and tried our best to kill time before our next show. Here is an example...

skating on some rubbish I found out back:

Had to drag ourselves back into tour mode to finish off these last 5 shows, so we loaded up the car and headed out to Hengelo, NL. The whole town had a really bizarre smell to it, and we couldn't figure out what it was. But incidentally there was a factory that produced cat food directly behind the building we played and stayed at, so that gave us a surprising and disgusting explanation. so gross! Anyways, played for a small group of people, forgot words to my own songs, and was incredibly distracted. sorry, but 46 European shows (plus my Australia tour) are starting to take their toll. Had a nice full night of sleep, had breakfast, and read Derrick Jensen's "As the World Burns" graphic novel in it's entirety. I don't necessarily recommend it, though maybe if you have a friend that's never read a Jensen book before it would be informative; but I found it to be the same recycled ideas in all of his other novels. The next morning spent some time leafleting, went for a walk and then headed out.

Drove back north to Den Bosch, NL for our show at another pretty rad squat. It was relatively warm, sunny and the grass was green - it reminded me a lot of southern california and it made me miss home. Had some pretty good chili sin carne (which Chonga and I begin to call "Chili Sin Dios" - I think it fits better haha), and hung out in the garden. went skating for a little while, explored around the neighborhood and then played our show. A short hour drive back to Emmen that night, and we stopped off at a town called Rectum, NL - I'm not even joking, it's a real place. we have photos. Also, you'd think it would be a matter of translation but Rectum means the same in Dutch as it does in English. Damn near killed 'em.

Lounging in the sun and making pasta today. maybe going to go skate on some more trash later as well. 2 more days until I'm home, can't wait.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Malmo, SE / Kobenhavn, DK / Fredericia, DK / Kiel, DE / Munster, DE / Bremen, DE

2010-04-13T00:49:00.000-07:00

"sons are like birds, flying upward over the mountain." -Iron & Wine

So it's been some time since I've updated this, I apologize. I hate it because now I have to recap a bunch of days and I'm not sure if I'll remember everything. I'll try my best.

There are a lot of hipsters in Sweden. I want to start off with that. It was crazy though, right when we got out of the car literally everyone had a flat-brimmed hat, or an American Apparel hoodie (I should talk), or a shirt with big, loud stripes on it. A bit overwhelming. but, the kid who booked us the show was from san diego, and apparently was living there the same time that I was and we both volunteered at the same venue. How did we not meet? As strange as it was to be staying with an American in Sweden, it was still a fun day filled with food, knucks and a totally rad skatepark. also, the day of our arrival we got to take the ferry over from Germany which I was REALLY excited about. and I seemed to be the only one that was pumped about it after I announced at the show that we "rode a boat" that day and everyone gave me a blank stare. eh whatever.

Kobenhavn (Copenhagen) was fun as well. We played in yet another massive squat, but this one had a pretty recent and amazing story. The city evicted the tenants from the original squat that had been there for several years, so people all across the city went nuts. Eventually so much shit got fucked up that the city agreed it would be cheaper just to GIVE them a house, so they ended up with this massive building (where again we got our own band hotel)!. The whole place is already covered with graffiti, and the words of one local politician that ended up sprayed on the wall says it all: "the cops have completely lost control of this part of the city." fuck yeah.

Drove off of the island where Kobenhavn is located out to Fredericia, DK for our show at a youth center. Again, best thing about this place - they had a skatepark in their parking lot! Granted the wood was weathered, tattered, and everything seem to be falling apart and wobbling whenever you'd go over it... but still! A decent amount of people showed up, and apparently some tough guys that were in attendance wanted to jump me after the show for talking shit on Terror and Throwdown. it never happened though, and even if it did it would still be laughable. I mean, I grew up in Socal listening to and seeing those bands, maybe if anyone has the right to be angry about this sexist and homophobic tough guy hardcore 'movement' surely it must be me? Another interesting part of the night is when we found out the kid we were supposed to be staying with is a butcher. not even kidding, his job is to hack up dead animals. He told us openly at the beginning of the night, and even kind of laughed about it. Keegan had a long talk with him, because sometimes I'm not good at giving people criticism without yelling, and we all decided that we should drive down to Kiel, DE that night instead of staying with him. I gave kind of a long speech during my set about the roles people play in animal abuse, and how any job involving such is a contribution to the torture, rape and eventual murder of those beings. He seemed to understand, and in my opinion has a lot to think about and consider. We left that night on good terms though I think.

Woke up bright and early in Kiel the next morning for a demonstration against speciesism and animal abuse. A pretty good turnout - around 200 people - and the idea of the demo was a pretty good one as well. Started with a massive march from the Hauptbanhoff (central train station) and then split off inside a mall for groups to do smaller demos in front of Fur (fleisch), Leather (Leder) and other similar shops. It was my first experience with a German AR demo, and there was a car driving around with speakers on the roof blasting music, a vegan hip hop artists performed, and even Keegan and I had to play a couple songs near the end of the day. It was like all those videos I've seen on youtube but happening in real life! Pretty great actually. After the demonstration the march led us out of the mall, past the train station and literally DIRECTLY into the venue where Keegan and I were playing that night. I couldn't believe it! it was so funny to see this massive animal rights march being escorted by the police just collectively walk straight into a building to see us play! Not everyone stayed around though, which was understandable because we were all so tired. The show was the same - played songs, made some more awkward jokes, no one laughed etc. etc.

Again had to wake up super early to drive out to Munster, DE for a vegan brunch and matinee show. Sadly there was literally nothing gluten free to eat, save some chocolate pudding but I've had way too much sugar on this tour as it is. Played our show around 3 pm, and was actually nice to end while it was still daylight out. Finally watched EDGE the movie (and saw the back of my head - yeah!) which was pretty awesome. check it out! The next day we spent in a sunny park, where I read my Keith Mann book "From Dust till Dawn" for several hours, and then we headed out.

Finally finished Keith Mann's book while we were in Bremen, DE (650 pages in 3 weeks!) and I felt pretty accomplished. the book was great as well, check it out here. The show was about the same - food, music, nice kids etc. you've read it a million times and I'm sure it's getting old haha. After the show we drove back to Emmen and are currently enjoying our day off here at the bank squat. I'm sure MDG is glad to be home, in fact I know he is because he and his partner were embracing each other so tightly last night, even when he was putting in the password to the WIFI for me!

Just one more week before I'm back in the US again. Kind of wishing the tour ended here in Emmen to be honest, because coming back here kind of feels climactic. but, we have another 4 shows in Holland before we get to leave. I'll finish this strong, and then come home and do nothing for at least a week.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

I don't have time post a new tour entry right now

2010-04-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

BUT if you like this blog, you're going to love the new No Fucking Whey! blog that just launched! it's going to feature interviews with vegan artists, musicians and activists + essays, poetry and other writing. The first featured interview we have is with Matt Gauck aka Next Stop Adventure!

www.nofuckingwhey.blogspot.com

Follow the blog, check back regularly for updates and let us know what you think!

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Berlin, DE / Poznan, PL / Szczecin, PL / Hamburg, DE

2010-04-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

Played a show at Vego Foodworld in Berlin which is a brand new (3 weeks old) all vegan fast food-ish restaurant. The food was amazing and the owner was really nice, so that was rad. Also, the building was PACKED with people. literally wall to wall full, some people even had to stand outside for both of our sets. Ate some more food at the end, drove someone from the show home, and stayed with another friend that night who ended up joining us for a few days on the tour. Reminisced about my awful "tour" in Australia with a super nice womyn from New Zealand I met at our friends flat. not so fun, but she helped me with some more contacts for another future tour so that was great.

Played at the famous Rozbrat squat in Poznan, PL which was pretty fun. the squat itself is massive, and everyone we met was really nice. After we had a slumber party at our friends flat - which is literally a room and a kitchen - but manage to fit 10 or more people on the floor. fun times.

Szczecin was another show in a super nice park. We had a massive banner welcome us as we pulled up which was a bit of a surprise, that was the first time I'd ever had anything like that for a show. A friend and I went for a long walk across the city and saw some pretty sketchy characters. Poland can be pretty rough sometimes apparently.

Played in a legalized squat in Hamburg on the university campus. As like the other German shows, this one had a ton of enthusiastic and excited people. Ate some vegan ice cream and hung around for awhile.

super exhausted so I'm going to cut this short. Goodnight!

for love and liberation
mike xvx

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Dresden, DE

2010-04-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

"heavy metal or no metal at all! Wimps and posers leave the hall!" -manowar

A considerable drive brought us back into Germany, and immediately after crossing the border we were pulled over for the 3rd time on this trip (2 of them being in germany, once in france). The Police wanted to search our vehicle for drugs or illegal weapons, but after consistently assuring them there was nothing, and after seeing how packed our vehicle was they gave up and decided they didn't want to bother with it. They were surprisingly friendly, but that means nothing really. There's a good slogan floating around Europe that seems to fit here: "Still H'8ing the Police". yep, that about says it.

Played our show at another awesome once-squat now community space for shows and other events. Were treated like royalty once again (no idea why) and were given all kinds of food and a whole crate of different juices, water, soda and the ever so popular "vita malz" which is a popular non-alcoholic beer here in Germany. I don't care for it, but MDG loves it like nobody's business. In the same building is also a kindergarten, which is rad because there's all kinds of grafitti and pro-vegan/anti-fascist and anti-police stickers around but all these random, totally regular people take their kids there. A TON of people came out to the show, probably one of our biggest. as usual everyone was really nice and excited that we were there, and we watched a short video in between sets about the Austrian activists facing trial right now.

After the show ended I hung around for a little while downstairs, which has a bar, kitchen, computer room, hang out space etc., and kicked it with some nice kids. I met a womyn that I had a conversation with for quiet awhile, and we talked about the german gothic scene, dance clubs and music. Really excited about the idea of going to a gothic dance club with a beautiful girl, I kept hinting that I've been wanting to go out to dance a lot on this tour but no one was interested in taking me. She kept saying yeah, it's fun, but didn't invite me along. I said goodnight after awhile and went to our sleeping place (which is a separate building that was literally like a hotel room - our own shower and everything! so nice) and felt kind of bummed that I didn't get to spend more time with her. Well, as I was organizing my things I felt unsatisfied with how our talk ended and felt maybe the point I or she was trying to convey was lost in translation; so I asked everyone if they thought I should go down there, be more direct and say "Hey, I'd really like to hang out with you tonight and go to the club, but if you don't want me to then no pressure. it's totally cool either way". They were all pretty supportive of the idea, so I mustered up the courage, took the keys and went back to the building. The moment I walked into the room she began to walk past me in the hallway, surprised to see me she said quickly "we're leaving now. bye!" and walked out the door. Silent, stunned, and not knowing what to do I pretended like I had forgot something in one of the rooms, looked around for awhile, and then left. I don't know why I'm the most awkward and shy person ever, but it's rough sometimes. and I'm constantly afraid of making people uncomfortable or misreading a situation, so I generally just stare at the ground and walk away after a certain amount of time in a convo with somebody.

Why didn't you ask me to go? Will I ever get to share a nice evening with someone again? Sucks.

Maybe this happens to other people to?

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Olomouc, CZ / Prague, CZ / Wroclaw, PL

2010-04-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

"when my song begins to play I'm thinking everything is going to be ok until the smiles start to fade" -Kid Dynamite

Played a show in a basement art studio/venue type of place in Olomouc, CZ for a handful of people. A movie was screened behind us, and my voice was so coarse and raspy from being sick I was only able to play 4 or 5 songs before I had to quit. it felt like my lungs were on fire... sucks. Had another nice, relaxing and funny night with our hosts and the next morning we left for Prague.

We had to drive out to a tiny village in the middle of nowhere to get a part for the Deceptacon, but it was wonderful to be out of the cities once again and hang out in the countryside for a few hours. The garage we arrived at was like a Land Rover paradise and MDG was excited as can be to check out all the old trucks. Still not a big fan of cars, but I'm glad he liked it.

Our show in Prague was in a small cafe that was packed with people (and one really sweet dog). We were served an amazing dinner, and another friend brought us cupcakes (gluten-free ones for me) that were delicious! We met a Czech womyn that spoke english really well due to an exchange program that brought her to the states, but we noticed something strange about her accent. Apparently the program placed her with a family in Wisconsin, so all of her english is spoken with an accent like she's from the movie Fargo. So funny! I had a good laugh, but I realized that was kind of rude... but to me that's just a hilarious coincidence.

Stopped off at the bone church (Kostnice) in Kutna Hora, CZ and had the most epically metal day. I couldn't believe how doomy the place was... even the weather was dark and rainy that day. MDG walked in for free, and I almost made it myself but was snagged. Lucky for him someone asked if he could take a photo of them, so I guess the docent assumed he already paid. Went in and took a bunch of photos (up on my myspace), got some postcards etc. but wanted a little something more. As I was looking at one of the giant huts made out of femurs and skulls I thought to myself "well, that skull is within arms reach, no one is watching... I wonder..." and as I shot my hand forward through the metal gate an alarm sounded immediately above my head and lights started flashing like crazy. I pretended like I was just trying to get a closer shot with my camera when people looked over but I was so fucking scared! Managed to leave the church with no other problems and we headed on our way to the next show.

After a long drive we were back in Poland to play our show in Wroclaw at Poland's oldest vegetarian restaurant. It's in the middle of the city square directly across from a McDonalds, but the building that Vega is in is 3 times the size of it! So freaking awesome. Had a lovely dinner and played our show. Hung around at the venue for awhile, drank some tea and then headed back to our friends flat.

I can feel the tour winding down since we only have a little more than 2 weeks left. Almost got killed today for eating too much of our peanut butter, but other than that things have been going relatively well and we've all been getting along great. Still a bit sick, and that makes things a little more depressing sometimes; but looking forward to the future regardless. Take care.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

Photos

2010-03-30T09:31:00.003-07:00

To save time I haven't been uploading photos to this blog. if you want to keep updated with them visit my myspace.

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Krakow, PL / Olomouc, CZ

2010-03-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

"There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place to listen to the leaves of spring or the rustle of insect wings. But perhaps because I am a savage and do not understand - the clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?" -Chief Seattle

Drove out to Krakow, PL for our show yesterday. We originally thought it was going to be in a squat, but turned out to be in a club... which is all fine with me. everyone that worked there was super nice and there was a scheduled "vegan after party" that was advertised on the fliers! Had dinner with some friends at a squat near where we were staying, and then walked across town to the venue. Played to about 50 relatively enthusiastic people, and afterward a group of Polish kids and I had a dance off! They taught me some "traditional" Polish dances and I of course taught them how to moonwalk. The night was filled with dancing, laughter and silly games which means it was totally awesome for me.

The next morning we had some lovely vegan, gluten-free BLT's (or something similar) and packed our things for our drive back to Olomouc, CZ. Don't ask me why we've been driving back and forth, but it seems a bit unnecessary. Anyways, 2 days from now we'll be going to the bone church outside of Prague and I'm REALLY excited about it. The only thing I've set aside that I absolutely need to do here in Europe and nothing will mess this up for me. NOTHING.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Vienna, AT / Bratislava, SK / Brno, CZ / Olomouc, CZ

2010-03-29T02:51:00.000-07:00

"there were 3 of us this morning, I'm the only one this evening, but I must go on." -Leonard Cohen

Traveled to Vienna, AT and played a show in a basement venue called I:DA. It was also a benefit for 26 (originally 13) Austrian activists that have been put on trial for "running a criminal organization" and are essentially being charged with laws originally intended for the Mafia. All of these people are on trial for completely above ground, legal activism and they range from more radical animal rights activists to even slightly leftist animal welfarists. It seems most of the evidence being used against them is email and phone call surveillance that proves they've said they 'support' certain people or actions. There are some similarities to another case that's going on in the United States right now as well. you can read about the AETA4 here.

After that was our show in Bratislava, SK in a small cabin in the middle of a park. it was awesome not to be in a big, dirty, irritating and stress educing city for once. plus, a ton of people came out for the show and everyone was super friendly and excited we were there. Keegan broke a string, set his guitar down and was lifted up to crowd surf amongst the 80 or so kids that were there. pretty awesome.

Played tonight in Brno, CZ at a small club. the show wasn't my favorite of this trip, I must say, but our hosts have been awesome and getting to spend time with them at all has been super rad. Plus, it's been nice to just sit and read since no one wanted to come up and talk to me at the merch table today.

hope everyone is doing well!

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

p.s. sick with a cold as of yesterday. Not going to point the finger of blame at anyone, but someone else who was sick apparently thought it would be appropriate to try our food with the serving spoon and then put it back in the pot after having their mouth all over it. what the fuck.

Stand Up, Fight Back (Europe tour with xTrue Naturex): Switzerland / Germany / Austria / Hungary

2010-03-25T02:58:00.000-07:00

So as some of you may have noticed it's been quite a few days since I've updated this thing. There's a reason for that, and I will explain: I somehow contracted some kind of Virus and it's left me incredibly ill the past 5 or 6 days. I'm still not even sure of what I had/have, but whatever it was messed me up pretty badly. There were at least a few days in there when I was unable to walk, and I spent our day off in Stuttgart laid out in someones room for at least 40 hours or so. I had hardly eaten anything, and by the time we left Germany I think I hadn't had a meal in almost 3 days. I had considered going to the hospital, which is a big step considering that I absolutely hate doctors, but I had taken every herbal remedy I could think of and nothing helped even in the slightest. I'm feeling exponentially better now, but I am still a little wary of becoming sick again. I get the feeling I got it from something someone fed us along the way, but I can't be sure on that.

Here's a brief recap (and what I remember) of the cities we've been in:

Played a pretty rad show in Zurich, CH and my only complaints about the show other than being sick was that the kicker table cost money. Except you would pay a euro, and only get enough soccer balls to play half of a game... Doesn't make sense! I played the show standing up which could have ended badly considering I could barely stand. Keegan said he was sitting near me ready to have to break my fall if I tipped over towards the mirrors or something; and apparently it was my sweatiest and most red-faced show I've ever played so if some photos surface on the internet (which they are out there somewhere) feel free to have a laugh. The next morning after staying with yet even more awesome people we tried some authentic vegan Swiss cheese... and oh man, was it good! Even though I was sick it was still amazing.*

Stuttgart, DE was a show in the basement of an old Police station that is now inhabited by a group of Vegan punx and activists. It was a pretty funny place to play a show in I must say, but it was nice to see a holding cell turned into something positive like a music venue. I had made plans to hang out with the sweetest kids, but the morning after the show I was barely able to lift my head to even tell them I wasn't able to go out. such a bummer.

We didn't have a show in Innsbruck, AT but we spent the night at a friends and had a nice relaxing time up in the Alps. Getting to see so much of the Alps has been probably my favorite part of this trip so far, and driving through Austria has been so rad. We had to visit a Land Rover dealer for our first repair of this tour, but since they didn't have the part we needed we just had to weld a temporary one for now until we can find another shop. Luckily MDG is a pretty good mechanic and we don't need to pay all these expensive fees for everything. A couple of times my masculinity has been challenged on this trip (which by the way is totally fine by me) for not knowing much about cars, or for exampled how to start a woodburning stove etc. but newsflash: I hate cars... I do. They're good for touring and that's it. and, I'm from Southern California, when would I have been able to operate, or ever need to operate a woodburning stove? ridiculous. I will never be a "man" in this society and I'm quite proud of that! Gender roles are silly.

Played a small club in Graz, AT and for what I thought was going to be a loud and rowdy show turned out to be really good. The atmosphere suggested that people would be talking over us during our sets, but everyone was actually incredibly respectful, supportive and receptive. Had some interesting conversations and I drank wayyy too much of this local, organic Austrian iced tea that was packed with sugar. So my teeth felt like they were going to fall out of my head, and I couldn't fall asleep until 5 am that night!

The next day brought us to Budapest, HU where we played in a packed practice space. We fit like 45 people in this tiny place and it was pretty awkward and hilarious (photos coming soon). and afterward had some traditional Hungarian vegan Goulash (spell?). The currency here is funny as well... it's strange to be in a part of the EU that doesn't use Euros, but the HUF exchange is like 5 euros to like 2000 HUF (this is a guess from what I remember of last night, i'm a party animal**).

Just woke up and now we're all debating on whether we want to rest all day or go out and see the city... BUT everyones telling us Budapest looks exactly like Vienna because it was built by the same person around the same time. I really don't like cities, so I feel like I want to rest and read but I'll just go with the flow.

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

*I do realize I say 'awesome' or 'amazing' every other word, but this trip has been awesome and amazing... so you'll just have to deal with it!

**I've learned how to say I'm a party animal in 2 different languages so far. and I've also learned several new dances.

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): a short video clip from our show in Trento, IT

2010-03-19T04:25:00.001-07:00

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Rimini, IT / Trento, IT / Milano, IT / Biel, CH

2010-03-19T03:53:00.000-07:00

"Before every inch of forest is covered with concrete, extreme measures must be taken so let's fuck up their machines" -Antischism

Played at a youth center in Rimini, IT, and ate some delicious mashed potatoes and gluten free cupcakes. again, the food on this tour has been so awesome! I had to cut one of my songs short that night because a dog started humping a mans leg RIGHT in front of me... I tried to keep my composure, but after the third time he came back for the leg, and after another man tried to subdue him to get him to stop, I lost it and had to call it quits. That image of the man holding "Pluto" down with both hands, and Pluto thrashing to get free with his mouth hanging open will forever be burned into my mind. hahaha. We also went to the coast to check out the Mediterranean, but there wasn't much to see. a couple of boats, flat water, and tourist changing rooms, shops and rides all closed down for the winter. It was actually kind of gross because it was at a spot where one of the canals empties into the sea, but hey.. it was worth seeing.

The next night was a show in a beautiful house in the middle of a breathtaking valley in Trento, IT. We played in one of the downstairs rooms (which looked more like an art gallery), after playing a Dutch documentary (overdubbed in Italian) about the effectiveness of certain tactics in the struggle for earth and animal liberation. A lot of nice conversations were shared, more food was had, and that night I slept on what looked like a hospital gurney on the third floor. Ran some errands in the morning, took a couple photos of the mountains, waited for our laundry to dry and then headed out.

Played at a squat called "Villa Vegan" in Milano, IT. Apparently they've held it for the past 11 years, and they have an amazing bike workshop and a huge park as a frontyard. When we first arrived they all looked at the Deceptacon (which is a military jeep), and ran for the backdoor. We were confused because we were all waving at them, but when we went inside and talked to them they told us the military does drop by there occasionally to harass them. So, we had to put a sign in Italian on our car that said "calm down, we're just the band", haha. It made for some interesting conversation later as you can imagine. Had a massive family style dinner with everyone in the house, played the show, and slept up in the attic. Though that night, tragedy struck...

I woke up several times in the night hallucinating, and feeling incredibly hot and feverish. At one point one of the many cats from the house was sleeping on me and I scared him/her when I got up to get another blanket. I didn't even know they were there, just saw a shadow dart off of me. The whole morning I was feeling feverish, dizzy and nearly unable to walk. I tried to just push through it, but during the bumpy ride in the Deceptacon it continually got worse and worse. MDG had to let me out a couple times to throw up at a rest stop, and regardless of what position I laid or slept in nothing would relieve the incessant throbbing in my head. it was excruciating, I've rarely had migraines that bad before. I slept through, and hardly remember, going over the border, but apparently they waved us straight through. and once we got to the show (even though it was in an awesome skatepark) I still could not bring myself to stand. After laying in the car for I don't know how long, MDG and our host had to drive me to the flat we were staying at that night, stopping once to throw up outside a gas station, and dragged myself up the 5 floors of stairs to the apartment. I woke up at 1130 that night when everyone was coming back, and even though I slept the whole night I still feel totally fucked. We're not at a very high altitude, so my original thought of it just being altitude sickness seems unreasonable, but still I don't know what's up.

Hoping to be in better shape for our show tonight, if I'm able to play it at all I'm not sure.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

p.s. I've uploaded the photos from this trip so far to my myspace. Feel free to give it a look!

Stand Up, Fight Back (europe tour with xTrue Naturex) - Faenza, IT / Roma, IT

2010-03-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

"Arise! Get off your knees!" -Amebix

(photos coming soon)

Played at a pretty massive squat in Faenza, IT for a bunch of friendly and rowdy Italians. Got a lesson in how to get your ass beat in Foosball (kicker) only to learn later, after youve been challenged to a match, that kicker is nearly a national sport in Italy. I mean, they take it very seriously. very very. I want to say also that I love when people from other countries totally adopt you into their lives, like some of the kids last night. We had a hilarious dance off, and I taught them how to moonwalk. Plus we bonded over watching their drunk friend puke in the corner while someone tied him to the table with masking tape. so good.

Trashcan fires make life so much more bearable here, and I played probably my most successful show as far as audience participation and merch sales go. And I hate having to count sales in there, but when you're touring its so crucial for the continuation of the trip. plus, the only reason I was able to go on this trip was a massive lend from some of my friends and now I can finally pay it off.

Last night we played in Roma, which unfortunately we didn't get to see the coliseum or any other places of historical significance before the show. but that's totally fine by me, a million people have been there already and it costs money to actually see any of it. and if any of you know me personally you probably know I hate all that touristy shit (most of the time).

Played in a cafe called 'Rewild - cruelty free cafe' (weird huh?), ate some food, hung out etc... you know the deal.

afterward we headed an hour out of the city to our friends place in the countryside. and let me tell you, it is freaking beautiful out here. it felt so nice to wake up in the sun and go for a walk through the woods. there are also horses, dogs and cats out here as well... and very few people. Had a wonderful lunch that our host prepared for us, and we all joked about canceling the rest of the tour and just staying here for as long as possible, haha. Chonga and I also found an abandoned house on the property next to us which was pretty awesome.

Feeling positive, rested and ready for anything... though I hope the rest of this trip goes on without any major complications.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

Stand Up, Fight Back (Europe tour with xTrue Naturex): Brescia, IT

2010-03-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

"gone to bed, god is dead/lies and truth are in my head" -Leftover Crack

Last night was our show in the lovely town of Brescia. Played at the Magazzino 47 which is an old communist run community center across the street from a graveyard. Apparently in Italy the bingo numbers are from 1-90 and each has a meaning; 47 being "the speaking dead"; hence it being across from a cemetary. Also in Italy if you have a dream where a dead relative lists off numbers its required of you to go out the next morning and play those numbers in the lotto... pretty funny, eh? We spent the first half of the night trying to get the fire raging so we could warm up the freezing building, even though so far Italy is the warmest place we ve been since the tour started. and the show itself was a total dog party (meaning there were like 10 dogs running around, barking and partying)*... Which brings me to my next part of the story: our awesome host Gabb taught me how to say "I am a party animal" in Italian, and I announced it to the crowd before and after my set. There were cheers and some woots, Im not gunna lie.

Had a good night of sleep, and woke up with a pretty decent breakfast. Today was also haircut day, so after I cut all my hair off and composted it I hopped in the shower. Now since Ive been in Italy Ive noticed a "light" switch with a long string attached to it in every shower. I decided to try it out but no lights turned on or off, so I though fuck it... probably broken. About 5 seconds later I hear feet rushing up the stairs and Gabbs voice outside my door:

"Mike!"
"yeah!"
"are you ok??"
"uh, yeah. why?"
"I heard the bell!"
"ohhh, thats what that does..."

so apparently its for emergencies... but Gabb says he uses it whenever someone turns on the faucet somewhere else in the house and the shower shoots ice water down on him. Kind of an easier way to say "hey what the fuck!?"

Had a delicious Italian lunch.. and like how many lunches go, we got into a conversation about how eating Polenta is kind of like eat Placenta because the names sound similar. Then the Placenta eating convo went off for the rest of the meal, which was awesome. But I know what youre thinking right now, and the answer is yes: Italians are really passionate about their pasta. Last night at the show the kitchen made me a special gluten free pasta dish, which was only slightly overcooked.. but even this morning Gabb still apologizes about it. I think it might have been really embarassing for him, haha. Food is food when youre starving, and I have been on this trip about 70% of the time(... everytime)**.

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

*an italian dog totally frenched me on the mouth.

**Anchorman quote

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Arona, IT

2010-03-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

"picture me rollin" -2pac

Passed through the beautiful french alps today. Saw some amazing castles, and drove through some of the longest tunnels ever. I didn't get many photos; it was impossible to take a decent one from the freeway through the dirty windshield of the Deceptacon, but you can always just google some, yeah?

played our show in Arona, which was more like a community function than a musical kind of deal. there were a ton of tables set up, people serving food and some total normies there hanging out. i broke a string during my first song, so i didn't have that much fun. but the youth center was (literally) right on this massive lake! it was so so amazing looking, and in the morning i'm going to go out and get some photos of it to show you all. plus, this town itself is really pretty as well. Italy is beautiful so far, but for some reason.. and this may be a cultural thing.. when you really need to get somewhere in the room people will NOT move out of your way for any reason! it was so bizarre. i was carrying a ton of shit out the front door and had to squeeze passed people that were just having a conversation. i don't understand.

so far our stay in Italy has been filled with quotes from inglorious basterds.. (you know like when brad pit says Bon-jore-no! in that heavy southern accent, haha) so to elaborate a bit more on that, I'm probably going to get punched in the face by the end of these next few shows.

sorry these entries have been so short, but i've had little to no time to update this... i do have a life you know. sorta.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

p.s. don't have huge crushes on someone-in-Italy-sitting-across-the-room-from-you-who-was-looking-at-you-all-night-but-were-too-afraid-to-talk-to. it will only end badly.

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Mainz, DE / Karlsruhe, DE / Lyon, FR

2010-03-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

"you're the most beautiful girl in the... room. in the whole wide room." -Flight of the Conchords

So after 3 years, this tuesday I returned to Mainz, DE. I spent some time there a few summers ago with a good friend, and it was awesome to see her again. we had a nice relaxing night at "Haus Mainusch" complete with wonderful food, friendly people and an aggressive game of foosball or "kicker" in Euro speak. Got to ride a tall bike the next day thanks to another American named Nicky I met that happens to live in Mainz (weird huh?).

The next day was our show in Karlsruhe, which was spent with a hilarious and super accommodating host where again we had an AMAZING dinner complete with Sushi and homemade Thai curry! so fucking awesome, i couldn't believe it. the food on this tour has been unbelievable... i usually lose weight when i'm traveling but i think i'm going home fat and sassy this time. Played probably my worst show of the tour so far since i've been sick, and since no one could understand (or ignored) my stupid jokes. Had another awesome meal for breakfast the next day, and received some shirts from an organization that wants to restore the original meaning of the swastika. I don't know how comfortable I am wearing it though :/

Jumping on the bed and looking like a cat

Tonight we're back in France, in the second largest city, Lyon. today was our last show in france of this tour, and though it's been fun it'll be great to get out of the cold that seems to hit so hard when we're here. Hung out with some super sweet kids, again ate a ton of food and saw some of the nicest track bikes i have ever seen in my life. going skating tomorrow morning with our host which i'm very excited about, and then it's on to Italy.

skate to create/skate and destroy,
mike xvx

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Dijon, France / Luxembourg

2010-03-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

"even I, as sick as I am, would never be you" -Morrissey

yesterday we drove south to Dijon for the Oi Polloi show and the temperature dropped incredibly. I thought for sure it would get warmer as we headed down, but it was probably a higher elevation. It was by far the coldest I've been on this trip, and probably in my life as well. 3 jackets, thermals, 2 pairs of socks, a scarf, and my hood up and I was still so cold I had to pace around the room. It was even freezing inside the venue! Got to hang out with Oi Polloi a bit though which was awesome... they were probably some of the nicest guys we've met on this trip! The show didn't start till 10 so by the time Keegan was done playing it was almost midnight. Stayed with some friends and their incredibly rambunctious dog who kept trying to eat everything we had. I had to fight him this morning to keep him away from my sleepingbag!

Today we drove north once again for our show in Luxembourg. Delicious food was had, and a lot of running back and forth from the car to keep ourselves from freezing to death. During my set though some people were very upset and offended by a line in my song 'cages'... at the end of the chorus the line is "genocide for the new third reich: FUCK YOU HLS".. so after spending a few minutes arguing (and me expecting to get punched in the face) we had a discussion about comparing animal suffering and murder to the holocaust. I apologized immensely, and said that no one had ever had a problem with that before.. and even in the states we use that comparison a lot in the animal rights community. They accepted my apology, we hung out and now I feel things are ok. It seems like it's only within a group of anarchists where you can be screaming in someones face one moment and then feeding them, giving them a place to sleep and buying their CD's the next. I'm very thankful for that though.

Super sick right now. Apparently my face has been red all day, and even though it's -3 degrees outside I still feel hot and feverish. Hopefully get to sleep in a bit longer tomorrow though; and we have a shorter drive so that should help as well.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Lille, FR / Paris, FR

2010-03-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

"I'll never choose a different path, and I'll never fucking be like you" -Inside Out

Got to Lille a little early, so we went to the super market where the boyz bought a massive amount of baguettes and assorted foods. We had a food party at the venue later on where absolutely no one could understand what we were saying, so we sat quietly by ourselves. Played the show underneath a series of awesome lights and disco-balls (so sick), and afterward did a short video interview with VegNord (Lille's local animal rights group - pretty rad!). Stayed with some members from the group, where they both could barely understand anything we said (hilarity ensued), but they still made us delicious food and gave us a nice place to sleep. The next morning though one of the cats managed to pee all over and ruin keegan's hat, sleeping bag and shirt... which Chonga and I thought was hilarious! Especially since my things were right next to keegan's that night but somehow went untouched. Maybe those cats and I just had a special thing going on :)

The next day we drove about 4 hours to Paris. We stopped on the side of the road to eat near a wooded area, and I proceeded to throw rocks at a trashcan for awhile. a sketchy car pulled up, and then drove away. immediately after that a womyn in a camper van across from us rolled down her window and started screaming at us in french. i thought she was mad because i was throwing rocks and sticks, making a ton of noise, but we finally figured out she was a prostitute and we were upsetting her business! she was parked there waiting for clients, and when we drove down the road to leave we saw campers exactly like hers all over the place.* apparently that's what that area is known for because everyone in Paris filled in the rest of the story for us while we were telling it.

Played an awesome show in the basement of a club. Met some AMAZING kids as well... and i know i say that a lot but these people were seriously seriously rad. sold a ton of stuff, talked until the owner kicked us out, and now we're staying in an apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower from the street. it's 2 am and i'm fucking beat. so long!

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

*meaning men meet her there, have sex with her in her camper, then leave... sorry if that was unclear

Stand Up, Fight Back (European tour with xTrue Naturex): Dusseldorf, DE / Leuven, BD

2010-03-03T23:22:00.000-08:00

"to take them down we have to use as much fucking violence as they do"-Chokehold

Spent our last day in Dusseldorf with some awesome XVX kids that took us out to a whole neighborhood of squatted buildings, and afterwards ate our first restaraunt meal of the tour at a pretty awesome chinese place in town.* We picked up our gear at Hinterhoff (the venue where we played the show) and set out for Belgium.

(all the buildings are painted differently)
squatter kitty

After a short 2 hour drive we made it to the squat in Leuven which was a beautiful old, ancient building that seemed like it's rapidly falling apart. We explored a massive building behind it as well, and Chonga and I managed to stumble our way through the dark up into the attic and eventually onto the roof. On the way back out I took a different way by myself, got lost, and then found out the exit I managed to reach was locked so I had to stumble my way back upstairs and across the building to find the front. So crazy!

Played a show in the FREEZING cold main building for a group of people, sold some stuff, ate some delicious curry (not thai mind you) and hung out for a bit. The whole show people were concerned about the cops showing up and arresting some of the squatters, but thankfully the police didn't follow up on their promise. So everything went off without a hitch!

after packing the car, I put on my headlamp and wandered into a shed I was curious about across the courtyard. Thinking nothing would be in there I was about to walk out when I realized there was a staircase that led underground!(again, be patient... photos will be up soon!) While wandering through the damp "dungeon" that seemed to go on for quite awhile, I heard the Deceptacon start up and pull out into the street! Worried that MDG assumed I was walking to the house we were staying at, and me not knowing where it was, I ran through the dank cave as fast as I could, up the stairs and down the street after him only to realize he was just re-parking! I sprinted to the passenger side, banged on the window and then opened the door to him staring at me like I was crazy. Almost gave me a freaking heart-attack!

Belgium is beautiful, but it's off to France today. Take care my friends!

Fuck the police,
mike xvx

*I will say the kids in Dusseldorf were a great reminder of how awesome Anti-fa is. and I bought a scarf yesterday that reads "Fuck national pride worldwide. no love for a nation." pretty sweet.

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Amsterdam, NL / Dusseldorf, DE

2010-03-03T04:24:00.000-08:00

"your ethics and morals fucked up and stupid/no value for life unless it is human." -Dystopia

spent the last two nights in an amazing squat in Amsterdam, NL. 10 super sweet and friendly people are squatting a 4 story office building that has literally never been used. it was built in the early 2000's and the city has done nothing with it, so now it houses a group of vegan straight edge activists... and about 20 bicycles, haha. Had an awesome time biking around the city, skating out in the sunny, kind of warm weather (and in the squat!) and played an awesome show at MKZ. Everyone person we've met in Holland has been so incredibly nice to us, it's amazing!

tonight we played a show in Dusseldorf, DE to a great group of people as well. Vegan Uprising also tabled the show, with one of their highlights being the Anti-Fa "Inglorious Basterds" stickers reading: (rough translation) "the german sausage party is over!" pretty rad. I'm also almost positive i will run out of merch before the first month is over though, which is worrisome.

been too busy to even stop and think for more than a few minutes, and even as I right this i'm rudely ignoring a group of people so i must go.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

Stand up, fight back (european tour with xTrue Naturex): Haarlem, NL

2010-02-28T05:57:00.001-08:00

'Only the lonely know the way I feel tonight'-Roy Orbison

We went out and celebrated Tes' birthday at the Pitcher last night, and played our first official show of the tour. Got to meet her mom and a fair amount of her friends and everyone was so sweet! Fun times were had, Daft Punk was played and most importantly Tes had an awesome birthday!*

During that night though a womyn from one of the other bands repeatedly came over to the table to talk, which was fine, but at one point was aggressively telling me I needed to climb over the table and stand with her. Feeling kind of freaked out because she was clearly drunk, I went over there to talk. She didn't know my name so she kept calling me "Mr. American" and proceeded to ask if I liked "blondes or black haired" and if I preferred "aggressive or introverted girls". I said I didn't know, and so she then asked if we were going to "my place or yours" at which I laughed and said neither, I'm staying with my friends. She tried to coerce me to go home with her for about 5 or 10 minutes while rubbing against me, the whole time me standing with my arms crossed and facing away. I could feel my face getting redder and was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, so after politely and clearly telling her "No" more than a dozen times she finally left me alone. So later on in the night I was talking with Chonga, and as she passed by on her way to the bathroom she full on slapped me in the back of the head. As funny as it was, I don't like being hit. at all. And the fact that she was trying to coerce me to sleep with her earlier on while being incredibly inebriated made it even worse. On her way back I motioned her over to talk. I explained to her I don't play shows to hook up with random people, and that her hitting me was not ok etc. She apologized, but I sensed she was still trying to be flirty and maybe apologizing just to start another conversation with me... or maybe since she's Dutch and english is her second language she didn't fully understand the tone I was using. either way, she came up to me 3 times after that to apologize and that she didn't mean to create that sort of "ambience" for me.

My first reaction to this was laughter, even though it upset me. and we all have been making jokes about it since then, which is fine also. but Keegan brings up a very good point: If the genders were reversed in this situation, meaning if a man approached a womyn he didn't know, or even knew the name of, and said those things and reacted the same way it would absolutely not be tolerated. I'm sure most people, as shitty as mainstream bar culture is, wouldn't allow that to happen. But... since it happened to a male-bodied person, perpetrated by a female-bodied person all of a sudden it's a big joke, and the 'Man' in this situation is lucky, a player etc. Maybe this problem can be considered insignificant considering how often womyn are disrespected and humiliated in this way, but I still feel it's worth bringing up. And maybe I'm just grasping at straws thinking that my opinions and experiences can actually change the way people at bars behave.. and maybe those incidents are bigger than a simple issue of sexism but rather a larger societal problem. Either way I don't like it, and I (nor anyone else) should have to tolerate it.

Other than that staying with Tes has been incredibly fun! Hanging out in her immaculately clean squat, eating delicious food, petting her kitty, dancing and watching R. Kelly and Hungarian rapper videos (remind me to post a link later!).

Heading out to Amsterdam either tonight or tomorrow for another show. I'll keep you updated!

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

*This morning I played "it's not your birthday anymore" by Morrissey and she loved it!}

Stand up, fight back (european tour with xTrue Naturex): Emmen, NL / Haarlem, NL

2010-02-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

"There's apples in the trees, let's take all that we need""-Mirah

after Chonga's arrival, and a massive amount of condensing of our merch and personal items, we were ready to leave Emmen for our first show in Haarlem. Our last day at the bank squat known as Spoorloos (translates to "without a trace") was spent eating peanut butter and fruit in the upstairs living room and trying not to freeze to death. It's still amazing to me how much Spoorloos gives back to the community, and how much the support they receive in return, especially for being a known anarchist group... evident in the red and black flag flying out in front of the building. Did I mention this bank is located directly in downtown Emmen?

-l-

We packed up The Deceptacon all the way to the ceiling. We left enough room for one seat in the back and literally have barely any space to move. We're all looking forward to spending the next 2 months in the Land Rover, especially driving through the Alps, haha*. The flaps on the back don't insulate it at all, and we can't lock the doors so every time we stop we have to bring all our things with us. I worry for my guitar because this will be the second really expensive one I will destroy if I don't look out for it.

A short 2 hour drive brought us to Haarlem, NL. We're here to celebrate Tes' birthday, and staying tonight in her squatted flat above the shopping mall in the city center.** I have a feeling I'm going to see some more awesome squats on this trip, but I should say that this place definitely does not look like one. inside and out. A series of small flats connected above a clothing store, all quaint and incredibly clean. And from Tes' explanation a flat 1/4 of the size of one of these would cost 300-400 euros a month.

Excited for the show tonight, and for the months ahead. Trying not to think about how much I miss everyone, and listening to music from time to time to calm myself down. I'll keep you all updated in the weeks ahead.

for love and liberation,
mike xvx

*nervous laugh

**I've never seen so much fur trim in a mall in all of my life. Literally every other person that passed us had a fur trim jacket on. Fucking murderers.

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Portland, OR / Emmen, NL

2010-02-24T02:42:00.000-08:00

"hey, that's no way to say goodbye." -Leonard Cohen

Portland is awesome, I want to start off by saying that. Where else can you skate an awesome ramp inside a screenprinting warehouse, eat delicious vegan food in every neighborhood, and get radical books, kitschy stickers, and vegan versions of every possible junk food? I was so so glad to spend my last 2 weeks in Oregon with some of the most amazing people I know!
directly after the AETA 4 benefit I drove straight back down to LA to catch my flight. I left at 1030 pm and arrived the next day at 7 pm after an exhausting night. Rested for about 18 hours and then caught my flight out. After the 9 hour flight to London the plane decided to wait on the runway for 45 minutes (don't ask me why) so I missed my connecting flight. It's probably better that I got a later flight anyways because I got incredibly lost in the Heathrow airport. I don't understand how anyone can find their way around that place... you have to take trains and busses to the other terminals. so ridiculous.

Finally made it to Amsterdam and met up with Keegan and Arthur. Stepped out into the FREEZING cold and rode a train out to Weesp. Got into our tour vehicle and named it Deceptacon. Even though MDG insists it's just called "Land Rover" haha.

currently staying in a squat that used to be a bank in Emmen, Holland. It includes a massive free-store on the first level, a venue in the basement, and living quarters on the 2nd floor. I can't believe how rad the set up is here, and how many things they are able to host here during the week. Foodbanks, movie screenings, vegan cafes etc. and everyone here is super nice and friendly. Though I will say it's almost as cold inside as it is outside.

Went for a walk with Roland the dog early this morning across Emmen and got to see it in all it's hazy glory. It's actually kind of nice to see snow again, even though I just came from Australia where it's probably over a hundred degrees there right now. This year is definitely turning out to be one never-ending global tour. Which is awesome, but I was kind of hoping to spend a bit more time with my friends and rest before I left again. but how can I complain? I get to see like 16+ countries on this trip. boohoo.

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

Vacation's over.

2010-02-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

So i'm nearing the end of my 3 week "vacation" away from touring. If you haven't seen or heard from me in this period of time it's because i've been insanely busy with printing shirts, making CD's, playing shows, doing fur demos, writing goofy songs about fur demos, driving up and down the west (best) coast, and of course finding time to skate in between. I can't emphasize enough how stressed, starving and utterly exhausted I've been during this time.. but I have a feeling that's all going to pay off for this next tour.

do you ever get into that mood where you've been traveling/working/whatever for so long that you're not conscious of what you're doing? and that your body just acts simply on instinct? I find myself not remembering how long i'd been driving for, not knowing how i got on the right train when i'm half asleep, or how i just get anywhere in general. total zombie.

Today is my last day in Oregon, and also my last show in the U.S. for the next 2 months. Keegan and I will be embarking on an epic tour across Europe next week, and I'm so glad to be traveling with him. I put myself deeply into debt to make this happen, and I want to thank all of my friends who have helped me out in anyway!

also, if you're in Portland tonight there will be an awesome benefit for the AETA 4 at the Red and Black Cafe:

When i get back to the states i'll be planning a small west coast tour and possibly a bike tour as well. but other than that i just plan on getting some serious sleep.
Europe friends: see you soon!
U.S. friends: see you later!
Australian friends: i miss you a lot!
Cops, cop sympathizers, and loss prevention agents: go fuck yourselves!

Go Vegan,
Mike XVX

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - Final entry

2010-01-30T10:15:00.000-08:00

Pt. 1 Byron and Newcastle

After Australia (Invasion) day I spent some time with Kirstie and her hilarious and clumsy dog Falkor for a few days. Mostly we just went swimming.

Had a farewell swim in the ocean with Marcus and Rick before Kirstie and myself drove down to Newcastle. after an exhausting 8 1/2 hours we arrived at Amy's and slept like you wouldn't believe. The next day we visited the skatepark, checked out the bogey hole again* and ate thai food (of course). Played a show on the Hamilton Station Hotel with Will Wagner and the smith street band, The Anorexic Olsen Twin, Like...Alaska and Phat Meegz. A rowdy and fun filled event** that dragged on into the next day. After the show I said my goodbyes to Kirstie (sadly), and went back to Amy's for a sleep. The next day was a nice and quiet show in Suzie's zine shop with the bands from the night before all playing acoustically. Afterwards had dinner at Govinda's (a Krishna restaurant), and hung out for a record party at Totoro's Teahouse a few blocks away. Jamming on the sidewalk with some of the smith street band, a car passed and an egg was thrown at us. Luckily the person sucked at throwing (and probably at life as well) and the egg landed a few feet short. We kind of just had a laugh and kept on shredding. Somehow I ended up saying goodbye to the smith street band probably about 3 times... once at the zine shop, again at the teahouse, and then the next morning when Liam and I ran into them at the public baths we said it again. Skated the park for a few minutes, and then caught my train out to Sydney.

Met Amber at Central station, though I didn't know what she looked like and she didn't recognize me either. I just saw a girl wearing a Gorilla Biscuits shirt walking around, so I figured it was probably her. After Correctly Identifying her we ate at the Green Palace in Newtown (of which I had 2 plates of my own food, and the rest of hers), ate some banana splits and watched Interview with a Vampire (Tom Cruise is a weirdo).

*A man died at the swimming hole a day before we got there. Drunk and all partied up from Australia day, he jumped off a ledge into the shallow water and split his head open. A helicopter airlifted him out but he died in the hospital the next day. The city may be using this as grounds to close the Bogey hole, which would be a major bummer.

**I have officially brought "logging" to Australia. A game where you fold up a piece of paper, place it on someone's shoulder, watch and wait till it falls off or they discover it. Chris from the smith street band had 5 on him at one point, but Will Wagner holds the current record with 7 on his shoulder while he was drunkenly hugging someone goodbye. It was like a feeding frenzy... right as he turned his back me and 2 others bombarded him with Logs until there was no more room on his shoulders. I doubled over with laughter at that point.

Pt. 2 written in the sydney terminal

A lot of emotions are running through me right now, and I'd be lying if I said I was eager to return to the states. Sitting in the airport waiting for my flight, I have a bit of time to reflect on my stay here. Although this trip overall was an awesome and amazing experience, there were some extreme lows as well. Though I could go on about the negative things about this trip I'm not going to... the people that fucked me over and/or abandoned me are well aware of this, and talking about it in further detail will just make me angry. Instead I'll take this time to thank all of the people who have done amazing things for me since I've been here, and without them this trip would have been a total disaster.

Alix for taking care of me when I couldn't walk and giving me a comfortable place to stay. Joe for working so hard at getting me shows when everything fell apart, and recording my performances. Kirstie for helping me get back to Newcastle when I completely ran out of money, and for letting me hang out with her super rad dog. Marcus for all the emotional support and friendship (you definitely helped me through some dark times). Mitch and Laura for housing me when I was on crutches, and just being all around sweet people. Jamie Hay, Babs and Bosma for helping me get on some shows in Melbourne and being super accommodating. Will Wagner and the Smith Street band for all the high fives, hugs, sing alongs and late night jam sessions. Steve, Lewis and Rayne for all the late night skate jams and impromptu ginger beer parties. Liam for being an awesome friend and bogey hole enthusiast. Josh, Gab, Brooke, Morgan, Louise, Ben and everyone at the Canberra Vegan House who have helped me out so much. Rhys and Sommer, Mark Jolley and Ben from Maclean for opening their houses to me to perform. Suzie, Jen, Amy and Like...Alaska! for helping me out with Newcastle shows and all the fun times. and lastly, Amber in Newtown for feeding me banana splits and being the last person I see before I leave Australia.

Going home broke, filthy and exhausted. I have less than a month to prepare for my Euro tour with xTrue Naturex so I literally have to get to work as soon as I land. I have a long few months ahead, but keeping busy generally keeps me happy. I'm starting to feel like what I'm doing actually makes a difference again, and I want to continue on this path.

See you all soon.

for love and liberation,
Mike XVX

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - "feelin' pretty devo this arvo"

2010-01-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

Spent my last few days in Yamba, NSW skating the park with Rayne and some of the local kids. Swam in the ocean one day alongside a giant tiger shark (I didn't see it but Rayne was pulled out of the water). Apparently it was about 12 ft long, so maybe that's average length for a tiger shark? Also, earlier on in my stay in Yamba I was stung by a Blue Bottle Jellfish directly on my nipple, which was not fun at all but I guess it says something about how many exotic (and deadly) sea creatures there are out here.

Said goodbye to Alix and all my Yamba friends after we went swimming at the quarry in Angourie (blue pools) which was pretty sad. Then drove out to Byron to meet up with Kirstie and Marcus.

Drove up to the Gold Coast and went swimming at the Natural Bridges Waterfall

You're not actually allowed to swim in the falls, or even go anywhere near it, but we didn't want to pass up a great opportunity. Once the last of the tourists left the cave we climbed over the railing and hopped in, even after a threat on a sign of an "80 points fine"... whatever that means? The water was the perfect temperature, and the falls were not too strong to swim underneath.* When I got out I realized a group of people had gathered and a couple of them were filming, I thought we were busted.. or at the very least going to be hassled, but a lot of them were just excited for us.

Played a pretty awesome show in Rhys' backyard (pictured underneath the waterfall in the second picture). When he wrote free ginger beer on the flyer he wasn't kidding... there were over 40 bottles in his kitchen. I could finish one, and that was my limit.Rhys also filmed this show with a super high-tech camera

oh yeah, and I shaved off my beard.

(and I look super sketchy)

Drove back the Byron that night, and in the morning met up with Marcus and Rick at the Bangalow markets which was INSANELY big, and it was scorching out in the sun. Ate some delicious raw food and hung around the Sea Shepherd tent mostly. Afterward went to the local Co-op grocery store and met up with Rhys and Sommer. Hung out in a park down the street for a good while, until an Aboriginal man approached Marcus and myself accusing us of staring at him without having the common decency to introduce ourselves. We were taken aback because neither of us had been staring, and there was really no opportunity to even get a word in otherwise. Accused of being racist, and not given the chance to talk about it we left the park. I was pretty bummed about the interaction, but Marcus and I talked about how his fear of being judged by us is the same that we felt. and that his approach to the situation is reactionary to the racist society that he lives in.**

Spent the rest of the day skating at the park in Mullumbimby. Pretty awesome park, that's all I can say.

My last 5 days in Australia starts today. Not wanting to go home, though I probably should. Marcus jokes about getting a petition started to have Australia "adopt" me haha. A lot people tell me if I want citizenship I just need to know who Kevin Rudd is (he's the prime minister, duh) so I think I could handle that.

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

*Last time Marcus was there it was raining pretty hard, and apparently almost drowned when he swam underneath it

**Aboriginals have faced (and still are facing) hundreds of years of oppression, assimilation, displacement and genocide. Their plight has a lot of similarities to the treatment of indigenous peoples during the colonization of the Americas. In fact tomorrow is "Australia Day", which is considered by some as "invasion day". In Byron there is a celebration of Aboriginal history and culture at an event called "Survival Day" which I will be attending. I'll let you know how that goes.
P.S. fuck nationalism

New release! Internet download only!

2010-01-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

So I've finally got around to uploading my new release! "our lives have meaning, our lives have value" is available for download for a suggested donation of $5-$10.

Contact noeffingwhey@gmail.com for the download code!

or you can send a donation via paypal to noeffingwhey@gmail.com!

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - "when the world falls apart some things stay in place."

2010-01-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

Just got back to northern new south wales from an exhausting 5 days in Melbourne, VIC. Played 3 shows with Will Wagner and Chris Burrows, who both played really awesome sets by the way, but had to skip the 4th to rest and go see Walter from Gorilla Biscuits play an acoustic set.

Spent the first 2 nights with rad Josh that I met in Canberra at his house in Northcote, and then spent the rest of the time with Jamie Hay and his awesome roommates and friends in Clifton Hill. Skated the weirdest park I've ever been to - it was just box stacked on box with a few stair sets. No transitions or ramps anywhere, so bizarre. Went for several bike rides both with Jamie and Josh... one of which Jamie warned me that we'd be riding along a river for part of it and that I, of all people, should be reeeeeeally careful.*

Melbourne is known as Australia's most vegan city, and I definitely found this to be true. Ate at a ton of different places that were all pretty delicious... except Trippy Taco kind of weirded me out. You just shouldn't eat Mexican food overseas if you grew up in Southern California; it's a written rule that I chose to ignore. Also had a great lunch at Lentil as Anything, which is a vegetarian restaurant run by volunteers. All you can eat and pay what you think the meal was worth; pretty good deal, hey? It's also located in an old convent that was converted into several shops, including a bar, a pretty sweet art gallery,a petting zoo, and also hosts a weekly farmers market. I would send photos but I haven't taken any since I've destroyed my last camera in the lake crash.

Feeling super flemmy and nauseous even though I've been back for a day. Every place I seemed to play or go was literally filled with cigarette smoke, and I'd end up having a coughing fit the next morning. Had to step out of my comfort zone a lot to play some of the time as well, since everyone was drinking, smoking and being super rowdy. It's definitely not something I'm used to, but I put on a smile and handled it the best I could... though I felt pretty uncomfortable and overwhelmed a couple times.**

I'm just trying to take everything as it comes, though what's been coming is sometimes difficult to deal with. I don't know if any of you experience this, but I feel like I build something emotionally for myself, or try to build a strong relationship with another person, and then have someone or something come along and just (metaphorically) kick the supports out from underneath it. I suppose that's how I've been feeling lately. Or maybe I'm just exhausted and lightheaded from that trip and that's amplifying my emotions at the moment.

Anyways, playing a show on the Gold Coast on the 23rd and my last and final show in Australia in Newcastle on the 27th. I hope to see a lot of people there, check the dates on my myspace blog if you need anymore info.

Going to make the best of these last 2 weeks,
Mike XVX

*Still getting ripped on weeks after the lake crash, haha. So if I've learned anything it's this: crash into a filthy lake with your friends trike and ruin all your things just once and you'll never live it down.

**I don't want anyone to think I'm being arrogant or elitist either, I simply just don't feel comfortable around drinking in any capacity.

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - Kobe Bryant!

2010-01-12T03:21:00.001-08:00

So I was able to skate for the first time in a good while today. I was walking in downtown Yamba and I ran into Rayne, so he took me swimming at this awesome rock formation at the beach called The Key and afterwards we went to the skatepark. Once we were there for awhile I was approached by a group of young kids.
this was our conversation:

Kid #1: Hey are you American?
Me: Yeah, I am.
Kid #1: (gasps) whoa, so like... where exactly?
Me: um, California.
Kid #2: Oh so like, Denver Broncos?
Me: Well, no. That's Colorado. We have the Lakers I guess.
Kids: (all yell) Oh Man!!
Kid #2: KOBE BRYANT! KOBE BRYANT! (makes swishing noises and pretends to pass a ball between his legs)
Kid #1: Well LBJ is better, right?
Me: Uh, yeah. sure. But I gotta get back to skating.
Kid #1: Oh yeah, do your thing man. (gestures with arms)

Leaving on a plane for Melbourne tomorrow. A little nervous, but I'm looking forward to seeing Victoria for the first time. The dates are posted on my myspace. Hope to see some of you there!

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - chuck a coupla stubbies in the eskie

2010-01-11T02:14:00.000-08:00

As some of you American friends will notice when I get home, I've been working hard building my Australian vocabulary. I have to say, when I first got here I had a hard time understanding what anyone was saying to me... but now being a little more exposed to the Australian vernacular I have a better understanding. By the way, I'm stinging for a stubbie right now.

Anyways, played an awesome show last Saturday in Maclean (the Scottish capital of Australia!). Had a barbie with some mates, chucked back a coupla stubbies and played some music. A friend named Joe tried to record the show somewhat successfully for a bootleg "Live in Australia" CD he's making. I'm pretty excited about that! and you all should be too! Thanks again to Ben for letting a bunch of sweaty kids hang around in his basement.

The next night some friends and I drove up to Byron. Ate some Krishna food and went swimming in the SALTIEST water I have ever been in. Had a great view of the famous Byron Bay lighthouse from the beach, and is also known as the most easterly point of Australia! The show wasn't "officially" booked at the Youth Activities Center (YAC), but since there wasn't a show scheduled that night I figured I might as well play out in front. Surprisingly a pretty large amount of people showed up, and I think all in all it went really well. Lesson learned: don't rely on someone else, do. it. yourself.* Spent some time with some really sweet kids, and got to see cane toads for the first time (super cute, but apparently are a total pest here in AU). Great, great show.
Spent the night out in Lismore, and drove up to the Gold Coast to party at "Dreamworld" for the day. As I was standing out front trying to figure out a way to get in, a womyn approached me and offered me one of her family pack tickets, which included a wristband to get into the waterpark, for $30 instead $75 (plus another $20 for the waterpark). Once we passed through the ticket line and I was in the park, she seemed to be incredibly nervous about me handing her money and thought that everyone that worked the front gates was "watching her". so she said "you can have it for free, have a nice day" and took off. I guess I lucked out that she was so paranoid, so Marcus and I shared the cost of his ticket instead. Played lazer tag (alien vs. predator vs. YOU) which you battle not only eachother but the predator and the queen alien from the movie series' as well. Rode some awesome rollercoasters, got splashed by some nasty water on a couple of the boat rides, and walked around in nearly 100 degree whether for the day. Nearly had a heartattack on the ride where you freefall 377 ft.. which I had to ride alone because no one else wanted to tempt a brain aneurysm with me. (pictured below. the freefall is the side track)

After we left the park we were thoroughly exhausted and starving so we drove out to Tien Ran in the Gold Coast. Which is one of the few all vegan restaurants I've been to since I've been here.
Grabbed a few stubbies on the way back, laid down and had one of the deepest sleeps I've had in quite awhile.

I love my friends,
Mike XVX

p.s. there's not a whole lot of room here for my photos, so feel free to check them out on my myspace.

*although I do owe a great amount of thanks to all my friends who helped caravan kids out to the show, advertised for it and drove me around. and of course all the friends who have in any way supported me since I've been here. A million times thank you!!!

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - Oh. Shit.

2010-01-07T18:49:00.001-08:00

Just got back from a rowdy couple of days in Canberra, NSW so I'll fill you in on what I've been up to:

Took a 15 hour train ride down, with a stop off in Sydney where I made $1.40 busking in the tunnels (pretty good huh?). On my connecting train I saw a couple in the seat in front of me get into a fist fight (full on face punching and everything), while I sat there wondering if I should get involved. After about 20 seconds they got up and walked off, wondering what could be weirder than that to see on a train ride.*

The next day in Canberra, Josh and I rode bikes out to the botanical gardens, and then eventually hiked all the way up black mountain in some serious dry-heat. We made it to the Telstra antenna at the top but it cost $7.50 just to go up into the revolving restaurant. Instead we walked into a restricted area to take photos of the city (coming soon), and on the way out a womyn with an accent I couldn't place screamed in face about us not being allowed out there. We laughed, said thanks and walked back down the mountain.

Went for a ride around the bacteria and blue-green algae filled man-made lake, and once again my recklessness ended in disaster. Choosing Josh's trike instead of a regular bicycle, I consciously chose comfort over maneuverability. I learned my lesson while coming down a hill on the bike path alongside the water. I approached a soft turn, so I figured I'd be able to take it at the speed I was going... but coming around the bend it became nearly a 90 degree angle and I had to jerk the bars and leaned as hard as I could into it. I wondered at one point why I couldn't steer, and why I was only going in a straight line towards the lake. and then I wondered why the brakes weren't working. and then when I approached the edge I stopped wondering and the only thought that popped into my head was "I'm fucked."
I flew off the 2 ft. wall at a pretty decent speed, clearing a small ledge and landing in the lake face first; backpack and all. I, and the bike were completely submerged at that point, and when I broke the surface choking on the nasty water and scrambling to stop the bike from sinking, all I could hear was Josh's laughter. My phone was ruined, and the verdict is still out on whether my cameras are broken or not - and whether I will have intestinal problems later on, haha. I looked into my backpack and all my items were literally swimming in a couple inches of water. Everyone had a good laugh about it, especially me. One of the funniest parts being that Josh only heard me yell "OH SHIT!" and turned to see me mid flight. Pretty epic indeed.
(p.s. you can make fun of me all you want about this. everyone else has, haha)
(p.p.s. photos coming soon hopefully)

Played a show that night in the living room of the Vegan House, ate some amazing vegan cheesecake and gluten-free vegan corn dogs, and hung out with some of the nicest people I've met in Australia so far.

The next day Josh and I went out on bikes again (this time I chose the beach cruiser, obviously) and rode to the portrait exhibit at the modern art museum. After that we saw some awesome stuff from Cezanne, Monet, Picasso and Munch in the art gallery. Ate some strange mexican food that made me miss San Diego a whole lot, drank a xginger beerx and then played scrabble in the park for a few hours (always awesome).

A show got thrown together last minute by an awesome person named Louise at The Phoenix. I had all I could drink juice and xginger beerx, watched a couple other bands, and then played the sweatiest set of my life. It was incredibly hot in the building, and the stage lights beating down on me didn't help much at all. Also, it's always weird playing through a PA but there were some rad friends there showing there support... so all in all it was a pretty good show.

Had to wake up at 6 am the next morning, except Morgan's clock was wrong and he woke me up at 5 by mistake, haha. I packed my things and realized it was still pitch black outside so I went back to bed for awhile. I was scheduled to transfer in Sydney, and I would have had to wait for 5 hours for my connection, but when I got there I managed to get on a train that left 2o minutes once I arrived so I caught that instead. *It seemed to be a strange train to catch though, for the first 5 hours a bogan with 3 babies sat behind me. Watching them get on in Strathmore I knew right away they were going to be trouble. Not once in that whole 5 hours were any of them quiet; they were either screaming, crying or talking baby nonsense while their dad would mumble inaudible things... except every once in awhile I'd hear "you betta stop that an' fuck off, mate". I woke up at one point to one of the babies pulling my blanket off of me at the height of my frustration. She was lucky. After they left I was quite relieved, but we still had a large, drunk bald man walking around the train harassing everyone. He would walk around the train telling everyone they were "in his seat" even though he wasn't from our car, and then stand in between cars and yell the station stops as they'd come and go. When we got to Wauchope 2 cops got on, and when he saw them he ran and sat in the seat across from me pretending to be doing nothing wrong. They asked him to leave, and he did and I took a photo with my new phone. I kind of missed that guy after he left actually, he was funny.

Sat in a near empty train car for the last hour of my trip. It's always a haunting feeling to be sitting in a brightly lit train-car seemingly by yourself when it's pitch black outside. I heard 2 Americans talking up near the front, the first since I've been in Australia, but I didn't want to talk to them as much as I assumed they didn't want to talk with me either. It's kind of a bummer to run into other people from the states when you're in a different country.

Playing a show in Yamba tonight, then Byron the next day, and then going to Dreamworld (!!!). Hope to see you all soon.

for love and liberation,
Mike XVX

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - New Year, A Giant Banana, Dodg'em Cars and Fairy Floss

2010-01-02T03:16:00.001-08:00

Some good news for you all: After 2 weeks on crutches I am finally beginning to walk again. I feel as though the dark cloud that's been hanging over my head since then is finally starting to pass. I haven't felt the need to write in this for awhile since I didn't want to send out any negative news, but now things are looking up.

It's only been the new year for a couple days now, but already I'm feeling refreshed and revitalized. This past year has been rough, as I know it has been for a lot of my friends as well. I had thought at first that I was just on a streak of bad luck... but I realize now that a lot of the negative experiences I had this year were consequences of not trusting my own intuition and judgment. So I guess my new years resolution is to take a step back from my life from time to time and re-evaluate my goals as an activist, musician and friend, and reaffirm what's really important to me.

So I just got back from a rowdy night at the fair in Yamba, NSW. Ate a bunch of Fairy Floss (cotton candy) and got a mild seatbelt burn on my neck from the Dodg'em (Bumper) Cars. Afterward, a friend and I beat the crap out of each other inside a giant inflatable worm while screaming children jumped all over me when I was down. It was awesome to be on my foot again and feel like I can fully enjoy my time here.

I am so grateful to the friends I have made on this trip so far. I was feeling pretty alone there for awhile since this tour fell apart. but with their help it's been coming back together. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's (my favorite holiday by the way), and I hope to see some of you at the upcoming shows this week/month/year. Take care.

for love and liberation,
Mike XVX

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - Good on you, mate.

2009-12-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

Played an awesome show outside a comic shop in Lismore, though that night tragedy struck during a game of stickball. While I ran for home base, a plastic bottle slid underneath my foot when I crossed a metal grate, resulting in this:
No broken bones, but I had to spend a morning in the emergency room with a bit of discomfort (as you can probably imagine). I was treated at a public hospital, and them thinking I was Australian gave me FREE services- Including the X-ray, crutches and bandages- which would have cost a fortune back in the US.

I guess I could say I'm 'lucky' the tour fell apart big time and I don't have a show for a few weeks. Although that feels bittersweet, especially since I have no money due to lack of shows until January, and can barely take care of myself (physically and financially).

I am very thankful that I've met the people that I have in Lismore and the surrounding area. They have been seriously amazing to me - getting me food, offering me places to stay and driving me around. I honestly don't know what I would have done without them. This tour collapsing the way it did was devastating, but with their help it's slowly coming back together. It's been difficult to stay positive about everything, but I'm trying my best. After all, I'm still in Australia with some of the most amazing animals and forests I've ever seen.

For now I'm resting, eating thai food, going to the beach, viewing wild kangaroos and kicking it with some rad people. I've been thinking about making some big changes to upcoming tours and releases as well, and it's good that I have time to re-evaluate everything that I've been planning.

I just want to say thank you to all the awesome, sincere and compassionate people I've met on this trip. Thank you to all the great friends I've made so far, thank you to everyone who doesn't fuck around about animal rights, and thank you to everyone back home for all the supportive emails I've received. Feeling very optimistic about the future, even though the present has been trying my patience.

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - Proper Bogans

2009-12-11T01:16:00.000-08:00

After hanging around Newcastle for a few days I caught a train down to Sydney to kick it with the awesome Marcus Carcass. Our first couple days were spent on the (notorious) Bondi beach swimming off the rocks in the most beautiful water! Crystal clear, and full of green mossy rocks and fish. We saw a seagull dive-bomb a dog repeatedly for about five minutes; each time screeching as it plunged and the dog barking in response. so funny! Some not so awesome people on the beach as well that really aren't worth mentioning.

Once we got all the swimming out of our system we headed up to the blue mountains with Dan and stayed the night in this awesome house right on the edge of the woods. I'm pretty sure I heard a Wallaby hopping around in the backyard... and apparently there was a Possum crawling on the awning overhead when I was asleep, though I didn't hear that. The next morning we hiked on the Wentworth pass, looked out at Govetts leap, and walked through an obnoxious group of tourists to see the Three Sisters. Saw a whole flock of cockatoos on our 3 hour hike down the mountain(they are the craziest, LOUDEST birds ever). and when i ran naked into a waterfall thinking that no one was around, a group of people walked out from behind a rock. I tried to run, tripped and fell naked into the water in front of everyone.

I refuse to be embarrassed.

We headed back down the mountain later that day, and the next morning I caught a rideshare with an annoying old hippie dude up to Lismore. I literally clung to the door handle for almost the entire 7 1/2 hour drive because he was driving like a maniac. and while he was flying around corners and almost smacking into the backs of other cars he was saying that THEY were the bad drivers. so scary.

Had a crazy, drunk Bogan come in and out of my room while I was sleeping which made my first night here interesting. He kept walking through and mumbling "wherrrre'sss that amerrrrican boyy" while I huddled in the dark corner hoping not to be seen. terrible.

Went to the animal park today here in Lismore and a kangaroo was so nice as to let me pet him for a good while! he was so cute, we named him roy. he loves green leafy vegetables and hopping. We didn't want to pay to get in so Joseph and I made a running leap over the fence and ran off into the park. amazingly NO ONE saw us do it, which I'm still surprised about.
Afterward swam in the quarry with the boyz and jumped off a 10 meter (30 ft) rock and nearly dislocated my shoulder again. so rad!

Watched The Castle, and about to watch Cracker Jack - both great representations of modern Australian culture I'm told. Making a cake, excited for the show tomorrow and missing home.

"He's dreeeeeamin",
Mike XVX

p.s. I haven't uploaded photos in awhile but they'll be coming your way soon. be patient!

First set of Australia photos posted!

2009-12-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn286/mikexvx/Australia%20number%201/

Australia tour - dates have been moved!

2009-12-03T02:37:00.000-08:00

So here is a rough draft of where I'm going to be in Jan.

Jan.
5th - Canberra (house show - 43 Atherton St, Downer)

8th - Yamba

9th - Byron Bay

10th - Gold Coast (TBA)

14th -Lyrebird Bar @ 61 Glen Eira Rd, Ripponlea (near the station)
Free Entry Show, Free BBQ, $10 Jugs
8PM Doors
With: Wil Wagner & The Smith Street Band, Mr DNA, Chaos Kids

15th - House Show @ HICKS IN THE CITY
With: Wolfman Josh, Tom Lawson, Mr DNA, Jess Shulman, Wil Wagner
More info closer to date

16th - @ CATFOOD PRESS (ALL AGES SHOW)
W/ Jamie Hay, Mike XVX (usa), Wil Wagner & The Smith Street Band, The
Tin Soldiers (galaga gang bang boys) & We'll Be Cowboys Tomorrow
289 lygon street - east brunswick
3pm Doors
$5 Entry

17th - @ STATION 59
59 Church Street, Richmond
6pm Doors
Free Entry

22nd - (TBA)
w/Born Into Suffering
Perth, WA

Hope to see you!

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia): Day 1 - The Arrival

2009-12-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

I made it to LAX around 730 pm even though my flight wasn't until 11 (not taking ANY chances) after I spent the day with some cousins I hardly ever see. We went down to the harbor in Redondo beach to go ice skating on the sand (fucked up, right?) but the rink was closed, so we rented those little pedal boats instead. So bogus, I don't recommend it... they wouldn't even let us leave the harbor!

Anyways, I had foreseen 3 major problems that could potentially prevent me from getting on the plane:

Problem #1 My checked bag had to be under 50 lbs, otherwise I would have to pay an extra $50. Having literally zero dollars in my bank account, paying anything extra was simply not an option. While checking in for my flight I place my bag on the scale with a bit of it sticking off of the side (Though I'm not sure if that makes a difference?). I watched in horror as the numbers on the scale reach 45 lbs, and slowly crept up a few notches. I held my breath for what seemed like 30 seconds before the womyn behind the counter said ok and let me go. First tragedy averted!

Problem #2 My guitar could not be placed under the plane without being destroyed, but it was too large to fit as a carry-on.
So, my *new* guitar is a 30 year old Guild Banjo Killer that I bought for an insane amount, and I've had several nightmares of it being checked on the plane and having the neck snap or the body warp from the subzero temperatures that all the luggage goes through at the bottom of the plane. I had a plan, though not sure how it would pan out, to absolutely maintain that *someone* from Delta airlines assured me there would be closet space on the plane for my oversized guitar. So, I walked through security and placed my guitar through the X-ray machine. no one said anything, so I kept going. Made it to the gate, and as the man at the door checked my boarding pass he glanced briefly at the huge hard case in my hand, but said nothing. so I kept going. Then as I entered the plane the womyn at the plane door looked at the guitar in my hand, but said nothing. So I went to the back of the plane and found an attendant. Our conversation was as follows:

Me: "Hello, I need to put this in a closet. can you tell me where that is?"
Her: "If it doesn't fit in the overhead you're going to have to check it"
Me: "A representative assured me I'd be able to place this in a closet. This guitar is older than I am and it can't be placed underneath the plane"
Her: laughs "A representative of what?"
Me: "Uh.... Delta Airlines"
Her: "Ok... there's space up front for it"

So with that I shoved my guitar behind some captains jackets in a closet near the front of the plane. Second tragedy averted!

Problem #3: I had a bunch of food that I had to take through customs, and I needed all of it.
So with two problems down, and one to go I was feeling pretty good. I was unable to give an address of where I was staying in Australia for 2 months, but no one seemed to care about that haha. So I put my bag on the X-ray machine and again I was questioned. "so it says you're bringing trail mix into this country, may I see it?" certainly I said, and got it out. "oh you see, this has walnuts in it so we're either going to have to destroy it, or you can pay $30 to keep it here at the airport for when you return home". Shortly I weighed the option of paying $30 to store a huge bag of raw trail mix at the Sydney airport for myself to enjoy 2 months later, and regrettably decided that destroying it would be a better option. She let me keep my almond butter though, but that hardly feels like a victory. So long trail mix...

After Lauren met me at the airport, we drove north a couple hours to Newcastle where I currently am staying. I settled in, skated an insanely awesome skate park literally right on the beach while lauren went to work, fell asleep for a couple hours with the feeling that someone had kicked me in the head, and then ate delicious thai food with Lauren and her sister Jodie. Such a good first day!!

On another note, the dates of the tour have been moved around a considerable amount. I don't have the dates posted yet but I'll get back to you on that. I have 2 months here so I have plenty of time to reach all the places I wanted to go.

Today's plans are as follows - busking at the mall a few blocks down from here, and swimming with one of my favorite Australians Liam at a beach he's taking me to.

Missing my friends back home so much,
Mike XVX

p.s. the birds here make crazy noises in the morning. It reminded me of going to the bird sanctuary at the zoo as a child, as shitty as zoos are. I can't wait to see a Koala!

Profit Prevention Tour (Australia) - Leaving the U.S.

2009-11-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

So I've left San Diego, and in about 32 hours I'll be leaving the country for my first international tour. I can't explain how excited, anxious and nervous I feel! But I will say that I'm most looking forward to traveling across the country and getting to see Uluru (Ayers rock), the great barrier reef, the rainforest on the north coast, and (hopefully) get to see Kangaroo island off of the southern shore. Let alone all the amazing people and animals I will surely meet along the way as well.

I've been stressing myself out big time about making sure I have everything ready, so much even that I pace around the room thinking if I have every angle of my travel plans covered. I don't want to jinx it, but for the past few weeks I kept waking up in the middle of the night TERRIFIED that I missed my flight, forgot my passport, lost my guitar etc. etc. the day I was supposed to leave - thus preventing me from reaching the first few dates of the tour. I think some of the stress might be due in part to the fact that I haven't booked any of the shows for this tour. It's strange not to have control over the itinerary, but I'm in the trustworthy hands of my friend Lauren so I'm sure everything will go fine.

It will be awesome to meet other xvx, vegan, anarchist, atheist, straight edge and/or feminist people on another part of the planet and see what their community is like. It will also be awesome to meet animals of a species that I've only seen photos of (koalas, kangaroos, deadly snakes etc.), and immerse myself in a culture and climate I knew next to nothing about when I originally planned this trip. and now after researching it's biodiversity I can't wait to go and experience it all! Even the bad stuff!

I will greatly miss all my friends in the U.S. over the next two months, and if any of you miss me too feel free to send me an email: mikexvx@gmail.com

Love always,
Mike XVX

Fall tour '09 Recap

2009-09-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

santa cruz, ca

all I can say is: vegan milkshakes, beautiful river spots, epic power outages, late night french fries, dog walking, Miguel playing and good time having. Thank you Santa Cruz for hosting my first ever great day there!

oakland, ca

The show was hosted in Holly's (small) living room where about 30 people had to be crammed into this tiny space. I played in front of an incredibly rambunctious group of people, and it probably made for the most hilarious show of the tour. Before anyone set up one of the roommates was playing a video game, and while her character would walk past another character everyone would scream "RIP HIS HEAD OFF!!" regardless of the context. needless to say she was NOT happy about this, haha. (I would explain this better but I don't understand video game terminology. sorry)

aside from that, I love just sitting and watching people yell at each other from across the room when I'm supposed to play (not being sarcastic at all, I swear), and I have to wait for their argument etc. to be over with. so funny!

I was so psyched to be playing with Miguel again, one of my favorite people to see when I'm out and about. His set was hilarious as usual, and included a rendition of "remix to ignition" by R. Kelly. so fucking good, I promise.

reno, nv

Played a show at the Hen Den with this AMAZING band called My Flag is on Fire (go check them out: http://www.myspace.com/myflagisonfire). I missed them last time because I got altitude sickness so badly I threw up everywhere (not even kidding) and this time I actually got it again, but not so bad that I couldn't play/enjoy the show.

Stayed with the SWEETEST people ever. ever ever ever. Made a frustrating and delicious raw pie with danielle, drank some tea and hung out with some adorable kittens. Oh, and I had to strategically place my bag in a way where the cats couldn't pee on it. that's always fun too.

lincoln city, or

The drive out here was insanely long, so we stopped at a lake out in the middle of nowhere and swam for awhile, and then spent a night parked out in the woods in Oregon instead. as we were pulling up to our sleeping spot Andy started yelling "What the fuck are you!!!" out the window. Startled I shot a look outside to see 2 deer running alongside the car through the weeds. They probably thought we were idiots.

Played inside of a record store in Lincoln City, but it wasn't an actual show. I sang for about 45 minutes while people walked in and bought things, pretty strange! I'd never done anything like that before.. well actually, I played inside an indoor mall once for $50. I'd say that was probably more weird than this.

Afterwards our wonderful host Zelan took us to the natural food store where I had the most amazing hummus of my life! (Made by the womyn who owns it, and prepared fresh daily.) He then treated us to dinner at a vegetarian restaurant/porn shop/head shop/bar respectively called "The Filthy." interesting? I think so.

afterwards we skated the most rugged and amazing skatepark I've ever been to. Everything was super steep and treacherous, and the rain made it extra scary. not to mention the 3 or 4 drug deals we saw go down while we were there.
also, at the park there was a dad trying to aggressively "teach" his son how to skate, while the whole time yelling to "stop being a pussy and drop in" which we thought was a bit inappropriate. I don't respond well when I see child abuse, so on our way out I encouraged the child to make a positive change in his life by saying: "hey kid, you should kill your dad!"
We'll see if he takes my advice.

Spent the night with Zelan watching The Office (duh) and then andy and myself went canoeing in the morning on the GIGANTIC LAKE THAT IS HIS BACKYARD. it took us like 40 minutes to paddle all the way across it. but it was so so beautiful!

portland, or

Portland was the same as ever: Fun, inviting, adventurous and action packed. Got to hang out with some of my favorite people, ate delicious vegan food everywhere I went and hung around the vegan mini-mall for about 1/4 of my stay. Went swimming in Multnomah falls, confronted a sexist vampire, almost got punched several times by dads in line at the circus and spit off the overpass of the freeway (immature... so what?). We also got to sit outside the Roseland theater and watch hundreds of Juggalos and Juggalettes spray Faygo all over each other while waiting to get into an ICP show. Saw a pregnant Juggallette smoking a cigarette as well. not so cool.

victoria, bc

Missed the ferry to victoria by 5 minutes after driving 5 1/2 hours to get there. We had it planned out perfectly but we got stuck in traffic when we were leaving Portland. So bummed! and you think that's stupid? guess what, that's the second time it's happened to me!! Victoria hates me : ( (and I don't mean the ferry system, I mean all the people that came out to see me play and I didn't show up) Hopefully someday I'll make it over.

Instead we spent the day in Port Angeles, which if you follow the Twilight series would know that it's where a lot of the story takes place. So of course the whole town is "twilight" themed, with one cafe boasting to be the "site of bella and edwards first date" with a line out the door and an hour and a half wait to be seated. People love to waste their money, don't they?

p.s. if you like Twilight not only are you not reading a decent vampire story, you also need to get a life. I don't care if that's mean. I don't.

I will say this has been one of, if not the best tour I've been on thus far. thank you to everyone who booked me a show, gave me a place to sleep, fed me, hugged me, high fived me, donated so I wouldn't be stranded and made me feel welcome in your city. I wish tour would never end.

love always,
mike xvx

memorable quotes from this tour:

"I am racist against vampires" -Brian from Scapegoat tattoo

"I don't like it" - Miranda (referring to the wild, angry juggalos)

"Hey you want to hear a joke? BANANA" -Courtney

"are you my friend? My name's Joseph. I'm going to kill you" -Joseph (a random crackhead we met in downtown Portland)

"Rabble rabble SHIT rabble" - some guy on his bike

Sorry!

2009-09-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for not updating this thing as often as I should, but I haven't found time to write anything down. there has been too much going on! I promise I will write a long recap of the tour when it's all over with!

stay strong my friends

mike xvx

up the vegan punx tour - Fall 09 #1

2009-09-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

San Diego
Riverside
Santa Barbara

the first night of tour was in San Diego at the City Heights Freeskool. It was sad to say goodbye to all my roomates and the friends i've made over the past couple months, but I'm excited to be touring again! The show itself was very relaxed, and i had a nice time just hanging out with some friendly and inviting people.

we made an awesome gluten-free vegan carrot cake for the day i left (which i piped some of the frosting flowers myself!!), but when i woke up that morning to enjoy it before leaving for Riverside i had discovered our kitchen had turned into a BATTLEFIELD. i had walked right into the middle of war between my roomates and a giant rat that's been eating our food and peeing everywhere for the past few weeks. there was a milk-crate corral circling our oven - everyone armed with a broom and our friend barry carrying the compost bucket in hopes of trapping him. now keep in mind, it was not our intention to hurt him - we set up a humane rat trap in the house that he was obviously too big to fit in and as they say: desperate times call for desperate measures. the battle raged on in the kitchen for about a half hour, everyone screaming and running for cover, until the rat finally made a final charge towards me, leaping OVER my side of the barrier and running straight into the downstairs bedroom. we ended up clearing the whole room out, attempted to make our milk-crate barrier again, and even had him trapped in the boxspring for awhile but he still managed to escape out of the room once again and barricaded himself inside the oven. we gave up for now, but he knows he's been in a fight... that's for sure.

the next day was the show in Riverside, which included a set by Acoustic Destroyer, a vegan potluck and a screening of the movie Jesus Camp (which gets scarier everytime i see it). After the show ended a womyn brought over a possum named Harriet that she had rescued which was one of the cutest animals i have ever met in my life! super cuddly! everyone in riverside is always so sweet to me and i look forward to going back there time and time again.

we (my friend andy and myself) drove into Santa Barbara last night to skip the heat and LA traffic, which was a huge relief. i didnt have a show today so we spent the day eating Thai food at my all time favorite restaurant here in SB, and jumping off the goleta pier.
while leaping off the banister of the pier, a guy that works at the bait shop approached us trying to "suggest that we leave" because the lifeguard was watching and we'd be getting tickets if we didn't stop. I had just jumped off at the time while doing a 'flying squirrel'(which is a move where you grab your ankles and look straight up at the sky while falling), so our friend scott asked him what he thought about it... with no reply, haha. so once he turned his back of course scott jumped off immediately - resulting in the man getting in my face asking for my name while i laughed at him. once he walked back to his shop we had past on the way out asking once again what he "thought of the flying squirrel" and once he didn't respond, i exclaimed "it was nice, huh?" and then asked for his name repeatedly in a voice that mocked his own. hahaha.
for all of you that already thought i was a smartass - this confirms it.

hope to see you soon my friends

love always
mike xvx

For Love and Liberation

2009-07-30T23:08:00.000-07:00

So I've finished recording my new EP: "For Love and Liberation". It's a little over 8 minutes long, but I have to say I'm pretty satisfied with the recordings. I'm just waiting on the artwork, and I'll be setting a release date soon after.

there are only 2 songs on this release with 'official' lyrics, but I'll post them for you here to read:

I see the life that I want

sometimes i think of all the things that fire can consume
sometimes i dream of molotovs and all the good that they can do
sometimes i'm eager to live in a world where all the cops are dead
discard the system that demeans us all and police ourselves instead

i can tell that you're searching my eyes
and you can see that i'm not satisfied
what excuse will they offer this time
let's stand up and take back our lives
this time

sometimes i think of all the different people i have met
sometimes i think of all the different places i have been
i see the life that i want to live, and you can be there too
'cause i don't think i'd be as scared if i was next to you

tonight we ride

tonight we're riding swiftly through your darkened one way street
busting out the tinted windows of your lifted SUV's
we are warriors the moment that our asses touch these seats
and we are free

We pass the family pets whose needs are often overlooked
just another piece of property in this wealthy neighborhood
seen as objects, not as friends, they're not respected like they should
and if i could
i'd save them all
maybe i should

everyday the sun sets and you dread when it goes down
we'll use the cover of the darkness to take back our fucking town
our anger fuels our battle-cry, you'll shiver at the sound
when we're around
tonight we ride
we'll tear it down

tonight we'll ride
and tear it down

we're riding past a farm where migrant workers harvest corn
and the products of their labor often sold in fancy stores
but the cost is too expensive than their families can afford
yet you abhor
the working class
the working poor

we won't ask for liberation, we won't bother with demands
not accepting what you offer, not accepting what we have
we'll build the world we want to see, i'm positive we can
won't ask again
we'll take it all
won't ask again

I'm one song short of recording my next EP which will be a small collection of songs that are as far away from social and political issues as I'd like to stray. it should be interesting!

I love my bike, my friends, and my life,
Mike XVX

In case you were wondering...

2009-06-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, just writing to let you know what I've been up to recently. we'll do this with bullet points to save us time:

*yes, I am still taking a break from shows.

*no, I was not able to make it to the show in Portland for personal reasons. being super stressed out was exactly what I was trying to avoid this summer. I scheduled a show in Washington because I wanted to support the organizations that the show benefits, but I'm still not 100% sure I'll be able to make it.

*yes, I am recording a new e.p. early next month and I'm almost done writing another. They both are something unique that I've never done before, so be on the lookout for that!

*no, whatever rumors you've heard about me playing such and such place probably aren't true. some shows may pop up here and there but you'll more than likely hear it from me if it's actually going to happen.

I am sorry if this post sounds a bit short (in manner, not length) but I have limited time to write this and I have been trying to avoid contact with any computers, televisions, or people who are obsessed with either or both.

Keep it vegan homies!

love always,
mike xvx

a little matter of genocide

2009-06-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

white lies written in red blood
fill our textbooks with denial
they say "genocide" too harsh a term
a dismissal of their struggle

the Chickasaw
the Cherokee
the unconquered Seminoles
the Muscogee Creek
and the Choctaw speak
but their story goes untold

driven from the swamps and plains
Oklahoma's not our home
assimilated and annihilated
in disgust we march along

5 rings embody poverty, fascism and corruption
 displacement of indigenous tribes
and ecological destruction

dehumynized and victimized
marginalized and cast aside

olympics in 2010
the tears of 1838
we won't back down, we'll protect this land
I'll use your blood to paint my face

Hot Winds

2009-05-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

*note: this prose is entirely fictional.

it was hot that night.

the summer heat lingered in the street and the warm Santa Ana's were blowing in strong through the windows.

who's ready for some mischief?

the sound of my voice reverberated in my head as the minutes drew on.

I looked around and remembered I was sitting alone. that I had been sitting alone for the past 3 weeks.

I guess sleep is finally catching up with me.

I had thought for a second that maybe I was slipping closer into senility, and at the age of 22 I wouldn't have been surprised.

I've lived a hundred different lives, why am I not surprised that the past few years are catching up with me?

I pondered this idea for a brief moment, and then shook it away.

The end will inevitably come for all of us, I may as well choose where the period is placed.

and it was then that I decided it's best not to think about these things when you have work to do. So I forced myself to stand and reached for my bag.

I let out a long sigh, took one look in the mirror, and then stepped out the door.
well, this city isn't going to burn itself down.

and with that, the hot winds swept us into the darkness.

Saying goodbye to an old friend.

2009-05-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

So I've decided after much deliberation that I'm finally going to retire my old guitar. I'll be playing my final show with it on May 17th in Riverside, CA.

It's in dire need of repair that I'm not able to give it, and it's starting to sound really distorted and warped. It's difficult to admit how attached I am to an inanimate object but it's been a great friend to me. A source of comfort, artistic expression, and a way to block out all the noise going on around me.

It's been through over 40 states, touched all 4 corners of the u.s., and played over 200 shows in the past 2 years. Been through every climate imaginable, from 115 degree weather to well into the negatives.. that actually being the main reason why it's falling apart.

So if you're in the area feel free to come to the show (daytime):
May 17th
1 pm
w/
Andrew Jackson Jihad
Miguel from Oakland
Roman Candles
Curdle Motif
7$
@ back to the grind
3575 university ave
riverside, ca

Love always,
mike xvx

p.s. I'm still going to continue with shows, I've received a new guitar already.

Trying to be brave

2009-04-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
I realized it's been awhile since I told you all what I've been up to... and telling the same story every time I see each one of you could get tiring!

To make a long story short I'm taking a break from shows for awhile. Things have been stressful and I'm trying to focus on some other projects right now. Activism and education have always been the top priority so I'm putting all other things aside until I can be satisfied with the contribution I'm making. I will be playing a small amount of shows but one of them is a benefit for the AETA 4 (learn more about their case here: www.myspace.com/aeta4) and the other isn't until the anarchist bookfair next Fall in Victoria, BC. There has been some discussion about a small bike tour up the west coast with xTRUE NATUREx but we're not exatly sure how that's going to pan out. Plus, after the 2 month tour I feel that playing anywhere in the U.S. would be excessive right now.

On a more personal note I have been having a lot of anxiety and isolation issues. Trying to adjust back to life in Santa Barbara after being gone for over 8 months has been difficult and it's strange not to be in a new city everyday. I was so desperately needing time alone on this last tour but now that I have that it all feels so unnatural. I'm sure it's something that I'll get used to, but I'm debating whether I just want to pack up my things and disappear for awhile.

Just trying to stay positive and struggling to keep my life together. If I have to go it alone I will... though it would be nice to have some friends along!

in solidarity,
mike xvx

Tour Journal # 7 (final)

2009-02-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

Portland
Arcata
Reno

Too much time has passed without me consistently keeping up with this blog, so I feel it would be an injustice to the memory if I were to try and capture it when it's not fresh in my mind. All I can say is that one of my favorite things about touring is getting to see these amazingly talented people perform and just feeling completely overwhelmed (in a good way) by their creativity and passion. It's been really hard to adjust back to a somewhat sedentary lifestyle, but hopefully it won't be for too long. this has honestly been the BEST tour I've ever been on in terms of turnouts, how much literature was passed out, merch sold, high fives had, sing alongs etc. here's a brief summary of the trip:
we've traveled: 12,000 miles in 2 months
we've seen: 37 states
I got sick 3 times on this tour
gave out an unspeakable amount of literature (awesome!!)
only received one speeding ticket and encountered no major problems*

*aside from us having to pay $500 for an alignment, new wheels and extra work on the car. bummer.

thanks again to zombiejenn for being an AWESOME travel partner and taking amazing photos, thanks to everyone who gave us a place to play, let us crash on their floor, came to shows, took a bunch of literature, bought merch, brought us food, gave compliments and constructive criticism, sang along, asked for hugs, high fived

no thanks to drug dealers, beligerent drunks, flaky people, crooked mechanics, people thinking the show is their own personal dating service and the guy who offered jenn crack and a date on his motorcycle

ESPECIALLY no thanks to: Cops, God, the guy who sold crack at my show in montana and the kid in the truck who tried to run me over in Portland.

and of course thank you for taking the time to read this. I'm going to be taking a brief hiatus from shows and be working on some projects I've deemed to be more important for the time being. hope to see you all soon, and GO VEGAN!

-l-
Mike XVX

Tour Journal # 6

2009-02-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

New Haven
Wakefield
Chicago
Kansas City
Salt Lake City
Missoula

I haven't updated this blog in nearly a month but i've put this up as a reminder that i have to sit down and write it all out soon. hope you're all doing well my friends, take care.

love
mike xvx

p.s. a guy was dealing crack at my show last night. strangest evening of my life!

Tour Journal #5

2009-01-22T07:19:00.000-08:00

greensboro
richmond
hamilton

our friend lyle set me up a house show last night in greensboro, nc and even though there were only about 10 people the hangout-age was intense! we played with some sassy kitties, ate delicious chili (though they were baked beans everyone kept saying "chili". i dont know why.) and played a rowdy game of what we refer to on the west coast as "brooklyn edge break". (and NO i did NOT BREAK EDGE so keep that shit off the bridge nine page or whatever) it's basically a mix of Taboo, Sharades, and Password but there were some awesome phrases like "awkward warts" and "keanu reeves" (mine!).

richmond, va was a beautiful, friendly and welcoming place. Alison Self ( www.myspace.com/alison ) set me up this amazing show in a clothing store called Rumors. all four people who play were super good; Wrist Rocket, Trouble! and of course Alison. the turnout was amazing, i managed to make enough donations to make up for all the days i had no shows and an awesome womyn named Desi made me the BEST vegan gluten free cookies and a brownie i have ever had!! all i can say is: WOW! the show it's up for consideration for best show of the tour. we had the next day off and Alison took us to all these old civil war buildings on Belle Isle and it was a fascinating, beautiful and hilarious experience. i climbed down this sketchy latter into a pit that we only started referring to as HELL and found a charred nutcracker that was super creepy looking. then we went on a walk on the rocks through the frozen river where alison, adrian and I started an epic war against the ice where we heaved boulders and logs as hard as we could to try and crack it. sadly it was a battle we couldn't win, and we had to count our losses and continue on.

we spent all of 30 minutes in Hamilton, NJ. let me just give you a brief explanation of what jenn and i have both dubbed: the worst day of our lives. it started out in Richmond when we took the car in to get a flat tire patched and the headlight repaired. what was supposed to take an hour turned into 3, and after they claimed they couldn't patch it and we'd need a whole new tire they brought us out a bill that was nearly $900 claiming that we "couldn't go on driving for even a month with all these problems" which was fucking bullshit because jenn had it serviced by a friend of hers before we left. so we let them know that they were fucking liars and to just get our shit done so we could leave. once we got all the bullshit out of the way we ended up getting 2 new tires because the other was worn and we had the basic alignment done it came out to almost $500. (seriously so much money to spend on something that you do not care about, jenn's tires are really expensive for her car because of the way they're shaped.) so as we were leaving we noticed that the glove box had been unlocked, which contained the hundreds of dollars we had stashed away for food. needless to say we were furious, but i let Jenn handle all the yelling because she has much more sass then me. nothing was missing but i can tell you we were a little flustered. then we hit insane post-inaugaration traffic going through D.C. which added another couple hours to our trip up to Hamilton and made us about 2 1/2 hours late. we showed up at the house and the last two bands were setting up, only with a problem that we only had 30 minutes to finish the rest of the show because of the noise ordinance and an angry father. i played 3 songs in the corner, traded 2 cd's for a switchblade with some kid, gave a couple hugs and then left. so hectic!

as you can imagine we were a little stressed so we drove farther up north after the show instead of staying in town. we are in lovely Stamford, CT and in a few minutes i'm going to get up and go for a walk in this pristine snow covered park about 2 blocks from here.

tour has been pretty off the wall the last 2 days, though being around animals and spending time with some beautiful trees and rivers has helped deal with the stress of riding in a car 6 hours of the day. i miss southern california but i'm excited to be in places i've never been before. we drove through new york last night and it was just a reminder of how fucked civilization really is and how we just accept the mental damage and emotional suppression it enforces.
anyways, i hope you're all well and hopefully be seeing you soon.

damn right that's how we pay the rent (hell yeah),
mike xvx

Tour Journal #4

2009-01-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Gainesville
Tampa
Henegar
Lawrenceville
Asheville

Gainesville, FL was super fun. I played at the Civic Media Center with Chelsea Carnes (Dirty Fist! is her other band, you should really check them out!) and Chris Clavin (sweet dude from ghost mice). and afterward we had a raucous game of apples to apples with everyone at the house and slept on some bunk beds in chris' kitchen. the next day we went out with our friend Paul to see some of the local gators and it was so rad! i've never seen alligators in the wild before, and although they only feed at night and they're mostly stationary during the day it was still awesome. there was also a flock of about 500 birds out in the woods. later in the day jenn and I went and ate some awesome vegan jamaican food at Reggae Shack. if you're ever in gainesville i highly suggest eating there, but don't get anything jerked because it will destroy your stomach!

Tampa, FL was the show at the organic farm. although i didn't play and it was super rowdy i still got to see some good people.. even if for a brief moment (you know who you are!). there was a huge and filthy organic farm kitty that jumped up on the table and started eating the stir fry right out of the pan. so funny!

Henegar, AL was a small and strange place but the kids there were super nice. i played in my friend Josh's (everyday action) bedroom for about 15 kids. when we were driving out on these crazy backroads all i could think was "man, this is 'Bama"... but for some reason everytime i thought those words it would narrate in my head with a southern accent. it's kinda like when i read sometimes and if the book is unintresting my brain will start narrating for me... but for some reason it's always a British accent... that has no relevance to this story, i'm sorry!

Lawrenceville, GA was the show at Ragewood: a small house in the suburbs of Atlanta. It was the first show for the house and it went off really well. there was a good amount of people and they were all super friendly and respectful. The Ragewood kids were really supportive and accomadating and made our stay in Georgia probably one of the best of this tour. thanks again to everyone at Ragewood for an awesome time.
side note: i went against my better judgement and played Going to Georgia by the Mountain Goats acapella that night and i felt like a huge nerd.

Asheville, NC was a showcase and benefit for a venue located at 69 Gay st. there were 15 bands on the bill, tons of alcohol and FREEZING cold weather. i went on third and i actually had to play through the PA so everyone could hear me. it sounded like shit, it was super awkward, i was sick and yet i still had a really good time. everyone we met was incredibly nice and even though it was a benefit for the showspace the promoter kicked me down some money for gas which was rad. we also ate at this (mostly) vegan restaurant called Rosetta and had some french fries with Fancy sauce (aka veganaise mixed ketchup haha).

mr. wizard

i know it's been awhile since i've updated and i apologize. we've been busy and i haven't found the time to sit down and think for more than a few minutes at a time. there have been some awesome pictures and video footage taken though i can assure you. take care my friends and hopefully see you soon.

puppies are the only thing worth living for,
mike xvx

Tour Journal #3

2009-01-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

austin
houston
new orleans

we stopped at our friend suzie's house in austin for a show in her backyard. thankfully for the first time on this trip the weather was warm enough to wear t-shirts at night. it was hot, humid and altogether beautiful. the moon was almost full and there were leaves all over the ground. Aaron Goldman and his dinosaur played an awesome set and it was nice to spend time around such sweet people. after the show we went out to a place called Toy Joy and ate some vegan soft serve. not amazing mind you, but definitely worth getting! the toy store was incredibly overwhelming though.... sooo many kichy toys to buy, put in your house, and never get rid of! but they did have a pretty sweet pikachu mask (jenn wouldn't let me get it). ehhh, alas!

next was the show at sedition in houston. i've always really liked sedition and although the crowd was small due to another show and an emergency protest, there were some really awesome kids that showed a lot of interest in SHAC. i'm always psyched to give out new literature to people so that really made my night. drank a free Jarritos and then stayed at Lara's house and watched a rowdy game of spoons (so funny!).

i've never stopped in New Orleans before but i have to say it's pretty amazing here. the first thing we did when we got into town was stop at one of the old graveyards and took photos for a good 45 minutes. it was cloudy and cold but way too exciting of an opportunity to pass up. we even got photos of the voodoo queen's grave! (proof coming soon) delicious food at the vegan potluck and some really talented and friendly people. Blair Gimma, The Straight Shooters, and Alana all played really well. i love going on tour and playing with such talented and diverse people. afterwards Derek from the straight shooters invited us to sleep at his punk as fuck warehouse in the french quarter. we played scrabble in the kitchen for a good 2 hours, played with the kitties and tried our best to not freeze to death. i'm still wearing gloves and a snow jacket as i type this!

(1 of 3 floors in the warehouse)

(kitty!)

so far the tour has gone off without car break-ins, drunken out of control parties, major arguments, or car accidents... but then again i probably just jynxed it. fuck.

for future scrabble reference; HEW is not a word!,
mike xvx

Tour Journal #2

2009-01-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

Albuquerque, nm -

the show at the gold house was super fun. the livingroom was packed wall to wall with people and although there was a group having their own little private party in the corner it didn't get in the way of the awesomeness. Father of the Flood put on an amazing performance (video up soon), as so did Me You Like I and Just Before the War with the Eskimos. It was nice to spend time with some awesome people in a comfortable, welcoming place. as far as the award for best show of this tour goes, Albuquerque is going to be hard to beat.

Roswell, nm -

I didn't have a show here, but we of course had to go to what else? oh you know, the world famous UFO MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER! I had heard mixed reviews about it from people in Albuquerque.. but now I know in my heart that they're all idiots (haha just kidding) because it was the fuckin' raddest place I've ever been. All kinds of awesome exhibits, newspaper articles, documentaries and diaramas of the UFO crash just outside of Roswell. We got to look through a whole series of pictures taken all over the world of UFO sightings and phenomena, and I had a pretty long conversation with an elderly womyn about how we were sure that none of it could be a hoax(jenn had a good laugh at us by the way). anyways, pictures coming soon! I saved my sticker badge so you all can check it out later.

don't stop believing(a ufo reference, not so much journey),
Mike XVX

Tour Journal #1

2009-01-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

hey everyone,

so we're now on our third day of tour. night before last was the show in San Diego at the Che. i just want to say that i LOVE THE CHE CAFE.. honestly every time i visit it's a good experience and the friends who volunteer there are super rad. i got to play with with some really awesome bands: Destroy all of them, The Americans, and Fed to the Wolves. all of which put on an amazing set. there were a lot of sweet kids that came out, and although there were a group of people having a conversation in the middle of the room most of the show; it was still a really good night. i passed out a ton of literature, and people picked up shirts, my new cd and the SHAC compilation which i'm very excited about! go check it out: myspace.com/nofuckingwhey
i actually ran out of some zines and i'm going to have to try and make copies while i'm out and about. crazy!

last night we stopped in phoenix and had dinner with some friends. what did we eat? oh.. well you know... THAI FOOD! my all time favorite. feed me thai curry and i'll love you forever.

we got into flagstaff a little late last night and we've been hanging out with our friend john (myspace.com/workinprogressmusic) and of course he's been showing us a great time. played an intense game of scrabble and watched The Good Son with Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood. Although i cringe at most of that movie, i have to say that the Mr. Highway scene is pretty funny. (anyone else agree?) ginger tea, nice music and snow everywhere made it a very relaxing night. i never want to leave flagstaff whenever i come here.

anyways, the tour so far has been really fun although both of our arizona shows were cancelled. jenn has taken some awesome pictures so far, she hasn't posted them yet but check out her page whenever you can: myspace.com/zombiesonfilm

take care my friends and hopefully see you all soon

wearing socks and shoes (wtf?),
mike xvx

Things have been looking up!

2008-11-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

my friends,

you're probably wondering where i've been for the past month and a half, yes? well, maybe not; but i've been incredibly stressed and insanely busy getting things going! it's taken a long hibernation (a month is forever in mike xvx time), but things are finally starting to fall together. let me show you what i've been up to:

first, let me tell you about my full u.s. tour:
i'm going to be traveling with my good friend zombiejenn of zombiesonfilm.com (a wonderful photographer! check out her stuff) we have about 38 shows scheduled and i'm very excited about each and everyone of them. aside from the shows we're going to be making a video diary, and jenn will also be taking pictures everyday for a book to be published later on. you can check the dates for our tour here: myspace.com/mikexvx
come hang out!

second, i have a new cd coming out:
i've been working incredibly hard on this release and so far i'm really proud of the way it's turning out. the packaging is made of %100 post consumer recycled cardboard, the artwork was done by an amazing artist from Poland named Grimgreen, and an awesome dude named Mike recorded me for free in his bedroom and i have to admit i'm really impressed with his recording capabilities. it's going to be released on the label i've started recently No Fucking Whey! so be on the lookout! myspace.com/nofuckingwhey

and last but not least, NFW! has been putting together a compilation to benefit the SHAC 7
so far we have 15 bands from 5 different countries involved in this compilation. ranging from thrash, hardcore, ambient noise, acoustic punk and even ole timey mountain music. this comp. will also be printed on %100 post consumer recycled cardboard and will feature all vegan musicians. we're hoping that on top of making a considerable amount of money for our friends behind bars we'll also raise awareness about Huntingdon Life Sciences and their shameful, murderous practices. check out more information on how you can get involved to shut down this company at www.shac7.com and www.shac.net

thank you to all my friends for continued help and support. none of these things would be possible without the people involved (you know who you are).

love your friends, go vegan, and fuck the police,
mike xvx