There is no better way to celebrate an upcoming tour than having a Q/A session with the artists. Heart & Lung and Tim From Elway talk with us in this interesting interview about the upcoming tour this Summer. They discuss how touring is for indie-punk bands, the sponsors of the tour, what foods they are going to try, and much more. Have a look at the interesting questions and answers below:
First time out West for Cleveland’s very own, Heart & Lung. How do you think that’s gonna go?
Heart & Lung: We couldn’t be more excited! There’s a rumor that there’s a couple really big trees and some tacos out there.
Tim from Elway: I have every inclination to believe that we are going to manage to have an excellent time with friends, new and old. We personally love touring out West specifically because it’s not the monochrome, featureless hinterland to the East of Colorado. I’m excited for H&L to make the trek, because even though the drives are long, they are gorgeous and it’s a rite of passage for any touring band worth their salt.
For Elway’s last tour, they took out The Holy Mess, who was trying to mount a comeback but instead combusted into (metaphorical) flames. Thoughts on that happening again with this run?
H&L: We wish our comrades in The Holy Mess all the best. We actually played the first few shows of that run, so who’s to say *we’re* not the ones out here combusting our tourmates?!?
Elway: Spicy question! Well, while it is true that The Mess had a bit of a rough go at it last year, I can’t really assume any responsibility for who joins us on the road. I’m not my brother’s keeper over here. That’s up to the boys in H&L. I can say, however, that we are going to fucking win like we always do.
Looking at the poster for the “West Coast PsyOp”, it looks like you have some, uhhh, interesting sponsors for the tour: Cyberdine Systems, Zorg Industries, etc. How’d you swing that?
Elway: Between my inroads with the CIA via my elite formal education, and the voluntary, no, extremely deliberate MKULTRA I’ve conducted on myself via hallucinogens, I’ve made some pretty wild connections over the years. Have you ever tried an Adrenochrome and Tonic? LITERALLY TO DIE FOR.
H&L: Basically, we sold out. We get paid to deliver subliminal marketing to your subconscious on behalf of our corporate sponsors. You don’t even have to know you’re lovin’ it! Also, our merch contains micro-GPS tracking chips that will enable New Noise to serve suspiciously specific advertising based on your location and body temperature.
Name 3 regional foods you are eyeballing on these upcoming shows… go!
H&L: Tacos, In-N-Out Burger, and someone told John that rocky mountain oysters were vegan, so we’re gonna let him figure that one out.
Elway: It is one of the greatest joys of the aging touring band to hit up restaurants that we’ve come to love over the years. Hard to nail down three, but the West Coast has the best Asian and Mexican food in the country, so I’ll say I’d like to find the perfect Szechuan noodle house, maybe a sushi place with a perfect cut of Otoro, and ALWAYS a breakfast burrito, smothered Christmas style with red and green chile, in New Mexico: the undisputed Mecca of the burrito.
Alright, actual serious question: touring for underground bands is TOUGH right now, so how you guys gonna get through this?!
Elway: Well, we in camp Elway don’t rely on touring to live and we’re under no illusions that we ever will, so it isn’t actually that tough. You know what’s really tough? Never having the opportunity to do this and being a goddamn herb all your life. As for us? I’ll bet the dozens of dollars that we make on this tour that we still come home winners.
H&L: Between global pandemics and screaming-hot Christo-fascism, touring is a privilege that seems like it could vanish at any moment. Basically, to get through this we’re going to spend a ton of money. Lucky for us we are a pretty good band.
Tour Dates:
6/23 – Denver, CO @ HQ
6/24 – SLC, UT @ The Beehive
6/25 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder
6/26 – Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse
6/27 – Portland, OR @ Mano Oculta
6/28 – Sacramento, CA @ Old Ironsides
6/29 – Oakland, CA @ Golden Bull
6/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar
7/1 – Las Vegas, NV @ Sand Dollar Downtown
7/2 – Phoenix, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room
7/3 – ALBQ, NM @ Moonlight Lounge
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Photo courtesy of Heart & Lung
