One Road Out of Phoenix – Wayland Tour Log 2/9/14

Yesterday's 6 hour drive felt like 10 hours. Once again I couldn't nap so I ended up reading a good chunk of Keith Richards' autobiography "Life." I'm about half way through the book and I love it.

When we first pulled into Phoenix it was 72 degrees and sunny. Mitch and I stepped off the bus, chose a direction, and just started walking. It felt great to be outside and breathing the fresh air. For the first few years Mitch and I knew each other, we played on the streets to make money to pay our rent. We took buses around the beaches of L.A. and eventually we even found ourselves writing songs and playing on the streets all over England, Ireland, Scotland, and Whales. We must have walked a million miles together holding guitar cases in those first few years. I guess that's when we developed the term "the stroll." The stroll has become almost a form of meditation amongst band members. It's great to wander around a random town and just shoot the shit with each other.

We met up with Dean at a killer vegan restaurant for dinner. It was called The Loving Hut. Dean and I both had a spicy coconut pad thai and Mitch had dish called the Noble Broccoli.

The venue ended up being one of those situations where our gear wouldn't fit through the front door. We played a good acoustic set to a packed room of party animals. For some reason every song was about twice as fast as we normally play it. Poor Tyler was sitting behind us on his tambourine and shaker just holding on for dear life as we took him on an acoustic roller coaster ride! Haha! "On My Knees" was about as fast as any Sex Pistols song last night. Maybe Mitch and I should take it easy on the coffee before the shows. Haha!

I've never been so excited to be in L.A.  The last few trips have been so productive as we get closer and closer having a finished batch of songs that we can really be proud of. Over the last few years an unspoken language developed with our producers and the recording process has become such a joy. Michael Gurley and Florian Ammon have been working with band since our 2010 full length album, and they know exactly what makes Wayland sound like Wayland. I think "Dirty Angelina" and "That's Life" were the first songs we did with them at Ironworks. They know us as players and writers better than anyone. I'm hoping to leave L.A. with "Bloody Sunrise" bass and drums finished, and some new songs in the live set.

– Phil Vilenski

Guitarist Phil Vilenski from Wayland is a touring contributor to WGRD.com. So, keep an eye out for more tour stories from the band!