Hello all, hope you're enjoying the posts and telling people what we're up to. Don't forget to buy the single as well - all profits are going to two very good causes in Fairchild and BGCI, so please jump onto iTunes and buy 'Footprints' today!

Last night was our first proper 'night off' after something like 4 gigs in 5 days. Therefore we thought we'd check out a local open-mic session, and go do a couple of acoustic numbers - it makes a nice change from the stresses of setting up for a 5-piece band sometimes anyway! So as if by magic Liam produced his list of local open-mics and we found one about a 20 minute drive away at a venue called 'Little Hoolies.' Perfect!

So we rocked up in the van at 6pm to check the place out, and chill out with a few drinks and uber-competitive games of pool - this was meant to be our night off after all! However, after speaking to one of the barmaids at 'Hoolies' it turns out that the term 'open-mic' is actually a little misleading, because most of the people who turn up to play are full bands, and they tend to play 5-6 songs, rather than the normal 2-3 you'd expect to get at an open-mic. After a little discussion between ourselves, we decided that actually we should do a full band set if we had the opportunity. The only problem was that we were not in any way prepared for this - Joe and I only had acoustic guitars, and Liam and Brian didn't have ANY instruments! Plus we were basically dressed for the beach - not looking like the hardened rock 'n' rollers we like to think we are! ;) So it was back in the van, a quick drive back to the apartment to get spruced up and bring back the equipment.

The set was ok, but I think the high number of shows we've been doing out here has started to take its toll, and we made a few errors. The crowd were again enthusiastic though, and we sold a few albums afterwards, which is always a good sign. Polite applause is not always the best indicator of how well you did, but if people come up to you afterwards, and are prepared to spend their hard earned money on your CD, then you know you must've connected with them in some way. Lots of friendly Americans (and a couple of Brits) approached us afterwards to chat and congratulate us, and I must admit, that has been a recurring pattern all the way through this trip - the American people have been fantastically supportive after every show.

After the show, we hung around, played a bit more pool and ran up a horrendous bar tab (oops!) The night then turned into a bit of a jam session, with various people jumping onstage to perform some great covers. Our very own Mr Brian Noel ended up being hustled onstage to contribute outrageously funky bass to the Average White Band's 'Pick up the Pieces' (some footage of which may well appear on here very soon) and then at 3am, Liam and I found ourselves onstage as well. Me at first with a couple of Amercian guys, to play Radiohead's 'High and Dry' and then with Liam and a couple of good old fashioned rockers to play Led Zeppelin's 'Black Dog' (see footage below). Watch out for the inebriated female backing singer who made a pest of herself all night, and flatly refused to leave the stage, despite everyone's best efforts to remove her. Liam's face is a picture when she starts singing half way through! Hats off also to John on lead vocals, who had basically been singing (and drinking) since 6pm and soldiered through the song, even though he didn't really know the words!

We had a radio interview today, and I'm sure one of the guys will write about that tomorrow, along with some of the cool footage we took in the studio. Enjoy the video clip, and please keep leaving us your feedback here and on facebook.

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