The past few weeks I’ve been taking trips with the band to far away places - we’re trying to preach the gospel of a love we share called David Shultz and the Skyline.

Life on the road is a completely different world, full of complete strangers and the ability to make friends everywhere you go. And it’s pretty awesome. We’re not at the point where we can survive financially while on tour, and I think it could be quite some time before we reach that point. But to imagine that as a possibility is nice, and we’re all willing to put forth the energy it takes to reach that point. That means playing shows to a crowd of 10 people in a coffee shop in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes striking gold when you least expect it. I think what makes us capable of being on the road long-term is our friendship and ability to cope with each other, oh and the band’s ability to deal with my crankiness.

Some hard-learned lessons:

• Don’t attempt to drive home after a show if the trip is more than 300 miles. We drove home from Brooklyn Tuesday night, departing at 2 AM, arriving at 9:30 AM. Worst decision of 2007, by far.
• Know the laws of the land. I got two tickets this weekend - one for disobeying traffic signs (and not using a turn signal), one for attempting to enter the subway VIA the exit door <- it’s a long story.
• Don’t let the majority of the band get drunk and attempt to give directions to the DD on how to get home. It took us over an hour to get out of NYC.
• IMPORTANT: don’t eat CRAP. We are notorious for completely leveraging the services of WAWA and SHEETZ for the most ridiculous sandwich combinations you can imagine. Example: “Ham, Bacon, and Salt Shmizcuit”. This stuff goes straight through you, and certainly shouldn’t be eaten right before you sit in a car for a few hours.

Touring with the band is definitely the coolest opportunity I have. Every person in our band happens to be a ridiculous human being and that makes it all worth it.

(Photo above: Full band at a coffee shop in Durham, NC before playing at Chaz’s Bull City Records)