My Holiday Season with Nails

Yeah Holidays gettin' lost in all the Nails Happenings of late!!!

So - Holy FUCK do I have a lot to write about! I’m many many shows behind in my blog posts now – so whilst I start dealing with my 999,999 photos, here’s the prologue to my long long time away going to shows. (OK for real, there’s more like a thousand photos….)



Rock Star Thanksgiving for Real – The Prologue.



So if anyone read my Rock Star Thanksgiving Posts, you'll know that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. And while I always try to be all glam rock about it when I cook and what not - this year was a very special Thanksgiving. This year I got to do Rock Star Thanksgiving for real!

Yeah that's right! I was a silly girl and I went with friends to see the band for Thanksgiving. Now you know me, I'm a silly girl and I do silly things, but I have to say - for the first time I really had a hard time with that decision.



You see, it all started back during the middle of the Summer Tour. See, at that point, we'd all had that tour perfectly planned for a long time. Everything was going smoothly and no one was in debt at that point. So, while everyone was feeling pretty good about that, there was a growing sadness that the tour we'd been loking forward to for SO long was nearing an end.

Then two shows got canceled.

The rescheduled shows were both in November, so now us, veteran fans knew a November Tour Leg was inevitable - we just didn't realize how soon those dates would be dropped on us.

So one Saturday in Mid-August I was just finishing my morning coffee - when I just about spit it out! I jumped up from my chair - HOLY SHIT! NEW TOUR DATES!!!!

I busted out the map and quick tried to figure out what to do! What to do what to do!?! These dates were coming up quick and I was already pushing it in terms of flying around to see the boys! Fucking Shit. So the texts the e-mails and the myspace messages were flying. I was flying! I was so excited I ran out into the back yard and did a round-off back-handspring! And I can barely do those anymore!



Finally Abby texts me "Um - Call me!?" So we talk, and we're all hysterical laughing and giddy - especially over

Abby - "Who the fuck tours over Thanksgiving! Carol - Like Actually. Who tours on Thanksgiving?"

Me - "I know!!"

Abby - "Carol - is he fucking insane!?"

Me - "I donno, but Abby do you realize you'd like have pre-sale and start having to line up on fucking Thanksgiving night!!?!?"

Abby - "No, like actually - he's insane."

So that giggle fit went on for another minute or so and then of course...

Abby (still laughing)- "You know we're going right?"

Me (also still laughing) - "I know!"

Abby - "I know you know Carol because like, actually."

So at that I ran back into the house and got on the computer, and Abby is still laughing and she's got me on Orbitz looking up flights. She's got it all worked out, I fly to Seattle - we cook then drive to South Dakota, then Montana and back. I have a flight it's perfect - all this in a manner of minutes since the dates went up. "Now book it! It's Thanksgiving weekend - that shit is going to sell out."

Of course it will, all I need do is click - Wait a minute! I never book a flight without tickets to the show. Its a rule - it would be hubris to do such a thing under normal circumstance, but even still. Tour dates just went up - how can I commit to a show this quickly.

Hang on I tell her...reality sets in. "I need to think about this." So I told her I'd call her back in two hours.

I really did need to think about it. That's no ordinary tour commitment. That would be huge. Now, I know lately, especially beginning around that time, I have been referring to the fan base and the band as well, as a big extended family and all... But choosing to go to see the band ON Thanksgiving would mean admitting to something, and accepting something I wasn't really sure I was ready to accept. I mean, that's pretty massive.



So I thought about it. I had a lot of qualms about leaving my real family, to go be with my "other family" for Thanksgiving. And yet, when else would I have the chance to say I went to see the band for Thanksgiving? When else could I jokingly say I "went home for Thanksgiving." It could be cool - I would get to be with one of my best friends, do the college half assed Thanksgiving thing I never got to do when I was in school. Fuck - for once - I could do Rock Star Thanksgiving for real... Even still, was I really ready to leave my family?

So, I talked it over with my Mum. As usual with these things, I was kinda surprised by her reaction. So, I made my decision. I went to my computer...I e-mailed Abby. It had only been an hour since we'd spoken.

Abby calls, it hasn't been two hours like we promised, but she couldn't wait.

Abby - "Carol!"

Me- "Abby, did you get my e-mail?"

Abby - "No Carol, listen to me. I think you just need to do this because, like-"

Me - "Did you get my email!?"

Abby - "No, Carol, Shut up like - listen to me - you just need to do this, because, like, we have the rest of our lives to do things we don't want to do and like-"

Me - "I know! That's why I just send you my flight iteneary!!"



And so that was it. I love everyone and I thought it would be fun to do the whole Thanksgiving thing with my "other family." As to my real family -I try to leave them outta my blog, you know to spare them - but I have to say, they've been pretty supportive of what I do, and I don't just mean touring. My Mum especially has been really cool. She was less freaked out about the Thanksgiving shows then me. She let her 19 year old daughter fly to Cleveland to go to a concert with some boys she met online. We even snuck my mum backstage one night when some friends got me an after show pass. So there you go kids, my 65 year old momma has been to a show, been backstage and seen Robin Finck ride around and a yellow scooter... but that's a blog post and a half for another day.

Stay tuned for part one of Rapid City tomorrow!