Barcelona

Hey folks. The three of us can agree, we haven’t been this tired, but happy, in a long time. We have only had about one day off since the beginning of July. Only two more shows, and then this circus will be heading home. We’ve had a rambunctious little tour with our friends, This World Fair. If you haven’t already given them a listen, do it. Since we last spoke, we’ve been through the midwest to the southwest, up through Utah and Colorado, and back home to Seattle. Now we are headed down the left coast for the last leg. We’ve had some awesome shows and met some great people. Thanks to all of you who have supported, encouraged, and challenged us to be a better band. We will continue to be grateful for you. If you’ve ever seen us live, you know we like to tell stories. There isn’t enough blog space in the inter-universe for them, so if you ever see us, ask us to tell you stories. Stay Healthy. Love.

Hello Friends,

We are currently checking in from the road in Phoenix, AZ where it’s blistering hot. We all forgot what 102’ degrees feels like in the middle of July in the Southwest, well now we know, its Healthfully HOT!!!!

Thanks to everyone for coming out to the shows and for taking the time to say hello. We’ve all enjoyed making new friends and seeing familiar faces on this trip.

Now for the good stuff. We wanted to send an invitation to anyone who might have captured live footage from our shows (and to those who were in attendance for our live DVD taping at the Triple Door) we are now ready to see what video footage you have!!! If you were able to take any footage (be it your favorite song or multiple songs) on your video camera, photo camera, or phone, we WANT IT! Please contact us at info@wearebarcelona.com and let us know what show the footage is from and we’ll figure out the best way to collect the clips from you. Thanks for your help in this, we look forward to seeing your work.

You should all know that Brian Fennell has an almost sick obsession with the TV show COPS. When he watches it, he attempts to memorize the police radio codes that the officers so flippantly throw out each episode. After only being able to remember about three of them, he turned to the internet. So, in celebration of these wonderful codes, we have decided to do this blog using some of them that we think are well suited for Barcelona. After reading it, you can follow the link to decipher what we’re actually talking about . . .

Now then, a lot of this is 10-36, but we all feel the need to expose the more raw side of Barcelona. And no, we don’t mean 311!

So there we were in Chicago, which was experiencing about 99% humidity, and it really smelled. Nothing against Chicago, we love it, but there was a pretty constant smell of crap wherever we went. If you’re a native, feel free to disagree, but the smell made us all feel like 5150s! The day after our show, we 11-98’d at Yolk for a little Code 7. From there we headed to Fearless Radio and had an awesome interview with our new friend Kris. She was sooooo 10-30, you wouldn’t believe it!

From Chicago we headed to Madison, Wisconsin to rock the Annex. The highways in this area of the country seemed as though there had been people 604’ing all over the place. So much construction, so much traffic, so many Code 8s . . . To make matters worse, the AC in the van doesn’t work well unless you are going faster than 5 mph. Fortunately, we were all wearing our Code 9s. After the show, which was basically a 10-51 and Code Purple combined (just kidding), we headed back to stay with our friend Rachel, who has a 10-91v that will steal your heart. On the way, however, we felt compelled to celebrate our freedom again with a 10-80 in an abandoned parking lot. Together with the Midwest-style thunder and lightening, it was an extreme celebration, and I think we all can agree that we’re lucky to not be 10-53. See you soon! GO COPS!

http://www.radiolabs.com/police-codes.html

Unlike most people in this great Union, Barcelona did not have the chance to light off our own fireworks on the Fourth of July. However, we made up for that on the Fifth….

As it turns out, fireworks stands are much more flexible with their pricing on the day after America’s birthday – a trait that we fully exploited. Not only did we get an incredible set of “Thunder Balls,” we also landed the “Pac 3 Missle.” Yes, it’s as cool as it sounds. And yes, it rocked Wisconsin along County Road QQ.

Unfortunately, we also blew out our first tire minutes later. We hate karma.

Our show in Minneapolis was awesome. Many thanks to everyone who came out! We look forward to being back in your great city soon.

On to the Windy City today. FREEDOMINATION marches on!

First of all, we are collectively trying to start using a new hip slang word. That word is “healthy”, and although it can be used in many situations, it can only be used in a positive manner. For instance, “Daaaaaang, that girl is HEALTHY!”, or, “Dude, those are some HEALTHY kicks you got on.”, or maybe even try, “Obama or McCain? I don’t know sucka, both them policies be so frickin’ HEALTHY!” (Barcelona does not really have an opinion about who you should vote for).

Yesterday we celebrated the freedom of this great Union in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We had a blast playing two days on the Chipotle stage at Summerfest.

Like we’ve said before, we are huge Tim McGraw fans. However, we had no idea we would see Timothy from the first row of a huge amphitheater. We sat right next to the sign language interpreter, that’s how close we were. Three quick things about Tim: he had his own Frito chip called “McGraws”, he has his own cologne called “McGraw”, and go to YouTube.com and search for “Tim McGraw almost socks fan”. These three things will somehow add to your life.

But enough about TM, how are all of you? Stop by our MySpace and let us know if you’ve already seen a show and what you thought. If we haven’t come to your town yet, you can tell us how psyched you are!

See you soon, go freedom!

Let’s face it, we’re all proud to be Americans, and at least we know we’re free, but there’s no greater expression of the joy we find in the red white and blue than to go on tour and call that tour “Freedom in nation” or . . . FREEDOMNIATION.

So here we are driving through North Dakota (a new state for Barcelona). Last night we played in Helena, Montana, at a sweet venue called Four O Six. Check them out. Big shout to our boy Papu and his crew for showing us such a great time.

Currently, we’re on our way to Summerfest in Milwaukee. We are excited to be even a small part of the biggest music festival in the country! Especially one that Tim Mcgraw is playing also.

Check back soon because we will be sure to post more info and pics as we continue through this month of FREEDOMINATION!

Hello faithful friends,

as many of you know, we have been trying our best (with your help) to stay in the nightly countdown that happens on 107.7. It’s an amazing experience to be in an independent band who is gaining enough support to even qualify for such a thing! Ever since Barcelona was added to rotation on The End, it has been quite a fun ride to be able to share our music through the radio waves of our hometown over the past few weeks. Thank you for your emails and calls, and for putting up with all of our bulletins and messages asking for your help. But check it . . . it’s your help that is helping people, who have no idea who we are, hear our music for the first time! We here in Barcelona want all of our fans to participate in our growth. After all, you are what make it possible to continue creating music on the level that we do. Whether it’s coming to shows (cough . . . May 15th at Nectar 7 (all ages) and 9:30 PM (21+)), supporting us online, or calling the station millions of times, you are all adding to the spread of our music.

In the broad scape of the music industry, radio still plays a MAJOR role in the exposure and longevity of newer bands. It is humbling and exciting to be played in the same format as some of our favorite bands. The only time I’ve caught our song on The End, it came right after Nirvana’s “In Bloom”. After our song finished, the DJ said something like this “You just heard two amazing Seattle bands . . . Nirvana and Barcelona.” I almost cried. I grew up listening to 107.7, never dreaming that I would one day hear my own music on the same station.

We want to thank The End for believing in our music enough to play it, and all of you for listening and requesting “It’s About Time”. If your phone and computer still work, don’t stop believing . . . josilver@1077theend.com . . . 206.421.1077 . . . 1800.423.1077. We love you lots and lots. peace.

Hello there friends.

Alright, we’ll admit it, we’re homesick. Sure . . . we’re having a great time here in sunny Washington D.C., but it’s nothing compared to our sweet, rainy home state. We have been all over this crazy country and have thoroughly enjoyed our travels. Here’s a quick update since last we spoke:

-After a show at Syracuse University, we trucked it down to Manhattan and played the Knitting Factory. It rained the whole time in NY, and this rain was serious business. It pained our tender northwest heads.

-From there, we headed to Raleigh and stayed with our new friend Jimmy Robbins, who’s a BIG DEAL on myspace.

-Then came South By Southwest. What an awesome, but overwhelming experience! So many bands, so many friends, two amazing shows! Our friends from Rogue Wave played three doors down from us and it was fun to high-five and hug them. By the way, we love Three Doors Down, the hit 90s rock band.

-We played a couple more shows in Texas, which was hot. Like sweaty club hot. We were in Laredo when Chris almost got us arrested by the fuzz for taking pictures of the border crossing. I thought it might be fun to see how far I could get if I started running away, but then I realized that was that was one of the dumber ideas I’d ever had since they had guns AND tasers . . . and I’m not that fast.

-From Texas we hit up OK city and Muncie. We stayed with some new friends who welcomed us in, made us breakfast for dinner, and provided a comfortable nest for the night. Their house was called “the pickle” because it’s green and it’s on Dill street. They were also struggling to finish a puzzle and we wish them the best of luck in its completion.

-Barcelona spent Easter in Chicago. We got to actually enjoy the outdoors since it was slightly above zero degrees. One of our friends works for a hotel chain and was able to comp us a room for three nights. This was a lifesaver since we’re poor. We hung out with some mutual friends of ours back in Seattle and they showed us a great time. It’s nice to feel like you are part of a family when you are away from home.

-Nashville was next on our list, which meant we got to see Tofer Brown. It was certainly a joyous reunion. We also got to see our good friend Joey, who plays drums for Fair. His family is beautiful.

-Now we are in Washington D.C. The cherry blossoms are in bloom, and our noses are running, but we don’t even care. This town has a cool vibe, and we are loving it. From here, we head to New Jersey, back to Chicago, on to Denver, and finally home!We’ll check in once more before we finish this tour, or “touah” as they say east of ole’ miss. Until then, be sure to go check out our new facebook group here.

We have some discussion groups going, we’ve posted a lot of tour photos, and a lot of other fun little bits. In creating this, it is our hope that you add to the content with your own photos and comments. Cheers for now!

Barcelona is back on the radar, or sonar, depending on your preference. We have had an intense last few weeks and would like to share our feelings, sort of like therapy. Sooooo here goes . . .

After our long time friend, and trusty van, Ronald passed on in Missouri, we bought a new one in Chicago. Sadly, about an hour and half into our inaugural drive from Chicago to Muncie, the radiator and transmission went FUBAR. We waited for more than two hours in a blizzard before we met Jason, our ex-con, gun slingin’, tattoo sportin’, but very helpful tow truck driver. We all crammed into the cab of his pickup truck, which he was uncomfortable with to stay the least, and dropped the van off at the AAMCO shop. Tired, cold, and relatively delirious from the flu virus, we checked into Lee’s Inn and went hot tubbing. It wasn’t until morn that we discovered that our brand new used van was pretty much a lemon. Using frequent flier miles, we tucked our tails between our legs and flew home for a few days to collectively hit the restart button on this whole “tour” thing.

It was fun to see friends and family for an unexpected visit before we flew back to the freezing tundra they call the Midwest. We were on the way to pick up our fixed van in Indiana when we got the call:

(AAMCO Guy)“Yea uhhhhh, haha, uhhhh the transmission we rebuilt for you is not working. Might be a hairline fracture . . . hell I don’t know what it is, could be anything. Uhhhhh ha, do you need this van today?”(Barcelona) “Yes”(Guy) “Cuz I can tell you one thing, this van is NOT gonna be done today.”(Barcelona) “Ok.”(Guy) “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I got this pickup truck that we use for the shop here, and you fellas are more than welcome to use that for your tour.”(Barcelona) “Does it have a trailer hitch?”(Guy) “Yup.”(Barcelona) “Sold, see you in two weeks.”

So that’s how Barcelona came to be driving a red pickup truck through Pennsylvania. We had a “rocking” show at the Hard Rock Café last night in Pittsburg, and are now on our way to Connecticut, with a stop in NYC tonight. We are all healthy again, and proud to be driving a truck with an AAMCO ad across the back window featuring the Warner Brothers “Road Runner” character saying “meep meep”.

Now that we’re on the road again, we have rejuvenated spirits and are more than willing to give you hugs and free rides in the bed of our truck at shows. See you soon. Oh, and we are excited to reunite with Tofer in Syracuse, we think.

COLUMBIA, MO – Ronald “Goliath” Burgundy, a friend to everyone and a stranger to no one, was laid to rest early Tuesday morning. He was 17.

He died at Butternut Court in Columbia, Missouri after a long battle with various health problems including fever, congestion, incontinence and failing joints. Through he was seen by many doctors and had incurred high medical expenses, in the end there was nothing they could do. He went peacefully surrounded by friends and family. He was loved by all who knew him. The remains are being donated to the University of Missouri to benefit research and scholastic advancement.

Ron’s mother was a first generation German immigrant to the United States, though he was proud of the fact that he was truly “Made in the USA.” He is survived by his second wife, Esperanza, owner of Seattle based floral shop, “Brutifal Frower,” and his adopted children, Chris, Rhett, Brian and Brian.

Growing up in the suburbs of South Seattle, his early years were spent enjoying little league soccer, music recitals and Mariner’s baseball. Due to his large stature and famed ability to carry heavy loads, Ron earned many names of endearment such as “The Beast” and “Goliath.” Hobbies included playing with little children, catching dreams, rooting for the Elko Go-Getterz and magic. Favorite music selections included high school pep bands, The Ripple Effect, and Barcelona.

He loved living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and enjoyed spending time in the mountains, taking the boat to the lake and stargazing. In his later years, Ron developed a new passion for travel, taking his adopted sons on trips to such places as Hollywood, Denver and his favorite place on earth, Elko, Nevada. Though he considered these trips the highlight of his life, they took a tool on his physical ability. At the time of his passing he had logged 260,000 miles of travel, giving him an honorary membership in the Flying J Platinum Club.

Though Ron is now gone, his legacy lives on as his sons continue their travels. He will be greatly missed.

Rest in peace.