"We Love Abandoned Buildings When We're On Tour" - Mikey Palms

We were in the middle of the desert.
Somebody had to take a piss.
we saw a small structure off the highway.
As we pulled in we found that it used to be a gas station but wasn't anymore.









We started to wander around this trash-strewn stretch of nowhere.
This is what the world will look like after the bomb drops.
We came up on what looked like a graveyard for old tractors.
Then we realised it was part of some kind school.
An abandoned desert school.







It was creepy how all the tables and chairs were neatly stacked like they had all planned on coming back.
And never did.
The pianos looked as if they hadn't been played in quite some time.
How long had this school been here?









There's really only one thing you can do after you've explored an abandoned desert school.
Anyone who's ever spent any time around abandoned buildings knows......

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The Big Contest !!!

Send in a clip of your best skate trick and upload it to youtube. Me and Tone will pick the Illest one

The winner will receive a prize pack including a deck, hat and shoes courtesy of Zoo York, a one year subscription to Vapors Magazine, a Scum LIfe soccer hooligan scarf, and signed CD and poster from Iller Than Theirs.

add "illersk8contest" as a tag the video that you upload.

Contest group for the Illest Sk8 trick. Hosted by Iller Than Theirs, Vapors Magazine, Zoo York, Embedded Music, and Audible Treats.

myspace.com/illerthantheirs
vaporsmagazine.com
zooyork.com
embeddedmusic.net
audibletreats.com

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ANN-FUCK-ARBOR, Michigan

I like this picture. It reminds me of the "M.E.T.H.O.D Man" video... or any other grimey early 90's video shot in a condemned building.

So far we had one day off this whole tour and it was early on between the Vermont show and the Michigan show. We used that day to drive 13 hours to Ann Arbor, Michigan. We did stop somewhere outside of Buffalo where it became apparent that mediocrity is a standard kept all over the country when the waitress told us, " Whaddya think it's my first day? Hear that bell? That's the microwave with your food." Great. The next day we decided to check out what the fine city of Ann Arbor had to offer. I asked some college looking kid in an outdoorsy type spot if he knew a good place to eat. He sent us to some brewery with jock looking douchebags in it. On the way to the brewery I was smacking stickers up... this guy your about to see in the video saw me and started to approach me... I had know idea what we were in for.





During our conversation with "Mike" he said fuck the brewery and told us we had to go check out The Fleetwood. The Fleetwood is a greasy spoon kind of like what CBGB's would've been like if they were a restaurant instead of a venue. The walls were covered in stickers. The patrons were a mix of squatter punks, blue collar workers, college kids and transient types. I loved it.



I went there 4 times in the two days we were in Ann Arbor. I talked to one of the waitresses and showed her the clip of "Mike" telling her that her restaurant came highly recommended from him. She said "That's funny he's banned from here for life." Also, she asked us if he tried to sing us a song in exchange for a cigarette. Anyway the spot was dope. I recommend the omellete.




A quick breakfast tour. I know the chili fries look a little gross (really gross), but they tasted good.





Bizarre from D12 was at the show with a pretty scary looking entourage. I was standing on the steps backstage checking out Devin's set, looked up and saw Bizarre. I couple minutes later a had to piss real bad but the crowd was too deep to walk through, so after much hesitance I passed through his entourage, in my head I thanked them for not stomping me out. Pretty cool that the first time in Michigan, Bizarre was there.

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God couldn't keep us from Duluth

First we got pulled over somewhere in Wisconsin. Speeding.
An old-man cop moseys over to us and says we owe the state of Wisconsin $260 dollars, which we are obligated to pay on the spot or we would remain in his custody. Then he was like: "We accept MasterCard, Visa, check, or money order"

Apparently the great state of Wisconsin doesn't accept American Express.

And their state troopers have little credit card machines in their cars. Gangster.

Then we caught a flat.

Read all about our journey to Duluth by clicking below







We didn't have the right size ratchet and had no choice but to wait for help.




We finally got to a garage with a cat, got patched up and back on the road.



We made it to Duluth, Minnesota with just enough time to get some food and get set up.

The show was at a place called Pizza Luce, which is an actual pizza spot. When I walked in they were setting up the stage and ten feet away some dude is flipping dough in the air.

It was dope though; they cleared out all the tables and chairs and turned the restaurant into a club.



The show was fresh. They kids were cool. We rocked it.
Then me and Tone slipped out and went wandering around.
We soon found out Duluth is the Illest place we've been on the whole trip so far.

To me the whole town seemed to be from another era.
It had a level of grime that I need in a city but it's griminess seemed almost quaint.
Beautiful.
Down the block from the club on this little strip they had a casino and a old looking live nudie theater.










A Sauna for the whole family.
This, for instance, is one of the places I will explore when me and Tone move to Duluth to record our next album.

Only thing I knew about Duluth was that Bob Dylan spent some time there. I can't wait to go back there.
The people were cool - the city was mad intriguing.
I met a beautiful girl who gave me a kiss an then jumped in her car and drove away. I'll probably never see her again. C'est la vie.

The next day we walked around.
The used Books and Record store (see photo above) was a cache of ill artifacts.

They also have many eateries advertising Coney Islands including one which is the "original" Coney Island. I think it's just what they call Hot Dogs out here.





Also there were alot of signs either allowing or prohibiting carrying of guns which must be somewhat commonplace. Someone actually told me it is perfectly legal to carry a concealed weapon.






It's also right on Lake Superior which deserves it's name. It looks like an ocean. It is huge. And beautiful.
Here's a picture Tone took where these big boats look like toy models

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"One of underground hip-hop’s most popular video blogs" - The Boston Herald

According to The Boston Herald this is one of underground's hip hop's most popular video blogs. Which it is, because it was printed In a newspaper which makes it true.

Plus: by putting the words "one of" in front of a statement like that, one can make almost any plain event seem more snazzy while still being technically factual.

For instance: I am one of the most handsome men in underground hip hop. Not the most handsome....but one of them.

I wanna see some of underground hip hop's less popular video blogs. Where they at?

You can read the whole Boston Herald article here

also Okayplayer gave us a glowing review the other day which you can read here

I love you all

-KRAY

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Tour so far!

I like this picture. It's like something out of a Wes Anderson movie. Snaf took it of me as we crossed lake Champlain going from Burlington, Vermont to Ann-FUCK-Arbor, Michigan. I asked around Burlington, but nobody seemed to know where the Burlington Coat Factory was.



October 20th, Day 1, The Middle East, Boston

This was our first night of the tour. We opened for about 100-150 people like any other night. I may have caught a contact high (compliments of the Coughee Brothas, Del and Devin) going into the green room to get water before we went on. It didn't really hit me that we were on tour until Devin's set. It takes a certain type of woman to be a big Devin fan. They were all there.

One thing about being a new group on tour that most people don't understand is the amount of time that you spend hustling at the merch table. At least you better be if you plan on there being another tour. So I try to talk to everyone who walks past the table... cause we are, after all tryna get the music out to the kids.
I pass this one girl a sticker in order to get her to come by the table, hoping to maybe charm her into buying a CD and she asks me for a marker which annoyed me a little bit because sometimes drunk people ask you sign weird shit that they'll lose by the end of the night and I really have no time or tolerance for drunken stupidity.(This next part is the part that will get me in trouble with my beautiful girlfriend whom I love very much.) The gal then squeezed her boobs together and asked me to sign them. I haven't been asked for any autographs really ever, especially never asked to sign any titties before, but who am I to say no, a fans a fan and we are after all trying to get the people interested in what we are doing so I gave them my signature "Tone Tank" handstyle with the fattest black marker within reach. I did it for the better good of things.




Snaf said that it's all downhill from here, but within seconds her friend came back to get her boobs signed. Well, of course I had to because obviously it's part of the job and I am on the road to work, not to play.



A lil while later some other college type girls came up and asked for stickers, immediately sticking them to their boobs and backsides... but at this point that stuff is smalltime.




I had never heard of a deadbeat mom until now.


This picture was taken inside a public restroom somewhere in Ohio. There's something really creepy about public restrooms you find when you're on the road. You'll see things written like "tap toes for a blow job" and things of that nature. I guess in a way they have to hide in the shadows of automatic hand dryers and wet floor signs. Apparently men with narrow penises feel the same shame. Who's going to go into a store and purchase "ultra narrow" condoms when "magnums" are two packages down. So they too are bound to finding what they need out of life in a truckstop restroom.

I've been having an amazing time.... Everyone is chill as hell. I'm lucky to be here.

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