BOOO!! Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope your Halloween shenanigans and trick or treating adventures were safe and fun filled. I dressed up as a bum and laid on the couch so I didn't receive much candy. On another note, tomorrow is the 6 year anniversary of Shallow Side! I can say it has been the craziest roller coaster I've ever known, one that makes Six Flags ever so envious. But roller coasters are pretty cool and this one has been nothing short of spectacular. We have been blessed to be able to travel the country doing what we love and meet incredible people on the daily basis. I could go on and on about the tour stories we have accumulated thus far, but I will save them for blogs to come. It is a great feeling to be able to take a group of country bumpkins in small town Alabama and put them in a small shed and the next thing you know, we are touring across the country living the dream we had when we first started playing music. It is a prime example that you can achieve anything you set your mind to and strive for! We are definitely a battle tested group of guys I must say. Whether it's the daily grind of touring and playing shows that sometimes extend to 12-15 days without a day off, or just battling through injuries like we are currently doing. We always find a way to take what we have, tweak it some and turn it into something more successful than it probably should have been given the circumstances. Many thanks to everyone who is a part of this Family. I know bands say that quite a bit, but we say it because it is true. Without you we are nothing, and I cannot thank you enough for all the support. From the people who have been there for us for 6 years, to the folks who are newer to the Family, I just want to say a heart felt THANK YOU for allowing us to do what we do. I am looking forward to what the next 6 years will bring. Hell, I'm looking forward to what the next
An Update From The Heefer, Himself
Hello again, I hope everyone is doing fantastic on this Monday. I wanted to give everybody an update today on the sideline/injury report. After talks with Coach Saban, he believes I have made great progress and I am ready to go, Roll Tide.
But just for good measure I will be going to a follow up appointment on Friday, the 28th. Even though Saban says I'm clear.... But day to day I am making good progress and I just have to stick to the doctor's regimen, which is to keep the couch from floating away. So far I am crushing it! Hopefully I will receive some good news on Friday and everything is smooth sailing from there on out.
There are still a couple dates left in October and more dates for November will be surfacing soon. "Keep tabs on our dates and our shenanigans at what's our website, Nick?"
" www.shallowside.net "
"That's right! Thanks, Nick."
Dates, shirts, CDs, VIP packages, it's all here so browse around a little bit while you are here and come hang out at a show. Hope to see you soon.
A Special Word From Heath
We have toured the country for almost six years now. During that time we have had the opportunity to meet some truly incredible people. It's easy to sit back and watch everything that is happening in the current events with all the "doom and gloom", whether it is in politics, crimes, or just content of the media, and dwell on on the negatives. But the reality is there is a lot more good than evil if you're only open enough to see it. We have been privileged to tour the country and to be able to see these things first hand and experience them. As many of you know, I was recently injured while riding a long board and broke my collar bone. It was nobody's fault but my own, I ride it everyday when we are on the road, that day just happened to have something else in store. The amount of support I have received has been amazing. Our FAMILY has always been nothing short of incredible and it holds true to this situation as well. I am currently at home beginning the healing process and I will be working diligently to get healthy and back on the road crushing the drums and seeing all of you as soon as possible! I can't thank you all enough for the support thus far I am very grateful for it. I am just 1/4 of Shallow Side, though. For Eric, Seth, and Cody the show must go on, and it will go on. We have a fill in drummer for the remainder of the tours, so be sure to check our dates here on the website and make it out to a show or two in your area and give them the support they deserve. Listen to the stories Eric will tell you about the situation (all lies) and give our fill in drummer, Harrison, a good ole nipple pinch in my honor. Thank you all for the support, from the bottom of my heart, and we will take this negative and turn it into a positive. There are no problems, only solutions. So stop by a show and catch a good rock show, grab up a VIP package while you are here, whatever tickles your fancy and I'll see you all soon!
Tour Pranksters Vol. 1
Everybody likes a good prank. Except the people who don't... Some people are very easygoing and can take a joke and return fire with a joke of their own, whereas others don't seem to be the joking type and don't want a part of it. There was one tour in particular where a prank got going between three bands, one band didn't like to play, however. We were in Illinois on a rainy, storm filled evening so a tour prank just seemed inevitable. During the opening bands set we noticed an old couch sitting by a dumpster next to the venue. We decided to hoist this couch up, granted it was a light couch, and place it on top of the openers van while they were on stage. No one seen us do it so they didn't know for sure who put the couch on their van. They made a determination on who it was and they are good guessers. As we came off the stage to pack our gear in the trailer, we open it up and there sits that couch! Boom! They got us back even though there was no proof or talk about who put the couch on their van. After all the couch tossing, we finally got our trailer loaded and the headliner took the stage. We decided it was time to give the couch one more round so we hoisted it up and sat it down on top of the headliner's trailer, gently. After a few minutes security noticed the couch and took it down from the trailer. When the headliner came off stage security told them about the couch being on their trailer and they were a tad bit upset and was assuming the couch damaged the trailer, which it did not. The next day they were trying to get us off the tour, saying we put dents and holes in their trailer. The couch did not damage their trailer in any fashion, they just did not like the idea of the prank. We had a picture of the couch on top of the trailer(because it was funny, right?) and we showed them the picture of where the couch was so the trailer damage debate was over. Tour pranks are usually fun. But like I said, some people will play along and some will not. Two bands were pranksters on this tour and one band was not the pranking type. We still thought it was funny however and it's my story so I'm sticking with funny.
The Story Of Otis The Owl
Who likes tour stories? They aren't always pretty or fun filled shenanigans, but sometimes they are. This one just happens to be one that may give a little insight to some frequently asked questions as to why we use the owl in our designs. In 2010 when the band formed we had a pet owl that traveled with us. Otis was his name and he was highly sophisticated and well trained. He could even count to three! Otis's favorite food in the whole world was tootsie roll pops. People would show up to the shows and bring him tootsie roll pops to get him to count and do amazing tricks. He would watch over the merch table for us but eventually the tootsie pops became an addiction. After months on end of constant touring, Otis started developing what specialists are now classifying as TPD, or Tootsie Pop Dependency, a disease caused by over consumption of tootsie pops without a substantial reward. He just simply could not stop counting, and would refuse to sell to anyone unless they had a tootsie pop. This didn't sit well with the band, as we were on the daily tour grind for months at a time and merch sales were the only source of income. Otis eventually agreed that what he was doing was wrong and selfish after an extensive intervention with the band. He was doing great! He was six months removed from his last tootsie pop and showing zero symptoms of TPD. Merch sales were skyrocketing and the band was becoming more notable with every show. Our biggest fan at the time lived in Aspen, Colorado and devised an envious plan to capture Otis. Mary Samsonite is her name. She attended a show and while we were on stage she enticed Otis with an entire variety bag of tootsie pops and took him back to Aspen to be in her owl shows. Otis is last seen, according to reports, with two men who kidnapped Otis from Mary at an all inclusive resort. These two men are Harry, (who was last seen in a baby blue tuxedo) and Lloyd (who was last seen in an orange tuxedo). If anyone has any info on the whereabouts of these two men or Otis please contact us at your convenience. We use this description in hopes that you may be able to help us locate Otis and bring him back to us. We would love to have Otis back with us on our upcoming tour to watch over the table and share tricks across the states.