We’re Felix Tandem, and we’re back.
Actually, we are going forth. This spring, we’re heading out on tour again, hitting cities across the Southeast and East Coast to celebrate the release of our Buyin’ American EP. I’m Cole, and I’ll be chronicling our journeys once again. Hello!
We’ve got some exciting shows lined up. I’m writing this in the car following a gig in Chattanooga last night, which is part of our three-night “mini tour.” We’re steaming toward a show tonight in Atlanta, and we’ll cap it off with a show in Birmingham.
FELIX TANDEM FUN TOUR FACT for TRUE FANS #1 (FTFTFTF #1):
The last time Felix Tandem played a show in Birmingham was in 2022, the same day singer and guitarist Max closed on the purchase of their house. This will be the first Felix Tandem gig in Birmingham featuring Cole on bass and Joel on drums.
After a bit of a break, we’re heading on a 10-day swing east toward North Carolina, north to New York and back to Nashville. We’re playing lots of new cities and revisiting a few from our last tour — but selfishly, I’m extremely excited to play in Charlotte (where some of my very best friends live) and Raleigh (where I grew up).
Here's the full schedule.
FTFTFTF #2: The members of Felix Tandem always appreciate when you attend their gigs in your city.
We left for Chattanooga in Joel’s capable Subaru Forester after work on Thursday. It was a pleasant enough, if rather boring drive, and we made good enough time that we made it to the gig on time — despite forgetting that Chattanooga is in Eastern Time, not Central Time, so we lost an hour. Oh well!
Our home for the night was Mint, Chattanooga’s “hottest new spot” right downtown. Faux Bois kicked the night off with some slacker indie goodness. The songs were breezy, silly and catchy. I dare you to listen to “President Dracula” and not get it stuck in your head for the next week. Next up was Shaky’s Bad Knee, a rock trio just like us. They told us that October is always a killer month for their band, and it makes sense for a band that has spooky vibe and far-out, fantasy-inspired lyrics. It’s also always nice to hear “this next song’s about Lord of the Rings” at a rock show.
Next up was Felix Tandem. That’s us! What I’ll remember about this gig is how fun it was: All three of us onstage were having a blast, and it was nice to see folks in the audience having a good time, too. At one point, we opened the floor to requests — classic “band at a bar” move — and were asked to play “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
Gotta take a bathroom selfie
Faux Boi (pronounced Fox Boys)
Mint!
Live painting at the show
Shaky's (NO E) Bad Knee (two e's
God, what have you done?
My personal highlight came during “Oh, Julien!,” a song we’ve reworked — and recorded! — over the past few months. After we play the bridge, we now teach the audience to sing a “na-na, na-na-na-na-na” part with us, then we blast into the final chorus as they sing with us. The Chattanooga crowd sang it loudly and proudly, which was so fulfilling. When you practice the same songs over and over in a rehearsal space with no audience, you forget how cool they can sound when people sing it back to you.
We thanked the crowd, sold a few T-shirts and settled in to watch Sol Paradise, the final act of the night. They’re a rock-solid group of musicians that played bluesy, jazzy versions of old favorites. I loved hearing “Rocket Man,” my favorite Elton John song, rocked up a bit with some Telecaster licks.
Grash of Shaky’s Bad Knee graciously offered us a place to stay for the night, and we made a pitstop at Taco Bell before heading to his place. “Pitstop” might be the wrong word, as we ended up spending about 40 minutes in line waiting to order meat and cheese in various configurations. About 15 minutes into our wait, we realized that the people in a car behind us were absolutely screaming something.
“Is this… ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen?” asked Max.
It was. The guys in that car screamed their way through everything from “Party in the U.S.A.” to “Not Like Us,” and they were quite tickled to realize they had an audience. Should we ask them to perform at our next Chattanooga gig? Something to think about.
We finally got our food and headed to Grash’s place, a cozy spot he shares with cats Waffles and Strummer. We’re very grateful he opened his home to us, and we got plenty of rest for the rest of the weekend under the watchful eye of our new feline friends.
Strummer
Grash <3
Waffles
FTFTFTF #4: Seeing cats made Cole miss his cat, JoJo.