NO SECOND TROY

WHY should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery, or that she would of late
Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,
Or hurled the little streets upon the great,
Had they but courage equal to desire?
What could have made her peaceful with a mind
That nobleness made simple as a fire,
With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind
That is not natural in an age like this,
Being high and solitary and most stern?
Why, what could she have done being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn? --William Butler Yeats

I neglect this thing. I'm sorry.

I have big news. No, actually I have huge news. We're going to be getting a slight jumpstart on our summer tour. More precisely, we'll be kicking it off a few days early with a hometown show. Even more precisely, we'll be performing that show with none other than...Aerosmith! Can you fucking believe that? To say we're excited is one hell of an understatement. We'll be joining them at the Comcast Center in Mansfield on June 16 and we're looking forward to a great show (even if we're admittedly a bit intimidated!).

After that, we'll be spending the rest of June touring with the Offspring, mostly in the Midwest. Then in July, we're off to Europe. Some of our European dates have been finalized, but keep on the lookout for more to be added. I'm posting our schedule so far at the end of this update.

In other news, we may not currently be touring or in the studio, but that doesn't mean we aren't busy. We've been working on some new songs, and we're also working on the live album we've been promising for almost a year now. It's coming together really well, and we're hoping for a summer release. The tracks we've picked so far sound pretty fucking awesome if I do say so myself. The St. Paddy's Day shows were a blast for all, and I think this record really captures that energy that was going on.

Oh, and I've got a couple of possible acting irons in the fire, but I'll tell more about that when the "possible" turns to "strongly possible." Or even "set in stone." I really hate to disappoint.

TOUR DATES

U.S.

June 19 Minneapolis, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
June 20 Chicago, IL Charter One Pavilion
June 21 Cleveland, OH Time Warner Cable Amphitheater @ Tower City
June 23 Columbus, OH LC Outdoor Amphitheater
June 24 Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion
June 26 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
June 27 Indianapolis, IN The Lawn
June 28 Detroit, MI Freedom Hill Amphitheater
June 29 Cheswick, PA Ches A Rena
June 30 Canandaigua, NY CMAC

Europe

July 8 Hultsfred, Sweden Hultsfred Festival
July 10 Merzig, Germany Rock Am Bach Festival
July 11 Dresden, Germany Junge Garde
July 12 Warsaw, Poland Progresja Club
July 14 Vienna, Austria Arena
July 15 Feldkirch, Austria Poolbar
July 16 Bern, Switzerland Gurten Festival
July 17 Eching, Germany Sonnenrot Festival
July 18 Dour, Belgium Dour Festival
July 19 Cuxhaven, Germany Deichbrand Festival

13 days and counting.

We're in NYC tongiht and the sho wwas a blast. Hve been drikning ever since teh show ended. Brian syas im pretty wasted. nd I think he may b e right. FUCKYEAH!

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and today was one of those rare days I was awake before noon. This is different from last year. Appropriate enough, I suppose, since everything feels different than it did last year. Last year, I gave up pizza for Lent. Don't get me wrong, I love pizza, and it was hard to go without it for 40 days, but looking back it wasn't a very meaningful sacrifice. For various reasons, I'm kind of ashamed of that now. This year will be different, though.

I've neglected this thing for too long. I don't guess it matters, pretty much everything of any significance that I've done has shown up in the tabloids. A lot of stuff I haven't done has shown up in the tabloids, too, so I suppose everyone will have to figure out what's real and what isn't. The people who matter know.

In the last few weeks, I've been asked some variation of three different questions pretty constantly. One, what's the scoop on The Boondock Saints; two, when will the band be touring again; and three, what's up with you and Ramona Taylor?

To answer the first question, filming wrapped in June and now the movie is in post-production. I don't know at this point when it'll be released, but I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product. The flick was a blast to film and I think it's something that people will really enjoy. And yes, I'd definitely consider acting in another movie, but again it would have to be the right project. Although I guess I should wait and see what the critics think before planning my glorious career in film, just in case the verdict is that I suck.

On to the second question. We're still finalizing a few dates, but we're definitely scheduled to begin touring at the end of the month. We'll be kicking the tour off with a few shows in and around Boston, so if any of you are close by, we'd love to see you at one of the shows. Keep your eye on sonsofuisneach-fans.com for preliminary tour dates, they should be posted within the next few days.

As for the third question, everyone's probably expecting me to dodge it. I'll be the first to admit that I don't think my personal life should be anyone's business. The only time I've made an exception was the first time I fell in love, because not only was it pretty obvious at the time that was head over heels about the girl in question, I was also damned happy about it too. I guess that's why I'm making another exception. Yes, Ramona and I had planned to be married at the end of June; no, the wedding didn't happen; and no, that doesn't mean that it's off entirely. It was just decided that the timing wasn't right and we both want everything to be perfect when we finally tie the knot, so it's only delayed a bit.

I know some people seem to think Mona and I are an odd couple, and yes we do come from very different backgrounds, but we share some very important values. I don't think it's any secret that I'm very devoted to my family, and Ramona knows the value of strong family ties as well. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit more liberal when it comes to religion than some, but other than family, faith is the other major cornerstone of my life, and that's something else that Mona and I share. She's exactly the kind of woman I can trust will be a good mother to our children and help me raise them to value faith and family as much as we both do. So we're really not that "odd" after all.