Singing In The Rain.

It's raining here in TN today,
and I'm still surprised that it's already October.

I'm sitting in my "temporary office",
which is actually just my kitchen table until I enough time off from tour to go buy a desk for my bedroom here in the new house.
Right now, I've got Lenka's new cd coming through my stereo speakers,
and I think it's going to be a good Fall/Winter album to listen to, pretty much daily.

Anyway.
How about an update?

Let's see.
First off, there's good news and one bit of bad news (that actually is good in a way)...
it involves my October/November tour.
So, my October/November tour with Jimmy Robbins has been pushed back a couple of weeks (that's the bad news).
And actually, this isn't bad news at all, because it actually gives me extra time to really get ready for the tour :)
The tour is still going to be the same length,
but it had to be pushed back a bit due to booking reasons.
So yeah, this does mean you (and not to mention, I) have to wait a bit longer for the actual dates announcement, but when it comes this time it's going to be a full list of about 30 dates :)
And that tour is going to start on October 27th now,
so just expect the dates to be announced somewhere around two weeks from now.

Also, I have a two week December tour I'm doing with Vanessa Rose,
and you can actually see the first couple of dates for that now up on my websites ;)

In other news...
if you've been a fan of mine for a while now,
you might recall how I usually release a new holiday album every year...
well, it's about that time of the year where I've started thinking about that.
And the good thing is, usually I don't plan this out until about literally the last week of November,...
but I'm starting early this year to work up some really special stuff for a super special holiday release this year that will totally kick my past holiday albums' asses.
That's all I will say about that right now,
but just be on the lookout around the middle of November for more news on that ;)

Hmm...
what else?
Oh! In case you didn't know,
since I haven't been able to update this monthly blog as much,
I've finally started a daily Backseat Goodbye blog over at Tumblr...
so you should feel free to check that out @ backseatgoodbye.tumblr.com.

I'm also working on a new BackseatGoodbye.com that doesn't suck...
and will finally be 110% functional,...
full of photos, all of my tour info you could ever need, new guitar tabs, and many many many other special things.
I'm hoping to launch that pretty soon :)

Also,
be on the lookout for new BG merch over at backseatgoodbye.storenvy.com soon, too!
I've got a TON of new merch ideas getting put into motion for the coming colder weather to keep you warm ;)
And actually, I'm planning on doing a special thing soon where you all will get to decide which new shirt, hoodie, tote bag, and other merch designs will actually be available for the new Fall/Winter BG Merch Line Launch :)


I'm pretty sure that's all I've got for right now, as far as BG stuff goes.

In other news for myself,
I've really started writing a bunch more for my next poetry book,
and I really like how it's coming along so far.
By the way, my first poetry book is now finally back in stock over at chadsugg.storenvy.com.


And in personal news,
I'm glad to say I'm alive again,
and am very lucky to have a lady in my life.
Many people that have found this out already have been asking if they could look forward to some new BG love songs in the works,...
and the answer to that is, yes ;)
I'll actually be posting a new song later this week in the light of that likeness.


I'm off for now though,
a lot of stuff to work on for the upcoming tours!

Cheers,
Chad

P.S. - For those who are weird like me and like to know what other people are up to, I have a Twitter that you can follow now at twitter.com/backseatgoodbye ;)

Purely Decorative.

And.....go.

(After show in Rhode Island)

Backseat Goodbye Summer Tour 2008.
The above words form into an experience that is officially wrapped up in the Past now.
It was the longest tour I've ever done.
It was the best tour I've ever done.
It was amazing at times.
It was frustrating at times.
It was all-together unforgettable.

I traveled through more states last month than I had in my entire life.
I saw New York City for the first time.
I met an overwhelming amount of great people.
I ate more Burger King than you probably have in your whole life.
I went ghost hunting at Gettsburg Battlefield.
I lost my glasses in a scary Louisville hotel.
I saw a giant Superman statue in Indiana.
I did a lot, and I could go on for a while with this stuff, but I'll stop there.

All in all, the tour was great....
my throat is sore from so many shows so quick,
but other than that I'm good to go.

(Note to self: Find vocal warm-up lessons so throat doesn't die on next tour)

I've posted a video (and may post more later) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfLyayUZmMQ where you can see me and the other guys (Marshall of Ladybug Landslide, and our tour manager, Zach) on the tour rocking out in 3D glasses to Ghostbusters in the car, in order to prove how lame we are when we get bored on tour.

I suppose that's it for now.
I just wanted to check in and give a recap of the tour.
I'm back home in Murfreesboro for a couple of weeks,
so I'll be sure to keep up with this blog much better now.
And in case you didn't know, I do have a daily blog over at chadsugg.tumblr.com

Also,
for those wondering why my new album isn't available in your local Hot Topic store,
no worries, I'm going to have a solution for you very very soon....
for those who went out and got a copy of the album when it arrived in Hot Topic, I'll be posting the info on how you can get your free two unreleased songs and video literally this week.

By the way,
my book has been sold out at my CS online store for a little while now,
if you've been wanting a copy I'll be posting a new link where you'll be able to order the book soon.

And last but not least,
I've got a new venture I'm working on, for an idea I've had for a while now,
so be on the lookout for that, too ;)

To wrap this up I'll leave you with some photos from the tour :)

Cheers,
Chad

(Guitar cases and my new Spider-Man backpack)


(The Kansas City crowd during my set.)


(Rainy drive in St. Louis)


(Superman and I.)


(On the road somewhere.)


(Interstate adventures with Cleveland the tour giraffe.)


(The car was 'effing packed to the brim.)


(My keychain collection halfway through.)


(Night off in NY.)


(GA merch table.)


(Couldn't live without these things.)


(Louisville sidewalk.)


(Travel arrangements, my car, the ever-lovely Roxy.)


(Lame license plates on strangers' cars are always nice.)


(Until next time.)

Idol Times.

Over the span of my life so far I've looked up to many different faces for inspiration, strength, guidance, hope, and countless other things.
When I was younger, before my musical endeavors as Backseat Goodbye, hockey was my thing.
I was an aspiring goaltender, and looked up to such National Hockey League greats as Patrick Roy, Martin Broudeur, and Mike Richter.

Now, I find myself in a new world as a 22 year-old kid that's completely in love with a girl named music.
I look up to many more humans for inspiration now, which consist of an amazing variety of musicians,...
to name a few: Bright Eyes, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jack Johnson, Frank Sinatra, The Mountain Goats, Cat Power, Tilly & The Wall, The Format, and John Mayer.

From a number of those bands/artists, I've became amazed by a select few that make up those groups.
Take Conor Oberst, for example... the ringleader of my favorite band, Bright Eyes.
The man has accomplished so much, and he's done so in a completely independent perspective.
What he's done as a whole is something I've always been in awe of.
Yesterday I was reading an interview on Blender.com that was done with Conor last week.
My eyebrows were raised to the fact that Conor was 22 when he released the album that basically broke him into the Indie mainstream, "Lifted".

After reading that I got even more excited about the point I'm at in my life right now.
Sure, I've been living quite comfortably from my music over the last two years,...
but I'm at a point where things are happening in much larger scales, much quicker.
Though no one really knows about all that's about to happen with my Backseat Goodbye, other than a handful of people,...
there are some literally HUGE things that are going to occur.

I've always been blown away by the fact that I've become able to do what I love for a living,
but there are things happening as of late that really just blow my mind.
It's going to be an exciting rest of 2008...
and I can't even begin to fathom what 2009 is going to hold.

ANYWAYS....
that's not the point of this post,...
so back to where I was originally going with all of this.

I'm a frequent reader of John Mayer's blog.
The guy has always been interesting to me, not only as a musician,
but as a normal dude.
I've been a huge fan of his for years now,
but today I realized I look up to him even more-so than I thought.
I mean, he's a nice guy, doing what he loves, and helping the world along the way.

I get asked a certain question a lot in interviews,
it usually goes something like, "Who are your favorite artists? And what people inspire you as an artist?"
To me, that's a very personal and big question.
I could chime on for hours about how certain songs and artists have completely changed my life with one lyric.
But in interviews you're expected to give a truthful, yet somewhat concise answer.
And that's completely cool with me.
Anyways,...
I usually always just throw one name in there as far as single people I look to for inspiration,...
and that's Conor Oberst.
But I decided today, that John Mayer is now a second name for that list.

I can only hope that one day I'll be able to do things as level-headed and awesome as him on the same large scale.

It may be seen as childish to still have idols at my age,
but if you were to ask me, I would say it's childish NOT to have idols at any given point in your entire life.

- Chad

the book is finished!

So...
I finally get to make this post.
What post?... you ask.

Well,
the one where I get to say my book is finally finished.

Wow. What a relief!
After all the crap that's happened that delayed the release,
it's finally off to be published, printed, and ready to read!

Due to me losing about 60 poems that were going to go in the book when my last hard drive died I had to work my ass off to write, and I was worried about even being able to get the back up to half of what it was at the beginning.
But I can gladly say that when I sent it for print, it ended with 96 pages total.
So, despite having half the book ripped from my hands and lost with my old hard drive,
I still fought back and managed jusssssst under 100 pages (which was my original goal.)

And really,
I was super scared about this book.
I really really really didn't think I was going to be happy with the final product,
and I was just plain worried as hell, up until last night.

After I finally arranged all the poems and everything, and looked at it all together as a whole...
I really felt (and feel) like I have made something that people just might like a bit :)

I still have a bit of a reserve in the back of my head that's wondering what the hell people are going to think of it...
because literally NO ONE has seen the book or even read a full page from it.
So, it's kind of a big leap I feel like I'm taking...
but I think it will be recieved quite well.
I suppose I'll find out soon enough!

And who knows,
maybe everyone will hate it.

Like I said, we'll see.

By the way, if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about...
I've got a book coming out next week,
it's called Monsters Under Your Head, and it's a poetry book.
For now it's ONLY available at store.chadsugg.com,
but it will hopefully be available in select retail stores soon (I'm working on that part).

As far as Backseat Goodbye news goes,...
tour dates coming SOON (I PROMISE!!!!!)....
new website coming soon,
new merch coming soon,
and a lovely huge announcement about my new album Dressed Up Like Dreams coming soon, as well.
:)




Oh,
also...
I've got a bit of a preview of the book for you...
if you go over to my Tumblr @ chadsugg.tumblr.com you can see a sneak peak of a few pages from the book ;)


That's all for today,
Hope all is well for you and yours.

- Chad

Life In Technicolor.

Welcome back.
It's been a while, QUITE a while since I've been able to post one of these from the luxury of my MacBook.
After not having it for about four weeks due to its hard drive dying, I finally got it back.
None of my info was able to be saved yet, so I'm still in a bit of a predicament as far as my book goes,...
but I've already got my plan of how to fix all that. (So that's a different story, for a different day)

But, for those wondering, if you've already pre-ordered/ordered my book, don't worry, I'm working as fast as possible to make sure it gets to you as soon as humanly possible. And now that my Mac is back things are going to be moving very very quickly and I'm hoping to have the book off to be published by the middle of this week, and then it will be shipped to you awesomely patient people by the middle of next week. (If you're unaware of my full laptop problems that occurred recently just check my last post on here to catch up on the catastrophe)

Anywayssssssssssss....
that's enough of this broken MacBook talk...
because now it is back and better than ever, and I've got a ton of shit to get caught up on...
but that also means that I've got a ton of really really exciting stuff coming up as well.

One of the exciting things is an idea I had a few months ago.
I'm not sharing any details at all yet, but I'm very fucking stoked about the possibilities of it.
It's looking like it will have a Fall launch...
right now I'm in the beginning stages of getting the legal stuff out of the way,
as well as all the other this and that to get this thing off the ground.

Another exciting thing is the fact that any day now I'm going to be able to finally share a good bit of Summer tour dates with you all for Backseat Goodbye, as well as the official date in which my new album will be available in some quite large chains of retail stores nationwide ;) (just keep your eyes peeled)

Also,
with my MacBook issue and the whole thing coming full circle with it being fixed...
I've decided that I really want to be in touch with all of you more.
So since my iCalendar was completely wiped anyway with the new hard drive,
I'm completely reforming how I divulge my days....
because yeah, I still used to take a good bit of time each day to respond to messages, emails, and comments that were just from fans...
but now I'm going to start taking at least two hours a day to make sure I get in touch with as many people as possible that send me messages and comments and just everything.
I'm basically just re-dedicating myself to making sure you people know how much I do actually give a shit that you listen to my music, read my blogs, etc...

I'm also going to be keeping up with this blog much more often again.

And seriously,
I apologize to anyone that has emailed me, messaged me, or whatever over the last four weeks...
please understand that my only means of internet was through my old Dell laptop (which had its internet plug-in port literally fried by a lightning storm years ago, so I was having to run my internet through USB, which basically made it slower than dial-up)... so it was quite hard for me to respond to anything that wasn't in the very important business email category.

But I'm keeping this post relatively short, and will end it on this note...
The coming months are going to be one hell of a ride for my music, not to mention the other endeavors (my book, and the other new "idea" coming this Fall)....
so as always, I hope you're up for coming along with me.
I've had a hell of a time so far, and couldn't thank all of you enough for sticking with me, whether it be for the last few years, few months, or last few days....
but I can't even begin to tell you how completely in love I am with even just the possibilities of the coming months.

This is going to be a damn great Summer, and as always, I'm much more fond of having someone there to sing along with me...
so if you're up for it, I sure as hell know that I am.

Let's make this Summer one to remember.

Cheers,
Chad

PostScript - If you didn't know, my new album is now available on iTunes via The Militia Group, and you can find it by searching for "Backseat Goodbye" in the iTunes Music Store or by clicking HERE

PostScriptTOO - Also, there are some new shirts available just in time for Summer at my online store @ store.backseatgoodbye.com

After School Special.

Here's an update on my lack of "updates" lately....

Early last week my Macbook's hard drive decided to basically die.
This is a very bad thing for various reasons...
but the main ones being:
- ALL of my important files are on that computer (and I had NOT backed most of them up on my external hard drive)
- By "important files" I actually mean what I'm saying... as all of my Backseat Goodbye demos, a ton of new lyrics, almost all of my poems and writings for my upcoming book.... ALL of that stuff was on that hard drive that died
- Not to mention that I was supposed to send all of my files for my book to the publisher to be printed this week

So here I am.
It's June 3rd.
My book comes out on June 10th.
And it's files aren't even to the printer yet.
Don't forget that my Macbook is still being fixed now.

So I'm basically having to wait until my laptop is fixed and sent back to me before I can send off everything to be printed. Supposedly it's going to be back to me in mint condition by the end of this week.

If all works out like I'm hoping it will,
then I'll actually get my Macbook back by the end of the week and I'll be able to get a rush order in to the publisher and my book will be printed on time still and everything's just peachy.
If not, then obviously the book will be ready a few days late.

So, just in case you've preordered my book,
there's the story. I'm doing everything in my power to make sure it arrives to your hands on time.... but if it's a few days late, then I sincerely apologize.
Hopefully you can understand that there's no way I could have seen this computer problem coming.

From now on I will be backing up every file everyday on my external hard drives...
I know that much.


Other than that,
over the last week I've basically just literally been freaking out about all of the above over and over and over and over again. I've been able to at least get online and keep up with my emails and messages through my BlackBerry, iPod Touch, and my good ol' Dell laptop (it barely works, but it does work nonetheless).

Also.
I recieved the test copy printing of my book a few days ago...
it's basically just a little 34 page preview for me that has allowed me to make sure I like the fonts I used and the cover and everything is printed right.
I haven't let anyone see it yet, other than the cover.

And the more I think about it...
the more scared I am about this release.
"Scared" is a bad word to describe that....
I think I'm just more awkwardly curious as to what people will think of the book.
Because really, no one has seen about 99% of it.
I'm used to testing songs out and letting friends hear them...
but with this, it's completely unseen by anyone but me.
It's a great new feeling actually.


Anyways.
Sorry this post doesn't have photos or anything actually interesting to look at...
I have no way of uploading photos right now since my lovely Macbook is being fixed.

Oh,
by the way,
for those that have been asking,
tomorrow I'll be sharing when you'll be able to get my new album, "Dressed Up Like Dreams", on iTunes....
so lookout for that ;)

- Chad

Strangers In The Night.

I have no clue when I last posted a good long blog, but I know it's at least been over a week and a half...

So here we go.

I've been in Florida since last last Saturday (the 10th).

I was in Destin the 10th through the 14th.

And I was in Orlando the 15th through the 17th.

I went to Destin for just a bit of a vacation with some good friends of mine.

And basically, it was just a grand 'ol time.

(Here's what my luggage for the trip looked like.)

(Ha, Yeah, I packed 24 shirts for a week long trip, so what?)

(Yours truly on the beach, talking about bullshit probably.)

In Destin I basically did a bunch of nothing.

We all went to the beach every day (played volleyball, frisbee, you know, the usual beach stuff).

I saw Iron Man one day during that part, it was suprisingly awesome.

I also managed to buy the new Death Cab For Cutie and Jason Mraz albums (and a new Frank Sinatra collections album).... all are great, except the Death Cab album is just plain phenomenal.

On Thursday I headed down to Orlando for the 2008 Florida Music Festival.

My showcase wasn't until Saturday, so me and usual merch guy, Garrett had a couple of days to do basically more of nothing.

Then, on Saturday, Magic found its way to our lives...

as one of our superawesome Orlando friends took us to damn Disney World!

(In front of Cinderella's badass castle.)

(Yeah, Mickey and I go way back.)

So Disney World was amazing as always (this was my third time going).

The only thing that sucked is that we had to leave by 5 so I could get to my showcase check-in on time.

However, we did manage to get our asses through three parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios) before we had to go.

So anyways.

Backseat Goodbye news?

Yeah, there's a lot of it...

and it's really really really great stuff...

but I can't share it with you quite yet.

I can let you know that soon I will be able to tell you every date of the first part of my Summer tour, and I'll also be able to let you know when my new album will actually be available in a store near you (and also when it will be available on iTunes)   :)

Other than that there's really not much to tell as of late.

Right now I'm just getting things ready for the upcoming tour and the album in-store release.

OH!

I almost forgot since it's been so long.

But the weekend before I left I just happened to get about 75% of the music video for "Technicolor Eyes" shot.

There are still a couple of scenes to go... 

then editing won't take long and so hopefully I'll have that video ready for you by the end of this week.

But yeah, that's pretty much it...

nothing too exciting since I was gone for a week.

I'll leave you with some more photos now.

(My Steamboat Mickey figure I bought at Disney World.)

(My new baby. BlackBerry 8830. I love it oh so much.)

(I have a good bit of unpacking and cleaning to do now.)

So, good day to you and yours.

- Chad