VENUES: It’s cool that bands will go so out of their way to play 40 Watt Club in our hometown of Athens, Georgia. It’s a good size but still intimate, and it's always a privilege to take the stage. We just played San Diego’s House of Blues, where the crowd was amazingly high-energy and ready to party and rock. Mohawk Place in Buffalo is the most amazingly unpretentious, blue-collar American bar.
FOOD: We’re on our way to play South by Southwest, and in Austin, we always get Mexican food at Maudie’s and BBQ at the famous Rudy’s, which is a picnic-table-style place that serves an overload of meat. When we recorded our last record in Los Angeles, we ate late-night in West Hollywood at Bossa Nova, which stays open on weekends until 4 am. You can get everything from pasta to Peruvian dishes, and it's all really good. The 101 Coffee Shop is a 1970s diner with an old, Los Angeles vibe; I always finish the breakfast burrito, though it’s probably big enough for two. In the downtown, honkytonk heart of Nashville, we go to Robert’s to grill hot dogs and listen to the best country music.
RECORD STORES: In Houston, Cactus Records; Reckless Records in Chicago’s Wicker Park; Seattle’s Easy Street; and Williamsburg’s Earwax Records, which held this great grassroots fundraiser when it looked like it wasn't going to survive—I hope it’s alive and kicking when we come to NY next month!
NEW YORK CITY PICKS: We stay at the Ameritania when we play David Letterman, because you can walk downstairs and it’s two steps into the Ed Sullivan Theater. The owners host lots of musicians, so they're really friendly. We love playing the Mercury Lounge and seeing shows at Cake Shop, and when we’re feeling touristy it’s straight to Katz’s Deli.
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