[700x442]




[699x551]


[700x449]


DAY 1: JULY 26, 4:59 PM. Drummer Nathan Followill phones from his Nashville home, where he's enjoying a marathon of HBO's Rome.
"Sorry if I'm a little groggy. I'm hung over as shit. Last night, me and the guys went to see Step Brothers. I got so high that I forgot my glasses -- I had to wear my sunglasses. Afterward, we went to a bar to play shuffleboard, and me and Caleb got way too drunk and almost killed each other. One of us is a sore loser. I'm not naming any names; I'll just say he's our lead singer, and he's my brother.
We were supposed to go to a beer festival today, but it got rained out. Instead I'm having my own beer festival at home. I started the day with a Michelob Ultra at 9 A.M. -- my girl was like, 'What the fuck?' I just turned 29, so I've been drinking professionally for eight years now, but today's the first time I've really respected the alcohol. Man, I am suffering the wrath. Getting older sucks."

DAY 2: July 27, 1:01 PM. Middle brother Caleb rings us from home, a Sierra Nevada in hand.
"I'm pretty buzzed right now. There's this Mexican restaurant up the road from my house: They open at 11, and I usually have a margarita in my hand by 11:05. Now I'm back home drinking some beer and waiting for my buddies to come over and play foosball. I got a new game-slash-sunroom -- It's so bright you don't even have to turn on the lights. I've been trying to do my part to go green, like leaving the lights off when I go to the bathroom. It's good for the Earth, but it sucks for my cleaning lady.
Later, my mom's coming over to give me a haircut. She's not as good as a professional barber, but she's free-- and barbershops don't usually let you go in drunk. Then nathan and me are going with our stepdad to check out some land we bought on the Caney Fork River, in east Tennessee. We're gonna put up some cabins and build a little fly-fishing lodge. I think Al Gore lives a little ways up the river, so I hope he's cool with it. If not, I'll just tell him how green I am. Like, Come on, Al -- I shit in the dark!"

DAY 3: July 28, 4:02 PM. Bassist Jared Followill, the youngest, dials from home, where he's awaiting delivery of his new Nissan Skyline GT-R, a 480 hp Japanese sports car.
"Those guys went out to the river yesterday, huh? Guess they forgot to call me. It's cool, though. I hung out with Matthew and one of our friends. Our girlfriends are away, so we had a guys' night. We went out to this bar we'd never been to before. It was all bikers, and they served no liquor, only beer. We got pretty wasted. At one point we walked over to this sketchy gas station to get some Tums, and there were a couple of guys in house shoes and gigantic T-shirts yelling at us. It was pretty salty.
This morning I've been wasting time on the Internet. Right now I'm checking out Partyhardcore.com. Yeah, it's a porn site -- $9.95 a month. What can I say? I told you my girlfriend was out of town."

DAY 4: July 29, 4:59 PM. Cousin Matthew Followill calls from his living room with the latest update.
"Today's a work day. We've been doing a bunch of conference calls, trying to get the record ready, finalize cover art, decide who's gonna shoot the video. After I get off the phone with you, we have meetings with a couple of directors. Hopefully, one of them will blow our minds, 'cause Lord knows we've never had a good video.
I've got a house full of women right now. My mom's in town for a week, and my grandma and little sister cam up, too. I love it -- I came home today and the whole place was clean. I just wish they'd chill on the food. We're from the South, so it's butter and cheese on everything. My mom makes this chicken casserole with cheese and spaghetti--oh my God. It's delicious, but I'm gonna weigh 200 pounds before the week is up."

DAY 5: July 30, 5:02 PM. Nathan calls from his kitchen, where he's nursing a beer and recovering from a rough day at the gym.
"I worked out with my trainer this morning -- he kicked my ass pretty good. Squats and lunches with 45-pound dumbbells. I think he was trying to kill me. It's the first time in months I've lifted something heavier than a six-pack.
My lady left this morning, so I'm having a bunch of the boys over tonight to play a little Texas Hold 'Em. It's a $250 buy-in, winner takes all. We're gonna smoke some Cohiba Robustos I picked up in Europe, and I just got a mastered copy of our new record, so we'll get a few drinks in everyone and get their honest opinions. I listened to it this afternoon for the first time with my cleaning lady, and she loved it. Then again, she's our cousin."

DAY 6: August 1, 12:13 PM. After skipping a day due to complications arising from too much Jameson, Caleb checks in on his way home from another round of midday margaritas.
"Sorry about last night -- I was pretty far gone. The guys and me went bowling with our cousin Nacho. It was the first time I'd drunk pitchers of beer in a while. I started out slow, but then I got hot. My hips are killing me today. I'm pretty sure Nathan bowled the high game with a 179, but the last hour is kind of a blur.
I contemplated calling this service where they come on a moped and drive your car home for you, but I wasn't too stoked about having a greasy moped in my trunk. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure how I got home.
Oh yeah, the poker game. Matt and I both lost pretty early, going all-in when we really shouldn't have. Nathan and Jared went at it for a couple of hours, and finally they decided to just split the pot 60/40. Which is a pretty pussy way to go out, if you ask me."

DAY 7: August 2, 8:14 PM. Jared rings one last time on his way home from rehearsing for the band's upcoming tour.
"Caleb said Nathan bowled the high score? Bullshit! I bowled a 214. I figured he'd leave me out. He was too wasted to know what was going on anyway.
I'm still a little hung over from last night. It was my girlfriend's birthday, so our mom cooked and everyone came over. I drank two bottles of wine and come He'Brew beer called the Rejewvenator. I don't know if it's kosher, but it's delicious. Afterward we got into a heated game of Cranium -- us versus the girlfriends. The girls won.
This is one of probably six weeks we'll have off the whole year, so we try to kick back. We have another rehearsal tomorrow, then a final mastering session, then we fly to L.A. to shoot a video and New York to start our tour. The road is fun, but every day out there is stressful. I would love for this to be my life. Cereal, beer and the PS3. I'd be an overweight 40-year-old who lives with his mom, and I'd be happy as can be."