(no subject)
So I'm back from our short tour with Anti-Flag, Rise Against, Against Me!, and None More Black.. I had a blast.. as you can imagine touring with a couple of your favorite bands and playing to huge crowds every night can be pretty satisfying, I hope someday we get to the point where we can do stuff like that on a regular basis.
The bands were all really good.. even the band I wasn't too into at first (musically) grew on me quickly and now I dig them. All of them put on a great show.. especially Against Me! who have such a laid back community type feel to their shows even now that they're on big stages rather than little basements. Anti-Flag and Rise Against really know how to capture an audience and I watched and learned every night.
The shows themselves were, of course, really cool, but I was surprised at the great response we got most nights. The only show that wasn't amazing for us was Milwaukee, where I was losing my voice and I didn't like the venue. The 3 Ohio shows were all wonderful and I couldn't ask for any better.
As for the guys in the bands... a quick rundown of the ones I got to know a little bit:
- Jason (NMB) used to be in Kid Dynamite, and is 27 but could pass for 19 easy.
- Paul (NMB) has the thickest New Jersey (I think) accent I have ever heard. He puts the guys in A Wilhelm Scream with their "Gunnah" to shame.
- The fill in drummer for NMB said we made him feel like he was 14 again, I took that as a huge compliment.
- James (AM!) is one hilarious dude. Just ask Franky ;) I'll leave it at that.
- Warren (AM!) is running for president, and I would vote for him. He's the only guy I've ever seen with a full beard that actually looks more cute and sweet with it than without. I got a t-shirt of him wearing a cowboy hat and riding a rubber chicken.
- Joe (RA) is always so complimentary of us and a really cool guy who makes me feel good about what I'm doing. The fact that he writes the songs for one of my most influential bands makes his opinion very important in my book.
- Tim (RA) ditto.
- Brandon (RA) is one of the nicest guys I've ever met in a band and I'm surprised I haven't talked to him more in the past. He was always ready to hang out with any of us and him and Mook talked for hours all the time.
And of course I've known the guys in Anti-Flag for a while and they are always super cool.. #2 came on stage almost every night to watch us play and even ran out and sang/played with us a couple times just for fun. He also had lots of good advice about our live performances that I greatly appreciated.
I guess that's about all I've got to say about the tour.. I had a great time! Very soon we head out for 6 weeks with A Wilhelm Scream which is going to be SOOO much fun, and 4 of those weeks will be with Break The Silence which will add to the great time, AND as if that weren't enough, 5 of the shows in Texas will also be with Near Miss.. so basically I'm going to be travelling with some of my favorite bands again. You all better come see the shows, these bands will blow your mind! =) www.muchthesame.com/shows for details (California dates will be posted soon, the rest are there)
Oh and since I'll be posting this info around anyway, I will end with this show announcement:
Friday, February 13, 2004
@ Metro (Chicago, IL) 5:30pm, $5
STARSTRUCK (Farewell show)
MUCH THE SAME
BREAK THE SILENCE (CD release)
A WILHELM SCREAM
LAST ANNUAL
The bands were all really good.. even the band I wasn't too into at first (musically) grew on me quickly and now I dig them. All of them put on a great show.. especially Against Me! who have such a laid back community type feel to their shows even now that they're on big stages rather than little basements. Anti-Flag and Rise Against really know how to capture an audience and I watched and learned every night.
The shows themselves were, of course, really cool, but I was surprised at the great response we got most nights. The only show that wasn't amazing for us was Milwaukee, where I was losing my voice and I didn't like the venue. The 3 Ohio shows were all wonderful and I couldn't ask for any better.
As for the guys in the bands... a quick rundown of the ones I got to know a little bit:
- Jason (NMB) used to be in Kid Dynamite, and is 27 but could pass for 19 easy.
- Paul (NMB) has the thickest New Jersey (I think) accent I have ever heard. He puts the guys in A Wilhelm Scream with their "Gunnah" to shame.
- The fill in drummer for NMB said we made him feel like he was 14 again, I took that as a huge compliment.
- James (AM!) is one hilarious dude. Just ask Franky ;) I'll leave it at that.
- Warren (AM!) is running for president, and I would vote for him. He's the only guy I've ever seen with a full beard that actually looks more cute and sweet with it than without. I got a t-shirt of him wearing a cowboy hat and riding a rubber chicken.
- Joe (RA) is always so complimentary of us and a really cool guy who makes me feel good about what I'm doing. The fact that he writes the songs for one of my most influential bands makes his opinion very important in my book.
- Tim (RA) ditto.
- Brandon (RA) is one of the nicest guys I've ever met in a band and I'm surprised I haven't talked to him more in the past. He was always ready to hang out with any of us and him and Mook talked for hours all the time.
And of course I've known the guys in Anti-Flag for a while and they are always super cool.. #2 came on stage almost every night to watch us play and even ran out and sang/played with us a couple times just for fun. He also had lots of good advice about our live performances that I greatly appreciated.
I guess that's about all I've got to say about the tour.. I had a great time! Very soon we head out for 6 weeks with A Wilhelm Scream which is going to be SOOO much fun, and 4 of those weeks will be with Break The Silence which will add to the great time, AND as if that weren't enough, 5 of the shows in Texas will also be with Near Miss.. so basically I'm going to be travelling with some of my favorite bands again. You all better come see the shows, these bands will blow your mind! =) www.muchthesame.com/shows for details (California dates will be posted soon, the rest are there)
Oh and since I'll be posting this info around anyway, I will end with this show announcement:
Friday, February 13, 2004
@ Metro (Chicago, IL) 5:30pm, $5
STARSTRUCK (Farewell show)
MUCH THE SAME
BREAK THE SILENCE (CD release)
A WILHELM SCREAM
LAST ANNUAL