Round 2

We left this morning for our next tour. We're currently on our way to
Poughkeepsie, NY (to play the first of three shows we have with Jack's
Mannequin)! We will probably end up getting a hotel a few hours outside
of Poughkeepsie.

The morale is real high right now. These three Jack's Mannequin shows
will be the biggest shows the guys have ever played (1,000+ people per
night)! Everyone is really stoked for these!

After the Jack's shows, we'll do a week with The Forecast and then head
down to the huge music festival, South By Southwest (SXSW)m in Austin,
TX for a few days. It feels good to be back on the road!

Pictures from Waking Ashland/The Fold/Jonezetta/Sound The Alarm Tours (Jan./Feb. 2007)

Millvale, PA

Our last show of tour was at Mr. Small's in Millvale, PA (right outside
of Pittsburgh). The venue was really cool. It was an old church that
had been gutted and turned into a venue. We made load-in time and did
the normal show routine. I basically acted as the headlining tour
manager for the show. (I was the only tour manager on tour this past
week.) It was good practice for when we actually have a headlining tour
(maybe in the Fall or something...). This show even had security and
stuff. Pretty cool.

The guys played well. There was a decent crowd (for a Sunday night).
The crowd was kind of dead during the set. I took pictures and video
during the guys' set. I ended up getting some real good footage!

The green room at this place was pretty sweet! All the bands hung out
before the show. It was good to get some time with everyone before the
tour ended.

We are going out with a band called 'Punchline' in April. Steve (the
singer of Punchline) came out to the show. I already knew him through
interning at Fueled By Ramen. (Puncline is on Fueled By Ramen.)
Anyways, I got to introduce him to the guys. We hung out with him for a
while. It was cool.

Overall, our first national tour went really well! The first two weeks
went better than the third week, but overall, everything went pretty
well. We all learned a lot and we have a lot to look forward to. Our
next tour starts March 1st. The first four dates of the tour (are with
Jack's Mannequin) are going to be huge for us! I can't wait!!

(I probably won't update this again until we start the next tour.)

Allentown, PA

Our show was at a venue called 'Crocodile Rock' in Allentown, PA. This
place was awesome! It was really big and it had a really cool vibe. It
reminded me of a club one would see in Orlando, FL or something. The
show was crazy because it started at 5pm and had to be over by 7pm.
There were two other shows going on after ours that night!! Anyways, the
guys were supposed to play at 5pm, but a fuse on Max's amp went out
right before they played. This cut into their set. The guys ended up
packing four songs into the (remaining) fifteen minutes of their set.
There was a decent crowd there when the guys played.

The sound and lights at this place were excellent! This was definitely
the guy's best (sounding) performance of the whole tour!!!

The green room at this place was awesome too! It was huge! Overall,
everyone loved the place and we hope to play there again in the near
future.

We stayed at Brian's (from Sound The Alarm) house. We're currently
driving to Millvale, PA. This will be the last stop of our tour. After
the show tonight, we are driving home (through the night).

Bethlehem, PA - Day Off

We slept in late today It was such a relief! We then went to a diner
for brunch. After that, we made our way to our hotel in Bethlehem, PA.
We hung out there and then went to a random frat party in the
surrounding area. It wasn't that great. We are going to go pass out and
then go to our show about fifteen minutes away tomorrow. It should be
cake.

p.s. Matt (guitarist/synth player) and I walked over 2 miles to get beer
tonight. Note to self: beer is HARD to find in Pennsylvania!

Bound Brook, NJ

We played at the Hamilton Street Cafe in Bound Brook, NJ. We got to the
show on time and did the normal routine. The venue was pretty cool. A
ton of New Jersey bands (that I listened to when growing up) have played
there. Two local bands played before us. There were a lot of kids
there for the local bands. Unfortunately, right after the second local
band played, about half the crowd left. This was not cool.

*Note to promoters: If you have a local band on a show with national
touring acts (and the touring acts are not extremely well known), have
the local band headline. That way, kids will stick around for all the
bands.*

The guys played well and the crowd gave a good response. We did well on
merch. We ended up staying at a new friend's house. Overall, it was a
good time.

There was a sweet pizza place (Tony's Pizza) across the street from the
venue. We liked it so much that we went there twice!

Allston, MA

Boston streets are confusing! We made it to the venue after getting
lost around the area for about forty-five minutes. This has been a
common trend for us lately. We're good on directions until we get into
the city, but then we manage to get lost. I think east coast cities are
just confusing. One street will change names like three times in a
mile. Not cool.

The show was at ICC Church in Allston, MA (which is right outside of
Boston). The place was pretty cool and a lot of big bands still play
there. We were first on the bill. The guys played really well. There
was a small crowd (~35-40) there when they played. The crowd really dug
the set! I ran lights and had a good time with that.

My friend Kristen (from Tampa) came out to the show. It was great to see
her! She even brought the band candy. What a good friend.

We stayed at a friend-of-a-friend's place in Boston. It was fun. We're
now on our way to our show in Bound Brook, NJ.