Oct 13, 2009
This is truly completely mind blowing.
My friend Ali who I met years ago on the mind numbing Warped Tour is currently going through what I would say is probably the most insane thing she has or ever will go through.
It was 2006 when our paths crossed and still to this day I am thankful for this crossing.
Ali is one of the cutest, sweetest people to walk this planet. Truly. Its why she is my friend and its why all my friends are my friends.
For 2 months straight from 8 in the morning until 10 at night we would seriously be at arms reach watching, and commenting on the circus passing us by. There was 1 particular show when I looked out into the crowd and saw some tool running with a cash box in hand which I recognized as Ali’s. I hopped over my table,, and ran as fast as I could into the huge festival crowd chasing this douche bag down to get Ali’s money back. I did catch the dude, threw him up against a fence, retrieved the loot, and handed him over to the authorities.
Ali didn’t even know the dude had taken her money when I returned but I know she was relieved when it was returned. Poor thing.
Since then Ali has been working for a catering company touring with acts as Nine Inch Nails, Eagles, Blink 182 and many other big time acts who can afford to bring out catering companies. Some health issues un-expectedly overcame Ali on tour a couple months ago and now the poor thing is left with a $43 000 health bill. INSANE!
I can’t believe people have stood for such a crock for so long. Something needs to be done as this is just the most de-humanizing thing imaginable. Your born, you live your life how you choose, you get sick, and you can’t afford to keep yourself healthy so you go in debt or die.
And Obama just won the Nobel Peace Prize. Hahaha.
Anyhoo please check out Ali’s situation and if you can help out with anything please do.
http://thealivattermatter.blogspot.com
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
End of the Souls
Oct 10, 2009
So I am sitting here at my fathers house sitting in his living room by myself listening to a brand new Bouncing Souls song named “Like The Sun” and have goose bumps.
I just ended a 2 week tour with the Souls family 3 days ago and am already sitting here thinking about the times, and the memories. Ha. There are some tours when I come home and the last thing that I want to do is listen to the music that I just saw night after night, and think about the tour. Some people call this de-compression which is a suitable word.
This past tour we did of Canada was really a lot fun and I am so fortunate to have been apart of it. The feeling that I get every night the Souls take the stage is something that I can’t explain and something that truly takes me into another world. I may be tired, not feeling the evening due to who knows why but as soon as those 4 dudes take the stage something comes over me which leaves me with a monstrous grin while I sing along to every song.
I don’t like going to deep into my touring lifestyle because I don’t want it to come across to cocky, or elitist, or even annoying but getting to be apart of something special as such by a group of friends who make music which I hold to the highest is something that has changed my life.
This month I will have gotten to share the road with 2 groups of friends whose bands have impacted my life to the fullest. I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll do it again, both the Bouncing Souls, and Propagandhi are bands that I have listened to for the last 15-16 years or so and who are also now good friends. Ha. I can’t think of any other group of people who play music which have had this effect.
Seeing these fellows every night do their thing on stage and how this impacts the people viewing these spectacles is something that is untouchable and is the beauty of live music. It’s an experience that will never be able to be described as it is something that is felt so deeply that it truly takes people into another world for that evening. “Music Saves”
So….ha ha…the Souls tour ended the other night in beautiful Vancouver, BC at the Rickshaw Theater. The last show was a good last show for a tour as such. The venue was packed with very sweaty excited people whom were there for their experience. Last shows of tours are always usually pretty special as everyone knows “this is it” and that this chapter is now over so its usually quite the party. Vancouver was this.
The Boucing Souls are celebrating their 20 year anniversary this year and truly they are still on top of their game. I was talking to my friend Devon the other day while walking in Vancouver after tour and I was mentioning how I am not sure if the Bouncing Souls have even peaked yet. 20 years later their shows are still sold out, people are still loosing their minds, and from personally being apart of their last 4 years (or so) I know that their fan base is still growing because I meet these new comers every night.
Okay now for a quick wrap up of where I left off of the Souls across Canada-driving west bound.
In Winnipeg I got to see my good friends whom I have been sharing adventures with this entire year. Well most of them at least. Beaver and Sammy met me for a good vegan dinner at the legendary Royal Albert, Barney came out to the show to hang, and Jord also showed up to hang out which was all super nice. Unfortunately the stay in Winnipeg wasn’t longer as there was definitely and will always be more hanging to be done there.
Once we were above the great lakes and heading west, both of the trucks seemed to start acting up in the cold mornings and were never the same. It sucked as the trucks weren’t working properly but it also became amusing as every time we let the sit for awhile one or the other just wouldn’t start. This last the remainder of the trip and happened every single day. Thankfully one would always start so we would pull it around wherever we were, and jump the other truck then off we would go.
Regina was a good show but was at a University which usually have weird stale vibes but when your in the middle of the Prairies Canada I guess you just take what you can get.
Next on the list was Edmonton in which we drove to over night after the Regina show due to seeing our bud Dr. Bob who is also known as the “punk rock” dentist. Bob has been so touched by music, and the Souls that a couple years ago he offered some bands free dental work when they came through Edmonton. He is one of the most gracious people I have come across and I know others feel this way too. Bob is a perfect example of what music is, what it does to all of us, and why we live our lives the way we do. So we went for a dental visit in the morning to get our teeth cleaned, check out, someone got fangs (no names mentioned), and a couple of fillings were replaced. Bob and his wife just brought into this world a baby girl whom they named Sarah after “Sarah Saturday” by the Souls so while some were getting worked on the others of us were hanging out with mum and daughter. Fun times.
This show was also super special for me personally as my little brother and my sister in law made the trip down south to hang out and take in the festivities. What made things that much better is I know both of them are big Bouncing Souls fans and this would be their first time getting to see them live. As soon as I saw both of them I knew they were pumped and it would be a special night. I was able to quickly grab some food with them before I had to report to duty.
The crowd at this show was really pumped up. The Starlite Ballroom venue was as packed as it could be with kids were loosing their minds, dancing, and singing along to the in-house music louder then the PA before the Souls came on stage. It was as if a band was really playing. Again something that needs to be witnessed as it will leave your heart pumping with excitement. I would say the Edmonton experience was a top one on this tour.
The raddest part was during the Souls set seeing my little brother jump on stage twice, singing as loud as he could into the air, and into the mic eventually stage diving both times. Honestly this was a special experience and brought this show to a whole other level for me. After the show both Travis, and Olena (bro, and sista in law) came up to me completely drenched in sweat and the energy that was radiating from them both I could tell they just had a night they will never forget. This made me happy and the next day both of them were the talk of the tour. “They ruled so much!”
After Edmonton we played Calgary, Banff and then had a day off to drive through the mountains of BC/ Alberta before we caught a ferry to Vancouver Island-Victoria for a show, and then finally our last show in Vancouver.
That tour, the laughs, the memories is something I will have forever and for that I am thankful.
Next up is the same trip across Canada with Propagandhi which is going to be as equaling exciting. I can’t wait.
So I am sitting here at my fathers house sitting in his living room by myself listening to a brand new Bouncing Souls song named “Like The Sun” and have goose bumps.
I just ended a 2 week tour with the Souls family 3 days ago and am already sitting here thinking about the times, and the memories. Ha. There are some tours when I come home and the last thing that I want to do is listen to the music that I just saw night after night, and think about the tour. Some people call this de-compression which is a suitable word.
This past tour we did of Canada was really a lot fun and I am so fortunate to have been apart of it. The feeling that I get every night the Souls take the stage is something that I can’t explain and something that truly takes me into another world. I may be tired, not feeling the evening due to who knows why but as soon as those 4 dudes take the stage something comes over me which leaves me with a monstrous grin while I sing along to every song.
I don’t like going to deep into my touring lifestyle because I don’t want it to come across to cocky, or elitist, or even annoying but getting to be apart of something special as such by a group of friends who make music which I hold to the highest is something that has changed my life.
This month I will have gotten to share the road with 2 groups of friends whose bands have impacted my life to the fullest. I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll do it again, both the Bouncing Souls, and Propagandhi are bands that I have listened to for the last 15-16 years or so and who are also now good friends. Ha. I can’t think of any other group of people who play music which have had this effect.
Seeing these fellows every night do their thing on stage and how this impacts the people viewing these spectacles is something that is untouchable and is the beauty of live music. It’s an experience that will never be able to be described as it is something that is felt so deeply that it truly takes people into another world for that evening. “Music Saves”
So….ha ha…the Souls tour ended the other night in beautiful Vancouver, BC at the Rickshaw Theater. The last show was a good last show for a tour as such. The venue was packed with very sweaty excited people whom were there for their experience. Last shows of tours are always usually pretty special as everyone knows “this is it” and that this chapter is now over so its usually quite the party. Vancouver was this.
The Boucing Souls are celebrating their 20 year anniversary this year and truly they are still on top of their game. I was talking to my friend Devon the other day while walking in Vancouver after tour and I was mentioning how I am not sure if the Bouncing Souls have even peaked yet. 20 years later their shows are still sold out, people are still loosing their minds, and from personally being apart of their last 4 years (or so) I know that their fan base is still growing because I meet these new comers every night.
Okay now for a quick wrap up of where I left off of the Souls across Canada-driving west bound.
In Winnipeg I got to see my good friends whom I have been sharing adventures with this entire year. Well most of them at least. Beaver and Sammy met me for a good vegan dinner at the legendary Royal Albert, Barney came out to the show to hang, and Jord also showed up to hang out which was all super nice. Unfortunately the stay in Winnipeg wasn’t longer as there was definitely and will always be more hanging to be done there.
Once we were above the great lakes and heading west, both of the trucks seemed to start acting up in the cold mornings and were never the same. It sucked as the trucks weren’t working properly but it also became amusing as every time we let the sit for awhile one or the other just wouldn’t start. This last the remainder of the trip and happened every single day. Thankfully one would always start so we would pull it around wherever we were, and jump the other truck then off we would go.
Regina was a good show but was at a University which usually have weird stale vibes but when your in the middle of the Prairies Canada I guess you just take what you can get.
Next on the list was Edmonton in which we drove to over night after the Regina show due to seeing our bud Dr. Bob who is also known as the “punk rock” dentist. Bob has been so touched by music, and the Souls that a couple years ago he offered some bands free dental work when they came through Edmonton. He is one of the most gracious people I have come across and I know others feel this way too. Bob is a perfect example of what music is, what it does to all of us, and why we live our lives the way we do. So we went for a dental visit in the morning to get our teeth cleaned, check out, someone got fangs (no names mentioned), and a couple of fillings were replaced. Bob and his wife just brought into this world a baby girl whom they named Sarah after “Sarah Saturday” by the Souls so while some were getting worked on the others of us were hanging out with mum and daughter. Fun times.
This show was also super special for me personally as my little brother and my sister in law made the trip down south to hang out and take in the festivities. What made things that much better is I know both of them are big Bouncing Souls fans and this would be their first time getting to see them live. As soon as I saw both of them I knew they were pumped and it would be a special night. I was able to quickly grab some food with them before I had to report to duty.
The crowd at this show was really pumped up. The Starlite Ballroom venue was as packed as it could be with kids were loosing their minds, dancing, and singing along to the in-house music louder then the PA before the Souls came on stage. It was as if a band was really playing. Again something that needs to be witnessed as it will leave your heart pumping with excitement. I would say the Edmonton experience was a top one on this tour.
The raddest part was during the Souls set seeing my little brother jump on stage twice, singing as loud as he could into the air, and into the mic eventually stage diving both times. Honestly this was a special experience and brought this show to a whole other level for me. After the show both Travis, and Olena (bro, and sista in law) came up to me completely drenched in sweat and the energy that was radiating from them both I could tell they just had a night they will never forget. This made me happy and the next day both of them were the talk of the tour. “They ruled so much!”
After Edmonton we played Calgary, Banff and then had a day off to drive through the mountains of BC/ Alberta before we caught a ferry to Vancouver Island-Victoria for a show, and then finally our last show in Vancouver.
That tour, the laughs, the memories is something I will have forever and for that I am thankful.
Next up is the same trip across Canada with Propagandhi which is going to be as equaling exciting. I can’t wait.
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