WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:02.961 Even If It Kills Me is presented by Manhead Merch. 2 00:00:09.244 --> 00:00:10.184 Bring time. 3 00:00:12.205 --> 00:00:13.486 The snow has melted, 4 00:00:14.306 --> 00:00:15.486 the buds are blooming, 5 00:00:16.207 --> 00:00:17.527 my allergies are killing me, 6 00:00:18.788 --> 00:00:24.410 and the band is about to embark on an entirely new level of touring. 7 00:00:25.751 --> 00:00:28.932 One we had never seen before. 8 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:30.300 This is, 9 00:00:30.460 --> 00:00:31.200 at this point, 10 00:00:31.620 --> 00:00:33.941 the biggest tour, 11 00:00:34.041 --> 00:00:34.581 I would say, 12 00:00:34.881 --> 00:00:35.822 that we'd have been on. 13 00:00:36.182 --> 00:00:38.162 You were guaranteed a crowd every night, 14 00:00:38.262 --> 00:00:39.343 even as an opener. 15 00:00:39.523 --> 00:00:40.963 You know when you go out on stage, 16 00:00:40.963 --> 00:00:41.863 there's going to be people there. 17 00:00:42.103 --> 00:00:43.044 There was big crowds. 18 00:00:43.064 --> 00:00:44.444 It was great venues. 19 00:00:44.604 --> 00:00:44.844 It's like, 20 00:00:44.844 --> 00:00:44.964 oh, 21 00:00:44.944 --> 00:00:46.465 we're playing a House of Blues this night. 22 00:00:46.505 --> 00:00:46.965 We're playing, 23 00:00:47.025 --> 00:00:47.145 oh, 24 00:00:47.145 --> 00:00:48.565 we're playing the Metro in Chicago. 25 00:00:48.705 --> 00:00:49.626 Holy shit. 26 00:00:49.826 --> 00:00:51.606 You're with your favorite bands. 27 00:00:51.946 --> 00:00:54.687 I'm going to love all the music that's happening. 28 00:00:54.807 --> 00:00:56.407 It was bands on our label. 29 00:00:56.507 --> 00:00:57.668 The routing was good. 30 00:00:57.768 --> 00:00:58.368 We're going to have a... 31 00:00:58.368 --> 00:01:16.043 a good rider we have per diems also on top of a rider what the hell like that's crazy you were gonna sell at least some merch every night it was basically best case scenario for a band like us it kind of felt almost more important than you did before you got there but that was like the one 32 00:01:16.143 --> 00:01:26.992 tour we did that was really like what you would picture being in a rock band on tour it just was it was a totally different world 33 00:01:27.152 --> 00:01:31.034 I had trouble on tours that there was nothing happening, 34 00:01:31.174 --> 00:01:31.414 you know, 35 00:01:31.454 --> 00:01:31.874 and you were like, 36 00:01:31.914 --> 00:01:32.034 oh, 37 00:01:32.434 --> 00:01:34.235 maybe this show is going to get canceled when we get there. 38 00:01:34.295 --> 00:01:35.095 But not that, 39 00:01:35.295 --> 00:01:36.036 not those tours. 40 00:01:36.076 --> 00:01:40.678 Those tours were great because you knew where you were going and you knew what to expect. 41 00:01:41.378 --> 00:01:42.638 It might be an obvious thing, 42 00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:47.801 but having peace of mind while on tour is kind of peaceful. 43 00:01:48.541 --> 00:01:49.481 It was night and day. 44 00:01:50.582 --> 00:01:52.082 Like things were organized. 45 00:01:52.162 --> 00:01:54.924 We got like an itinerary with all sorts of stuff. 46 00:01:55.044 --> 00:01:55.564 We got. 47 00:01:56.408 --> 00:01:57.228 We got a schedule, 48 00:01:57.449 --> 00:01:58.169 which was like, 49 00:01:58.569 --> 00:01:58.689 whoa, 50 00:01:59.190 --> 00:02:01.331 like there's actually like times on these things. 51 00:02:01.851 --> 00:02:02.391 For Pete, 52 00:02:02.712 --> 00:02:04.433 and honestly for everyone, 53 00:02:05.273 --> 00:02:12.177 this new breed of tour was giving us a small whiff of hope that we might be on the right path. 54 00:02:12.837 --> 00:02:15.138 And it was all starting with the rider. 55 00:02:15.799 --> 00:02:16.919 Because for the first time, 56 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:20.321 we were able to add something more than just peanut butter and jelly, 57 00:02:20.642 --> 00:02:21.442 chips and salsa. 58 00:02:23.083 --> 00:02:25.004 Now what exactly is a rider? 59 00:02:25.836 --> 00:02:28.818 A rider is simply a shopping list, 60 00:02:29.459 --> 00:02:32.180 or a wish list for a band like us. 61 00:02:32.901 --> 00:02:35.843 Having a rider might sound like a real bougie thing, 62 00:02:35.983 --> 00:02:41.727 but you honestly don't have time to stop and shop to get yourself food. 63 00:02:42.287 --> 00:02:43.728 You're driving all day. 64 00:02:44.149 --> 00:02:45.129 When you make a rider, 65 00:02:45.310 --> 00:02:48.392 you make a wish list because you know that they're going to cross out 66 00:02:48.872 --> 00:02:53.195 99.999% of it and then get you the other stuff, 67 00:02:53.275 --> 00:02:53.495 right? 68 00:02:53.856 --> 00:02:54.356 So you will... 69 00:02:54.656 --> 00:02:55.317 You'll be like, 70 00:02:55.377 --> 00:02:55.917 let's get, 71 00:02:56.297 --> 00:02:56.538 you know, 72 00:02:56.578 --> 00:02:59.280 like one 12-pack domestic, 73 00:03:00.281 --> 00:03:01.802 one 12-pack import. 74 00:03:01.902 --> 00:03:03.283 We're going to need a deli tray, 75 00:03:03.343 --> 00:03:05.145 a bunch of chips and dip. 76 00:03:06.226 --> 00:03:07.387 We had a very big spread. 77 00:03:08.227 --> 00:03:09.028 One of us put 78 00:03:09.628 --> 00:03:10.429 Jack Daniels, 79 00:03:10.869 --> 00:03:11.390 one bottle, 80 00:03:11.970 --> 00:03:12.571 on the rider. 81 00:03:13.912 --> 00:03:14.873 And for two nights, 82 00:03:15.954 --> 00:03:18.316 it was actually there in the dressing room. 83 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:20.301 Along with beer. 84 00:03:20.701 --> 00:03:22.343 We were idiot kids, 85 00:03:22.503 --> 00:03:29.308 and we had like 24 beers and a bottle of Jack waiting for us every day at the venue when we arrived. 86 00:03:29.989 --> 00:03:30.729 On night three, 87 00:03:30.789 --> 00:03:32.251 when the tour stopped in Kentucky, 88 00:03:33.392 --> 00:03:34.232 so did our Jack. 89 00:03:34.973 --> 00:03:41.098 Mac thought it would be funny to go walk around the venue holding the empty bottle of Jack. 90 00:03:41.838 --> 00:03:43.300 He just wanted to see what would happen. 91 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:48.143 And it like all roughly translated to me just being like a monster. 92 00:03:50.745 --> 00:03:51.686 Before this night, 93 00:03:51.826 --> 00:03:56.069 getting drunk to unruly levels was considered a successful night. 94 00:03:57.650 --> 00:04:01.012 Watching Mac parade around the venue with our bottle of Jack that night, 95 00:04:01.032 --> 00:04:04.835 it dawned on me that this was no longer fun. 96 00:04:05.075 --> 00:04:07.237 This was me suddenly not doing my job. 97 00:04:07.837 --> 00:04:09.578 And I wasn't the only one who noticed either. 98 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:11.179 Takumi, 99 00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:13.101 the headliner's tour manager, 100 00:04:13.181 --> 00:04:15.843 and honestly the one who was in charge of this entire show, 101 00:04:16.963 --> 00:04:17.744 also noticed. 102 00:04:18.496 --> 00:04:20.097 And no one was going to question him either, 103 00:04:20.217 --> 00:04:21.998 since prior to working on this tour, 104 00:04:22.318 --> 00:04:23.559 he had also worked with, 105 00:04:23.739 --> 00:04:24.099 you know, 106 00:04:24.700 --> 00:04:25.720 Guns N'Roses, 107 00:04:26.321 --> 00:04:26.901 ACDC, 108 00:04:27.842 --> 00:04:28.522 Bon Jovi, 109 00:04:29.743 --> 00:04:30.283 Prince, 110 00:04:31.604 --> 00:04:32.164 Prince. 111 00:04:32.985 --> 00:04:37.127 Imagine working and dealing with the egos of Axl Rose, 112 00:04:37.187 --> 00:04:38.208 Jon Bon Jovi, 113 00:04:38.548 --> 00:04:39.289 Angus Young, 114 00:04:39.349 --> 00:04:40.069 and Prince, 115 00:04:41.270 --> 00:04:41.890 Prince, 116 00:04:42.731 --> 00:04:43.411 and then seeing us. 117 00:04:43.411 --> 00:04:44.852 Just... 118 00:04:45.076 --> 00:04:53.762 Wandering around the venue after the show in Kentucky with the empty bottle of Jack and all the merch just trying to load up into the trailer like a bunch of baboons. 119 00:04:54.303 --> 00:04:54.803 Let me tell you, 120 00:04:55.363 --> 00:04:56.084 it was amateur hour. 121 00:04:56.084 --> 00:04:58.966 I was talking to some girl. 122 00:05:00.190 --> 00:05:04.333 And I ended up stealing her purse for fun, 123 00:05:04.633 --> 00:05:06.614 like just like a lighthearted thing. 124 00:05:07.175 --> 00:05:08.856 And I ran backstage with it, 125 00:05:11.457 --> 00:05:14.139 which which I now know is wrong. 126 00:05:17.701 --> 00:05:19.722 And so she chased after me. 127 00:05:20.483 --> 00:05:21.824 And then immediately after that, 128 00:05:21.964 --> 00:05:22.624 I was like, 129 00:05:22.924 --> 00:05:23.605 this is weird. 130 00:05:23.785 --> 00:05:24.565 Here's your purse. 131 00:05:24.726 --> 00:05:25.226 I'm sorry. 132 00:05:26.522 --> 00:05:28.684 Takumi was a true Jedi master, 133 00:05:28.764 --> 00:05:30.785 and instead of making a scene that night, 134 00:05:30.785 --> 00:05:36.369 he quietly watched it all unfold and simply took the bottle of whiskey off our rider. 135 00:05:36.709 --> 00:05:39.211 Without trying to belittle us, 136 00:05:39.751 --> 00:05:41.512 I think he kind of slapped a little, 137 00:05:41.552 --> 00:05:41.792 you know, 138 00:05:41.792 --> 00:05:43.654 a little reality into us. 139 00:05:44.194 --> 00:05:52.780 This was a brilliant move that was most likely fine-tuned through trial and error during various attempts at stopping Prince from doing ridiculous things. 140 00:05:53.060 --> 00:05:54.741 And we were all in awe of his, 141 00:05:54.841 --> 00:05:55.101 like, 142 00:05:55.522 --> 00:05:55.922 past. 143 00:05:56.498 --> 00:05:58.179 The stakes felt different on this one. 144 00:05:58.179 --> 00:05:59.920 It felt like people were watching. 145 00:06:00.260 --> 00:06:02.120 I don't mean literal people at the shows. 146 00:06:02.221 --> 00:06:04.321 I'm talking about money people. 147 00:06:05.042 --> 00:06:06.282 Watching from afar, 148 00:06:06.422 --> 00:06:09.044 from some office somewhere in Los Angeles. 149 00:06:09.964 --> 00:06:11.585 The money people were watching. 150 00:06:12.045 --> 00:06:14.346 And Takumi was their ceremony. 151 00:06:15.146 --> 00:06:17.587 It only took three nights for us to understand all of this. 152 00:06:18.127 --> 00:06:19.768 One drunk fuck-up of a night, 153 00:06:19.988 --> 00:06:23.730 and three more to get over being scolded like children in front of everyone. 154 00:06:24.494 --> 00:06:26.195 And then it finally clicked. 155 00:06:26.915 --> 00:06:28.196 This was a job. 156 00:06:29.437 --> 00:06:29.677 Sure, 157 00:06:29.737 --> 00:06:33.379 it's one of the greatest jobs on this planet and possibly other planets. 158 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:34.740 But it was a job. 159 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:35.781 Our job. 160 00:06:37.221 --> 00:06:38.822 When we got to the venue the next day, 161 00:06:39.643 --> 00:06:41.144 Takumi approached me backstage. 162 00:06:41.944 --> 00:06:43.605 You have to get a hold of your guys, 163 00:06:43.625 --> 00:06:44.205 he said to me. 164 00:06:44.966 --> 00:06:46.186 I know that you're all friends, 165 00:06:46.267 --> 00:06:48.208 so it makes it that much harder. 166 00:06:48.308 --> 00:06:49.769 But you have to tell them. 167 00:06:50.549 --> 00:06:51.590 They've got to listen to you. 168 00:06:52.410 --> 00:06:53.331 It was eye-opening. 169 00:06:53.912 --> 00:07:02.661 Takumi approached the situation with such grace that it was impossible to do anything but accept the feedback and act on it immediately. 170 00:07:04.123 --> 00:07:04.804 Like I said, 171 00:07:05.845 --> 00:07:06.926 true Jedi Master. 172 00:07:08.007 --> 00:07:10.130 Word had gotten back to the big boss. 173 00:07:10.786 --> 00:07:13.088 That we may have been a little out of control. 174 00:07:13.208 --> 00:07:13.869 And I'll say we, 175 00:07:14.369 --> 00:07:18.172 because we were all enjoying ourselves being on this tour. 176 00:07:18.833 --> 00:07:21.315 By the time I had the opportunity to talk to the guys, 177 00:07:21.395 --> 00:07:23.757 they had already heard it from the big boss at the label, 178 00:07:23.937 --> 00:07:26.239 so they didn't really want to hear it from me. 179 00:07:26.719 --> 00:07:29.322 I got a call the next day from the label. 180 00:07:30.302 --> 00:07:31.684 And they were like, 181 00:07:32.044 --> 00:07:33.765 what the fuck are you guys doing? 182 00:07:34.106 --> 00:07:35.247 And he was talking to John. 183 00:07:35.607 --> 00:07:35.887 You know, 184 00:07:36.027 --> 00:07:39.070 you could tell that it was a pretty serious phone call. 185 00:07:39.450 --> 00:07:40.310 Get your shit together. 186 00:07:40.571 --> 00:07:40.991 And he's like, 187 00:07:41.231 --> 00:07:41.951 I don't give a fuck. 188 00:07:42.231 --> 00:07:47.554 I don't want to get any more phone calls that you guys are doing dumb shit and pissing off their tour manager. 189 00:07:47.934 --> 00:07:48.874 And next thing you know, 190 00:07:49.034 --> 00:07:50.775 John was handing the phone to Mac. 191 00:07:51.155 --> 00:07:51.696 You got it, 192 00:07:51.756 --> 00:07:51.956 sir. 193 00:07:52.416 --> 00:07:56.378 But you could just tell by both of their reactions that it was like getting yelled at by dad. 194 00:07:57.058 --> 00:07:58.979 We were chastened. 195 00:07:59.739 --> 00:08:01.680 Our hard liquor was removed. 196 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:03.841 The hilarious nature of the music industry, 197 00:08:03.981 --> 00:08:04.361 of course, 198 00:08:04.401 --> 00:08:05.462 didn't remove the beer. 199 00:08:06.374 --> 00:08:08.755 I don't even think the conversation had ended in a like, 200 00:08:08.856 --> 00:08:09.156 okay, 201 00:08:10.737 --> 00:08:11.177 good talk, 202 00:08:11.257 --> 00:08:11.837 see you out there. 203 00:08:11.877 --> 00:08:15.039 I think the phone would just click. 204 00:08:17.441 --> 00:08:20.863 They always say you have your entire life to write your first record, 205 00:08:21.543 --> 00:08:25.045 and you don't have that luxury for any other record after that. 206 00:08:25.485 --> 00:08:26.846 So taking that into account, 207 00:08:27.526 --> 00:08:33.230 the band decided to start recording demos for the new album within the comfort of their own rehearsal space. 208 00:08:34.046 --> 00:08:40.071 Which just so happened to be nestled inside of one of the most haunted buildings in western New York. 209 00:08:41.012 --> 00:08:42.073 The Harvester Center. 210 00:08:43.514 --> 00:08:44.275 Is very spooky. 211 00:08:44.796 --> 00:08:45.036 You know, 212 00:08:45.036 --> 00:08:46.417 we demoed the songs, 213 00:08:46.657 --> 00:08:47.738 we sent it to the label. 214 00:08:48.359 --> 00:08:48.919 They were like, 215 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:50.080 still not there. 216 00:08:50.481 --> 00:08:51.261 Demo some more, 217 00:08:51.321 --> 00:08:52.182 write some more songs, 218 00:08:52.222 --> 00:08:52.542 send it. 219 00:08:52.622 --> 00:08:53.223 And he's like, 220 00:08:53.283 --> 00:08:53.623 yeah, 221 00:08:53.703 --> 00:08:55.285 you're like one or two songs away. 222 00:08:55.985 --> 00:08:57.046 Could have been the ghosts, 223 00:08:57.286 --> 00:08:58.207 could have been the weather, 224 00:08:58.407 --> 00:09:01.290 but the record label was not feeling it. 225 00:09:01.934 --> 00:09:03.675 So after a month of back and forth, 226 00:09:03.695 --> 00:09:07.837 the label finally gave the band the green light to spend money to make money. 227 00:09:09.038 --> 00:09:12.259 I mean the green light to get into the studio to record the record. 228 00:09:12.439 --> 00:09:14.740 We are so excited to finally get in the studio. 229 00:09:15.481 --> 00:09:20.663 We really wanted to get into it and get this thing out as soon as possible. 230 00:09:21.003 --> 00:09:23.925 They put everything they had into recording that second album. 231 00:09:24.885 --> 00:09:25.606 It was crunch time. 232 00:09:26.902 --> 00:09:31.623 Summer tour was quickly approaching and the sooner the band and the label could put the gold stamp on the album, 233 00:09:32.063 --> 00:09:34.144 the sooner a release date could be set. 234 00:09:35.284 --> 00:09:40.846 The band was still in New York City getting mixes by the time Pete called me in late May of 06. 235 00:09:41.806 --> 00:09:50.769 They had just been given the go-ahead for me to join them on a three-month-long summer tour that was one of the largest touring festivals of its time. 236 00:09:51.669 --> 00:09:55.630 All I had to do was get my ass to New York City in less than 48 hours. 237 00:09:57.382 --> 00:09:58.404 When I got to New York City, 238 00:09:58.464 --> 00:10:01.468 I found Pete and the rest of the band outside of the studio, 239 00:10:01.608 --> 00:10:05.814 rummaging through boxes and boxes of supplies for the summer. 240 00:10:06.195 --> 00:10:08.018 We went and bought a tent for merch. 241 00:10:08.238 --> 00:10:10.842 We made stencils and we stenciled our name. 242 00:10:11.386 --> 00:10:12.887 in spray paint on the tent, 243 00:10:12.947 --> 00:10:14.709 like in the parking lot outside the studio. 244 00:10:15.409 --> 00:10:26.298 We got like a bunch of merch sent to the studio and we got like a bunch of drumsticks and heads and strings and just stuff we were going to need for the summer when we loaded the trailer up. 245 00:10:26.398 --> 00:10:27.939 And then it was like, 246 00:10:27.959 --> 00:10:28.260 all right, 247 00:10:28.260 --> 00:10:29.120 we're driving to Maryland. 248 00:10:29.901 --> 00:10:32.403 I felt like our future was so bright at that point. 249 00:10:32.843 --> 00:10:37.607 We had the new album done and it was in mixing and we kept getting mixes and we were like, 250 00:10:37.627 --> 00:10:38.108 holy shit, 251 00:10:38.148 --> 00:10:38.668 holy shit. 252 00:10:39.469 --> 00:10:40.830 This tour was supposed to be. 253 00:10:41.362 --> 00:10:42.582 The beginning of the beginning. 254 00:10:43.683 --> 00:10:48.904 After the touring lessons from Takumi and the incredible experience of that spring tour, 255 00:10:49.784 --> 00:10:53.925 all signs pointed to go and collect your $200 on the way there. 256 00:10:56.326 --> 00:10:57.426 All signs were wrong. 257 00:10:59.047 --> 00:11:01.628 That summer tour was the inevitable, 258 00:11:01.668 --> 00:11:01.948 Mr. 259 00:11:02.008 --> 00:11:02.448 Anderson. 260 00:11:03.628 --> 00:11:04.828 It was the beginning of the end. 261 00:11:07.489 --> 00:11:10.130 If we felt like we had leveled up on the last tour... 262 00:11:11.294 --> 00:11:12.936 This one was a crazy level up. 263 00:11:14.237 --> 00:11:16.499 This summer tour was a surreal, 264 00:11:16.899 --> 00:11:17.860 sun-stroked, 265 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:20.302 diesel-fueled fever dream. 266 00:11:21.042 --> 00:11:23.184 We came off of a tour that we were in love with. 267 00:11:23.204 --> 00:11:25.766 We just recorded a record that we were happy with. 268 00:11:26.267 --> 00:11:34.714 Now we're on one of the biggest tours that used to go out every summer and that we all went to since we were in eighth grade. 269 00:11:35.334 --> 00:11:36.395 I never went to summer camp. 270 00:11:37.496 --> 00:11:38.036 Wasn't my thing. 271 00:11:40.322 --> 00:11:43.644 I've never liked the idea of having so many scheduled activities during the day. 272 00:11:43.664 --> 00:11:47.467 Especially on summer vacation. 273 00:11:49.368 --> 00:11:50.929 Any chance I get to do nothing, 274 00:11:51.109 --> 00:11:52.050 I end up doing nothing. 275 00:11:53.211 --> 00:11:56.033 And the tour that summer was exactly like summer camp. 276 00:11:56.373 --> 00:11:58.775 Just add a lot of beer and assorted drugs, 277 00:11:58.835 --> 00:12:00.776 plus out-of-control ids and egos, 278 00:12:00.836 --> 00:12:03.918 all traveling together through the US and Canada during the summer months, 279 00:12:03.998 --> 00:12:05.900 following the heat waves from city to city with 280 00:12:06.400 --> 00:12:07.521 24-hour non-stop noise, 281 00:12:07.661 --> 00:12:09.402 and yeah. 282 00:12:10.546 --> 00:12:15.949 The numbers needed to keep that summer tour going all those years blows my fucking mind. 283 00:12:17.650 --> 00:12:23.313 If one band needs about six million dollars to pull off a stadium tour for eight weeks, 284 00:12:24.674 --> 00:12:27.935 I mean multiply six by a lot, 285 00:12:28.256 --> 00:12:28.836 I mean that's... 286 00:12:29.416 --> 00:12:30.097 I don't even know. 287 00:12:30.357 --> 00:12:32.618 I mean it was a full moving festival, 288 00:12:32.758 --> 00:12:34.039 hundreds of bands. 289 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:40.102 One thing to know before you start counting them is that not every band that 290 00:12:40.162 --> 00:12:57.151 plays on this summer tour has a tour bus but we did not every band that has a tour bus gets one for free but we did and not every band that plays on this tour gets a sponsorship from major league baseball but 291 00:12:57.171 --> 00:13:02.974 we did it sounds like a whole lot of everything in its right place 292 00:13:04.974 --> 00:13:11.356 It took a dramatic amount of time for the epicenter of Summer Tour to reveal itself on day one. 293 00:13:11.856 --> 00:13:13.917 You show up at the tour and it's like, 294 00:13:14.097 --> 00:13:14.677 oh my god, 295 00:13:14.717 --> 00:13:15.877 here's my fucking bus. 296 00:13:16.577 --> 00:13:17.718 This is my bus driver. 297 00:13:18.118 --> 00:13:18.358 Like, 298 00:13:19.138 --> 00:13:19.318 hey, 299 00:13:19.438 --> 00:13:20.598 we have a tour manager. 300 00:13:20.719 --> 00:13:21.999 We have a guitar tech. 301 00:13:22.059 --> 00:13:22.799 Are you kidding me? 302 00:13:24.400 --> 00:13:25.480 We were the new kids at camp. 303 00:13:26.560 --> 00:13:29.341 And it was nearly impossible to keep that a secret. 304 00:13:29.481 --> 00:13:30.461 Holy shit, 305 00:13:30.481 --> 00:13:31.262 did we stick out. 306 00:13:31.822 --> 00:13:32.702 It was like... 307 00:13:33.022 --> 00:13:36.904 The lap of luxury compared to what we had been through for the last couple of years. 308 00:13:37.584 --> 00:13:41.646 Everything was looking very good from my perspective. 309 00:13:41.926 --> 00:13:42.486 Got your bus, 310 00:13:42.506 --> 00:13:43.246 you're squared away. 311 00:13:43.606 --> 00:13:47.488 It's basically like day one at camp where you got to get your passes. 312 00:13:48.128 --> 00:13:49.689 You're going to do a little meeting later. 313 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:50.809 You're going to run around, 314 00:13:51.089 --> 00:13:52.410 say hi to everyone you know. 315 00:13:52.670 --> 00:13:56.072 All the bands and artists were well rested and unburnt by the sun, 316 00:13:56.332 --> 00:13:56.952 full of energy. 317 00:13:57.972 --> 00:13:59.773 First on the agenda was checking in. 318 00:14:00.633 --> 00:14:01.814 Gotta let somebody know you're there. 319 00:14:02.406 --> 00:14:03.526 It can't just take attendance, 320 00:14:03.526 --> 00:14:05.047 but you do have to say present. 321 00:14:05.727 --> 00:14:09.989 I remember the getting the badges and then like the first taste of Hanson. 322 00:14:12.670 --> 00:14:13.891 The first night of like 323 00:14:14.451 --> 00:14:15.792 Hanson juice beverages. 324 00:14:16.372 --> 00:14:21.994 And they had like those like three different flavors of fruit juice that you could get every night when we had food. 325 00:14:22.394 --> 00:14:25.015 It wasn't all Hansons and tour buses. 326 00:14:26.036 --> 00:14:26.916 Shit was getting real. 327 00:14:27.176 --> 00:14:30.117 The first day when we showed up in Maryland to start the tour, 328 00:14:30.558 --> 00:14:31.538 there was a bus driver there. 329 00:14:32.122 --> 00:14:33.383 And he had never done it before. 330 00:14:33.523 --> 00:14:37.024 He had never like done like a like a tour before with a with a band. 331 00:14:37.664 --> 00:14:41.186 He drove that first night after the first show. 332 00:14:42.126 --> 00:14:44.207 And then by the next day, 333 00:14:44.267 --> 00:14:45.027 he was gone. 334 00:14:45.668 --> 00:14:45.828 Yeah, 335 00:14:46.448 --> 00:14:47.908 this tour is not a normal tour. 336 00:14:48.349 --> 00:14:50.870 It is no place for a first time bus driver. 337 00:14:51.390 --> 00:14:52.710 The label called us and they're like, 338 00:14:52.730 --> 00:14:52.850 OK, 339 00:14:53.471 --> 00:14:59.533 you can either have a hundred dollars a night and drive yourself or you can have a bus. 340 00:14:59.913 --> 00:15:01.454 From what I understand. 341 00:15:01.818 --> 00:15:03.281 Bands that drive themselves, 342 00:15:03.361 --> 00:15:05.566 that's like how you break up your band. 343 00:15:06.107 --> 00:15:09.133 There's undeniably an aspect of proving... 344 00:15:10.956 --> 00:15:31.670 that you're worthy you know even like the the barbecue band and all that stuff right let me tell you about the barbecue band every night once the gates closed and if the tour didn't have an overnight drive there would be a barbecue where the bands and the crew would congregate and get wasted and eat hot dogs now 345 00:15:31.710 --> 00:15:40.216 this band this barbecue band would be the ones that actually cooked every night now i know what you're thinking was there an advantage to being the barbecue band 346 00:15:40.772 --> 00:15:40.952 Well, 347 00:15:41.512 --> 00:15:41.732 yeah, 348 00:15:42.533 --> 00:15:43.653 you're the barbecue band. 349 00:15:43.713 --> 00:15:44.754 It's like a hazing thing, 350 00:15:44.794 --> 00:15:44.954 right? 351 00:15:44.974 --> 00:15:53.337 You're supposed to just suffer through that process in order to kind of validate that you, 352 00:15:55.018 --> 00:15:55.278 you know, 353 00:15:55.298 --> 00:15:58.599 that you tried hard enough to be able to be a band as opposed to like, 354 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:00.120 you know, 355 00:16:01.761 --> 00:16:09.124 throwing any other career options away and focusing on playing music 365 days a year and working horrible jobs and. 356 00:16:09.848 --> 00:16:17.935 Waiting forever to finally get a record deal like that stuff wasn't enough you also have to like cook burgers for everybody 357 00:16:18.495 --> 00:16:24.700 Survive being the barbecue band and all the other bands will think you're so friggin sweet 358 00:16:26.301 --> 00:16:36.470 I mean in what's money and sanity and record sales when you have friends it Sort of friends for at least one summer. 359 00:16:36.590 --> 00:16:39.032 We were like the the calm 360 00:16:39.388 --> 00:16:39.768 bus. 361 00:16:40.529 --> 00:16:50.333 We somehow lucked out and got the most normal band as our bus mates because it seemed like every other bus that where bands were sharing was, 362 00:16:50.853 --> 00:16:52.554 it was like two crazy bands, 363 00:16:52.854 --> 00:16:53.795 two drunk bands, 364 00:16:53.855 --> 00:16:55.115 and then the two quiet bands. 365 00:16:55.235 --> 00:17:03.239 Thank God we were with the band that we were with because there would have been some real unhappy people in our band. 366 00:17:03.539 --> 00:17:05.140 We also had a bus full of like 367 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:06.000 cool people. 368 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:09.441 You didn't have to worry about going in your bunk and somebody fucking with you in the middle of the night. 369 00:17:10.342 --> 00:17:12.862 Our bus mates were also part of that spring tour. 370 00:17:13.183 --> 00:17:13.423 You know, 371 00:17:13.403 --> 00:17:18.324 the one where we had the bottle of Jack and the rider and the whatnot and the whole thing. 372 00:17:19.965 --> 00:17:20.585 They didn't care. 373 00:17:21.105 --> 00:17:22.466 They had played our hometown before. 374 00:17:22.886 --> 00:17:23.406 They knew us. 375 00:17:24.046 --> 00:17:25.026 They knew what we were about. 376 00:17:25.266 --> 00:17:29.328 We weren't just some buffoons out there on the road. 377 00:17:29.992 --> 00:17:31.033 We liked the quiet times, 378 00:17:31.073 --> 00:17:31.213 too. 379 00:17:31.773 --> 00:17:33.935 Everybody else would be raging, 380 00:17:34.335 --> 00:17:35.496 and there'd be blood, 381 00:17:35.516 --> 00:17:36.476 and there'd be nudity, 382 00:17:36.757 --> 00:17:37.197 and there'd be, 383 00:17:37.577 --> 00:17:37.857 you know, 384 00:17:38.118 --> 00:17:39.639 just craziness. 385 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:40.899 You go out the door, 386 00:17:40.899 --> 00:17:42.721 and it's like apocalypse, 387 00:17:43.461 --> 00:17:44.082 fires, 388 00:17:45.322 --> 00:17:45.923 boobs, 389 00:17:46.523 --> 00:17:48.244 just anything you can imagine. 390 00:17:48.485 --> 00:17:49.806 And then you'd come to our bus, 391 00:17:49.806 --> 00:17:50.386 and you'd open the door, 392 00:17:50.386 --> 00:17:50.966 and you'd look in, 393 00:17:51.006 --> 00:17:54.669 and it'd be all of us sitting there like a family watching Lost. 394 00:17:55.870 --> 00:17:58.892 The tour bus was nothing short of bliss. 395 00:18:00.048 --> 00:18:09.716 The home away from home on wheels with satellite TV and a bunk to sleep in that kind of felt like a coffin but was oddly comforting. 396 00:18:09.876 --> 00:18:15.401 It was your own little cave like you could just if you wanted to get away from people you just crawled in there and shut your curtain. 397 00:18:15.461 --> 00:18:19.425 They were the most perfect little cocoon for me. 398 00:18:20.405 --> 00:18:26.250 I am the kind of guy who falls asleep in cars all the time. 399 00:18:26.731 --> 00:18:27.832 They lull me to sleep. 400 00:18:28.232 --> 00:18:48.100 the engine rumbling whatever like i have a hard time fighting that so man you put me in a bus bunk and you got the engine just chugging away at night and idling in the morning and i don't even care that you're moving and sliding back and forth a little bit there was air conditioning televisions it 401 00:18:48.120 --> 00:18:56.744 was glorious i didn't give a shit i slept so good every night and i would do it again as an adult 402 00:18:57.084 --> 00:18:58.505 Front lounge was for hanging out, 403 00:18:58.926 --> 00:18:59.346 drinking, 404 00:18:59.826 --> 00:19:00.387 being loud, 405 00:19:00.667 --> 00:19:01.428 being ridiculous, 406 00:19:01.888 --> 00:19:02.649 watching Lost. 407 00:19:03.449 --> 00:19:10.115 The back lounge was for Xbox and totally not smoking weed. 408 00:19:10.435 --> 00:19:10.936 I'm going to repeat, 409 00:19:10.956 --> 00:19:11.516 the back lounge, 410 00:19:11.716 --> 00:19:12.677 not for smoking weed. 411 00:19:12.697 --> 00:19:14.358 That's not where you go to smoke weed. 412 00:19:15.059 --> 00:19:15.459 Totally. 413 00:19:15.659 --> 00:19:21.865 That was like the cool thing about the tour is you could kind of get in your own little routine if you wanted to. 414 00:19:22.105 --> 00:19:25.728 I guess it didn't really matter as long as you were on the bus at the right time. 415 00:19:26.128 --> 00:19:27.469 You made it to the stage on time. 416 00:19:27.869 --> 00:19:28.089 You know, 417 00:19:28.109 --> 00:19:29.509 everything else was all taken care of, 418 00:19:29.710 --> 00:19:33.051 which was unlike any other tour we were ever on. 419 00:19:33.271 --> 00:19:33.731 A day on, 420 00:19:33.911 --> 00:19:34.872 it went something like this. 421 00:19:35.232 --> 00:19:37.553 John and Mac were usually the first ones off the bus. 422 00:19:38.473 --> 00:19:39.934 They would load up the merch boxes, 423 00:19:40.314 --> 00:19:41.174 the easy up tent, 424 00:19:41.395 --> 00:19:42.155 camping chairs, 425 00:19:42.715 --> 00:19:45.096 and follow the rest of the half asleep hungover masses. 426 00:19:45.696 --> 00:19:51.619 Also pushing hand trucks across terrain that they were not designed for until they found our spot for the day. 427 00:19:51.679 --> 00:19:53.920 We would get up probably around five or six. 428 00:19:54.660 --> 00:20:00.127 Generally by then the buses were idling in a new city and you're just like, 429 00:20:00.147 --> 00:20:00.667 oh my god, 430 00:20:00.727 --> 00:20:01.348 where am I? 431 00:20:02.169 --> 00:20:04.472 Early morning you would battle for tent space. 432 00:20:05.778 --> 00:20:07.920 And the longer you'd wait to set it up, 433 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:09.461 the shittier the spot you'd get. 434 00:20:09.721 --> 00:20:10.922 After the merch tent was set up, 435 00:20:11.082 --> 00:20:15.146 John and Mac would typically make their way to catering for breakfast before returning to the bus. 436 00:20:15.606 --> 00:20:19.850 Mac and I just have a common love of early mornings and breakfasts. 437 00:20:20.890 --> 00:20:22.392 So we get the tent set up. 438 00:20:22.632 --> 00:20:23.192 That's it. 439 00:20:23.773 --> 00:20:24.954 Go get some breakfast. 440 00:20:25.694 --> 00:20:26.535 There's like three, 441 00:20:26.715 --> 00:20:28.537 three squares a day with those. 442 00:20:29.698 --> 00:20:32.900 The only only fruit we had was in the 443 00:20:33.641 --> 00:20:34.902 Hanson fruit juices. 444 00:20:35.326 --> 00:20:37.347 It's like all I remember is the juice. 445 00:20:37.387 --> 00:20:40.248 The meals were good and the fruit juice was exceptional. 446 00:20:40.448 --> 00:20:42.609 The thing I've learned is that crew guys, 447 00:20:42.969 --> 00:20:44.790 they want some good goddamn food. 448 00:20:45.130 --> 00:20:46.371 And if you don't give it to them, 449 00:20:46.431 --> 00:20:47.211 they'll revolt. 450 00:20:47.731 --> 00:20:48.411 That summer on, 451 00:20:48.852 --> 00:20:51.133 we ate like fucking kings. 452 00:20:51.693 --> 00:20:51.933 Yes, 453 00:20:51.993 --> 00:20:54.274 it's salmon and mango salsa night tonight. 454 00:20:54.474 --> 00:20:56.355 It was impressive. 455 00:20:56.495 --> 00:21:00.977 You have so many happy people who are so psyched about this food and it should be terrible. 456 00:21:01.557 --> 00:21:04.338 So it's just common sense and smart. 457 00:21:04.890 --> 00:21:07.691 business making to make some good food. 458 00:21:07.971 --> 00:21:09.552 Everyone just wants a hot meal. 459 00:21:10.252 --> 00:21:11.913 They get real pissed when they don't get it. 460 00:21:12.433 --> 00:21:14.794 Ever been overwhelmed by the logistics of merch on tour? 461 00:21:15.254 --> 00:21:20.577 I remember a chaotic night trying to keep everything organized while the crowd was surrounding the merch table. 462 00:21:20.837 --> 00:21:23.718 As I scrambled to find the right size t-shirts for everyone, 463 00:21:23.818 --> 00:21:28.780 I realized we were completely sold out of all of our most popular shirts. 464 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:29.600 Okay, 465 00:21:29.700 --> 00:21:32.481 now imagine you're managing merch for an arena show. 466 00:21:32.581 --> 00:21:33.642 How do you make that leap? 467 00:21:34.158 --> 00:21:38.141 Manhead Merch is the powerhouse behind some of the biggest names in the industry. 468 00:21:38.561 --> 00:21:41.023 They offer a full suite of services. 469 00:21:41.383 --> 00:21:41.723 Boring, 470 00:21:41.964 --> 00:21:42.624 e-commerce, 471 00:21:42.624 --> 00:21:43.104 retail, 472 00:21:43.445 --> 00:21:44.025 licensing. 473 00:21:44.465 --> 00:21:45.966 Tailored for top-tier tailoring. 474 00:21:46.807 --> 00:21:47.808 They take care of everything, 475 00:21:48.048 --> 00:21:50.930 from design and manufacturing to seamless order fulfillment. 476 00:21:51.390 --> 00:21:54.933 Ensuring your merch game is as polished as your performance. 477 00:21:55.533 --> 00:21:58.655 Manhead Merch transforms chaos into streamlined success. 478 00:21:59.076 --> 00:22:02.118 They manage every aspect of merchandising so you don't have to. 479 00:22:02.586 --> 00:22:04.347 If I would have had Manhead merch back then, 480 00:22:04.727 --> 00:22:06.067 they would have handled the logistics, 481 00:22:06.607 --> 00:22:07.747 and I could have handled that crowd. 482 00:22:08.208 --> 00:22:09.948 Ready to take your band's merch to the next level? 483 00:22:10.248 --> 00:22:11.528 Visit manheadmerch.com. 484 00:22:12.569 --> 00:22:17.130 It kind of all came together in a weird way where it's like the biggest tour we've ever been on, 485 00:22:17.910 --> 00:22:22.071 and all of a sudden there's this TV show that's like the first show, 486 00:22:22.231 --> 00:22:22.552 you know, 487 00:22:22.652 --> 00:22:24.852 besides like The Wire that everyone's like, 488 00:22:24.852 --> 00:22:26.993 you gotta just watch every episode of this thing, 489 00:22:27.033 --> 00:22:27.853 it's so amazing, 490 00:22:27.933 --> 00:22:31.474 and like getting just completely hooked on it. 491 00:22:31.514 --> 00:22:35.817 Our bus was obsessed with Lost. 492 00:22:39.040 --> 00:22:42.822 And this is what it sounded like straight from the tour bus. 493 00:23:00.858 --> 00:23:02.339 Just in return. 494 00:23:02.639 --> 00:23:06.481 This was still the time of very limited DVR space, 495 00:23:06.861 --> 00:23:07.121 and 496 00:23:07.541 --> 00:23:11.823 Netflix was still shipping you episodes of shows in small chunks. 497 00:23:12.724 --> 00:23:15.785 The binge watch was still in its infancy, 498 00:23:16.346 --> 00:23:22.149 and tech was once again changing our daily routines right before our twinkling little eyes. 499 00:23:22.689 --> 00:23:24.010 You guys would have your, 500 00:23:24.330 --> 00:23:24.650 um... 501 00:23:25.726 --> 00:23:32.489 Lost watching parties in the front of the bus while that was going on I was normally in the back lounge of the bus taking bong hits 502 00:23:34.049 --> 00:23:42.613 One of the other guys on the bus had all of season one on his computer It probably took up most of his hard drive 503 00:23:43.533 --> 00:23:47.055 We ran a VGA cable from his computer to the TV in my front lounge 504 00:23:48.155 --> 00:23:51.917 It worked a lot and near flawlessly every to little little big John lock 505 00:23:55.566 --> 00:23:56.506 What episode of Lost? 506 00:23:56.506 --> 00:23:58.107 We're watching Collision. 507 00:23:59.848 --> 00:24:00.768 We don't know where we were. 508 00:24:01.209 --> 00:24:02.389 I'll go get him. 509 00:24:02.849 --> 00:24:04.270 Wrangling ten people together, 510 00:24:04.870 --> 00:24:08.051 even in the confined space of a moving tour bus, 511 00:24:09.112 --> 00:24:10.973 is damn near impossible. 512 00:24:11.313 --> 00:24:12.113 We're waiting for you! 513 00:24:20.217 --> 00:24:21.057 Yep. 514 00:24:21.157 --> 00:24:22.178 Ready? 515 00:24:22.178 --> 00:24:22.358 Do it! 516 00:24:29.117 --> 00:24:29.457 That's you, 517 00:24:29.537 --> 00:24:29.857 Jack. 518 00:24:33.861 --> 00:24:35.702 Once we burned through season one, 519 00:24:37.003 --> 00:24:37.824 we were stuck. 520 00:24:38.565 --> 00:24:38.785 Like, 521 00:24:39.145 --> 00:24:40.446 2006 stuck. 522 00:24:41.107 --> 00:24:43.108 We were out of hard drive space, 523 00:24:43.429 --> 00:24:47.212 and our only other option was to somehow find blank DVDs. 524 00:24:47.892 --> 00:24:49.093 Which meant getting to a store. 525 00:24:49.494 --> 00:24:49.674 Which... 526 00:24:50.034 --> 00:24:57.242 is not an easy task when you're on this massive moving festival behind hundreds of buses and tractor trailers and, 527 00:24:57.622 --> 00:24:58.002 I don't know, 528 00:24:58.042 --> 00:24:58.423 20, 529 00:24:58.823 --> 00:25:01.266 30,000 people every single day. 530 00:25:01.786 --> 00:25:01.966 Oh, 531 00:25:02.106 --> 00:25:04.169 and streaming internet's not a thing yet. 532 00:25:04.469 --> 00:25:05.450 Maybe we would have. 533 00:25:06.374 --> 00:25:23.068 uh you know been a little bit more reckless if it hadn't have been for the fact that this new thing of like hey let's watch as many of this tv show episodes as we can before we all fall asleep and 534 00:25:23.088 --> 00:25:35.678 it became like this control mechanism that reigned us all in uh and i imagine it probably helped pete you know to have like this like very domestic 535 00:25:36.114 --> 00:25:36.875 Normal thing. 536 00:25:37.135 --> 00:25:37.495 Ah, 537 00:25:37.896 --> 00:25:38.296 yes. 538 00:25:38.977 --> 00:25:39.957 Domestication. 539 00:25:40.898 --> 00:25:42.239 Three square meals a day, 540 00:25:43.260 --> 00:25:44.061 four walls, 541 00:25:44.061 --> 00:25:45.282 a roof over your head, 542 00:25:46.223 --> 00:25:46.923 and a nice, 543 00:25:47.183 --> 00:25:49.165 clean place to take a shit. 544 00:25:50.186 --> 00:25:50.326 Like, 545 00:25:50.346 --> 00:25:53.188 that was usually my priority when you'd first get to a venue, 546 00:25:53.549 --> 00:25:54.830 or like when you'd first wake up in the morning, 547 00:25:54.850 --> 00:25:55.110 it's like, 548 00:25:55.170 --> 00:25:55.410 all right, 549 00:25:55.530 --> 00:25:57.492 where am I going to go to the bathroom? 550 00:25:57.872 --> 00:26:00.254 And you'd try to go and find an untouched, 551 00:26:01.155 --> 00:26:01.755 pristine, 552 00:26:01.816 --> 00:26:03.597 clean porta potty. 553 00:26:05.070 --> 00:26:14.597 You had to get up in the morning so that you could get the porta potty before it had been destroyed or heated up to 250 degrees. 554 00:26:14.797 --> 00:26:18.179 Every day I was the guy looking to find the one. 555 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:19.180 And I mean, 556 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:22.442 sometimes you can find a really nice porta potty that wasn't destroyed, 557 00:26:22.442 --> 00:26:24.644 but it was like hundreds of degrees in there. 558 00:26:25.124 --> 00:26:26.865 It was so hot in the porta potty, 559 00:26:27.225 --> 00:26:28.286 even if you found a nice one. 560 00:26:28.606 --> 00:26:33.670 As you would do in a public bathroom setting. 561 00:26:34.450 --> 00:26:56.337 make a little nest of tp on the bowl to protect yourself right you're a musician and you've got this whole mystique in this thing but then you're also an animal you play your set and you're the guy in the band but then you still have to shit and shower and eat food and all of that happens in front of an insane crowd tour 562 00:26:56.637 --> 00:26:59.918 someone in the band had to point out to me that i had totally 563 00:27:00.238 --> 00:27:08.901 paper sticking out of the back of my pants like in an audience public setting. 564 00:27:08.901 --> 00:27:10.081 You just don't even realize it. 565 00:27:10.141 --> 00:27:10.341 Like, 566 00:27:11.001 --> 00:27:12.122 it normally just falls off, 567 00:27:12.342 --> 00:27:12.542 right? 568 00:27:12.622 --> 00:27:14.343 Or it certainly doesn't bond. 569 00:27:14.743 --> 00:27:16.943 You just got to poop before a gate. 570 00:27:17.203 --> 00:27:17.824 There was one day, 571 00:27:17.904 --> 00:27:18.324 however, 572 00:27:18.424 --> 00:27:23.325 that things did not go as meticulously as Ryan had planned. 573 00:27:24.166 --> 00:27:24.886 I had to go. 574 00:27:26.362 --> 00:27:28.643 And there was no good porta potties. 575 00:27:29.303 --> 00:27:36.765 And I knew there was like a structural building on the hill that had a bunch of bathrooms. 576 00:27:37.165 --> 00:27:37.725 It was like a, 577 00:27:38.466 --> 00:27:41.266 there was a men's bathroom on one side and a girl's bathroom on the other side. 578 00:27:41.266 --> 00:27:43.467 It was a big building and there was a line. 579 00:27:43.487 --> 00:27:44.227 But when you get in there, 580 00:27:44.247 --> 00:27:45.068 you'd have a stall. 581 00:27:45.168 --> 00:27:46.168 You'd have your own stall. 582 00:27:46.848 --> 00:27:48.148 I'm waiting with all the, 583 00:27:48.389 --> 00:27:48.629 you know, 584 00:27:48.669 --> 00:27:49.409 the fans, 585 00:27:49.629 --> 00:27:51.189 the people who are there for the day. 586 00:27:51.329 --> 00:27:51.990 It's their day. 587 00:27:52.570 --> 00:27:53.110 They don't know me. 588 00:27:53.738 --> 00:27:56.719 They have no idea they're going to see me just melting faces later, 589 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:58.360 but I'm standing in line with them. 590 00:27:59.041 --> 00:28:02.582 The line goes out the door and you get in the door and you're still waiting in line. 591 00:28:02.582 --> 00:28:06.084 And then somebody comes out of one of the stalls and you say, 592 00:28:06.124 --> 00:28:06.244 OK, 593 00:28:06.844 --> 00:28:07.304 this is it. 594 00:28:08.125 --> 00:28:12.107 So you go into the stall and shut the door, 595 00:28:13.267 --> 00:28:13.547 you know, 596 00:28:13.747 --> 00:28:14.108 click it, 597 00:28:15.348 --> 00:28:15.728 latch it, 598 00:28:16.489 --> 00:28:18.930 build a nest and start about my business. 599 00:28:19.454 --> 00:28:21.375 And it's loud in there and it's like, 600 00:28:21.776 --> 00:28:22.736 it's all swampy, 601 00:28:22.916 --> 00:28:24.157 like the floor is wet. 602 00:28:24.978 --> 00:28:27.640 This was a pretty worn out building also. 603 00:28:27.900 --> 00:28:33.263 And I know that the dividers in the stalls and the doors and everything was very loose. 604 00:28:33.584 --> 00:28:35.745 I sit down and I'm starting to get after it. 605 00:28:35.825 --> 00:28:37.787 And I'm noticing on either side of me, 606 00:28:37.847 --> 00:28:42.470 anytime somebody comes in or goes out of a stall and slams a door or swings it open or whatever, 607 00:28:42.510 --> 00:28:45.292 the whole thing starts kind of swaying. 608 00:28:46.072 --> 00:28:47.653 So I'm sitting there and I'm just like, 609 00:28:48.454 --> 00:28:48.694 wow. 610 00:28:49.502 --> 00:28:50.743 That's not good. 611 00:28:51.424 --> 00:28:52.184 All of a sudden, 612 00:28:52.484 --> 00:28:58.690 the one guy next to the stall next to me just slams the door and slams it hard enough. 613 00:28:59.150 --> 00:29:02.473 The whole thing sways. 614 00:29:02.673 --> 00:29:09.278 All the walls around me kind of sway just enough to gap the door in my latch. 615 00:29:09.358 --> 00:29:10.899 And my latch comes undone. 616 00:29:11.280 --> 00:29:17.705 And my door just goes slowly, 617 00:29:18.385 --> 00:29:18.866 slowly. 618 00:29:19.590 --> 00:29:24.874 And it's just a line of people just standing there watching me sitting there. 619 00:29:25.574 --> 00:29:25.915 And I mean, 620 00:29:25.955 --> 00:29:27.536 and it's not just guys, 621 00:29:27.576 --> 00:29:27.816 you know, 622 00:29:27.836 --> 00:29:28.576 we're in the guy's room, 623 00:29:28.617 --> 00:29:29.017 but I mean, 624 00:29:29.297 --> 00:29:30.238 it was free for all. 625 00:29:30.258 --> 00:29:32.179 So everybody's trying to use the bathroom and it was, 626 00:29:32.179 --> 00:29:33.180 there's girls in line, 627 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:33.880 there's guys in line, 628 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:37.103 they're just standing there and nobody's there. 629 00:29:37.103 --> 00:29:37.303 I mean, 630 00:29:37.863 --> 00:29:39.324 just push the thing back shut. 631 00:29:39.464 --> 00:29:39.804 Like it's, 632 00:29:40.945 --> 00:29:41.646 and that's another thing too, 633 00:29:41.646 --> 00:29:42.466 is it went out, 634 00:29:42.526 --> 00:29:43.267 it didn't come in. 635 00:29:43.347 --> 00:29:43.747 So it's like, 636 00:29:44.328 --> 00:29:45.188 you're standing out there. 637 00:29:45.208 --> 00:29:45.388 Just, 638 00:29:45.468 --> 00:29:47.210 could you be some courtesy here? 639 00:29:47.250 --> 00:29:47.370 And 640 00:29:47.922 --> 00:29:48.723 Shut the door for me, 641 00:29:48.803 --> 00:29:49.143 please. 642 00:29:49.143 --> 00:29:49.783 I'm not done yet. 643 00:29:52.765 --> 00:29:53.625 That was not great. 644 00:29:53.965 --> 00:29:56.147 Speaking of things not really going your way, 645 00:29:56.267 --> 00:29:58.628 let's check in with the record label, 646 00:29:58.728 --> 00:30:00.269 see how that release date's coming. 647 00:30:01.610 --> 00:30:01.750 Hey, 648 00:30:01.810 --> 00:30:02.430 record label, 649 00:30:02.430 --> 00:30:04.131 you got a release date? 650 00:30:06.112 --> 00:30:06.232 No? 651 00:30:08.854 --> 00:30:10.055 All right, 652 00:30:10.215 --> 00:30:12.436 I guess we'll keep talking about Summer Tour. 653 00:30:13.336 --> 00:30:15.358 The stage the band played on never changed. 654 00:30:15.378 --> 00:30:15.818 It was... 655 00:30:16.218 --> 00:30:18.740 one of a dozen being set up and torn down every day. 656 00:30:20.561 --> 00:30:21.642 When the band played, 657 00:30:21.962 --> 00:30:22.783 always fluctuated. 658 00:30:23.263 --> 00:30:24.064 Every band, 659 00:30:24.344 --> 00:30:25.244 at least once, 660 00:30:25.385 --> 00:30:27.886 is the band that plays as doors open. 661 00:30:28.347 --> 00:30:30.848 And I think we definitely did that at least once, 662 00:30:30.868 --> 00:30:32.329 if not once or twice. 663 00:30:32.750 --> 00:30:33.770 If you play that shift, 664 00:30:33.811 --> 00:30:36.172 you're done for the day, 665 00:30:37.273 --> 00:30:38.734 which is wild. 666 00:30:39.294 --> 00:30:40.275 The majority of the time, 667 00:30:40.315 --> 00:30:40.675 however, 668 00:30:40.755 --> 00:30:42.917 they played in the dead heat of the afternoon. 669 00:30:43.317 --> 00:30:44.258 The whole thing about... 670 00:30:44.586 --> 00:30:47.988 That tour is while one band's playing, 671 00:30:48.008 --> 00:30:49.710 there's always another band setting up. 672 00:30:49.770 --> 00:30:50.770 So it can just be music, 673 00:30:50.830 --> 00:30:51.091 music, 674 00:30:51.151 --> 00:30:51.431 music, 675 00:30:51.591 --> 00:30:52.091 nonstop. 676 00:30:52.331 --> 00:30:55.494 We'd be setting up on one side where there was a band playing at the same time. 677 00:30:55.694 --> 00:30:56.755 And then when they'd be done, 678 00:30:56.815 --> 00:30:57.675 we'd be ready to go. 679 00:30:58.356 --> 00:31:02.619 And every day we would start setting up and I'd be like, 680 00:31:02.639 --> 00:31:03.199 this is the day. 681 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:04.540 Everyone's going to stick around, 682 00:31:04.580 --> 00:31:04.780 man. 683 00:31:06.241 --> 00:31:11.505 The band next to us would finish up and we would be frantically setting up and doing the thing. 684 00:31:11.625 --> 00:31:12.866 And then people would be leaving. 685 00:31:13.726 --> 00:31:14.526 So day after day, 686 00:31:14.586 --> 00:31:19.608 that crowd would slowly wander away and dwindle down almost nothing by the time they started playing. 687 00:31:20.649 --> 00:31:25.091 This was the scenario of John's reoccurring nightmare. 688 00:31:25.571 --> 00:31:26.211 In the dream, 689 00:31:26.971 --> 00:31:29.873 there is a split stage like we were playing that summer. 690 00:31:30.673 --> 00:31:33.134 I would be setting up with the guys, 691 00:31:33.374 --> 00:31:34.975 plugging in amps, 692 00:31:35.135 --> 00:31:37.336 turning shit on and tuning guitars. 693 00:31:37.816 --> 00:31:42.618 It was like we were in a race against the clock because there was an audience who was there. 694 00:31:43.314 --> 00:31:47.177 And they were starting to slowly filter out because no one was playing anything. 695 00:31:47.597 --> 00:31:51.500 So it was basically me running around the stage screaming at everyone. 696 00:31:52.140 --> 00:31:59.565 I would go to my guitar and then I realize it's made out of plush material and it's stuffed like a kid's toy. 697 00:32:00.126 --> 00:32:01.446 And I start freaking out like, 698 00:32:01.466 --> 00:32:03.468 how the fuck am I supposed to play this? 699 00:32:04.048 --> 00:32:06.670 And then generally after I rant and rave, 700 00:32:06.910 --> 00:32:07.471 I wake up. 701 00:32:07.871 --> 00:32:09.592 It still continues to this day. 702 00:32:10.092 --> 00:32:10.973 I still have it. 703 00:32:11.213 --> 00:32:12.294 The only difference is now. 704 00:32:12.930 --> 00:32:13.491 I could be like, 705 00:32:13.531 --> 00:32:13.711 oh, 706 00:32:13.991 --> 00:32:14.752 crowd's leaving. 707 00:32:15.213 --> 00:32:16.174 Who fucking cares? 708 00:32:16.514 --> 00:32:19.418 The honeymoon of summer tour ended so quickly. 709 00:32:19.838 --> 00:32:23.883 It was barely a honeymoon at all and more of like a long weekend. 710 00:32:24.223 --> 00:32:24.564 It was... 711 00:32:25.840 --> 00:32:26.501 So good, 712 00:32:26.661 --> 00:32:33.607 and we had it so good that my morale didn't start plummeting until the very end when I think it was like, 713 00:32:33.667 --> 00:32:33.947 okay, 714 00:32:34.007 --> 00:32:34.187 well, 715 00:32:34.928 --> 00:32:36.349 this is as good as it gets. 716 00:32:36.629 --> 00:32:37.610 We have a bus, 717 00:32:37.750 --> 00:32:39.031 we have a meal plan, 718 00:32:39.552 --> 00:32:40.412 we have techs, 719 00:32:40.412 --> 00:32:41.393 we have a tour manager, 720 00:32:41.393 --> 00:32:42.594 we have a stage manager, 721 00:32:43.175 --> 00:32:45.577 and no one's watching us play. 722 00:32:46.177 --> 00:32:46.778 It's just like, 723 00:32:46.938 --> 00:32:49.760 how do you get excited to play for zero people, 724 00:32:50.381 --> 00:32:53.263 even when you're in the most beautiful venue, 725 00:32:53.283 --> 00:32:53.904 on a bus? 726 00:32:54.224 --> 00:32:55.805 and playing with all your friends. 727 00:32:56.605 --> 00:33:00.046 The daily grind began to weigh on us like never before. 728 00:33:01.127 --> 00:33:05.489 The reality of being an unknown band had never been exposed to us like this. 729 00:33:07.189 --> 00:33:09.850 It was a fucking harsh reality. 730 00:33:10.270 --> 00:33:13.612 Everything about it was incredible except for the performances. 731 00:33:13.752 --> 00:33:16.293 And that's sad because that's what we're there for. 732 00:33:16.573 --> 00:33:17.914 That's the saddest part, 733 00:33:18.454 --> 00:33:21.455 is that I feel like those shows did nothing for us. 734 00:33:21.815 --> 00:33:23.796 We're a band and we have some songs. 735 00:33:24.584 --> 00:33:29.267 And we're going to go back to our bus and wash lost and good night. 736 00:33:29.528 --> 00:33:31.029 A dozen stages at once. 737 00:33:31.129 --> 00:33:32.650 120 plus bands. 738 00:33:33.050 --> 00:33:36.472 Kids wandering with attention spans smaller than their hot topic tees. 739 00:33:37.273 --> 00:33:38.473 Add it all up and what do you get? 740 00:33:38.974 --> 00:33:43.817 It was constantly a reminder that you weren't working. 741 00:33:45.258 --> 00:33:47.640 And I don't mean that like in like the productive sense. 742 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:48.200 I mean like. 743 00:33:50.112 --> 00:33:54.733 You plus the tour is not equal happiness for the people in the audience. 744 00:33:55.354 --> 00:33:58.334 It was just an exercise of us playing every day. 745 00:33:59.095 --> 00:34:02.876 We had our usual cities where we always did well in and it was awesome. 746 00:34:03.456 --> 00:34:05.916 But those were few and far between. 747 00:34:06.177 --> 00:34:06.357 And, 748 00:34:07.397 --> 00:34:07.637 you know, 749 00:34:07.657 --> 00:34:10.858 we would sometimes play in amphitheaters for 750 00:34:11.278 --> 00:34:12.418 15 people, 751 00:34:12.538 --> 00:34:13.859 which is insane. 752 00:34:14.339 --> 00:34:15.779 Amphitheater after amphitheater, 753 00:34:16.499 --> 00:34:17.320 city after city, 754 00:34:18.200 --> 00:34:18.620 the band. 755 00:34:20.540 --> 00:34:22.681 Crowds never reached that of Spring Tour, 756 00:34:23.862 --> 00:34:26.924 and the band was officially stuck inside the fame gap. 757 00:34:28.465 --> 00:34:30.566 Either they keep going into the feedback loop, 758 00:34:31.127 --> 00:34:32.247 or pull the ripcord. 759 00:34:33.492 --> 00:34:34.473 After the tour ended, 760 00:34:35.093 --> 00:34:44.697 the routing of the bus driver's return trip back home took us directly past the exit off of the interstate that took you directly into our hometown. 761 00:34:45.257 --> 00:34:46.238 Besides the driver, 762 00:34:46.298 --> 00:34:52.681 we were the last five people on the bus when we were dropped off in the parking lot of the one and only hotel in our hometown. 763 00:34:53.541 --> 00:34:57.003 We spent a few minutes making sure we hadn't left anything on board. 764 00:34:57.043 --> 00:34:59.024 We checked our bunks one last time. 765 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:02.602 Grabbed our luggage and that was that, 766 00:35:02.662 --> 00:35:03.302 Mattress Man. 767 00:35:04.943 --> 00:35:05.823 Summer tour was done. 768 00:35:07.745 --> 00:35:10.606 And we were right back where it had all started. 769 00:35:19.891 --> 00:35:22.253 Even If It Kills Me is a Fang Workshop production. 770 00:35:22.953 --> 00:35:23.974 Written and narrated by me, 771 00:35:23.994 --> 00:35:24.834 Aaron Joy. 772 00:35:25.675 --> 00:35:27.416 Produced by John Lulo and Brendan Walter. 773 00:35:28.036 --> 00:35:32.339 Featuring original music by Alex Dozen and original theme song by Matt McKinley.