AMP Magazine Blog

I wrote this back in November for AMP MAGAZINE (i think it only published online, but who knows!) Anyway...it's the FIRST TIME I've read it, cause I didn't think it actually went out there, but it's soooo good it makes me cringe and smile all at once...that's the stuff I LOVE, so I thought I'd share!!! There's NO comments allowed...I bet it got pretty knarly....but you know what they say...."well behaved women rarely make history"

The truth of the road….
In about a week we leave for tour again and damn I can’t wait! There’s something about living in a van that really calls to me. I’m not alone either. Being on the road , as long as you are with a band you get along with and the money is alright, can be one of the best feelings in the world. Who wouldn’t want to wake up, eat, hang out, then play to adoring fans? This much attention has it’s downfalls however….I mean really, you’re getting told “yes” and “damn, you are amazing, hot, rocking ________(fill in the blank) every night of the week, that by the time you get back home from tour, your perception of reality is a bit skewed. That might even be an understatement. This is a huge reason why relationships are strained on the road, I really believe it has nothing to do with how many “groupies” are available to you, but the fact that your significant other back home sees you for what you really are, er, a starving (albeit sexy) musician and occasional drunk. But on the road, you are like a superhero, and all that drinking you try to curb at home is encouraged EVERY NIGHT by the free drinks and minimal amount of driving to your hotel (if you even have a hotel, if not, even better, you stumble to the van!) You are surrounded by 24 hr party people (thanks Andrew w.k.) who are celebrating YOU being in their town…..Now if this sounds too good to be true and you’re not in a band, but now thinking you should start a band, STOP right there! The market is over saturated, there is no place for you….go home…It will probably take you 5 years to get to the “touring band” stage….so if you’re gunna get into making music, please get into it for the joy of creating and playing, not to experience the two faced beast that is tour life….Soooo you sleep in a van, you hang out and drink, you “play” every night…..is that all there is too it? Yep…..pretty much, save for the occasional interview or crazy van death story…..You are simultaneously bored and busy at the same time, how is that?….you get to the club at 3pm to load….but in reality you probably don’t load til 6pm...it’s the hurry up and wait game…..slowly you lose touch with your buddies at home…with your boyfriend/girlfriend/dog/mom…. hell, they couldn’t possibly understand the stuff you are experiencing out here. Oh and f.y.i, tour stories don’t translate very well…..what happens on the road stays on the road (aka code of the road)!!!! I’m excited that this time out I don’t have to report back to a boyfriend or any nonsense like that, that’s taxing…All the friends you lose back at home are replaced with other friends in bands who “get you” or fans whose house you crash at while on the road …Ok, so I’m sure you’re thinking “man, I thought she said touring was great?“ ha ha it is I swear, it is the most amazing time of your life… And besides the few drawbacks and hard work (everyone should move equipment, singers who don’t play, that totally includes your little bitch asses too) with a little luck and some great t-shirt designs, and the steady decline of gas you should come home with a little bit of money, a whole lot of new friends all over the country and start the infamous “after tour detox”….aka the come down…damn I love the road!

http://www.ampmagazine.com/index.php/blogs/comments/liza_graves_of_civet/

Live and Let Die

First Social D show
Seattle WA, Showbox SODO

This had to be one of the BEST shows of my fucking career….stellar! We brought that shit!!!! Ha ha…the crowd was amazing, as always, I really really love Seattle…..My grandma lives in Seattle and I’ve spent a lot of time here…there’s something that makes you kinda crazy in the water, but I think that if you don’t stay too long you should be safe! Despite all the shit I’ve heard, Mike Ness is a pretty stand up guy…he came in right off the bat and introduced himself and told us to let him know if we needed anything. The only band that ever rolled THAT legit with us was Dropkick…I’m really big on the band that comes and introduces themselves to the opening band or support band…it’s just respectful…So stay tuned, but Mike Ness is looking pretty stand up guy. It was good to see a lot of our friends on this tour, Suzi’s ex Dave Stucken came out with the opening band the Strangers. Our favorite tech (Alk Trios tech) Matt Steinke is out here and peace has been made, so we are all set! Oh and Jonny Two Bags….last time I saw him I was getting arrested, that’s always fun right? Seattle we love you, and we’ll be back soon!!!!!

Highlights include my mom starting the circle pit & pulling some "highway robbery" on Guitar Center in exchange for tix...love it!


Vancouver aka Vancougar Canada!

Great show even though I was a little under the weather…it was our first time throwing our tech Jared under the bus…we let him flail a little bit and learn his was around our stage plot etc. Sadly it was an “EPIC FAIL” when my guitar strap broke! Yes, again! I will tell you why I think this is: (I have a Gibson Classic that is chambered and I'm convinced there's a pocket where my guitar strap screws in, it eats all of the toothpicks I put in to secure it!!!) I had to run offstage and grab my back up since tech city was no where to be found…other that that the show was stellar. I was a bit tipsy cause my throat has been bothering me and figured a little whiskey/hot water/honey combo might help…and damn did it! My voice was good and my balls were out…ha ha...I was pretty tough cookie last night…I accidentally gave myself a slight rugburn during a rock slide however…debating whether this move is good for my health….Suzi (aka the NEW number 2) did the scariest jump I’ve ever seen from the stage to the baracade, which we had talked about at soundcheck, but it was way too far to make….she uh, totally made it….shocking!!!! Ness was watching from the side of the stage and I’m a bit guilty of snarling at him while we played…I was boozing and not afraid of anyone, even motherfucking Mike Ness…ha ha…Although the border was cool and the venue started off cool and the show was WAY cool….the phrase of the day came to be “Epic Fail” ha ha….fucking Canada…I haven’t decided yet whether or not you have a special place in my heart yet….tonight we shall see!!!!


Border cross 2 was a fucking EPIC FAIL….all I’m gunna say is you catch more flies with honey and I have NO problem with authority…it’s easy if you know how to work people…I can’t handle the negative energy around me right now, just need to get back to the venue for my show STAT!

Me and our Euro Driver MDOG!!!

"Vhat the Hell?!"

Vancougar (Round 2)

This was the first show of my career I’ve ever came close to missing! It was phenomenal….i can’t believe I made it….and well, it rocked….lots of boom boom, swagger swagger at this one! We had to get on a "boat" in order to head over to Victoria...this resulted in us actually filming a mock "I'm on a boat" video....yes, we are that fucking funny on our days off...stay tuned! I have a special appearance as "T Pain", Er, "T Graves" ha ha

Victoria

Just being in this sleepy vacation town made me think of that one man Army song “Victoria” how about “the two of us, we talked to much, can you hear them? Calling your name? I wanted sooo much more, than to be a martyr for, a dying breed”... We played at the “Royal Theatre” which was just that, a theatre….everyone had strictly assigned seats, the upside of playing a theatre, like a legit one, is that the sound is always immaculate! The crowd for this show was sparse, it was so bizarre, I really thought no one was gunna show up by the time social d went on. I even had a bet going with suz as to whether or not he would actually play…I lost, he did! During our soundcheck he came up and busted my balls about dropping a water backwards off my cab last night….spilled all the way down the front of HIS marshall cab…eek….I was like “that never happened, I have no idea what you are talking about”... The techs had came up earlier and said, the Boss (yes! They fucking call him the boss, he’s SOOO cool) requested no more water on the amps…My luck he was watching the whole thing with himself….

the late, great One Man Army...better that way (cd butchers the live show)!

Show was killer!!! Like I said though, the crowd was sparse…it’s hard to judge a show like that, so you just have to go bye how it felt to you. My monitor mix has been phenomenal since Jared our tech has been on the job….I’ve never been so happy with my stage sound! I had NO voice all day, side effect of that nasty cold I made worse by flying home….I did everything all day long, emergency, hot tea, aloe vera juice, listerine, and finally fucking olive juice. Yes, it was REALLY gross, but I had to play the show and I needed a voice for it, so I sucked it up and took a big swig of the thick stuff! Wouldn’t you know it fucking worked! It was super temporary, like 10 min per swig, so yeah, you guessed it; I had to drink several gulps during the course of the set. At one point I looked over at Two Bags on the side of the stage and did the biggest, meanest gulp ever. He looked horrified. Suz says he must love it, but really he’s got to be terrified…after watching me get arrested last Sept and some of my onstage antics, good luck figuring that one out! Ha ha

Tour is getting good, we are starting to get in the swing of this particular tour, I feel at ease like I was missing in Europe…I know everyone (didn’t hurt that I knew a lot of people before the tour) It really feels like home. I was afraid to do this tour, cause Mike Ness is fucking scary, but you know what, there’s something really REAL about him that puts you at ease…like why would I ever be afraid of this guy? He’s a good guy. I think that was the secret to his success, that something of ease that he lends people…

Eurotrashed Pt. 3 (ciao!)

Why Prague!? Why?!!!

I will never again drink another “mushroom” aka a coca cola and red wine drink aka “hoba” ….sounds super dangerous to begin with right? I probably wouldn’t have even started on those if I hadn’t had one too many drinks already! Our day off we stayed at our drivers house, M Dog…who is totally cool and young and we’ll probably take him out on the next run.
Our day was long and sweet, consisted of a ton of H&M shopping, a traditional pub meal…we saw the famous bridge, clock and castle….which was weird because no matter who I asked none of them had a name? Spent too much money…drank way too much booze! We headed over to a pub to hang out with some of M DOG’s friends, who were all really cool and polite even thought Jacq and I were drunk and obnoxious….I don’t remember much after the “mushroom” incident, but I’m lucky to have a sister who did bar rescue at 3 am AND assisted with the most important drunk dial ever…ha ha….it was a good night….so good I wouldn’t repeat it if someone paid me…ugh hangover city here I come!
　
Vienna and our last day in Austria!!!
　
Don’t get me wrong, I had such a great time on this tour, maybe a better time on the headlining shows than on the Dropkick shows, but I just can’t wait to get on that plane and get the fuck back to the states…there’s this weird homesickness I feel….where I can walk into a Starbucks or a B of A or turn on my phone and talk to my mom or my man…these are things I can’t really have over here and I’m disconnected. I’m sure Oct’s euro trip will feel a bit different b/c I will be out here with all the people to love, a little less too miss!!!
　
Vienna show was good!!! There were some very obvious civet people and as always, the opportunity to reach like 3000 of Dropkicks fans…that’s always a treat….there was something about Vienna and the open air theatre that was pure magic…the sound was amazing for an outdoor festival…I was still suffering a bit of a hangover from my run in Prague, but other than that the day was good!!!

RANDOM FANS IN DRESDEN, EUROS AND THEIR BOUNDRIES!

We spent the night in the haunted (supposedly) bunks that are in a building across from the venue….It was crazy!!! There was an all night party going on downstairs….like just cause the show was over didn’t mean people had to leave! They played some of the best rock n’ roll music I’ve ever heard…they were even rockin’ Sahara Hotnights “Rock-a-way Beach" cover! We left the windows open cause it was a million degrees and read all the graffiti in the bunks…the best was the “ACO loves cocks” one…ha ha!!! Lots of exes on those walls…the strangest part was when a couple came in and asked Elia and I if they could use the table….we were like “wtf? Are they gunna have sex?” but no... they straight up did lines of speed of the table in front of us poor terrified American girls….goes without saying that we immediately moved the “speed” table off in front of the door to barricade ourselves in! The rest of the night was uneventful except for a crazy nightmare about a “zombie hostel in Vienna” ha ha…As I was falling asleep, just as I thought things couldn’t get any more magical fucking Distillers’ “LA girl” came echoing through the hostel windows….”That bitch”, I thought !
　
Oh Austria my love… Round/show number two you definitely have to be my fav show of the Dropkick run! All around good time had by all and even though I wasn’t drinking cause I think I’ve got a little cold, I sure felt drunk most of the night….usually we have good shows and it seems like the parting show is always fucking stellar…like we really feel the need to show what we’ve got as we are walking out the door..ha ha…not that DKM haven’t seen the good, the bad and the ugly, oh and what we are now! But you always want to play your best. We did well tonight….my “Dirty Glass” run was awesome, er, that is until Ken Casey choked me out from behind…I really hope some video of that surfaces….oh shit! Speaking of video, jacq showed us that new video but THE DEAD WEATHER…pretty fucking impressed….it’s funny cause I thought that they were called “The Dead Mothers” and I thought, "Damn that’s a SICK name!!!" Anyway, it truly seems like everything Mr. White touches turns to gold, AND damn can someone buy me sweet leather jacket like that girl in the video!!!

IF YOU LOVED ME, YOU'D BUY ME A JACKET SUCH AS THIS
　

　
　
We had a blast hanging out after party style with DKM…like I said all of the guys are really fucking cool, really married and really reserved, so it’s rare that we all get to sit down and talk tour or equipment or life etc…it’s special…even more special was the fact that everyone was ridiculously drunk but me (ugh cold!) plus I swear I still feel hungover from the other night? Grizz was telling me how him and Andy (supreme sound master) were gunna give me an earful when I came offstage in poland like 10 min early, but they were scared when I started screaming at them first….there were NO monitors and Grizz had helped me fix my strap (sabatoge!!!) that broke 3 songs in…I was in KILL MODE….they said they were like, “uh, nevermind, she's obviously way more heated than we are, we’re just gunna let this one go” …lots of fun stuff….it’s always good hanging out with the crew and I got the epic business talk from Ken about where to go next (and a lil bit of antiantiflagging)…I knew it was coming…I know what we’ve got to do to get there……eveyone get scared…we’re really to be that band…..
　
DKM n' CIVET TAKEN OVER THE WORLD　

Travel n’ such!
It was sad saying goodbye to our driver Matayas, other things that were sad include our shitty exchange rate, sleeping at the airpoirt for 7 hrs, oh and of course being picked up by a cousin I hardly remember and getting dumped off at grandmas once we got to seattle….wait, grandmas ruled, but where the fuck were the homemade cookies?!!!!!

Eurotrashed Pt. 2

You have to kiss a lot of these babies to find your prince!!!

7/8 Nurmburg, Germany - aka the homecoming!

This has to be my hands down favorite show of the tour so far…something better might come up, but it’s gunna be hard to beat the intensity and the pit and the haunted SS barracks we played in! It was packed!!! We pretty much sold the place out which is a feat since it was our first time touring Europe! Motherfucking STREET DOGS better book some bigger venues for the upcoming October tour….oh and kick us down a bigger guarentee too (cough cough!)….We closed off the set again with a sweet encore of American Girl and Misfits “Horror Business”….highlights of the night were the guys from Shark Soup coming out to the show and us doing shots with real german girls!!! Or maybe my “is my husband in this room tonight?!” rant from stage….in reality all I can think about is someone I’m missing in Texas….but I get carried away sometimes, and I’m not gunna lie…I’m kinda like a boy in the way I oogle/objectify men….I think it’s from the amount of time I’ve spend on the road. I’m hard. I’m mean….etc…ok…maybe that’s too much…but now you know…thank you rock n’ roll turning me bad! And thank you Nurmburg for loving us!!!!!!

7/9 Roma- Italy!
I slept the whole day in the sprinter….everyone else did….we’re talking a fucking 12 hr drive and everyone was out….save for our crankasaurous driver Matayas (aka MDOG) from Prague….he gets scary when he’s not super funny and, gulp, rested! I’m afraid to meet other Prague people after him “Vhat the Hell!!!!?!” The venue was cool at this show! Too cool for the show itself…Our Italian myspace fan club showed up (hi ladies!!!) and I threw something at someone a la Courtney Love, could go without re-living this one…

7/10 Trento - Italy!!!!
This show was off the hook….we really got to know our promoters and hang out….they were a sweet couple and we can’t wait to come back and play for them again. The venue was outdoors….full on summer festival…it was free (but we still go paid of course!) there were a ton of people!!!! This had to be one of my favorite shows of the tour hands down…we played great AND I got to get super drunk and have an Italian dance party/discoteque…as jacq would sometimes say “I love us” ha ha….we headlined with a DJ after us closing out the night. The band before us was a psychedelic kinda jam band. I was in aww….definitely not my thing, but I’m sure if I was on acid (which I’ve never done and do not endorse) I would probably eat that shit right up! Soundcheck was a little flat feeling, but once all the people got in there the show got easy…That’s my fav, when I forget I’m even playing and it just flows really naturally…it’s a combination of crowd energy/ my energy/ the rock n’ roll gods smiling etc… If this is any indication of the calibur of the evening let’s just say we closed with “American Girl” by Tom Petty and I finally did it!!! I got down on my motherfucking knees and did the super rock on the floor move…not sure what came over me, but it felt right so I went for it! Gotta love those Italians….they ate that shit up….at the end of the party we walked down this big hill through the vineyards to our hotel (in the middle of NOWHERE) ….drunk…singing….being kinda scared by the lightning storm etc….at that point I’m sure I just could have died I felt so happy….in fact the night went soooo well we all didn’t go to sleep…like AT ALL…There was a lot of drunk Gallows skyping (not for me…can’t work my cam, nor do I want to work any Gallows) and drunk IM-ing (more MY speed) and just loud girly talk…..drinking…and more drinking….Italy, we think we’ll keep you!

7/11 Dresden, Germany

When we got this tour I think I didn’t realize how many shows in Germany we were actually doing…this makes me sooo excited, even if no one has heard of the air force base I was born on L….my guess is it’s probably closed and an 80’s memory…Still! BORN IN GERMANY…This venue was a bitch to find….we illegally drove through this beautiful park in order to get to Junge Garden and reunite with our Dropkick family. Soundcheck went well….Dropkick has the best crew ever and I’m not gunna lie, sometimes I’m actually more excited to see Andy, Evan, Judd, Grizz... etc than the band…these guys are down in the trenches with us at every show….Don’t get me wrong I love Ken to death….but he’s kinda like the punk rock god father….Ken calls on YOU to talk…ha ha…kidding, but seriously, talk about taking a band and making an empire out of it!! Go look at the early Dropkick stuff…that was just a punk band…with a bunch of punk kids…Ken rules with an iron fist…instills fear in people. That’s how I want to be…an even more smart and savvy business person in the smoothest running (and damn if it isn’t) super punk as fuck good time that Dropkick is….the precision with which they run their shows you’d think you were watching fucking U2!!! The beauty is they are still punk as fuck! AND they release everything themselves…how amazing is that?! To be that size and that smart that you don’t need a label….pure profit yet a purely good time….I’ve never met a Dropkick fan that didn’t have the best time ever at one of their shows….it’s show business for sure…I’ve seen it a million times and that shit just doesn’t get old!

I got to go up and do Dirty Glass which is always a mixed blessing…I’m stoked…it’s sometimes hard to go from that to playing in my band, no matter how good the show….its amazing to be in dropkick even for like the 5 minute song duration. It makes me want that fan/band connnection so much more…that thing you really cant put a name on….amazing!!! The best part of dropkicks set ?(besides the wild turkey letting loose on an undeserving rag) would be when AL Barr just starts busting out the german….like legit german….omg al barr speaks german…who would have thought? I mean, it makes sense really, I just didn’t see it coming….amazing!!! Really great night we topped off with a little bit of rain, Ken casey showing us Liam/Noel Gallager fight youtube videos. Oh and the best part! Sleeping in the fucking van cause our hotel we booked online had no reception hours from 12am-6am…er, NOT civet girl hours….Coldest scariest germanest night of my life…..Poland (according to Mdog our driver, it’s 3rd world?) here we come!!!!

EuroTrashed Pt. 1

Jacq and I with the biggest Boom Box I've ever seen!!!!

7/5 Rossum - NL

I’m not gunna lie - today was pretty incredible….it was the very first show we’ve ever done in Europe and while there were definitely some technical issues…i.e half of my set I had to play strapless…as in the guitar, not my clothes…AND the fact that the response was kinda weird…..I thought, hmm….NOT GOOD…then we killed it in merch! Turns out it’s just the way people react in the Netherlands. The venue owner, mind you, the venue was more barn, than venue….Adrian….was amazing! He even insisted on auctioning off 4 Social D tix that he had secured us….We had booked a show the next night, which put an extra 200 Euro in our pocket, score!!!! We got fed an amazing authentic Holland dinner and Suz and I ran? cart wheeled? through the pear field in the back. This crazy pegan metal band headlined….it was truly something you had to see to believe…they were in full viking gear, and although they sounded amazing, I just couldn’t get my head around the fact that this was something I’d only seen in VH1 the history of metal specials with the chart that breaks down all different kinds and Ronnie James Dio freaking you out….

Where do I get one of these dreaded babies!!!???

I’m sooooo excited to be going to Germany tomorrow….It will be like going back to my homeland... I hope I feel overwhelmed coming back to my country….Our driver Matayas, aka M DOG is rad…..he called us out when we said we didn’t drink….he said that’s not true cause he’d seen it on our myspace pages (research?)…….Anyway, gunna spend the next two weeks convincing M DOG that Left Alone (and some other bands whose shirts he’s been sporting) are the enemy ha ha….seriously need to sleep off some jet lag and a little bit of a heartache!!!

*Highlights*
The Dutch Ron Jeremy
Pegan metal is alive and well
Reno Divorce doing Social D dirty
Welcome to Amsterdam! Drink!!!!




7/6 Stuttgart -GERMANY!!!!
“Don’t you hate it when you pack too much shit and you end up using only the top layer?” Elia on tour clothes

Stuttgart!!!! Fuck yes…..here’s our group photo with the 2 opening bands Shark Soup and Stehcafe! This show was pretty packed….I was stoked on everything ‘cept the stupid Charlie and the Valentine Killers poster (eh, thanks, but NO thanks!) for their upcoming show…. It was a super cool bar and an AMAZING show! We stayed in a hotel with Shark Soup, who we totally needed to check in cause dude only spoke German…..their merch guy looked like a super German Jared Leto and handled that shit….At that point there was no crazy hotel parties as we had all done a ton of drinking at the club (I was carrying around my own personal JD bottle if you wanna get an idea of where I was at!)…plus that hotel was like something out of HOSTEL, totally terrifying….not to mention the guy at the desk kept our passports. I made it!!! It’s ok!


“Did you seriously just put your eyelashes on the bodet?” Elia to Suz

7/ 7 Magnolia Summer - Milano, Italy

Italy! OMG…..I’ve been here a few times, and man are these men touchy…..I think it’s in a good way…it kinda freaked some of the girls out….We got to drive through Switzerland today…I’m gunna be honest I slept through most of it, cause Matayas is a pretty good driver and Suz takes the floor of the van when I want a whole bench….It was BEAUTIFUL! We stopped at a WC that overlooked a huge lake….it was incredible…I actually felt the urge to throw myself into it….Tahoe ain’t got shit on the Swedish waters….customs was a little scary, but the hot dude at the Italian border made up for it…we just started doing the usual, which is to hand over a postcard with us all looking dolled up, that generally shuts everyone up…M Dog couldn’t believe we worked so smoothly…ha ha…The people hosting Magnolia Summer took really really good care of us and the best part was we pulled enough people to take really good care of them as well!!!! Not sure how many people were fans amongst ALL the fucking press! This band the Svetlanas (?) opened up for us….they had a chick singer who shocked the shit out of me, it was very Bikini Kill circa ‘02 with a little bit of Naked Aggression and, wait for it….. SNAP HER, mixed in! Does anyone remember that band Snap Her? It was good!!! I was impressed….we did an interview and took some photos before the show….Usually I’m all for shit like this, but I was a little overwhelmed cause it was my first internet access in ages and I just wanted to take care of some business (i.e. talk to some loved ones)… we did press up until the start of the show, which was FUCKING off the hook….lots of kids, a ton of press and it was in a green house, so it was ALL sweat…..this was the first time in my career I ever felt my space had been invaded by fans…a ton of people came up to sing, I got grabbed (in a good way!) by the audience during solos…..starting to play more for myself and in that I feel like the show I put on for everyone else comes across better!!! I am stoked on all of these HEADLINING euro gigs…we got this shit covered! It is gunna be off the hook when we come back with Street Dogs in October!

p.s. “golf clap” to Jacq tonight for joining the revolution of “we’re not taking shit from shitty men!”

Warped Tour Wrap up!!! And DIRT!!!!

I had a blast the last few days of Warped….the last show was great and the dust pit was really moving, so were the shout-outs from Anti-Flag (until they showed their true colors cough, cough)….New Mexico and San Antonio were a little hot and scary….but the after party in Las Cruces was pretty sweet….I took one last final ride with Will from Aiden on the moped…I just want to congratulate him on his recent marriage and the fact the he’s gunna be a daddy!!!!! Will is rad and Aiden really, really deserve more respect than they get…their live show kills it, and I think all of Aidens fans or bands that have toured with them know just how hard working and legit they are….It’s unfortunate, but sometimes it’s hard to shake off a negative image like that. I remember when I went to do some clips for Buzznet.com about the upcoming Aiden/Civet tour…I didn’t even know Aiden yet, but I said some fucked up shit about us sharing eyeliner…I don’t regret it cause all of them have a rad sense of humor and they got it…. In fact, while I’m at it, I don’t regret anything. Despite what some people think, I NEVER hooked up with Will…he’s totally just a friend…and a fellow musician and I’m super stoked for him!!!! Congrats from Madugo!




Heading into San Antonio and Houston was totally the best part of Warped hands down…that is if you don‘t count the van breaking down in the middle of nowhere by Ft. Stockton (sightings capital of the world!) We were forced to wait 7 hrs for a tow because we were in a dead zone and got NO cell service…. We watched ALL of the warped vans pass us by, which goes against what I was told about how “oh all the warped vans look out for broken down vans, it‘s just code” Uh, code MY ASS! So our problem just ended up being some big bad bugs in the air filter, but I‘m still convinced it was extraterrestrials…

The last show was great and although Frank Carter the 3rd may not return the love, the Gallows show was awesome in Houston….if you don’t like what you are seeing Frank, get the fuck off my stage…..Justin Sane however, you are always welcome! Tobe (Street Dogs and my fav band WELT!) came down to hang out and shuttle me around like the rad guy he is for a few days…I guess I’m not really allowed to say he’s more than a friend til he’s legally uh, you know, but part of me no longer cares at this point! I went to some creepy wine bar (and lets get this straight- I am not a foodie!) but I’m definitely interested in all things dark and scary and La Carafe definitely qualified….the dirt bar or whatever it was was kinda cool too (sans the GG‘s…we won‘t even GO there right now!)… The rad bartender even played a little HHNF for me when I came in….there’s nothing better than going to a bar where they play your own music….it’s flattering and embarassing all in one….ha ha….I got super drunk on something strangely resembling the infamous Japanese OOLONG HI’S (that, by the way, is what got me into this mess in the first place!) and the rest of the night it a blur….right? Right?


Dave King (Flogging Molly) Tobe Bean n’ Me