HERE
is where the AP staff on tour spills their guts, textually and
photographically,
about all the behind-the-scenes goodness on
the road. Check back often!
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JULY
27, 2006—PITTSBURGH,
PA
Oh, Pittsburgh! Apparently, this city breeds them rough and tough.
I definitely had to throw my muscle around today. F*#@ with AP,
and we'll F@$* with you. Some girl decided it was a good idea to
decorate one of our huge banners with a Sharpie, so needless to
say, she got taken down.
During
our Aiden signing today, I caught a glimpse of something I'm pretty
sure I never want to see again. Fashion tip, girls: A mesh shirt
with only black electrical tape covering your nipples is never
a good idea. But, before we could snap a pic, she was gone. I was
stoked to finally have the Casualties in the booth to sign. Little
did I know it's impossible to ever get them all together at the
same time. During our Chiodos signing, some more roughians decided
to throw down right in front of the tent. Blood and guts all over
the hot black pavement is not what I want near me. Kids, violence
isn't the answer—at
least not when there's a chance I'll get one to the face when you
decide to fight near me.
After
my shower—which you should all know that Maja from the
Sounds totally walked in on me getting undressed—I headed over
to meet up with Jon from the Pink Spiders. Little did I know it was
their drummer Bob's birthday. So, we rallied the troops, watched
the Sounds play, then went back to the bus for birthday party favors.
Those boys and their wild nights of debauchery are almost more than
my body can handle. —Lycia Shrum
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JULY
26, 2006—CINCINNATI, OH
There's nothin like stepping off the bus at eight in the morning to
the smell og horse manure. The busses were parked right next to the
race track, so we all know what that means: Let's play the ponies!!!
Let's just say it was a god thing I was betting AP's money and not
my own.
After
blowing about three grand at the track with my favorite William
in the Academy Is..., I knew it was time to get back to the "real
world" of Warped Tour. Which means keeping the kids in line
while they're waiting in line to shake the hands of our AP veterans
Thursday as well as our From Autumn To Ashes buddies.
I also ran into a dear friend of mine who I didn't know had jumped
on the tour. I love surprises like that. Even more exciting, she's
riding with Oliver, Warped Tour's very own tattoo artist. I'll keep
everyone posted on when my body has reached its full capacity of
tattoos.
As
the day ended, I was whisked away to a fancy dinner, while all
the crusty bodies on tour decided to invade the waterpark next
door. Rumor has it that certain blonde Swedes were losing bathing-suit
bottoms on their descent down the water slide. Sorry kids, no x-rated
pics for ya. --Lycia Shrum
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JULY
25, 2006—ST. LOUIS, MO
Granted, I've been back on the tour for two days, but my third
day (today) is my first official "get back in the swing of things" day.
Its just unfortunate there were a lot of AP-less kids by the end
of the day. It was somethin' that had to do with having to have a
permit to sell anything that wasn't involved with band merch. Needless
to say, our day was a sloooooow one. Signings with Saves The Day
and the Bouncing Souls were lovely. It was amazing seeing them all
again. I've definitely had a warm welcome back to tour. Oh, and how
could I forget: The first band I saw today was the Sounds. I made
it a point to see them. I'm pretty sure I'll be trying to watch them
every day that I can. Call me a fan, but I was even more excited
their bus was parked right next to ours. I have no problem totally
dorking out over that band. —Lycia Shrum
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JULY
16, 2006—PORTLAND, OR
The weather here is nice today, as there's a great breeze. Today, my
friends, is my last day on the tour. As I ate lunch today, I was thinking
how much I'll miss catering. They make some amazing food, that's for
sure. I'm also gonna miss all the hectic chaos, even though when it's
happening, I hate it. Warped Tour is a little community, and you begin
to really feel that after just a few days. I will not miss sleeping
on the top bunk and our bus A/C not working right. That sucked for
sure. I 'll also not miss having to take showers in random places or
having to go to the bathroom in a port-a-potty. I will miss hearing
Saves The Day's acoustic sets and hearing Gym Class Heroes off in the
distance. As you can see, it's a love/hate relationship. I'd have to
say the coolest moment for me on tour was standing near a wall talking
on my phone (on one of the California dates) and seeing Pat Smear walk
by. Pat Smear. How sweet. If you don't know who he is (which a bunch
of people don't) he's from the Germs, and was also a touring guitarist
for Nirvana, and a member of Foo Fighters early on. Duh, he's a legend.
Anyway, lastly, I'll also miss getting to update you all each day.
Until the next tour! —Eddie Fleisher
PS:
A big thanks to the Atlantic crew, all the cool street teamers,
and everyone else on my bus, or who I chatted it up with on Warped.
You all rock.
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JULY
15, 2006—SEATTLE,
WA
Were not really in Seattle, but somewhere near it. The show is
at a big gorge. It's an amazing view. The main stage is right on
the edge of it all. The temperature was comfortable, which made
the whole experience better. I did get yelled at for putting our
trunk in the wrong place or something last night, even though someone
from truck crew told us to put it there... Oh, well. We had four
signings today, so my schedule was jam-packed. We had Chiodos (it
was their last day) who are always really cool, some newer band
called Escape The Fate, From Autumn To Ashes and Motion City Soundtrack.
Needless to say, the MCS signing was huge. Tomorrow will be my
last day on the tour. While I'm going to miss it out here, I'm
anticipating a nice day of sleeping when I get back. Okay, well
I'm off to get ready for teardown and dinner. Mmmm, dinner. —Eddie
Fleisher
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JULY
14, 2006—BOISE, ID
Today was easily the worst day for setup yet. First off, we arrived
late at the venue. Then, we find out a bunch of buses broke down, one
of which had all the truck crew people on it. So we all had to pull
together to unload these huge semis. The coolest thing I saw was Kevin
Lyman helping us all. Here's the leader of this whole thing, who could
be chilling in an air-conditioned room, but he's out sweating his ass
off, helping us. That's awesome. He's one super-cool dude, that's for
sure. I have mega respect for him. After we unloaded, we realized we
had to set up down a huge hill with grass. Let's just say that was
not fun at all. I really hate Idaho.
It
looks like Saves The Day will be signing with us today, which is
cool. I'd have to say they’re my favorite band on the tour
so far. I've been able to catch their acoustic set pretty much
every day since it's in front of our tent. I really wanna catch
Gym Class Heroes’ set, but I keep missing it. I reviewed
their record for the next issue of AP, and I was telling one of
the GCH dudes about it. He was so excited! That kinda made me feel
good. All right, I'm off to suffer through the rest of our day
in Idaho. —Eddie Fleisher
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JULY
13, 2006—SACRAMENTO,
CA
Sacramento = mad heat. Seriously. I was craving a shower at the end
of the day, and of course, they were all messed up and had no cold
water. So to cool off from the 100-degree weather, I got to take
a 100-degree shower. Sweet. Anyway, we had the dudes from Armor
For Sleep sign, and they decided to try and get the kids to eat
those Jelly Belly's that are all gross flavors. I ate one, and
personally, I thought it tasted fine. Bus call was early, so we
didn't do much but watch Saved By The Bell. Although, we did score
some free drinks from Jamba Juice, who were closing and decided
to hook us up. Thanks! This is our last day in the state of
California—Idaho, here we come. —Eddie Fleisher
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JULY
12, 2006—LOS ANGELES, CA
Ok, I hate to complain, but it’s so damn hot out here. We're set up outside
Dodger Stadium, and it's, like, five million degrees out. I've basically been
trying to hide out in the shade, my bus or the web lab as much as possible. Thank
God they had chocolate milkshakes for lunch, 'cause I've been craving one for
days. I'm also enjoying lots of water and the Diet Hanson's Ginger Ale. Alright,
well as exciting as this blog post is, I'm gonna go out into the heat and hope
to not melt. Tonight we have an early bus call at 10 p.m., and I'm gonna try
to go to bed around 9 or so. That way I'll be alseep by the time the bumpy ride
starts. I know, I know; really glamorous, huh? It's not all a big party, though;
it's a lot of hard work, too. —Eddie Fleisher
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JULY
11, 2006—VENTURA
BEACH, CA
This was probably the best California date because the weather was
amazing. It was never too hot since we were right on the beach.
We had Paramore sign, as it was their last day on the tour. During
their signing, members of various other bands decided to suprise
Paramore with a water-balloon assault. We also had
Chiodos sign, which went well. The dudes made all the kids in line
put their hands out so the band could run down and high five them all,
baseball-team style. The kids were pretty psyched about it. We also
a had a celebrity sign up for a subscription to AP. Who? Tom from MySpace!
Crazy, huh? After teardown, Donnie
from Cingular and I went to a burger joint called The Habit, which
was pretty tasty. When we got back, Valient Thorr was playing at the
nightly barbeque. Their singer was climbing on trucks and jumping off
into the crowd. Probably the craziest barbeque since I've been out
here. After that, I went to bed to catch up on sleep. However, that
really didn't happen, since the ride was super bumpy. I can't wait
to sleep in my own bed! —Eddie Fleisher
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JULY
10, 2006—VENTURA, CA
Hotel today—yes! I haven't slept lately at all. The bus ride is so bumpy.
So I spent today taking naps, catching up on TV, and seeing Pirates Of The Carribean,
which was pretty good, but a little long. I also enjoyed some In-N-Out Burger
and some ice cream from the Ben & Jerry's store. After I write
this, it's off to some more TV and maybe a Denny's run. Tomorrow, we
have a show here in Ventura, which is a really cool vintage-type town.
The downtown area had a bunch of old-school clothing shops and little
diners. Pretty sweet. Alright, my friends, I'm out for now. —Eddie
Fleisher
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JULY
9, 2006—FRESNO,
CA
Okay. Seriously. 106 degrees! That's insane. Today was so damn
hot, it was ridiculous. Plus, I had, like, zero sleep since I was
up late at the AP Trailer Trash Party. Other than that, Warped
Tour went on as usual. We had some signings (The Academy Is...,
Chiodos and Aiden), and they all went on without any chaos. However,
later in the day, I was sitting with our street teamer, Hope, and
we thought we smelled something burning. Then, she looked over
at the Cingular booth and one of their big wooden boxes was smoking.
So I went over to let them know. Some of it was actually on fire.
Luckily, thanks to Hope (see, I gave you credit!), they put it
out and nothing was damaged. It coulda been a disaster. Okay, well
I'm super-duper tired and I need a Diet Coke. —Eddie Fleisher
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JULY
8, 2006—SAN
FRANCISCO, CA
San Francisco is amazing-looking. It's very picturesque. I'm pretty
happy I get to check it out; I've always wanted to. I'm writing
this as I'm off to lunch. It was the only chance I got to get to
the "web lab" Warped has.
Usually, AP gives me a SideKick when I'm out, but this year, someone else is
using it. It's not very hot today, which is amazing. The show is on a pier,
so there's a great breeze coming through. I had to get up an hour earlier for
setup, since there's a noise ordinance on the pier, so the show has to end
earlier. So, I'm sure I'm gonna be really tired tonight. But, I won't have
the chance to go to bed early, since AP is throwing a Trailer Trash Party tonight.
Be sure to check lastnightstrash.com to see the photos of it. Should be a good
time. Okay, well off to grab lunch and get to the booth, we have Thursday signing
later, which should be pretty huge. —Eddie Fleisher
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JULY
7, 2006—POMONA,
CA
Today was incredibly hot. I can feel my skin burning. Luckily,
my amazing girlfriend packed me sunscreen, so I should be good.
Today I got a better grip of how our booth is going this year.
We had some signings with I Am Ghost, Chiodos and Saves The Day.
Our placement sorta sucked, so the lines were pretty much crazy.
Vans gave all the tour workers free shoes today, which I was super
happy about. I got some dope green kicks. After teardown, I found
a nice shower and then hit the barbeque where Travis from Gym Class
Heroes was playing some amazing hip-hop tunes from his laptop for
us all to enjoy. A bunch of people were going insane because apparently
Carmen Electra was there too. Weird. Well, that's about it for
today. —Eddie
Fleisher
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JULY
6, 2006—SAN
DIEGO, CA
I didn't get to the tour until about 2 or so, so my day wasn't
too bad. However, I was feeling some jetlag since I'd been up since
6 a.m. Eastern time. Everyone was cool. The dudes who work in our
booth for Atlantic seem to know what they're doing, so I kinda
felt useless. San Diego was looking pretty sweet. There was a nice
skyline of mountains all around us. Once we took our tent down,
I hung out for a few and then hit the bunk—which totally
sucks, by the way. I'm stuck up on the top bunk, and it's kinda
hard to get out to pee in the middle of the night, which I usually
always do. Luckily, I know some people on the bus from Taste Of
Chaos, so that's rad (Hi Donnie and Rivqa—I'm sure I just
botched your name's spelling again—sorry!). —Eddie
Fleisher
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JULY
4, 2006 — PHOENIX,
AZ
Today
was my last day on tour—for two weeks at least, but
then I'll be back. I felt like a little kid, just bummed I'd be leaving.
You know how everyone was going to a sleepover, but your parents
wouldn't let you go? You just felt like you knew you'd be missing
out on all this fun. But of course, I had the whole day to get my
fun time—er, work time in. I've never felt a heat like the
heat in Phoenix. I'm from Texas, and this was way more unbearable.
But, leave it to Epitaph and Vans to find the spot with the water-mist
contraption to set up by. I'm pretty sure the entire tour wished
they were us that day.
After
the past few days of trying to nail down a signing with with Chiodos,
we finally had the time to get them in the AP booth. Turnout was
amazing. They'll definitely be doing more signings with us. We
managed to get Silverstein and the Pink Spiders in the booth as
well. After the last incident with the Spiders (Matt getting lost
and not showing up to the booth until the end), it was no wonder
it happened again, only this time it was Bob, the drummer, who
got distracted and left behind. One day, I swear we'll get them
in the booth all at the same time. I made the mistake of asking
a 30-something if they were in line for the Spider's signing (I
was trying to get the fans to understand what single-file meant)
he just looked at me and said "Does it look like I'd be in line for this?" Sorry
dude, you are at Warped Tour. I guess the heat was getting to everyone.
It's just a good thing they're there for there fans and don't mind
going the extra mile to mingle with their fans. Oh, and how could
I forget, for my send-off signing, we had the Bouncing Souls in the
booth again. They make me smile; just their willingness to really
talk to their fans. Anyway, our speedy breakdown, the air-conditioned
bus was for sure my favorite highlight of the day. I somehow managed
to avoid all the 4th of July activities, say my goodbyes and make
it to my hotel. I can't wait for the next two weeks I'm out there. —Lycia
Shrum
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JULY
3, 2006 — LAS CRUCES, NM
I
woke up to picture-perfect mountains and slap-in-your-face heat.
After some fresh fruit and coffee at catering, we headed out to
the field peppered with 18-wheelers, stage hands and travel cases.
Normally, the AP case is the easiest thing to find, mostly cause
it's the biggest one out there. Today, however, it was nowhere
to be found. After a mild heart attack, we finally got word that
one of the trucks broke down—the one with our stuff on it,
of course. I'll admit, secretly I was stoked because that meant
I kinda had a day off. After we delivered the Warped Tour programs
to different booths, we decided to map out our day. We discovered
there was a swimming pool where the showers were located, so needless
to say, that's where I spent the next three hours. And, at 2:30
that afternoon, the lifeguards opened up the end of the pool with
the diving boards, where members of Vaux and Valient Thorr got
into a diving competition with some 5-year-olds. I'm gonna go ahead
and say I'm pretty sure the five year olds won that fight. —Lycia
Shrum
7/03
Photo Blog - Click
to enlarge |
|
|
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JULY
2, 2006—SAN ANTONIO, TX
We’re
in San Antonio, which means I'm only one hour away from my home
in Austin. Since I couldn't go visit my friends there, they came
to me. It was good to see some familiar faces from home. Surprisingly,
I wasn't hungover from the party in Dallas. That's right, I'm tough!
My two partners in crime were already warned that I would be doin'
some jumpin' around to see some bands play with my friends. It
was nice because I finally got to see some bands, too. I took my
friends to the mainstage to watch the Bouncing Souls, NOFX, Aiden,
AFI and Thursday. Granted, we only watched, like, three songs from
each band, but they got to see them nonetheless.
It
being Sunday and all, we at AP and the rest of the guys in the
Compound (mostly Epitaph) decided it was only appropriate that
we have Bloody Marys. AP did a signing with From Autumn To Ashes
and decided to have Bloody Marys ready and waiting for them. The
kids loved it, we loved it and they loved it. We also pulled over
our favorite hip-hoppers, Gym Class Heroes, to do a signing with
us as well. I'm pretty sure we squeezed, like, seven people in
the tent for that; maybe more. That's definitely an eclectic bunch
of dudes if I've ever seen some. A new baby band on Epitaph, Vanna,
also decided to come to the show from Austin that day just to hang
out. I know once we leave Texas, it's only gonna get hotter... —Lycia
Shrum
7/02
Photo Blog - Click
to enlarge |
Gym Class Heroes
|
Gym Class Heroes
|
From Autumn
To Ashes |
From Autumn
To Ashes |
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JULY
1, 2006—DALLAS, TX
Ever
since Miami, I've been looking forward to the Dallas show; mostly
because of the Trailer Trash Party that was to take place in the
Big D. But of course, we had to get through the day before the
real party could begin. We had our first signing with the Pink
Spiders today. Leave it to those dudes to ooze rock ‘n’ roll
(read: Matt Friction was late to the signing). While it would have
been way more rock-star to say he was late due to sleeping in because
of an insane night of partying, truthfully, he was late because he
got lost and couldn't find the AP tent. He showed up as the last
kid was going through the line to get their Spiders poster signed.
Being the nice guys that they are, they hung around outside the tent
for at least another 30 minutes to get pictures in, and any kid that
went through the line before Matt showed up, got to get one-on-one
time with him in the end. Saves The Day did a signing after their
acoustic set, too. When I questioned them about coming to our Trailer
Trash party that night, Chris Conley informed me his wife and daughter
would be coming out that night to visit. That was the only acceptable
excuse I took for anyone not coming to the party.
Later
in the evening, I made my rounds with my friend Jessica to spread
the word about the party, and threatened each and every person
to show up or else. I started hearing rumors about another party
going on that same night. I later found out it was a Canada Day
party— pshhh,
that's no excuse in my book. Funny thing is, the next day, everyone
who had some lame excuse for not going to our party was so bummed
they missed out. I guess they learned their lesson. The party was
amazing. Way more intimate than Miami, and the bar tab made it through
the whole night. Let this be a lesson to all—AP and the Compound
doesn't know how to throw a bad bash. Remember that for next time. —Lycia
Shrum
7/01
Photo Blog - Click
to enlarge |
Pink Spiders
|
Pink Spiders
|
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JUNE
30, 2006—HOUSTON, TX
Today,
I finally had my 15 minutes of fame. Fuse TV came by the tent during
our signing with the Academy Is.... I'm pretty sure that was the
first time I’ve ever spoke into
a microphone. I guess we'll have to wait and see when the episode
airs whether or not I'm a complete shmuck on camera. We have pictures
of Fuse's brief interview with William while the Academy was doing
their signing with us, too. We also had the Bouncing Souls do another
signing, as well as Valient Thorr and Aiden. Aiden's singer, wIL,
was MIA at their signing because he had to go to the hospital to
check-up on his broken finger that he got a few dates back.
After
we broke down for the night, the Compund decided to throw a Trailer
Trash party, in original form—from the back of the
Epitaph trailer. I think we're gonna start doing the pre-Trailer
Trash Party a couple nights prior to the parties we have been throwing
in selected clubs in selected citites. Dallas party details and pics
will be here soon. For now, check out the Miami pics at lastnightstrash.com. —Lycia
Shrum
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JUNE
28, 2006—ATLANTA, GA
Forgive
me for this: We had some rad signings yesterday, but blame it on
technology again for no pics. I say AP should expense a camera
for us (wink wink.) But anyway, we had some lovely southern boys
hangin' out in the tent doin' some meet-and-greet action with Georgia
fans. Emery and Emanuel were the southern gentlemen I expected
them to be. But of course we had to balance it out with some New
Brunswick action from the Thursday camp. With the Bouncing Souls
doing a signing across the way with Epitaph, we got to witness
some friendly banter back and forth from their tent to ours. All
we heard is, "Hey,
Thursday, you can't do a signing on Wednesday!" When the signing
was all said and done, us, Thursday and Ben and Josh from From Autumn
To Ashes decided to retreat to the margarita stand for some refreshing
beverages.
I
learned as the day went by that tonight would be the last night
the Buzzcocks would be on the tour. It was convienient for our
bus to be directly behind the mainstage, for the simple fact that
we wanted to get a primo spot to watch the Buzzcocks. Lots of bands
came out to give the band a final farewell, including a grand finale
with members of Thursday, the Bouncing Souls, Anti-Flag, the Casualties
and NOFX accompanying the singer for the Buzzcocks with a family-oriented
sing-along. Pictures of that will be coming soon... —Lycia
Shrum
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JUNE
27, 2006—RALEIGH,
NC
I
woke up knowing one thing today: We were in the home state of one
of the most entertaining bands on tour—Valient Thorr. With
Fuse TV buzzing around next door in their tent, the hype was building
for their mainstage performance. We even had Herbie of Valient Thorr
harassing our line for the Academy Is...’s signing with their
hovering megaphone. As soon as William Beckett showed up to the AP
tent, Herbie quickly informed him of one sassy-mouthed girl who should
be shunned from the line because of her smarmy attitude. (Herbie
is not one to be reserved in anything he does.) And yes, there was
more rain, just in case you were curious whether or not our liquidy
streak had continued.
It was AFI's first day of tour today, so needless to say, we got
a bazillion questions about all things AFI. It's just too bad their
sound kept cutting in and out during their set. The show was also
stopped due to the medics needing to pull a kid out of the crowd.
Hopefully everyone is okay!
Later,
I waited for Thorr to go on, along with half the tour. They’re
one of those bands for the bands. It seems like everyone I talk to
anticipates their show—moreso than the headliners sometimes.
They're definitely a must see. —Lycia Shrum
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JUNE
26, 2006—LADSON,
SC
I'm pretty sure South Carolina just got the biggest treat of their
lives. If my sources are correct, this was the first time Warped
Tour ever came through their state. It's just too bad their state
had to contribute to our stretch of bad weather. The whole, on
again, off again rain thing needs to go!
A
weird thing happened to me while in the booth trying to sell AP
subscriptions. A kid inquired about what was going on at the tent.
I explained to him we were selling $5 subscriptions to the magazine.
He blankly stared at me, and I knew right then that he had no idea
what Alternative Press was. Though he didn't buy a subscription,
I did send him on his way with his very first copy of it. Let's
just hope he expands his collection. —Lycia
Shrum
6/26
Photo Blog - Click
to enlarge |
Hellogoodbye
|
Hellogoodbye
|
Hellogoodbye
|
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JUNE
25, 2006—ORLANDO,
FL
I'm pretty sure every time it rains, I will forever be reminded of
Florida. I will give it to the fans who came out to see their favorite
bands. They were never gonna let the rain stop them. During our
Senses
Fail signing today, one dedicated fan opted to plop right down at the
first spot in line and wait for an hour. We at AP, being the loving
and thoughtful people that we are, decided to give her an AP Cut Pass
allowing her to go somewhere dry to get out of the rain and still have
her #1 spot. So just remember, if you're nice to us, we'll be nice
to you.
Later,
From Autumn To Ashes came by for a signing, took pics with every
kid that wanted one, and were eager to do it as well. They also
decided to set up camp there to avoid the rain. Of course, we were
happy to provide them with shelter. You just can't say no to good
conversation. And on Warped Tour, good conversation involves how
much you love showers and how you can't wait for the next. —Lycia
Shrum
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JUNE
24, 2006—MIAMI, FL
Saturday, was a touch-and-go kind of day for the weather. With the
sun ducking and dodging behind looming black clouds, it was inevitable
for the heavens to open up. But luckily, old schoolers the Bouncing
Souls rode up to the tent with their BMX caravan to give the swarm
of kids something to smile about. There couldn't be a more gracious
group of guys. They talked to each fan that came through the
Line, whether about tattoos, music, bikes, whatever; they put everything
on a personal level.
Somewhere
after my so-so plate o' veggies and our Rise Against signing, God
decided to punish Warped Tour by delivering weather of monsoon
proportions. It just proved how dedicated NOFX fans are. While
trying to dry off and take shelter on the bus, I started hearing
a chant of “NOFX, NOFX, NOFX!” It's
stuff like that, that makes this all worthwhile.
After
going through approximately 3,234 towells collectively as a tour
and witnessing one brave soul who wanted/needed a shower so badly
he decided to lather up behind the mainstage, the Trailer Trash
Party got underway. With DJs ranging from members of Aiden to the
Buzzcocks, the dance floor filled, especially once everyone got
a couple drinks in them. Nothin' like an open bar to loosen inhibitions.
Be sure and check www.lastnightstrash.com for radical pictures
of the event. And if you want to be a part of the most amazing
party Warped Tour has to offer, keep an eye out for Trailer Trash
Party flyers at selected Warped Tour dates. —Lycia
Shrum
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JUNE 23, 2006 -- VINOY, FL
One of my favorite things about the AP tent is being across from the
Vagrant stage, mostly 'cause the Bled put on a fantasmo show! Our
favorite Vagrant veterans, Saves The Day, also came by to do a signing
today, hot pink hair and socks to match. Sorry there's no pics of
our color-coordinated friends; blame it on SideKick technology. Cartel
were a great bunch of guys during their signing, too. They posed
for every pic that flashed their way--they don't know how to say
no to the camera! -Lycia Shrum
6/23
Photo Blog - Click
to enlarge |
AP Booth
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Cartel
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Cartel
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Emanuel |
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JUNE
22, 2006 -- JACKSONVILLE, FL
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JUNE
21, 2006—NASHVILLE, TN
What
can I say about Nashville but hot and dirty! I arrived at the venue
a little late because I took a quick trip home to have a party
with Head Automatica, the Bled, Bouncing Souls and the Briefs,
who I must say are all very amazing dudes. We drank lots of Mickey’s
beer. Good times were rolled!
Anyway,
after changing into my work wear, I busted a move up to the booth
to find everything a mess. It was a drop-ship day, meaning everything
we have for the next 8 shows got delivered all at once. Like Survivor,
kinda. Anyway, that's normally the day I get bitched out by all
the crazy tattooed tour crew because I have about 8000 pounds of
shit piled on the truck and they want to toss half of it in the
trash (truth!) and I have to fight and stand around making sure
it makes it on the truck. (FYI, Andy I love you for having AP’s
back and making it happen).
Later
we did signings with Aiden and Armor For Sleep. Kids definitely
rooted on Aiden, who had never played Nashville. And serously,
wiL, I love you, you’re my boy, but dude, all that black in this
heat? It’s got to be killing you, or at least rotting one side
of you brain. Kidding, I love ya.
Armor For Sleep was the second signing, and I didn't really know
what to think. Seemed like nice guys, but not a peep out of them.
After
it was all over, I snuck into the VIP bar and had a few margies
with my Atlantic boys. It was funny! The first round cost 36 bucks
and the second 42? Crazy, right. The dude chased after me yelling
about more money. Showed him my receipt and he still asked for
more money—shady!
Anyway,
I gots to go. Some crazy security guard knocked over half my tent
this morning then said, "It’s an accident, bitches,
don't even open your mouths." Welcome to corporate Warped Tour. —Aaron
Wilson
6/21
Photo Blog - Click
to enlarge |
Armor For Sleep |
Helmet |
Helmet |
Letters Organzied |
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Senses Fail Acoustic |
The Bled |
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June
16, 2006—COLUMBUS, OH
Well, it was our second night on the bus but our first traveling night, and let
me just tell you, thank God it’s not me on this tour for the summer. I
normally ride on bus #2, its a production bus and most of my old friends from
the tour live on it each summer. Well this year, since I’m not out for
the summer, we stuck the AP person on bus #2 and except for about 4 people blows
chunks! I laid in my bunk this morning for about 10 minutes waiting for the 2
idiots in the bunks below me to get out of the way and they only did so after
I informed them that in order for me to get out of the bunk they needed to get
the hell out of the hallway (fyi the hallway is maybe 2 feet wide). These are
the same 2 people that brought their tour lounge chairs onto the bus and left
them in the hallway till about 10pm the night before, GOOD ONE! With 12 people
going in and out, that was a really considerate thing to do to the rest of the
bus (KIDDING!).
We did signings with Aiden and the Buzzcocks. The line for Aiden was interesting
and went on for about an hour and a half. The crazy part of it was the number
of kids that would meet the band then get back in line to meet them again. My
boy wiL was on fire during his signing, stretching across the tables and getting
into each and every photos. It was a good time! The Buzzcocks signing freaked
me out. Only about 10 people showed up for it, but the band seemed unaffected
by the small turnout and turned it on for everyone that asked for an autograph.
I was so into it! Both my boy Tim who helps run the AP booth and I asked the
band for photos. I could normally give 2 shits about getting a photos or even
autograph from a band, but this was to good to pass up. I left the tour around
5:30 to drive to Cleveland for the AP CMJ cleveland showcase on Saturday with
Head Automatica and Damone and DJ sets from the Briefs, Bouncing Souls, the Bled
and Head A. GOOD TIMES! —Aaron Wilson
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June
15, 2006—COLUMBIA, MD
Woke up from my first night on the bus a little hungover, I must say. Ended up
drinking almost a bottle of patron with Gijodi (head of the sponsorship world)
and after drinking about four bottles of water to moisten up my throat found
my way to the tent. Our tent, by the way, is being half-run by the street-teamers
for a record label (I won’t mention which one in case things get ugly down
the road). Well they had about 6 people in the booth trying to do about 10 things
at the same time, and each would only finish about half the job. Except for my
boy Keith Jenkins—he’s always on top of things. Anyway anyone that
knows me will agree that I’m not good with more than about, umm, zero people
till I have about 4 cups of coffee. So it took pretty much everything in me to
get through the morning.
We
made it through doors and did signings with Silverstein and Gym
Class Heroes. I have been doing signings with the guys from Silverstein
for about 2 years (great dudes all the way around) and things run
pretty smoothly. About an hour-long line and lots of photos, which
all will look amazing I’m sure with the new AP backdrop in
the pics. Gym Class Heroes is a new band for me and I really didn’t
know what to expect. It was crazy! they had a bullhorn and really
really worked the line, and if there wasn’t a line, they
dragged people in. It was a lot of fun! They cracked a lot of jokes
and did this crazy sing-along thing where they would change the
words to songs from bands like Fall Out Boy. Very funny! —Aaron
Wilson
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June
14, 2006—COLUMBIA, MD (staging)
Well, if I was headed out for the summers Warped Tour, it would be my 8th year
in a row. But this year, I have decided to enjoy the only tolerable time of the
year in Cleveland and stay home. But I’m out for about the first five days
of Warped summer camp, and boy, have things changed. First of all, they dumped
about half the run-down tour buses from 1982 for big shiney new ones, amazing!
I thought Lyman would take those till the end. Seriously, one year at about 4
a.m., I climbed out of my bunk to take a piss and with one eye open noticed that
I could see all the way through to the highway under the toilet, gross! any way
pretty stoked for our gal Lycia to not have to ride on a crappy bus.
Anyway,
spent the first day talking to old friends, kissing rockstar ass
and looking for a box containing the tops to our new AP tent (which
you best be stopping by for a visit). After seriously like four
years of freaking out, I found out that the package never actually
went out. First day of Warped with no tent tops would be a very
bad thing. They ended up showing up the next day about 15 minutes
before doors, thank God. —Aaron Wilson
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