The Wonder Years / Real Friends / Knuckle Puck / Moose Blood / Seaway Tour • Page 17

Really? I think the Crofoot is my least favorite Michigan venue. Every sold out show is so uncomfortable. You can't just stand in the back of the crowd and watch the show because the floor is way too packed. And the balcony is pretty useless. It's just too big and unless you're right on the railing you can not see anything because they do not have any raise platforms.

 

I like it quite a bit, honestly. Reasonable price for parking, walking distance to some restaurants, spacious lobby, lax security and the staff for the most part is pretty nice. Agreed it's definitely full and the poles on the sides of the bar are annoying, but I always like going there.

 

This sounds dumb but I have VIP for Portland tomorrow and I'm nervous about it, I don't know what to say to the band. How do TWY meet and greets usually go? Lots of time to chat or is it an in and out sort of situation? Also really hoping we get TGG deep cuts for soundcheck, I miss hearing those songs live.

I'll be in Seattle the next day too, really interested to see if they change the set or if PDX and SEA are far enough away from each other that it'll be the same set. I'll report back.

 

I'm doing VIP tomorrow night too, I think I read that the Soundcheck performance is based on requests so just be loud I guess. I think I also read that it's just a signing not really a Q&A so there probably won't be too much lingering or awkward empty space.

 

They pick songs out of a hat

 

Not sure if we'll switch up the sets between Portland/Seattle. Haven't discussed yet.

FWIW, we purposefully make sure the wording on our VIP doesn't say "meet & greet". We just do a signing. Any "meet & greet" I've ever seen has been a mess of people trying to talk to the singer of said band and the rest of the band standing around. Really not our vibe. But if you have multiple records or anything you want signed, bring 'em all. I'm 99% sure that you'll have a chance to take everything back to your car if you need to.

As for songs, there was an email request form that you should've gotten. We just write down all the songs on little slips of paper and have the crowd pick 4 of them out of a hat. There are usually 30+ songs in there. We've played songs off every record. (Yes. Even that one.)

 

Any way you can bring a copy of NCTH on vinyl to the VIP for me? I'll have money and the other 3 records, would love the complete collection signed if possible.

 

I want to give a shoutout to The Wonder Years for yesterday's concert in San Diego. They had a tire fall off their trailer, and they thought they weren't going to make the concert, but they soldiered on after getting it fixed, played the show without a sound check or getting their lighting package set up. And then, to top it off, since VIP didn't get their soundcheck/signing, they stayed after the show to play 4 acoustic songs for VIP and do the signing even after such a long day. These guys were seriously some of the most genuine, hard working, and friendly guys I've met. And they deserve major kudos for making things work out for their fans, even if it didn't go exactly to plan.

 

Went to the LA Date last night. Wonder years killed it per usual. They've really upped their set production as well. I was loving everything they did with the lights and interludes.
Something a bit upsetting though is that judging by the crowd ,you wouldn't think this was a wonder years headliner. Seemed like a little chunk Of kids cleared out after real friends and there was a noticeable lack of movement and enthusiasm in the crowd during their set. Perhaps because all the openers are part of this newer wave of pop punk bands, the demographic leaned more towards younger pop punk fans who aren't as familiar with TWY ? Each opener was well received and had a lot of kids going nuts.

 

That seems to be the case at every show. we're getting old!

 

I don’t really know how to begin this. I am trying to find the best way to sugar coat this or make it easier, but unfortunately we will not be able to go through with our tour this December in the UK and Europe. There is no beef, we are not breaking up, nobody is fighting, and nobody is mad at each other. It is a collective decision that we feel we had to make, because at this point it seems to be more of a “wrong place, wrong time” situation than we could have ever anticipated. Honestly, it fucking sucks that we aren’t able to make it over, but there are things that must be addressed in our personal lives and there are people whom we love and are important to us that we need to help and be there for, and we must look after our own personal wellbeing.

For a few years I have been struggling with an ebb and flow of anxiety, extreme self doubt, and unnecessary paranoia. We are lucky enough to have Dan, our merch guy, our agent Jason, and our manager Evange, who we see as more than employees or business partners and more than an exchange of money for our mutual benefits. We were able to bring people into our family that cared as much about what we’re doing as if they were helping to write the songs and convey these feelings with us. We signed to Fearless Records, people who believe in us whole heartedly and have gone above and beyond for our band to foster our growth and reach new people and audiences. We have opened shows, tours, and became friends with so many bands and people whom we had looked up to and helped us when we were trying to figure out who we were and how we fit into this world. We got to be a part of Warped Tour, not once, not twice, but three times, which was something that would only ever happen in dreams that I considered to be too far out of reach to ever manifest themselves in our lives. We have fans who have supported us, cared for us, related to us and our music, and made our craziest dreams possible. And yet I felt that it didn’t make sense, that I was inadequate, unfit, and unworthy to be able to do something that some of my closest friends and I had loved and worked endlessly to achieve. There can only be so much that anybody can take, both positive and negative, especially when dealing with an anxiety disorder or any other underlying mental afflictions and issues for that matter.

I have been doing this current tour sober because I was reaching a point where I was self diagnosing and self medicating something that I still don’t completely understand, but thought that I could temporarily conquer for the sake of being able to do something that we all truly love and believe in. I felt that if I stepped away to receive help it would affect and possibly destroy this beautiful thing that we are extremely lucky to have in our lives. I thought I would be putting myself in front of other people when there are people we could help and reach out to with our music. And most importantly I didn’t want to disappoint all the people that had placed their faith in us, in what we could create, and our potential. I was speaking on stage about the importance of mental health, reaching out for help, and not being ashamed to do so when I was doing the exact opposite. I was worrying everybody close to me, my communication skills were next to non existent, and if I had gone any longer things would have been very dangerous for me. I hadn’t reach the point of no return, but if it went on much longer I would have been in a much worse place.

Being sober has helped opened my eyes to the fact that it wasn’t the weed, alcohol, or a possible dependency that was shutting me off from everything and everyone I cared for. It definitely did not help with the excess I became accustomed to, but in the end it was my mental health that needed to be addressed. I have had an erratic sleep schedule that sleep aids haven’t been able to curb, which with my current state can be extremely dangerous overseas with adjusting to jetlag. I need to be present, sharp, and focused, and at this point I feel that as great as this tour could be it would have an extreme emotional and mental toll on my wellbeing. I have been experiencing manic swings that in some cases lend themselves in positive ways and have made me more productive and sociable than I’ve been in a while, but when the smoke clears I am left feeling stressed, stretched thin, paranoid, depressed, and more anxious than I have ever been. There could possibly be a hereditary chemical imbalance and I need to seek professional help and care for my wellbeing if I am going to continue to contribute doing what we love with integrity and dignity. How am I supposed to tell people to love themselves for both their strengths and their flaws when I haven’t been doing that myself?

We are going to be finishing this current tour with The Wonder Years, Knuckle Puck, Moose Blood, and Seaway with the help of these amazing people, who we are privileged to be close with and have the support system they have been more than willing to provide for us. I want to reassure everybody that Real Friends, as a band, as people, as friends, and as a family are in a good place.

Personally, I need help and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I don’t have to get better for anyone other than myself, and I am finding the self worth to admit that. I may have a problem that is out of my control at this point in time, but now I have the ability and strength to recognize that I can continue taking steps to eventually have control over it. For the first time in a while I have a good feeling about the future and need to take measures to make that a reality. We are working on a rescheduled tour for the first half of 2017 and hope to announce these in the next few weeks. If you don't want to wait until then refunds are available at point of purchase. We want to figure out a way to make this tour even more special when we are able to make it back, especially because we don’t get too many chances to come to the UK and Europe. When we do this, everything will be right. Everything will feel right. Everything is and will be fine, sometimes it just takes work to get there.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for making so much of the good in our lives possible.

With love and understanding, Dan.

 

Hey Dan,

I just wanted to wish you the best of luck on your road to recovery and hope you find the help you need.

We met at the Alexisonfire aftershow in Chicago last year and had a great time and talked for quite a while. As someone who also considers themselves a strong mental-health supporter, I'm happy to see that you're able recognize your own needs, break the stigma, and commit to doing what's best for yourself long-term.

Good luck, and even though it may not sound like much coming from essentially a stranger, I'm proud of you.

 

I went to the Houston date last night and it was...interesting. Btw anything I say in this post is not meant to be disrespectful to anyone in any of the bands I'm just stating what I saw.

I unfortunately missed Seaway. I had heard a bunch about Moose Blood and was excited to see them. They didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed their set and will definitely be checking out their album now. Not much to say about Knuckle Puck. Not my cup of tea.

While I'm not the biggest Real Friends fan, they had a very enjoyable set. I also really respect how they run their band and they all seem like very nice guys. In fact, my sister loves them, and when we valeted our car, we literally took one step out of the car and Dan happened to be standing right there so my sister got to meet him which made her year.

After Real Friends, we saw huge groups of people leaving. During TWY set, there were huge spaces with nobody standing there. Even so close as to 3 "rows" from the stage. I could've easily walked up and been on the barrier on the side of the stage. It was really disappointing to see how many people left. I've never seen House of Blues that empty. A lot of it probably had to do with most fans having already seen them last year. It was just a really weird vibe in the crowd. At one point, after Madeline finished, it took a crowd no joke 5 seconds to start clapping. It was completely silent. I just felt like the show was lacking true TWYs fans and filled mostly full of people who came to see the other bands and decided to stay and check out TWY. Overall though I always enjoy seeing them and look forward to next time.

 

That's a shame. Every time i have seen TWY in Indy it's been chaotic, but when I saw them in Cincy a few years ago it did feel like the crowd was a little more tame, shrank a bit after TSSF played.

 

I think TWY need to tour more outside of the "pop punk" realm. I know they have before and I think it's been successful. I'd love to see something like PVRIS/TWY co-headliner.

 

that tour makes even less sense based on what they should be going for
TWY/laura stevenson tour should have been done years ago

 

I disagree but to each their own. I think both tours could work well for different reasons.

 

my assumption is TWY would rather get further outside of the warped tour crowd then delve deeper into it

 

Based off of the tour they're on right now that doesn't seem to be the case. And while Pvris has played Warped and probably will again, I don't envision them a typical warped band. They offer a pretty diverse crowd. Real Friends, TSSF, New Found Glory, and bands of that nature are what I think of when I think of a warped tour crowd. That's just my perspective though.

 

Give me a TWY/Menzingers/Laura Stevenson tour and I'll die happy.

Or an even bigger stretch: TWY/John K. Samson.

 

TWY/Menzingers/Jeff Rosenstock/Laura Stevenson

Would be weird but so cool

 

I second The Menzingers pick. Something like The Wonder Years/The Menzingers/ Gates.

 

that TWY/menz/laura stevenson tour was what I was so sure the TGG tour was going to be
instead it was with bad pop punk bands again lol

 

LS works better because at least then there's a woman on the tour
sucks that this tour is all dudes

 

On the topic of moving away for the warped tour pop punk scene, I've been thinking lately that TWY and Taking Back Sunday should tour together. It'd give TWY a chance to open for someone again and Tidal Wave and NCTH share some sonic similarities.