9.23.2007

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

COMEBACK KID.

kevin // bass


casey // guitar


wiggy // drums.


goose // vocals, bonnie // merch/girlfriend.


jeremy // guitar/van driver/weirdo.


puc // tour manager.


RISE AGAINST.

tim // vocals.


zac // guitar/looking like ian mackaye.


joe // bass/iphone.


brandon // drums.


casper // tour manager/sound/yelling at jon kenna.


j-val // merch/off day loungie.


mike // drum tech.


dara // sound/thick accents.


johnny // monitors.


geoff // guitar tech.


spider // bass tech.


amanda // occasional tm assistant.


john (?) // truck driver/raffi look-a-like.


SILVERSTEIN.

paul // drums/business/stressin'.


josh // guitar/safety inspector.


shane // vocals.


neil // guitar.


kevin // guitar tech/hilarious drunk.


joe foster // merch/sweet bro/tv on dvd connoisseur.


sean palmer // sound/naked phantom/electronic touch of death/freak outs.


jon kenna // tour manager/former mizzou student/shirtless.


mark smith // video.


OTHER.

bailey // cancer bats bassist.

9.18.2007

TOP FIVE THINGS CONSIDERED AT 3:40 AM [CST]

01. the new as cities burn record rips.
02. i don't really like metal.
03. "how excited [i am] for great hangouts when [i] get back"
04. of my twenty-four myspace top friends, exactly half are of opposite gender.
05.i have some really great people in my life, whom of which i am extremely grateful for, and for those who are not so great, i have no place.

thank you.

9.17.2007

SALT LAKES & RED ROCKS.

the last few shows have been in some extremely interesting venues.

wednesday we were in magna utah, at the great salt air venue, which was basically an old morman temple in the middle of no where that was converted into a venue. the show was amazing, especially since rise was expecting a poor turn out due to tickets not selling all too fast. the place ended up packing out, and the show was a banger. it marked the last night that the bats were on tour, which was sad.

so like i said, the venue was pretty much dropped down in the middle of a salt flat next to the lake, surrounded by mountains.




i decided to take an adventure, and walk out into the salt flats (basically parts of the lake that were dried up, or the tide was out in this part of the season. there were big spots that looked like iced over puddles, but really it wasn't cold at all, the water was just so saturated with salt.


the further i walked, the sketchier the ground beneath me became. i made the mistake of doing this walk in flip flops, and payed for it when i sunk ankle deep in shitty, salty mud. at this point, i realized i had no other choice but to continue walking to the water, and wash my feet in it, regardless of how disgusting it looked. needless to say, i washed my feet again in the shower the second i got back to the venue.



definitely a beautiful spot for being a wasteland.





thursday was probably one of the most memorable shows of my entire career in music! we were graced with the oportunity to play at the red rocks amphitheater in denver colorado. for those of you who haven't heard of red rocks, it's an amphitheater carved out of the side of a mountain.










for the past half century, the venue has hosted a number of music's most elite artists. the walls of the backstage are covered with photos and artwork from past events, as well as a list of every event ever held on their magnificant stage. i decided to make a little collage of my favourite artists on those lists.




i took in the cool afternoon sun while watching the rise soundcheck, and enjoying my surroundings as much as i could while i was there. snapped a shot of mike checking the drums and a few of the band checking.




casey popped by to say hello, and share his excitement of the venue's catering desert cart!


neil and sarah take in the wonder while sitting on the rocks behind the stage.


i watched the majority of the show from the soundbooth, and grabed some shots of comeback kid opening up as the assigned seating filed in.



denver's own bill hamilton super fan william woods was about as pumped as ever for this show. we managed to give him a few new pieces for his silverstein memoriabilia shrine/collection throughout the night.


rise absolutely killed it, putting on easily one of the finest, most memorable and important shows of their career. i was definitely proud to see my friends come such a long way to play this gorgeous venue infront of a packed 8000+ crowd.


drunk kevin decided that after sum41 (who also graced the bill with their pop-punk/talk-more-than-rock set) left their dressing room, he would "see-yuh" their entire rider, as well as this chair. "see-yuh sum41!"


another cool thing about this great venue/nation park, they provide a bicycle repair station for those who come to ride the red rocks trails! great idea!


hopefully in a few years we may make it back to the red rocks, and if we do, hopefully our name made it onto the wall next to rise against, and if that is the case, i'm really hoping it doesn't say "silverstien pickup" like the dvd they gave us :S