Hardcore Punk in Vietnam....

"Hi Rupert !

i think "A Better Hope Foundation band " can't play successfully, cause In Viet Nam we dont really like Punk much, and this band seem not famous enough for people to know who are they, and to come to see them. And Vietnamese ROCK pleople they 're much into Heavy Metal and Nu-Metal , somethig like Linkin Park Or Metallica.

I just give you my idea,...hope you can decide for the Show"

Las Vegas, NV

about half way to the venue, bailey got a text message saying the the show was cancelled! so we all strted freaking out trying to figure out why the show got cancelled with such short notice and if there was another place we could have the show....the promoter said that the owner of the coffee shop decided to hold a wedding reception there instead of having our show there....its crazy how people that dont understand hardcore and the concept of touring bands can so easily just bail on 5 touring bands....bailey made quite a few calls and sent tons of messages trying to figure shit out. it took a few hours, but he got it worked out to where we could still have the show at the same venue...but we couldnt start the show until 10 pm, after the wedding reception and each band could only play one song...and it had to be a free show, so we wouldnt make any money....but whatever, we needed a show! so we agreed. we met up with the dudes of ill intent at the new york new york hotel and got some good hang out-age going on....we went to the food court to eat some food...i already ate my bread and peanut butter for the day, so i just wanted to get some water.....get this, del taco wanted to charge me 54 cents for a water cup.....literally every place i have ever been to ever will give you a free cup of water....but i guess not las vegas.....so, out of principle, i went to the soda fountain, and weezed the juice straight from the tap (thats a pauley shore reference for those of you who appreciate bad humor) i think i ended up getting more sprite on my face than actually getting water in my mouth, but whatever, i got the point across....we were supposed to meet up with another canadian band, Horizons, but their van broke down, so ill intent went to pick them up as we made our way to the venue.....we hung out for a while and went to food for less while the reception was still ending....everyone at the coffee shop was in a good mood after the party, so they decided to let us each play 4-5 songs each....it was such a good turn out....tons of kids, and a realy cool set up...horizons opened....that band blew me away....the nicest dudes ever and they put on an amazing show......ill intent killed it... they are a really great live band, even though my boy terrance doesnt sing for them anymore, i still loved their set....our set went over really well....it was really intimate and close up....such a cool vibe....we sold TONS of merch after we played....stoked.....2 songs into grave makers set, kids were going nuts, and a fight broke out, so the show got shut down.....figures.....i dont think i will ever understand why kids fight at shows....fuckin idiots....grave maker just brought the house down haha.....definitely my favorite show of this tour so far....after we packed up, we made our way back to the strip to hang out...we gave these weird drunk girls a ride in our van....that was definitely interesting....lets just say, i wouldnt mind if either of them had gotten strangled by any person in our 2 bands...i will leave it at that....we walked around the strip for a little bit, and decided to go to mcdonalds....on our way through a hotel to get there, i definitely got hit on by a lady that turned out to be a hooker...i was flattered at first....we rolled into mcdonalds about 20 deep....made lots of noise, harrassed lots of civilians, creeped out lots of foreign girls and after prying bailey and brian away from their new french girlfrineds, we made our way back to the van, said our goodbyes to ill intent and horizons and left for albuquerque, new mexico

fresno, CA

i woke up at 930 am, expecting to get tattooed by drummer of pressure point at 11 am. when i woke up, by back was absolutely thrashed...i went into the house that we were staying at to round everyone up...jon and eric had to go to the doctors, and a bunhc of the other dudes were rounding up a bunch of people to have a baseball game. i really wanted to play baseball, but how could i turn down a free tattoo on tour? brian, wayne, sina, carlos and i made it to the tattoo shop at 12 and the place was still closed. so we went and picked up some food and came back. the artist tattooing brian finally got to the shop about 20 minutes after we got back there. the artist who was tattooing wayne and i was running way behind because when he was on his way out to leave his house, he found out that his car had been broken into and had everything stolen out of it....bum out!i quickly figured out that there would be no time for me to get a tattoo. we had at least a 4 hour drive to the next show and we didnt want to get there any later than 8 pm. so wayne and brian got tattooed, and i went downstairs and slept. we met back up with the dudes at the house and said our goodbyes...before we got in the van, brian and i both had to use the restroom, and we figured, why not just pee on the chain link fence in the front yard? so we did, and (i really wish i would have gotten a picture of this) jake, the dog of the house didnt like what we were doing, so he started peeing on brian from the other side of the fence! so funny! but he was an adorable dog, and we were peeing on his territory, so it was all good. we made to it to fresno at around 830 pm. as we pulled into the neighborhood that the house show was in, i was growing skeptical of how good the show was going to be....there were no street lights, and a few of the streets looked like a scene out of the movie, Road Warrior. we found the house, and there were tons of cars outside....awesome turn out!this house was punk as fuck....the bands were playing in the back yard, it was a really cool set up...there was definitely a few sheds in the backyard that resembled torture chambers from the movie hostel, or texas chainsaw massacre...awesome...the opening bands were cool, and all the kids were REALLY nice. it was so fun...when we played, i tried getting someone to jump off the roof for a free shirt, but i guess the parents heard me say that over the mic and they came out and made a big fuss over it, so the kid who was going to do it bailed on the free shirt...oh well, at least no one got hurt...our set went over really well. the kids were very welcoming and showed us a really good time...grave maker was up next, and jon couldnt sing because he was being a big pussy punk mother fucker....haha, just kidding jon! earlier when he went to the doctors, he had a small procedure done on his armpit. he had to have part of it cut open....no fun at all....so he was in A LOT of pain and fucked up on medication...so carlos and a few other randmos from the show took care of all the gravemaker vocals...it was a lot of fun...thats one of the things i love about punk and hardcore...anything goes! after the show we all met up at in n out to eat and hang out. then made our way to the house we were staying at....this was definitely and abandoned flophouse...there was running water and electricity, but other waise an empty house with only 2 beds and tons of trash and debros everywhere....oh yeah, and in the kitchen sink there was a plate of old moldy food that we were trying to decided if it was donut holes or meatballs with candy sprinkles on them...the place had a lot of charachter to say the least.jon, sergio and i slept in the van with the doors open. it was such a nice night out. matt was saying something about sleeping on the roof of the house, but i never asked him how that panned out for him.....next stop, LAS VEGAS

Sacramento fucking rules

we got to the house that the show was at in sacramento at 4 pm. the show was supposed to start at 5. as soon as we pulled up and saw the spot that the show was going to be at, i knew it was going to be a good time. it was in a big garage in the back of this house. oh, and they had these bunnies...

we got all loaded in, and the dude who put on the show brought out all kinds of food and soda for us...so stoked...

everyone we met was super nice to us right off the bat. we felt right at home in this environment. one of the coolest things about this show is, there was a very diverse crowd. hardcore kids, punks, skinheads, tons of mutants...so awesome. i really think thats what makes shows great, is when no one cares who is who and what they are...everyone just came out to have a good time. 

one of the coolest parts about the show was, our good friend, and my old roomate, jim rice, and his girl friend, amy came out to the show....so, awesome getting to see friends on the road...and if that wasnt cool enough, jim brought us carrot fucking cupcakes....if you know me at all, you know how siked i get about free treats....i love you jim!

Grave Maker showed up soon after us. it was really cool seeing those dudes. the show started around 6.. the first 3 bands were, in desperation, knuckle puck and plead the fifth...all really good bands...we played 4th...had a really good show. i always have such a good time playing. even if no one moves for us or sings along, i just love playing. i think it went over really well with all the kids who came out..

after us was poverty bay saints...this was my third time seeing these guys within one week, and it was my favorite time out of the 3. this band is so fucking good, and i cant wait to play more shows with them.

it had been a while since i saw grave maker play a show..i almost forgot how awesome these guys are live...im so lucky that i get to see them play every day for the next 3 weeks....our good friend carlos from costa rica is grave makers roadie on this tour...its going to be such a good time...the crowd lost their minds for grave maker. they play such an intense show, and the kids eat it up.

pressure point played last...i was really stoked to play with these guys...they have been around for 15 years, and i have so much respect for them...this was a relatively small show for them, and they still had a great time...they played so good...did 4 really awesome cover songs, and tons of sing alongs. such a good band...i cant believe we got to play with them....

after the show, i got hooked up with a poverty bay saints shirt, and pressure point shirt...one of my favorite parts of being in a band, haha...as sina would say, im a huge "fan boy" so i love that shit...

poverty bay saints left for seattle, and us, gravemaker and pressure point made our way to a coffee shop called True Love....little did i know, this placed was owned by Kevin Seconds! so awesome....and if that wasnt cool enough, when we walked upstairs to order coffee, he was working there!!! i couldnt believe it....7 seconds is one of my biggest inspirations, so you can imagine how excited i was to be in the same room with this dude....he was so cool, and nice to talk to...very gracious about me being a fan boy, and he took a few pictures with us...then after that, we went downstairs to hang out...a couple of dudes from killing the dream came to hang out...this was definitely a night to remember, and a perfect way to kick off the ABHF/Grave Maker tour....

Reno to Sacramento Playlist...

Infest- No Man's Slave

The Hellacopters- Head Off

Kyoko- The Layover EP

The Mercury Program- All the Suits Began to Fall Off

The Dillinger Escape Plan- Under the Running Board

Blacklisted- Peace on Earth, War on Stage

Another Victim- A Portrayal of Vengeance

Reno, NV

after driving straight through the whole night and dropping our friend nate off in sacramento, we jumped on the 80 east and headed to reno. we made a little pit stop at the truckee river for a nature walk.

fuckin awesome

after we got our fill of sight seeing, we headed over to my parents house in sparks. we got greeted by my dad and the 2 most adorable attack dogs ever, my chihuahuas Ruby and Saffron. we found out that Death Before Dishonor was playing a show in reno on thursday  night...so, we decided to go to that show to pass out flyers for our show on friday. my dad made us some amazing pasta for dinner, then we headed into town to print flyers and go visit my mom at her work.  my dad had to work early the next morning, so we dropped him off at the house before we went to the show. 

we got to the show and there were TONS of kids there...it wasnt suprising, Death Before Dishonor has a huge draw where ever they go. CDC was on the bill too. there was a couple hours before the show was over, so we walked around downtown reno to check out the city.  while we were out, i seperated from the crew for a little while to meet up with janet reno. we walked back to the show to meet back up with the band and hung out for a while...at the venue, there was a mobile diner truck. he was selling burritos, corn dogs, fries, all kinds of junk....so awesome. the show ended and we passed out tons of flyers. as we were running out of flyers, there was a dude standing outside of the door, waiting for someone to come out. apparently there was "pit beef" during the show, and it needed to be settled....now, keep in mind, we are from southern CA. fights at shows where we are from are BEYOND  rare. so, i didnt think much of it...i figured they would just argue a little, and it would be done.  that definitely was not the case...the dude came out of the venue, and the guy who was waiting for him just started throwing blows. then as soon as that started, some other guy ran up, and fucking sprayed BEAR MACE in the dudes face! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?! who does that??? it pretty much spread throughout the entire block and made everyone cough up their lungs...

after the bear mace bomb, we headed back to my parents house to hang out. and bring our night to an end. JR and i went to this really cool place where you walk up this trail and once you get to the top, you can see all of reno and sparks...so awesome. i dropped her off, then i headed back to the house and i slept in the van. before we left for tour, matt and i installed a new bench seat in our van that folds out into a bed, so sleeping in the van is ideal. 

friday morning, we got up around 930 am. matt, sergio and i went out to run some errands and buy some maple syrup for the pancakes that my mom made for us. once we got back, my mom had pancakes, eggs, tons of fruit and bacon for the meat eaters in the group. SO MUCH food! i ate so much that i puked...LITERALLY. for the rest of the day, most of us just lounged around and watched tv and surfed the internet.

 my dad made us some delicious bean burritos before we left for the venue. we got to the show around 7 for load-in. Brandon, the dude who put on the show got there around 715 and told us the show probably wouldnt start until around 9. so, we walked around downtown, and again i split from the boys to meet up with my friend. as i was walking, i got a call from brandon, saying that the opening band bailed! so lame. they were upset that there was such a low attendance, so they didnt feel like playing...what a bunch of weenies. then brandon told me that the whole show might be cancelled dude to low attendance. i was soooo bummed out because our show the night before was cancelled. i told brandon that we REALLY wanted to play, but we didnt want him to lose any money on the show, so we asked if we could move the show to someones house....by the time i got back to the venue, matt was backing the trailer up to load our equipment. turns out that brandon convinced the venue owner to let us have the show for free....STOKED! we just wanted to play....we dont care about low attendance...we set up our gear and merch and played the show. its really too bad that it was such a small show because the venue was AWESOME. the sound was so great, and the place had a really good design for a hardcore show...despite all the problems, we had a great time playing. brandons band, 1618 played after us. they had a really tight set, and they are all such good dudes. it turned out to be a really fun night, and im so stoked that they pulled through for us with a show. they even managed to pull together enough gas money for us to get to the next show with any money out of our own pockets. we hung out for a little bit, then headed back to my parents house, then i drove my friend home.

when i got back, the dudes were watching the movie, Scrooged and Sina and Sergio were making mashed potatoes. i checked my email, hung out for a little, then headed back out to the van to sleep.  Reno was a total success.

things that ruled about reno:

nature walks

crucial hang outs with mom, dad, the puppies and friends

lots of free food

things that sucked about reno:

the bear mace incident

no one baked me any home made cookies

having to leave reno - this place rules and im coming back as soon as tour is over

we are leaving in a little while to go meet up with our boys Grave Maker in sacramento. im so siked about the show tonight. so many good bands...this will be my first time getting to see Pressure Point. that band rules so hard. and we get to play with poverty bay saints again. tonight should be a good time. there is a chance i might get tattooed in sac. we'll see how it pans out. good bye reno...see you soon 

first day of our fall tour - riverside CA

day 1 - pharoahs den

Ceremony, Poverty Bay Saints

we got to the venue right on time at 630 pm. the dude who owns the venue was no where to be found. we were a little worried that maybe he forgot about it or something. i started freaking out that we might not have had a show, but, it all worked out. the first 2 bands were pretty cool. cut the line opened, then broken patterns. it was a really good turn out by the time we played. somewhere around 100+ kids were in the room. we were having a free skatedeck giveaway for whoever went the craziest for our set. well, we still have the skatedeck. no one really moved haha. we played a great set. we were totally on and we all felt really good and had lots of energy. it was really nice to play a show again. this was our first show since we got back from central america.  so, it felt really good. Poverty bay saints played after us. they did really good. i really like their sound a lot. make sure and check them out if you havent yet. Ceremony played last. ive seen ceremony a few times. they always put on a great show...tonight was especially awesome...the crowd went bonkers. there was at least 200kids in the room.  all completely losing their minds. it was so awesome. such a great band. im really glad we got to play the first show of our tour with them. tomorrow we were supposed to play in the modesto area in CA, but our show got cancelled last minute. bummer! so now we are headed up to reno. we are playing reno on friday, and my parents live out there. so it will be cool to hang out, go to the farmers market. flyer the show. should be a good time.

things that ruled about today:

finally left for tour

finally played a show again

got paid at the show

and we saw this dudes awesome tattoo:

fuckin rules! anyways, our friend nate from sos booking/pharoahs den hitched a ride with us. we'll make a pit stop in sacramento to drop him off, then we hit reno. i cant wait to meet up with our boys Grave Maker. shit's gonna rule!