Montreal

Leave it to me to be the only person pulled off the bus at 3 o'clock in the morning at the Canadian boarder to get my passport double checked...While all my busmates were sleeping off the day before, I was standing in a long line with neon lights beaming into my eyes. After about 20 minutes of standing around, I was finally allowed to rest my head on my pillow again.

BUT HEY I made it to Canada!

French Canadians dance rain or shine!!!! We were in Montreal in a massive rain storm, and suprisingley it was a LOT of fun!!!! We walked into the gravely lot at 7 in the morning with the sun shining and a soft breeze, but 4 hours later the wind picked up, the clouds moved in and the mist began to fall. Thirty minutes later, the mist turned into a full blown down pour. The crowd didn't even budge.

3oh!3 were on the main stage during the heaviest part of the storm. As I looked behind me, water was flooding the stage. All at once, we began sweeping off the standing water, making makeshift drains out of tarps and lifting up all the wires off the stage... and 3oh!3 KILLED the show. They didn't let a little rain stop them, and every time I turned around, they were dancing and jumping into the crowd.

When I ran back to the tent, I notice that our tent was transformed into the shelter for the kids trying to escape the rain. Arturo and I just hung out with the kids and talked about music, and cultural differences. We had to quickly pack up the merch so they wouldn't get rained on, and when the storm let up a bit, we packed up our truck and made the long walk in the rain back to the buses.... just to be woken up again at 3am to boarder patrol (don't worry i didn't have to leave the bus)!


Forward

Just like home

Every day I think I'm going to wake up in a city similar to the day before, but it never is. This morning I felt like I was home in San Francisco. Today, Warped is set up under three cross bridges with an industrial city as a back drop. Even though I'm not home it feels pretty damn close.

It's Nick from the AKA's birthday, so we made massive signs and hung them all over the "Skull and Candy" stage. He didn't see all the signs, and Josie, the keyboard player had to point them out to him. Nick was so surprised and his expression was priceless.

It was an easy, perfect day!

Hello PA

I woke up in Pittsburgh to bright sun rays seeping through the cracks of my tour bus window, and when I stepped out of the bus, I was surrounded by Simpson types clouds and the greenest trees. Usually, I wake up in the desert, and I was a bit thrown.

Today, the crew grouped all the stages together,and normally there is a little bit of distance between stages. There wasn't much quiet time today, and by the end of the show, my ears were a bit shot.

We got to set up in front of the Hurley stage today! I got to hear bands that I hadn't seen yet on the tour....Alexisonfire, A Day to Remember, The Maine and The Gallows....all from the comfort of my tent!

I got to catch up with some old friends too! Emmure played to a huge crowd at the "Kevin Says Stage" I met them a few months ago, when a friend of mine was on tour with them and Atticus. It was good to see some familiar faces! The singer, Frankie is such a welcoming guy. His arms are made for hugging and that is just what they did!

Goodnight Pittsburgh! Off to Ohio!

The Prize

Bessie the Bus deserves to be scrap metal. Last night, all the power went out; no phones, no computers, no fridge, and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, I realized the bathroom door is electric. Enough said!

On a lighter note, today we arrived in Houston. The parking lot was all dusty gravel which left us all with a coating of film, and all I ate all day was dust. I am always surprised to see how many people know who Arturo is. He is always signing autographs and getting his picture taken. It's really cool too see how much respect people have for him. I'm also asked a lot about CBGB, and the most common question is " what does it stand for?"

So I'll propose this to anyone who can tell me what CBGB stands for will get a free water...That's liquid gold!

Nice Adam, Bad Bessie

The other night, I met Adam, the drummer from the Architects. We joked around for a while, and he asked me to stop by his set. I really didn't know what to expect, and I had no preconceived notion of what my ears were about to hear. Within the first 10 seconds, I was hooked. They're everything you look for in a REAL pop/ punk band. The high speed pace and their upbeat vocals make it sing- along worthy.

Onto another subject: My bus is about to receive a one way ticket to the junkyard. It was easy for me to forgive old Bessie for the god awful sulfur smell coming from the bathroom, but when the AC broke, she took it too far. She deserves to forever roam free!

New Mexico

Our day in New Mexico was amazing. It was sunny, breezy, and the kids were so nice! They were interested in lots of things from what bands were playing to what I do in my spare time. Arturo's cousin and his family came to the show too. He was curious about Jeffree Star because his cousin's daughter wanted to see him. Arturo came back to the tent alone about 10 minutes into Star's set, shaking his head. I figured he’d heard the Myspace's celeb tranny hip-hop writer sing his little diddy "We want C*nt?" But Arturo is too polite to say anything to me about it.

During my spare time, I usually hang with the production crews, but today I hung with The AKA's! Mike the bassist, is one of the nicest guys on the tour. His tent is next to ours, and in the mornings they play a lot of Lady GaGa, and he tends to sing along loudly. When "Poker Face" came on, I couldn't stop laughing at him. He pointed at me and yelled, "This song was just 4 you!" I know we're going to bffs! later in the day. I was really thirsty and hot, and there was Mike with 4 cans of water for me. His band and crew, all 6 of them are amazing. Hands down the best high fiving band on tour!

Yesterday was a day of swimming, massages, amazing food and the softest pillows my head has ever touched. Today, I'm not so relaxed. It's 110 degrees, I'm out of water and we're one of the last ones to get our merch. I'm in Arizona, and with this heat, I know what hell feels like, and there is no way to escape it.

I spend 45 minutes outside the tent, and today I was able to catch The Ataris. When I heard them play " In This Diary, " I felt like I was 14 again at a middle school dance. I can honestly say that they are one of the few bands that sound the same live as they do on their records! A few months ago, The Ataris played a show called "Hoodwinked" where they played an entire Misfits set. Today, they played a few songs with their spin on it. I thought I wouldn't care for it, but they played a great 30 minute set with lots of energy.

My favorite part about this job is people watching. The characteristics from state to state are so different, whether it's the style that the kids are wearing or the way they act in general. It's really interesting to watch from a step back. Whoever said that all Americans are the same has never been on tour.

After the show tonight, I'm looking forward to watching "Planet Earth" with my Baby cake friends. Our tv on the bus has no sound, so my British mates will ad lib a commentary, and I'm sure they will be so funny.