Here is a poster design I just made for my friends in Plastic Reverie, inspired by the nice new weather and my badass Atlas Moth T-Shirt, given to me by the Atlas Moth fellas in Chicago (check them out, a newer band that the world will soon know after a few Metallica 2-year long tours).
And as always, anyone interested in a poster design, please feel free to email me at bengram@gmail.com
Ahoy ahoy!
So long story short, the Irepress crew made it back safe from the havoc that was wreaked all across the nation, and we’re already set to get back for seconds. Thats right, and not one, but two solid tour cruises with two amazing bands. First off is a great little tour with our Boston brothers Junius, going from June 3 to June 13th down to the Rotting Plum Festival in Tennessee and back to Boston. Then next is another knockout stint with the southern country gentlemen of Gifts From Enola from June 19th to July 5th.
So make sure that you scope out the spots, get your tickets, and bring your dancing pants to the party.
Also in other news, Eroica is working on a fresh limited EP release to be hand numbered and put out one time only. So be on the lookout to collect these little gems too!
See you out in the world,
-Ben G
So, in an attempt to catch up finally on these blogs from then and now, here is a really quick synopsis of some tour dates with highlights. Finally internet. Possibly sleep someday. Could not be happier though.
El Paso, TX- We could see into the Mexican border, and had some of the best Mexican food thus far. Battlefields plays a new song, causing universal peace.
Tuscon, AZ- An amazingly beautiful drive, great show, and then a day off. Went to Lake Can’t-Remember-The-Name-But-It-Was-Awesome.
Riverside, CA- CANCELED. Then moved to a sweet art space that night. Amazing spot, we set up, a few notes begin and then…CANCELED AGAIN BY OWNER OF ART SPACE (aka Old Lady living upstairs). Poop. Time to go to L.A. early and, how do you say… live it up.
Los Angeles, CA- The bassist from Intronaut comes out to see the show at the Knitting Factory, not to mention many of our good friends. Amazing time indeed, with days off on either side. There was perfect weather, a farmers market, and mucho spa attendance thanks to the luxurious lifestyle of Fistel. Highlight photos go!
Chico, CA- We played in a warehouse / video store, and it was pretty damn epic. Also, amazing chinese food nearby for those of you traveling to Chico.
Eugene, OR- The venue was called Samurai Duck, and there were fire dancers. Fire dancers. Seriously.
Portland, OR- An epic day. We loaded in to Kelly’s Olympian, and then proceeded over to the New Found Glory show, where we were awaiting our guestlist spots. We met up with Chuck from Hollywood Undead for shots, and then met up with Jordan of NFG to give him a nice, new vinyl. Travis from Gym Class Heroes also came out, and made an appearance at our show too. Much fun afterwards with the Buttlefields, and since it was April Fools, jokes were played to gut-wrentching levels, including a moment where Zander slaps Salim with a newspaper. Win.
Seattle, WA- Space needle literally out the front door of the venue. Both Irepress and Battlebutts sounded ahhhhmazing.
Boise, ID- Potatoes are really overrated.
Salt Lake City, UT- We were treated like rockstars that night, complete with autographs and requests to play weddings. Also, it was Shan’s Birthday, and even for a Mormon town, we had some good ol’ fun.
Denver (finally), CO- After getting snowed in and stuck in Wyoming, we finally were able to make it to Denver. Thanks to Jared to coming out, and Emily for putting on a sick show. Also, it was our last night with our road family/brothers/pests for over a month, Battlefields, so we all got some food together, exchanged merch, and hugged. Shan is currently texting Zander his love confessions, while Zander avidly responds over a keg of Mountain Dew.
St. Louis, MO- Huge venue, huge sound, and not many people, but those who were there had their lives changed. Also, Cabin Boy was on TV and Dino almost died with psycho-joy.
DAY1: Good morning mass parking panic. Oh whats that? We’re immune because we drove overnight to the best parking spot in the entire history of man. Oh, sweet.
Sweet indeed. Located beyond conveniently between the two venues we would be playing at, our SXSW command station was bitchin’ to say the least. We were decked out with blazing fast internet connection from a nearby coffee house, Battlefields was one parking spot up, and Constants and Junius were one and two spots behind us. Clearly this street was on epic lockdown.
After marking our territory, we proceeded to find some delicious pizza breakfast and then arrive to our first of 9 billion shows to attend at SXSW- the Artery Showcase. Thanks to our good friend Will who has his hands in this show and manages a few of the bands playing, we were able to roll through VIP style with big sparkly badges that basically said “Excuse me my pass has shiny things on it, so please I must get through, dumb dumbs”…
We were welcomed by a most brutal metal growl, and an array of video game-like guitars. Sounding surprisingly familiar, I turned towards the stage that we just entered adjacent to, and witnessed Iwrestledabearonce tearing it up. Hot damn what a way to start this day. For those who are not IWABO savvy, the band consists of a few goofy guys from Louisiana, and a very metal female frontwoman, who can bury just about any modern metal vocalist with her grizzly throat.
Next was an array of other heavy headliners, with subdrop breakdown highlights from Whitechapel and technical guitar flourishes from The Devil Wears Prada. Both bands brought the noise, and proved to many why they’re holding down the top spots of today.
After having our ears stuffed with enough dropped tunings for one day, the fellas played their first showcase alongside Boston brothers Junius, at Plush. Crowds were wooed by both Irebutts and the Junius caesars, and the night brought on much celebrating because of this. Since our street was right outside, and all of Austin was in rock out mode, we didn’t have to go far for the festivities to begin. Not to mention our friend and master of all things ridiculous, Fistel, decided to purchase a room at the Omni for the weekend, so we now also had a five-star floor to sleep on.
DAY 2: How would I personally describe a five-star wake up? Hmmm, well being from Maine, I’m pretty easily entertained, and for something to be qualified as fancy or high class usually just means it involves something not whittled from wood and/or anything that was invented after the 1860’s. So most likely a morning that would include a spa experience on top of a roof overlooking all of Austin, Texas would get about 14 stars in my book. And it did.
What a day. There was Cursive, and the OurStage VIP House, and a heavy metal pizza place, and then getting credentials to go to the Red Bull afterparty. We walked around, Battlefields Rob got sunburn while somehow becoming more white, and then we Red Bull partied until 6 AM. Here are some pics to capture a few choice moments of the many many many that occurred.
Day 3: Wow. Another amazing day. More rooftop spa. More pizza slices galore. More credentials via Salim and I, which turned into getting us into the Dredg showcase for free.
This show was incredible, and supposed to be VIP access only, but clearly that rule could be broken since we are in no way, shape, or form, the VIP type. We got in through a door guy we had met earlier in the day, and said that he would let us in later that night. Well, success, and we able to skip the rope and head straight upstairs. What awaited was what turned out to be my favorite showcase of SXSW.
P.O.S., a rapper from Minnesota absolutely took the the room by the minds and hearts, and brought everyone to his full attention. Having complete control, and the most humble approach to his music, every word he sang seemed to have more meaning than the one before it.
Next was As Tall As Lions, an indie rock band from Long Island, New York. They too put on an incredible show that took me completely by surprise. Wow, SXSW, you rock.
Next next was more random music and more mayhem. I met up with Jeff, an old NEMO colleague and friend who is now also the bass player for Passion Pit. Then, making my way back to the van, a legless Bret stumbled back at the same time. A massive collection of Boston friends were awaiting our arrival on our little Boston street in Austin, and again, we celebrated accordingly. Caspian, Constants, Adai, To Be Eaten, Battlefields, Junius, and then a million people walking by made up our gang-sized posse. It was badass. Also, Bret says “goodnight”.
Day4: Well rise and shine final day of SXSW. *Tears* Time to relax by the pool on the roof of the Omni. Then we hung around town, and saw that it had already turned into quite the ghost town overnight, as most people left by the AM. Nonetheless, by the time our showcase rolled around for Red 7, people came out of the woodwork and we all had a blast. Behold, pictures and stuff:
Oh hell yes. So SXSW, basically, amazing. We departed and drove overnight to El Paso, TX, and slept in a random rest stop near the Mexican border.
Bam.
As requested, while I catch up on sleep and blog posts, here are some classic moments from tour thus far:
Next up, SXSW!
So Witchita was a great city, filled with record shopping, playing a show in a downtown city building, and getting to hang out with some sweet people to boot.
We relaxed, played music, laughed, cried.
Then it was on to Reno’s Chop Show in Dallas, TX. What a beautiful city, Dallas looked much like Boston, except with perfect weather and amazing Mexican food. Also, sidenote, the venue was also the largest biker bar in western TX.
We drove overnight to SXSW after the show, and upon arrival I definitely wanted nothing more than to get the hours I drove converted into sleep hours. But when we woke and saw that our two parking spots (Battlefields and Irepress) were probably the greatest things on earth, it was completely worth it.
Heres to SXSW.
So at this moment I would like to apologize for the past few and upcoming blog posts, as they are quite undoubtedly, very half-assed. Days have become longer while sleep has become a back-burner hobby that exists only after late night 6-hour drives to the next destination.
So, on that note, here’s another weak entry:
Lincoln, Nebraska. Home to such landmark sites as the Joshua Turner Arboretum, the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Museum, the Frank H Woods Telephone Museum, and a home to basement shows that rivals Peter Pan’s Neverland, completely run by wild kids. Bangarang Ruffio.
Arriving with our van and trailer, we are welcomed by the command to go park on the lawn in the backyard. Done. After parking on the leaves, searched for the promoter of the show at this Goonies house for where to load in to. “Right this way” led us to a stairwell in which my first thoughts consisted of “please don’t kill me”, and “bass cab, down that???” Well, somehow we loaded everything in, and I hit my head only twice off of the doorway. Not bad. At least I didn’t get any unnecessary nails stuck in my body.
Once all was loaded in, we set up, rocked the house, and left it in worse shape then when we arrived, hot and smoldering from the sonic crushing that Battlefields and Irepress unleashed within it.
Other highlights included: Dino gets food poisoning, and kid passes out in living room while friends proceed to eat his food following his faceplant to the floor.
The greatest band ever.
They put us up in a hotel, complete with free breakfast buffet.
Nicest guys ever, and officially Aberdeen’s only metal band.
Also, they wore robes and spikes while playing, and sang about Firewitches.
Amazing.
What a sweet show.
We played a VFW that was jam packed with 17-year old small town young’uns that apparently are way in to breakdowns. The two bands that opened seemed like pefect rivals for a high school talent show, both complete with death metal vocals, one voice coming from an 80-pound scrawny boy, and the other a short girl. Amazing.
Irepress brought the noise, and kids were moshing to every note they heard from literally every band.
Waking at Rob’s abode we dashed at the opportunity for personal hygiene upgrades, and each took showers. Excellent way to start the day, and it gets better.
It must be known that Rob Schmidt, drummer for Battlefields, has an amazing collection of VHS. Giddy, we scoped out what throwback flick we could relive. City Slickers? Close. House Party? Sorry Kid and Play. Weekend At Bernie’s II, followed by Three Amigos? Sweet jesus yes.
After our vintage viewing session, we were luxuriously carted around town by Trusty Rustums, singer and synth/sample maniac of our tour sisters, Cattlefields. Food and fun was had by all, and our day looked something like this:
By the time we arrived to load in, we were basically throwing up from so much amazingness, which is like the next step above tears of joy. Three flights of stairs to load in? Well, at least the good mood was nice while it lasted…
Bearing cold and calisthenics, we moved amp after drum case after pedalboard up and into the venue, only to find that the the lighting was completely dark, sans a few focus spotlights over at bar. Accompanying these lights was a lone man behind the bar reciting scriptlines while a film crew documented the moment from the opposite side, but yet the scene was not complete. Extras were needed for a most crucial role of “guys who stand at the bar and do shots of whiskey”. An intense audition ensued, and we were grilled with the question, “hey, you guys want to be in a movie?”. Apparently good fortune was in our favor, as we got the gig, and proceeded to fulfill our part.
Action! Cheers! Shot! Repeat!
4 shots, 3 takes, and 2 minutes went by. Flawless work. Look for Irepress in the credits of the next big and only movie to come out of Fargo… besides the movie Fargo (which actually had only one scene filmed there).
Next Sheel and I went to shovel out a spot for the van to park amongst the Fargocious snow lot, and thanked our movie role for taking the edge off before executing manual labor in 0 degree weather.
Returning to the indoors, we gained heat back to our appendages as the show simultaneously gained numbers to the crowdsize. As Battlefield’s hometown, the night was sure to be an epic one.
And it was. I had to remove my hoodie and long sleeve layers as Irepretzel heated the room to sun-surface-like temperatures, also known to some as “face melting”.
The Battlepeels also brought the funk, Fargo style. Matt and Andy shredded, Rob tore up the drums, Zander kicked his telephone pole-length legs into outerspace while pounding bass lines, and Rusty Doright entwined his bandmates’ sound with lyrics of shear Steele.
Afterward we celebrated with Plattermeals and Dark Castle and crew, and all had a blast. Lots of friends and family and frozen fun until the wee hours of morning, when finally exhaustion ran its full course and it was time to Fargo to bed.
