The Story So Far Rocketown Nashville, TN 11/14/15

The Story So Far performing at Rocketown in Nashville, TN on 11/14/15

Will Hoge Small Town Dreams Album Review

On his ninth studio album, Small Town Dreams, listeners hear Will Hoge tell stories about growing up in a Southern town.

The first song, Growing Up Around Here tells of spending time trying to leave his hometown, swearing he'd never come back. But then after reminiscing about "kissing his first girl under the Texaco sign" and playing football he realizes he will never live far from where he began. He feels a sense of pride and contentment where he is now.

Track 2, They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To, tells the story of the traditional southern working class. Someone much older than the narrator would always say whether it be "cars, fences, houses, or family names, they don't make them like they used to. This line is repeated throughout, my favorite instance being "Solid as the gospel truth, they don't make 'em like they used to."

As the album progresses, Better Than You and Little Bitty Dreams show his love for a girl and their lives together. LBD was written for his wife. It is comforting to hear songs of people who still have love for each other even through all of their dreams. The song is a tale of sacrifice and hardship, but love wins through everything.

Guitar or a Gun is one of the best "story" songs I've heard in a long time. Dad says one of these will last forever and the other's just for fun and he knows which is which. Narrator did not know which to choose, since they could both last forever and both be for fun. "I can learn to shoot like Jesse James out there on the run. Play guitar and be a Rolling Stone. Well, that just sounds like fun. A rockstar or an outlaw, either way, I've won when I walk out this door with a guitar or a gun." The choice he makes is crucial to he will become, but whichever he chooses, he will leave the pawn shop "feeling like a king." This is a song that, to me, is Will Hoge through and through. The song has remnants of Rock and Roll Star from Hoge's first album Carousel, which shows he can stay true to his roots.

Middle of America is the perfect small-town anthem. Fitting, given the name of the album and the reference to it in the song. "Tomorrow there's gonna be talk, but it'll be alright. It's just another night in the middle of America." I grew up in a small town and this song is remnant of that. Can we say nostalgia?

All I Want Is Us Tonight gives the listener a break before the best (and most emotional) song on this whole damn album comes on.

That leads me to Just Up The Road. The first time I listened to the album, this was the song I kept going back to. Being a person that loves words, I adored the imagery of "chasing white lines" and "taking the fast lane" in relation to the title of the song "Just Up The Road." That is poetry at its finest. This song reminds me of It's A Shame from Blackbird on a Lonely Wire. This song is a Will Hoge song. Of course, it's his song, but in this sense, I'm talking about when I describe Will's sound to people, this is my reference. 

Desperate Times, The Last Thing I Needed, and Til I Do It Again wrap up the album with hand claps, the blues, and Rock and Roll, in that order. If you pay attention to the linear notes of the album, the hand claps in DT included Will's sons which I thought was precious.

Overall, this album ultimately set out what it was supposed to do: give you the small town feel. I feel that it shows how artists can learn to stay true to their roots, just like Will always does. Rock and Roll is not dead. It just comes in different forms. 

Linkin Park The Hunting Party Tour Nashville, TN 1/17/15

Getting to photograph your favorite band is always a privilege. The fact that I have been able to do so for several of my bands makes me so happy. In November, when I was making my annual Christmas list, I found out Linkin Park was doing a winter tour. Thanks, Santa! So, with my ticket in hand, I was off to Nashville to shoot my favorite band.

Of Mice & Men was the first band of the evening. They always bring it live, regardless of whether they are headlining or opening. I always admire that about bands. They played

Feels Like Forever

Bones Exposed

Would You Still Be There

Another You

Identity Disorder

The Depths

You're Not Alone

Rise Against is also amazing. I wish I could follow them around on tour for a few days and just take pictures. The played

Ready to Fall

Give It All

Re-Education (Through Labor)

Behind Closed Doors

The Good Left Undone

Help Is on the Way

Chamber the Cartridge

Tragedy + Time

Prayer of the Refugee

Swing Life Away 

I Don't Want to Be Here Anymore

Satellite

Savior

I was so excited for Linkin Park. I have been following them since 2007. I was 11 years old. I hoped and prayed that I would finally hear my favorite song: Place For My Head. I had no idea the treat that I was about have with this show. They played

Mashup Intro #2 (w/ Session, 1stp Klosr, The Requiem, The Summoning, The Catalyst)

Guilty All the Same

Given Up

From the Inside

One Step Closer

Blackout (Shortened (Intro and Partial Outro Instrumental Only)

Papercut (Shortened (No Second Verse or Second Chorus)

Runaway (Shortened (Intro/First Verse/Chorus Only)

Wastelands

Castle of Glass (Experience Version; Wisdom Justice And Love Bridge; The Radiance Outro)

Leave Out All the Rest / Shadow of the Day / Iridescent (w/ Aaron Pauley from Of Mice & Men)

Robot Boy

Joe Hahn Solo (w/ Wretches And Kings, Victimized Remix, Buy Myself, Cure For The Itch, Session, Plc.4 Mie Hæd)

Numb (Numb/Encore Outro)

Waiting for the End (Apaches Intro w/ Until It Breaks Verse 2)

Final Masquerade

Wretches and Kings / Remember the Name / Skin to Bone

Dirt Off Your Shoulder / Lying From You

In the End

A Place for My Head (FINALLY. FINALLY. FINALLY!!!)

Faint (With Austin Carlile from Of Mice & Men)

Encore:

Burn It Down (No Second Verse or Second Chorus)

Lost in the Echo (Intro/First Verse/First Chorus/Outro Only)

New Divide (Shortened, No First Chorus or Second Verse)

What I've Done

Bleed It Out

I FINALLY got to hear Place For My Head. Oh my God. Thank you, Linkin Park. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Wait a minute, did Chester hurt himself tonight...?

Interview with Jared & Garrett from The Maine at Warped Tour in Nashville 7/29/14

Introduce yourselves. Great set today, by the way. How was it for you?

Garrett: Great because I do not think there was a Nashville show scheduled originally.They scheduled it late. I didn’t know there was going to be a date here. It has been like 8 years since they've done it here.

Jared: All that aside it was an incredible set. There was wonderful energy and it felt nice. I had a great time. It’s cool because it’s good weather. We just came from Florida and it was a nightmare for Warped. So we are happy to be in the son and not melting.

How does it feel being back on Warped after five years? Atlanta 2009. Woo!

Garrett: We didn’t know what to expect because we’ve been apart from it for awhile, like you said. I think it’s gone so much better than we thought it was going to go. We’ve sold a bunch of CDs. The shows have been kick ass.

Jared: There was a little bit of hesitance from our camp because it’s been half a decade.

Five years is a half a decade. I feel so old now. 

Jared: It’s been a different group of kids that come to Warped than most of our fans. They do come, but it has exceeded our expectations. It’s been a huge opportunity for our band. We get to corral in those fans that haven’t kept up with us and we bring in new people.

How have your fans and music changed in those five years?

Garrett: Musically, we try not to make every record the same thing. Some bands get nervous and try to do the same thing over and over again. We just try to push ourselves and make a new name for ourselves. We’ve been lucky enough to where fans have stuck around. It’s been great.

Jared: We try not to make it feel forced, because it’s not. If you’re an authentic fan of the band, we can tell when you’re bullshitting. We try to do what we do best: write and record music. We recorded the last record live which gave it a little bit of a different feel. It was different for us to be in that situation. We like to put ourselves a little bit outside of the box from where we started and

it’s led us on this weird path where we are now.

Forever Halloween reissue. Talk about that?

Garrett: There are five extra tracks on that. Two were from the Pioneer sessions. Two were from the Nashville sessions when we did Forever Halloween and there is a song called Ice Cave which we had only played live before. We never tried to attempt to record before. It’s kinda a stony, spacey jam. A little bit outside of the box from what we normally do. We took songs from previous records to our studio in Phoenix and polished them up. We are selling it on Warped. Seventeen songs for five bucks. That’s a killer deal.

What do you have planned after Warped Tour?

Garrett: We have a month-ish off. Then we are going to the UK for a week. Then we are going to do some shows to wrap up this album cycle.

Jared: We are doing a show with The Replacements too.

I saw them a few months ago in Atlanta.

[We discussed the show and Billie Joe Armstrong among other aspects of that performance.]

Jared: So yeah, we are doing that show with them, then we are going to the UK like Garrett said.

Garrett: Then we are wrapping up the year and making another record

Yay!

Both: Yay!

I’ve noticed that y’all put out records a lot. It seems like it was just last year that Black and White came out. My fangirl is showing.

Jared: We are independent so we can release music whenever we want, provided the funding is there.

[I knock on the table. (Knock on wood) They follow suit.]

Jared: It’s exciting. We have free reign over what, when, where, who we do it with. I don’t really know what’s going to happen with this next one. We are still too far out to really give any info on it. We are excited to get back in the studio. We love the studio.

Well that answered my next question. So, is there anything else you want to add?

Garrett: Thanks for doing the interview.

Jared: Thank you for anyone who pays attention to our band. Just a general thank you!

Warped Tour Nashville, TN 7/29/14

My second Warped Tour press experience proved to be just as wonderful as the first. To make it better, I got to interview three bands!

My first band to shoot for the day was Mayday Parade. They were so photogenic and fun to shoot. Their crowd was fun as well.

They played

When You See My Friends

Jamie All Over

Three Cheers For Five Years

Repent and Repeat

Black Cat

Ghosts

Oh Well, Oh Well

Jersey

Since I missed The Maine in Atlanta, I made sure I caught them in Nashville (I also interviewed them later in the day. They were super nice.) They were also great to shoot too. (Looking back at my pictures, I love the ones I took of John where he is jumping, just an FYI.)

They played

Run

Right Girl

Growing Up

Like We Did (Windows Down)

Into Your Arms

Girls Do What They Want

Inside Of You

One of my favorite parts of this day and one of the best Warped Tour surprises was during For Today's set. During their opening song, Break The Cycle, the one and only Matty Freaking Mullins from Memphis May Fire runs out to sing his part of the song. The excitement of that crowd was one of the best moments of my concert experiences and I got to witness it in the photo pit. My pictures do not even do the moment justice. I even heard the moment referred to several times as Mattie and Matty, which is rather awesome.

The band played

Break The Cycle (Featuring Matty Mullins)

Foundation

Pariah

Seraphim

Fearless

The Breaker's Origin

Devastator

The Devil Wears Prada's set was just the same as it was in Atlanta. I also did not think I would see them twice in one week.

They played

Danger: Wildman

Reptar, King of The Ozone

Outnumbered

Assistant to the Regional Manager

Sailor's Prayer

Hey John, What's Your Name Again?

Mammoth

Throughout the day, I headed back and forth from the press area and I happened on an awesome band called Courage My Love. I did a spur of the moment interview with them and had a chance to shoot their set about an hour later.

I really enjoyed their set and it was refreshing to see a female fronted band and a female drummer on Warped Tour.

They played

Skin and Bone

Cold Blooded

We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Bridges

Dark Horse (Katy Perry Cover)

You Don't Know How

Moving on through the day, the good news is that Neck Deep did not almost kill me with a microphone this time. They played

Kick It

Losing Teeth

What Did You Expect?

Tables Turned

Crushing Grief (No Remedy)

Silver Lining

A Part Of Me

All Hype, No Heart

Over and Over

Today's Marmozets performance was ten times more special to me because I knew I would be interviewing them in just a few hours before I headed out of Warped. If you never learn anything from reading my blogs, just know that you need to check out this band. They have the best stage performance I have seen in a long time AND they have a female singer. Even when their crowds are small, there is never a drop in the performance level from this band.

They played

Particle

Why Do You Hate Me?

Is It Horrible?

Born Young and Free

Captivate You

Move Shake Hide

Vibe Tech

Of Mice & Men had a wonderful set as always. They played

Public Service Announcement

The Flood

O.G. Loko

Feels Like Forever

Bones Exposed

Would You Still Be There

The Depths

Yellowcard, oh, Yellowcard. They will always hit you right in the pre-teen years. They are so much fun and Ryan Key's Star Wars infatuation is one of the cutest things ever. Geek alert! There also are not many bands in the genre that can successfully have a violin player, still rock, and hold a crowds attention. Also, when your band has the security guards attention and they are all dancing around with the flying crowd surfers, you are doing something right.

They played

Way Away

Light Up The Sky

Awakening

Only One

With You Around

Ocean Avenue

What was the first band of my Warped Tour Atlanta experience, was the last band of my Warped Tour Nashville experience. The Story So Far. If I could follow this band on tour for the rest of my life, I would not complain. Their fans are the best and they never miss a beat on any of the crowd participation parts. They are truly one of the best bands around in my totally un-biased opinion. They played

Quicksand

Things I Can't Change

Roam

Right Here

Daughters

Empty Space

All Wrong

Swords and Pens

Stifled

The Glass

High Regard

So that was my Warped Tour Press experience in a nutshell. I cannot wait to [hopefully] cover Warped Tour again next year.