Saturday 28 April 2012

Tour - BearTrap/Witch Cult Europe 2012


Beartrap and Witch Cult describe the heaven and hell of touring as they travel to every corner of Europe...if you were kind to them you'll be mentioned!!

02/24 London, UK @ Power Lunches
02/25 Bristol, UK @ The Gryphon
02/26 Truro, UK @ Live Bar
02/27 Southampton, UK @ The Dorchester

02/28 Reims, FR @ Appart Cafe
02/29 Rennes, FR @ TBA
03/01 Toulouse, FR @ L’emergence Squat
03/02 Zarzuta, ES @ Gaztetxe Squat

03/03 Leon, ES @ Shark Bar
03/04 Lisbon, PT @ Faculdade De Letras
03/05 Madrid, ES @ La Faena 2
03/06 Barcelona, ES @ Distrito Vi Squat
03/07 Marseille, FR @ O Bundys Pub

03/08 Basel, CH @ Hirscheneck
03/09 Lugano, CH @ Csoa 2 Molino
03/10 Milan, IT @ Villa Vegan
03/11 Rome, IT @ Bencivanga Squat
03/12 Padova, IT @ Seven Live

03/13 Ljubljana,Slovenia @ Tovarna Rog Squat
03/14 Zagreb, HR @ Attack Club
03/15 Sarajevo, BA @ Kriterion
03/16 Skopje,Macedonia @ La Kana

03/17 Voloz, GR @ Riot Squat
03/18 Athens, GR @ Kallidromiou 94

03/19 Thessaloniki, GR @ Biologica Squat
03/20 Komotini, GR @ University
03/21 Istanbul, TR @ Peyote

03/22 Plovdiv, BG @ Club Puzzle
03/23 Sibiu, RO @ Bohemian Flow bar and pub
03/24 Timisoara, RO @ Atelier Diy

03/25 Debrecen, HU @ Hno3
03/26 Trencin, SK @ Klub Luc

03/27 Innsbruck, AT @ Cafe Decentral
03/28 Bratislava, SK @ Intergalakticka Obluda
03/29 Prague, CZ @ Klubovna Povalec
03/30 Vysoke Myto, CZ @ Mikado

03/31 Wroclaw, PL @ Crk
04/01 Warsaw, PL @ Elba Squat
04/02 Gdansk, PL @ Infinium Club

04/03 Berlin, DE @ Koma F
04/04 Rostock, DE @ TBA

04/05 Malmo,SE @ TBA
04/06 Stockholm, SE @ Skarpnacks Kulthurhus
04/07 Gotenburg,SE @ Aktivitetshuset Harden
04/08 Aalborg, DK @ TBA

04/09 Munster, DE @ Baracke
04/10 Gottingen, DE @ Juzl
04/11 Nijmegen, NL @ De Onderbroek
04/12 Edinhoven, NL @ Cafe Alloys
04/13 Antwerp, BE @ Envers Swa

04/14 Kent, UK @ Platform 5
04/15 Leeds, UK @ Fox & Newt
04/16 Dublin, IE @ Thomas House
04/17 Galway, IE @ Sally Longs
04/18 Belfast, IE @ Warzone Centre

04/19 Glasgow, UK @ 13 Note
04/20 Aberdeen, UK @ Cellar 35
04/21 Edinburgh, UK @ Banshee
04/22 Manchester, UK @ Gulliver's

Tour - BearTrap/Witch Cult - UK & home

Day 60/Show 53/ Glasgow, Scotland Woke up really cold today. It sucked leaving Belfast in shitty weather cause I liked it so much the day before. We got to the ferry early to avoid getting fucked with really hard by officials. When we got to check in there was no line, no one checked our passports, everyone was super nice and we got on an earlier ferry that was only an hour long instead of 2 hours. It was a nice change of pace. The ferry ride was awesome too. The Irish Ocean is beautiful and the ferry was going super fast so it was cool. The drive from the ferry port to Glasgow was also very beautiful and the weather was super nice. The coolest part of this tour for me has been seeing animals grazing with their young in beautiful green fields. You don’t see that in America anymore. We got to Glasgow early and hung around near the venue, The 13th Note. It is a vegan café upstairs and a show space down stairs. Hashim booked the show and he is a super nice dude. We had dinner at the venue and I had ice cream for dinner. The show started around 8. Three bands played before us and a lot of kids watched the first one and then left. COOL. Other than that the show was pretty good. We both played alright. After the show we went to where we were sleeping, my favorite part of the day.
Day 61/ Show 54/ Aberdeen, Scotland Woke up today in a really nice apartment in downtown Glasgow. We had a good breakfest thanks to Bobby, the dude we stayed with. Then we walked around the city and Glasgow is a pretty cool place. As soon as we got in the van to drive to Aberdeen the weather got shitty. The first thing you see when you pull in to Aberdeen is a massive graveyard. It was cold, it was grey, and it looked like it would last the rest of my life. Pretty grim looking. We got to the venue, Cellar 35, and it was a small bar in a basement of a building. We waited around for the show to start. 2 locals played before us, and 2 other touring bands played after us, in a small town like this 4 touring bands doesn’t do anyone any good. We both played and it was decent. Again tonight it seemed like way more people watched the first band then left. Scotland is 2-0 for that, let's see what tomorrow is like. Then we packed up and drove to the place where all 4 bands were sleeping.
Day 62/Show 55/ Edinburgh, Scotland Woke up today and headed to Edinburgh. I heard it was really nice. The drive was ok, but the weather was eratic per usual. I felt sick on the ride there and it lasted all day. Instead of going out and checking out the city I layed down and tried to sleep all day. The cool thing about that is the venue, The Banshee Labyrinth, has a movie theater in it. I watched The Lost Boys and then slept for a little bit until I was kicked out because there was an acoustic show happening in there. I continued to feel like shit all night. The venue is really cool tho. It’s a series of different rooms / bars connected by tunnels. It is also the most haunted bar in Scotland. The show started around 830 and 3 bands played before us. I zoned out with my earplugs in trying to feel better. We both played and it was cool. A lot of people came out and it didn’t seem like they left after the first band. Scotland is 1-3 with that. After the show we went to the place we are sleeping. Tomorrow is the last show of tour, then a day off then I fly home.
Day 63/Show 56/ Manchester, UK Woke up and left right away for Manchester. The promoter, Elena, was making us food at her house before the show. Pizza and brownies and they were awesome. We watched High Fidelity and then headed to the show. It was in a spot called the Kraak Gallery. It was a pretty cool place in an alleyway in downtown Manchester. Waited awhile for the show to start. The first band was a kinda black metal influenced hardcore band and they were good. Then Witch Cult played and people dug it which is weird because a lot of people shit talked them on the facebook event. Internet warriors who said they would be at the show but didn’t go, COOL. Then BearTrap played and it was cool. It was the last night of tour so we were in a hurry to get shit out the door and head home, a 4 hour drive. Got in around 4 am and slept like a baby.
Day 64 Day off at Alastair's house Woke up today and watched Mad Men. Then we ate and went to the currency exchange place. WE DIDN’T LOSE MONEY ON THIS TOUR!! Then we went back to Alastair's and relaxed all day. We had a last supper together at a sushi place. We have to wake up super early tomorrow (6 am) to catch an 11 am flight, and we land in Boston at 11 am. This will suck.
Day 65 Fly Home Woke up super early. When we got to the airport we said our goodbyes and tried not to get emotional. And then there were 3 Americans. We got to the airport 3 hours early and sat around and did nothing. The flight wasn’t that bad. My tv was broken so I didn’t really get to watch anything. Slept for 3 hours and then we landed. I went home and within 5 minutes I had to get out. Then I slept for about 15 hours. And that’s how the tour ended.

Thursday 19 April 2012

Tour - Beartrap/Witch Cult - UK & Ireland

Day 55/Show 48/ Kent, UK

Woke up today and drove to the ferry. The border cops fucked with us hard. They almost didn’t let us in, but luckily my lies got us thru. They are strict about American bands coming in and getting paid so we told them Zach fills in for the Witch Cult (which is true) and that Mr. Shit and I came along to just travel Europe. They didn’t buy it for a while but finally let us thru. I wish I could just explain that we don’t make money, we lose money, and we are spending the money we have in their country so they should just fucking let us in. We missed the ferry we were supposed to take so they put us on a different one and we had to sit at the border for 2 extra hours. I hope this doesn’t happen with going to and from Ireland. The ferry today was not too long but it sucked. The currency exchange on board said 0 comission so I figured it would be cool, but when I checked the exchange rate online later they also fucked us.


After the ferry the drive was short. We got to the venue which is called Platform 5. The show isn’t actually in the bar, it's in a tent out back, and it's not warm enough out yet for a show in a tent. I was told that there were 9 bands playing, which is about 4 too many. 2 bands dropped off luckily. When the show started I thought there were a lot of people here, then I remembered most of them are in 1 of the 7 bands. Dashwood, Cry Wolf, Self Loathing and Let It Die all played. I missed the first band because we were off getting food. Then BearTrap played and kids went off, and sang along. It always blows my mind. Same happened for Witch Cult. This show could have been a disaster with timing/people getting bored and leaving cause of too many bands, but it actually went really good. Thanks to Josh for booking the show and running it smoothly. After the show we went back to the place we were crashing and I took my first bath since I was about 5. Then we slept because that’s all we do.

Day 56/Show 49/ Leeds, UK

Woke up today and sat around for awhile. Watched some mtv and then drove to Leeds. The drive wasn’t too bad, and the weather didn’t get shitty either. The venue tonight was called Fox and Newt. We heard that “people went crazy in Leeds” but that wasn’t the case. There were 3 bands on before us, and 2 of them left after they played. Closure was the only band that stayed, thanks to them for that. The show was ok, not to many people, and most of them stood far away. After the show we went to one of the dudes from Closure's tattoo shop. Some of us got some work done. Then we went to the promoter's house to sleep. Tomorrow is another ferry and a border so we will have to wake up early to account for the time we will waste being fucked with by cops.


Day 57/Show 50/ Dublin, Ireland

Today we woke up early and got to the ferry early. No one even checked our passports or anything. The nice old lady who was supposed to check our van for drugs or whatever asked if we were a group (band) and if she should know us/were we famous? After we laughed with her about it she let us go and didn’t check a thing. 2 hours later we got on the ferry with no issues. It's crazy how some are so strict and some are so relaxed. After 3 hours of zoning out on the ferry we got off and drove thru Dublin to the venue.


The place was called Thomas House. It was the basement of a bar and a weird set up. Very narrow and at the end was a small rise for bands to play on, but the bar stuck out half way across the stage so Mr. Shit and half the drum set were hidden behind it the entire time. There was an alright amount of people for a Monday night, aside from that nothing went right. After we played and loaded out we figured out where we were staying and drove there. After that we made some pasta and went to sleep. The ferries to and from Ireland are super expensive so I think we are gonna have a loss on our hands.

Day 58/Show 51/ Galway, Ireland

Woke up today cold on a hard wood floor. Perfect end to last night/start of the day. Then we sat around forever with nothing to do. We drove to Galway and the weather was shitty half the drive, and then real bad when we got there. We sat in the venue for about 4 hours till people showed up for the show.


The venue tonight is called Sally Long's. The show is in the bar and I was told this will be the best Ireland show. Jack, who put out our record in Ireland, got us the 3 shows. Thanks to him for that. This show started around 10 and when it started there were a good amount of people there. Vagrants opened the show. They played with us yesterday in Dublin also. They were good. Then Witch Cult played and people moved around and went off. Then for the BearTrap set it was pretty wyld. Kids really appreciate it when bands come over to this side of Ireland I guess. People were going crazy and a bunch were singing along. We sold a lot of shit too. This was one of the best shows of the tour. After the show we went to the place we are sleeping and set up camp in the living room. Then we watched videos of our old and current bands on youtube. Losers.

Day 59/Show 52/ Belfast, Ireland

Today we woke up in Galway, sat around for a little bit and then drove to Belfast. We avoided toll roads so the drive was more scenic and nice. The weather was erratic like every other drive. It would rain real heavy for 10 minutes and then be really sunny and nice the next 10. When we got to Belfast it was really nice out. This city is super nice too. One of my favorite cities so far. We walked to a grocery store, then skated thru the center to an awesome skate park under a bridge.


After that we went back to the venue for dinner. The venue tonight is Warzone center. The show started around 10. There was an alright amount of people but it didn’t seem too lively in there. They would clap between songs but otherwise seemed pretty uninterested. A few people bought records tho so that’s cool. After the show we went to where we were sleeping. I did my usual calculations and we lost money on ferry tickets so next time play 4 shows instead of 3. Sleep.

Saturday 14 April 2012

Tour - Beartrap/Witch Cult - Germany, Netherlands & Belgium

Day 50/Show 43/ Munster, Germany

Woke up early in Aalborg and said goodbye to Streetwalker and Catheter. Then we headed to Munster. The drive was hell. It was raining the whole time and we hit traffic 3 times which made us late for the show. The show was at a place called Baracke. It’s a building on the campus of the university that they built so people would stop squatting a different building at the school for shows. Hendrick from the band Alpinist booked our show and he is a good dude. This show had no locals so right when we got to the show we set up and Witch Cult played. There was a good amount of people, especially for a Monday night. After that BearTrap played and it was cool, people seemed to be into it. After the show we headed to the place we were sleeping and I watched Mad Men and passed out.


Day 51/52/Show 44/ 45/Gottingen, Germany/Nijmegen, Netherlands

Woke up in Munster and had some breakfest. Then we went out to exchange some money and get some guitar strings/cables. Even the banks over here charge you to exchange currency, and they charge a lot. They only place that didn’t completely rob me was a currency exchange in a train station in Berlin. Anyway, the drive wasn’t that long, but its been shitty weather the past 2 drives/days. We get to the venue and it’s a graffiti covered youth center called Juzl. When we got there a lot of children were running around in costumes and there was a community dinner going on. We loaded into the room in the basement we were playing in. It was real small which I like.


The show started around 10 with the first band also being on tour from Scotland. Absolutist was their name. Then Witch Cult played and people seemed to enjoy it, same for BearTrap. Marcus and his collective (doomian) booked the show and they were all super nice. We stayed with him and woke up the next morning and went to the venue for breakfast. After that we headed to the next show.

When we crossed the border into The Netherlands we got stopped by the cops. This surprized us because we thought this was the most laid back country we would go to. The cops didn’t ask us about drugs or anything but told us it was to control Identity Theft. Weird.


This show is at a venue called De Onderbroek. Sascha booked this show. She plays in a band called Sloth. The venue is in the basement, then on the first floor is a kitchen and other rooms, and above it is a bunch of apartments. It’s a pretty nice place in a small downtown area. We had lasagna for dinner and it was awesome. The show started around 10. Landverraad played first and they we pretty good. Then Witch Cult played, then BearTrap. I couldn’t really tell if anyone really dug either of us or if it was more of a bar show/something to do. This is one of those wonderful venues where after the show I go upstairs and shower and sleep.

Day 53/Show 46/ Eindhoven, Netherlands

Woke up today and skated around Nijmegen. There was a small skate park and this awesome wall ride set up down the street. After that we came back to the venue for breakfast. Then we went to a relatively un-skateable skatepark. It didn’t have 1 redeeming quality. So we left and headed to the Café Alloys in Eindhoven. It seems for the past few days every drive the weather just turns to shit and starts raining/hailing really heavily. This drive was only an hour tho so that is awesome.


We got to the venue and sat around for awhile. The bar owner bought us all food from a Wok place next door. And gave us 50 drink tickets so we have unlimited juice for the rest of tour. Then we loaded in and the other bands showed up. We loaded in and set up what we needed and the show started late per usual (not too late tho, just punk o clock) and State Of Mind played first. I was zoned out in the back near the merch. Then Witch Cult played and it didn’t go too well. Same for BearTrap. It seemed like people were cheering to be polite. Then This Routine Is Hell played. It was also their record release show. People dug it and they sold some records. I kind of expected it to go this way, it was a nice bar and a different band's record release show, not our show. After we ate and got all the juice, it was all down hill from there. Then we walked to the apartment we were staying at. It was a way longer walk than I'd anticipated and Alastair rolled his ankle skating so we had to carry him half the way. But it was all in the name of sleep, and I love sleep.

Day 54/Show 47/ Antwerp, Belgium

Woke up today after sleeping thru some noise last night. Hung around for a little while. Spent the last euro change we had on fruit/peppers/granola because currency exchange doesn’t do coins. I also got peach soy milk and that was the biggest mistake all tour. Then we went to get the van and while I was gone we had been kicked out of where we stayed so everyone was waiting on the curb. I guess the dude had to leave. Today's drive is an hour long and I love it. The weather wasn’t even bad this drive.


The show is in the basement of a bigger venue called JC Den. The room in the basement legally fits 30 people. We hung around waiting for the show to start. At around 8:30 people started showing up. Around 9 the first band went on. Merch was upstairs so I didn’t see any of the bands again. Witch Cult and BearTrap both played next and it went pretty good. People seemed to be into us. What I don’t understand is why people stand so far away from a band when the room is so small? It forced people to stand outside the room and sit on the stairs and watch us thru a door. It was the 4th bands record release show so again, it wasn’t our show. After the show we went and stayed in an apartment building full of people who didn’t come to the show, we we didn’t know any of them. This situation is always awkward. We had a room to ourselves and it wasn’t too bad.

Thursday 12 April 2012

Tour - Beartrap/Witch Cult - Sweden & Denmark

Day 47/ Show 40/ Stockholm, Sweden

So yesterday we woke up on the boat and all the bathrooms were out of order. We all got up and headed to Malmo, Sweden. We didn’t have a show but we had a place to stay. The drive dragged on real slow because I knew we had no show to play. The person we were staying with told us there was a free show happening in Malmo that night, and gave us the number to the venue. It was 2 punk bands playing and the club was called Debaser so I thought we had a shot at hopping on. The dude at the club told me “it wouldn’t benefit the other bands or the people coming to the show.” Thanks asshole. So we just went to the apartment we were staying at and slept. Woke up early to drive to Stockholm. Its raining/snowing and wet and really cold. It looks like the set of Let The Right One In.


The show is at Kulturhuset Skarpnack which is a youth center. The Stockholm straight edge crew booked the show for us. They are all super nice and one some of them are in No Omega, check them out. The show was cool. I did merch during the first bands so I didn’t catch them. The room was super dense/soundproof so I could barely hear them. Witch Cult played and people filtered into the room. They seemed to enjoy it. Then we had to warn them that BearTrap would be playing in 2 minutes and to not go too far. People have missed either band at a lot of shows because of how short we play. People enjoyed BearTrap and moved around a bit. After the show we went back to where we were staying, drank some tea, and watched Hesher. It was a good night.

Day 48/Show 41/Gothenburg, Sweden

Woke up today to a wonderful breakfast. Pancakes, oatmeal, nuts, juice, and tea. Then we watched Almost Famous. The drive to Gothenburg wasn’t too bad, Sometimes the view was real nice. The show tonight was at Aktivitetshuset Härden. It’s a practice space/venue in an industrial area. It's probably hard for people to get to from the city. The show was decent. Not a packed room but not empty. We both played good. We are sleeping in here on the stage. I hate people who smoke indoors.


Day 49/Show 42/ Aalborg, Denmark

Woke up at 10 today, had some hummus and left for the next place. We skipped all the ferries and still lost money on Sweden. We spent 160 euro on bridges. So next time we go, get more shows in Sweden. The drive was pretty long and uneventful. We got to the club an hour before the show started.


The name of the venue is 1000fryd. Peter booked the show and he is is a nice dude. I was told that the venue is city and country funded. This is how they afford to pay 4 touring bands when the turn out isn’t so good. Witch Cult played first and the set was cool. The people here enjoyed it. Same for BearTrap. Then Streetwalked from Seattle played. Then Catheter from Denver. 3 bands from the USA and one from the UK. I had a good time having tour talk with my fellow Americans. The venue has an apartment upstairs with laundry and a show so right after the show I did that and went to sleep.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Tour - Beartrap - Germany

Day 44/Show 38/ Berlin, Germany

Last night I stayed up till the sun came up catching up on The Walking Dead. When I woke up 3 hours later I caught up on Mad Men. The drive was long and really boring. When we got to Berlin it looked cool but we were late so we went straight to the squat. The show was in Koma F, the venue in the Kopi squat. The Squat was soo huge and just outside downtown. It still blows my mind places like this exist. Tim booked the show and he is an awesome dude. We got to the show in time to load in/eat right before Cancer Clan played. They were awesome. Then Witch Cult played and all the freaks enjoyed it. Then the same with BearTrap. A lot of people came to the show and bought stuff. We ran out of records again which is always a huge bummer. We should have more but The Czech Republic is holding a package of them. That sucks shit. After the show we went to the place we are sleeping and I am catching up on more tv I’ve missed while on tour. I NEED sleep.

Day 45/Show 39/ Rostock, Germany

Today we woke up and checked out Berlin a little bit. Went to some burrito place with vegan options. Did some currency exchange and drove to Rostock. The show tonight is on a boat called Ms. Stubnitz. Immediately after our show there is a college dance party on the boat. We got to the boat and loaded in which was hell. It was freezing and the wind chill on the water is bad. We have to load everything up and down narrow staircases that aren’t meant for this. The room we play in is at the front of the boat. We had curry vegetables and a bunch of other stuff for dinner. I had peanut butter and apples. Danillo booked this show and he is a really nice dude. His band Entrails Massacre played first. The show had to be over at 10 and Witch Cult started at 9:50. Needless to say both bands played faster than normal which isn’t very possible. All day I'd felt alright but after we ate I started to get really sick. The one other time I ate on a boat I also puked. Today was no different. I puked a little before and after we played. I wonder if it has to do with the motion? I also had some serious shits (like 5) so I think I could also have a stomach bug or something. Enough about my problems. The show was cool, decent amount of people on a boat. Then right after we played the college party started. There are 3 rooms on this boat the have 3 different dj’s playing 3 different things in them. This boat got real wild. I’m tour “dad” and no one expected to me to partake in the festivities so I decided despite my illness I would prove them wrong. I put on my best looking clothing item, a shitty striped sweater I use to keep warm under my hoodie.The outcome isn’t anything cool or special. It was more of a reality check. I can't function in these wild party situations. It was funny watching rooms full of people trying so hard to fuck each other, I just can't relate. Now I'm upstairs in bed where I belong while the party rages on below me. Goodnight Dad.


Day 46/DAY OFF

I’ll pay someone to fly here and kill me.

Monday 9 April 2012

Tour - Beartrap - Poland

Day 41/Show 35/Wroclaw, Poland

Woke up early for a 3 hour drive, COOL. Got to Wroclaw after driving thru the middle of nowhere. It was raining/haleing and it was really cold. We got there so early we had nothing else to do except walk around. We went to the old town area and saw some old shit. Then we went to a vegan café that translated into “bad meat”. Some people got some stuff, I made some tea. After that we walked back to the venue. The show is in a semi-legal squat called CRK. We had some heated fooseball games and waited around for the show to start. Lukasz booked the show and is my favorite promoter. Not because he booked the best show, but because he picked up on me being a sarcastic asshole and gave it right back to me. Best sense of humor all tour hands down. This show had 4 touring bands on it and no locals, but there were a good amount of people there. Everyone seemd to enjoy the show, and the room wasn’t that cold considering how cold it was outside. After the show we went back to Lukasz' apartment where me and him talked more shit to each other before bed. Today is April Fools Day. April fools on me of course because I thought I escaped winter, but its snowing in Warsaw. Kill me now.

Day 42/Show 36/ Warsaw, Poland

Really April fools on me cause that asshole Lukasz lied to us and it isn’t snowing in Warsaw. The drive here reminded me of driving on back roads in Massachusetts. It's weird to me that there isn’t a highway that goes straight from the 2nd biggest city to the capital of the country. We were supposed to be playing the Elba squat tonight in Poland but a few days ago they got threatened with eviction so the show couldn’t happen there. We got added to a show that was already booked in a club in Warsaw and we don’t fit the bill. 3 NYHC style bands. Pawel put us on the show and I'd like to thank him for that. Anna booked the show at Elba and got us on this show when Elba got evicted so I'd like to thank her for that. This show was looking grim for us. Only people who seemed to be into heavy hardcore were in the club. Not a punk or a denim jacket in sight. We were playing 4th and 5th out of 5 bands so we figured we would play to no one at all. Right before we played some punks showed up and this show was actually pretty cool. The people who came to see us were real cool to us. Any show is better than a day off, but it didn’t seem like this one would be much better and it ended up being pretty good. After the show we went to Anna's apartment to sleep. I love sleep.


Day 43/Show 37/ Gdansk, Poland

Woke up today and drove thru Warsaw. It looks like a pretty cool place. The road to Gdansk wasn’t too bad. We stopped for some McDonalds Wifi. We got to the venue and a few minutes later the promoter, Robert, came with the food. Vegetable stew with rice and potato salad. Chocolate muffins for dessert. It was very awesome. After that we waited for the show to start. Witch Cult and BearTrap played 3rd and 4th and both sets went pretty good. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The venue was called Klub Infinium and it was a small room with a stage. It was a good room for us to play in. After the show we went back to Matt's apartment to sleep. We love sleep.

Wednesday 4 April 2012

Bulgaria 4

Bulgaria 3

"Expectations - We've made almost as many shows (~20) as rehearsals (~30) and despite the fact that, according to our 'local standards' we're considered a quite active band, we surely could have done better. In January we went to Romania to record seven of our songs with our great friend Marius Costache who also shot the video.



And boy he did great job recording our debut. After designing/printing/recording in a crazy rush this is the result.


This beautiful image is the front cover of our self-released digipack and the super cool artwork was shot and designed by our mates at Rubber Gallery. So quit reading this and go to Bandcamp to hear our cursed music. If you like the two songs uploaded there go get the album for 5 bucks. Bigcartel

We're playing Belgrade, Serbia soon and in the middle of April we'll be in Varna and Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Our second mini Balkan tour got cancelled so if you want to see us around don't be a stranger and drop us a line as we'll be surely booking a new one.

Trysth - Four guys playing sludge-metal with lots of post elements. Just had their first show in March. Check their bandpage for some heavy tunes. Actually they started playing a few years ago as a blackmetal band. Music from this period can be heard in their abandoned myspace page.


Them Frequencies - a four-piece progressive influenced post hardcore band formed in 2010 with a debut EP to be released in early 2012. They also had their first show in March.


For The Kids Booking Bulgaria - a small DIY booking agency based in Sofia, Bulgaria. We've got the idea from our friends from Budapest - For The Kids. There is a small possibility to be misled by the same names and which FTK to contact.
If you are interested in playing a show in Sofia - contact: dancho (at) ftkbooking (dot) net


Young Blood Booking - another small DIY booking agency which is run by a lovely couple from Plovdiv. They started doing shows a few months ago but their shows are happening three times faster than FTK. So if you're a band interested in playing a show in Plovdiv - get in touch... youngxblood@abv.bg

Monday 2 April 2012

Tour - Beartrap/Witch Cult - Austria, Slovakia & Czech Republic

Day 37/Show 31/ Innsbruck, Austria

Woke up in Bratislava today. It struck me how close together the 3 capital cities in the 3 surrounding countries are and how much easier/better this part of the tour could have been if hardcore was what everyone imagines it should be. There were shows going on in Budapest everyday we could play there and we couldn’t get on any of them, and one was an all local show. Vienna there was a show 1 of the nights so they couldn’t book us on the other days we could have played. I’m grateful that we can play anywhere and that we ever get booked anywhere, but just imagine if everything worked out the way you planned. We drove to Innsbruck, which is 6 hours from Bratislava, instead of Vienna, which is 1 hour away. The drive was ok, it reminded me of the mid west of America. Lots of fields and the smell of cow shit. Towards the end we drove into some snow covered mountains so it was cool.


Massimo booked this show and it is at a place called Café Decentral. When we arrived there was some fruit waiting and food to be cooked. Everyone at the show was super nice. This was one of the shows with no locals. There was a good amount of people for a Tuesday night show with no locals. Everyone seemed to be into both sets and it was a cool show. After the show Massimo gave us the keys to his apartment and now we are here going wild because he is staying somewhere else. Sometimes the smaller towns can be just as cool as the big cities.

Day 38/Show 32/ Bratislava, Slovakia

Woke up today in Massimo’s apartment. The view was wonderful. Surrounded by snow covered mountains. He showed up and brought us breakfast. What a nice dude. We did the same drive the day before so we knew what we were in for. The show was at Intergalactic Obluda. We got to the venue and found out that there were 3 other touring bands on the show and we had to play first. The show started around 9 and Witch Cult played first. There were a lot of people there for a show on a Wednesday night with no locals. Then BearTrap played. People seemed to enjoy both sets. I spent the rest of the night fighting off sleep behind the merch table because I didn’t sleep well the night before. After the show we loaded out and now are at the apartment we are staying at. Sleeeeeeppppp.

Day 39/40/Show 33/34/ Prague, Czech Republic/ Vysoke Myto, Czech Republic

We woke up early because Nina had to go to work. This is the 2nd day in a row I’ve woken up very early to people talking loudly in other languages. We started the drive to Prague. We all wanted to walk around and check out the city, NOPE! The only day we have bad weather is in Prague. Wet shoes on tour is hell so we got to the venue early and hung out. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so I probably wont get to check out the city. Anyway, we hung out here for awhile.

The venue is called Klubovna Povalec. Vaclav/ the hluch crew booked the show for us. At around 6 people showed up with food for us. I think 4 different people brought us a lot of different foods. Rice and curry vegetables, a cake made of plums and pears, a lot of different fruits and some nuts/chocolate. We gorged and are all fatter Americans/English bastards now.


After that the first band went on. They were awesome, but I didn’t catch their name. Witch Cult played and a lot of people went apeshit. Same for BearTrap. I requested stage dives and people stage dove. I felt like Scott Vogel. After the show we hung out at the venue for awhile. We have been sold out of records for the past week (since Istanbul) and its sucked. I had some shipped here. 2 packages of 20 records in each box, but only 1 box came. So soon enough we will be record less and have records stranded in Prague.

This was the 2nd best show of tour. A lot of people in a small room and everyone enjoyed it. After the show we went to the apartment we were staying at and watched Drive. Woke up today and its still raining so my life now sucks. We sat around for awhile and the rain stopped. We went out and checked out Prague and it is a pretty awesome city. We left and drove to Vysoke Myto. After we crossed a really small bridge that was only 2 inches wider than our van and drove thru a bunch of villages on small roads, we made it to a small city.

The place we are playing tonight is called Mikado. When we got inside my mind was blown. The room we are playing in has a rock climbing wall and a bunch of mats. Upon further inspection this place is what seems to be a pre-school that has shows in it. This is insane. There are small children here for activities just a few minutes before the show starts. The show started around 9. Witch Cult played 3rd and BearTrap played 4th. There are a decent amount of people here, especially for a small town. They made us play more but I think it was more of the “we don’t care who you are we just want more music” kind of thing. Oh well. It was still a pretty good show. 2 people are passed out drunk right in front of the merch table. Children go to school here. We are sleeping here tonight but have to be up early cause children are coming and that sucks. I’d rather sleep.