It's been a hot minute...

since I've posted last. That's my bad, Brad. Just got done eating a Texas shaped waffle at our hotel in Lubbock, Texas. Probably the best way to start your day.. ever. So where have we been? What have we been up to you ask? Since the last post we have climbed the Montgomery Capital Building stairs, raged on Bourbon St. in the amazing city of New Orleans, fought dust bowls and drought in our two day run through the pan handled state of Oklahoma, and kicked an ass or two in Texas. Today is a day off in which we will begin our travel to Arizona. I guess we pass through Roswell, New Mexico on our way there, so I hope we stop and see some ET junk. Bamboozle Left is only a few days away, I can't effing wait to get out to Cali and see our friends. I've REALLY missed that state. Now I'm going to wash down my Texas waffle with some Tex/Mex. Pray for me.

Peace out Florida!

It's been a great few days in Florida. We had a day off yesterday and played put-put at some Congo Adventure place outside our hotel (shout outs to George and Andrea for coming out and challenging the masters). I also caught a lizard finally which I had sworn to do since we entered this "State of Sunshine". Thanks to all the kids who have been more than helpful when it comes to singing our songs at the shows. Your voices couldn't have sounded better and that shit warms the heart. I'm fucking excited to start slipping some new shit in the mix, we just have to learn the songs first. The tour has been fun so far, all the bands (Kiros, The Morning Light, Every Avenue and The Audition) have been awesome dudes, MORE than worthy of raging with the likes of us. We are at The Social in Orlando right now, stoked to play and even more stoked to make a night drive. Shit gets old fast, but it's how I know that we're really on tour, THE NIGHT DRIVES. We can't thank everyone enough for all the support we've received, hopefully kids continue to be as rad as they have been. Check our dates, come out to the shows and show us how your state does it... BRING THAT SHIT.

It's so fucking good to be back,

Nick

THE RECORD

IS FINISHED! It's insane how your life can change in the blink of an eye. One year ago we were touring the UK and Australia (with the bands that were directly responsible for our careers), selling records and headlining a tour. It's safe to say we were in a groove, the groove that bands get into which consists of touring, videos, and recording records. Things were planned out, moves were being made, and it seemed like the only way to go for us was up. Then, like it happens, we blinked and we were back in Ohio getting jobs, missing the road and questioning the future existence of this band. ts was an awful time for us, but at the same token, you need something like that to appreciate the things that have already happened. Five pop-punk kids from the middle of Ohio went from K of C halls covering Juliana Theory songs, to selling out shows in a different country. If it took Colin quitting to get us to realize that, then I thank the powers that be that they gave me/us that chance. We've done what so many would give their limbs for(myself included). I don't even want to think of what our 2nd record would have been like had everything went like it was "supposed to". We wouldn't have wrote the songs that we did, we wouldn't have recorded with Bob(who is going to blow the FUCK UP when people hear this stuff and realize how incredibly talented he is), and we wouldn't have had an opportunity to step back and look at the big picture. What's the big picture? The fact that I have been blessed with friends who I can rely on, depend on, and write music with while at the same time having people who will stick by us no matter what. The kids that leave us comments and messages letting us know they're with us 100%, our label owner Fred Feldman who stepped up to the plate and had our backs through this when most labels would have been sweating pudding, Matt Galle - who has never stopped calling us his dudes, and our families who supported us when most would be begging for us to go back to school. I am so proud of what we've accomplished and I'm happy that everyone is going to get to share the outcome. There will always be people who think we suck or won't listen because "Colin's voice WAS the band", but there is no way that they can turn their backs on these songs without giving us the credit we deserve. WE FUCKING DID IT, we came out with a record that we couldn't be prouder of, and we did it when all there was to rely on was the four of us. HIT THE FUCKING LIGHTS. My goal wasn't to go on a rant, or to tell people how awesome we are. I just think that the people who stuck by us are going to be proud of us, and that makes me smile every time it goes through my head. Our first show back is on Saturday, it's going to be a lot lighter without my guitar, so if we could add some weight by adding a couple of singing kids on my shoulders then it shouldn't be that much different. The old songs are a piece of this bands history, and they mean as much to us as they do to you, so I won't sing them alone. Through out everything that has happened, we've done incredible things and hopefully things will be going as they were one year ago; up. We're just happy to have the chance to.

"...and every drop of sweat that we've bled has been worth it, 'cause we earned it"

- COUNT IT

Things Rick Astley would NEVER do:

Pray for Mojo...

Yeah, so the myspace should be running properly within the next few days, we'll also have our new dates for anyone who wants to come and see us lay the smack down. I feel like I might be getting sick, and we have a lot more vocals to do so I'm headed to bed early. Until then...

yup.

SNOW DAY!

Blizzard came last night around 3:30 and we woke up to a little over 6 inches of pure white snow, which was honestly the most perfect packing snow I've ever encounted in my 20 some odd years on this planet.  We weren't able to make it to the studio, so we got our very first snow day.  We went out and built igloos, made snow angels, ate yellow snow, all the good stuff.  Bella was loving it, we were blasting her with snow balls.  If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend pelting a dog with snowballs.  It's pretty therapeutic, and the dog seems to like it just as much.  I haven't played in snow for a while so it was effin' sweet.  Played some Halo, will probably play more, and then enjoyed a dinner of potatoes and eggs.  I don't know if anyone knows that italians eat other things besides spaghetti, but they do, and potatoes in eggs is right up there with pizza... some of my favorite food ever.   Unfortunately it makes bathroom trips a tad messy.  Shot gun effect, EVERYWHERE.  I'll keep you posted on how I turned the bullpen bathroom into a crime scene.  CAUTION!!!

Alrighty so here's the deal.  We've started bustin' through the vocals and adding lead guitars here and there.  There are going to be a WHOLE LOTTA strong songs on this record.  It's an amazing experience when you actually hear a song that you wrote come alive and play out how it was in your head.  We had a big decision to make when we were looking for producers for the next record, and I couldn't be happier with our choice.  I'm a high stress dude, and making a record is a high stress project, so when high stress meets high stress, it gets hard for me.  With as much pressure that we have on everything right now, it's pretty amazing that I haven't been cracking.  It feels good to work with Rob and know that we trust him and his opinions.  There are no bad vibes and things have been going more smoothly that I would have thought possible.  I'm excited to get this shit on the road.  Snow storm tonight, we'll see if we make it to Boonton in one piece huh?