Local Jams

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[local-jams]

Vans Warped Tour 2017 Masterpost

Oh what a joy. It’s that time again, kids. Warped Tour is back up and running! With the chaos of around 80 bands playing on 7 stages, there’s a lot to take in. Come Warped season comes the questions: “what is _____ playing on this tour?” “what’s the merch for ___?” And that’s what I’m here for! As I find things I’ll update the list! I’m making a masterpost of all of the setlists and merch that I find to make it easier to plan! I’m linking all of my sources to give credit where credit is due.

*If you find any setlists or pictures of merch feel free to send it to me!*

The Acacia Strain [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Adolescents [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

After The Burial [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Alarm [7.7 - 7.16, 8.4 - 8.6] (merch & setlist)

Alestorm [6.21-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Alvarez Kings [7.4] (merch & setlist)

American Authors [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Andy Black [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Anti-Flag [6.27-7.24] (merch & setlist)

Assuming We Survive [8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Ataris [6.16-8.1] (merch & setlist)

Attila [6.16-7.2,7.6-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Bad Cop/Bad Cop [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Bad Omens [7.4-7.24] (merch & setlist)

Bad Seed Rising [6.16-7.4] (merch & setlist)

Barb Wire Dolls [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Beartooth [6.28-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Being As An Ocean [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Big D And The Kids Table [7.6-7.16] (merch & setlist)

Blessthefall [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Boston Manor [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Bowling For Soup [6.27-7.2, 7.26-7.30] (merch & setlist)

Candiria [6.21-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Carnifex [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Carousel Kings [6.16-7.4] (merch & setlist)

CKY [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Counterparts [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Courage My Love [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Creeper [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Dance Gavin Dance [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Dead Girls Academy [8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Dickies [6.16-6.25] (merch & setlist)

Doll Skin [6.16-6.25] (merch & setlist)

The Dukes [6.27-7.2] (merch & setlist)

Emmure [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Eternal Boy [7.14] (merch & setlist)

Falling In Reverse [6.23, 8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Fantastic Plastics [6.16-7.2] (merch & setlist)

Farewell Winters [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Feeki [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Fire From The Gods [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Fit For a King [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Futuristic [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Goldfinger [6.16,6.17,8.1-8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Gospel Youth [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

GWAR [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Hands Like Houses [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Hatebreed [6.21-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Hawthorne Heights [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Hundredth [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

I Prevail [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Jule Vera [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Knocked Loose [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Lakeshore [7.9,7.12-7.15] (merch & setlist)

Memphis May Fire [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Microwave [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Montage [7.18] (merch & setlist)

Movements [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Municipal Waste [6.16-7.2, 7.6-8.6] (merch & setlist)

My Heart Might Explode [6.28] (merch & setlist)

Naked Walrus [6.23-6.25]  (merch & setlist)

Neck Deep [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Never Shout Never [6.27-7.7] (merch & setlist)

New Years Day [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

One Last Shot [7.7-7.10] (merch & setlist)

Our Last Night [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Plain White T’s [7.18] (merch & setlist)

Playboy Manbaby [6.22. 8.6] (merch & setlist)

Riverboat Gamblers [7.29, 7.30] (merch & setlist)

Sammy Adams [6.16-7.28, 8.1-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Sarah and the Safe Word [6.29] (merch & setlist)

Save Ferris [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Separations [7.6-7.24] (merch & setlist)

Shattered Sun [7.26-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Sick of it All [6.21-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Silent Planet [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Silverstein [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Sonic Boom Six [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Stacked Like Pancakes [7.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Stick To Your Guns [6.16-7.2, 7.6-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Street Dogs [7.6-7.16] (merch & setlist)

Streetlight Manifesto [6.24] (merch & setlist)

Strung Out [6.16-7.11,8.4-8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Suicide Machines [7.18-7.21] (merch & setlist)

Sworn In [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Sylar [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

T.S.O.L. [7.22-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Tillie [7.26-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Too Close To Touch [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Trophy Eyes [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Twilight Creeps [8.4-8.6] (merch & setlist)

Valient Thorr [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

War On Women [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

The Waves [7.18] (merch & setlist)

Watsky [6.16-7.14, 7.16-7.18, 7.20, 7.21, 7.23-8.6] (merch & setlist)

The White Noise [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

William Control [6.16-8.6] (merch & setlist)

[local-jams]

Important Bands You Need to Pay Attention to

Every time that you get on social media there’s a 99% chance you’ll see a name of a band that you’ve never listened to before. New bands pop up every single day! Here are five bands that I deem important and think you should check out. Each of these bands have fire and passion behind what they’re doing. I know you’ll appreciate the lyrics that you hear. 

1. The Millenium

If you know me, this band being the very first is not surprising in any way. The Millenium comes out of Wisconsin and is arguably one of the best live bands I’ve seen to date. Their music is guaranteed to make you dance, make you smile, make you cry, make you enjoy the very moment you are in. 

Favorite lyrics: “Are we both blind? No it’s plain as day to see, I don’t care about our history I care about you and me.”

2. A Will Away

If you haven’t seen the name “A Will Away” on your social media feeds you’re following the wrong set of people. Possibly one of the most talked about bands of 2017, this Connecticut band is making a name for themselves. And boy do they deserve it. 

Favorite Lyrics: “Don’t let the poison that surrounds you, stifle out the life you wanna live.”

3. Grayscale

Pennsylvania has given us many amazing bands to be thankful for, but Grayscale is something else. I had seen their name pop up all over Twitter and all over tour posters for some time, but I mistakenly never really listened to the band. After their release of Adornment, everything changed. 

Favorite Lyrics: “If I ever see you again, I’d ask for my time back, and if I ever see you again I’d want you to know that I was alone adrift, no I couldn’t be more over it.”

4. Sleep On It

Sleep On It have made their name in their Chicago scene, that’s for sure. Their talent has brought them many amazing opportunities which include a USA tour with As It Is. A solid pop punk band includes songs that you can yell at the top of your lungs, and many of their songs qualify. Top notch talent and top notch guys. 

Favorite Lyrics: “There’s a buzz in my head from what you never said”

5. Like Pacific

In the past few weeks I’ve been listening to more and more of “Distant Like You Asked” and I’m impressed. The energy and passion in these songs are so real and raw. As I’ve gone over a song I hear a new line in a different light than I did before. Passion is what it takes, and I think you should all give them a chance.

Favorite Lyrics: “You don't think before you speak and your interests are not for me. But I'm so alone I need to receive some attention I've been paid”

Picture Credits:

The Millenium: Unknown! If this is your photo please let me know!

A Will Away: Emily Tantuccio

Grayscale: Emily Dubin

Sleep On It: Unknown! If this is your photo please let me know!

Like Pacific: Unknown! If this is your photo please let me know!

[local-jams]

We’re Back!

Hey everybody! 

I’m so excited to get back into Local Jams. School was crazy, life was crazy, you know. But I’m done making excuses! If you didn’t notice already, there’s a new logo! Shannon made it for me and I couldn’t be happier with it! 

Social Media Links

Twitter: @local_jams

Facebook:

What can I expect from Local Jams?

I want to make Local Jams a website that supports everybody. Not only the musicians but the fans and the crew as well! The music industry is this big crazy thing that can be sometimes intimidating, so I want to shed some light on it! The goal is to interview people in different aspects of the industry: marketing, A&R, crew, producers, etc. so if you’re interested in one of those fields, you can get a little behind the scenes action. I want to share tips and tricks for concerts, insights from the fans, anything and everything! 

What are you going to do for the DIY bands?

My main goal is to spread the word of different bands; allow fans to find new music to listen to, and hopefully some bands new music to listen to! Local Jams is like a reference for new music in the DIY scene! I’ll go to shows whenever possible and share my experiences, talk about new music that was released, promote the band and their socials as much as possible! 

I started Local Jams as a school project, and I want to continue on with it to not only teach myself more about this industry, but to teach others! 

Stay Local.  

[local-jams]

Warped Tour 2016 Masterpost

I’m going to try update every band’s info that I can find! If you have any other information (merch pics, setlists, how to meet a band, etc) please let me know! 

Keep reading

[local-jams]

do you have any info for emarosa for warped tour? id really really appreciate if you could find anything i mean ANYTHING at all

Hey! I'll look around and see what I can find!

[local-jams]

Warped Tour 2016 Masterpost

I’m going to try update every band’s info that I can find! If you have any other information (merch pics, setlists, how to meet a band, etc) please let me know! 

PSA: I wanted to give credit where credit is due, so I’ll be linking all information to a specific set of words for each band! 

Also! DON’T FORGET TO CHECK THE BANDS’ SOCIAL MEDIAS THE DAY OF YOUR WARPED. All signing information is subject to change! This is just to help you out and point in the general direction. 

(If there’s a strike through something it means that I don’t have the information. If there’s a bold strike through “how to meet them” it means you can’t meet them!)

Issues:    

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

The Story So Far:

how to meet them, merch pictures (2), setlist

Set It Off: 

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Four Year Strong:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

We The Kings:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Mayday Parade:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Real Friends:

how to meet them, merch pictures (2), setlist

Sleeping With Sirens:

how to meet them, merch pictures (2), setlist

Vanna:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Tonight Alive:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

State Champs:

how to meet them, merch pictures (2), setlist

Knuckle Puck:

how to meet them, merch pictures (2) (3), setlist

Stay Sick:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Chelsea Grin:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

The Maine:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Crown The Empire:

how to meet them, merch pictures (2), setlist

Safe To Say:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Falling In Reverse:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Emarosa:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Against The Current:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

Newfound Glory:

how to meet them, merch pictures, setlist

[local-jams]

Sleepless Summer Tour

On June 13, 2016 I went down to Indianapolis, IN to see this tour consisting of Walkney, Time Atlas, 4 Door Theater, and The Millenium. I experienced the coolest VIP experience in my life and I danced away my demons. 

For dates near you and a playlist of songs from the bands on this tour click here. 

After waiting in line for a bit, we were let inside to start the VIP session that the bands offered to anybody who bought a ticket within the first week of tickets being on sale (at no extra charge by the way). In all honesty, I had no idea how the VIP was going to be. In the VIP letter they described the experience as what you’d see on a summer camp pamphlet. All of the bands and fans gathered in a circle and shared their name, favorite animal, and the reasoning behind it being their favorite animal. No joke, I learned a lot more about animals than I thought I ever would, but it was really cool joking around and making fun of everybody for different reasons. After the intro, we played games together and they were so fun. In the end #teamtwo won but all I’m gonna say is that #teamvictorioussecret was BOMB and we lost with dignity. The VIP experience was by far the coolest that I’ve ever gotten to be a part of. And one of the little things that made my day was that they gave us a free poster that everybody signed- no band has ever pulled through with that one in their VIP so I thought that it was pretty cool. If you have VIP for this tour you’re going to have the time of your life and you’re gonna forget that you’re actually there for a show. I would have been perfectly fine with just playing games the entire night.

The first band to play was Walkney, Derek had mentioned that he was somewhat nervous to play seeing as it was the first show and all but he had no reason to be. They killed their set. Walkney puts so much effort into their live shows that just being able to watch it feels like a privilege. They only have two songs published but even the ones that aren’t fully out yet, people still knew the words. I kept thinking about what it must feel like to have people know the words to songs that aren’t even out yet. A friend of mine’s boyfriend came with us and he said that out of all of the bands he liked Walkney the best, which was super awesome to hear.

Time Atlas went on after Walkney. I had never seen them live before and I had only just met Grayson and Aaron in #teamvictorioussecret so I was excited to see what they were like. I’d listened to their music a few times before, and I knew some of the words. Their fans danced to every single one of their songs. They all looked like they really belonged up there on that stage. It was so cool finding another band that is super good live and all the while has good and genuine members in the band. I was thoroughly impressed with them and I can confidently say that I’ll be at the next show they play here in Indy.

Next was Four Door Theatre. Throughout their entire set there was this section of fans who were going crazy and screaming every single word. It was crazy. The guys in 4DT were really good and even though they were acoustic I wouldn’t mind seeing them again. I really wish I would have gotten into their music before the show so I could have sang along!

Lastly, The Millenium. At this point I’m not sure if it’s a biased opinion when I write about a set of theirs. They are just so damn good at what they do. It blows my mind every single time how good they are live and how easy it is to get lost in their music. I was truly living and singing and dancing to their set that night. During their song Garnish Our Love when Matt sings “I burned my bridges so I learned how to swim, oh I burned all my fucking bridges so I learned how to swim, I learned how to swim.” We always scream that at each other’s faces. We hold hands and just go crazy. In that moment there’s nobody else in the venue- it’s just me and him yelling this song that we both care about so deeply. Their photographer (I’ll have a section at the bottom for her links!) If I could live in one of their concerts for the rest of my life, I would do it without hesitation. As they were playing it occurred to me that almost every person in the room was singing along. For those of you who aren’t from Indiana and you don’t understand how huge that is, I’ll break it down for you. In Indiana the local music scene (Indianapolis’) is loved. But for a band to come here is rare because in all honesty it’s hard to take over Indy. It’s just not a huge thing for this state to support smaller bands, and that sucks. But god, The Millenium have won. They have gotten ahold of Indiana and they’ve conquered it. To put on a successful show at any venue that isn’t the Hoosier Dome is big. I couldn’t be more proud of The Millenium.

After the show all of the bands hung out throughout the venue and took pictures with fans and caught up with one another. At our date we had Clayton Collins, Dalton Wixom, and Brady Szuhaj so we could talk to them as well. The atmosphere was comforting in the venue. It felt like a bunch of friends were just hanging out and taking pictures together, which is kinda how it was. I mean everybody knew somebody who knew somebody else. That’s my favorite thing about shows in Indy, we’re all a big family and the bands join in with us.

Overall: The Sleepless Summer Tour is one for the books. You’re gonna have the time of your life and you’re going to forget all of the problems in your life when you’re dancing and jumping and singing along with a group of people who have the same aspirations and passions as you do.

{For links to their photographers work click here, the picture posted above was taken and edited by her!}

[local-jams]

Sleepless Summer Tour

Here is everything you need to know about the tour featuring The Millenium, Walkney, Time Atlas, and Royal Street! 

In mid-May the Sleepless Summer Tour was announced. It features four bands that are well known and loved by fans all over the country. They’re hitting 11 cities on this Midwest-East Coast tour. 

Dates and Venues:

6/13: Indianapolis, IN @ Irving Theatre

6/14: Columbus, OH @ Double Happiness

6/15: Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theatre

6/18: Providence, RI @ Firehouse 13

6/19: New York City, NY @ Webster Hall

6/20: Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz

6/21: Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose

6/22: Chicago, IL @ The Wire

6/23: Des Moines, IA @ Lefty’s

6/24: Eau Claire, WI @ The Plus

6/26: Minneapolis, MN @ Mil City Lights 

You can get tickets here

Ticket Options

General Admission: The price ranges anywhere from $8-$14 I believe! It depends on your venue and the site that they’re selling the tickets through. 

*******VIP: The bands clearly stated they wanted to do a VIP Session but they weren’t looking to do it for money, so anybody who bought their ticket within the first week was automatically upgraded to VIP for FREE! If you did so, you will have an email waiting for you giving you the directions on when to arrive at the venue and what you’ll be doing! What they’re doing with VIP is something I’ve never seen before, these bands really just want to hang out with some fans, play some games, and get to know the people who care about them so deeply. It’s crazy respectable. 

I’ve gone ahead and made a playlist for you to listen to as you wait for you Sleepless Summer Date to roll around! You can listen to that here.

If you have any other questions or concerns you can contact the bands directly or I could try to help you out to the best of my ability! I’ll be at the Indianapolis date so if you see me drop by and say hey!

[local-jams]

Goodbye, Goodnight just released his new EP Indifferent!

Buy it here on iTunes

Listen to it here on Spotify

Goodbye, Goodnight is also heading out on tour for this EP

[local-jams]

Giveaway #2!

I had to pause the giveaways for a while, but we’re back in action! This week you’re able to enter the giveaway in three different ways. You can 

Facebook- tag a friend in the comments and share the post

Tumblr- reblog this post

Twitter- RT this link 

Items Featured:

Enversia- 3 stickers, a CD, a shirt size Small, and two cards written out by the members themselves. 

Maple Hill- CD

Backpacks- EP

Bonfires- sticker

Make sure to check out each of the bands and enjoy some awesome bands. 

[local-jams]

REVIEW: Dylan Rockoff

Isn’t it crazy how one song can you change your mood completely? How it can take you to a different place on earth even though you’re sitting on your bed staring at your computer? For me, Coming Home by Dylan Rockoff took me to summer. As it rains outside, I can feel that sun on my skin and I can see the rays of sun in front of my eyes. Coming Home makes you want to take a road trip with friends and sing this aloud. Rockoff’s EP “These Old Streets” transfers happiness throughout your bones. I admire the way his songs flow so freely together. You can’t help but feel the love that he’s singing about.

[local-jams]

Hi! I'm attending the Emo Is Back Tour tomorrow and I got a vip, but I have no clue what time I have to be there lol! What time was yours? I'm assuming it'll be around the same.

VIP normally starts about an hour before door time! So be there at about 5!!

[local-jams]

Emo Is Back Tour; April 26, 2016

On Tuesday I got to leave school early and adventure down to Indianapolis to the Hoosier Dome ,which is becoming a venue I am at often, to see the tour that has brought a lot of attention to the emo world. Kickbox, Beneath The Spin Light, Take A Breath, An Honest Year, Best Kept Secret, and We Are Forever killed this year’s tour.  

Read about the tour here

Me and my friend got to Indy around 3:30. Upon our arrival we went to a gas station down the street from the venue and ended up running into the An Honest Year guys. We showed up at the Hoosier Dome to check in and see what time we needed to be there for VIP. Outside the venue were all of the bands, but we mainly spoke to Jordan McKinney and Greg from An Honest Year. They both had their dogs with them so it was a nice time. Since we still had about an hour and a half until people were gonna start showing up, we decided to drive down the street and walk in and out of the shops to pass time.

When it was finally time for us to head back and get to the venue, it was starting to rain, and as everybody who’s been to Indiana during its rainy seasons- it’s an on and off ugly rain for as long as you’re trying to do something (it just wants to be an inconvenience.) Inside the venue all of the bands and crew were setting up the merch tables, and there was only two other girls there for VIP so we became friends with them as we waited for our VIP instructions.

Brady of Best Kept Secret came over to us and explained that they were running late and were wondering if it’d be okay if we did VIP after the show, we all agreed not wanting to put the bands under any unnecessary stress. Okan from This Is All Now and Jesse from Take A Breath all came around and hung out with us while we waited around for the show to start.

~show time~

Kickbox, a band from Chicago, played first. They’d told us that a member of the band had been sick throughout the day- and honestly you wouldn’t have been able to tell. They played their hardest and the guys in the other bands joined those of us in the crowd and sang along with Trevor.

Beneath The Spin Light was next. Going into this show I hadn’t gotten the chance to really listen to BTSL. I didn’t know what to expect. This Washington band blew me away. Gus, their bassist, was stretching before they started, and I passed it off as “Oh, he’s gonna be jumping around the stage or something like that.” Or something like that was the answer here. He was doing head stands (pictured), splits, and was literally putting on a performance for us. He wasn’t just playing a show. I was so insanely impressed by him and his personality- I’m going to have to see this band again.

After Beneath The Spin Light, This Is All Now went on. I love the energy that these guys have, and the energy that they give their fans is even better. My friend who went to the show with me isn’t one for the music that was at this show, but she made sure to tell me that This Is All Now was her favorite. I’d seen them at a show two years ago and one thing I can stand behind is taht these guys love doing what they’re doing and they are people who love their fans very deeply. 

Take A Breath were the next band to play. I’d heard a lot about them off of Twitter and we have mutual friends so I was excited to see them play. It was actually kind of funny watching some girls (and guys) swoon over this band. “Ooh the singer is so cute.” “Look at their bassist” But they weren’t just swooning over their looks. This band has a stage presence that makes you want to sway back and forth. I kept thinking about Matty from The 1975 and Harry Styles having a kid and that kid being Jesse. It was truly fun to watch this band.

An Honest Year started setting up and there were already people crying. An Honest Year had mentioned that this was the last time we’d ever see them live and I swear to you, every person in the crowd yelled, cursed, and flipped them off. We went so hard in the crowd, making sure the band was sent off with a good impression of us, and a good reminder as to why they were in the band for as long as they were. Everything about seeing An Honest Year is a treat. They’re all so talented and so good at what they do. They’re genuine guys, and I’m going to really miss looking forward to seeing them live.

Best Kept Secret, the headmasters of this tour, was up. The crowd went insane for this set. I’m telling you what, we jumped, screamed, and danced with these guys. It was one of those sets where you’re so in the moment that you’re not thinking about the stress that you’re carrying, you’re only thinking about how loudly you can scream before somebody can distinctly tell that it’s you. Matt, the singer, noticed I was singing along to every word so he put the mic up to my mouth and let me sing a couple times, and he’d get up in my face and we’d sing to each other. Its little interactions like that that sticks with a fan. He is such a good performer; he was going crazy on the stage and wasn’t holding back. Also, they covered The Hills and the entire venue lost their shit.

We Are Forever- Hometown homeboys. We Are Forever went on stage and had two fill ins. Throughout the show they switched people playing for them twice (?) and during the very last song they had all of their original members, it was odd but if that’s what works for them. Their cover of Lights is so good; I could listen to it all day. The hometown pride was real with them.

VIP Experience: On the package for VIP you’re said to get a personal M&G experience and a signed poster (amongst your ticket, early entry, and a picture with the bands) At the Indianapolis date we didn’t get the person experience, assumedly because we had to do VIP after the show and that’s when fans stick around to talk to bands anyways. We didn’t get the signed poster either but they could have just retracted that from that package, I’m not entirely sure on that! It was cool getting a gigantic picture with all of the bands, although we have yet to have received that picture. Danny Suede is the photographer and he is so talented so he’s guaranteed to take a good picture, but it’s just about wither the band posts the picture or not. Hopefully we’ll get that picture (and the other pictures Danny took) soon! I’d love to see how they turned out!

Overall: Aside from the VIP, it was an awesome show. I had a great time with my best friend and got to see old friends and meet new ones. There’s nothing better than being able to talk to an old friend and reconnect and get some things out of the way. Local shows like this are so important. I would have never known how awesome Beneath The Spin Light is if I wouldn’t have gone to this show. There’s a few dates left, make sure that if you’re near them you hit a date up because it’s so worth it to go and see all of the amazing people who are on the lineup.

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ANNOUNCEMENT

I am so excited to announce what I've been working on lately! Starting Wednesday, I'm going to be doing giveaways with merch from the bands featured on Local Jams! I've had so much help and support from the bands who have been sending things in! It'll be every other week that I do one of these! With each passing day a new package arrives with merch from a band and I can't wait to get these out to you guys! To win it'll be different for each band, it may be a screenshot of you tweeting out the link of their new song or simply checking their music out and saying what you thought! {If there are any bands that would like to be a part of this email me at [email protected] and we can get you a page on Local Jams and get you all set up!}

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Interview with Maple Hill

Here’s my interview with the New York band Maple Hill. Here’s a link to their Local Jams page!

Local Jams: Hey guys! Lets start this off by introducing yourselves and saying what your part in Maple Hill!

Joel Beckwith: My name’s Joel, and I play bass guitar in Maple Hill. I also write a decent amount of the music, and sing backup vocals live.

Kristian Wood-Gaiger: Hiya! My name is Kristian, and I sing and play rhythm guitar.

Max Gaeta: I’m Max and I play lead guitar.

St. John Faulkner: Hey there! I’m St. John and I play the drums.

Local Jams: When you first became a band, what was the support like with friends and family? What was it like between each of you in the band?

Max: My family and friends were really excited that I was in a band. They of course wanted to hear any music that I was working on with the band, and were eager to come to shows. They were always asking me about any upcoming shows we had, and about any new songs we were writing. It was a little slow and awkward at first getting to know each other, but we soon became pretty close. After we spent two weeks recording our first album in California, I felt like they were some of my closest friends.

Joel: It was an interesting experience for me at first since I joined the band through an audition, and didn’t know the other guys that well. However, by the end of our first year together as a band, we were all each other’s best friends. I’m really thankful to say our families have supported us immensely from the beginning; they’ve been there every step of the way to help us do what we love to do.

Kristian: For as long as I have been playing music, my parents have been beyond supportive of my endeavors. I’d say my parents want me to succeed just as much as I do, if not even more haha. And most of our friends have been equally supportive, to be honest. Looking out at the crowd at hometown shows and seeing all of our friends and family singing along, I just know that's right where I'm supposed to be.

Local Jams: Do you remember your first impressions of each other?

Joel: Yeah haha, I do. St. John is a very honest and blunt person and at first I was slightly intimidated by that, but I grew to understand him better quickly enough. When I first started playing music with Kristian, I was mostly just wowed by how high he could sing haha. Max used to just seem like that quiet guy who could shred with his guitar, but over the years we’ve grown up a lot and gotten way closer as friends.

Kristian: St. John has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I first met Joel a couple years ago during practice for another band. He came in wearing an All Time Low shirt, and I knew he was my kinda guy. My first impression of Max was, "Well this kid is quiet... and small... but man can he play the fuck out of that guitar!"

Max: I had known St. John since I was a kid, so I was pretty familiar with him. I remember I thought of Joel as the really tall bassist who would always go hard whenever we played. Then Kristian was just this chill guy who had an incredible voice. That was pretty much it for first impressions.

St. John: I first met Max in pre-school, and played music with him as a kid, so I knew him for a long time before convincing him to audition. I first met Kristian through one of my good friends when I was like 9. We instantly became best friends, and nothing’s changed since. I first met Joel through his sister, who I was already friends with. Then he started dating my sister and hanging around my house a lot. I knew he liked All Time Low, so when Kristian and I were practicing we’d sometimes have him come play “Lost in Stereo” with us. We never knew he’d end up in a band with us!

Local Jams: What inspired you to join a band? What did you see that made you go, “That right there is what I want to do.”?

Max: I had been in bands before I joined Maple Hill, and I was always looking for people to play with. Kristian and St. John were in a band together before Joel and I joined called “Starts on Friday,” and they had a pretty good reputation around Ithaca, so when they asked me to audition I was really excited. I had never been in a band that was actually serious, and here was my opportunity to play with some good musicians and still have a lot of fun.

Joel: The biggest thing that inspired me to join a band was definitely All Time Low. I watched their documentary back in 7th grade and ever since have wanted to do what they’re doing, touring with their best friends playing music they love.

Kristian: All Time Low: Straight to DVD, baby. They were just some young dudes having so much fun and jamming the fuck out 24/7. We saw that, and St. John and I knew it was what we had to do.

St. John: Yep!

Local Jams: I saw you record at Panda Studios, was there something special about that specific recording studio that you knew you wanted to create Headspace there?

Joel: As we were writing for the album, we considered a few options of where to record. The Panda Studios stuck out to us because we were really into a lot of the records they were putting out, and we could easily envision our music with their sound.

Get Headspace Here

Local Jams: When you’re writing songs and are about to record them, how do you choose which ones will go on your album?

St. John: Usually we just know. We want what we think our best songs are to make it on the record. We also want variation, though, which is usually a large reason for choosing any one song over another. The end goal is to create a cohesive listening experience, so we go with whatever will best contribute to that.

Max: For Headspace, we had about fifteen songs written before we went in to record them. We wanted 10 or 11 tracks on the album, so we knew we had to cut a few. We basically just chose the ten songs that we thought were best. If two songs had a similar vibe or structure, we kept the one we thought was better. There were a couple obvious songs that we knew we had to cut, but we actually voted as a band on which songs we felt should stay.

Local Jams: If you write a song that you love but don’t feel it has the right vibe for the album, what do you do with it, save it for later or just keep it hidden?

Kristian: For songs that "don't make the cut," we try to save at least the parts of the songs that made us explore writing them in the first place. We can later revisit them at a time that they can be more appreciated; however we do have a couple songs we are hiding for now...

Joel: We try not to entirely abandon any past ideas for songs, because modifying and adding onto old ideas can often amount to a brand new song. That’s actually how a couple of the songs on Headspace were formed.

Local Jams: What are your goals for Maple Hill?

Joel: Our goals for Maple Hill are primarily to tour and play shows in every city that we can. If we could play our local date of Warped Tour this summer, that would be incredible. Otherwise, we are definitely looking forward to writing another record!

Local Jams: What’s your advice for anybody who’s reading this right now who wants to start a band?

Max: Find a group of dedicated musicians who love to just play, and start writing music. Don’t try to copy other bands, but instead draw influences from them and find your own sound. Even if you’re playing covers, try to put your own unique spin on the songs, so it separates you from everyone else and makes you stand out. Most importantly, play as many shows as you can. Getting exposure is vital, and the more you play, the better you guys are going to get as a group, and the more people will recognize your music and want to come see you play.

Local Jams: Finally, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans (old or new)?

Thank you. Thank you so much. We really can't wait any longer to hit the road and just jam out with you guys. Without you checking out our stuff, we wouldn't be able to do what we love to do. So truly, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Stay tuned for those groovy tunes and we hope to see you soon!

Make sure you’re staying tuned to these guys, because they’re making killer music and have nowhere to go but up!

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Interview with Check 1,2

Check 1,2 is an acoustic act from Orlando, FL. I recently got to ask him, Aaron Stastny, a few questions. 

Local Jams: For those who’re new to your band, could you tell us about it?

Aaron Stastny: So I started Check 1,2 with my friend Kaylee Leborgne back in my Junior year of High School (which would be 4-ish years ago), and we wrote a few songs but never released them or did anything with them. When I graduated and she still had 2 years left we kind of stopped writing songs and nothing happened for a while. I started to write songs by myself and decided to keep the name Check 1,2 because I couldn’t think of anything else haha. The songs I write are all about personal stories involving girlfriends or just life in general, or whatever I feel emotional towards. About a year ago I moved up to Orlando Florida from Naples and started playing shows and releasing my songs.

LJ: What are the upsides to being in a solo-project versus a band?

AS: I guess the upsides are that I’m both the best and worst player in the band haha. Uhh, it’s pretty unique, especially when you are at a show and every other band is with their friends in their band and I’m just sitting there with my guitar. But I enjoy it a lot!

LJ: Is Check 1,2 going to remain a solo project or do you think it will expand?

AS: I’m not too sure. All my songs are pretty personal to me and it would feel weird with others entering that mindset of mine. But writing songs with other people has been on my mind, so who knows, maybe?!

LJ: What made you want to start Check 1,2?

AS: I think that art, no matter what it may be; music, painting, poetry etc., I think it helps people release built up negative emotions that if not channeled out through art, can harm the person dealing with it. So I found out that writing music was my way of dealing with it. And if even just one person is going through the same thing that I wrote a song about and they don’t feel so alone listening to my words, then that right there has made it worth it.

LJ: What are your plans/goals for Check 1,2?

AS:I guess my goals is just to play more and more shows while constantly making songs and getting my name out there. Going on a small tour with good friends and travel to people who want to hear me play my songs would be a dream come true. Honestly just doing Check 1,2 would be my ultimate goal.

LJ: What are you hoping your fans will receive from your music?

AS: I want fans of my music to know that the songs I write are about real topics with real emotions. I guess the reason I write the type of songs I do is that so people going through relationship problems or have had a bad experience can relate to what I say and not feel alone in their feelings.

LJ: What are live shows like for you?

AS: The live shows I’ve played have been pretty good! I’ve had the opportunity to play with some really amazing people. I even got to open up for the person who inspired me to start playing guitar, Dave Days, back in October 2015, that was a pretty amazing show with the biggest crowd yet. Meeting new people who come up to me after playing is a truly wonderful feeling. Especially when you can hear words being sung back to you, that’s a feeling like no other.

Check Aaron’s Local Jams page out here!

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The Emo Is Back Tour- Updated

In my previous post about the Emo Is Back Tour only the first set of dates had been announced, you can read that post here!

Here are the dates, the newer one will be bolded: 

4/19: Lakewood, CO- Bwiched (Pre-Party W/ Best Kept Secret ONLY)

4/23: Burnsville, MN- The Garage -

4/24: Berwyn, IL- The Wire -

4/26: Indianapolis, IN- Hoosier Dome -+

4/27: Columbus, OH- Rumba Cafe -

4/28: Cleveland, OH- House of Blues [Cambridge Room] -

4/29: Philadelphia, PA- Milkboy ****21+**** -

4/30: Wilmington, DE- World Cafe Live +

5/01: Pittsburgh, PA- Smiling Moose +

5/02: New York, NY- Webster Hall [The Studio] +

5/03: Providence, RI- Fete Music Hall +

5/04: Clifton, NJ- Dingbatz +

5/06: Orlando, FL- Backbooth +

5/07:Jacksonville, FL- Jackrabbits +

5/08: Atlanta, GA- Masquerade [Heaven] +

5/09: St. Louis, MO- Firebird +

5/10: Not Announced Yet ~

5/11: Dallas, TX- The Prophet Bar ~

5/12: Albuquerque, NM- Launchpad ~

5/13: Phoenix, AZ- The Nile Underground ~

5/14: Las Vegas, NV- The Warehouse ~

5/15: Anaheim, CA- Chainreaction ~

-Kickbox is playing +We Are Forever is playing ~RVLS is playing

A Reminder About Ticket Options

You have two options on this tour!

General Admission: This grants you access to the show and the chance to meet bands before, throughout, and after the show! These range from $10-$15 depending on your venue and show!

VIP:This grants you early entry, which is about an hour earlier than everybody else, a private meet and greet with the bands, a signed tour poster, and a photo with the bands! This is $30 but depending on your venue the fees could be higher than others! 

Social Media

For more information about this tour:

EIBT Instagram

EIBT Facebook

EIBT Website

EIBT Twitter

Have fun!!