On Tour With The Vandals, Part 4
by: Alex | Friday, April 18, 2008
Joe's final remarks
All photos - Austin Brown
Just got back from quite possibly the best Australian tour we've ever done. These are long flights but Qantas made it so much easier; best in-flight entertainment, anywhere, for sure.
The last couple days we spent in Perth and they were the most memorable. No, Fletcher still hasn't found a way to pay me or wiggle out of it. But, after all the Perth jokes like "Perth Girls Are Easy" or "Perth Crisis" we finally arrived in one of the only English speaking parts of the world in which we have never performed.
It was very heartwarming because you could tell they had been waiting patiently for decades. They were probably the most wildly responsive of all the crowds. It's amazing to sit and ponder how cool these people are to live on the other side of the earth and still find your music; can't wait to go back there.
Warren did double duty tonight as he did a pole dance on a square column in the middle of the dance floor after parting the Red Sea of Perthlings and got himself some new bruise shapes. Then he played "Pain For Pleasure" with the super fun and talented little Fraggle-Rock stars, Sum 41. I shall miss them the most, along with everyone else, that I miss the most.
As far as tourism, we visited Scarborough Beach with Dan from Sum 41's crew and the day of the show I took a train to Fremantle and visited the cemetery where Bon Scott from AC/DC was laid to rest and had a tasty roo filet at the Sail and Anchor pub. I paid my respects to Bon and to Heath Ledger by not asking the groundskeepers where their actual graves were. The truth is I rented a scooter and was running out of places to take it.
The night before the Perth show was the real fireworks because the Vandals, Austin, Lisi, Aysha, Rhino, Randy, Byron and his hot wife Lori, Darren and Nick from the tour all went to a Teppan steak house for a night off celebration.
Everything was going fine until the end when Warren exploded because they never gave him and Randy their steaks.
Dave said "it's because you didn't order steak."
Turns out they didn't but he says because they were being hurried by Dave. Randy came along for the ride in what was a screaming match to put his and Fletcher's battles to shame. If they let me, I will post a youtubian documentary of the whole thing. OK, as I write it, it sounds lame but I tell you, it was something to behold. Warren puts his heart into things like no one else I know. The worst was when they asked him how he wanted his steak, which he did not order, cooked.
After the show in Perth, everyone scattered.
Sum 41 went to Japan. Bowling For Soup went to Beijing. Pennywise went to Long Beach for the Grand Prix of Scroungathons. The Vandals went back to our lonely lives of desparation as alcohol distributors, drive time radio hosts, musical writers, and pro-drummers. See you in San Diego on May 3, and at the House Of Blues Anaheim on May 18. Then Warped.
Thanks to the crew: Austin Brown, Aysha Martinez, Mike Griffen, Rhino, and Aaron Lisi. Thanks to Bowling For Soup, Sum 41, Pennywise, A.J. and everyone at KMW productions, super manager Kris Martinez, super agent Stormy Shepherd, super drummer Brooks Wackerman, Indie 103.1 for letting me go, the people of Australia, and etnies for posting this blog.
You're welcome, Joe! And thank YOU.
Visit The Vandals on MySpace and listen to Joe on indie 103.1's Barely Legal Radio!
On Tour With The Vandals, Part 3
by: Alex | Thursday, April 17, 2008
More Vandalism from Joe
All photos - Austin Brown
"Adelaide, South Australia," or "How I won $500 from Fletcher"
Things are starting to become eventful. We flew to Adeleaide for our 4th show in a row. This is a sleepier town with a distinct multicolored brick based architecture on all the traditional structures of which I can't get enough. I've never seen it duplicated in the States.
Every band had a good show tonight.
Bowling For Soup know exactly how to entertain a room full of punkers.
Sum 41 are a perfect young punk band and it is clear why they will be here long after the other major label pop punkers that exploded on the scene during the early part of this decade are long forgotten. Simply put, they have a large quantity of excellent songs that are catchy as hell and rock way beyond what you would expect from such youngsters. They deserve all their success and more. They also get the award for most amazing Punisher of the trip standing on the side of the stage with the green shirt. I hope there is video of him somewhere.
Pennywise had a solid show uninterrupted by any punishers, militant organizers (which actually happened in Sydney), or local radio personalities. However, Fletcher and Randy's fighting did spill over into their set at one point. Of course it was funny because we all know they love each other.
The Vandals show finally delivered what the "take it off" crowd wanted thanks to Warren's Aussie Flag Speedo and mystical leg bruise the exact shape of South Australia.
I uploaded the last song onto youtube right after from the dressing room for your low-res and low-fi enjoyment. Watch it here.
Jim from P.W. Convinced me to stay late at the venue to have a drink and philosophize for a bit while multiple gambling dens errupted in the other dressing rooms. Then a spontaneous lobby bar party got underway at our Sebel Playford Hotel.
This is where it became interesting. I arrived in the bar with a drink Pennywise T.M. Aaron Lisi made me at the venue. That is key information. As soon as I encountered Fletcher he was holding the false tooth and retainer he somehow got out of Chris the big guy from Bowling For Soup's mouth, where he wears it.
Fletcher then declared that I needed to "take my medicine." Meaning he wanted me to let him place it in my cocktail (pineapple, cranberry, lime, Stoli).
With Fletcher's challenges you have to make a split second decision if you are going to accept because if you make a big deal about it, it just gets worse for you. Within a few seconds I had downed the drink and dumped the tooth and a few ice cubes on the table. I think Randy almost vomited from seeing this up close.
No big deal, but the next morning in the bus to the Adelaide airport Fletcher was holding court and explaining that I drank a glass of beer with Chris's tooth in it.
That some how made it sound a little less cool to me than it actually was so I corrected him that it was really a mixed drink.
For some reason, the type of drink it was became a huge controversy with Fletcher indignant that I would suggest there was a need for a correction to any of the details of his story. He suggested a bet. We both agreed immediately on a "net worth" wager.
He then began soliciting witnesses to bolster his version of things and sieze all my assets and make me his slave. It wasn't going all that great so he suggested we reduce the wager to a flat $500 USD. I agreed.
He continued to quiz witnesses when a bomb dropped on him. Someone on the bus produced a video recording of the entire incident. It was indeed a cocktail and not a beer. I would never drink a beer with someone's tooth in it.
From then on, this drink Lisi made me (pineapple and vodka with a splash of cran and lime) has been known as the Aussie 500. Thanks Lisi.
Joe...
Visit The Vandals on MySpace and listen to Joe on indie 103.1's Barely Legal Radio!
On Tour With The Vandals, Part 2
by: Alex | Thursday, April 17, 2008
More from Mr. Joe Escalante, Esq.
All photos - Austin Brown
3 shows in a row? Where's the outrage? I thought we came here to paddleboard and watch Fletcher fight with Randy Bradbury.
Two shows in Sydney were great, topped off by Warren murdering a 5/8 scale Spiderman doll until the beans he was made of exploded all over Brooks' drums.
Tour Concierge Austin Brown arranged some boards from Channel Islands for us to use at Manley Beach -pretty crowded on a Saturday but the water is so much cleaner here than at home it's just nice to be in it.
Melbourne Festival hall on Sunday had a lot of Vandals fans but they were a little too polite until we pointed out our amazingness.
Not too polite was the drunk girl that came back stage to complain that Warren performs with his clothes on. We never complain about that. After Warren appeared on the cover of the Manley daily after a certain Warped Tour show years ago (headline "Concert Outrage"), he's chosen to behave.
Regarding Pennywise's Fletcher and Randy fights they really have evolved into an art form. It never stops from the golf course to the stage to the airport. Fletcher challenges the thickness of everyone's skin, but no one gets it like Randy.
In return, Randy does things like call him Armpit Face and once he had everyone sign a sympathy card when Fletcher had a mole removed.
Joe...
Visit The Vandals on MySpace and listen to Joe on indie 103.1's Barely Legal Radio!
On Tour With The Vandals
by: Alex | Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Vandals are touring down under and we've got the inside scoop from Joe Escalante himself! Here's the haps so far... all photos by Austin Brown...
The Vandals on tour in Australia with Pennywise, Sum 41, and Bowling For
Soup. Doesn't get much better than this and the sun is actually out,
despite the fact that it's supposed to be Fall.
Qantas got us here in style (thanks for the pajamas), and after one show
in Brisbane, the theory that your band will never break up if you have
even the slightest career down under holds true. This place is a
blast.
Highlights include exotic animals roaming the streets like they were
ferrel cats, or cats from Ferrel's, a great ice cream bar called "Golden
Gaytime," and Randy Bradbury. Lowlights include the pitiful channel
selection on the hotels.
Tomorrow we visit the Eiffel Tower.
Joe...
Visit The Vandals on MySpace and listen to Joe on indie 103.1's Barely Legal Radio!