I personally got super excited to see State Champs again. Especially since the new record "Around The World And Back" is on repeat on my iPod for the last three weeks.
To top it off the band agreed to meet me for an interview. OMG! This was the first time I got an interview with a band I love (plus they are the first band I've taken pictures of from the photo pit). I mean I did interviews before where I got sold because of a great personality I discovered during the interview and the awesome live show that followed, but this time I seriously had to contain my excitement.
This is the link to the interview I did. Please check it out! I got super excited about the fact that State Champs actually shared it on their facebook page! As far as I know, it's the first time an artist did this for me. Those guys are crossing off a lot of my firsts.
And now I will get into my personal backstory, all the little details that happend on the side and everything I edited out of the published version. Plus of course some extra photos that didn't make it in the eventseeker blog. Since the following is very detailed, you might just want to scroll down to the photos...
I arrived at the venue really early and went across the street to mentally prepared myself. When it was almost 3pm I headed back to the venue and gave Mike (tour manager) a call. He met me outside and brought me inside the tour bus. That was the first time I've ever been on a tour bus! With a little mess and Vans shoes and shoeboxes around, I felt quite at home. Tyler was already sitting in the front and Evan joined us too.
Since I was a little overwhelmed I was slightly tongue tied in the beginning and not as "cool" as I usually am during interviews.
The interview was fun and to no big suprise Tyler and Evan are super easy to talk to.
I actually didn't edit out a lot. Basically the guys made it very easy for me. Just a few things!
We were already talking for a while when I asked about the shows back home in Albany, NY. To describe how crazy people go over there, Tyler started to use, let's call it "more intense language". Then he stopped and asked if he can swear. I thought it was funny considering the fact how they usually talk (I mean the first time I heard him talk was on "Full Frontal" which says a lot). I assured them to lay it on me but they really tried not to. It was so endearing!
One of the things I hinted at in the published interview but didn't go into, is the relationship between Tyler and Jack Barakat of All Time Low. Well we talked about it:
Tyler: When we got the offer for All Time Low I was freakin geeking out. ... Hopefully they won't read this.... (later) They selling out anywhere betweek 3000 to 6000 capacity rooms. They can easily not give a shit about us. But they do care about us and that's cool.
Me: I think it's a little bit more than caring! Jack Barakat has a huge man crush on you.
Tyler: He kissed me on TV! We were at the APMA's and we were going up to present New Found Glory and Hailey Williams and he just grabs my face and kisses me on TV. And I thought "damnit"! I mean, I'm fine with it but I was like "What the ...!"
Me: Oh, come on. You totally enjoyed it!
Tyler: Nah, it was salty. He was just sweaty.
Evan: They had a lot of work to do on that day.
Tyler: They were very busy. Well, Jack definitely .. "likes" me.
Evan: Great guy!
After the interview we chatted a little bit more. That's where the guys got even more relaxed and went back to their "normal" choice of words. We talked about accents and they told me: "We can't speak in accents but this might sound very fucking corny but I feel as though we've been to so many places we don't hear accents anymore." Tyler showed off his knowledge of German words and even Ryan poked his head out of his bunk and joined in a little.
To top it off Tyler told me he liked my shoes. That alone was worth buying my Disney SK8-Hi Vans!
When I got off the bus there was a line already even though doors didn't open for another 4 hours. People looked at me funny and I don't know if they knew what was going on or thought I was a groupie or something.
Anyway I went to the Starbucks at the corner and started to write down the recorded interview. And while I was sitting there, concentrating, I looked up and the two guitarists from The Wonder Years are standing next to me. I got my initial 'freeze in my tracks', but recovered pretty fast. I feel like doing interviews desensitizes me to getting "starstruck". So I turned a little and said "Hi".
They returned the greeting a little unsure and I added "I didn't think you guys can walk around getting coffee so close to the venue you're about to headline!" They just grinned and answered "Sure. We are not that famous." So modest. Even though The Wonder Years album "No Closer To Heaven" was so well received!
The concert itself was super fun! I was singing along to all the State Champs songs (I obviously knew the band) so some guy came up to me and asked "Who are those guys?" Another sign of how awesome their live performance is!
I ran into Evan a couple of times and we chatted a little bit more. He even showed me his worst live shot photo. Great shot by their photographer!
It has only been a couple of months since I saw The Wonder Years at the Vans Warped Tour but this felt so much more intense. I've been to concert where 6 000 people (mostly young girls) sang along but it's different when there are so many guys around. I had goosebumps from the atmosphere in the room!
Bottom line: That day/night was just AWESOME!!
To put an end to me rambling about all the little details, here are some of my favorite pictures I took during the State Champs performance.
#statechamps #aroundtheworldandback #tylerszalkowski #evanambrosio #ryanscottgraham #derekdiscanio #tonydiaz #alltimelow #jackbarakat #thewonderyears #noclosertoheaven #SF #regencyballroom #eventseeker #DisneySK8 #Vans #IntheLoop
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