Fest 13: Day 2: Farewells, Redemption, and Beer Showers

After mashing the snooze on my alarm about a thousand times, I woke up to an all caps text message from a friend timestamped at around 3 AM telling me that Greg from the Menzingers was playing some songs in the hotel lobby. It was a shame I missed out, but my Fest was so packed with bands to see, the solid night of sleep was welcome. The sky-high plate of tofu scramble at the Wooly was also incredibly welcome. After double fisting some coffee, it was time to get back to Festing. (Editors note: Double fisting is a cup in each hand, in case any English people get the wrong idea here.)

Mixtapes played one, final show at 1982 in which they played "Maps" in all entirety. It was definitely bittersweet. #fest13 #ptfest

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Nov 11, 2014 at 1:24pm PDT

I started off the day of bands on a bittersweet note. Mixtapes had announced prior that Fest was going to be their last show ever, but what came as a great surprise was that their actual, final show was going to be held at the intimate Bar 1982 as a mystery band set. The band decided to end on a nostalgic note by playing their debut record “Maps” from front to back with some other surprises thrown in the midst. Mixtapes had always been a Fest staple for me and it made me completely nostalgic for Fest 9 when they were a brand new band sharing “Maps” with people for the first time. They even did their cover of “Werewolf Shame” off their split with Direct Hit! joined by DH! frontman Nick Woods. Closing out with “Hope Is For People” was the perfect way to end, and it really was hard to say goodbye.

I figured a great way to cheer up would be some fresh air and a band that never fails to make me laugh, so it was off to the new Fest venue, Bo Diddley Plaza to see Masked Intruder. The Intruders and the beloved Officer Bradford made sure everyone in the plaza was ready to dance and commit petty theft (allegedly) or obey the law depending on who you ask. The band played a variety of songs off of both records and Maura from Mixtapes joined them to sing her part of “Heart Shaped Guitar.” As the set continued, Officer Bradford’s clothing gradually disappeared until he was down to only a jockstrap with his bare ass basking in the Florida sun.

Masked Intruder at Bo Diddley Plaza #ptfest #fest13

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Nov 11, 2014 at 1:25pm PDT

Throughout the weekend I heard a lot of mixed feelings about Bo Diddley Plaza. I maintained my initial impression of the place for the remainder of the weekend. I loved being able to see headlining bands outside in the sun versus the dark, and smoke ridden Florida Theatre of past Fests. I have lost count of how many times I’ve drunkenly tumbled down the stairs in that place. For an outdoor venue the sound was nicely done. Another one of my favorite things about the Plaza was that there were plenty of vantage points where you could still see the bands even if you were further back and it was big enough to hold even the largest crowds meaning everyone could get in. I ended up scoping out Dear Landlord from afar and appreciating how well executed the Plaza was.

Sooner or later, I always end up back at the Wooly, and I found myself catching the latter half of Sorority Noise’s set. The next band I was super excited to see was Captain We’re Sinking. Their set at Fest 12 was apparently legendary, but Rockey’s reached capacity before I could get in. This meant that I was most definitely not going to miss them this year. The set was heavy with material from “The Future Is Cancelled” which was my top record of last year. They most definitely didn’t disappoint this year.

@chumpedband at Palomino #fest13 #ptfest

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:09pm PDT

After Captain, I cooled off with a burrito and getting to see Chumped in a very packed Palomino Pool Hall. It’s amazing to see how far this band has come in such a short amount of time. They played quite a few songs off their upcoming record and ended up putting on one of my favorite sets of the day. I’m really excited with the direction the band is heading and can’t wait to hear the rest of the new record in the coming months.

It then suddenly hit me that I was soon going to be seeing the Descendents and I got extremely stoked. They are one of my favorite bands and the only time I got to see them, it was rainy and at a really awful venue and I was under the weather. After my positive experience at Bo Diddley Plaza earlier, I got excited at the prospect of actually being able to enjoy them. I took advantage of the great vantage points the Plaza had to offer and ended up getting to shout along with my friend that I got matching Milo tattoos with years ago. It seemed appropriate and it made the night feel almost magical. It was nice to get a second chance to see the band and I never thought I would ever get to say that I got to see Descendents at Fest, but here we are.

"Bikeage" #fest13 #ptfest

A video posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:56am PST

This was the chilliest Fest I have ever been to, for the record. I was ill prepared and only packed jorts so the next place I ended up was out of necessity for warmth. I ended up taking refuge in Durty Nelly’s where I got turned onto yet another band I never heard before, the New Lows. They had a great energy about them and it was just the thing I needed to get myself dancing and warmed up.

I decided to close out my night with the Dopamines and in true Fest fashion I ended up getting completely showered in one of the most intense storms of beer I have ever been in at Fest. It was so intense I almost forgot about the Dopamines completely, as fantastic as they are.

It was then I decided to retreat back to the hotel. Being soaked in beer made the walk colder, so my real, actual shower was super rewarding. I had to have a fresh start for the next day’s beer showers after all.

I have been going to Fest every year since Fest 9. It’s always my most favorite time of year and some of the best, most memorable moments of my life transpire at Fest, this year being no different. My goal for next year is to give Pre-Fest in Ybor a spin, but unfortunately that wasn’t in the cards this year. However, my pre-Fest journey was still a taste of what was to come for the entire weekend.

Every year, my cohorts and I drive down the east coast from Philadelphia all the way to Florida, touching down in time for at least some pre-Fest shows that go down in Gainesville. After a couple long days of driving with Waffle House feasts, truck stops filled with the most ridiculous trinkets money can buy, and the temptation to load up on cheap fireworks, we finally made it to Gainesville. It’s nice getting to settle in the day before after long stints of being on the road and getting to take in some bands. We ended up strolling into the smoky, yet charming Durty Nelly’s just in time to catch Arliss Nancy, and Sad and French. It was nice considering their proper Fest sets conflicted with a few bands I wanted to check out and after spending a considerable amount of time in the deep South the past couple days, the country tinged punk and inaugural Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboy was just the thing I needed to start out my weekend. Arliss Nancy never disappoints and Sad and French get better every single time I see them.

Just touched down into Gainesville for #fest13 and immediately ran to Durty Nelly's to see @Arlissnancy #ptfest

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Oct 10, 2014 at 7:04pm PDT

Badges? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Badges (But You Do Need A Wristband…They’re Very Strict About That)

The night before Fest begins is laden with temptation to party pretty hard, but unfortunately you gotta remind yourself that what awaits you is a very early start on Friday to wait in line at registration. Registration starts promptly at noon but early bird Festers will sometimes lineup as early as 9 AM. I had the pleasure of sleeping in thanks to the shortened press line, but being the kind soul that I am, I ran and got coffee and breakfast for some of the early risers still stuck in line. It gave me a chance to scope out the crowd this year and since it was Halloween and a lot of people were in costume. My efforts were rewarded with a hearty swig from a bottle of Malort that was being shared in line.

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Oct 10, 2014 at 11:13am PDT

To wash the terrible taste out of my mouth, I high tailed it back up to the Registration Flea Market to sample some of Sweetwater Organic Coffee Co.’s Descendents brew (which is pretty darn delicious) and spend all of my money at SideOneDummy and Silver Sprocket’s booths and run away with an arm full of koozies and free magazines.

I decided to skip most of the pool party this year to get a hearty meal at Reggae Shack before the bands started for the day. The food at Reggae Shack is out of this world, but the wait can be pretty long so I’m glad I decided to take advantage of the fact that lots of people were still in line or hanging out at the Holiday Inn to cram my mouth full of delicious Jamaican fare. With a full belly, I was ready to begin a full day of watching bands.

Elway kicking off #fest13 at the Wooly #ptfest

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:45pm PDT

Elway was a great way to start out Fest. Everyone at the Wooly was full of energy, excited for what the next three days had in store and ready to party. They played a little bit of old stuff, and tried out a new song or two, and completely spoiled a major plot point of Final Fantasy VII. The lineup at the Wooly for Friday was super stacked. I was most excited for PUP and I knew how crazy packed this place was going to get fast. Since I had the Fest equivalent of a Six Flags Flash Pass and could skip the lines, I decided to venue hop for a little bit until PUP was set to come on.

Protected Left at Durty Nelly's set covering Propagandhi's "How to Clean Everything" #fest13 #ptfest

A video posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:49pm PDT

The great thing about Durty Nelly’s is that Flaco’s (an ultra delicious Cuban joint) is connected to the venue, so every time I found myself near Durty Nelly’s, I would generally find a tempeh taco in my hand as well. I needed something to soak up the first round of Fest beers, and stumbled upon Protected Left doing a cover set of one of my favorite records, Propagandhi’s “How To Clean Everything.” I had never heard of the band prior to this, and they did the record justice. It encouraged me to check out their own material after I got home from Fest (It’s super awesome, and it makes sense why they would cover Propagandhi). While I don’t usually go out of my way to check out the cover sets at Fest, I’m really glad I made an exception for this one.

The other reason I love to venue hop is because I love snacking and it gives me an excuse to stop and grab a snack en route to see bands. This time it was a fancy soda at Pop-A-Top, the coolest bodega I’ve ever been to in my life. I noticed the lines to the Atlantic and the Wooly were starting to round the streets on their respective blocks, and decided to head on over to Rocky’s and check out Banquets, who always bring the jams. After dancing up a storm, I figured it was time to make my way back to the Wooly.

A super unfortunate aspect of Fest is the lines to the venues. It can sometimes cost you to miss bands you had your heart set on seeing. I was grateful I didn’t have to endure that pain this year and got into the venue just as Philly band, the Holy Mess was about to start playing. On the flipside, it’s really cool to see people from all over the country, and even the world, go nuts for bands from your local scene and I had just as much fun watching the crowd react as I did getting to watch the Mess do their thing Fest style.

@puptheband absolutely destroyed their first ever set at #fest13 decked out in food costumes #ptfest

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:52pm PDT

I was a little pouty that I was missing one of my favorite bands in the universe, Paint It Black, who were tearing up 8 Seconds as I was getting ready to see one of my most anticipated bands of Fest, rookies of the year, PUP. It was a hard decision, but I knew that seeing PUP play their first ever Fest was going to be something special. I’m super glad they didn’t make me regret my choice. What followed was one of the most intense and fun sets I’ve ever been to at any Fest and they made me go from an already super, ultra, mega fan of their band to completely obsessed. What I didn’t expect was for them to close out their set with a spot on rendition “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys that had the entire crowd erupt into a sea of bodies and pure mayhem.

After that, I needed to cool off and think about what I had just witnessed and I needed to process that I had already blown out my voice on the first day. I also needed to find my friends who went to see Paint It Black and grill them about their set. It was flawless, in case you were wondering. I was also getting quite hungry again.

Junior Battles put on an amazing set at Boca Fiesta and whipped out some crucial wedding covers as well. #ptfest #fest13

A photo posted by Punktastic (@punktastic) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:17pm PDT

It was convenient that my next “must see” band, Junior Battles, was playing at everyone’s favorite Mexican restaurant owned by a former Against Me! member, Boca Fiesta. I inhaled some guacamole and got really stoked to see my Canadian buddies, since the last time I got to see them was Fest 12 last year. It was also the first time getting to hear stuff off of their latest record, “Rally” live. In addition to recording a new record, they also ended up playing someone’s wedding this past year and had a load of cover songs up their sleeves from that gig and decided to lay down some Toto and Kelly Clarkson to close out the night.

At that point, it was getting oddly chilly for a usually, very warm Florida and I had a long walk back to the hotel. I popped my head back in at Rockey’s for the tail end of Signals Midwest’s set. I got my first slice of Five Star Pizza and then ran into some friends who were catching Touche Amore at 8 Seconds so I had buddies to walk back to the hotel. There were already a million rumors swarming around about hotel room shows and while my curiosity was piqued a little, once I plopped myself down on the cushy, comfortable hotel bed and flung my smelly, already beer covered shoes off, I knew I wouldn’t be leaving that spot until the next morning. There were still two more full days of Festing ahead of me.

We could hear some of the shenanigans going on in the lobby from our 2nd floor room. There were kazoos (courtesy of Baltimore’s band bed and breakfast, Feed the Scene) and lots of excited yelling and singing. It was the perfect Fest lullaby, I guess, because I slept like a baby. A very, very drunk baby.

Fest always has so many bands, with the number increasing every year. It makes it almost next to impossible to not have at least a few bands you love having sets overlap. It then leaves you with an almost frustrating at times, punk version of Sophie’s Choice. Making your Fest schedule is also especially difficult if your tastes are more diverse as well. It is an unfortunate aspect of Fest that everyone dreads and this year is no different. There are so many to choose so I picked my hardest one for each day of Fest.

Friday: PUP and Paint It Black

The very first night of Fest poses one of the most difficult decisions out the gate. On one hand, there are hardcore champions, Paint It Black. PIB always put on extremely intense, hard hitting, and breathtaking sets every Fest they play, and just in general. And as the years go on, the amount of shows they play every year has been decreasing. They are a band that rarely tours, if ever, and hardly plays outside of the Northeastern US. Fest is a rare opportunity to get to catch PIB and what makes them so special live. Then, you have PUP, playing their first Fest with a near perfect debut record in tow. They are also no strangers to putting on performances that are super fun and chock full of energy. It will be exciting to see what they will contribute to the Fest family, and a great chance for a lot of people to see them for the first time. It also doesn’t help that bands like Lemuria, Direct Hit!, and the Menzingers also have sets that overlap around this time. Day one of Fest is going to be a brutal for indecisive punks indeed.

Saturday: Beach Slang and Descendents

Day two also offers a legendary band that rarely plays and a band that has made such a strong debut this year. A lot of people have dreamed of finally getting to see Milo and Co. and with the reunion shows being a rarity, Fest may be their only chance. On the flipside, Beach Slang is one of the best new bands to pop up on the scene this year, and so many people are excited to finally get to check them out in person, but after the most recent schedule update, it has created a lot of complications for a lot of Festers. There is at least some solace in the fact that the Descendents are rumored to be working on new music which means more shows could be on the horizon. And for Festers getting into Gainesville on Thursday night before Fest starts can catch Beach Slang play a Pre-Fest shindig at Bar 1982.

Sunday: Red City Radio and Restorations

While Red City Radio and Restorations are vastly different bands, it still stinks that their sets will be overlapping at Fest this year. Both bands are worth watching and put on spectacular shows. Each year they’ve played, they’ve put on my favorite sets of Fest, and both bands bring something special to the table. RCR sets are chock full of arm-in-arm sing-alongs and “woooaaahhhhh-ooooohhhhhhs” which makes them so fun and a staple at Fest. Restorations offer their stunning, unique spin on punk, with such a demanding presence that makes them unforgettable. Each band pulls out all the stops at Fest, and it’s going to be a choice that I don’t look forward to making this year.

Where there is Fest, there will always be moments where we will be forced to choose between bands we love. And while it can be a bummer to miss out on a band you were really excited to see, the consolation, is you’re still seeing a band that you love. It’s nice that making such tough calls can be a win-win situation. Everyone handles the Fest schedule conflicts differently. Some stress out, some go with the flow and make a snap decision, and sometimes people don’t choose to see either band they are conflicted about and check out a new band instead. Whatever it may be, one thing is for certain: Fest has no shortage of great bands this year and you really can’t go wrong.

The Best Things to Do At Fest That Don’t Involve Seeing Bands

So, Fest is great! It’s stacked to the brim with bands and loads and loads of different kinds of venues and crowds. BUT! Another thing that makes Fest so special is the city of Gainesville itself and all the other cool things you can do while you’re there that make it a super well rounded punk rock vacation. If you’re new to Fest, this guide will definitely help you make the most out of your trip to Gainesville, and even if you’re a Fest veteran, maybe there’s something you’ve never really tried before, or maybe this year is the year you’ll come home with a tattoo.

The Registration Flea Market

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The Fest Flea Market is a dangerous place for your wallet and you may find yourself blowing your entire Fest budget before it’s even began! There’s lots of record labels and independent vendors to choose from, and lots of these vendors will offer sweet Fest deals and discounts on their wares. And for the more frugal Festers, there’s plenty of freebies like koozies, stickers, pins, download codes, even condoms and other cool swag. Even without spending a penny, you can make out like a bandit at the Flea Market.

The Pool Party

After having your fill of the flea market and waiting around for registration, throw on some swimmies and catch some rays before the bands start and take advantage of the lovely Florida weather before returning home to a dreary winter. The past few years there’s been bands, more freebies, and giant inflatable Pabst Blue Ribbon cans. This year Fest is actually hosting two pool parties, one at the Paramount Hotel, and one at the usual spot, the Holiday Inn. The pool party is a great place to reunite with friends just getting into town and unwind, highlight your paper schedule and plan out your next couple of days in sunny Florida.

Get a Stressface Tattoo

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Lots of local Gainesville tattoo shops offer specials at Fest every year, the best deal being Anthem Tattoo. Every year they make a really cool flash sheet for Fest featuring many different incarnations of No Idea’s Stressface. Getting the Stressface has definitely become a Fest goal for many Festers. It’s one of the more permanent souvenirs you can take home with you from Fest. Just remember to tip your tattoo artist and follow your aftercare instructions. Infections aren’t a good thing to take home with you.

Eat, Drink, Eat, Drink, Eat, Drink, Eat, Drink

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One of the best things about Gainesville are the local businesses and eateries When you spend three solid days seeing bands and dancing and bouncing around from venue to venue, you got to keep up your stamina. Whether you’re slamming down a slice from Five-Star or Leonardo’s or some Flaco’s burritos and Cuban sandwiches, you really can’t go wrong in Gainesville. There’s a little something for everyone of all palates and dietary choices (Gainesville is super vegan friendly).

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Yesterday's Karma Cream

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Sweet tooths can be satiated by some of Karma Cream’s homemade ice cream (and there’s vegan options too!) or a fancy soda at Pop-A-Top. You can brunch at Boca Fiesta (which is convenient since the restaurant is also hosting sets for Fest) or try your hand at some ultra spicy Jerk chicken or tofu at Reggae Shack. There are also food trucks galore. The only real downside is you may find yourself jonesing from Gainesville cuisine year round and also pack on a few pounds from all the delicious food packed into such a small radius.

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Reggae Shack!

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Quality Hangs With Old Friends and New

For lots of Fest veterans, the bands become a secondary aspect of Festing. What makes Fest so special is that it feels like a family reunion of sorts. Sometimes it’s the only time friends who are separated by state lines, oceans, and time zones get to come together and get some real face time with each other. Fest is a great place to make new friends and create lots of lasting memories, so taking advantage of the community aspect of Fest will make it that much more worthwhile. There are lots of post show shenanigans to be had at the hotels and elsewhere and ever Fester has at least one ridiculous story from Fest that has nothing to do with seeing bands. A lot of Festers can attest to forming lifelong bonds at Fest, and it’s what keeps people ultimately coming back every year.

Overall, there’s really no wrong way to do Fest. But truly taking in what Gainesville and the Fest community has to offer will make your Fest experience so much more memorable and special. And when in doubt, ask a Gainesville local! Gainesville is full of lots of friendly and helpful folks who are awesome enough to welcome Festers with open arms every year. Fest 13 will be no different, and it will be exciting to see what new memories will be made and all the new friendships that will be formed and how much pizza one can consume in a single day.

See you soon, Gainesville!

Restorations truly has mastered the art of being a band that at first listen seems incredibly simple, but upon further examination, the depths of complexity within their music is seemingly endless. They are a band that is so incredibly difficult to pigeonhole in an infinite rolodex of punk genres and sub-genres. When recommending Restorations to people I stand behind a firm “listening is believing” policy and in the case of LP3 is no different. With LP3, the band still maintains their mellow, comforting, dreamy sound that still manages to be extremely energetic and intense at the same time. The songs still build up, explode, and wind down, in a very familiar way as they do in their older records, but they also bring so much more to the table to set this venture apart from previous output.

LP3 opens with the punchy “Wales.” It sets the precedent for a record that is chock full of dancing bass, trippy effects, and plenty of unpretentious and earnest guitar solos that prove just how far the band has kicked everything up a notch. The whole record flows very nicely offering a balance of intense, straight up no nonsense rock and easement back into their more introspective and ethereal indie-ish side. “Misprint” while one of the latter type of songs, introduces a dancy and fun guitar that carries over to the super energetic “Tiny Prayers,” a stand out and one of my favorites on the record. It’s bouncy, playful, and showcases Jon Loudon’s signature gravelly, yet clean vocals.

“All My Home,” the midpoint of LP3, best displays the subtle use of horns throughout the record and are so nicely done, you might not even notice they’re there at first. The end of the song is reminiscent of the end of one of my all time favorite songs, Death Cab for Cutie’s “Transatlanticism,” with its marching drums and chill inducing build up that is simply beautiful.

The percussion on LP3 is also amped up tremendously and offers a sense of urgency that is extremely noticeable on “Most Likely A Spy.” The record also has a nostalgic feel for 90s era grunge and alternative that is most prominent on “No Castle.” The latter half of the record lays the groundwork for what is one of the best closing tracks I have heard in a long time. “It’s Not” manages to successfully tie every single theme, sound, feeling and aesthetic of the entire record together into a jaw dropping finish that leaves you wanting to immediately start the record up again.

Overall the entire record is just phenomenal. It manages to thrive as a standalone record, and is super accessible to folks who are new to Restorations, while being easily the best thing the band has put out to date. Restorations has successfully managed to maintain their identity of being a band all their own, difficult to pinpoint, but so easy to fall in love with. They have managed to evolve in a direction that is familiar but also entirely new and create a record that is most definitely one of the strongest releases this year. LP3 is the type of record that will politely lure you in, but at the same time stand up and demand your attention, and it’s well worth it.

Philadelphia band the Menzingers, are hitting the road with Lemuria, PUP, and Cayetana this summer on a must-see US tour, and a phenomenal new record in tow. Nicole Carter sat down with vocalist and guitarist Greg Barnett before their Philly show at Union Transfer to talk about taking Rented World on the road, the Philly punk scene, and being in a band with your best friends.

PT: So back in April, you guys played at Golden Tea House (a West Philadelphia punk house). How did that all come together considering you guys play much larger venues now?

Greg Barnett: We’re really close friends with everybody at [local show promoter] The Guild and the people that live there and we’ve been going to shows there for a while, and we’ve always wanted to do it, but it never really worked out. Like, someone would be out of town or that it just didn’t make sense. And then we realized that there wasn’t an official record release show for the tour, and what better place to do it than there? We were already playing Philly later and we didn’t want to do a show at a club or anything, so why not? It was awesome. It was absolutely perfect and so much fun.

PT: Did you expect it to be that crazy at all?

GB: Not at all! [laughs] Honestly, I was kind of nervous because I was the one that posted it online. Everybody was like “don’t post it the day before, post it the day of.” And I was like “nooooo, people have jobs, people probably already made plans. It’s a Tuesday!” And then I posted it and people started getting really excited about it. Like, people were driving from Jersey and upstate New York and stuff so it was great! I guess the only bummer in that kind of sense is that I hate playing shows where people can’t come. It’s like “you have to go home because someone else got here first.” It sucks. So that’s what’s cool about a place like [Union Transfer] where it’s so massive so essentially anybody that would want to come can. But it is something awesome to play a little tiny place like that and everybody falls into the drum set [laughs].

PT: Do you think you’ll ever play shows like that again?

GB: Totally! We have fun doing it. We’re a band that likes to change things up as much as possible. If we just played big venues, it would be boring, in my mind. If we just played small venues, we’d want to play big ones. So I think constantly switching it up is always good. We’ll absolutely do it again!

PT: So, Rented World’s been out for a little over a month now. I know you guys took a totally different direction with this record. It was a really pleasant surprise. Now that it’s been out for a while, how do you feel it’s been received by fans so far?

GB: It’s kind of awesome! We didn’t really know, because the only show we played in America was the Tea House, and we went to Europe and did a tour, but it was more festivals, so it wasn’t like an intimate kind of feeling where you’re like “I think the songs are going over, but I don’t know where they’re fitting.” And we started this tour two days ago and we started playing them and it was like, “holy shit!” People know these songs better than the old songs! So that’s awesome, y’know? I can’t be happier. It’s such a great feeling. It’s really cool to have people really enjoy what you do. It means the world.

PT: You did add a lot of new elements to your music, and I was reading a lot about the production of this record. Have you been bringing a lot of these new elements live? And has it crossed over into any of your older material as well?

GB: Definitely! Just the fact that we’ve all kind of turned into gearheads now! Jon Low and Miner Street, they just have so much cool and weird stuff, that now we’re like “yeah! We want that, we want that!” Pedal boards keep growing. More amps on stage and stuff, so that definitely does affect the older songs. And just even the fact of sometimes just jamming on a song longer and just changing things up. Definitely the whole process of recording at Miner Street has branched out into what we’re doing now.

PT: I’ve also read a lot about how you guys spend a lot of time together outside of typical band activities. Like, you were all even living together for a while at one point. How do you guys have such a strong band dynamic?

GB: I couldn’t even tell you! Honestly, when we come home from tour, they’re the first people I call to hang out. I hang out with all the other three of them, like five days a week for the last seven years, eight years? Our band is just based around being best friends, so why would you not want to hang out with your friends all the time? The band has become more of just “this is what we do, and then we come home and do this.” This is our life and when you’re home, you’re still in the mix of it. Like, we come home and we still just talk about things that we can do, like sit around and try to write songs. It’s this constant thing that we’re always doing. It’s our passion. It’s like our baby essentially. So we’re just always doing stuff with the band.

PT: What bands would you love to tour with that you haven’t yet?

GB: Aw, damn! For bigger bands, we’ve never toured with Alkaline Trio. I’m a huge Alkaline Trio fan. I always thought that would be really cool. I know Joe, his one big one would be Jimmy Eat World. He’s a huge Jimmy Eat World fan. That would be nuts. That would be crazy! We’ve never toured with Spraynard, which I want to tour with them. It’s crazy! Now they’re back together, so hopefully they’ll want to do a tour with us. Mostly I just want to continue to tour with my friends’ bands and bands with future friends, we call them. Bands that we like and respect and I feel like that’s what we kind of always done and hope to continue to just keep doing that.

PT: Yeah, because I noticed there always seems to be other Philly bands on the bill at your shows.

GB: Totally! And that’s because that’s what we listen to. And those are our friends. Why would we not want to go cross country with bands that we love and are our friends? This tour worked out so well because we got to go on tour with three bands that we truly love and it’s awesome! It’s such a great vibe. Everybody’s having fun. It’s gonna be really fun!

PT: What’s your favorite Philly show that you’ve played? What are your favorite places to play in Philly, past or present?

GB: Definitely the First Unitarian Church! To this day. The first time we ever played the Church with Algernon Cadwallader was probably my favorite show we’ve ever played. And that was such a crazy moment for us, like “I can’t believe we can do this! Someone let us do this!” It felt crazy! Just that that many people were there, and all my friends were there and it was just a blast. That show meant so much to me. Honestly, every Philly show from there on out has been like that, where we’ve been living here for a while now, so you just meet so many people and it’s so cool to see everybody come out and hang. It’s great!

PT: Exactly! A continuation of that, a lot of places online have claimed Philly has one of the best scenes ever. What do you think makes Philly so special?

GB: I think what makes it special, from travelling so much, is the camaraderie and that it’s just so communal. Everybody is helping each other out. The scene is so large, but it’s so small at the same time. It’s really hard to explain, I guess. You can go to a place like Chicago, where it has such an insane punk scene. People come to the shows, but the connection with the bands together isn’t like what it is here. Like here, everybody watches out for each other. Everybody helps each other out. Even with this last record, when we were writing the songs and just having our friends and bands come over being like “Cool! Let me jam on it with you!” That’s just kind of how it’s always worked. You share the songs and if you get a reaction that it’s good, it’s cool, we can try and use this with the band. And that’s something I think Philly has, that everybody’s really in it together. A lot of other scenes, it doesn’t really feel that way. I feel like that’s why a lot of people look at this scene and ask “how are all these bands popping up and popping up?” And they’re all great! I think it’s because the bar is so high and there’s no contest, really.

PT: So finishing up, what records from this year have you been really excited about? And what are you looking forward to?

GB: I think my favorite record is the new War On Drugs record, a Philly band [laughs]. Awesome! That’s the one I’ve been playing so much. The new PUP record is really really really good. I’ve heard the Cayetana record in parts and I’ve heard it at their house at a party, but I haven’t gotten to actually sit with headphones and just listen to it, so I’m really really excited about being able to do that because it’s awesome! I just want to be able to dive into the songs and everything. I’m trying to think what’s come out this year…The Lawrence Arms record, the Against Me! record. Those were great, I love those records.

PT: And aren’t Restorations putting a record out this year?

GB: That’s right! I’ve heard it in Europe! It’s great! It’s really really good. Oh man, that one is gonna be a good one. I think the last song, if I can remember right, I was just like “holy shit! What an awesome way to end a record.” So you’re in for a treat!