There Is No War Without Warriors

Hello fans of The Flag,

Warped tour 2009, who could have guessed it would be so tolerable? Even coming out of the haze of sickness that was unexpectedly cast upon me as we crossed the border into Texas, I realized I'm maintaining positivity and I'm still stoked to be out here right now. Today's day off in St. Louis has offered us some time to reflect and recover from our experience so far.

This is not the band's first time on this tour, nor is it mine. Last summer this all seemed a lot more difficult, though. Perhaps it was the fact that I was stuck behind a merch booth and wishing I was working closer to the action, and now I am. Maybe it's the actual make up of the tour. Last summer I was working with The Street Dogs, one of the punkish bands on the tour, and we felt like the minority. It was like the tour was booked and we were added as an after thought along with The Briggs, The Aggrolites and a couple others. Decent bands, but not taking the spotlight on the tour. There were not enough of these type of bands to get kids that like these type of bands to come hang out with us in parking lots, especially when they had to deal with a high volume screamo/emo/whatevercore bands to see them. We felt alone, like outcasts on our own tour, and a little resentment towards the bands who were becoming the life of the party.

Now, we find ourselves out here with bands like Bad Religion, NOFX, Less Than Jake, The AKAs, and soon to be Flogging Molly and The Bouncing Souls, and it feels more like we exist along side the bands of alternate genres, as opposed to competing against them. This summer I will remember as being filled with high fives and helping hands. Yeah, it's hot as balls. No, this is not an easy tour no matter how you go about it, but I'm staying positive without telling myself to be, and I'm happy to be here.

Today, though, I woke up and rode my bike up and down Delmar after getting some free air for my bike. I found some wheat grass and juice, as well as a cool record store. Many noodles were eaten at many mediocre noodle restaurants, and I ate some Ben and Jerry's (apparently I can't always get a discount when I tell them I'm from Vermont). We saw a movie called Away We Go, which 2 and I agreed was one of those good idea-poor execution type films. The most interesting part was seeing Alison from the amazing band Discount in the previews with her new band, Dead Weather Now I'm back at the Hotel, ready to go to sleep to wake up and get back to the grind tomorrow.

See you soon,
Max