Rule Britania

"Hi, do you have North American to British power converters?"

"Yes we do. Are you American?"

"No," I replied. "Im from Canada. I'll take one of those please."

"Where are you from?"

"Toronto," I said to the shopkeeper.

"Is that in America? That will be 3 pound 50."

"No, it's in Canada."

"Canada is in North America?" he asked as he handed me back my change.

"Yes. Yes it is."

Today we are in Oxford. Just down the road from one of England's finest academic institutions. So, I was somewhat surprised with peoples confusion about the location of the country I live in. More confusing were the two young kids around the corner that were threatening our lighting guy, and up the road Dallas was getting yelled at by an old drunk weirdo. It seems like a lovely city. I can only imagine what will happen when the bars let out tonight when the show is finished.

We are falling into things right away. It's been a reunion with Anti Flag and Ghost of a Thousand. We have known both those bands for a while now, and the Four Years Strong dudes seem really nice and really bearded.

Tomorrow in Nottingham we are gonna be doing a signing so come say hello,
@ Non Stop (14 St James St)
5:00pm to 5:30pm

Cheers Friends,
wade.

back to the matter at hand

Hello friends, fans and downloaders of illegal music,

We are gearing up to get back on tour so I thought it was time to resurrect the blog. It was pronounced dead on a hot summer day shortly before the end of this summers Warped Tour. Our spirits were dwindling and I was having a hard time not writing anything except........."woke up today, played at noon, walked around aimlessly for hours, Escape the Fate still suck." But, tonight after a couple beers and a few hours playing a Simpson's video game I know now the blog must come back.

Since you last heard from us we played some festivals in England, did some university's shows close to home and we even managed to shoot a video for our next single Born and Raised. Things may have been quiet but we certainly have been busy. We even wrote some new songs that are gonna be released as EP in the new year. The EP will be called "Dogs Blood" and more than likely we will just do a vinyl release and put in on Itunes (so go to grandmas house and take her record player). Can't wait to get to the UK in a couple days we have missed you cheeky blighters!

Happy Birthday George you old bastard!
wade.

Aug 8th - Deja Vu

We finished playing rather early in Denver the other day. So, George and I headed out to grab some lunch from a nearby bar. As we approached Brooklyn's Grill we realized where exactly we were walking into. We went through the front doors and out onto the patio and there was no doubt about it we had definitely been here before. In 2006 while on the Warped Tour the two of us wandered over to the very same bar on a day that felt shockingly similar to this one. However, the two days ended rather different.

In 2006 George and I were a lot thirstier. We enjoyed some afternoon pitchers (like 8) and one thing led to another. We woke up the next day in a small town in Montana and shook off the cobwebs. We had lunch at Ponderosa and tried to connect the dots as to what exactly happened the night before. All we were really sure about was we made back to the bus in one piece. So, we assumed everything was fine.

We returned to the hotel where we were harshly greeted by our tour manager Stu. "Well look who it is" he said with all the condescension he could muster. We both took it as a bad sign and pressed him to fill us in on some of the foggy parts of the night. He let us know that for a solid portion of the evening we refused to wear shirts. He told us I was dancing with a girl that looked like a female wrestler (WWF's Cyna), and in the end we were asked to leave because we had taken 2 tiki torches out of the ground and were waving them violently at Billy Talent.

This time we just had club sandwiches and left. Luckily we were not recognized by the bar staff.
deja fucking vu!
wade.

OSKEE WEE WEE!!!

This is the year! We are due mother fuckers!
george

AHOY

So when we were in florida, warped tour head hancho kevin lyman was kind enough to take us on the high seas to catch some fish. Beardo cut this video together. Enjoy!

RED STATES!

wyoooOOOoooming! we have a few days off in the heartland.
Last time i was in wyoming a bunch of good ol' boys called dall and wade and I a bunch of "gothic faggots." If it wasn't for all the box stores and fast food, this place would be down right old tyme. Oh, and by the way, republicans are a bunch of Machiavellian monsters.

praise the lord (...not really)
george

The End of an Era

This was my suitcase. I purchased it in 2001 at the salvation army in Grimsby ontario. We were about to embark on our first tour of america. It's a 1970 Samsonite Silhouette. She set me back a hefty 5 dollars. i took "big red" around the world many times. now the latches at the top refuse to close properly. it's only a matter of time before she explodes my dirty laundry all over an airport conveyer belt. today i finally broke down and got a new suitcase. I've got to say, i have never been so soupy about a piece of luggage before. 8 years is a long time for a suitcase when you travel as much as we do. especially a suitcase you bought second hand for 5 dollars. Happy trails darling. You served me well and you will be missed.
xo
george

the ongoing saga...

Music at its best is about time and place. It's a feeling that is hard to describe and it's intensely personal. Sometimes when you least expect it a record can change your life. Sometimes your life changes dramatically and its the music you are listening to at that time that will stay with you forever. That being said, it's hard when a band you hold in very high esteem changes from what originally drew you to them. I understand, I've had bands break my heart before.

The last thing I expected from our friend Josh (who has been the subject of my last few blogs) was an apology. He sent us a very nice email explaining that our first record means a lot to him and he was sorry for what he said. However, I just checked our email tonight and found another message where Josh takes back his apology. He then goes on to say Dallas looks like a "gay biker" and I look like "a human version of the Kool Aid guy." If anything motherfucker Dallas looks like a creepy shop teacher and I look like the hamburgler. This will be the last blog about schizophrenic Josh. Now here is a story about when a Jamaican guy called me The Hamburgler.

We had just finished filming the video for Rough Hands. Unlike all of our other videos this was a pretty easy day. We set up in a warehouse in Toronto and ran through the song 10 or 15 times. The director Marc filmed us on a few different cameras and then had to go project the footage all over the city. I was done around 6:30 and made my way downtown to go see Damian Marley play at a club called the Phoenix. I got there and met up with the Bedouin Soundclash boys. We downed some rum and cokes while the openers played. It was my turn to buy the round right before Damian Marley went on. The club had completely filled in and it was packed an hot. I managed to order a few more and made my way back over to the fellas. I must point out at this time that I was wearing a fedora and a long sleeved black and white stripped shirt. I got bumped into from behind and spilled most of the drinks onto this huge Jamiacan guy. At first I was worried I was gonna get stomped. But, instead he blurted out "easy now ammburgla" and him and his friends all started laughing their asses off. I couldn't help but laugh myself and patted him on the back and delivered what was left of the drinks. To fully appreciate this you must imagine his thick accent, you must imagine the punky reggae vibes, you have to taste the coconut rum and smell the weed in the air.

Jah Bless,
wade and the boys. thanks to DMC for the drawing.

Dear Josh,

After a long day of beating up nerds and hassling homosexuals George and I headed back to the bus to celebrate. Today, we signed a multi-million dollar contract with MTV. We will be hosting a brand new reality TV show sponsored by our good friends at McDonalds and Nike. The show will take us across the United States to numerous republican conventions as we follow and aid Sarah Palin in her quest to become the 1st Female President! So, check us out this fall as we travel the country decked out in the latest Nike fashion and spread the word about the tasty new McSkillet Buritto!

So, to wrap things up we are now fabulously wealthy. Enjoy living at your parents house Josh.
McLexisonNike

Hate Mail

I thought I would share this with all of you. It is the second time we have gotten this exact email. We first received it while we were in Vancouver making the record, and it popped up in our inbox again today. It makes me smile. Hopefully, it brightens up your day as well.

Subject : Important

Body: When i first starting listening to you guys on your first release i thought it was amazing.It was something different from all that mainstream pretentiousness out there.It helped kids who felt like they outcasts that they weren't alone and that someone understood them.All that glamor and shallowness didn't matter just honest music with integrity.Now you guys are all into being fake and into the money instead of having integrity or fighting for what you believe in.If you even believe in anything anymore all that fame has gotten to you guys when that stuff doesn't matter.The honesty in your first release has gone and you guys have completely sold out for money,for fame blending in with all the jocks and kids who are fake and shallow who you once despised.Or maybe you guys were always in it for the money the girls and fame.Never in it for the passion or honesty or the ability to touch people in different ways or help them threw there hardships.All i see is a band that was once good.A band that is now nothing but a bunch of sellouts and pretty boys.More concerned about looking cool on camera with your tattoos then being real and honest.Punk Rock is about being yourself not being pressured into dressing or acting a certain way.It,s about being an individual and not labeling yourself like a genre.But being a person with rights beliefs and values that should be there own and not based off of peer pressure.Or bowing like a slave to the mainstream masses or to Mtv.Listening to everything they say how to dress how to sound what to write songs about how your hair should look in a video.That stuff doesn't matter if you loose your integrity its like losing your soul its your heart your honor without that your just a puppet on a string doing everyone's bidding's without truly being alive without being an individual or yourselves just letting people control you and twist you the way they want you to twist and turn.Alexisonfire is dead in my eyes now its just a pop rock band now your just like the pretentious mainstream music you once hated and rebelled against

Josh (X Alexisonfire Fan)

P.S being macho doesn't make you a man being sensitive and not caring what other people think and having integrity does.

Say it aint so Shane

Hell has officially frozen over. Shane MacGowan lead singer of legendary band the Pogues has fixed his teeth! I blame the Jonas brothers. I blame George Bush. I blame that police state known as Disneyland. Times change thats for sure. A couple of days ago when I was sitting around aimlessly at merch I heard someone doing an At the Drive In cover. I found my way over to the skullcandy stage and checked out a band called Therefor I Am. They did a great cover of Arc Arsenal and I stuck around for the rest of the set. They have a cool small brown bike meets seaweed vibe. We did a signing right before their set this afternoon so we all had a chance to catch their show. They are great and really energetic. Ill definitely be checking them out again. They have a new record out on our old label Equal Vision. Go check them out. www.myspace.com/thereforeiam

Straight to VHS

Dallas is a fountain of 1980's movie knowledge. I don't know when exactly his mind switched over to a mode of strictly guitar riffs and 80's cinema. But, it is intense and he has never looked back. Obscure quotes pour out of him at all times of the day. Ranging from sci-fi gems such as Space Balls to fun for the whole family epics like Mom and Dad Save the Wold. His repertoire never ceases to amaze. On Warped Tour, Dallas has brought a big CD booklet full of 80's obscura. Most of us had seen quite a few of these films that he had drawn out of his collection, with the sole exception of Eric the Viking. He said it will change our minds! We have embarked on a riotous drive to Virginia Beach and we are all up watching the film. It is strange as hell. A calm quiet has grown over the five of us as we watch their viking ship sail through space. Even stranger is when Dall quotes lines from a movie that probably was straight to VHS. The bus continues to shake harshly down the road on our way to VA. I know at some time we will cross that long freestanding bridge over the water. It just isn't the same when you do it at night.

love,
wade.

Woooooooaaaaaaaaahhhh!

give us a chance

"You people need to start moving around out there or I'm gonna go drown myself in a port-o-potty." George definitely had the quote of the day from our 11:15 set in NYC. When he is completely deprived of sleep George is often at his most hilarious. The set was good. It was at least as good as a rock concert can be before noon. As I touched on briefly in our last blog, a monsoon hit Philly so we weren't able to play. A bunch of people made the trip from Philadelphia to NY to see us and still and missed the set. I sat at the merch tent for a couple of hours and got yelled for most of it. Believe it or not the people who were the most irate were those who missed the set because they were drinking in the parking lot. They gave me an ear full! The set time changes everyday so get there before 11:00AM to be safe.

The next day in New Jersey was great. We were on later and everything was back as it should be. We have added Heading for the Sun to the set and it's been getting a good response. #2 from Anti-Flag came out and sang the end of This Could Be Anywhere in the World and POS came out and sang the end of Accidents with us. It was a star studded affair.

up the pop punx,
wade.

My Mom and I are Cats and We Screw One Another

"My mom and I are cats and we screw one another" - Jordan Hastings on watching the movie Sleepwalkers.

George, Jordan and I are holed up in the front of the bus watching horror movies. On our last day off I picked up some great old slasher films in a bargain bin. I grabbed Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 and 2, The Hitcher, From Hell and Sleepwalkers. As I write this we are tumbling down the road on our way to Uniondale NY and are a few minutes into Sleepwalkers. We got the lights turned down low and everything. Sleepwalkers is probably one of Stephen Kings worst books. But, it is definitely one of the best films adapted from one of his novels. I guess the three of us watched a lot of horror movies when we were younger. I have always liked being scared. However, the same can't be said about anyone else on the bus. The front lounge clears out real quick when any horror films go on. Everyone is still reeling from when we had Hellraiser 2 on the other day.

I take it back. We are about a half hour into this film and it's fucking ridiculous. It doesn't make any sense and when they turn into the cats it's the worst. No actually I take that back. The part where she stabs the corkscrew in his eye is is still amazing!

On a more serious note, anyone that had tickets to today's show you are able to get in free to Uniondale. The rain beat down and got the best of Warped Tour today. We were all standing on the side of the stage ready to play. But, when there is lightning the stages are obligated by law to close down. So, sorry if you made the trip specifically for us. We would have played if we could.

wade and the boys.

WE NEED A MONTAGE

Groundhog Day

Not everyday is strange or fantastic. There are somedays where all you do is play the show. We have long days in the sun with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Don't get me wrong, we live for those 30 minutes on stage. But, on a tour like this there is a lot of downtime. All of us spend our days killing time in one way or another. Here is what we have been up to..............

Jordan got an old motorcycle off his Dad before the tour started. So, I brought my Vespa along for good measure. We have them both crudely strapped in the the back of the trailer with boxes of t-shirts falling all over the place and a few bmx bikes thrown on top of the pile. The two of us have been taking a lot of rides. In Memphis we took a spin and saw a lot of the city. In Montreal we both drove around all day in the pissing rain. But, at night when we were soaked to the bone we parked the bikes on a bridge and saw a late night fireworks display. George busy's himself by playing dominoes, listening to the blues and slowly nursing beers. Generally doing anything befitting the normal day of a 70 year old man. Steele disappears early in the morning almost everyday. I imagine his days are infinitely more interesting than ours. However, I have no idea where he is at any given moment nor do I have any idea what he spends his time doing. After nearly eight years in this band with him, he is still an enigma to all of us. Dallas has taken to teaching himself how to play slide guitar. He is always sitting around in a shady area picking away at his national resonator. It's only been a few weeks but he is getting real good already.

Our next show is in Buffalo and Everytime I Die is coming to hang out. I imagine the blog will be better tomorrow night.
Sweet Dreams,
wade.

City and Colour Fans Hate Me

"City and Colour!" he screamed as I tuned my guitar and got my microphone in place.
"Play Coming Home!" he yelled as we rang out at the beginning of the set.
"Fuck This!" he said as he threw a large cup filled with ice directly at my face.

So many questions running through my mind.
Who threw it?
Do I put down my guitar and punch the guy?
I wonder if he is big?
Are the guys gonna get mad if I stop the set to beat up some kid?

I decide I'm going to do it and I take my guitar off to go into the crowd. Just as I go to get off the stage George pushes me out of the way and hops down to the barrier. He spits in the guys face and throws his microphone at him. Then security comes out of nowhere and drags the kid off.

But, George didn't stop there. During the last song a Canadian flag lawn chair got passed up to the front. Not only did George manage to sit on the lawn chair on top of the crowd. But, then he somehow managed to stand on top of it and even jump off onto the crowd.

Bruno was pretty funny,
wade.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

I met Chris Steele when I was around 9 years old. Both of our dads coached a baseball team that we played on together called Green Machine. It was a strange start for Chris and I as we both were under the impression that we didn't like one another. Chris would give me blank stares which I interpreted as disliking me and as a result of those stares I refused to talk to him. We would play baseball together for a couple of years and barely talk. However, the last year we played together we would win the season undefeated and Chris would have the most stolen bases on the team.

Some time passed and Chris and I realized we lived around the corner from each other. We would see each other out skateboarding at St. Annes School or sneaking cigarettes by the corner store on Martindale Road. We first really spoke at length when we were taking the cross town bus home. Chris and I had both bought tickets to see the newly reformed misfits play the following weekend. We planned to meet up after school the following Friday and head downtown together. That night would change both of our lives.

It was the first big punk show that either of us had been too. Neither of us could believe that this world existed. Tons of weirdos with their faces pierced shut covered in tattoo's drinking, fighting, singing, dancing and being utterly reckless. It was an eye opening evening to say the least. That night I also found out that Steele had a band without a bass player. He found out I had a bass and a couple microphones. We set a practice for the following Monday and we have been playing music together for the last 11 years.

Chris is the energy of this band. He pushes us to play harder and to play better each night we step on stage. He often walks that fine line between brilliance and insanity. And he has even turned into a fine golfer.

Happy 25Th Birthday Steele,
wade.

Home Sweet Home

The Toronto show my god! The Toronto show my god! THE TORONTO SHOW MY GOD! Thanks for welcoming us back home with open arms. Just a big sweaty hug from all our Ontario friends.

Today in Montreal was the first day it has rained on the tour. It really came down. Fucking torrential downpour. Because of the layout of the site our bus was parked on the other side of the world. I'm pretty sure we were parked in Hull. However, the rain let up in time for us to play and after a couple of songs the sun even came out. Montreal is always crazy for us and today was no different. So, thanks for braving the rain, singing along and falling in the mud with us.

cheers,
wade.

Two Week Wrap Up

We have been on Warped for a couple weeks now. I've had a chance to see a lot of bands, and these in my humble opinion are the best ones. So, if you are coming out sometime to see us this summer make sure you check these bands out too.

1. GALLOWS www.myspace.com/gallows

The gallows play harder than everybody everyday (except for Chris Steele). They are crass, loud and brilliant. I haven't missed a set yet. They more than any other band inspire me to play everyday.

2.POS www.myspace.com/pos

I was introduced to Steph from POS the first or second day. I saw his set the next morning. He plays the whole show in the crowd and blows minds. He carries himself hard for a rapper. It feels more like he is fronting a punk band. I had always heard great things about him from The Bled and now I know why.

3.ANTI FLAG www.myspace.com/antiflag

Our favorite political punks from Pittsburg. We have toured most of the world with them and I even sing on their new record. Don't skin your knee's in the circle pit.

4.SHAD www.myspace.com/shad

Shad is a Canadian MC who we have been fans of for a while now. Him and his crew are on our bus. They spend the day making beats and Shad just starts freestyling every once in a while. Make sure you check him out he is the best.

I was planning on making this a list of 5 but I'm afraid I just can't. So, go check out these bands and save the rest for us.

cheers,
wade.

breakfast, eggs, rock concert

Lately, we have been opening the set with Young Cardinals. Dallas rings out a long stoner intro and then we blast into it. George summed things up rather well right before we crashed into the song. Standing on the stack off speakers in front of the stage George yelled "11:15 in the morning are you fucking kidding me?!" Thats right at 11:15 this morning while some of you were at work and others were still tucked soundly into their beds we were playing really loud. Something often feels strange when you take music out of clubs and play it outside when the sun is still in the sky. But, before noon give me a break!!!

We had a team meeting a decided that we would play some more chill songs in the set. We figured nobody would be there at all.
But, somehow in the 15 minutes from when doors opened up to when we played a few hundred of you managed to find us. It turned out to be a great show and we promptly removed the slow jams from the setlist. So, thanks for waking us up this morning Indiana.

wade and the boys

Memphis, TN

We had big plans to go to Graceland today, but after the amount of BBQ we ate not much got done. We met up with some friends and they took us to a little spot called Pig on Beale. According to them this tiny place is the best BBQ joint in Memphis. Beale Street in Memphis is tourist central. Half the street is made up of souvenir shops hocking Elvis memorabilia and the other half is bars boasting live blues and jazz. The street is closed down, so its just foot traffic. We breeze down the street poking our heads in the dive bars and eventually stop in a bizarre collectibles place. They have a pretty large occult section where you can buy anything from cemetery dirt for $6.00 to a mojo bag for the low low price of $9.99. We tried on some the goofy hats in the back and I left with a Cramps flyer.

Pig on Beale was just a couple shops up. We pushed some tables together and ordered a round of sweet tea's. The place is a little hole in the wall. It's just perfect. Most people either went for ribs or for the pulled pork sandwich. It was fantastic way to end our last day in the South.

Tomorrows show is in Indianapolis. A place we haven't played in at least 5 years. The only thing I can remember about our last time there is that it was St.Patricks Day. Steele had bought this dirt cheap 60 oz of corn Liquor and it gave him a rash all over his face and chest! So, tomorrow has to be better that that.

Love,
wade.

LIES

I'd say the most surprising thing about this tour is the amount of bands that are faking it. Straight up lip-syncing nonsense!
To begin with Millionaires don't sing at all, and the one dude from brokeNCYDE is up there just pretending. I digress...........

Todays show was the best one yet. Big crowd, big pit and everybody knew the words to This Could Be Anywhere in the World. Texas has been great place for us to play ever since George got into a fight during our set a couple of years ago. George had jumped into the crowd to stop a scrap and somehow ended up in the fight himself. He got in a couple of good shots and the guy got kicked out of the club. George triumphantly climbed back onstage proclaimed the was the most dangerous man in San Antonio and we kicked right back into waterwings. Ever since then our shows in Texas have been bananas.

I Name You Gamblor

Walking around Warped Tour we are running into more and more old friends everyday. Dallas was telling me how over the course of the day in Phoenix both Will and Angel from Aiden came up to him and gave him a hard time. They both asked if he was still taking everyones money playing dice. Dallas winning a huge roll in Buffalo off those dudes meant little to him. But, it was the last time anyone in Aiden gambled. From time to time Alexisonfire likes to roll some trips and we do tend to get carried away.

Angel said to Dallas, that he always heard you should never gamble with anyone whose first name is a city. I should have taken that advice because I just lost about $50.00 in twenty minutes.

Happy Belated Canada Day,
wade and the boys.

We are on a Warped Tour

My Friends,

It has been far too long. We will be doing these every day from now on so prepare yourself for some Tales of the Bizarre!
We have just returned home from a Warped Tour Charity Bowling event and what happened there was so ridiculous it made me think that it was time to resurrect the blog.

So, we received a call earlier from Warped asking us if we would step into Senses Fails spot in a bowling tournament they had running today. Senses Fails bus had broken down outside Ventura and they were stuck for the day. We happily agreed to do it and made our way down to the alley for 9:00. We knew that we would be playing with a kid on our team. What we didn't know is that the girl who was supposed to play with Senses Fail had just broken down in tears when she found out they weren't coming. She had bid on eBay to specifically meet Senses Fail and had flown from LA to Phoenix to meet the guys. To say she was disappointed when we showed up would be a wild understatement. We politely excused ourselves and she ended up on the Bad Religion Team. So, in the end she got a pretty good back up and we ended up getting hamburgers. Everybody won. Except Senses Fail.

Good Night Arizona.

deadlines!!!

As the deadline looms over head we are starting to panic my friends. Gone are the days of Tim Hortins runs, playing Wii with Juices son and goofing around with Porter the studio dog. Time to get down to brass tacks. So, now we play with the dog as we record vocals, and we have hooked up Wii through the main recording console, and Tim Hortins is strickly a drive thru stop.

The mysterious Christopher Steele showed up to our surprise the other day. He is in full blown summer mode. No coat! sun roof down! He even told us he had washed his car before he drove out to the studio. I must remind our friends in warmer climates that it is still very much winter here. There may not be snow on the ground but it ain't warm. All this prompted me to tell him that I'm thinking about naming my first born Chris Steele MacNeil. To this he responded that he will name his son Cortez.

happy St. Paddys,
wade.

its a small world after all

So, we are back at home now. Which means warm beds, late night grilled cheese sandwiches and singing all day at Silo Studio. Silo is a great little home studio in the country outside Hamilton. We recorded Watch Out! here, we did all the vocals for Crisis here and it feels good to be back putting the finishing touches on this record. It's dark, small and comfortable and it's always been a great place to make music and be creative. Whether that is Dallas kicking a box full of bells and tambourines or yesterday when I was playing slide guitar with a lighter because we couldn't find the slide it seems something new is always happening.

Also, speaking about new things happening I came home to find out I have new neighbors. As I leered out my front window at the tattooed weirdoes sitting outside smoking and enjoying a cup of tea on their porch my first thought was, well there goes the neighborhood, but my second thought was that they looked strangely familiar. After a closer look I realized why they looked so familiar. It was the Bleeders! The very same Bleeders that we played with on our first trip to New Zealand. They are a great punk band from Auckland and I'm sure we will be playing some shows together very soon. So, welcome them to Canada and check them out!

www.myspace.com/thebleeders

>



Guiness makes you strong,
wade.

"Vegans are the new Christians!"

Our final days at armory were beautiful. The tour of the molson brewery was fun and informative. We capped off our last day with a bbq on the roof top patio which left me longing for spring. Maximum respect to Rob and Dan and all the friendly folks at armory studios. It was a fantastic experience but we needed to get back to southern ontario before we were consumed by madness. and nothing personal to my bud dal but i had had just about enough of sharing a bed with him.

Now we are back in the fruit belt. we finished a song today and i tell ya it feels pretty good. 1 down 16 to go. juices studio is comfortable. it feels like home.

xo
g

steele working on his solo project

Vocals Have Begun!

This morning we started recording some vocals. And by we I mean that Dallas is locked in the live room and the rest of us are going on a tour of the Molson Beer Brewery. You may remember it in the background of our previous blog about Mount KILLehmunjuaro. Well, the good folks at Molson saw the video and wanted us to come by and take a swim in one of the vats! We will let you know how it goes.

love,
wade and the boys.

and the song would not go quietly into the night

Sometimes, a song takes form in a matter of seconds. One of us has a small idea, a simple riff or a vague idea for a beat and everything falls into place. Other times the complete opposite is true. We will pine over little details for hours only to decide at the end of the day that we hate everything we have worked so hard on. The song we finished today is one of those songs that would not die. The song that has come to be known as Emerald St. is the first song we wrote when we began jamming for Young Cardinals. It has completely changed from start to finish at at least five times. We thought the other day we had finally laid it to rest. But, at approximately 3:27 this afternoon Emerald St. came back from the dead when we realized everything was horribly out of tune. We spent the next 4 hours trying to line up the bass and guitars with very little success. We have started getting very weird being locked up in this studio constantly for the last week and a half and I think this has sent us over the edge. Miraculously, things started to fall into place. Although we were so concerned that the tuning might slip again that dallas used the same guitar for everything and refused to move from the one spot in the control room where his guitar didn't seem to slip out of key. But, its done and I think you are gonna like it.

wade.

THE END IS NEAR

The gang all had a nice little brunch today at the twisted fork. If you are ever in the vancouver area i would have to suggest you check it out. It's a great place to sit around and gab about black metal over bananas and french toast.

With drums, bass and most of the guitars completed, the days are flying by. We have now moved on to leads and overdubs. i think the vocals will have to be done in Hamilton, as our time in Vancouver is limited. as much as we would love to board up the doors and never leave this studio ever again, we would go broke pretty quickly. soon we will have to leave all the beauty of the Berrard bridge and Granville island behind. On a side note, since we got here i have had a mean hankering for an Asian pear and unfortunately the Granville public market can't accommodate my bizzaro, ozzy like, fruit requests.

until next time boys and girls...
xo
george
f
d
pettit

eagle vs goat

today was a great day. jordan finished tracking all his drums and now steele is on deck. he should be done his mega bass riffs by tomorrow. we are moving along almost as fast as an eagle who has spotted a helpless goat stranded on a mountain ridge and is now swooping in, sinking its talons into the goats back and neck area and carrying it off with great ease, subsequently having it for dinner.

Regarding the last post...

sarcasm: the use of irony to mock or convey contempt

Dallas working on his solo project...

"You kids wouldn't know where i could get some Marijuana cigarettes?"

Last night an undercover police officer tried to sell alexisonfire hash outside our hotel as we were coming home from the studio. Nice try NARC we could smell the bacon from a mile away.

"P-O-L-I-C-E
they got nothin' on me"

"Drum Roll Rip Off" a one act play by AOF

Dallas: What if you just did a big roll on the snare at the end of the verse?

Rat Beard:I dont know dal, that would be a pretty big Dave Grohl rip off.

George:Dave Grohl just ripped that fill off from The Sonics.

Nick: Actually that's an old Gene Krupa fill from '38. just listen to his live at Carnagy hall record with Benny Goodman. Gene Krupa was arrested many times for marijuana possession in the 30's and 40's.

Rat Beard:Gene Krupa it is.

(scene)

GEORGE IS TRYING SOME NEW SHIT

hey finished some vocal tracks today. what do you think?

LISTEN HERE

Midnight Regulations

its half passed midnight and we have just returned to our hotel after a long and tedious 5th day in the studio. there were some pretty dark moments and at times it seemed as if we were all working against each other. having spent the last year or so working the kinks out of these songs, we are more prepared then we have ever been. but today felt like the first time we had ever played together. even one of steele's bass amps decided to blow up. somedays it feels like i have no idea how to even hold my guitar and today was one of those days. after running through a song called "midnight regulations" about a hundred times, something just clicked. everything started to fall into place and we finished the song. after dinner wade and i filled in our respective guitar "extras" and then our engineer nick dialed up a rough mix for us to hear. i wish that i could explain how happy hearing this song recorded makes me feel. i guess you'll just have to wait and hear for yourself.

love dallas and the boys.

steele loosens up

Mount KILLehmunjuaro

Five Eyes

Greetings From the Mouth of the Beast

Digging into day 3. the boys are crushing takes like ants on the pavement. Nick, Juice, Rob and me are all behind the hull of what looks like a nuclear sub. the science of recording music is so far over my head. i have no idea what any of these knobs do, ill just leave that up to the professionals. 

The academy awards are on and we have taken a little break. i think Werner Herzog got robbed in the best doc category. shaun penn just made a great speech for best actor and a fine statement about gay rights.

 soon enough we will be back in the mouth of a beast. back to work...if you want to call it that.  it's fun to watch the boys get behind their tools and cut their way through a song. 7 songs in the can probably 8 by the time we finish up.  i think when the dust settles on a year of ideas put to hard drive, we just might have made something worthwhile. but you get to be the judge of that. 

Until then, heres to first takes and espresso panic attacks

xo

g

Day 2 - Smash and Go!

It's midnight.  Our ears are ringing and our bellies full of chinese food.  We have finished our second day in the studio and all the music for 5 songs.  This time around we are doing things a bit differently.  We are recording everything live off the floor.  Which for those of you who don't know means we do everything at once. Ratbeard counts it off, Dallas does a Dr. Steve Brule impression then Steele and I try to stop laughing in time to play the first chord correctly.  It's all or nothing and that is making the playing harder than a punch in the face. 

Another big difference is the gear we have managed to get our hands on.  I've pulled a bunch of 1950's Gibsons out of the basement of the studio and Dallas has done most of his tracks so far on a really old Fender Bassman Combo Amp.  This may sound like technical nonsense to some of you. But, what I'm trying to say is that these are the kind of guitar tones that take you out to a nice restaurant, insist on picking up the bill, take you to Niagara Falls to see fireworks and kiss you softly when they drop you off just after curfew.

good night,

wade.

p.s. if you haven't seen any clips of Dr. Steve Brule on youtube.com do yourself a favor. 

MEET NICK

This is Nick Blagona.

He was the studio engineer on crisis and he is currently working with us on young cardinals. 

Nick is a veteran of the music industry and has been engineering records longer than i have been alive. every time he opens his mouth, out comes a wild tale of barbarism involving deep purple or John Belushi. Today we learned that not only did he record "israelites" by desmond dekker but he also recorded jimmy cliff at crystal studios in kingston JA where he had his bottom teeth knocked out by a jealous rasta. he has lived more in 15 minutes than most live in a life time.

Nick is a rare individual. an endangered species of sorts. a jolly man with a mouth like and alcoholic sailor. a wise and feral spirit.

death to pitch correction!

love

george and the boys