INTRO
A quick recap for those of you with no background: our debut record was rereleased in Japan this past April (a small dream come true) and has done surprisingly well there. With that said, we were invited to go to Japan (a massive dream come true) to play at the 2003 SUMMERSONIC FESTIVAL, aWoodstock-like event with some of the biggest names in music- how big you ask? This big- it's a two day festival in two different cities with two line ups so the different bands fly to the opposite city on the opposite day. Here's a partial list of the line up on the day we played…

RADIOHEAD, GOOD CHARLOTTE, THE DOORS, MARS VOLTA, SUGARCULT, SUM 41, ALKALINE TRIO, AFI, BLONDIE and a whole lot more.

So as you can see- we were the smallest band on the bill (by just a little of course : > ) and for the past few months we have pretty much sat around collectively crapping our pants that we were going to Japan to play there with some of our fave bands. So just when it can't get better this summer while touring the country on what one could politely call a small tour- we get a call saying that not only are we playing both days of the festival but we also got on another Japanese concert sponsored by a radio station with GOOD CHARLOTTE.

So that's a little background on the whole deal- we were off to Japan to play the 3 single biggest shows of our career and have the time of our life- in case you don't want all the details - we ended up doing both but… if you like the long story (like I do- here she is…), without further adieu - ladies and gentlemen, friends and fans, children of all ages- I present to you THE ARMY OF FRESHMEN JAPANESE TOUR LOG as told by one of the survivors- me. Be forewarned- I write/talk/think way too much so for the benefit of the reader I will recount the trip in days starting with day one.

CHRIS

DAY ONE
JULY 29, 2003

Ok. So when you spend a year waiting for one day the night before that one day seems to last for ever or as Outkast would say… for ever ever ever. I couldn’t sleep and I know in six different beds in Ventura my homies could not sleep either. Morning couldn’t come quick enough but we had to leave for the airport early which was good – I woke up put on a comfy outfit for the long ass flight grabbed my bag that had been packed for the past week and ran out to the van which our friend Joe (we call him Taffy J for his sick love of taffy and taffy related products) was going to drive back for us. Me and Taffy headed off to everyone’s houses and stuffed the bags in van. With each person we picked up- a massive cheer went up and the momentum built up as we headed down to the airport where we met David and Kevin.

(Quick note so you don’t get confused… along with the 6 guys in the band- we also went to Japan with our manager- DAVID and our close friend and for this trip roadie- KEVIN. These are two important names to remember as the prank war that will be unleashed on them is key to later in our tale.)

We wait in the long lines- check in a ton of bags (Owen and Dan had to bring keyboards and Aaron and Kai had to bring guitars) and then go to the long security line and so forth. I proceed to make a last minute cell call to friends and love ones telling them if the plane goes down- I’ll miss them and bury my remains with my cds (half kidding).

So with the cell phones officially off for the next week. We waited to board the 12 hour flight.

Ok the plane ride. I sat next to a smelly guy. No joke. A real deal smelly guy- smelly guy if you’re out there reading this – you smelled.

Besides that we threw peanuts at each other- drank free booze. Slept for like an hour or two. Threw more peanuts at each other. I refused to eat the crap they served. Watched the awful movies- for those who care The Emperor’s Club is one boring ass movie. So we drank more. Went crazy and took a 1,000 pisses just cause it was an excuse to get up. But mainly we just got really excited. I mean they we were in plane in the air flying to a country where no one speaks our language! I was excited, nervous, clueless as to what to expect and really thankful.

(For the record it was my first time out of the states and everyone’s first time going to Japan except Kai. Kai went on a vacation there two years ago- the loser.)

So… the flight was long as hell but we finally made it. We touched down in Japan! I was hyperactive excited- as soon as I got off the plane- I was shocked. It looked like friggin New Jersey! Was this all some cruel ass joke? Did I truly come all this way to go to New Jersey- I was waiting for that Ashton dude to tell me I had been punked!

But alas it was Japan. How did I know? Cause everyone was speaking Japanese. Take that Einstein.

We got on a bus that took us to the terminal (this was to be the first of too many buses we would take) and piled out and into our first Japanese airport. It was clean and quiet- I couldn’t believe it. We walked and walked to immigration- waited in line there- filled out some paper work and went to get our bags.

So while I’m in line for my bags- a Japanese kid is next to me just straight up staring at me. He’s wearing a Simple Plan T Shirt and has (I kid you not) a Sugarcult sticker on his book bag. So I decide to make my first friend- I pull out an Army of Freshmen T Shirt (I brought a ton over) and gave it to him. You would of thought I handed him a million bucks either that or I solicited him for sex cause he fired off to his mom. Slick move I thought. My first contact with a Japanese kid and I scare the shit out of him. Way to go. Luckily I was wrong. He ran back with his mom and a camera and asked (actually more like pointed) for a picture. It was rad. After that he asked for an autograph and there in the airport not even with all my bags yet I signed my first autograph in Japan. Shortly after he took pics with everybody and got autos from everyone. It ruled. We were so stoked. Next we headed up to the terminal to find our interpreter who would be with us the whole day… we did her name was …

YUKIE! (another important character remember that name she is essentially our babysitter and savior for the week- I recommend screaming her name next time you get lost or scared- she comes running over with help – it’s rad.)

So we meet Yukie – she works for our label in Japan (Sonic Label) and her English was pretty good but we were just happy to have someone to ask questions. While in the lobby I see a girl with a Sugarcult shirt on who smiles and asks to take a picture. I am learning two things fast- the Japanese love cameras and they love Sugarcult.

So next up in the airport adventure is we have to take a bus over to a new terminal to take another plane to Sapporo- that’s the town where the first show is going to be the next night. It’s the Good Charlotte Radio sponsored show. Ok. Sounds good. We had over. I practice my Japanese on Yukie while we wait to board and we all get our first chance to buy things at an airport convenience store. We settle on Japanese candies and potato chips- as I am absolutely starving after my Gandhi like refusal of the shitty airplane food.

We board the next plane (seems like a long day reading about doesn’t it- you can imagine how long it was living it). We are all exhausted but the flight is only two hours away and we are taking in all the new sights.

Ok there was a poignant moment for me on this flight. I had a window seat and the guy next to me didn’t smell. That’s not the poignant part but it almost made me cry tears of joy. Anyways… there was simply one of the most magnificent sunsets of my life. The plane was flying in between two clouds so there was a cloud above us and a blue cotton candy sky under us and nothing but purples and oranges in the middle. I’m no hippie but I suddenly felt the power of nature until Dan farted and I felt the power of his nature which at the time was equally impressive. Just kidding but that’s a good one. : > )

So with the heavens open for me to fly through above Japan. I finally fell asleep after over 24 hours wide awake. I did not awake to good news.

"This is the pilot speaking. There are severe thunderstorms in Sapporo we have to circle around the city for 20 minutes before we land."

Urgh…. Tired, hungry, uncomfortable, smelly- you name it- that’s what we were and now we couldn’t even land. So I fall back asleep on the plastic window. 20 minutes pass. More bad news from the bogus captain.

"This is the pilot again."

No shit. Who else would it be the smelly guy from the last flight?

"Looks like the storm isn’t calming down. We’re gonna have to circle for another 30 minutes."

God no. An hour ago you were teaching me the beauty of nature and now you’re showing me it’s dark side. I just want to eat something and go to sleep. For the first time I don’t care that I’m in (or should I say over Japan). I want food and bed. I’ll sleep it off again. 30 minutes later- the worst possible news.

"This is the pilot again."

To sorta quote Elton John- take me to the pilot and let me kick his ass!

"We can’t land in Sapporo tonight. We have to turn around and go back to Tokyo. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Inconvenience? We’re playing the biggest show of our lives in 24 hours and this guy is taking us to a different city? This was bad news. Not to mention two more hours in the air. Well as soon as we land back in Tokyo our interpreter Yukie (remember Yukie?) saves the day and we board a bus (another bus) to the terminal (get our gear) and take another bus (so tired- so hungry) to a hotel that the airport provided for the stranded passengers. We’re assured we’ll take the first flight out in the morning to Sapporo and be in town hours before the show. Ok as long as we make the show.

So we get to the hotel- a pretty damn nice one and are stoked to find out they are opening the restaurant for free to the passengers- me and Owen share a room, Dan and Mike share a room, Kai and Aaron share a room and David and Kevin share a room) I take the best shower of my life (I think- I am too delirious at this point to be sure) threw my socks in the trash, marvel that the toilet sprays water up your butt if you want it to- more on that later and go down for food.

I am a zombie at this point- as for my first Japanese meal- it tasted like cafeteria food from the USA but I powered it down anyway. I slumped to the elevator, went to my room and prepared for 6 hours of sleep- me and Owen threw on the tv- laughed deliriously at the commercials in different languages and fell asleep exhausted but excited with dreams of the next night’s concert swirling in our heads. No matter what happens, I thought, we made it to Japan.

THE END OF DAY ONE

What’s in store for Day two? One of the best days of tour! AOF gets mobbed at a record store, Chris and Aaron get mistaken for Joel and Benji, AOF meets Good Charlotte, we ride on another plane and bus, Aaron breaks out in hives (don’t miss that one), we eat the best meal of the tour not to mention have the first concert- it’s a big day!

DAY TWO
JULY 30, 2003

Ok. Forgive me for the ridiculous amount of time it has taken for me to get to day 2- it’s been months but the thing I’ve struggled most with is this simple fact this was one of the most eventful days of the whole tour and my entire life and let’s face days like that are hard to put into words. Not too mention it was long as hell. I didn’t sleep. 24 hours of action. With that apology out of the way here she be- part 1 of DAY 2 of our first ever Japanese Tour or as I like to call it- THE SINGLE GRESTEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

So boom! The alarm goes off and I spring out of bed. I am waking up in a foreign country for the first time in my enite life. The day is finally here. The day I’ve been waiting for for over a year. My band The Army of Freshmen will play its first ever international show in Sapporo, Japan of all places opening up for one of the biggest bands in the world Good Charlotte.

(Side note- Now before we get into an argument over the status of Good Charlotte let’s make this clear this is August 2003 we’re talking about. In one month GC will win the viewers choice award on the MTV music awards- that’s big folks regardless of what you think of them and also Japan is CRAZY for them. So yes as of this event they are way big.)

Ok now that we got that out of the way. Let’s get back to DAY 2.

I take a shower (yes the shower heads are lower so you have to half duck to take one) pack my bags, which were pretty much packed since we didn’t go anywhere and head downstairs and say goodbye to our nice hotel in Tokyo. Keep in mind we were already supposed to be in Sapporo but the bad weather left us stuck in the air and forced to fly back to Tokyo. (See DAY 1). So we head downstairs carting all our gear (we traveled with our guitars and keyboards) and wait for the small bus to pick us up and take us to the airport for flight # 3 in 24 hours. We get to the port and fly off to Sapporo- at this point we are past the point of excitement. We are bouncing around the plane. The flight is a quick one and we land in Sapporo to be greeted by the concert promoters who rush us into two mini van type cars since the drive to our hotel and to Sapporo is a half hour or so. We split up into the two vans- in the one the driver is pumping Wakefield (luckily I wasn’t in that one) and in ours there is a TV that we tune into a bitching program about a samurai sword fighter who wonders the country side kicking ass. Too cool. Now keep in mind so far our travel in Japan has been airport to hotel to airport so this is the first look we get at the country. We are faces up against the window. Oddly of lot of it looks like America but is noticeably cleaner and the gas pumps- are you ready- hang from the ceilings! Not too mention there are a lot of 7-11s. No sluprees though- bastards.

We get to our hotel (another nice ass one- this is the life) and immediately our manager and myself have a meeting with the show production people since we missed it the night before because of the delayed flight. It’s in the lobby of the hotel and I order an ice tea and discover that there is no table sugar just liquid sugar- its good too! The production people explain that the show is a radio station’s anniversary and there is an all Japanese Evening Concert and the late night show is the Good Charlotte/Army of Freshmen Concert. Because of this there will be no sound checks and we will be brought into the backstage of the club @ 11:30 pm and the show will start at 12:00 pm. This seems really weird to me but oh well. I just really wanted to hang backstage for hours and walk around the venue and bug Good Charlotte (I’m weird like that).

Then comes the bad news. (Thought it was gonna be all good didn’t ya?)

Turns out we are playing after Good Charlotte.

At this point- imagine the sound of a record skipping then picture me arguing with people who can’t understand me that this is a BAD idea. I mean come on? The unknown AOF playing after a huge ass band? Is there any kid in their right mind that would stay? Suddenly my dream come true is looking to suck. They say there is no way around it that orders have down from Good Charlotte’s "people" that since it’s a late show they want the band to get back to their hotel (a different one then ours) as early as possible so they can get sleep before they fly in the morning. Now keep in mind we have to do the exact same thing but… anyway.

I am dejected. Stunned. As we take the elevator up our manager David consoles me to his credit but I am really upset. Don’t they know EVERYONE is going to leave? I don’t care if we can say GC opened for us. I just want to play in front of some people.

Anyways… we all agree we should just be happy to be there and decide- FINALLY let’s go check out the town!

(If you’re getting bored things are about to heat up so hang in there.)

Everyone decides to go except for Aaron. Little does the sleeping machine known as Aaron Goldberg know that he is about to miss out on some RAD shit.

So we all hop into another mini van driven by one of the promoter’s helpers, Ryohei. A really cool dude. I am asking him so many questions (keep in mind it’s all through our interpreter Yuki- remember Yuki?) We head downtown and its way crowded- very city like. We first go into a music store because Mike needs sticks and then by my request we head to a record store because I want to see our record. I have been waiting since April 26th when the record came out to see it in a store and by God I am going to! We go to Tower Records and at once I find my way to the rock section and there it is. Sandwiched between Alkaline Trio and Art Garfunkel is our debut record. I raise it high above my head as the rest of the band surrounds me. We are giggling like idiots in the store.

Then something happens.

One of the clerks runs up to me covering her mouth and runs to the back. Ok. Something is wrong. Do I smell? Is she getting a gun? I was leaning towards the latter when she suddenly she comes running out with a camera and takes a picture of us. Wow. Then something I have only seen in movies happened- kids from all over the store are coming up to us for pictures, autographs- they are buying the cd and running up to and asking for autographs. It’s a dream. I am telling our manager to take 1,000 pics- I want to remember this forever- the first store I ever walk into where people are surrounding me for autographs and pictures. Then the store throws on the record! Unreal. They’re all very nice and polite. No English besides "picture" and "thank you". Plus those camera phones are everywhere over there.

Throughout all this I am wondering what’s up. I mean I had heard the record was doing well but this seems a little odd. Then I look around and realize there are posters for the concert with our picture and Good Charlotte’s picture everywhere. Too cool. So between the posters and the fact we are the only white boys there- I think people in the store put 2 and 2 together. Fine by me. I am in heaven minus the strippers, Red Lobster and Playstation.

After buying a magazine or two (music mags are like full color books over there) and ripping a ton of posters and flyers off the wall and signing the last of the autos- we leave Tower down the escalator to the street. We are dancing. I am not kidding either. We all agree it was one of the most awesome experiences of our lives. No matter it was all worth it. No matter what. I think. Little did I know that was the tip of the awesome iceberg.

Now it’s time to celebrate- we need food. Ryhio takes us in the mini van to a bomb ass ramen noodle place (for those keeping track this is our first restaurant of the tour and it will end up being the best.) The bowl of soup is simply delicious. We are all smiles drinking beer, toasting, laughing, excited. We finally made it to Japan.

So we all decide after that adventure we need to head back to the hotel and get some sleep- it’s gonna be a long night and we need some rest after all the traveling.

I get into my room and guess who’s waking up? Mr. Sleepy Head Aaron. Guess who’s not tired. Me. Guess what we do? That’s right... We go exploring! We sneak out- we’re pretty sure that our interpreter would flip if we were out on the town on our own on day 1. I mean who knows what could happen? : > )

So we take off walking towards center city. I told Aaron all about what he missed. He’s devastated. He starts crying… I embrace him… he looks into my eyes… I lean in… WAIT A MINUTE- that’s the wrong day!

(Side note- if you just that read and you got excited and you are a dude- you’re gay. Not that that’s a bad thing at all but… anyway…)

We head downtown on foot and low and behold we are in the same area of town that Tower Records is in and why shouldn’t we be? I’m a local by now! I mean hell we’ve only been in town 4 hours. : > )

(Side note to reader- this is what you’ve been waiting for.)

We take the escalator up to Tower Records and head into the store- I show him the cd and to my disbelief the pic of us taken by the clerk two hours earlier is up on display by our disc. This is too good. While in the store like 2 or 3 people notice us and buy the cd and we sign autographs- so I am happy at least Aaron got the chance to experience that.

We look around a bit and decide to roll and as we head out into the lobby (it’s like a mall type deal) we oddly enough notice about 500 Japanese Kids sitting Indian style staring at something we can’t see. It’s covered by the escalator.

Then as if almost all at the same time- the 500 Japanese kids turn and look at us.

We look at each other. There is an eerie silence.

Then cutting through the silence is one lone Japanese voice.

"JOEL and BENJI!"

The 500 Japanese kids start into a steady roar.

I turn to Aaron. He is frozen and turning red at an alarming rate.

We look at the elevator and there is an empty stage with 5 mics and seats and a huge sign reading behind it (in Japanese of course) "Good Charlotte Live Interview Today at 5:00 pm!"

I look at my watch- it is 4:45. Aaron and I have unknowingly walked dead into a GC press conference for 500 Japanese Fans exactly 15 minutes before they are set to walk on stage and they think we are them.

Now though this seems like a long time. It all happened in seconds. The minute the girl screams and I see the sign I put 2 and 2 together and grab Aaron (I’m not making that up he is in shock- keep in mind he missed the auto session earlier) and dart up the escalator to the next floor which is a Tower Books. We needed to go down but that was over on the side of the 500 Japanese Kids who are now watching what they think is Joel and Benji run away from them.

We hide in the back of the bookstore- you should have seen the clerk’s expression.

We both agree that we have to get out of here or pretty soon those kids will follow us into here. We are in a panic.

Too late. Here comes the first few. A girl wants to sign a homemade GC poster- I’ll tell her it’s not us. She doesn’t understand me and smiles. Her friend says in broken in English- "You Freshmen. You Army. We like you!"

Ok. So at least not all these kids think it’s Joel and Benji . People keep coming in- this is out of hand. We got to get out of here- all we need is GC to show up and everyone is upstairs looking for the imposters.

We hatch a plan- we’ll ask the clerk for a back route.

"Sir. Hablo Japanese." (I am actually trying to use Spanish- we are screwed.)

"Good Charlotte! You need stage now?"

"NO!" Aaron and I both yell at the same time.

This talking thing isn’t going to work- we start pointing away from the stage wildly.

"Oh you go backstage?"

Once again- "NO!" Could you imagine? Us meeting Good Charlotte in Japan for the first time bum rushing their backstage and press conference. They’d think we were the biggest kooks in the world. No way. I’d rather jump out the window.

Next try- we start pointing at the window towards the street.

Bingo – we got a winner. It works. He takes us to the back of the store to a staircase that leads to the street.

There we are. Aaron and I running down a flight of stairs behind a Tower Records in Japan because we had to escape from crazed Good Charlotte fans. Some things are just too good.

So we get to the bottom of the stairs and we nearly run into a janitor.

He’s sacred. We’re scared. We stare at each other. I realize we got to learn the word for I’m sorry. We run away out to the street. We did it! Escape.

We’re yet again on cloud 9! We are going to stores, staring at everything- we find the Ramen Noodle place and Aaron demands we eat there. I eat there again- just as good. We continue to walk around the city. At this point we are getting lost and it is getting later we can only imagine what the rest of the band our manager will think if they wake up and we are gone not too mention the story well have to tell.

Then suddenly a white dude (this is REALLY rare to see) comes up to us and he is wearing the exact Level 27 hoodie that I am (this is even rarer).

He introduces him self and says he’s a guy from Good Charlotte’s Road Crew. He gives directions towards the hotel and we are relieved. Turns out though at this point we are far away and we take an amazing walk through the city and parks and just spend the whole time talking and marveling at how we got here. I can say it was one of my favorite parts of the whole tour- just one of those awesome honest conversations you have with a friend that makes you happy to be alive. My all time Aaron Goldberg moment. Isn’t that sweet.

We get back to the hotel and figure we can get an easy 2 hours sleep before we have to wake up shower, shave and have to be downstairs in the lobby.

We go to sleep and I think nerves are kicking in. With all this excitement I forgot that in just hours we are going to play!

Alarm goes off two hours later…

In the pitch black hotel room Aaron’s voice calls out to me.

"Hey Chris. I don’t feel right. I’m really itchy."

"Yeah? Well hop in the shower it’ll be all good."

The light goes and Aaron gets out of bed. I am horrified and not just cause his shirt is off. Aaron’s whole torso is covered in blotchy red hives. The look on my face tells it all. Aaron looks down at his chest. He’s horrified. It’s an hour before the show and Aaron is having some sort of allergic reaction. He starts sweating. I can tell how flipped out he is.

Gotta think fast. I act like it’s no big deal and tell Aaron to hop in the shower and I will go get some allergy medicine. He does and I hop in the elevator and head downstairs. I run flying into the lobby only to find Kai, Mike, David and Kevin (remember him- he’s our friend that’s with us) and now our a guy from our label who must think we are insane. They know something’s up cause I’m in my boxer shorts in the lobby of nice hotel in Japan. I am freaking out telling the story and David (what a pimp) goes flying out of the hotel to the local store to buy some allergy medicine considering he does not read Japanese it’s a pretty tough task. He comes back successful (he was nothing short of the man all week) and I rush upstairs to give it to Aaron who by now is about to have a heart attack.

He takes the medicine and it actually works pretty fast. He’s feeling better by the time we are all in the lobby signing these cards for everyone who buys the disc at the show. Then a rep from the concert shows up and tells us it’s time to go to the venue- here’s the weird part… turns out the club is right behind the hotel. We take a back exit and pass through an alley where I can see off in the distance people in line wrapped around the building. Wow! It’s gonna be packed- too bad they’re all gonna leave. I am ready to go out there and start begging people to stay USA style but considering they won’t understand me – I could end up scaring the crap out of them.

Ok. So we enter through a back exit to the club and let me tell you never in my life have

I felt more like that scene in the Wizard of Oz where it goes to color and Dorothy is in Oz. We walk into the hallway and there are people everywhere- they direct us to our dressing room which has a nice sign with our name on it- a tv showing the stage, full food and drinks. Unreal. We put our stuff in and head into the hallway area. Low and behold there are a couple of guys from Good Charlotte. It was getting to the point where I thought we were gonna play a whole show with them without meeting them. Their dressing room is open and some of us wonder in and I’ll be honest… they look terrible. I mean they are obviously so freaking tired from the time change and jet lag and the fact this is a late night show- they look like they are going to pass out. We introduce ourselves and Billy totally remembers us and thanks us for wearing his clothing companies stuff. They’re nice enough but I can tell they are really, really tired what’s worse is I know that since they are playing first that chances they won’t even see us. They’re gonna leave with the crowd. This sucks.

So it’s obviously really surreal since we were rushed back there and had no time to check the place out and here we are with Good Charlotte and they are on in like 15 minutes. It’s like suddenly someone says- oh yeah welcome to big time rock and roll. Enjoy. I see Joel in the hall looking like he’s about to pass out from exhaustion and wonder how the hell he’s gonna play. I say fuck it – he’s by himself and I roll up and introduce myself. Surprisingly we have really great conversation about growing up on the east coast and touring and he apologizes that chances are he’ll have to leave when they’re done but he’ll see us in a day or two at the festival. Bummer oh well we have two other shows for him to see us at.

So we head to the side of the stage. The place is packed about 1,000 people. This is also our first look at the venue- totally like a really big House of Blues- big ass stage- great lights- it’s awesome. Weird thing about Japanese concerts- the crowd before the show and in between songs is absolutely silent. So although there are 1,000 people there it’s really quiet. GC’s intro comes on and they hit the stage from the opposite side of us and the place blows up- these kids who seconds ago were totally chill are now tweaking, pogoing, singing along- I mean singing along in English. I have been hearing from everyone that the fans in Japan are the best in the world and it’s looking that way- at least for Good Charlotte that is. I have come to grips with the fact that everyone will leave. We watch a few songs from the side of the stage and I decide now is a great time to go explore the club since no one will be anywhere in the lobby.

I take off and walk around backstage then out to the lobby. The place is rad and empty since everyone is in the main room. I go over to the merch booth and it’s weird to see a little table with just Good Charlotte and Army of Freshmen T Shirts. I go up top to the balcony (I’ve always dug empty balconies- great make out place) and look down at 1,000 people rocking out to GC and think to my self- this is a moment. It was like freezing time and thinking I am here and I am going to play for that crowd- or at least I hope so.

As for GC’s show. Once again say what you will but I think they are a pretty great live band. Not tonight- it was their first show in a 3 week lay off (their longest in a year), they were suffering from jet lag and it showed. They were sloppy not that anyone cared. Sapporo isn’t as big as a Tokyo or Osaka think like Minneapolis- so the kids are just blown away that Charlotte was even there in the first place.

So I get backstage for the end of their set and GC rushes off stage straight to their dressing room and a road guy shuts the door. They seem bummed.

We run into our dressing room to check the tv to see if the place is emptying. To our absolute shock-

It isn’t. It’s still packed. The kids haven’t moved. We are going to play to the same huge crowd!

We’re on the side of the stage waiting to go on and here comes Good Charlotte- leaving! We guessed right. Joel stops and apologizes but he says they’re being forced to go back to the hotel and he’d catch up with us at the Festivals. Oh well. It was nice of him to at least say by. Who cares anyway- we’re about to try and steal his crowd.

The promoter who is a local DJ, TV guy comes out and gives the crowd a long introduction to us. I ask our interpreter what the hell he’s saying- she says good stuff. Great- I am really wishing I could understand Japanese at this point.

I imagine it sounds like this…

"Ok. We don’t why the hell these guys are playing after Good Charlotte but GC needs their sleep so we’re stuck acting like these guys are big. Actually I haven’t even seen them live. Chances are they suck. You can’t get your money back either- ha, ha. Now enjoy these losers who work at a car washes and record stores when they’re not in Japan- Ladies and Gentlemen – THE ARMY OF FRESHMEN! Oh by the way- the singer got trapped in Chuckie Cheese maze once and the cops found him crying in the plastic ball pits that everyone pees in. Loser!

(I am told he didn’t say that but I have my suspicions.)

We are flying high on nervous adrenaline and we come raging out onto the stage!

Then something weird happens. People start chanting HEY, HEY, HEY in unison to our first song UNIFORMS. Holy crap this is unreal.

And from there- it just gets better for the next hour I am in rock and roll bliss. We have massive pogo sessions. Guns thrown in the air. We teach them how to sing QUIT THAT HELLHOLE and GET UM UP. I try my few Japanese words on them. They laugh at how bad I am. We have a great battle of the keyboards. We get them to chant the name of our interpreter. It’s great. At one point I look over at Kai and he has a smile so big on his face it looks like his head may fall off.

Throughout it all though – all the traveling and anticipation has left us really drained after the adrenaline wears off after the first 5 songs or so- I can tell people are fighting exhaustion. A few times in the set I almost pass out but one thing keeps raging through our minds- KEEP ROCKING. This is it- you didn’t come this far to put on a half assed show standing still.

At one point I look to the side of the stage and guess who’s back- its’ Joel. Turns out he couldn’t sleep and walked back from the hotel to catch the rest of the show. Too cool.

All in all. We killed it. I mean we went nuts and people loved it.

I try my best to say goodbye and thank everyone as we launch into SPRING BREAK and everyone cheers- turns out this song has been played on the radio there and people are singing along- no shit- for real.

We end the show with me launching into the crowd and getting ripped at by kids as security hauls us back over the rail onto the stage.

We have done it.

Backstage- we are NUTS. There’s still cheers and we almost do an encore but the club needs to close down. So- we decide to make the best decision of the tour. With permission, a few minutes after we are done we head into the lobby as kids are leaving.

We get out there still covered in sweat and it’s like every kid stops and stares at us. They can’t believe we’re in the lobby. To them you don’t met bands at shows- they’re used to Good Charlotte style… off to the hotel room.

They’re not even sure if they can come up to us. So naturally we extend the peace gauntlet and go up to them. Good move.

Then all hell breaks loose. For the next 2 or 3 hours we are swarmed. (I am not kidding.) We sign autographs on everything. We are surrounded. Everybody in the band in different parts of the lobby. Our manager and friend Kevin are taking pictures. Our translator Yukie is earning her money as every five seconds one of us is asking what the hell someone is saying. All I can friggin say is Domo Aragato- which is thanks. We sign arms, hats, shoes, cds, shirts- we take a ton of pictures, give hugs- camera phones are blasting and even cooler a lot of the kids are giving us little presents- gifts are very big in Japan. I get bracelets and candy and a bandana (we kept them all!). it’s nuts. After 2 or 3 hours the promoters come up and says we HAVE to leave. Keep in mind this was already a midnight show.

So we sign the last of the autos and head outside where sign more autos and back to the hotel- where there are a few kids in the lobby and we sign autos for them. We go up to the rooms and CELEBRATE! We are in la la land. We drink whatever few beers Owen smuggled from the club and all make calls back to the states- it’s been a long time since Chris’ Mom got a call at 1 in the morning and I wasn’t in a lot of trouble. We are giddy.

Then there’s a knock on the door. It’s our manager David. Time to go. What’d ya mean time to go? We just got done playing. We need sleep! We look out the window- the sun is coming up. It’s 6 am! We have a bus waiting for us downstairs to take us to the airport and off to Osaka where today we have a practice day for the festival. Jeez- this rock star stuff is petty hectic. We pack our bags and head downstairs where there are still a few kids hanging out- a few more autographs. We hop on the bus and they are kids waving goodbye to us. I grab my notebook and scribble on a piece of paper- THANK YOU FOR THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. They have no idea what it means but they smile anyway- I think they get the point.

I am on the other side of the world and life is as good as it’s ever been. I say a personal in my head thank you to the appropriate parties because I can not and will not take this for granted.

THE END OF DAY 2.

Did you get through that in one sitting? Wow. You Rock.

What’s Up for Day 3? Why it’s another flight, behind the scenes at a major festival, our first sound check on a mondo huge stage and a other hotel plus the start of the prank war- I promise to get this one up a little quicker than DAY 2.

DAY THREE
JULY 31, 2003

It’s hard to start Day 3 off really because we had been up all night. Not a wink of sleep.

So as you last remember we were speeding off in a ban to go to the airport for flight number 4 of the trip. We had just made our triumphant Japanese debut and were flying high on adrenaline. Today was to be the practice day for the Summersonic Festival. We got to the airport and took a flight to Osaka, Japan which was the city Day 1 of the festival was to be held in.

FYI… The way Summersonic works is it’s a two day event in two cities with two line ups- so all the artists in the one city switch to the next city. There’s two cities OSAKA and TOKYO and we’re scheduled to play DAY 1 in OSAKA and DAY 2 in TOKYO.

Ok so it’s quick and painless flight. We hop into a van and get our first look at Osaka – a really cool looking city not as big as Tokyo but far bigger than Sapporo. We drive up to the festival and oh My God It’s massive. Let me explain- it’s a huge building/complex type deal- think like sports stadium that has two massive rooms in it and then another massive outdoor stage with huge screens on each side. We were in one of the indoor stages.

Ok. So we are driven to the back stage area and we get our laminate passes- oh the joy of a laminate pass- this was by far the greatest laminate pass ever – Japanimation on the front and a big bold ARTIST in the middle. Artist- weird. : > )

So we’re early and the backstage area is empty but huge- think a big hangar with fake office type rooms set up for all the dressing rooms. We pass a couple rooms- holy crap- the signs are on the front- The Doors, AFI, Alkaline Trio, The Strokes- this is the shit.

Then we see the Holy Grail which kept us alive for the next 48 hours- the catering area! Now the catering area at a huge event like this is a sight to behold. It’s a massive line of all you can eat at anytime food that has (keep in mind we’ve only had two meals so far) some more American looking stuff. We go straight fro the food- the salad had this awesome Oriental dressing and the rice was really good. We gorge. Them I’m told it’s time to go with our manager David for a production meeting. Ok. Cool. We walk out of the dressing room, catering area and into a massive lounge/game/press room- there’s all sorts of video games and pool tables and dart boards- kind of like an awesome rec. room. This just keeps getting cooler. The magnitude of this festival is setting in- we’re playing of the biggest fests in the country.

We walk outside and WOW. There is a massive and I mean massive courtyard- try thinking outside of a ballpark or stadium type deal. We follow the signs to the indoor stage we are on which the entrance is on one side of this courtyard- there is a massive sign (more like a wall) with all the bands set times and what not- I of course get a picture of me smiling in front of it cause I figure this is the last time I’ll ever see my band’s name on sign this big next to Radiohead.

So we enter the building for our stage…

HOLY F*&@K$*G SH!T.

The room- looks like an airport hangar is huge.

Need more? The stage which is on the other side of the building from where we entered is MASSIVE. Easily the biggest stage we had ever played on.

I nearly go into shock.

You have to understand we knew full well this festival was big but we had no idea that the stage we were on was gonna be this big. I mean we knew the stage was Sum 41, Sugarcult, AFI, Alkaline Trio and us but we didn’t know that the room would be this big.

On stage was a massive Sugarcult banner and the guys from SC sound checking. Now we are old school friends with Sugarcult. We actually used to play bars together for 50 bucks that we had to split at the end of the night in front of 7 people- true story. These days though we don’t see them much anymore besides TV- these things happen.

So we walk the mile to the stage (too cool) up the huge ramp (too cool) onto the huge stage (too cool) and hugs and hellos are delivered.

FYI- Band friendships are weird. As soon as I see the guys in Sugarcult they are stoked to see me. Now usually in the states it’d be the usual "hey what’s up" type deal but I think even they are really excited- you got to understand even for the bigger bands this is a big deal- I mean Radiohead is at this thing- that’s as big as it gets. They’re like the Beatles in Japan.

So now that I am on this stage I get a good look at it and holy crap I can’t believe I’m going to play on this thing- the room looks like an airport hangar. The stage is a good 20 feet high.

So after the production meeting (where we find out we have the smallest road crew there- just our manager David- did I mention he did a great job?) I meet up with the guys who are now in the stage area- they are blank faced expressionless shocked by how big the room is. They tell us it can do 5,000 people. That’s 5 Ventura Theatres- that’s’ the size of a small Warped Tour- that’s BIG.

So it’s our turn to sound check and the amazing thing is they have all these helpers and what not who show us our gear and it’s just total big time rock- you don’t carry anything.

Meanwhile- guess who has the sound check before us? AFI! Kai who is a longtime huge AFI fan is stoked. We sit on the side of the stage only a few feet from AFI as they, in regular not dark looking Goth clothes, practice. They do a bitching rendition of a Jane’s Addiction song and we are just blown away that we are even there.

OK- you want some big time rock gossip? Of course you do- well… I can’t… maybe a little… ok… you talked me into it…

AFI went WAY over there allotted time to sound check and cut into ours- by like an hour. Davey was VERY particular about his vocals. He even made the band practice the intro where they walk out- that was kind of weird we thought- watching these big time dudes practice walking out but ok whatever.

Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear- don’t worry you’ll get some juicy stuff before we’re done.

Meanwhile- I run out of the big room through the courtyard across the street to the outdoor stadium stage. I figure I’ll prolly won’t have time to see it tomorrow so I might as well get a good look at it today. On the way there I stop into the massive merchandise room where the merch for all the bands is being sold- I find our humble shirt in the rack- looking good.

I then take off for the big stage. It’s HUGE! I go in and it’s empty except for who’s onstage- guess who it is? Blondie! That’s right I got to hear Blondie play a song – my own personal concert- I’m sure she couldn’t see me because I was way in the back but it was cool- then I ran back to our stage which was a hike.

So finally AFI is done and it’s our turn and well- 20 Japanese guys come running out to set up our stuff… I just stand there dumbfounded and look out at this massive empty room all I can think is I hope the hell people show up to see us. I mean… what if… I mean you get the picture of what could happen- huge festival, smallest band there, totally empty room- bad news.

So we play like 3 songs and its weird cause it’s just this massive empty room. We are taking pictures of everything. Mike is on a huge riser- it’s awesome.

So after we’re done- there is a bus waiting back by the dressing room area to take us to our hotel. As we walk back- we see some of the guys from Good Charlotte walking around and Alkaline Trio- Matt Skiba walked by Aaron’s guitar case and saw the big PENIS written on it and said "That’s awesome." We are stoked- it’s not everyday one of your favorite songwriters admires your band’s graffiti – a proud moment.

Word on the street is there is a pre show party that night a local rock bar called the ROCK ROCK so we decide to take the van back to the hotel to check in and get some much needed sleep- remember we hadn’t slept yet…

We get to Hotel Number 3 of the trip and it’s really cool- it’s attached to a mall. So we check in and there’s these killer fruit baskets waiting for us from the promoter- this is the treatment. Also there’s complimentary Kimono robes to wear! Hell yeah- we all get in our Kimono robes and start pulling all the grapes off the basket and head to our friend Kevin’s room to finally start some pranks.

We knock.

He answers.

He is assaulted violently by 5 and half white boys in Kimonos wielding an arsenal of grapes. He dives for his bed- we follow the prey and like a good Ninja squadron relentlessly punish our opponent with fruit. He is a beaten but little does he know what pranks would lay in store.

So with that out of the way- a few of us decide before we hit the sack to hit the mall that is connected. I am on a hunt for music mags and cd stores. I can’t handle going into to a store and actually seeing out cd. Considering our distro on the first disc pretty much didn’t exist. We check it out and try and talk to some local kids to no avail.

We also go across the street to a bitchin Toys R Us that had some really obscure action figures. Ever see "Big Trouble In Little China" dolls?

We head back to the hotel exhausted and decide to catch a few hours of sleep before we wake up and hit this pre show bar party. I mean we had those two or three hours before the show the night before and that was it.

The 6 of us Crash. In the history of crashing this was one of the all time crashes 7 guys dead to the world- an all night show, a plane flight, three bus rides, a sound check, we’ve been for close to 24 hours again- we are dead.

Now you may be wondering why I only said 7 guys were dead to the world. Remember our friend Kevin? Well Kevin took a nap in the dressing room while we slaved away at sound check so when it came time to wake up- guess who was the only one who did-

Kevin.

No one and I mean no one else woke up- he tried. He pushed people. He called people. We were all dead to the world for the entire night thus sleeping through the party.

Now while we were in an Asian La La Land, our well rested friend, Kevin decides to find this bar. He does. How does his night go? Well let’s just say it’s hard for me to write what happened- he spent all night partying his face off with all sorts of rock stars and bands while the little Army of Freshmen who totally wanted to make some new friends slept.

This of course was the band’s BIG regret on the tour. Here we are our first opportunity to meet people and we are out cold- that’s because we had the show the night before us and Good Charlotte were the only bands to have played in Japan so far- all the other ones are flying in stoked to party but we are sleeping and dreaming about playing massive festival in Japan the next day- finally after 9 months of knowing we were going to play this it’s finally here!

So that’s DAY 3 – a little uneventful but we’re setting you up for the good stuff- I got to run- I have to pack- we’re going to Japan AGAIN! Only 10 months later- 10 months and I’ve only done 3 days of our first tour- pretty pathetic. Thanks for bearing with me! It will be done eventually- plus a whole new for the new tour which I will make shorter to get up right away. I’m off!