Tour Log, 9/2/2004

Tour Log Loggers!

We are home. I am writing this in my bedroom on my computer. It's so fast. I love DSL. Now it's time to write back to over 1,000 people. Now it's time to go to sleep for a day or two. Oh yeah- guess who fractured his ankle on the last day of tour live on TV... that's right... me. Unreal. Hell of a story though on the way.

I'll get a good update in tommorrow till then- GOOD NIGHT!

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 8/29/2004

As requested... a tale of the have and have nots... "Rocking" Out With Good Charlotte!

Alright- Good Charlotte- where to begin. Everybody has an opinion on them and so do I but I'll make mine short- I'm a casual fan. I really like some of their songs "Complicated" (I think that's the name) off the first record is amazing and I really love "Just Wondering" off the big record. I think they write some really catchy songs. There's a few I can do without. The lyrics to "Girls and Boys" kind of make me want to puke but anyway let's all face it- they're HUGE. By far bigger than any band on Warped Tour and I think everyone on the tour was interested in seeing how things would change when they joined to do the last week.

Well things as far as I'm concerned did change.

GC joined in Canada and these were pretty much their first shows since they've been in the studio. My first sighting was at a bar in Quebec. Me, Dan and Owen decided to head into the city to see if we could find any pre party. We did. We found this really small bar that looked like it could be in California and we wondered in to find some of the guys in Yellowcard.

(Ok- let's skip to Yellowcard really quick. We've played with them quite a bit before they blew up and I keep in touch with Ben who is a really nice guy but beyond that I'll be honest I don't think the other guys in the band would know me if I carved my name into their tour bus. So after coming into the bar it was way strange to have Ryan give me a hug and buy me a beer. Whatever. I took the beer.)

It was cool a scene and a lot of the bands started showing up- I actually talked to Warren from the Vandals for a while at the bar and he was a real class act nice guy. He bought me a drink too.

Anyways half way through the night a huge rain storm hits and a few minutes later guess who comes walking in soaking wet with a small posse of heavily tatooed guys- Joel from Good Charlotte and to be honest every girl in the bar instantly is staring at him. Famous is famous I guess.

After a few minutes I go over and re introduce my self...

(for those who don't know- we've played with and met GC before in Japan- go to the band section and look up the Japanese Tour Log for the downlow and an damn good tour log if you haven't been there- hell I don't think I even finished but refer to that for a refresher and our first meeting)

He totally remembers me and we talk for a few minutes about Warped and what we've been up to. Not to press my luck- I wish him well and let him get back to the tatooed guys. Talking to someone like that is a fine line- the last thing you want is for him to think you want something. Generally what I get from all the guys in GC is that they are very withdrawn to strangers and people they don't know well. Not mean or rude or anything like that just a bit suspect- you know being that big and all and taking so many shots- I can understand being a little stand off ish. So I make my peace and take off. All in all cool.

So next day is in Quebec which is a bit weird in general- no one speaks good English and it's a really small date on the tour. I watched Sugarcult play to 100 people - I shit you not and Fall Out Boy to 50. Considering how big the crowds have been for them in the states- it was weird.

Well anyway Charlotte was set to go on at 6pm and word on the street was to get backstage early cause it would be packed with people trying to get on.

I actually spent 10 bucks on catering (we have to pay for it) and have a long talk with Ben from Yellowcard before I go to the main stage.

It was packed. I was really curious to see what was gonna happen so I go there an hour early and no one was there. Except Benji and of course a bunch of heavily tatted guys- see a running theme at all?

Well I figured I might as well say hi to Benji before it got crazy.

Now Benji and I actually had a real long conversation in Japan (again consult the Japanese Tour Log if I got that far in it) it was really really chill but cool and he even asked for a shirt and disc.

So anyways I go up and pretty much have the same convo as I did with Joel- he remembered me, asked about the band a bit and what not.

Again I didnt want to wear out my welcome so I leave him be and not a few minutes later it starts to get crowded backstage.

Too crowded actually- before I know it- despite the fact I was there first- there I was stuck in the back of a ton of people trying to get on stage.

Now at Warped here's how it works- the band and their tour manager pick who goes on. They wait on the side of the stage in a truck and people are let on then they go on.

So I'm screwed right? Here I am... I took all this time to see them and now there are ton of wanna be hot chicks backstage in front of me trying to get on.

Enter Steve from Level 27.

Quick note on Steve- we are sponsored by Level 27 which is Billy from GC's clothing company that he runs with his best friend Steve. Steve is a total pimp and friend not too mention he runs a cool radio show in the DC area. He's really talented and creative guy not too mention he keeps me in stock with Level 27 gear. At any rate...

So Steve comes up and says don't worry- "I'm a shoe in."

Well he may be but I'm screwed.

Just like clock work- Steve's prophecy is true. Billy pops his head from out of the truck and points to Steve to come up- to Steve's eternal credit- he grabs me and says "Let's Go!"

And just like that we pass the wanna be hot chicks get high fives from Billy who says hi and it's good to see me and there we are- Steve and I on stage by ourselves in front of 1,000s of people waiting for Charlotte.

The 1,000 people look at us. We look back- we wave.

It ruled.

I've written it before but again I should mention watching a big show from on stage is a sight to behold.

So up comes everyody else and then boom- GC hits the stage and the place goes nuts. They really do put on a good show and the two new songs are really good. I can't really judge the crowd though cause it's Quebec and you got to trust me on this it's a weird place.

So afterwards Billy and Steve take off but I tell Billy it's a great show and says he's just glad they got a good reaction and he hopes its the same in the states.

Moving on...

So I miss the next two dates in Canada but I manage to catch them in Detroit which was a really big date. I mean huge.

This time though the backstage area is fenced off meaning anyone can come to the fence and see exactly what's going on backstage and boy do they. There are a couple hundred girls waiting back there just to see GC walk up. Now keep in mind they are totally backstage so there is no way they'll be able to get back to get any kind of good spot for the show- they are simply waiting for a glimpse.

Well same as Quebec- Billy catches a glimpse and waves me up- SCORE. Only this time- wow you should of seen it- the crowd was massive- one of the biggest of the summer no doubt. Did not feel like Warped at all and for 30 minutes it was a full blown GC concert- and the screams oh God the screams between every song like it was the friggin Beatles.

Now imagine 10,000 people going nuts but behind them is 1,000 people watching and hating it but the haters can't get close enough to do any damage. Coming from a guy who's seen his fair share of heckling it was rad- the hecklers simply couldn't get past the crowd.

But you can't keep a good heckler down... soon the occasional plastic bottle came firing towards the stage. Nothing crazy mind you but they were coming a bit. One guy even crowd surfed all the way up so he could get close enough to give Joel the bird- Joel didn't even see it for the record.

They had to stop the show twice cause of people getting hurt. Not in the pits but just from the sheer amount of people.

Here's the problem- you got 1,000s of young small skinny girls that quite simply aren't cut out to be in a huge mob pushing towards the stage. A couple 1,000 dudes can hack it but even then they get hurt- little kids simply handle crowds that big and crazy. So constantly security was pulling kids over the rail who were getting crushed. It was kind of scary when they had to stop and medical people came in. They were cool but it was weird. To Charlotte's credit they handled it really well.

Also to their credit I spent the show next to two kids from the Make A Wish Foundation. A guy mentioned it to me and asked me to make sure nothing got thrown at them but to be honest he looked out for them- I was a few feet away.

Benji came over and high fived the one kid and brought him out to say hi at the crowd. Say what you want- that was cool shit and they have my respect.

Make A Wish- Jesus. That's a little too heavy for me right now. Poor kids. Why kids? You know? Makes me want to puke. Last night some idiot heckled me at the show at he prolly has a clean bill of health but these kids- at any rate they seemed really happy.

Then suddenly towards the end of the show - a tennis ball was launches at Billy's head- I mean it was moving- at the last possible second he sees it and dodges it perfectly!

Almost perfectly... cause the damn thing pegged me right in the balls!

That's right a tennis ball right to the money makers.

A ball meant for Billy's rich GC melon landed squarely on my poor AOF nuts.

I must admit after I got over the pain - the irony was not lost on me.

Luckily no one really saw but I kept the ball for a memento.

So after the show was where things go really weird. GC heads off stage and remember that fence... it's now covered with girls screaming like crazy at them - I mean hundreds who had to of have left the show early to wait back there.

Then a mini van pulls up and GC hops in- security opens the fence and it fires off.

It was unreal. I mean this is Warped Tour- I have NEVER seen anything like it. The bigger bands obviously get stopped and mobbed a bit for autographs but never have seen a band have to hop in a car and drive off.

Girls are going nuts!

Then it just gets hilarious. The van drives off a bit but after a quarter mile or less- it reaches another gate that is locked. Great planning. Now some of the girls still at the backstage fence see this and despite the fact it's VERY far away- they start a mad dash. I am stunned. There are like 50 girls running towards a van which is a quarter of a mile away that's stopped at a gate.

I can only imagine GC in that Van staring back terrified that the security guy won't get the gate open in time and these 50 crazed GC fans will attack the van. I mean that's all they'd have left to do once they reached it- anyone zany enough to chase after a van they can never reach would most likely hop on the roof if they got to it. I'm not gonna lie- I was hoping they'd make it. I'd love to see the guys from GC bail from the ride on foot and head for the hills o escape crazed fans.

Luckily though they got the gate to open and GC sped off to wherever famous rockers go- back to their bus of course.

Yet still the girls kept running.

Weird. I walked back to our tent bouncing the ball that just minutes ago got friendly with my personal balls thinking about what I just witnessed. Bottom line it didn't seem like Warped Tour.

Little did I know that this wasn't to be the last time I "took one" for the Team GC.

Ok- after the show the next night in OH- there was a big after party backstage by the buses. It was great- Bowling For Soup were bartending- a ton of people were hanging out. I had a long talk with Arin from Sugarcult- one of the nicer guys I know and was really enjoying myself when Billy came up and we started talking. I related him the story of the tennis ball but I left out the nuts part since you don't want to bring up your junk to a man you don't know that well. He genuinely thanked me for wearing Level 27 stuff and gave me some advice on Teen Mags which is another conversation altogether. Honestly- I think he's a killer guy- he invites me to catch them tommorrow since it would be the last day. He also asked what time he could check us out but we we knew we weren't on in Buffalo so I told he wouldn't be playing. I wonder around half boozed and end up on Bowling For Soup's bus. I've said it before but they are good good people.

So fast forward to my destiny and the title for this log- "ROCKIN" OUT WITH GOOD CHARLOTTE.

We're in Buffalo and the venue is connected to a 6 Flags! All the bands and crew on Warped were allowed to go for FREE! Since we knew we weren't playing we said screw it and shined Warped and went to the park- it sucked cuase they only had 4 coasters and only two were good but it was nice to sleep in the van till 12 instead of having to wake up at 8am and set up.

Well as I said on the week that GC was there- there was an incredibely younger amount of people in the audience alot with parents too. Let's face it- they're big with the tween market.

So suffice it to say Six Flags was packed with families who were hanging out at the park all day and then intended to see Charlotte that night at 8. People who had no concept of the other bands they were just coming for GC like Warped didn't exist.

With that said the sight of 6 guys in black t shirts and baggy shorts- well let's just say walking around the park we were mistaken for GC - A LOT. Apparently 10 year olds think I look like Joel and Kai looks like Billy. Don't ask me- I tried to explain but they were so stoked- I really didn't think they were listening and more so their moms were so stoked that I figured I'd just smile and write ARMY OF FRESHMEN on it so I wouldn't get beat up by those tattooed guys I mentioned earlier for impersonating anyone. I tried thto tell um. I swear.

We also saw Chris and Paul walking around the park- those guys got it made- they're the only ones who can walk around and have a life.

So I go to catch GC for the last time and get the wave up from Billy.

Now remember how I discussed the haters in the back- well finally after a week of misguided plastic bottle throwing- they found their secret weapon. The area was covered in rocks!

Starting to see where this is going...

Well the show starts and as usual the place is going Beatle style ape shit- singing word for word, screaming to "Marry Me Benji" and what not.

Then a small rock is thrown onto stage that barely misses Benji. People look around at each other - are there really some assholes out there that would throw rocks- I mean you could really hurt someone. Right?

Sometime right around this thought...

BAM!

A rock slams into my leg.

I wanted to scream like a woman. I wanted to jump around the stage like a nut. Screw the show- I just got hit with a rock! What am I a target? I try to stay cool. I am stuck on the side of the stage. I can't get off. I am in pain. I see the rock. It's small but when it's hurled at you it hurts like a bitch! I pick it up.

Meanwhile- security heads to the back to stop the rock throwers-which they do but a little too late for my tastes.

So now- I have been hit by a rock in the name of Good Charlotte. Damn it! Didn't I mention- I'm only a causual fan! I'm not some poster boy for the cause. Some asshole in a mohawk hates them and I get hit my a rock for it. This is unbelievable. I'm broke, tired, sleeping in a van- no bus for me, no massive crowds but who gets hit by a stinking rock- me. Does anyone know- no. Does anyone care? No. Will GC be visting me in my van to check on my wounds. No.

Ah the Gods of Rock and Roll must have a sick sense of humor.

I turn to Marko from Sugarcult.

"Dude, I just got hit by rock."

In Marko's immortal words.

"You're kidding. That's crazy."

There's the understatement of the year.

Before no one could feel my pain inside - now no one can feel my pain on the outside.

I like GC and all but what's next? Someone tries to assasinate them and I take the bullett? No way. I was done. I lef the stage and my Good Charlotte story came to an end.

Sort of...

Bouncing a tennis ball with a small rock in my pocket, a bloody leg and debating my place in the world... I march back to our van as the pitch black night comes over Six Flags and Warped Tour is torn down around me.

A real little kid comes up to me... with his mom smiling behind him.

"Can I have your autograph?"

He thinks I'm Joel. For one second I almost flip out but then I look deep into the kid's eyes and see myself years ago looking back at me- just a little kid who loves a band so much and all he wants to do is get an autograph. He's excited and a little scared. Just a kid.

I smile back.

"Sure. No problem. It's nice to meet you."

THE END

Tour Log, 8/28/2004

Tommy Too Tour Log!

Greetings from Salt Lake City- we're at our friend Laura's house and let me say- last night's show in Provo, UT. was rad! It went off- good to see lots of people singing along and rocking out. The good word of AOF is spreading. My fave show since Warped Tour.

We're almost home- just a tv show and in store away- wish us luck on the tv thing- it's the first real one we've ever done and although not Conan still pretty cool- Good Morning Arizona!

Well anyways the people have spoken- looks like the winner by a mile is "Rocking Out With Good Charlotte".

Note to the people- you should be ashamed- you could of heard the heart breaking of one young man's summer love but instead you picked the shallow celebrity gawking that is Good Charlotte. I didn't take you all for US Weekly readers.

: > )

For those of you that did want to hear Kyle get his heart ripped out- well it's coming but first deal with Me, GC and a very hard rock.

I'll have it up later today hopefully!

your friend spitting in the Salt Lake dreaming bout the earthquake,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 8/26/2004

Totally Tour Log!

I present to you the drama as it unfolds...

ARMY OF FRESHMEN in "Let's Crash The Van and Die"

The Place: A rainy morning on a small bridge in central Iowa.

The secenario: An exhausted Army of Freshmen are sleep on the floor of their van after a Chicago In Store and a fun hang out at a Chili's Restuarant.

The story begins...

Our romantic titanic guitar player Aaron is at the wheel enjoying the soothing sounds of Limbeck when suddenly the Mack truck in front of him slams on the brakes to a dead a stop.
Aaron hits the breaks but it's too late... they lock in the rainy conditions and the van careens into the side railing of the bridge...

!BANG!

(Now this is the part of the story where your humble tour logger enters and please in advance pardon my language)

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Then it hits me and the rest of us who are bolting up from the impact of the car hitting the railing- We are waking up in a car accident!

We brace ourselves and the first thought I have and embarrasing as it is is- Boy! Did I pick the wrong night to sleep in my boxer shorts!

I can only imagine the call to my mom.

"Is this Chris' Mom?"

"Yes."

"This is Officer Stedenko. We just found your son dead in his boxers with 6 other men piled on top of him."

This would look bad as you can imagine. I have a simple rule when I go out- I'm going out with my pants on.

Anyways back to the car accident...

BANG!

The impact sends the van into the guard rail on the other side of the bridge. Thank God that there was no traffic cause there would be no tour log right now if you catch my drift.

So at this point I'm laying down and can't see anything- I brace for impact again and I am ready to roll. The van straightens out. We're ok- we're alive. Then I look up and see we were on a friggin bridge! There would of been no rolling for the old AOF- it would of falling and I was not ready for that.

We pull off the road- everyone is ok wish I could say the same for the van. The front head light is smashed out and something is clearly wrong with the tires and alignment.

We drive to a Mcdonald- to pay Aaron back I put on his shoes and go in to Micky Ds, grab the paper and a # 3.

I see Aaron walk in with wet socks. He's so shook up he doesn't even know he's shoes are gone- then he punches me in the leg- guess he does know.

Ah- just another morning in the life of a rock and roll band.

I tell you what folks - it never ends. I was gonna pen the epic tale of Field of Dreams today but... death came knocking and figured he at least deserves a tour log.

So with that said... as I write this all 7 of us are camped out in a Ford Dealership's Waiting Room- we have taken all the pillows off the couch and laid them on the ground and made make shift beds. The people who run the store are looking at us like we are aliens. We're having a great time actually, sleep deprieved and with Owen full of gas.

Bad news is the van repairs are going to be 700 dollars.

Folks we are broke- not just a bit- a shitload. This doesn't help anything at all. We can't get a break money wise- we've reached this weird point where we bigger than we've ever been but the money isn't equaling the success.

We are scrambling to borrow credit cards to book our flights to the UK- we have completely ran out of T Shirts and we need to re order, we are coming home to 1,000 of dollars in debt- why does it have to be so hard? We bust our ass more than any band I've ever met and we still can't get a leg up on the cash. That's why I've invented...

GIVE THE ARMY OF FRESHMEN ALL YOUR MONEY CHARITY

That's right! Win the lottery lately? Decide to skip college and spend the funds on booze and BBQ? Steal a crap load of money from the Burger King you work at?

We can help!

That's right we'll take that money off you for free and pay our bills so we can continue to bring the rock to you!

Please send all submissions to chris@armyoffreshmen.com

(Only half kidding.)

Well anyways you dont come here to listen to our finacial woes- that's what the family dinner table is for- well my family at least. You want to hear drama from the road.

Ok... well I still owe you some great Warped Stories... "Rocking Out With Good Charlotte" (much cooler than the story implies...) "Kyle The Roadie Falls in Love", "Field of Dreams" and "Saying Goodbye".

I got an idea- I'll let you pick! Email me chris@armyoffreshmen.com in the next 24 hours and I'll post the story that gets the most votes!

back to scaring the locals and hoping to be on the road soon- thank God it's a day off,

CHRIS JAY or death cheater # 7

Tour Log, 8/20/2004

Tutu Tour Log!

We did it. We did the entire Warped Tour in a van! They said it couldn't be done. They said we were fools and they were right on one of those accounts but they blew it on the other! We are in the van right now (after a quick pit stop in Cape May, NJ. to see my folks) and heading to Virginia for the Flipside Festival! I am going to sleep right now cause my whole body is about to shut down after the most grueling tour ever but I will be back soon with a ton of great stories including the long awaited, touching and tragic tale of "Kyle The Roadie Falls In Love" and also "Field of Dreams", "The Arrival of Good Charlotte" and "Saying Goodbye". well you get the point I'll get another one up in the next 24- so check back soon and hit one of the shows on the way back to Cali!

your about to crash frontman,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 8/12/2004

Snoop Tour Loggy Log!

Greetings from a van speeding through Canada! We just crossed the border and had to stand in a line while a dog sniffed our butts- yes of course we were clothed- you sickos! Luckily besides some brownies a fan baked for us the dog didn't find anything bad in the van besides a terrible odor which he deserved.

Recap of the past few days...

History has been made! Our friend Jen from the Desert Reservations of Southern California has gotten the first EVER Army of Freshmen tattoo! It's unreal. Someone has decided to adorn their skin with our name. Not sure how I feel about that. Pretty honored actually. That fact that a band I started years ago has come so far that someone has decided to put our logo on their arm is pretty damn cool. Means alot- I look forward to seeing more. Now you ask? How bout you Chris when do you get your Army of Freshmen tattoo? Are you crazy? As if. Their singer is an ass! : > ) For those keeping tattoo count Mike and Kai are our only inked members. Owen, Aaron and Dan often toss the idea around and me... well my theory is soon Tattoos will become so overdone that soon not having a tattoo will be considered the height of coolness and sexuality. For instance in the future a conversation could go like this...

Hot Babe # 1: Excuse me are you Chris Jay?

Me: Yup.

Hot Babe # 1: My name is Bubbles. I am a super stripper, porn star who hates techno and war, loves They Might Be Giants, Red Lobster, Mr. T and concerts and I'm your soulmate.

Me: Nice to meet you Bubbles The Soulmate.

Hot Babe #1 now reffered to as Bubbles: We can travel the world madly in love doing unspeakable things in special places under one condition.

Me: What's that Bubbles?

Bubbles: That the rumor is true.

Me: What rumor?

Hot Babe # 1 now reffered as Bubbles: That you have no tattoos. I've been told that you're the only man alive with no tats. Now barbed wire, no stars, no demons, no hearts, no family sheilds, no nothing... Please, please tell me it's true!?!

(Off go the clothes...)

Me: Feast your eyes Bubbles. I am tatless. Now let's go to Red Lobster... you buying?

End of Story.

Wow- I really got off subject there. No my soulmate's name isn't Bubbles- it's just fun to write. Try it- Bubbles. Not enough Bubbles out there I guess.

Anyway back to the updates...

Kyle our fearless roadie has gone off the deep end. It all started with the lip piercing in Canada last time but just yesterday we convinced him to let Aaron cut his hair into a Mr. T style mohawk (man we got to get some pictures up!). It's rad. He looks great and a what a conversation piece for the ladies- yes, yes the old Kylester has finally locked some lip with the ladies but his soul still yearns for the proper mate- email the badass former eagle scout at kyle@armyoffreshmen.com and send your offers. : > )

Virginia Beach was interesting. A massive rainstorm hit before the show- everyone thought it was gonna be canceled but they couldnt afford to miss the date and the show went on. Setting up the merch was awful. It was torrential a down pour - puddles and lakes everywhere- people were coed wrestling in the make shift lake- every few minutes the cops would break it up but more would keep wrestling.

So anyways I took one for the team. Up against the violent rain- I walked out admidst the booths and started asking drenched kids to come to our booth to listen to our record. it worked- most kids just wanted to get out the rain for a second but I marched on with my shoes totally soggy (a nasty feeling), chattering from the cold and having to replace the poster every 5 seconds when it got too wet. It was nasty all day but it cleared up towards the end. Hadn't seen rain since the hurricane thing in Utah and it came back with a vengence. From the hell that is Florida humidty to another rain storm- when well the good weather hit?

In DC some screwed up shit went down. During New Found Glory's set a huge balloon promoting the local radio show was tied down to a fence but it was a movable fence. Well a storm was coming in and a giant gust of wind kicked up the fence and it flew into the crowd. NFG stopped the set- people were seriously hurt. An ambulance drove into the grounds and took one person out. It was really serious. We saw a Medi Vac helicopter fly in. Mike and I walked out to the field a half a mile out where it landed. We watched the poor person get wheeled into the copter. It was awful. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Mike and I both talked about how screwed up it was that a kid comes to Warped to have the best day of the summer and leaves with it being the worst day of his life. Life is weird like that. Over a stupid accident too that didn't have to happen.

Point is- be safe. terrible things can happen ever try to prevent what you can. Sometimes being in the world of Warped so much you lose touch with reality.

Speaking of DC on a lighter back to the fake reality tip. Guess who went in the pit and started crowd surfing? Me! In DC I said screw it. I've been on this big tour and havent seen many bands play let alone in the heat of the crowd. So Sugarcult was last and I fought my way to the middle of the pit where it was going off to Sugarcult nonetheless! I think people were pumped cause it was the last band. Cult was on too. I just like outdoor night shows so much more. They go off! Just seems so much more rock and roll. Anyways so I thought it would be cool to crowd surf over the barrier right in front of them- they're friends so if they saw me they'd get a big kick out of it. Well after dodging a million crowd surfers myself- speaking of I forgot how dangerous that is- I got two kids to put me up and went surfing to the front where I got pulled over the rail as I pressed forward to throw Marko the rock he turned around! Securtiy thought I was some nutty fan and drug me out the side. Damn! Plan foiled but a cool experience nonetheless. I told Marko about it later and he got a big kick out of it.

Later that night the Bouncing Souls played a special acoustic show at an after party- pretty cool scene. Had some strong mixed drinks the Billy Talent guys made- it was disgusting but I didn't tell them that- they're nice guys.

What else? Hmmm... tour is getting crowd. Too many bands still crashing which has cut down on our rock time. We did play in Miami, DC, Philly and Hershey which were all great. But we missed NC, Virginia Beach, Pittsburgh.

Philly was a personal coup for me. I'm originally from S. Jersey and I spent my whole life going to concerts in Philly. Everytime we play there it means alot- there's always some friends from Jersey there and I have a lot of memories. In fact I went to Lollapalooza at the Tweeter in 95. Here I was playing there myself at Warped. Too cool. The whole band went there too to watch The Foo Fighters last year and there we were a year later. Stuff that really helps putting things in perspective.

Plus my mom and dad were there. That's always cool. I have the best parents. They actually own a small music store in N. Cape May, NJ. called Mr. J's Music Shop where I was born and raised. Yes my house was a music store. Go figure. Feel free to visit if you're ever down there- there's like a Army of Freshmen museum there of old pictures and posters. Plus ask my dad nice enough and you'll take you upstairs to the hallway of photos where you can witness a young Chris Jay with long hair rocking out in high school bands. Worth thr drive- trust me.

Also in the house was my little brother who is not so little anymore. He's going to college now at some fancy political school in DC. He's smart and buff which is a good combo but I still whooped his ass at Trivial Pursuit last X MAS a beating he won't soon forget- Dan Rather you bitch! He brought his posse which included a drunk guy to his credit he got us through the massive crowd be pretending he had to puke- you'd be surprised how well it worked.

We played a great show to a great crowd. it ruled. What a show too- Philly, NY and Jersey were three of the biggest of the whole tour. There were people everywhere. Totally crowded and insane. Got to love the east coast people are straight up crazier there. I love it. Lots of character. A few too many tough guys but you got to take the good with the bad.

Unfortunately my main goal on the east coast was thwarted. I am a food maniac and no I did not get a cheesesteak in Philly and i didn't get Pizza in New York. It was bullshit! After the Philly show we hopped in the van to go to Pats and Ginos and the traffic was so voilently bad- we couldn't get into the city. I was furious. I waited forever in traffice before I gave up and turned around. Urgh... but when we got back there was a big party backstage. On nights when the drive is short the parties really go off. This time it was Yellowcard who bought like 600 Miller Lights and it was open season on beers. People got pretty drunk- I don't do that much so I hung and talked to the guys in Bowling For Soup, The Matches and had a great conversation with Dynamite Boy who are great guys and a good band.

The next morning we had to be in New York early for a photo shoot! A real deal shoot in the city in a studio with this famous photo guy named Tony who has done everyone from Jay Z to us... The Army of Freshmen! He doesn't work for a specific magazine but he sells to a bunch. So when we sees a band who is getting some press or thinks might be getting some press soon (hopefully us) he shoots them.

It was rad! He made us change clothes a bunch and we did different locations (even on the roof against a NYC skyline). FYI- AOF tends to hate photo shoots- you get friends together and see if you can get a pic where everyone likes how they look. It's a pain but this guy was way cool. he gave us a lot of instructions and frankly I think it's gonna be the best photos we've ever taken. Can't wait for you to see um. Spaeking of photos- we've taken alot on this trip and I PROMISE we'll be getting some up soon- it's just tough from the road.

New York sucked. We were supposed to play and we had loaded all our gear and when we got back from the shoot- the schedule had changed and were stuck on some newly invented tent stage on the other side of Warped Tour. All our gear was packed elsewhere, the tent sound system was too small for us and we were exhausted so we skipped it. Bummer too- I was ready for NYC. Oh well- if I've learned one thing this summer- it's you can't win um all.

At the Jersey show the place was a raceway in a small town and the streets were NOT ready for the traffic that Warped brings. We left to go eat (ate at some place straight out of the Sopranos) and on the way back we were in two different cars when the great prank war of the summer started. Stuck on a small two lane road in sick traffic, we found some random items in the car that we launched at back the other car. it started simply enough with newspapers but it heated up quick. Soon we were hanging out of the car and squirting lotion at each other. The cars were getting covered in junk. I leaped out of the car and circled the enemy with baby powder from top to bottom. Then a well thrown expanded tampon landed square on the hood of the enemy. That was the final straw. It unleashed the beast that is Kyle our roadie. He hopped out of his car and opened the trunk and unleashed the ultimate weapon... a full bottle of nasty cologne. We speed up as much as we could but he was like the terminator as he ran at full speed towards our car and just like out of a movie he jumped onto the back- as we were drving- granted it was slow but it was rad! Kind of scary- he crawled towards the side and I dont know how but somehow my window went down and the cologne fired into our ride - it was a terrible stench. Like a French stripper exploded in the trunk. Kyle wasn't done yet - still holding on to the side of the car he took over the baby powder and with one hand started trying to pour it on us- I laid back and started violently kicking him in the head. Despite my attempts he would not fall off the car as it raced down the two lane highway at 5 miles per hour. The man is a machine. Finally he fell off when we hit a bump but the damage had been done. Powder and hooker juice was everywhere. Other cars passing by were stunned. As we finally got to the venue the police directing traffic were stunned- they asked what happened. We said we found the car like this. I dont think he believed us but he let us back in where we drove through a empty Warped lot to the backstage area which was cool in it's self.

The next morning we had to wake up early to do some interviews with some national mags- more on that in the future- yes AOF could possibly in the magazine racks soon...we'll see!

Anyways Warped is almost over! What the hell? It's been a fantastic blur. We are all exhausted all the time. This is a brutal, brutal tour to do in a van but we're doing it. Somehow. Few more shows to including the Canadian return!

Coming soon such adventures as "Field of Dreams" and "A Day in the Life of AOF" are on the way- check back!

your Canadian homie- eh!

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 8/1/2004

Tour Loggy Log!

Greetings! I know it's been a long time since I updated (thanks for the cool feedback on the Warped Dos and Donts) - we have been stuck in the hell that is known as Florida. Yeah that's right the weather in Florida is hell. Total humid hell. It has sucked our will to live to be frank. We have done nothing here but sit in the sick weather in our tent talking to no one and sticking ice cubes in our pants.

I hate it here... but good news... as I write this we are cruising away! Finally after 4 days we are out of this glorified swamp land.

So we have a lot of catching up to do don't we?

Let's see where we last left off. I'm not really sure. Let's start with...

St. Louis.

Bad things happened in St. Louis. First off we hit the nasty humid weather that the Mid West and South is so well known for. Then we weren't on the schedule to play. With Bowling For Soup back it looked as if our playing days were in trouble. Lastly we got there late after driving all night (you remember the broken down van story) and a terrible merch spot by a stage that was blaring so loud you couldnt talk to anyone. A lot of new bands did join the tour and with that- the AXE came down. Now I've talked before about the problem Warped has been having with all the bands crashing. It seems like everyday there's new bands of all shapes and sizes showing up to play. It's out of control and the Warped people are going nuts. Now remember although we are officially there with a booth- your AOF boys aren't officially on a stage- we bought a merch spot and so far have been playing by the grace of the good people at Warped, Ernie Ball and the two weeks we got from Bowling For Soup leaving the tour. So what several small bands lived in fear of happened- a poster was put up in the production office and flyers went around telling all small and uninvited bands to leave and bands that weren't on the schedule that they were not going to play. Un oh. Bad, bad news. Pretty much that meant that our stellar run of shows (17 out of 22 at this point) was about to come crashing to an end. Of course we could stay on to sell but no more shows. It was sad. Some really good bands had to leave like Mourning Maxwell while other bands that sucked got to stay. Thinking about I can see both sides of the story. From a band's perspective Warped is the greatest thing ever. An amazing chance that you're willing to play for free, set up stages, pay money, show up and beg, etc... to be at. Problem is there are so many bands that are so desperate with the industry all fucked that the word has spread that all you have to do is show up to get to play. It's hard out threre folks. Real hard. Too many bands and not enough oppurtunities. I mean look at us. We saved and scrimped to buy a booth for the chance to play- lucky for us it worked but there some sad stories out there and today in MO. alot of bands got the axe. Now we figured our best bet was to lay low, keep selling and after some of the smaller bands get cleared out maybe we can get some more dates. Rough day. A few of us went with our friends Sandra and Keith who just moved to MO. to Olive Garden for a good meal. That was good.

Indianapolis.

Day 1 of laying low and day 2 of humid weather. Lucky for us great sales! We were under a roof too so whent he rain hit- urgh... rain is back... we were safe. Saw our buddy Krotch- how cool is a guy with a name with like Krotch? Also afterwards went with some friends and they took us out to dinner... guess where... one of favorite restuarants... RED LOBSTER! That's right. After terrible burgers every night- a real honest to God meal for the 2nd night in a row. Ah food my vice.

Cleveland.

Day 2 of lay lowing... note to reader... laying low sucks. Parking sucked too and we were stuck in an alley which I peed in just to get a little practice in case the band fails and I become a bum. The weather here was great but we got a terrible tent spot that was outside of where the main stages were. We of course didn't play but that's ok cause it turns out there was Cleveland Indians baseball game next store to the venue and tons of people from Warped Tour went including me, Dan, Mike and Kyle. It was kind of a boring game and the food stunk too. I LOVE ballpark food but this was the pits. Afterwards there was a BBQ going on which we usually miss but the other guys were hanging out- NOFX had a big poker game too which I wisely didn't join cause I didnt want to make my first impression on Fat Mike as some idiot who lost in poker.

Chicago.

So Bowling For Soup had to fly out for a radio show and guess who got their spot... we did! Yeah! After a few days of laying AOF was back and Chicago ruled and maybe the biggest crowd of the whole tour. So big in fact that we did the first Braveheart Pit of the tour! It was massive. Nice to have a little action as for the most part it's been a mosh free summer for us. We set our all time merch record, got to play with our pals Split Habit (one of my fav. bands) and signed autographs for four straight hours. I love this city. I love the bands. I love the people. I love it. I am so glad we got to play at this date. I would of hated to have missed it. Saw so many friends we hadn't seen in a while. Always a great time here. I should say more but simply put it was rad and I can't wait to come back!

Minneapolis.

(I've saving this one till next time- it is a good ass story.)

Kansas.

We didn't get to play in Kansas which sucked cause we did Warped there last year but we had a great merch spot and we had a lot of fans and friends from last year- our sales were great and I had one of thoe high school idiot moments- I was watching Bowling For Soup from the side of the stage and their bass Eric looked over and shot me the rock on sign. I of course gave him a wave like I was the man... Mr. Big Time Rocker on the side of the stage. Then I got a weird feeling. I turned around and guess who was behind me... the people who the rock on sign was intended for and who saw me act like it was for me... Simple Plan. Yes SP had joined the tour for a few shows and this was my intro to them. They gave me that super idiot look. Damn Canadians- hurt my feelings. Nothing like being a Dork (speaking of Dorks as I write this Dan is behind me playing computer games and cursing at the screen. Weirdo. : > )

Speaking of Simple Plan- man they have some haters out there. I went to watch their set from the crowd with Marko from Sugarcult and in front of us were two kids with "I Hate Simple Plan" shirts who were both chewing Juicy Fruit as fast as they could and then putting back in the wrapper and hurling it at the band! They actually hit the singer. Now if that was me I would flip out but if I was Simple Plan- ie. rich and doing shows with Jessica Simpson- I suppose I'd take some wrapped up juicy fruit to the face too.

Day Off

We drove to the east coast and got a hotel room for the night. Yeah hotel room. Yeah East Coast. The Matches and Melee were at the same hotel- most of been a deal for good hard working bands.

Atlanta.

Since we were actually in beds and not stuck in a van. We all slept in and we were late for Warped- so we said screw it! We're not going today we'll get a jump on driving down to Florida. We had some errands to run and while we were at the post office- Ginger (Bowling For Soup's merch man) called and said we were on the schedule! Damn... if that isn't ironic. We decide to take a day off cause we didnt think we'd play and we get to play. We high tailed it around and got to Warped at 4pm! How terrible is that? Luckily we were scheduled to play last on the Ernie Ball Stage so we still had time but last at Warped is tough- everyone is gone, leaving or at the main stage. Still we went to work flyering our faces off begging people to come and it worked! We had a hesitant crowd- I had to get them to come up but the show was great! I thought we played the tightest set we had played yet. There was a lot of tension I think with sleeping in and being in the van for so long with each other the day before plus our first taste of Southern humidity and it allc ame out on stage in a good way. We all played excellent and the crowd that took a chance on us really, really got a great AOF show not too mention Eric from BFS came on stage and we reinacted the incident from the day earlier where I took the onstage anknowledgement intended for Simple Plan- it was a big hit with the crowd.

Ok- I'm spent. As for Florida- I'm gonna skip it all together. Too many painful memories of no showers, sweat, ants, bugs, freak rain storms, bad sales, no shows... I did get to see my mom, grandmom, aunt and cousins who were vacationing in Dinseyworld and we got to stay at the Herbie Love Bug Hotel and that ruled but... beyond that... well we sweated alot.

Sorry if this is a boring entry... Field of Dreams will be up any day now so keep checking back- email us, spread the word and let us know where you saw the disc- if your store doesnt have it make um get it!

your stoked to be out of FLA homie,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 7/27/2004

Tour Loggers!

New adventures on the way including "Field of Dreams" but for now enjoy this Dos and Donts list I made for Warped Tour- feel free to pass it on to whoever you think would like it and send suggestions to chris@armyoffreshmen.com

CHRIS JAY

Hi my name is Chris Jay and I am the lead singer in a band called Army of Freshmen. For the past few weeks I have seen first hand the good, the bad and ugly that a day at Warped has to offer. With Warped officially at the half way point- I figure it's time to put together a list of dos and donts for those of you getting ready to attend any of the second half shows. Even if Warped is done for you maybe you can relate. Enjoy!

THE DOS...

Wear Sunblock. No matter how the weather looks - the sun will get you. Bring it- put it on. Your skin will thank you. You don't want one of the three flavor ice cream in a box tans I was sporting for a week. Let "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" remain a great Alkaline Trio song not your personal theme song come 2pm.

Wear comfortable shoes- as much as you may be a flip flop person or you got that bitchin pedicure with each letter of Warped Tour on each toenail (saw it in Pheonix) you will get stepped on, hurt and be miserable. Wear sneakers and forget about heals- yesterday I saw some wanna be hot chick waltzing around in high heals. I wonder how her blisters are doing right now.

Bring a crap load of money. Unfortunately while the ticket to Warped is a bargain the venues can make your day expensive. From parking to food, the more money you bring the better time you'll have. There's a ton of cool merch you wont find anywhere else and you'll kick yourself if you only have 10 bucks to get through the day and those new Bowling For Soup and Coheed and Cambria comic books are calling you name. Plus the service fee at some of the ATMs is nuts.

Eat Breakfast! The venue food mostly sucks- at some point you'll be forced to buy 8 dollar nachos but a breakfast somewhere will cut down on the need to do that twice.

Drink plenty of water- drink it all day- especially on hot days. You won't realize your dehydrated until its too late and there you are passed in an Anti Flag pit getting stepped on by 12 year olds as they mosh against police brutality.

Go see your favorite band and get as close as possible. Pick the one band you want to see the most and watch their whole set as close as possible. There is something incredibely cool about being up front and singing word for word with a band you like right in front of you.

Wait till the end of the day to buy your merch- it sucks to carry around that cool ass but heavy as hell Bad Religion skateboard all day.

Watch Atomosphere or check out the Code of the Cutz stage. He and the stage are a breath of fresh air on the tour- a little hip hop never hurt anyone. Except Tupac- he got shot.

Listen to an unkown band's cd and buy it. All the small bands have discmen that you can try their stuff out on. These bands need your help to get to the next venue. Find a disc you like and help support the little guy... you never know who they could become. Last year Story of the Year played in a tent to nearly anyone now they're on the mainstage. Get in on the ground floor.

Make some friends- if you see someone wearing a shirt of a band you like- say hi. Introduce yourself. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't but its worth a try- maybe the love of your life is in line waiting for a Taking Back Sunday autograph or in the restroom- actually strike that- if the love of your life is in the same rest room well that means a lot of things but just wash your hands before you take the relationship to the next level.

Hold your breathe before you enter a port-a-potty. Trust me on this.

Speaking of port-a-potties, don't look into the port-a-potty. Trust me even more on this one- I still have nightmares from one I accidently gazed into in New Mexico. Never thought several people's poop could resemble Ronald Macdonald but miracles happen every day.

Bring ear plugs- you may think you got that great spot for Avenged Sevenfold but later that night when the singer is still screaming in your ear and no one is in your bedroom you won't be so stoked. And as good looking as he is if he is in your bedroom screaming in your ear- call the cops!

Avoid drunk people. Enough said.

Drive safe after the show! You don't how many accidents we see right after the show- I can imagine the conversation...

"Did you see New Found Glory?"
"YEAH!"
"Did you see the Vandals?"
"YEAH!"
"Do you see that Buick slowing down?"
"Nope."

BAM!

A few minutes later you are making a very unpleasant call back to home.

Wear deodorant! we all know the horror of being next to that guy/girl. Come on is this one that hard? Save your smelly pits for Ozzfest- they did that there.

If you're 18 - register to vote at Punk Voter. This a good thing.

Walk around EVERYWHERE! Check out all the booths, tents, stages, you've got roughly 6 to 8 hours- no excuse to not at least walk past everything once.

Do check for tiolet paper before rocking the house. This is a no brainer.

THE DONT'S...

Do not spend all day in front of the mainstages! Please? There are up to 10 stages/tents full of music and some of it is pretty damn good. Don't be that idiot that goes from mainstage to mainstage all day only to see the bands he's heard of and then says "I didn't see any cool new bands". Try any of these bands out if they are there and be stoked- River City Rebels, Groovie Ghoulies, The Matches, Days Like These, Waking Ashland, Over It...

Do not buy 100 dollars in Yellowcard/Story of the Year/Simple Plan merch. Today I met a girl who had spent over 100 dollars on Yellowcard shirts that are all available at Hot Topic! Supporting your fav. band is one thing but making a platinum band 100 dollars richer while other bands starve in the tent next to them is unacceptable. Spread the wealth.

Don't buy something from a band (or merch guy) that is mean to you. Screw them. Save your money. If a band is hanging out and they could care less that you exist- move on. There's a lot of other bands that will more than happy you're at their booth.

Don't buy a big major label record that you can get at Target or Wal Mart- you know what I'm talking about. So if you don't have it yet- wait and buy something harder to find. Try some of the smaller record label booths like Suburban Home, Fearless, Side One Dummy, or Hopeless- they have great deals and you can get comps for a buck and expose your self to all sorts of new bands instead of paying 15 bucks to hear that song thats on the radio every two seconds that you can get any day of the year.

Don't diss a guy or girl who is handing out a flyer for a show- take it. Smile. If you could care less just throw it away at the next trash can but don't just walk past the poor person like they dont exist. Coming from a professional flyer guy- we have feelings too.

Don't forget to sign the mailing list- if you like a band keep in touch.

Don't miss NOFX or Bad Religion... IF you've never seen them before- they're legends and they both still rock.

Don't be afraid to ask questions... bands, tents, bathrooms, etc... if you don't ask you don't know.

Don't go to the closest fast food chain after the show- it will be packed. Drive 15 minutes and find something less crowded.

Don't steal Army of Freshmen's entire box of buttons cause next time a certain usually peaceful lead singer will snap after summer of Anti Flag inspiration and kick your ass- 14 years old or not. Then when the cops come I'll blame it on the sun burn.

That's about it folks- the important thing to remember is this- HAVE FUN- this is one of the coolest tours that has ever existed- it's a great deal and a lot of good people work harder than you can imagine to put it on.

see ya at Warped!

CHRIS JAY
ARMY OF FRESHMEN
WWW.ARMYOFFRESHMEN.COM

Tour Log, 7/21/2004

Tour Log A Rama!

Guess where we are?

WE'RE BROKEN DOWN!

Tradgedy has finally struck your rock and roll supermen. It's a bitching story that history will come to refer to as The Army of Freshmen break down in Buffalo Bill Cody's Hometown but before we get to that let me do a quick recap...

After Canada we played Montana which was interesting for a few reasons.

Number one it was our first time EVER playing in Montana! A brand new state! That makes the total 38 with 12 to go. Secondly it was one of the smallest dates on the tour and the area was packed and dirty- way dirty. Dust and dirt everywhere. It sucked but what didnt suck was the fact that they had to split the two main stages. That meant the Ernie Ball stage which we were on was put directly next to the main stage! Yup- that's right directly next to it. So guess who was playing right before us next to us- New Found Glory! So with a main stage massive crowd rocking to NFG we would be right after them- slight problem though on the other side of the stage were our friends The Matches would be playing at the same time. At the end of NFG's set Jordan was like make sure you check out the next two bands - he looked over and saw a sign for the Matches and said...

"The Matches!"

then he turned to our stage (we didnt have sign) and said...

"Who's over there? Well we cant see but check them out too..."

That's when Kai sprung into action. Now for those who dont know Kai worked at Drive Thru when in was in high school in their early days. New Found totally knows and remembers him so Kai leaps off our stage runs to the front of NFG and seconds before they launch into their last song gets Jordan's attention and tells him it's and us and then Jordan says....

"oh it's Army of Freshmen- check them out!"

Way to go Kai. We officially get our first ever main stage Warped Tour plug.

So as soon as they end we start and we played to a HUGE crowd- by far the most people watching yet. It was hot and dirty but we tried to put on our best show with so many people watching. It went great. Felt like we were on a main stage.

So we decided to skip a shower to catch a Fudruckers (no more Burgers- please God) and headed off to Salt Lake City where we encoutered another first- no showers! Dirty more than ever we were forced to get through the day nasty.

A near tradegy happened- I lost my phone- we finally get service after none in Canada and Montana and i lose my phone after my first call to my mom (my mom rules). I hopped on the X Wing Fighter (Kai's bike) and retraced all my steps. I spent the early morning talking to Over It (who just joined the tour) and looked around the parking lot all day. I was really pissed but I went into production and my friend Sara (she was in a kick ass band called Saving Face) said someone had turned it in! Yeah. Tradegy diverted.

Salt Lake ruled! We played at the end of the day on Ernie Ball and drew a great crowd that was really into it. One of my favorite shows so far.. Half way through it started to rain but everyone stayed and rocked out even harder- our first rain show of the tour.

Our tent was far away so I walked back with some kids and in the middle of signed autographs and taking pictures- the rain turned violent. Thunder, lightening, whole nine yards. People were scattering to break down and leave and we were no exception. Owen ran off to get the music equipment and we started breaking down our tent- it was like a war zone. People running around everywhere going nuts and rain and lightening went off around them. We were screaming and having good time with it but it sucked bad. I thought to myself I wonder if Story of the Year is getting pounded with rain while carrying a metal tent in a thunderstorm? Answer that one yourself. Just as we peeled away and thought we were safe we heard a large bang on the trailer- Owen had ran into a stake in the ground that was holding up a tree (the bitch that is mother nature- damn the ozone!). It put a nice little hole in the metal but it didnt hit the wood so that was cool.

But we got out and survived and headed off to Denver!

Yeah! I like Denver. Good city and we were stoked cause we had played a big show with Bowling For Soup there in the fall. Speaking of Bowling For Soup- this was their first show back after they did the first two. We were worried though cause in a way although it didnt work out as planned we sort of got their spot on Ernie Ball. We were prepared to get dissed and not play for a while. Well when the schedule came out we were on it!

Then things, as they often do in the world of rock, took a turn for the worse...

The put out a revised schedule. Guess who wasn't on it- us. Bad, bad news- not in Denver.

We were bummed but we were determined to make the best of it not Owen though- to his credit was determined to play.

He walked around the grounds and found the guys in the Mourning Maxwell Tent. Now the Mourning Maxwell tent is a band that plays once a day in a tent they set up- it's small, it's get put in the worst spots, the sound isn't good but these guys rock out and do it everyday. To their everlasting credit they agreed to have us play there!

Way to go Owen- if Kai was the hero in Montana for getting the NFG plug, Owen was the hero for finding a stage. Problem was the stage I mean tent was in no man's land- by the porta potties. So we went into action- we have some great fans in Montana like Burger King Troy and Kill Hannah and Old School Illana who brought us some great stuff and helped us. Troy and I took side walk chalk and drew arrows that lead all they way to the tent. It took a while and was a bitch in the sun but it worked! We just told people to follow the chalk.

Okay location problem solved- next problem was the fact since we were on the cement in a tent no one could see us- so check this out- I'm proud of my quick thinking on this one. A half hour before we play- I decide that we should get the beat up couch in our trailer and stick in front of the tent so I have something to stand on and see people. Next problem...

Actually let's talk problems real quick- there's a lot isn't there. If there is one thing I hope I am getting across is we are working really, really hard. Ok- anyway back to the couch.

The couch is a million miles away by our van on the other side of Warped where the tent is- there's no way I can carry the thing by myself- so I decide to put it on the X WIng Fighter (remember that right?) no go- I sweating to death late for the show but dammit I am determined to get this couch to the tent. Then fate takes a turn for the better. Some dude comes up to me who appears very drunk and tells me him and his friends cant get in cause it's sold out. Eureka! I cut a deal- if he and his friend can me carry the couch to the tent- I'll sneak his friends in and that's exactly what I did.

We got the couch to the stage I ran back with no time to get his other friends in with some borrowed passes and start the show.

Guess what? We brought the biggest crowd the tent has ever seen. It was rad- I told the story of my day before we started, seeing as how we had no intro, and it was a great show- the sound wasnt the best but the people were. Totally into it- pogoing and rocking out the whole time- I felt bad for the two guys in front of the couch the whole- I beat the crap out of them- I pretty much used them to stand on and lean on the whole time- they were good sports about it.

It was great- so great that I felt we needed something a little special to finish it. My patented front flip on the speaker stage dive. Now for those who care and if you are this far in the log- hopefully you do- I try and end the show with a stage dive when the stage and more importantly crowd permits- now with Ernie Ball stage the sound guy who is a good friend won't let me jump off their speakers- I can only jump off the stage meaning no front flip- not cause he fears for my safety but because he doesn't want the speakers to fall so considering this wasnt Ernie Ball and Denver was so cool to us to watch us by the porta potties in a tent- I hatched a plan... at the end of the set I ran to the Uproar Stage which was next to it and climbed their speaker stack as "Spring Break" came to a close- I summoned the crowd over to the speaker rack and did a front flip into the crowd- the totally caught me- it ruled. : > )

Had a really fun night in general- sales were great and during the afternoon were invited to go to the Hard Rock Cafe and eat for free that night- well you know us- a free meal is a free meal let alone at a good restuarant. We of course took them up on the deal and went onto to have a really great night- free food, drinks and met some really cool people (Thanks Danielle, JenPH and all the rest) - they even booked us to play there on our way home- YEAH DENVER- we'll see ya soon. Oh yeah a slightly free drink filled frontman also learned to line dance to Achy Breaky Heart. Dont't ask. [Editor's Note: I have video footage of this. Bidding will start at $50. No, I'm not kidding.]

Ok- this is getting long but I'm in the zone so I'm going continue in case I cant update in the next few days... as previously mentioned I present to you the epic tale...

The Army of Freshmen Breakdown in Buffalo Bill Cody's Hometown

So we're speeding down the highway after a great day in Denver- we have a day off cause it's long drive to Wisconsin- I passed out like a dead man in shotgun and Kyle our humble helper is into his 5th hour at the wheel when suddenly a mack truck passes us and is waving wildly at Kyle yelling something about tires- we all wake up and Kyle pulls over. I hop out and check the situation- low and behold the tire is smoking like crazy. The mack truck pulls over and it's some dude in his bare feet with a lady and they say our pin shot out. Okay...

They walk away. Everyone yells at me. "Ask them what a pin is!" So now like an asshole I am running after barefoot Bob and his road Lady asking them what a pin is.

Well they tell me- I understand none of it but what I gather is the following- we are screwed. We can only drive a few miles per hour or it will fall off. Worse than that the closest town is 30 miles!

So get this... for the next 6 hours- yes 6 long hours... we drive on the shoulder of the road at- are you ready for this- 2 to 5 miles per hour to try to get to this friggin town. Mike did the whole drive. Now whats worse is every half hour we have to stop- not that stopping at 5 miles per hour is hard mind you but we have to stop and jack up the trailer to push the trailer tire- which is almost falling off at this point- back in.

Quite simply put dear tour log reader- it was hell on earth.

Not that we didnt make the most of it. You could get out the car whenever you wanted to pee and walk back to the car. I hung out the passenger window and smashed light reflector after light reflector with a tire iron which for a pacifist like me was an experience. Wanna know how slow we were going? I'll tell you. At one point we passed a pasture and a cow passed us! We were going so slow friggin that a cow passed us.

Not that we didnt have a help- a nice man stopped and tried everything he could to help us- a cop came by and did- well nothing but he wished us luck.

So after 6 hours we get to the town- worse yet at this point we were gonna have to miss the Warped Tour in Wisconsin- weve lost way too much time.

So we get to the town and some locals tell us there is no one there who will have the part the best they can reccomend is a trailer place about 40 miles away- guess where- ten miles form where we broke down! URGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Now at this point the traler wheel is pretty much falling off so we have to get it towed (200 bucks) 40 miles away while we follow it in the van. Now on the plus sife it did feel like we were going at light speed after drving 6 hours at 2 miles per hour. We get to the trailer place and get the bad news. Theres no way they can fix it today- in fact depending on the circumstances they may not be able to fix it with a certain part that would take a few days to get.

This is bad news- he would know for sure the next day. So long story short- we are stranded in the no man land area of Nebraska. No Warped for us the next day.

Well we look at it as sign that we need to take a little break and we head into the small town to see the sites and guess what... it turns out it's notorious Indian killer and Wild West "hero" Buffalo Bill Cody's hometown. Guess what else? It sucks! We are stuck in small town USA. Usually we just get gas at these places but not today for a day or more we are residents. Now I am from a small town so I am used to it but the other guys aren't- poor Kai had to fight back tears when he found out the movie theater only had two movies- Century 16 it was not.

So we go to resturant called Little Mexico (I dare you to find the irony) and eat all we can eat tacos which with a little hot sauce were really good and get a hotel- do some laundry, take showers and spice up to hit the town baby! Six grizzeled rockers fresh from the rock star treatment in Denver ready to take on a small town and show them how to rock! Right? Wrong.

We enter small town bar... and the record skips. What we forgot is we look like freaks to these people- colored hair, piercings, Star Wars tattos, hell- even me wearing pink bracelets is like Martians to these people. Granted compared to half the bands on Warped we look like normail everyday people but we're from normal everyday people in Buffalo Bill's town. We pass the local dudes- all dudes mind you- and order a few beers and grab a bowl of popcorn. We play it cool but in reality we are shitting- these guys could kill us- the bar had a wall full of photos of everyone from the town who served in the war- from WW1 to the Gulf War- scary. So we play it cool- no one talks to us but the waitress who is nice and she suggests another bar. Ok- good call- let's find the night spot baby- rock and roll- YEAH!

Wrong.

We go to the next bar- well the big difference at this one is there's more dudes... same kind big, football loving, hat wearing dudes- only catch is this time we have a couple drinks in us so we actually talk to some people and they're really cool. We had a great time hanging and talking together just us - no shows, no girls around, just us and 100 redneck dudes.

Great time... which brings me to our boy Kyle... remember Kyle- we all know how he's had a hard time with the ladies well check it out Kyle met a girl. Word. The mack daddy he is- no word on any details in fact it may of just been a conversation but point is Kyle's game is officially on.

Alright so day 2 we wake up and call the trailer place- turns out they can fix it enough to get it going and get us out of there by 6 or so. Thank God- no permanent residence in Nebraska. We have some time to kill but we'll be out.

So how do we kill it? We decide to visit the home of the the man whose town we broke down in- Buffalo Bill Cody. We drive off to his house and for three bucks you can walk around it and take pictures- pretty cool I guess. What a country- you exploit a race and walla you get you house turned into a museum.

Then we stopped at the thirving mall with it's 7 stores and find a record store- now everyone knows Kai and I are record store junkies and being at Warped all day we cant check out any local stores so we go in and ...

this is the shit...

you ready...

THEY HAVE OUR RECORD!

One single copy of Beg, Borrow, Steal is at the store. We finally all got to see our record in store after all these years and it took us breaking down in a small town to do it.

Sometimes life is good. It was like finding rose in fart garden (that's an original).

So what did any self respecting guy do? I bought it! That's right- call me a geek but I bought my record- first time I saw it- it ruled- I opened it played it and loved it. Damn skippy- so take a tip me the band who conquered Buffalo Bill Cody's hometown- buy the new record!

So we pick up the trailer- put it on the ride and as we speak we are speeding down the highway on the way to St. Louis and we only missed one show but it was an adventure.

THE END

So anyways I still owe you all that Chris' Guide To Warped- it's coming soon- please spread the word on the band the disc and the tour log and send in them emails!

your fresh from escaping Nebraska frontman,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 7/17/2004

(Hello from Utah! Im a litle backed up- no internet in Canada fr us so here's a day or so ago and our Canadian adventure... new one coming soon!)

Tour Log Eh?

Greetings from Canada eh. People here say eh alot eh. It's like how's it going eh? Pretty good eh. All's well eh.

Anyways... we're in another country! Our first time in Canada and let me say I am impressed. The people are really nice, it's clean and they love hockey- I mean LOVE it. it's on the friggin money. No kidding.

So after hearing horror story after horror story about crossing the border- we totally emptied our van and trailer to find any loose fireworks, machine guns, crack pipes, etc... We didn't find any but we were scared regardless and guess what? It was a breeze. An old lady who was totally friendly took our passports and it was all cool. Bizarre. We later heard a bunch of bands had trouble- one sound guy even got turned around due to having a criminal record but they didn't even check our merch which usually you have to pay a certain amount for. Let's hope it all works out on our way back to the states.

So where did we go when we first got into Canada? Mcdonalds of course for breakfast and they had this bitchin BLT bagel thing that I had never seen before- it's great. Go to Canada and get one.

On a side note Canadian money looks like monopoly money.

So in Canada we actually have a day off! We got a hotel room and wow... beds and showers! I can say no more. It ruled. Some of us decided to go to the local mall and see a movie- as we were pulling out we saw a band in front of the hotel getting turned down by a taxi cab. We offered them a ride. They said if we were going to the movies they were in. We said we were. Guess who it was? Thursday!

So in jumps Thursday (minus lead singer) into our smelly van and we all squeeze in and drove to the movies. We introduced ourselves and they were totally cool guys. Really friendly. We talked about growing up in NJ and going to see shows there. When we got to the parking structure it turned out our van was too big to get in and we were stuck. So Dan (who was at the wheel) was forced to make an unreal van and trailer back up to get out- to the shock of some angry Canadians the guys in Thursday hopped out and stopped traffic and a tense Dan slowly backed out- like a champ I may add. Thursday was equally impressed and a sweaty and releived Dan parked on the street (where we later got a ticket but that's a boring story). More importantly we had earned Thursday respect as trailer backer uppers- way to go Dan.

So a few of us went to see Anchorman (it's hilarious- we were laughing out load and most likely offending the locals- a totally reccomended comedy) and Mike went to see Farenheit 9/11 which we had already seen on our first day off back in Vegas. Weird thing about Canadian movie theaters- they have fast food in the lobby. I ate bad Taco Bell while watching the flick. It was a good concept at least. Afterwards we wandered the mall and tried Bubble Tea which is this weird drink with a booger like substance at the bottom- I was told it was pudding I have my doubts.

So things got interesting that night. There was a pre Warped Tour party at a place called the Amsterdam Cafe. Now we have yet to hit any official or unofficial parties for that matter. Ocasionally a club will have them the night before or after a show. Most of the times the bands dont even go and it's a gimmick to get people into the club but on off nights when everyone is in town word has it they go off. Well folks- this one went off but there was a weird twist. Now I still dont know the exact policy but it turns out Vancouver is a "smoke friendly" city and when i say smoke I dont mean Marlboros- yes that's right kids. In this particular city or part of town or whatever- you can smoke weed! Ok so obviously that means alot of different things to a lot of different people but lets just say for curiousity sake all sorts of people were there hanging out. Now I'm not saying at all that people were smoking weed but there were ton of people hanging out. Imagine the greatest high school party of all time only your high school is full people you read about in Alternative Press. I mean it was like walking through a real live issue of the magazine. Who was there? Guys from the following bands... Yellowcard, Atmosphere, Matches, New Found Glory, The F Ups, Lillix, Bad Religion, NOFX, Taking Back Sunday and more... I mean this was the shit. Everybody was just hanging out and totally cool. Got a lot of compliments which at least made me think our name is slowly getting out. As for the place it was like three stories packed with people. There was the front which was like a coffee shop, an alley that looked like an alley and a downstairs that looked like well- a killer downstairs basement party. There was even a roof that looked exaclty like a set off a Batman movie where we spent alot of time and guess what happened on that roof... our tired and true roadie, Kyle finally exchanged words with a girl! Not that anything happened of course.

I am in the van right now and I just asked Kyle what happened for the record... his detailed response...

"Nothing."

Why?

"I don't know. I guess I have no game."

Do you wish something would of happened?

"No I'm good dude."

Ah to be in the presence of poetic greatness. Poor guy- he just peirced his lip - maybe that will help with the game- it looks good too. Ladies as always... kyle@armyoffreshmen.com

(Speaking of Kyle... someone stole his bookbag and he hit a car- more on that next log)

Anyways...

Even weirder thing at this party- the people running it/throwing it were terrified about cops coming by and seeing people drink beer! Can you believe that? All these Canadians running around smoking pot and warning all these bands please don't take your beer outside. Like I said I have no clue what the laws are- I know for sure it's not all of Canada but it was weird- like being in Amsterdam. Or at least what I imagine thats like.

We hung, had a great time, I had a long talk with the singer of Taking Back Sunday and Ben from Yellowcard. The guy from TBS is really, really nice.

It was a surreal night to say the least. One of those grade A what the hell I am doing here type deals.

So next day was Warped in Canada- our first time in Canada and yes we got to play! The kids were really nice but once again people were smoking weed left and right- I saw a cop walk right pass two kids smoking a joint- Vancouver is a special place I guess.

I also did my first stand on the side of the stage for a whole set deal. I am usually too busy to do that but after our set I said screw it- I am going to watch all of Atmosphere's set. I really have been getting into Atmosphere lately. I think cause it's different. No the same old rap shit. Really creative. Me and Mike watched the whole set. You know what I liked about the experience- watching the crowd. So neat to just sit back and watch everyone's reaction. Really interesting. I think I am to try it a but more. Not to see the bands or look cool- cause frankly when your side of stage you look at the bands backs and you cant hear shit but for people watching in the crowd it rules.

As for us- all in all I thought our show was one of our weaker ones- not that it sucked but I'll be honest- I was tired. It was pretty darn sunny too kids were cool though and they rocked out for the most part. Sales were ok but the important thing is we finally played Canada! A whole new country. In fact right now we are on our way on to a 10 hour drive to Calgary- I look forward to seeing the Canadian countryside but I'll admit I am getting sick of no cell phone- it sucks, We are going do a demo derby and listen to some of the demos we got- that's always a good time. Wish us a safe drive and keep those emails coming and spread the word. Go make sure you store has the disc too- it's finally out in States!

your Good Day eh frontman,

CHRIS JAY
'
PS. Tune into the next tour log I am putting together a what to do and what not to do at Warped Tour eh. : > )

Tour Log, 7/11/2004

Tour Loggy Log,

Greetings from an early morning in the Oregon mountains. Being a devout Bigfoot hunter- I will have my eyes open.

Everything is going great! We've now played 10 out of 14 shows and the crowds have been awesome. We're busting butt all day passing out flyers to get people to our stage and it's working! It's also tiring but well worth it. We're really thankful we're playing as much as we are. I hope it keeps going. So far we've proven to ourselves that if we can get people to our stage- they'll like it. We havent had a bad turn out or response yet. In fact we've been drawing the biggest crowds of the day to the Ernie Ball stage which we've been playing. So rock on us!

Yesterday was the Gorge in Washington and yes it's true it's the single most beautiful venue I have ever seen let alone played at. Breathtaking really. The main stage is right on the river and the skyline is unreal. People camped in the hills and the grass covered slopes throughout the venue were great. Tough to walk around but well worth it. I reccomend EVERYONE at some point in their life visit this place. It was an honor to play there. At the end of the night everyone in the band walked to the top of the hill in the dark and looked down at the main stage together- it was a moment.

Speaking of moments- I put a crap load of trail mix in Aaron's suticase (an empty pocket mind you) and he did not find it funny. In fact he was pissed. Sorry Aaron- I think it was funny. How can a guy who dumps ketchup in my drink everytime I turn my back not laugh at a few peanuts is beyond me but maybe he was having a hard day. : > )

Oh yeah- the Gorge had the best venue food so far. I had noodles twice after 3,000 burgers you'd be surprised how good noodles can be. Long live noodles.

Yesterday I also went onto the man stage during a band for the first time- it was the end of the night and I got up there for New Found GLory. The other guys do this alot but I dont just cause I'm usually busy promoting my own band. Cant make any fans sitting on the side of the stage but it was the end of the night and I said screw it. Well... wow. What a site. I mean unreal. This was by far one of the bigger dates and to see that many people going nuts right on front of you in a rad venue is a site to behold. I geeked out and Steve and I from Level 27 took pictures of each other in front of the crowd. One of these days soon we'll get some pics up for you- I'll be honest I have been so busy I am keeping a shitty job of taking pictures.

The day before was in Idaho and the venue was also awesome. What a beautiful state. It must of stayed daylight till like 10 pm. Gorgeous sunset and the venue food was cheap too. People here were really nice. Met a lot of cool people today. Been meeting alot of cool people everywhere actually. I love it. To come to a state and make some new friends. I barely get to walk around but today I had the time to do some roaming and I just love seeing all the stages and bands and people working. Really good day to do so since it was great weather. I got propositioned while waiting in the condiment line- I nearly choked on my food. Long live Idaho. : > )

Ok some random news to catch up on..

Our hometown show was great! Lots of friends and family only thing that sucked was at the end of the night when we were breaking down some little bastards got into our merch tubs and starting stealing shit! I stopped them but a few got away- we lost some shirts and all our buttons. Fuckers. Next time I am thorwing blows- 13 year olds or not. Ass will be kicked- now we have no buttons and we are almost out of shirts which we have to wait a week to get.

Wanna hear something messed up? Long story short... I met a girl on Warped in 2001 went on a date with her too (great date) fell in love for like a few hours and she ended up dissing me for a guy who worked for Yohoo (no joke.) Now I havent heard from this chick let's just call her "snow cone girl" since she blew me off in 2001 well there I was on stage in Sacramento the other day and I looked out into the crowd and there she was! No kidding. I nearly stopped dead in my tracks- there she was. Unreal- threw my game off but I recovered. After the show she came up and said hi and said she was stupid back then- I agreed. End of story. Moral is snow cone girls are evil- resist their sticky sweet love at all costs. Long live napkins.

So far bands (big and small) that been way cool to us... The Matches, Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, A Small Victiry, Days Like These, Not For Now, Alkaline Trio, Stole Your Woman, Hidden From Plain View, Melee, AMber Pacific, The F Ups, The Erks, Dork. Really havent had a lot of time to kick it with people- the drives are long and bus call has been early. Once we get to the Midwest though it should be much easier to hang. There's talk of some big kick ball games coming up.

Bands that are assholes... come on you really think I'd put that here... ok I'll give you a little hint there's at least two "big" bands that are rolling with some heavy egos- i wont name names unless of course they do something horribly f'd up and I cant control myself. : > )

Yesterday I had weird bathroom experience. There I was shaving and guess who was next to me? The guy from the Sounds who was speaking a foreign language and Claudio from Coheed and Cambria. Then in walks Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio. Weird but cool. Let's talk showering for a minute. It sucks! Here's the way it works- after you get to the venue and set up your merch- you hunt down the showers which more times than not are only one or two. You wait in line forever and then finally get one that has cold water and no soap and shampoo- it sucks! On the plus side it's probably the best way to meet other bands. 9 times out of 10 you feel dirtier thn when you go in- ocasionally there is a nice place but its rare.

Fast food. That's all we eat. I hate burgers- no more. Please. Every night before we go to sleep we stop and the only thing open is fast food- yuck.

Record comes out next week so go to our store and order it- PLEASE! : >

Lastly thanks to all who have been emailing us- means alot- it's so cool to hear from new people- please keep spreading the word. Join the message board too!

Lastly lastly our roadie/driver/merch guy Kyle has yet to kiss any girls- ladies- he's a catch dont miss out on a make out. Plus he's been having some bad days he smashed his thumb in the trailer door and hurt it bad. Plus he's got some bug bites that suck. We're currently questioning his sexuality- someone anyone-take one for the team!

your boy in a band who sleeps in the van and hangs out with a dude that some people call Dan and recently found that when he gets home they'll be a dog running round disrupting his zone,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 7/5/2004

Tour "Log" Cabin!

Today is our first day off. After 9 straight shows in 5 different states and a new level of exhaustion, finally we have a day off and how are we spending it? At a stinking Kinkos!

It's all good though. I am just glad to have a day to sleep in (if you call 9 sleeping in) and time to run some errands at Wal Mart and Sam's Club- pick up some sorely needed supplies. We even got to trade in for a new cooler which was a surprise since the current one looked like hell after a week.

Ok. So it's been 9 shows and we have played 5 of them- pretty good number actually- we feel really lucky so far. Tonight we drive to San Diego than the next day is back home in Ventura!

So much has happened so far. We played an AMAZING show in San Francisco- our biggest crowd by far and best sales of the tour- we autographed and took pictures until the venue closed. It was amazing too since our label was there and the show was on a pier. In fact it was quite possibly one of the better days of my life. Hard to explain what it feels like playing to close to 1,000 people and make so many new friends. I love the Nor Cal scene. We have so many friends there- it was like our Nor Cal. cd release.

As for LA- there was 2 shows and we played 1 of them. We were dead last up against Yellowcard- not a good combo. We drew ok considering and it was nice that some of the guys from Sugarcult stopped by (they join the tour next month) not too mention some vacationing Japanese fans. Besides that though LA sucked. Sorry- it's true. Rude kids, really jaded seen it all done it all types-our merch sales were sucky. Oh well- that's why we avoid playing LA.

Really havent done much partying so far. Every night it's been leave early for a long drive. I think once we get out of California they'll be more time to hang with everyone. So far in the way of bigger bands- Taking Back Sunday have been really nice. I'll keep you posted.

Some random stuff...

To battle the horrible shower conditions- I bought my first pair of flip flops/sandals. That's right- I have never, ever owned a pair- now I have a horrible tan line on my feet- yuck- damn flip flops.

Our van is starting to smell bad. Real bad. So is Kai for that matter- the other night he was next to me and I had to open a window- he has since showered and is doing much better.

The tan on my arms looks liek 3 flavored ice cream- ask to see it- you'll be shocked- I have dark chocolate tan, pink sunburnt strawberry and white vanilla shoulders.

We have yet to destroy Aaron's sunglasses- but hell we've only got 38 shows to go!

Owen turned down a 12 dollar bet to fart in Kai's face while he was asleep. What a gentlemen.

Our driver, Kyle has yet to meet any girls- as always hit up kyle@armyoffreshmen.com if interested in short half Japanese buff tattoed eagle scouts.

That's all for now from the road- great to meet all you new folks and keep the email coming,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 7/1/2004

Kenny "Tour" Loggins!

Well it's been a while since I updated this after screaming up and down that I would update it all the time and here's why...

MY BUTT IS KICKED!

I am sun burnt, tired, hungry, thirsty, sweaty, dirty, smelly, wet at almost all times. Let me tell you you this tour is an ass kicker. Well not for everybody of course- I was in Yellowcard's bus the other night- those guys are living the life- there were X Boxes everywhere- heck I think I saw one in the tiolet. Ah the power of MTV.

Anyways...
We're not here to talk Yellowcard- we're talking the sleeping on a deflated air matress, driving all night, getting there and carting gear at 7 in the morning in a rainstorm, setting up a tent, selling cds, promoting shows all day in the sun sometimes playing sometimes not Army of Freshmen.

but hey that's not to say we're not having an amazing time cause we are. Warped Tour just rules. Everyone has been way cool to us and we're making alot of new friends.

Slight bummer to report though- remember last update how I was crapping my pants that we were confirmed for like the first 15 shows- well turns out not exactly...

Once again fate intervines to kick AOF in the nuts.

Long story short- through a series of miscommunications the 2 weeks Bowling For Soup gave us didn't quite exist - there was confusion not to mention a ton of bands crashing the shows and suffice to say we are back to playing on day to day notice meaning we wake up and go straight to the production office and get on a list to play.

So far so good- we've played two dates (Houston and Phoenix) out of 6 (both went awesome and we drew good crowds) but more importantly we are getting to sell the shit out of the new record- we can't believe how good it's going. We have kind of turned into used car salesman but it's working and we are meeting some great new people. I love it. As tiring as it is every ten seconds we meet someone new. I can't think of anything else in the world that I would work this hard at. There are constantly surreal moments.

I mean this morning I brushed my teeth in a girl's cross country locker room next to the guy from the Casualties and the guy from Taking Back Sunday.

Or playing kickball and being next to the lead singer of Thursday in the line up (he's shorter in person).

Or the fact Jordan from New Found Glory is walking by our van right now while I type this sentence.

It seems every second something nuts happens.

Speaking of nuts... who likes cashews?

Speaking of other nuts last night after we left the venue we stopped at a gas station and some crazy (mostly likely cracked out) dude was physically beating up his car. I kid you not. He was broken down and he was kicking and cursing at it- when's the last time you heard a grown man accuse a car of being a "lying motherfucker?" We had to ly down flat int he van so he wouldnt see us laughing and take his beef up with us not the innocent Dodge he was kicking. Wanna know something cool? When we peeled away- we stole the hubcap he left. We're gonna put it up in our practice room. Ah the memories.

Wanna know how tired I am? I almost feel alseep writing that last paragraph and it's 10 in the morning and I jsut snuck away from setting up the booth to write this. It's gonna be a long day. Least it's not raining like all the Texas show and not scorcing heat like in New Mexico and Arizona.

What else?

I have got to stop eating burgers.I have had one almost every day since we left. Not that I'm some burger freak but because it's usually all the venue has to offer, it's all that is at the after show BBQ or it's all that is open. I would kill a man for a salad. (I should sell that catch phrase to PETA.)

So I gotta go run back to the booth. Ladies if you're keeping score our Kyle has yet to kiss any of you so stop being so shy-our roadie needs love. : > )

in pain,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 6/27/2004

Greetings- I write this in the middle of a rain storm in San Antonio on Sunday but I need to catch up so more on that next time- here's DAY 1!

DAY 1 HOUSTON, TX.

What a day. What a day. We have some BIG news but you'll have to wait. Not sure where to start. How bout at the start.

I write to you know from the front of Bowling For Soup's tour bus.

Not too shabby. Yesterday I was going nuts in the back of the van- today I'm lounging in a tour bus. Moving On Up... : > )

Well... let's start. Day One of Warped Tour was canceled! No shit- for the first time ever the first day of Warped was called due to thunderstorms!

That's right - we woke up in the hotel to huge thunderstorms.
We woke up (late of course) and headed to the Reliant Center.

Well in classic AOF fashion- we got lost. As the thunderstorm raged we found ourselves taking flooded backroads.

Kyle (remember Kyle our shy eagle scout roadie?) handled the van well but its becoming clear to him that he got into more than he bargained for.

We found the Reliant Center finally only to have the parking lot guard inform us that the show has been postponed till Monday!

We rolled to the bus parking and just like when Dorothy opens the door to OZ- volia - we were there- Warped Tour! Rainy disguting Warped- as people scurried to break down tents and stages- we checked in at the production tent only to find our friend Sara (of the band, Saving Face) working in the office. She hooked us up with our passes (all acess laminates with our pictures- too cool) and just like that we were in. In... to do nothing. Word on the street was that everyone was just hanging all day in the parking lot till bus call.

Not wanting to be stuck in the rain- we hunted Bowling For Soup's bus and to keep their reputation intact as the nicest band in the world they welcomed us in, gave us beers and even let us listen to an advance copy of their new record, A Hangover You Don't Deserve and it RULES. Now Bowling For Soup are gamblers and soon everyone was gambling and losing money fast.

Anyways after the rain let up I wondered around a bit- caught up with some friends, Ben from Yellowcard, Ryan from Ernie Ball, Steve from Level 27. Saw all sorts of people (right now Avenged Sevenfold is on the bus) saw Joel from Good Charlotte in catering (no idea why- they canceled this date to work on their record but somehow he's still here), saw the head honcho Kevin Lyman walking around.

So... yeah... we were at WARPED TOUR! It was surreal. I was a little uncomfortable. Lot to take in a few hours without much sleep. I was just really worried about getting some shows. The insanity of what we had done was starting to sink in, We could be in a lot fo trouble. What if we don't get any shows?

Then fate intervined. Aaron was having a chat with Jaret from BFS and he tipped Aaron off that Soup would be leaving the tour soon for roughly 3 weeks. He suggested that we call Ernie Ball to see if we could take their spot while they were gone.

So we did ask and to our surprise they said YES.

but... and this is a big but. We had to get it cleared with the head honcho... the big guy... Kevin Lyman.

Oh damn. Here on our first day terrified we may not play at all and to our total surprise a blessing a God send but first we had to get it cleared with the one guy I didn't want to dare piss off.

So Aaron, Mike and I stood by Kevin Lyman's bus and waited and waited and then he popped out.

He actually came up to us to shoot the shit and with my heart beating fast I popped the question.

He said... Sure. If they have room it's all yours.

And just like that- Army of Freshmen pulled off the undoable today- we are officially playing on the next two weeks of Warped Tour starting Monday in Houston!

I could tell you about the celebrations that ensued- the high fiving- the partying all day in the parking lot but I will spare you the details. It was a wonderful, wonderful day- I can tell you that much.

Later that night we were invited to a kickball game with Taking Back Sunday (weird). A ton of people played and it seems like everyone is really getting along.

This very well could be the best summer of our entire lives.

Tonight it's off to Dallas and day 2 actually it'll be day 1 of the tour where we need to sell some cds.

sitting in packed partying tour bus shitting my pants that we are officially on the next two weeks of Warped and maybe more,

CHRIS JAY

PS. Update on shy Kyle- he's playing craps right now- it may take a lot less time to ruin him than thought. : > )

Tour Log, 6/25/2004

We made it!

I write to you from a hotel room in Houston, TX. We're tired and towards the end of the drive we started to get a tad nuts but all is well. 30 hours in a car will do that to you.

We had to sneak 7 people into a room that we only said 2 people would be in and there's a good chance we'll all get kicked out since we just took over the pool and trampled mud in the hallway but for now- we have a few hours till we need to show up early and get our passes at Warped Tour. Excitement is in the air but so is mother nature- they are calling for bad rain tommorrow. Will Day 1 of Warped get rained out? Will we sell any cds- we'll see- tune in tomorrow!

off to sleep with dreams of Warped Tour swirling in our heads,

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 6/24/2004

Friends of the Freshmen!

Welcome to LOG # 1. This is your tour guide, Chris Jay speaking-we'd like to thank you for joining us this summer in the greatest rock and roll adventure ever attempted. Let us begin our journey of treason, redemption, love, hate, giants, mummies, women, Sasquatchs, more women and a little bit of beer.

Greetings from a bumpy van speeding down the highway in Phoenix, AZ. We are off and running! We're driving through the night on the way to Texas for the first date of one of our favorite things in the whole world- WARPED TOUR!

We're excited and it's really good to be back in the van but... all is not awesome in Freshmenland.

A background if you will.

Ok so after 6 years we have accomplished one of career goals- AOF on the ENTIRE WARPED TOUR!

Catch is although we are confirmed to have a booth at the whole tour we don't have confirmed dates to play. You can see how this is a bit of a problem. We do have a lot of friends on the tour and a lot of people who seemed to be down to get us some shows but... only time will tell. One way or another we are going on the whole motha and we are gonna make a ton of friends, fans and most importantly SELL SOME CDS. You see this is the ONLY way we can survive and stay on the tour- we got to sell discs. So this summer please buy one. : > )

Ok- hopefully you get the point- this isn't rock and roll- this is warfare! Killed or be killed. We're doing one of the most grueling tours possible in a van with a deflated air matress to sleep on in the back.

Let's get the cast of characters out of the way- in the van is of course the 6 of us...

OWEN- the keyboard player who is always the last one out of truck stops
DAN- the Computer tech who constantly text messages
MIKE- the drummer who gets mad when he's tired
KAI- the bass player who got a laptop that I am now writing on -so already he's man of the tour
AARON- our mack daddy player who just bought an ugly expensive pair of sunglasses that kai and I plan to sabotage
ME- the tour logging nerd

and how can I forget- the newest member of our team-

KYLE!

You'll love Kyle- check this out. We found an unemployed Eagle Scout who we've convinced to be our roadie and driver. In fact today he drove 8 straight hours today- he's too nice- dont worry by the end of this summer we'll ruin him emotionally and mentally and try to find him several girlfriends as he does not have one and is shy around girls. We'll keep you posted.

Ok so far...

We passed our friends, The Matches on the freeway- small world. They were all asleep except for the dude with the big ass fro (its getting bigger) he waved, we waved, we passed them. End of story.

We ate at an In N Out in Arizona- bad idea. In N Out should stay in California. I wanted to eat at a What A Burger but we couldnt find it till right after we ate In N Out.

Our air matress has deflated.

That's it.

Give us a break- it's the first day. I'll check back when we get to Texas.

Thanks for coming along on the ride. Till next time this is Chris Jay reporting from the front lines of rock. Good Night!

CHRIS JAY

Tour Log, 6/22/2004

Welcome to Army of Freshmen's 2004 Warped Tour Log!

Here you'll find stories, adventure, drama and gossip from a small band on a BIG tour.

Check back soon- we'll be doing daily updates.

AOF