May 22, 2005
We’ve added a last minute sort of local show this Thursday, May 26 in Camarillo, CA. Unfortunately it’s 18 and over but the good news is it’s a new club/bar called City Nights and we’ll be playing with our friends The Return. Action starts at 9 so if you’re old enough stop and we can buy you a drink… make that you buy us a drink… or we can just flip for it… or arm wrestle… or rock, papers, scissors or… you get the point.
We’re also happy to announce we’ll be doing a few select dates on the Lever 27 Tour this summer. The first confirmed show will be July 9 in Kalamazoo, Michigan with Throne. More on the way.
Lastly check out the recent interview we did for the college magazine Campus Circle. They actually asked us to give love advice! We sincerely hope no one took it or there should be a recent singles explosion on our nation’s campuses.
see you old folks in Cam,
AOF
May 16, 2005
New dates in MO., IN. and MN. have been added to our summer tour with Split Habit! Check um out in the Tour Dates section. More shows on the way!
In other news, head over to our message board to read an exclusive interview with Chris on the band, the music business and bounty hunting!
Lastly we’ve updated our tour archive! See all of AOF’s shows in 2004- our busiest year yet!
May 9, 2005
The first half of our summer tour has been announced! Head over to the TOUR section to check it out. We’ll be on the road with our homies, Split Habit! The tour starts in California on June 17 and wraps up in their hometown of Chicago on July 3. There’s still more dates on the way but heads up on a hometown show and our first time ever in Wyoming! We’ll be announcing the second half of the summer dates soon.
Before the tour though we’ll be doing two warm up dates in Northern California on June 10 in San Rafael and June 11 in Novato. Lots of new songs to play for ya!
looking forward seeing everybody this summer,
AOF
May 4, 2005
Greetings from our home base in Ventura. We’re taking a small break in May before we head out on tour in June and we’re happy to tell you that next Monday, May 9 we’ll be releasing the first half of our summer tour dates and some VERY big late summer tour news. So check back here next week for all the details.
In the meantime here’s a quick update on what your favorite AOFer has been up to.
Chris- Chris has been driving around California collecting vinyl records. He even bumped in Benji from Good Charlotte at one store. Excerpt of conversation…
Chris- “So what’s up man?”
Benji- “Just getting ready to leave for tour with Simple Plan then probably off to Asia. How bout you?”
Chris- Just getting ready to leave for Taco Bell then probably off to play mini golf.”
We’re sure that says something about the state of the music and the world it’s self but as to what exactly we have no idea.
Aaron- Aaron is on his way to becoming the Donald Trump of Ebay. Attention Aaron’s mom. If you’re missing something around the house and see it listed on Ebay- it’s probably yours. Happy bidding! Owen- Owen is a working man! Trying to break the record of having over 100 different jobs,
Owen is driving around a thrift store truck picking up items. Yes, he will probably be buff the next time you see him or at least a good driver.
Dan- Dan has become obsessed with a video game called “God of War”. It’s an ultra violent Greek Mythology type deal. He’s got it bad. I’ll let you know if he shows up at the apartment in a toga carrying the neighbor’s head. I’ll also let the police know.
Kai- Kai is waiting in line waiting for Stars Wars to open. Just kidding but he does have his ticket for the midnight showing and plans to spend all day there. You can send condolences to his mom for what her son turned into at Sorry Your Son Think He’s a Jedi Fund, PO Box 302, Ventura, CA. 93002
Mike- Mike is back in Chicago producing a band called Plunket all this week. Drummers- give them two sticks and they think they rule the world. : > )
If you’re craving for a little AOF love though visit myspace.com/armyoffreshmen for some new photos from the band’s personal collection and don’t forget to check back Monday for the big tour news!
AOF
April 17, 2005
Good News! Freak Fest is back on for this upcoming weekend in Bakersfield! Well it’s not actually Freak Fest but all the bands scheduled to play Freak Fest are still playing a new event, Spring Fest. Army of Freshmen will be playing on the second day, Sunday, April 24th. The new venue is Stramler Park in downtown Bakersfield and AOF is scheduled to go on at 5pm. Also on the bill that day is Homegrown, Kottonmouth Kings and a whole lot more. For info, directions and tickets visit timgardeapresents.com or feel free to call 661-335-0415
It’s a two day fest (Sat/Sun) and one ticket gets you into both days- heads up though day one is at another venue in Bako called The Dome. Sorry for all the confusion!
Chances are this will be AOF’s last all ages show till our summer tour starts in June, so don’t miss it!
In more commerce related news, throughout the month of April, AOF’s video for “Get Um Up” will be played in everyone’s favorite mall shoe store- Journeys! Stop by and demand they fast forward to AOF!
See you in Bako!
AOF
April 10, 2005
We made it home safely after our incredible Midwest Tour! Despite short notice, AOF fans from all over showed up to pack clubs, theaters and even a coffeehouse during an amazing 7 shows. AOF mania was so intense it prompted a fan to drive all the way from Pennsylvania to the Chicago show! Unreal.
It was really great to see all our friends again in the Midwest and make some new ones. Thanks to everyone who helped put the tour together at the last minute.
We’ve got a bit of bad news though, our next show, Freak Fest has been postponed. AOF was scheduled to play the Bakersfield festival alongside Homegrown and Kottonmouth Kings but due to complications with the venue, the entire event is on hold. As soon as we have a new date and venue for the event- we’ll let you know. We know a lot of people were traveling to the show as it was our only California date in April so our apologies. More shows tba soon.
In other news, we are working hard on our summer and there are a lot of exciting developments. AOF will spend the first half of summer on tour with some very good friends and the second half of the summer we will be on a MAJOR tour that we’ll be announcing next month so stay tuned.
As for the new music, we are freaking out about how the songs came out we can’t wait to get them out to you, heck we don’t even have a copy yet but Jaret from Bowling for Soup who produced them is hard at work locating the right guy for the job of mixing the new music, so hold tight and know it’ll be worth the wait!
off to a real bed after a real shower,
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Mike, Kai
March 31, 2005
The Midwest tour starts tonight in Iowa City, IA. and we've got good news... we finally added a Colorado date on April 6th at The Aggie Theater in Ft. Collins with our friends DORK. It's a benefit for Cancer Research and it's only 5 bucks. So for all you Denver folks make the drive and we'll see in Ft. Collins!
March 29, 2005
Greetings from Texas once again! We’re getting another day or so of recording at Valve Studios with Jaret of Bowling For Soup before we head up to the Midwest for a week of shows- visit the tour dates for all the info!
We’re really excited to get back and see all our friends in the Midwest, should be one big party every night. Heads up on the Lincoln and Chicago dates which are both early shows. Tickets for the BIG Chicago date are on sale now and going fast.
We are really, really excited to get back on the road after all our time in the studio, we got a lot of pent up rock that we intend to unleash on the Midwest. So if you’re anywhere close make the trip cause this will be our last out state run till the summer.
Also for some exclusive pics of us in the studio check out the Valve Studios website!
Drop us a line at info@armyoffreshmen.com and let us know what shows you’ll be hitting or send us a message at the Kai Dodson personally addicted and endorsed My Space.
ready to rock the Midwest!
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Mike, Kai
March 25, 2005
We leave tonight for our Midwest Advenure and there's some last minute details plus a new show!
Tommorrow we'll have a booth at the Extreme Thing Festival in Las Vegas. Stop by and say hi if you'll be in the house. Later that night we intend to get into all sorts of trouble before we drive all day Easter Sunday to go back again to Dallas so we can spend a little more time on the recording before we head up to the Midwest next weekend. The shows so far are...
3/31 Iowa City, IA
4/1 Lincoln, NE
4/2 Chicago, IL
4/3 Crown Point, IN
4/4 Omaha, NE
4/7 Provo, UT
We just added an Omaha date with our friends, Anchondo and we're still looking for a Kansas date on the 5thnd a Colorado date on the 6th. If you can help at all email Chris.
Lastly tickets for the massive Chicago show are going fast and are on sale here.
This is one to rood trip for, don't miss it!
Don't forget to check the Studio Log and stay tuned for updates on the shows right here.
Vegas bound,
AOF
March 22, 2005
More shows announced in the Midwest! Along with the big Chicago date on Saturday, April 2nd we’ll be in Iowa City, IA. on March 31st, Lincoln, NE. on April 1st, Crown Point,IN. on the 3rd, Provo, UT. on the 7th and we’re also working on Kansas and Colorado. As soon as we have more we’ll let you know! This is really last minute to book but we were determined not to let the Empty Mouths Tour derails our plans to visit the Midwest. Drop us line if you can help with booking a show in the area on the 4th, 5th or 6th or just let us know where we’ll be seeing you!
March 14, 2005
Important Announcement! Army of Freshmen will not be taking part in the upcoming Empty Mouths Tour. We were scheduled to do two weeks on the benefit tour starting this Wednesday in Oregon but after EVER possible effort on our part to make it work with the tour’s organizers we felt it was in the best interest of the band and our fans to not be a part of the tour.
We’re really sorry to everyone who was looking forward to shows and we sincerely promise we’ll make it up to soon but we do not intend to let it stop us from hitting the road in some capacity. Army of Freshmen are still heading out to play in Chicago at the Bottom Lounge on April 2 with Split Habit and Swizzle Tree! We intend to book some shows on the way out and back. If you can help book an all ages show in and around the Midwest around that time please email chris@armyoffreshmen.com it’s last minute so we need all the help we can get.
Oh yeah… how could we forget? Recording went AMAZING. We are confident that this is hands down the best music Army of Freshmen has ever made. Working with Jaret from Bowling For Soup couldn’t have been better and we can’t wait for you to hear the new stuff- it may take a while but more on that soon… in the mean time… for crying out loud check out the STUDIO LOG to catch up on all adventures in Texas… I mean… our neighbor at the hotel was a full fledged prostitute! If that doesn’t warrant a look at the log well… frankly we pity your sense of humor.
Please- if you have questions about the canceled dates- we’re happy to clear them up email us at info@armyoffreshmen.com.
bumming on our new two week break,
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Kai, Mike
March 8, 2005
Recording rages on in Texas- be sure to check the tour log here for all the details details. We're coming to the close of our time in the Lone Star State then it's back to Cali for a day or two before we join the Empty Mouths Tour for two weeks starting in Oregon. New dates are up including Tempe, AZ. After that we'll be doing some select one offs in the Midwest including the just announced huge show April 2 in Chicago with our friends Split Habit and Swizzle Tree.
Lastly we've posted some brand new photos from our shoot last month with photographer, Amanda Peackock. There's some great band pics in the download section and also on our personal pages.
Check it out and we'll see ya on Empty Mouths!
March 3, 2005
Greetings from Texas!
We made the trip safely and are on DAY 3 in the studio! Things are going absolutely great. We are so excited how the songs are turning out but why give it away here? Check out the first installment of TEN DAYS IN TEXAS our first ever studio tour log here! Updates will be pouring in so keep checking back.
In other news as soon as we get out of the studio we'll be heading out for two weeks on The Empty Mouths Tour. It's for a great cause - feeding the homeless - and we're excited to get back to the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The dates are pretty much confirmed so check out our tour dates for all the info and get in touch if you're coming to any of the shows. Also heads up to everybody in Cali we'll be playing the massive Freak Fest in Bakersfield at the end of April.
Drop us a line while we're in the studio - info@armyoffreshmen.com - we have a lot of time on our hands or send us a shout out on My Space.
your studio slaves,
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Mike, Kai
February 24, 2005
Friends of the Freshmen!
We leave tonight at midnight under the cover of darkness to Texas and the most important recording session of our lives. We leave our fate into the capable hands of Bowling For Soup’s Jaret Reddick who will be producing the new tunes at Valve Studios in Dallas. We’ll be there for the next week and half busting our butts to bring the world the finest AOF songs you’ve ever heard. A studio log will be up shortly so you can read all the adventures of AOF going nuts in a Texas studio- at the very least it should make for a great read.
As soon as we get out of the studio we’ll be joining The Empty Mouths Tour from March 13 to March 30 for dates in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and more- check out the tour dates for more info as new dates are still be adding to the tour.
Wish us luck and drop us a line at info@armyoffreshmen.com – no doubt we’ll be happy to hear from the civilized world after 10 days locked in a room with no windows.
off to mess with Texas,
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Kai, Mike
February 15, 2005
The time is upon us...
Saturday, Feb. 19th @ The Garden Village Café in Ventura, CA.
w/ Plain White Ts, Suburban Legends and The Littlest Man Band
7pm 10 dollars All Ages
GVC is located at 40 Day. Rd. (across from Ventura College)
For more info call 805-794-4714
This show will absolutely sell out! Although there will be tickets at the door- don’t take a chance- get um in advance. It’s an intimate venue (located awesomely enough between a nursery and coffeeshop) and more importantly the line up we’ve assembled is one for the ages.
Most importantly this is your last chance to catch AOF before they leave on Feb. 24 to head into the studio in Texas!
Now for all your poor unfortunate souls who won’t be at the BIG show- there’s a little bit of AOF love for you this week too…
This Wednesday, Feb. 16 Army of Freshmen will be interviewed and co hosting on UCLA Radio. You can listen online at UCLARADIO.COM We’ll be on at 2pm. That’s 5pm for you folks on the east coast. AOF will be hanging out, talking and spinning some of their favorite songs.
Then the next night we return to DJ Rosstar’s Online Radio Show on the net’s best radio station Idobi IDOBI.COM! Tune in at 7pm Pacific Time (10 Eastern) cause rumor has it AOF may be performing live on the air and several guests maybe stopping by. You can im questions and requests to the DJ during the show at idobiRStar
In other news AOF has been locked up daily in their practice space working on the songs we’ll be recording next month in Texas with Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup. We can’t tell you how excited we are about the new material. Right now we have 17 NEW SONGS with more pouring out everyday. This week we’ll be meeting up with our friend (and brilliant songwriter) Jonny Polonsky and also Jeremy Popoff from Lit to do some writing together. We’re looking forward to hearing the results!
While we’re in the studio… yes we will be keeping a detailed log here, on this site, and if you enjoyed Chris’ insane rants from the road- you have no idea the madness that consumes a man when he’s trapped in a room for 12 hours a day with no windows listening to the same song over and over again. Should be priceless.
Also this just in- Army of Freshmen will be joining the Empty Mouths Tour for two weeks immediately after leaving the studio in March (13th - 30th) – dates are slowly coming in so check their site for more info but it looks like AOF will be on the leg that hits Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and Colorado- looking forward to coming back to all those great states- keep checking the site for venues and dates! The tour is for a great cause and is also sponsored by Alternative Press.
see ya Saturday!
February 9, 2005
After almost a year absence, over 200 rabid AOF fans showed up in Fresno and totally rocked the house. Gotta love those double decker dance pits! Well done Fresno, well done.
This Sunday, Feb. 13 while the Grammys will be insulting the intelligence of music fans everywhere we’ll be making our first ever trip to Pomona, CA. for “The Nightmare Before Valentine’s Day Massacre” show at 51 Buckingham (www.51buckingham.com). (Located next to the Glasshouse at 296 W. 2nd Street) Tickets are only 6 dollars at the door. Expect AOF on at 8pm. Also on the bill is National Product, Zolof and The Rock and Roll Destroyers and Dexter Danger.
Speaking of upcoming mega events tickets for our hometown show Sat. Feb. 19th are now on sale! (Link). This show is at the ultra intimate Garden Village Café in Ventura and will absolutely sell out. Don’t take a chance- get um in advance.
The line up we’ve assembled is one for the ages. We’ve got Chicago’s Plain White T’s (www.plainwhitets.com) who are coming out for a special one off show before they join the Plea for Peace Tour, our UK Tourmates, Suburban Legends who have one of the better live shows you’ll ever see and lastly The Littlest Man Band which features Scott and Dan of Reel Big Fish who are taking time out of recording the new RBF record to be there. You will not see this line up ever again in a small venue. It’s gonna be a classic. We’ll pulled a lot of strings to make this one happen- spread the word and start planning those road trips cause this is the show you’ve been waiting for.
In other news AOF has been locked up daily in their practice space working on the songs we’ll be recording next month in Texas with Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup. We can’t tell you how excited we are about the new material. Right now we have 16 brand new songs with more pouring out everyday. While we’re in the studio we’ll be keeping a detailed log- more on that soon! Also be on the look out for a slew of new tour dates in March throughout the West Coast and beyond. Stay tuned.
boycotting the Grammys once again,
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Kai, Mike
February 1, 2005
Our first out of state show of the year was incredible! An AOF deprived Arizona totally went nuts and we had a great time- maybe the best show of the year so far.
This weekend we make our return to Fresno with our friends South of Shaw and Flight 409. The show is at the always rocking Big Game Studios. It’s located at 1533 E. Belmont and starts at 8pm. It’s only three bands and AOF is headlining so expect a nice long set. If you ask really hard maybe, just maybe we’ll work on that surprise cover we just recorded and everyone in Arizona got to hear. More on that in the future.
In breaking big news our long awaited hometown show has finally been announced and it’s an unbelievable line up! It’s happening Sat. Feb. 19th at The Garden Village Café (the venue is no longer the Legion Hall) in Ventura, CA. (located right next to the college) and we’ve assembled some of our closest friends and great bands to play it- on board are The Plain White Ts, The Littlest Man Band (Scott and Dan of Reel Big Fish) and The Suburban Legends! You will not see any of these bands in a more intimate venue- so start making those road trips plans now- this is one to remember. Not too mention it’s our last show before we take off to Texas to record so be there.
Also we added a press quote section- check out what the critics have been saying about Beg, Borrow, Steal!
In closing folks… GO EAGLES!
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Kai, Mike
January 26, 2005
2005 is off to an awesome start! First the article in this month’s Alternative Press then a mention in this week’s Rolling Stone and now it turns out January has another big surprise in store for AOF.
Last night at practice we were assaulted with calls and texts saying one of our songs was on MTV. To our total surprise, Army of Freshmen’s song “Paradise” is played briefly during the season finale of Real World/ Road Rules Battle of the Sexes while someone jumps out of a plane. It first aired Monday Night but as MTV goes it will probably be on 10,000 more times by the time you are finished reading this so you’ll have plenty of chances to check it out. Don’t’ believe us? Check it out here.
In more pressing news- after 3 amazingly fun Nor Cal shows (one in which Chris jumped into the crowd from a ledge over 15 feet high!) we make our first out of state appearance of the year this weekend in Arizona this Saturday, Jan. 29 at the Big Fish Pub in Tempe. We’ll be there with our friends The Littlest Man Band (Scott and Dan from Reel Big Fish) and more. Show is all ages and starts at 8pm. Big Fish is located at 1954 University and the number for info is 480-966-5010. We’re excited to see all our friends in the desert- if you’re anywhere near don’t miss this show!
For those of you who have access to On Demand TV tune into the Havoc Music Video Channel- they've been showing AOF's video for "Get Um Up" all month and it'll be on for a few more days. We got to see it for the first time ourselves this past weekend while crashed at Dexter Danger's house- cool experience.
In other cool news- for those of you in the UK this month’s Big Cheese Magazine has named us one of the bands to watch out for in 2005! We’re both surprised and honored! Can’t wait to get back there and make good on their prediction! For those of you in the USA-you can order Big Cheese online here.
January 17, 2005
Friends of the Freshmen!
Ever have a dream? Well ever since we can imagine we’ve wanted to be in Rolling Stone. It didn’t matter for what or how big or where just somewhere in that magazine we wanted to see our name before we died. Well after 7 years of relentless hard work that dream has come true. In this week’s issue (Gwen Stefani’s on the cover) Army of Freshmen is mentioned!!! On the last page, in the local charts section, Army of Freshmen’s Beg, Borrow, Steal is number 9! Once a week Rolling Stone lists the top ten selling records from a random record store in the United States- this week it’s Vibrations in Cape May, NJ. and low and behold we have the number 9 record there- unbelievable.
But the rock must not be stopped even for Rolling Stone! After a sold out, fired up and downright awesome first show of the year last Saturday in Anaheim we make our triumphant return this weekend to one of favorite areas to play- Northern California!
special weeknight early show…
Thursday, Jan. 20 in Campbell, CA. @ Gaslighter
400 E. Campbell Ave. Doors - 6PM, AOF - 7pm, $8
w/ My Former Self, Dexter Danger, Up Syndrome
mega event of the winter…
Friday, Jan. 21 in San Rafael, CA. @ Verge
(The City of San Rafael Community Center)
618 B Street Doors 6pm AOF- 8:30, $10
w/ 11 Bands including Desa, Facing New York, Offset, Dexter Danger
super cheap benefit show…
Lastly Saturday, Jan. 22 in Petaluma, CA. @ Temple B’nai
740 Western Ave. Doors 7pm $5
Just AOF – a full length set w/ lots of surprises!
Then the following week we’re super excited to make our return to Arizona when we invade The Big Fish Pub for an all ages show with our friends The Littlest Man Band (Scott and Dan from Reel Big Fish) on Sat. Jan 29th. This is a one off out of state gig so if you’re anywhere in the desert- be there! Big Fish is located at 1954 E. University Ave. Show is all ages and starts at 8pm.
We finally have the long demanded Army of Freshmen Hoodies available at our online merch store- check um out!
ready to head north and take the rock to the people,
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Kai, Mike
January 5, 2005
Friends of the Freshmen!
Welcome to 2005!
Here’s hoping you and yours had a great holiday season. AOF took a mini break and here’s the recap!
What AOF did on their Holiday Break
1. Chris went on a mini east coast tour of his relative’s houses in NJ., PA. and MD. and once again got to dine at his beloved Wawa.
2. Dan worked on his budding second career as a snow board master in the mountains of Big Bear, CA.
3. Kai logged in a few hours working at the record store and tried (unsuccessfully) to avoid selling Destiny ‘s Child records.
4. Owen logged in a few hours working at the video store and tried (unsuccessfully) to avoid touching the hands of people who brought back porn rentals.
5. And Aaron… well Aaron in his continuing quest to avoid work at all costs proceeded to sell nearly everything he owns including his car! Go Aaron- we think…
But it’s back to the rock in 05 and it’s looking to be a huge year for AOF! Lot’s in the works so let’s get down to details!
First off- after our appearances in several teen mags last year and a great review in Alternative Press, AOF returns to the national newsstands in a big way! Pick up the new copy of Alternative Press with Senses Fail on the cover and turn to page 38 for a small article and color photo of ARMY OF FRESHMEN! It’s our favorite mag and we’re beyond excited to finally be in it. It’s available everywhere so pick up a copy and while you’re at it send in the ticket on page 30 and request more AOF!
Now onto the first show of the new year! We’re kicking things off next Saturday, Jan. 15 at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA. to make up for last year’s canceled show. We’ll be there with Never Heard Of It, Up Syndrome, EWI and Change of Pace. The show starts at 7:00. AOF is on third. Fore more info visit www.allages.com or call 714.635.6067
After that we’ve got dates lined up all throughout California and Arizona including a return to Nor. Cal. and an all ages hometown show- so check the tour dates now for all the info!
In lighter news… we’re excited to announce that in March, Army of Freshmen will head to Texas to start recording the first songs for our next record! We’ll be living in Dallas for two weeks and Jaret Reddick (lead singer of Bowling For Soup) will be producing! We’ve already written 15 new songs that we’re really excited about. More on that to come.
Lastly- the rumors of a BIG one off show on the East Coast this winter are true! We should have the juicy details next week.
staying alive and ready to thrive in 05,
Chris, Aaron, Owen, Dan, Kai – ARMY OF FRESHMEN
PS. A big heartfelt thanks to everyone who sent emails and cards in regards to our stolen trailer and equipment last month. To our surprise the story made Punknews.org and Westwood One’s Radio Fax. The good news is our trailer was found alive and relatively well a week later abandoned in an alley in Oxnard, CA. Despite having to pay $150 to get it out of the towing yard (go figure) we were happy to have her back. The bad news is of course she was empty. We still have over $12,000 worth of equipment missing. The police did make an arrest somewhat in connection with the theft but none of our gear turned up except for a notebook. Luckily they are following some strong leads so keep your fingers crossed.