Saturday, January 10

I say The Exies need to post some new tour dates soon , It is sad too long on to there page .. and see the little tour box empty .

Sunday, November 9

The Exies Concert Review: Poughkeepsie, NY [11/8/08]

As I type this, I hear a familiar Exies song in the background that all of us fans have come to adore: “These Are The Days.” It awes me, how much it completely fits with what I’m about to type, since this event that I’m about to describe is certainly a day that “I will remember”…and for a very, very long time.

I saw them just yesterday in Poughkeepsie, New York…but already it feels so far away; it’s in the past, and it can never repeat itself completely. Yet, I can’t help but reflect on how amazing of a day it was, despite how nostalgic I feel towards it already.

It was a day with a lot of “firsts,” one of them being my first-ever long-distance drive to a concert without a parent. And I have to say it was pretty dangerous…the highway was narrow, the roads were wet, there was heavy rain, and it was very dark outside…even though it was only around 3:30. I’d have to say that my friend, as well as The Exies music blasting, kept me good company. But it figures that the problem I have is when I’m already at the place, trying to find a place to park. Eager to turn into a parking lot a ways away, I turn into a one-way street…the opposite way. Seeing all the cars coming at me, flashing their brights…some experience right there. I’m just glad I didn’t have to get rushed to the hospital…I would’ve missed The Exies! ;D

So anyways, enough with the car stories. We got there at around 4:00; ten minutes later the bands showed up in their vans. So my friend and I really were the “first ones there,” if you know what I mean. It was the earliest I ever got to a show. [another first right there!] So we did the typical things to pass time…I had photography homework, and got that out of the way…then we went to eat at a sketchy pizza place…then we hung around the venue, hoping to see one of the Exies members wandering around.

Finally, we saw Freddy handling some equipment…except he looked quite busy. Me, being the nervous, shy person I am, kept debating, nervously, if I should go over and talk to him. Was he too busy? And even if he wasn’t, wouldn’t it seem stalkerish going over there suddenly, and saying something along the lines of “hey, you probably don’t remember me, but I certainly remember you”? [since The Exies played at the same venue a year and a half ago that I went to, and I had talked to Freddy quite a bit last time…still, it was awhile ago] I decided finally, as I saw Chris talking to him, that it was my queue. Chris vanished as I came up, but Freddy spotted me and immediately said that he remembered me. It was certainly a “wow” moment for me...and even though he didn’t remember my name, it was still a pleasant surprise. Except we only talked for a minute; he said that he was getting things set up [which is what I originally figured] and that they were gonna do sound check soon. I said goodbye for the moment, and then relaxed with my friend for a bit.

We soon heard their sound check kick in, so it felt like a concert without the visuals. Suddenly, though, Samantha texted me [yes, the Samantha you all know] letting me know that The Exies were going on last, due to the singer of TrustCompany having bronchitis. The news was certainly exciting [about The Exies headlining, not about the TrustCompany singer being sick], so I called her and started asking her more about that, as well as giving her updates about what happened so far. It lasted for a solid ten minutes, which was nice…definitely a good time-killer right there.

Sooner or later, my friend and I realized that no more songs were being played; excited, we got up to see if The Exies were in the back again, possibly putting equipment away or something along those lines. And sure enough, we saw Freddy again. We ended up talking for a few minutes about random things…what songs they’re gonna play later, college, stuff like that. Oh, and he offered gum to me & my friend, which we took. In the meanwhile, this kid came up to us and introduced himself; turns out he messaged me the day before saying he was coming to the show, so it was cool meeting up with him. His name is Paul, and apparently he’s a cool drummer.

Again, though, Freddy had to go…supposedly the boys were all going out somewhere, so they took the van. As the van was backing up, though, we see Chris coming over to us saying “uhhh yeah, I think it’d be a good idea if you guys get out of the way…this guy’s a really bad reverser” or something along those lines. It was like interaction before introduction [since I didn’t talk to Chris last time]…somewhat strange, but somewhat cool at the same time. But they all had to go, so then my friend and I started hanging out in a circle with three other guys: Paul, this dude from New Paltz, and this older dude. We talked mostly about music, for about a half hour…watched the club next store fill up with a ridiculously large frat party…and then, the doors finally opened.

Of course, my friend and I got front & center stage, since we were the first there…but this was the first ever show that I got that position. The best I’ve gotten otherwise was front & side…but front & center is surely the way to go, I’m convinced. The pit [which, mind you, is literally the size of a bedroom or two] was pretty much empty, save for me, my friend, and a couple of others in the back. My legs were already hurting, which was quite pathetic…so I sat down for awhile, against the barricade. Soon, though, the opening band, Tomorrow’s Alibi, came on. And I have to saythey sucked. Haha, they just had no energy, and they were boring. And they played six or seven songs….waaaay too much, in my opinion. The second band that came on was another opener, Midnight Pass. Definitely better than the first, since they actually had energy…but I wasn’t crazy about the singer’s voice. Then, Human X came on…they were okay, but their songs sounded the same. Although there was a funny moment when the lead singer crouched right in front of me and started singing to me…even when I knew none of the words. The opening bands otherwise, though, were mostly a waste of two hours. It sucked waiting through them.

TrustCompany came on next, though, and they really were great. It’s unfortunate that the singer wasn’t feeling well, because they only played about four songs [less than the opening bands, which was meh]…still, their energy, music, and performance convinced me that I must check them out. A good number of people came out to see them, and there was even a small moshing circle going on. Once they were finished, though, the place seemed to empty a tad.

By this time I wanted to sever my feet because of how much they were hurting; at the same time, my heart was filled with excitement for The Exies’ headlining performance coming up. And sooner or later, after some equipment setup, they made their way to the stage. Immediately I heard the powerful opening guitars of “Lay Your Money Down,” and the adrenaline rush had officially begun. Scott blasted his voice out with all his heart, as he sung “I’m no spectator at the revolutiooooon!” and pretty much the remainder of the song. Freddy was jamming on his bass, Chris was spinning around with his guitar, and Isaac was banging on those drums, shirtless. And this is how it was for the remainder of the show; after “Lay Your Money Down” they went into “A Fear of Being Alone,” followed by “Hey You” [one of my favorites live, since it has so much energy…I have a video of it on myspace], followed by “My Goddess,” then “Different Than You,” “My Ordinary World” [which was definitely emotional for both Scott and myself…he said himself that the song was like “here’s my heart,” and I’ve always related to that song so much myself], “Dose” [which has always been a personal favorite of mine, since it’s got so much energy in it], “This Is The Sound” [which I was so happy to hear, because I didn’t think they were going to play it], “These Are The Days,” and finally, “Ugly.” The show zipped by, literally…I could not believe it was over. Still, they played a good headlining set…I heard most of my favorite songs [excluding “Splinter,” “Normal,” and “A Modern Way”], and their stage presence was amazing. Oh, and Freddy kept smiling at me, which was pretty sweet as well.

So their set ended, but I knew they were gonna hang by the merch stand really soon. Within five minutes, Chris and Isaac were already there. I decided not to go up to them just yet, so I started talking to the merch lady yet again [I had talked to her earlier for a few minutes, telling her how I’ve missed The Exies and such…she was very nice], telling her how amazed I was by The Exies again, and how TrustCompany was really good as well [since she said they were amazing live, which I obviously agreed with]. Still, though, I was nervous to go up to the band members; I decided to somewhat “force” myself into conversation by buying a poster to get signed. So first, the poster went to Isaac; that was my queue to introduce myself and ask him about being in the band and such, so we talked for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, he signed my poster with a very unique signature [which I remarked on, and he agreed with me]. He also gave Hoss a very nice scarf design, as well as Wolverine claws, with a silver sharpie. I told him that he should be a professional artist, and he agreed.

After that, Freddy signed the poster with his typical “[insert name here] ROCKS!” message, and his name. Then he passed the poster over to Christopher, saying “sign this for Kayla!” which was yet another queue to introduce myself. Over the past year and a half, I have to admit that I regretted not talking to Chris the first time seeing The Exies; for some reason or another, I felt slightly intimidated. Even last night, I felt a bit weird…but the poster was a good excuse to finally talk to him. I introduced myself, and told him that I was a good friend of Samantha’s; turns out he recognized me from her page, which was slightly weird to hear? But it was cool at the same time. He asked me what I thought of the show; I gave him the “duh” look, and responded with “…it was the worst show ever. I was booing the whole time, didn’t you hear me?” and then he laughed. Yeah, my sarcasm is certainly weird like that sometimes. We started talking some more, and my friend remarked on how it was her first show, ever. Chris obviously was in shock, with wide eyes and everything…asking back at us “first show EVER?!” and she said yes. Indeed, when she tells her kids about her first concert, she’ll say “I saw The Exies!” with pride. I said that out loud, and both were slightly weirded out…at least, Chris was. I suppose he was just taking in the moment, sharing in her first concert experience…well, I’d like to think that.

Soon after, though, I wanted to bring up his works in graphic design; I’m a graphic designer myself, so I wanted to have that “designer & designer” conversation, since it’s rare when I find another one out there. I brought up the subject, and him being the talker he is went right into it. He started mocking me about having a PC and not a Mac, since “graphics are always lost on PCs if your computer crashes.” Yeah, it was quite faggy…then again, my cousin has also told me how “Macs are amazing” and such…I don’t know what to think just yet. But still, he went into how he “designs everything for The Exies” and the programs he uses, how he blends some of the images together…mostly things I already supposed, or knew. So then I told him how I myself am into design, and want to major in it, and yadda yadda. It went on for awhile, but then he had to help put away some of the equipment, so he left for awhile.

Finally, I see Scott; I went up to him, introduced myself, and got a hug; yesterday made me realize how much of a “hugging” person Scott really is. We talked for a few minutes, but then Paul started talking to Scott for a bit; I decided to hang with Freddy and Isaac for a bit. I asked if they could do the favor of making a video for my friend who was originally gonna go with me, but couldn’t come due to being sick. I told them that her name was “Yulia,” and Isaac remarked on how exotic the name was. He said that in the video, too. It was quite hilarious; my friend ended up loving that video, which was good to hear.

We went back to Scott, and we talked for a few more minutes. He was joking around a bit, suggesting that we all “get down” in the club next door…but we found to our surprise that despite the loud music, there was barely anyone there. So we stayed in The Chance for a bit longer; the only people left were me, my friend, Scott, Freddy, Isaac, Paul, and these two ladies from The Exies fansite [or one, at least…they were together, and I spoke to them soon after…one of them happened to be SockPuppetAmy, if anyone knows her]. We talked about some more random things; I said to Scott “whoa, we totally have the same shoes on!” and he responded with “whoa, mine are totally older and dirtier” and smiled. And basically after that, him and the rest of the band had to put their equipment back in the van. Scott gave me hug #5 [or something along those lines] and went over to the stage. I started talking with Amy some more, saying how The Exies truly are such sweethearts…she agreed. So we went on about that, and then they left; Paul left as well. So my friend and I decided that we had enough and that it was time to go as well. We went over to the van, and all four of the guys were there. We said our goodbyes to all of them, and all four of them gave us hugs. As we were walking away, Isaac threw in a “drive safe!” and made it like his hands were on a steering wheel. And with that, we were off.

Indeed, I did drive safe…but on that drive I started reflecting on what had just happened. It was my first show going without a parent…it was my first show front and center…it was my friend’s first show ever…and it was the best show in regards to band/fan interaction. The Exies, I am convinced, are a rare band out there; they place their hearts not only in their music, but in their fans. They’re grown-up teddy bears, and they can’t help but put smiles on their fans’ faces when they see them. They are what every band should be, and their fans are what all fans should be; such a powerful combination produces an amazing force, an amazing connection…and an amazing time at their shows. I think every fan here agrees. =)



~Kayla

And I was helped through the weekend....

So last weekend, November 1 to be exact, I went to see The Exies. That week at work was long as I don't know what. I found out that we are open on all holidays possibly...and that I was working Thanksgiving Day. So I was bummed about that, but I quickly forgot all about being upset for that once I finally got to my destination. I had to drive almost 3 hours to some small podunk town...but being that I looove The Exies, I didn't mind. Once we got inside, we realized how small the venue was, and I knew without a doubt that it was going to be a good night. It was pretty cool, because all the bands hung out with everyone. I mean there was only 20 or 30 of us there, but just having them hang out, when they could have stayed upstairs, was so awesome. There was times during the other bands performance that I would look beside me and see Scott or Freddy just standing there like "hey". My friends that were with me were like "she's a happy child". Yes, yes I was. I mean I have met them before, back in May. It was at a small venue...not this small. So I only got to just meet them and get my pictures with them (which my friend never emailed me). But this time, just spending time with my favorite band! Wow. I had heard some of their songs before, but because I was never into rock that much, I never got the band or anything. Well about...well say earlier this year, I was sent a request from them on myspace. I guess they saw me on cage rattles page. My friends best friend used to dj for them and now is a drummer....for a band that actually opened for them in Baton Rouge. Small world huh. Anyhow, so when I first went to their page, I immediatly LOOOOOVED them and started following their tour dates. When it was announced that they were coming like within an hour of me, I went into work the next day and asked off. It was, after all, my birthday weekend! So anyhow, I so rambled on and on. Whoops, I tend to do that. Anyhow, it was such a horrible week that wound up ending on such a high note. I had never had so much fun at a show. I finally got my pics with them...except for Isaac who was under the weather :( Another show...that'll be my excuse for going again! Anyhow, made me realize that things weren't so bad after all, so yeah. I did realize one thing though...DON'T TAKE FREDDY'S MINISHARPIE! He'll come after you!

An Inspiration!!!

I have bee an Exies fan for five years now haha. My brother-in-law introduced me to them. From then on, they were my all time favorite band!!! Scott Stevens has always inspired me to become a better writer, a better singer, and a better musician (hopefully it's paid off). When I first got to see The Exies finally two summers ago on the Bad Boys of Rock Tour (Hinder Blows), I was on cloud nine! Plus the tour had two of my other favorite bands Papa Roach and Buckcherry. Rather it's "The Exies", "Head For the Door", "Inertia", or "A Modern Way..." there is never a sense of "what were they thinking there?" It was always one wow after the next for me. It's all original, inspirational, passionate, and easy to relate to. This Sunday I am going to see the boys in Lexington. I've been pumped for it for quite a while now! It is going to be AMAZING!!! I think this is a great tour and it's going to be awesome!!! Can't wait!!!


Blake