The Unknown 2003 Euro Tour. Week Two.
Written mostly by Ken.

   Pete and Louis went to Antwerpen with Paolo to do some record shopping before our 3:00 sound check. While they were gone we got all the gear from Martine's and hung out lazily.
   The room at De Nartist was really cool. It had paintings on the wall, and the sound in there was really great. This was an impromptu show thrown together by Martine. Eventually people started showing up and we started seeing some familiar faces like Philip and Tanya, the guys in Demzel, and a very old friend of mine, Stefaan from Foolsday Records. Steefan put out the Dag Nasty covers comp that we were on in 1996. I had never met him before, and it was really great to talk to him for the first time, especially after meeting through mail 7 years ago. He gave me handful of the covers cd that are now a fairly sought after item.

Louis mans the merch table.

   The set ended up being way more songs than we thought we would play; The Young Ones, Cyclone, Whether, Disappear, Puzzles, Postcard, Radio, Real Thing, Annie Mae, She's Sorry, Never Be The Same, Stare, That Girl, Listen To Me, Need To Know, Merry Go Round, Group Think, Million Bucks, Friend of Mine, Seems So Real, Mascara, Self Control, Leave Me Now, Seven.
   The night was amazing. It turned into a big party and we kept having to try and dig out songs to play cause no one would let us leave the stage. Philip came up and sang Friend of Mine with us, a bunch of people came up for the Group Think chorus, and it was just a great vibe. We stayed up late talking and hanging out and ended up doing more merch that the fist two nights.

Day 9 - Saturday March 29, 2003: Muoy, France @ 17th Tremplin Rock festival

   We got up early to make the drive to Muoy, France. We had to be there for soundcheck at 3pm. We met up with Chris from walked in line and he took us to the spot. The show was the 17th Tremplin Rock festival. We walked and were staring at the one of the biggest venues we have ever been in. There was 8 bands on the bill and we were slated to go on last.
   There was a back room set up for us, and we had people ready and waiting to help us with the gear when we got there. Everything was set up and handled before hand. We even had a runner named Silvere. He was there to do and get whatever we needed from cigarettes to beer to whatever. He was super nice.
   The bowl of candy backstage had brown m&ms in it. Pete went apeshit and tore the place up.
   Our drivers for the UK leg of the tour showed up with the new van and they hung out and went to dinner with us. They organizers of the festival treated us to a dinner at the local Italian pizzaria. Brian, Wayne, Martine, Paolo and I along with our drivers Jesus and Mat headed over to the place with Lagony, the other band co-headlining the bill. We had decent food but it took like hours to be served. Lagony had to leave without their desert cause they had to go and play. Wayne and I tried the duck. It was weird, but good.
   When we got back to the venue, all the bands were finishing up and Lagony was going on. They were an industrial, progressive, heavy kind of band. It was pretty original and they were quite good. They had a middle eastern thing going on at some points too.
   We didn't get to see any of the other bands because were were out eating for so long. I tried to get in a nap before we played, but it didn't really help. We were all pretty tired, but the treatment we were getting was pumping us up.
   I have to admit that I was nervous. The place was huge and from what I had heard, most of the bands were nothing like us. PLus this was France. Who knows what kind of reception we would get.
   After an introduction in French we were on. The set was: Never, Stare, Cyclone, Whether, Disappear, Puzzles, Postcard, Radio, Annie, Sorry, Girl, Listen, Seven, Need, Merry, Seems, Million, Mascara, Leave. We played to a smaller crowd cause it was pretty late, after 1, and the people that stayed seemed to enjoy it pretty well. They demanded an encore so we did Friend of Mine and we were done. It was a fun night.
   After the show we went to the hotel rooms provided by the festival and went straight to sleep. I took a shower in the smallest most uncomfortable shower I have ever been in. Off to the Dover ferry and to the UK tomorrow.

Day 10 - Sunday March 30, 2003: Guildford, UK @ The Star.

   Brian woke up with his usual flair saying, "this fucking rules." It was different today though because it was his birthday. Woke up in France ended to day in the UK. What a way to spend a birthday.
   The ride over to the UK was pretty uneventful. We were a little worried cause we didn't have work visas this time around, but the woman at the customs station in Dover didn't give us any problem getting through. It helped that Brian bullshitted her pretty good, but in any case we got over safe and sound.
   This is Pete taking over for Ken, as we are in the middle of celebrating a great show, but we'll get to that later...
   In Guildford, we parked and walked to find the pub we would be playing at. Once there, we went in to find a typical english pub. We would be entertaining in the back room later that evening. When the van arrived it was also carrying Boss Tuneage CEO Aston Stephens. Once greetings and hellos were exchanged, we took the gear into the pub to wait for things to start. Also playing was Complex gsl, Stroke 45, and our labelmates K-line. Tom the promoter got things set up and around 7:30 or so, the show began. complex gsl started things off with a blink 182 inspired ska-punk set. Next up was k-line, who laid fucking waste to the 35 or so people there. They are an absolutely fucking amazing band, great hooks and tons of energy. It reminded me of Pegboy mixed with early Fugazi. Stunning. At times, Zac, their singer, seemed to be channeling Iggy Pop. After the set, he had rug burns and bruises from his onstage catharsis. Stroke 45 played next. We went on a little late, but most of the crowd had stuck around, and the UK leg of the tour had begun. Horrible sound and some technical problems aside, it was a fun set. Good response from the audience. The setlist for tonite was; Never, Postcard, Whether, Sorry, Listen to Me, Radio Lied to Me, Seven, Puzzles, Merry Go Round, and Group Think. While we had broken out Group Think a couple of times in Belgium, it really started to turn in to the mayhem we wanted it to in the UK. Louis, Zac from K-line, Aston, and a few others came up to sing along, and ended in a wrestling match on the floor. The set also included a round of happy birthday for Brian, who as far as we can tell thought his birthday "fucking ruled." We finished up a few minutes after closing time and had to haul ass out of the pub. Once we were loaded up, we walked up the street to get some pizza. Tom, the guy who set up the show put us up at his folk's house, and we slept well for a few hours until we had to leave when everyone there left for work.

Day 11 - Monday, March 31, 2003: Kingston, UK @ The Peel.

   We drove back to Guildford and hung out for a while trying to take care of things like changing currency, etc. When we finished, we started on the road to Kingston to find the venue, and somewhere to wash ourselves off. After getting lost for about an hour due to confusing directions, and even more confusing british motorways, we arrived at the Peel at the crack of noon. Luckily some of the staff was around, and let us load our gear in, and then upstairs to take showers and such. The rear of the Peel contained a strip bar. Interesting, personally, the thought of english strippers seemed like a very bad idea to us, so we stayed away, pondering where exactly a patron of the Peel's backroom, would place their one pound coins. After we washed up we all went our separate ways exploring Kingston.
   We re-convened at the Peel around 4 PM for soundcheck. The soundguy, whose name has escaped us, got us all ready to go, and we waited for the other bands to arrive. Also on the bill were Econoline, K-line again, and Skirtbox, who were recording a live album for some reason. The Peel was about the size of the Grog Shop, and for a Monday night it was a pretty good turnout. Upstairs was a backstage area for the bands, with food, juice, beer, water, etc. Unfortunately, it's becoming really easy to get used to this kind of treatment, and I have the feeling that when we get home we will be sorely missing Europe. We alternately watched the bands and went backstage to hang out with our new friends from K-line. Econoline opened the show, kind of an indie rock-emo sound. K-line played next and once again just fucking knocked everyone in the place on their ass. I cannot stress enough what an amazing fucking band they are. While Skirtbox recorded their live album, we went upstairs to prepare for the set. Ken's voice was shot due to the horrible sound in guilford, so we soldiered through it as best we could. Actually it came off pretty well. We played never, self control, radio lied to me, seven, whether, do you know that girl, stare, postcard, cyclone, and group think. We began cyclone with our secret weapon for the UK shows, the theme from the Young Ones. It went over very well. Group Think was even more fun tonite, with the same folks from the night before, plus a few more of the K-liners joining us. It was great. What was strange was there was a girl from New Jersey, and a guy from Michigan there together. Both of them are studying abroad and came down to see us. That was kind of cool. Afterward we drove to London to stay at Zac's place. He had just moved in last week, and it was kind of a wreck, but he was an amazing host and we stayed up shooting the shit till the wee hours of the morning till we all passed out in our respective sleeping corners. Two other things of note. At the Peel during the show, there was a guy who looked just like Rick Bender. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as exuberant. Also, rich from K-line looks EXACTLY like Jason Schick from the Perfect Guy. It was really creepy.

Day 12 - Tuesday, April 1, 2003: London, UK @ Dingwall's.

   We all woke up and Zac treated us to some proper English tea and some bacon/sausage sandwiches. I just need to say here that the other guys had warned me about English food, but other than the "meal" we had on the ferry from Calais, everything we've had has been delicious. We all took our time cleaning up, and Louis and I went with Zac to his office to go look around Portabello Road for a while. Tonight's show was looking to be kind of odd. Originally, we were going to play a free show at another venue, but everything had been changed, and we were still a little fuzzy on the details. Here's what happened. Zac has a business setting up events for skateboard companies, video premieres and things like that. Warner Brothers had hired him to put on a show for their band Homegrown, but when the war broke out in Iraq, they got on the next flight home, afraid that something might happen. Instead, Hot Action Cop, another Warner act was being flown in for a 48 hour press blitz/free show. The venue was Dingwall's in Camden, and it was about the size of the Odeon in Cleveland. The admission was free, and rounding out the bill were other Boss Tuneage labelmates Blocko, and once again, K-line. Warner had paid for the venue, the promotion, the backline, as well as all of the band fees, plus Zac's commission. We arrived at the venue around 3:30 to find the backline already there and a bunch of "professional" type crew guys setting up. Paolo and Martine also met us there, great to see them again as well. Already it seemed like it was going to turn into a clusterfuck. Three hours later, we managed to get our soundcheck done, and we were able to go out and take a peek around Camden. By this time, most of the shops had closed so it was sort of a bummer. Also, I had contracted a horrible case of the kennel-cough that has been getting passed on to each of us, so I felt like a pile of shit. After taking a few pills for it though I felt much better, and when we all met back up at the club, we decided tonite, we would earn our spot as the headliners on the bill, and show Warner Bros. that all the money in the world can't make people like bad music. K-line went on first and slayed as was to be expected. Zac had done a great job promoting the show, and the crowd was in the neighborhood of four hundred or so. Blocko followed and kept the energy up in the crowd. Despite some recurring guitar problems, they played a great set. Finally, Hot Action Cop came on. The punk rock crowd assembled for a night of Boss Tuneage on Warner's dime wasn't having any of it. The crowd maintained a rather large distance from the band, and between songs, there was some rather rude jeers from the crowd. To top it off, while the night had run perfectly on schedule up until HAC's set, they decided to go fifteen or more minutes into our set time. I guess they wanted to see to what extent they could bore the audience. Now we were pissed off. The moment of truth had come. We set up, got on stage and proceeded to play one of our best sets ever. The songs we played were Seven, Whether, Disappear, Radio, Puzzles, Sorry, Girl, Postcard, Young ones/cyclone, Never, Merry Go Round, and Group Think. The crowd ate it up, and there was dancing and cheering throughout. HAC was nowhere to be seen during the set. Group Think was the best it's ever been tonite. Several of the audience came onstage. So many people came up we none of us could see each other while we were playing. It was insane. Just totally fucking crazy and tons of fun. Of course as is the usual in the UK, the show was over and the crowd immediately bailed to catch their last trains home. It didn't matter we fucking laid waste to Warner's hot new thing and got paid lots of money by them to do it. Boss Tuneage-3, multi-national media conglomerate-0. Fuck yeah. Aston, Martine and paolo came back with us un the van to Aston's house in the country. Everyone was so happy with tonight that we spent the whole trip there beaming and recounting how ridiculous the whole situation was. There was tons of press there tonite, lots of pictures taken by guys we didn't know with big fucking cameras. (Note from Ken: Not that impressive of cameras, one dimwit had a strobe mounted on a handle so it looked huge.) I'd really like to see them cause we were on fire tonite. We'll always remember this show fondly. It's almost four in the morning, so I'm going to stop now, but you should know that as I write this, I am listening to the Bedfordshire snoring choir, which tonite incudes, Paolo, Louis and Dious. This is a wood frame house, I hope it doesn't collapse from all of the log-sawing.

Day 13 - Wednesday, April 2nd, 2003: Southampton, UK @ King Alfred.

   Ken back. We woke up at the Boss Tuneage Towers and said our goodbyes to Aston, Paolo and Martine and headed to Southampton. The show tonight was at a place called King Alfred's near the port where the Mayflower took off. The ride down was quick, like most of the rides this tour. When we get to Scotland later we are going to really be hurting. The venue was located in a cool area, there was a bunch of shops and stuff to visit. We got in early so we killed time and waited for Cov John and Rooster to get to the show and start setting up. Tonight was weird because there was a big football match between England and Turkey and they were talking about how they had to to do the gig at this venue cause it had TVs. No TVs meant no football, which meant no turnout. We were scheduled to start playing after the game was over. It still floors me to think that people in England regard football so highly and even the punks live and died by it.
   So the show started with a band called No Substance. They were pretty tight punk rock. Pilger came up second and hit us all with some pretty heavy hardcore.
   We got up and played a fairly quick and OK set. The crowd reaction was kinda mixed. It seemed like they didn't know what to think of us. Even the Young Ones didn't go over well. One old guy in a tie knew it and that was it. He wanted a copy of it recorded, and he was bummed when we said we didn't have it. The saving grace of the show was the fellas from Guildford showed up and had a great time on Group Think and got Louis drunk.
   The set was: Postcard, Sorry, Disappear, Seven, Radio, Puzzles, Stare, Young Ones, Cyclone, Merry, Group, Leave. My voice was hanging in there, but this was another one of those shows without a decent PA and monitors, so I felt like shit afterward.
   We went back to John's flat for a few beers and a decent but cold night's sleep. While at John's I got the chance to really talk to Matt, one of our drivers. They are part of Exutoire Records and the roading service is just one part of what they do. Matt's English is very good, but there are some funny slipups that come out especially when he is drunk. Like tonight, he said that when he sings in his band that he like to have "horny" before the show. I said, "You like to have what?" "Horny," he said. "You know like the small insect, the sweet yellow stuff." "HONEY," I exclaimed. "Honey!!!" It was funny as hell. He also called a Mohawk an Iroquis. AN IROQUIS. HAHA. He said the EU calls it that. We had a fun night.

Day 14 - Thursday, April 3, 2003: Stonhenge, Exeter @ Cavern Club.

   Today we got to do some tourist stuff. Normally we don't get the chance to do much sightseeing, but today we would be driving right through Stonehenge on our way to Exeter. How the hell could we not go there.
   We got to the site in like an hour or so. It was surreal. Stonehenge is in a field in the middle of nowhere right at the edge of the road. You can literally drive right by it. So we parked and paid the admission and took in the sights of one of the wonders of the world. Nice.
   Exeter is a college town. You can tell by the people when you drive in. You get that college feeling right away. We met up with Dave from Annalise and got loaded into his club, the Cavern.
   The Cavern is the coolest place we have played up to this point. The artwork on the walls, the atmosphere, it all ruled. There was a little miscommunication on our being at this particular show, but it all worked out no problem, and we played first this evening.
   The set was: Listen, Postcard, Disappear, Sorry, Radio, Seven, Puzzles, Merry.Dave took some pics of us for his website and they came out quite cool.
   We did a quickie, and we made a few fans. The next bands up were Schism and Farse. They were both tight and good at what they did. The crowd went nuts for them.
   During the night we hung out and watch the bands and just acted like we were at a show. It degenerated into a speak in tongues-esque DJ techno brigade with people dancing and falling all over each other. This included Louis and Brian. They were especially fun to watch... Dave set us up with a place to sleep in his office space above the club.