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Joey Mac’s Summer 2009 Tour Journal (for Project 27)  :....

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The “To Hell and Back…and Then Back to Hell Again,” Tour:....

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Thursday, July 23^rd, 2009:....

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            I wake up in my room in Long Beach, New York knowing it’s time to get ready for Project 27’s third national tour. I go out and buy new sneakers, and do some other last minute chores.

My band shows up around 2 o’clock. The gang’s all here: RP, Kris, Dutch, and Richie Roast. We pack the van with our bags, thrown over the equipment that we had packed in the night before after practice. We enjoy two pizza pies and some calzones courtesy of my dad before we pull out of the driveway at Project 27 headquarters. Oh yeah, and the newest edition to the Project 27 crew this time is (Brian) Haugh, who comes as our roadie and merch guy for this tour.....

Rick Tracy drives us to our first show destination: Asbury Lanes, New Jersey. It’s pretty well-known venue that’s a bowling alley, and also the site of the last official Ergs! show. We take a wrong turn and end up in traffic in New York City. We still make it to the show on time. The Surf City Rockers play some tunes, followed by us, and the Groucho Marxists close out the night with their set and a couple of impressive Descendents covers. I help do backups on stage for their rendition of “Clean Sheets.”

We meet some characters named Big Tyrone and Crazy Anthony.

Chris Pierce of the Groucho Marxists and the famed Technical Ecstasy Studio offers us a place to stay the night, but we decide to stay at the Empress Hotel instead, a hotel that caters to gays and lesbians. We try to fit in but get called out upon entry to the downstairs nightclub, called “Ketchup,” where we pay about $12 bucks each for one of our favorite mixed drinks…jagerbombs! Doug the hotel receptionist tries to satisfy our late night cravings but fails; He even brings the food menu up to our room but it’s too late. Doug asks what’s the recent puddle dripping from the ceiling; Who knows what it was. We get drunk and loud and just have a lot of fun. Great first night.

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Friday, July 24^th, 2009:....

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After waking up hungover, it takes me about twenty minutes to locate one of my sneakers. We check out of the hotel.

We have lunch at an Italian-style New Jersey deli. Then, we drive to our next stop in Blairsville, Pennsylvania. Our show is tomorrow.

Upon arrival there, we meet “Sloppy” Seth Goodlin and his friend, Decker. They take us to Sanso’s pizzeria, which they claim is the best pizza ever, but c’mon, you can’t fool the New Yorkers on that one…

The party is at a girl named Jen Prola’s house and we end up staying there. Beer pong is played as some trashy people stumble in and out of the party. Kris punches Haugh in the face too hard by accident. Haugh later does a goofy dance only in his boxer shorts with his ghostly pale body. After I fall asleep in the early morning hours, I wake up to hear RP about to strangle Haugh with a telephone chord because he was being loud and annoying. Happy family.

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Saturday, July 25^th, 2009:....

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            My 23^rd birthday.

RP, Dutch and I enjoy a KFC buffet. RP buys Shamwow at a Wal-Mart as a substitute for a shower towel. We hang out at Jen’s house for the day because we are playing there tonight. We have a batting practice in her yard, drink some beer, and eat more local pizza. Decker tells us that the original “Night of the Living Dead,” was filmed at the Evans City cemetery down the road.

            Sloppy Seth’s serious promise of crowds of people coming and professional BMX bikers riding around us as we play doesn’t come true. The show is fun, but there’s a really small crowd. We play a set, take a break, and then play another set. Some girl keeps yelling for us to play “Screeching Weasel!” until we break into a pretty unrehearsed version of “My Brain Hurts.” We hang out the rest of that night partying and being rowdy. Some guy that Jen doesn’t know passes out on her couch and sleeps there, after sleepwalking a few times. He had taken too many Xanex.

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Sunday, July 26, 2009:....

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            The band wakes up around noon. We shower and hang out. Jen gives us a stuffed care bear as a parting gift but we dispose of it before we leave her driveway. To Cincinnati, Ohio!

            We get there at 9:30 p.m. and settle into Sam and Morgan’s place, our hosts for tonight. We party there and at this guy Dan’s house. Some of us are dragged into beer pong. Wild Irish Rose: Red or as we call it: “Bum wine,” is drunk.

At the party, Morgan has kidney complications, so Sam rushes her to the hospital. We return to Sam’s after a fun night at Dan’s to meet her Jamaican roommate, who apparently has no sense of humor. It seems to be true, as he’s very serious in questioning us if we spilled anything on the floor earlier in the night.

“Real kneeslappah, mon.”

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Monday, July 27, 2009:....

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            We hang out in Sam’s apartment for the majority of the afternoon. Kris, Haugh and I watch Dave Chapelle on YouTube. More beer and bum wine is purchased.

After arriving at the Blue Rock Tavern, I get some White Castle. Other customers there include a guy whose arms are all cut up, and another guy who is shaking and muttering to himself. Rough neighborhood.

We play the show with Forty Lashes, from Detroit. Again no real crowd, but we both play well.

We stay at Lisa and Kelcie’s house afterwards. They live very close to Sam and Morgan. Jordan of Forty Lashes plays every song we want to hear on his acoustic guitar for some sing-along time. Drinking games are played, people are drawn on, and Haugh’s pillow gets spit on. Then sleep.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009:....

            Another day off. RP and I grab some Panera for lunch. We play the original Nintendo system back at Lisa and Kelcie’s shortly, until the system freezes. Then Happy Gilmore is on. Domino’s is ordered.

We leave Cincinnati around 4 o’clock and we’re on the road again, this time to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to Eric from the Jetty Boys’ house. On the way we stop at an adult superstore where a very outgoing salesperson tries to sell us everything they carry.

It’s a long drive from Cincinnati, OH to Sheboygan, WI…

            We roll into Wisconsin (the official favorite state of Project 27) that night. We take a band photo near a “Welcome to Wisconsin” sign. Then, I immediately rush into Culver’s, which is a fast food restaurant that specializes in “butter burgers,” just before it closes.

Beer is purchased and we go to the DRC house, where Eric lives. We hang out with him, Bunnz and Matt Jetty Boy, their roadie and partner in crime. I stay in Bunnz’s basement while the others party till 5 a.m. at Eric’s. I hear that RP and Kris puke, in a voicemail message I receive the next morning.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2009:....

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            Matt gives me a tour of Sheboygan, including visits to Bunnz’s job at a boat maintenance shop, the original Kohler kitchen and bathroom fixtures base, Lake Michigan, and ritzy golf courses where hugely popular celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Oprah spend time (not together though, I assume). Some of us each lunch at the Charcoal Inn, which the Jetty Boys claim is a true local restaurant with real butter burgers. Our burger buns are buttered and there’s even butter in my baked beans. We stop at a coffee shop and walk around the local pier in the sunshine.

            Back at Eric’s, we play baseball videogames on his PlayStation. Kris and I think of obscure Simpsons characters as possible tattoos; Thoughts brought on by boredom, I guess.

            We follow the Jetty Boys to Green Bay, Wisconsin to play our show at the Eagle’s Club tonight. A high school band opens, followed by BJ and the Quickies. Then we play to one of our most unenthusiastic crowds ever, and the Jetty Boys close out the show. Haugh and I enjoy some Wendy’s and listen to music in the van as the other guys drink at the Eagle’s Club.

During the search in finding a hotel for the night, RP and Rickard Rixon jump out of the van and chase a rabbit around, missing it by a hare. We stay at the Quality Inn and Suites hotel. Nakedness and urination follow. Don’t ask.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009:....

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            We leave Green Bay after checkout at 10:30 this morning and drive north to Ashland, Wisconsin, stopping at Culver’s on the way. We arrive where we are playing our show at the Spot in Ashland and unload our equipment. RP and I enjoy some beers in the bar while an unattractive bartender is at work. After, we hang out with the other guys who are drinking in the back of our van. Our friends Ben (who does spot on Jurassic Park impressions) and Grant from the Side Project, come to hang out at the show along with other locals from the neighboring town of Washburn.

A few bands play, including our friend Steve’s band called the Meatheads. An unexpected though short set is performed by a rapper from Zimbabwe.

We prepare to play as Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” plays overhead.  We play a lot of songs for the energetic crowd, who encourage us to do an encore, where we play virtually all the cover songs that we know. We even play our song “Not What I’m Hopin’,” because of its request, even though we very rarely play it. This show was fun!

            Following the show at the Spot, our host Ty Hadland, of Aphamy (who hooks us up with our Ashland show) and friends take us to the Country Kitchen for a late night meal. Some dangerous-looking characters are enjoying the food there too.

After stuffing our faces with fried food, Ty puts us up at his house. We take some photos with the animals he has mounted on his walls, including black bears, deer, and wild turkey. Apparently, it’s not uncommon to have these beasts on your wall in this neck of the woods, as Ty explains. RP almost drives this kid’s tractor away. Someone pulls a guitar out and we mess around on it and sing a little before calling it a night.

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Friday, July 31, 2009:....

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I wake up late and well rested after sleeping alone in a bed in the downstairs of Ty’s house. We say goodbye to Ty at 2 o’clock and drive southeast towards Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A black bear runs across the highway right in front of our van!

We play K & D’s Standard Hall with Noise by Numbers (a band fronted by Dan Vapid), the Bomb (with Jeff Pezzati, the lead singer of Naked Raygun), the Methadones, and the Jetty Boys. This is a cool night, all except for Haugh, who wasn’t allowed to even enter the venue because he’s not 21 years old yet. Bah.

The after party is at Bunnz’s place. Inappropriateness ensues as usual. Sleep.

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Saturday, August 1, 2009:....

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            Goodbye Wisconsin. We head towards Buffalo, NY, which is a long drive.

Some stoned Subway worker can’t remember our orders for more than two seconds and can’t help laughing about flat bread.

I buy an official cheese head from a gas station.

            The band spends the night in Toledo, Ohio at a Quality Inn and Suites. We have a relaxing night drinking beers, eating delivered pizza and chicken wings, listening to music, watching Clerks 2, joking and searching online for local tranny hookers. I do laundry at the hotel. Meanwhile, a boyfriend of a couple staying there threatens his girlfriend and is actually arrested at the hotel. The cops keep him double-handcuffed. Sweet dreams, dope.

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Sunday, August 2, 2009:....

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            We scramble to get up at 10:56 for an 11 a.m. checkout. I enjoy a cinnabon at a rest stop on the way to Buffalo for our next show tonight.

            In Buffalo, we party outside 99 Custer Street, the address of the show, with the bands and such. Someone tells us that Buffalo has more bars per square mile than anywhere else in the United States.

We play energetically to a small crowd. Two of the bands have dropped off the show due to van trouble. Iceberg plays last and makes people dance.

A few of us in the band discuss during beer and pizza whether we should go home or not, to end the tour early because we have a few days off ahead of us due to lazy booking on our part. We end up deciding to continue the tour. I sleep uncomfortably in the van.

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Monday, August 3, 2009:....

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            See you, 99 Custer Street. We eat at a shopping center then head to the Buffalo Public Library to try to book a last minute show. The library had a few exhibits displaying information about Mark Twain, who lived in Buffalo.

            The band visits the American side of Niagara Falls and takes photos. We then drive from Buffalo to Phelps, NY where we stay at the Cheerful Valley Campground. RP cooks for us using our own little personal barbecue grill. We camp there and party long after the sun goes down. Me, RP, Kris, Dutch, Ricky Shroeder, and Haugh all jam into the tent we brought along from last year’s tour, and fall asleep.

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009:....

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            We leave the campsite and drive to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, hoping to jump on a show tomorrow at a record store there, which our pals from Forty Lashes suggested we try to play with them. The venue there called Rebel Sound Records, has just closed by the time we arrive, therefore we can’t ask any staff there about the show tomorrow. Oh well.

As a plan B for the night, we drive to New Hampshire where our friend Julie Williams puts us up. It’s another long day of driving.

Partying at Julie’s with her and her friends is fun. They play beer pong, known as “beruit,” to them. Dutch, Haugh, and I get haircuts in the kitchen from Julie’s friend, Christine. Haugh looks like Pee Wee Herman afterwards.

Kris, Moranis, me, Julie and Leslie take a night swim in the cold Atlantic Ocean which is down the block from Julie’s. A mostly-clothed group shower occurs afterwards. Richie Rich gets whacked in the nose while wrestling with Kris. Sleep around 5 a.m.

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009:....

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            After eating Chinese food and watching Wife Swap, we travel north to the St. Rose Cemetery in Littleton, New Hampshire to visit the original rock’n’roll terrorist, GG Allin’s, grave. We finally find his grave after searching for it a little while. Some of us urinate on it (he would have wanted it that way, folks) and some pictures are taken of us hanging out there.

On the way back south to Julie’s, we hope to see moose since there are so many “Moose crossing,” signs, but alas…no moose.

            We have a low key party at Julie’s, drinking beers and Jim Beam with ginger ale. Some of us walk on the beach at night under the glow of the New Hampshire moon. Ricky Rubin falls asleep earlier than the rest of us, so we draw on him and cover him with garbage as a joke. He wakes up and doesn’t get it though; He’s pissed for the moment. Julie gets stressed out and punches a hole in her own wall, although I don’t think we are the direct cause of that. I stay up until I realize ButtRick isn’t going to beat someone up, and then I fall asleep.

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Thursday, August 6, 2009:....

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The band leaves Julie’s and Hampton Beach and grabs Taco Bell for lunch as we head to Goffstown, New Hampshire to play in David’s backyard.

            At the show, the cops come twice and tell David the second time that they are “trying hard not to arrest him.” Ha ha. The show’s able to be moved to Moultar’s basement in the neighboring town of Manchester, so we pack up our equipment in the van and go. The infamous Ian Scum, our afro-sporting roadie from last summer’s tour who lives in Lincoln, NH, meets up with us in Manchester to hang out.

            Bands play, and we play most of our set before being cut off by Moultar and the others who live there, who say the landlord’s son is pissed about the loud music coming from the basement.

            We stay a while at Moultar’s for the after-party. He shows us his unimpressive porn star ex-high school classmate on the computer. We have a lengthy sing-along with members of the bands that played today, which Moultar records on his computer, to our surprise.

A local who hangs around the Manchester crowd, known Catman, puts us up at his parent’s house about 20 minutes away.

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Friday, August 7, 2009:....

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            Upon leaving Catman’s, we drop Ian Scum off and drive to Allston, Massachusetts for the house show we’re playing tonight. We show up there very early and hang out with the other bands playing. Julie and Leslie show up with beer and liquor for us.

            After a few bands play in the basement, the Boston police show up and demand that people stay inside the house instead of being loud outside. We play a rushed set of around six songs after Forty Lashes plays because of the police situation.

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Saturday, August 8, 2009:....

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            Well, it’s come; the 17^th day; the last day of this tour.

            Back in Point Lookout, New York, two towns from our hometown of Long Beach, we hang out at our friend Mark Walsh’s house before the last show. We then unload our equipment at the Molloy Center, the venue for tonight, which is actually a very acoustically unsound gymnasium. We play and watch the closing bands in the sweaty gym.

Of course, we lock the keys in the van right before I’m finally about to go home. Thankfully, Richie Roast’s dad helps us get out of that jam.

            The band congratulates each other and says goodbye after another awesome summer tour. We leave each other mostly in different directions, either home or to local parties, as if we haven’t partied enough.

I drive the van home; we all get home safely. I unpack our gear from the van, and walk into my room, which seems like a strange and almost unfamiliar place after the time away.

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So it seems that I’m back where I started this story.

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            …And that’s it! Project 27’s summer 2009 tour is over. It was a blast…again!!!

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            I want to acknowledge everyone who helped us on this tour, those who came to our shows, morally and financially supported us, put us up for the night, fed us, gave us a place to hang out, and so forth. We would not and could not do it without you.

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Thank you so much!!!

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I hope to see you soon. Be well.

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Sincerely,

Joey Mac and the rest of Project 27 (RP, Kris, Dutch, and Richie Roast)

p.s. - You can check out pictures from this tour on our MySpace page!

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2001:

1- 7/23/2001- St.Mary's Teen Center in Long Beach, NY with Decent at Best.

2- 7/27/01- Recreation Center in Long Beach, NY w/ Decent at Best and rappers.

3- 8/10/01- Mormon Church in Long Beach, NY w/ One Beat Off and Decent at Best.

4- 8/16/01- Joeys Driveway in Long Beach, NY w/ One Beat Off and Decent at Best.

5- 9/8/01- The Backstage in Woodmere, NY w/ One Beat Off, Decent at Best, Nagrok, and Unstable.

6- 9/22/01- Joeys Driveway in Long Beach, NY.

7- 9/23/01- Recreation Center in Long Beach, NY  w/ One Beat Off and Decent at Best.

8- 11/17/01- Temple Emanuel in Long Beach, NY w/ Brand 800, One Beat Off, Decent at Best, Nagrok, Unstable and Sir Al.

2002:

9- 3/2/2002- The Red Zone in Queens, NY w/ Jaded Ways, The Shy Guys, and The John Stamos Project (JSP).

10- 3/9/02- The Red Zone in Queens, NY w/ ASOB.

11- 4/13/02- The Red Zone in Queens, NY w/ JSP and Down by One.

12- 4/13/02- The Union Square Lounge in Merrick, NY w/ JSP.

13- 4/27/02- Backstreet Blues w/ The Ergs!, Premarital Sax, and ASOB.

14- 5/19/02- Long Beach High School Auditorium w/ Brand 800 and Tendency.

15- 5/26/02- Red Zone in Queens, NY w/ 5 Cent Deposit and The Skanx.

16- 5/27/02- Souse House in New Jersey w/ Charlie Brown Gets a Valentine, Dirt Bike Annie, The Ergs!, and The Tattle Tales.

17- 5/29/02- Sandlot in Holtville, NY w/ JSP, Sex Wax, Noon to Five, and Adams Apple.

18- 6/26/02- Red Zone in Queens, NY w/ The Ergs!, Goin Places, and The All-Stars.

19- 6/30/02- LAmours in Brooklyn, NY.

20- 7/6/02- Sandlot in Holtsville, NY w/ JSP, The Whoa Babies, and Sex Wax.

21- 7/19/02- Joeys Garage in Long Beach, NY w/ Jethro Tull and The New York Ska Exchange.

22- 8/15/02- Joeys Driveway w/ Jethro Tull, The Neutrinos, Rex Harley and the Predikaments, Brand 800, and One Good Reason.

23- 8/17/02- In a backyard in Suffolk County, NY w/ JSP and Domain.

24- 8/17/02- Cedar Beach Recreation Center in Mt. Sinai, NY / JSP, The Whoa Babies, and One Good Reason.

25- 9/27/02- Local 7 w/ The Whoa Babies, The Ergs!, ASOB, and The Tattle Tales.

26- 10/7/02- Local 7 w/ Even in Blackouts, JSP, Dobler, and Mosshart.

27- 10/27/02- Backstreet Blues in Rockville Center, NY w/ The Livingbrooks, Floffus, Patent Pending, and Harolds Trousers.

28- 10/28/02- Local 7 w/ The Independents, JSP, The Backup Plan, and Head vs. Breaker.

29- 11/2/02- Local 7 w/ The Whoa Babies and Wheres Driver.

30- 12/6/02- Acoustic Set at The Fin in Long Beach, NY.

31- 12/8/02- Backstreet Blues w/ The Nicky Shuba Groove, 3 Course Meal, The Descent, Roaring Silence, On Your Honor, The Free Refills, and Larkfield.

32- 12/15/02- Darren Malekoffs Backyard w/ The Forgotten All-Stars, Decent at Best, Trypsin, Annarexit on Three, and ISO.

33- 12/27/02- Skooters in Pathogue, NY w/ The Waxinators (Sex Wax), The Whoa Babies, and The Greasy Greasers.

2003:

34- 1/19/2003- VFW Hall in Hickville, NY w/ The Living Brooks, Just Enough, The Nicky Shuba Groove, and Floffus.

35- 1/25/03- Castle Camelot in Shirley, NY w/ JSP, COA, Project in My Pants, Last Standing Doofus, and the Dstroiz.

36- 2/22/03- Skooters w/ Manda and The Marbles, The Unlovables, JSP, The Ergs!, and the Waxinators.

37- 3/8/03- Temple Emanuel w/ The Forgotten All-Stars, The Lineup, ISO, Basic Principles, and Trypsin.

38- 3/22/03- Castle Camelot in Shirley, NY w/ Ten On One, The Rebel Saints, and Project in My Pants.

39- 3/23/03- Image Bar in Uniondale, NY w/ The Whoa Babies, The Lineup, Blood on the Horizon, Basic Principles, and ISO.

40- 4/5/03- Amanda Whoa Babys House w/ The Whoa Babies.

41- 4/12/03- The Red Zone in Queens, NY w/ Two Man Advantage and ASOB.

42- 4/12/03- Christys Party in Rocky Point, NY w/ JSP and The Whoa Babies.

43- 4/15/03- Long Beach High School Auditorium w/ The Forgotten All-Stars, Basic Principles, Trypsin, and Posse.

44- 5/3/03- Image Bar and Lounge in Uniondale, NY w/ The Whoa Babies, The Lineup, Blood on the Horizon, Downcast Heart, and Provoke the Human.

45- 5/3/03- At a party in Southampton, NY w/ The Whoa Babies and Disaster Party.

46- 5/9/03- Long Beach High School Auditorium w/ Blood on the Horizon and Tendency.

47- 5/10/03- New Local 7 in Deer Park w/ The Dstroiz and the Last Laugh.

48- 6/14/03- Red Zone w/ The New York Ska Exchange.

49- 7/9/03- Kristys House in Rocky Point, NY w/ The Whoa Babies, The Rebel Saints, and Last Field Day.

50- 7/12/03- Sean Colgans Garage w/ The Forgotten All-Stars and the Whoa Babies.

51- 7/20/03- V.P. South in Amityville, NY w/ Squirtgun, Beatnik Termites, Toys That Kill, Even in Blackouts, and Dobler.

52- 8/20/03- Sean Colgans Garage in Long Beach, NY w/ JSP, The Forgotten All-Stars, The Ergs!, The Vents, The Prozacs, FNON, and The Lineup.

53- 10/26/03- Noelle Weyants Birthday Party in Pathogue, NY.

54- 11/15/03- Temple Emanuel w/ The Forgotten All-Stars, The Lineup, Anti-Limit, Trypsin, and FNON.

2004:

55- 5/22/2004- Logan Schecters House in Long Beach, NY w/ The Forgotten All-Stars, The Lineup, and Anti-Limit.

56- 7/21/04- Sergeys Basement in Long Beach, NY w/ The Skrewballs, The Rushmores, The Lineup, The Relays, and Drella.

57- 8/16/04- Tony Luongos House in Long Beach, NY w/ Decent at Best, Anti-Limit, and False Hope.

58- 10/23/04- Guys Basement in Long Beach, NY w/ Girth Brooks and The Lineup.

2005:

59- 4/16/2005- Temple Emanuel in Long Beach, NY w/ Glory Hole and Black Ribbon Campaign.

60- 8/6/05- Joe Steinhardts Basement in Princeton, NJ with Skynet, and The Measure (SA).

61- 8/26/2005- The Backdoor in Nyack, NY w/ The Ergs!, The Unlovables, The Tattle Tales, The Steinways, and The Insurgents.

62- 8/28/05- Block party by East School in Long Beach, NY w/ Glory Hole.

63- 10/10/05- Jay Insults House in New Brunswick, NJ w/ The Ergs!, and The Measure (SA).

64- 10/28/05- Halloween Party in Rocky Point, NY w/ The Whoa Babies.

65- 10/29/05- Halloween Punk Bash cover show at the Charleston in Brooklyn, NY w/ Project 27 (NOFX), The Hot Cops(Screeching Weasel), Grover Kent (Ramones), The Tattletales (Green Day), JSP (Andrew W.K), The So-Sos (The Go-Gos), Awesome Dude and the Consequences (The Potatomen), Slaughterhouse Four as Misfits, and the 80s Ladies (80s Cover Songs).

66- 12/17/05- Long Beach High School Gym in Long Beach, NY.

2006:

67- 5/20/06- Temple Emanuel in Long Beach, NY w/ Decent at Best, Glory Hole, and more.

68- 7/8/06- Sergeis Basement in Long Beach, NY w/ Two Ships Passing, LGM, Glory Hole, Girth Brooks, The Unlovables, The Steinways, The Dustheads, and more.

69- 7/10/06- V.P. South in Amityville, NY w/ Glory Hole, Syntax, and more.

70- 7/15/06- Sergeis Basement in Long Beach, NY w/ Glory Hole and Girth Brooks.

71- 7/18/06- Sergeis Basement in Long Beach, NY w/ Glory Hole and Girth Brooks.

72- 8/27/06- Desmonds Tavern in NY with The Groucho Marxists, Bazooka Falcon and the NoLoves.

73- 10/7/06- Sean Sweeneys House with The Riot Before and Glory Hole.

74- 11/22/06- Tommys Tavern in Brooklyn, NY w/Lost Locker Combo, God Damned Doo Wop Band, and Pretty Boy Thurston.

75-12/11/06- North 6 in Brooklyn with Lost Locker Combo, Yidcore, and Din Glorious.

2007:

76-1/27/07- Mike Blackburns basement w/ Quarterlife Crisis and Each Others Mothers.

77-2/9/07- Da Funky Phish Bar in Bay Shore, NY w/ The Scofflaws and 5 Star Heroes.

78-2/10/07- Funky Munky Lounge in Oceanside, NY w/ Glory Hole, LGM, The Jizz Mos, and Nick Hooten.

79-2/17/07- Lit Lounge in NY, NY w/ The Challenged and the Lipsticks.

80- 2/24/07- Patty and Jonnys Bar in West Hempstead, NY w/ Glory Hole.

81-2/28/07- Union Square Advertising and Lounge in Holbrook, NY w/ the Scutches.

82-3/10/07- The Brickhouse in Dover, NH w/The Guts and more.

83-3/11/07 -The Brickhouse in Dover, NH w/ The Guts, The Leftovers, For Science, and more.

84-3/23/07- Bruckner Bar and Grill in the Bronx, NY w/ The Unlovables, The Steinways, and Nancy.

85- 3/29/07- 75 Louis St. in New Brunswick, NJ w/ For Science, Ghost Town Trio, and Holy Mess.

86-4/7/07- Varick Mill Basement in Manchester, NH w/ The Asthmatics and Terror in the Midnight Sun.

87-4/20/07- Tommys Tavern in Brooklyn, NY w/ The Asthmatics, The Challenged, Spin, and Ghost of Lester Bangs.

88-4/21/07- Knitting Factory in NY, NY w/ The Unlovables, The Leftovers, The Steinways, and Full of Fancy.

89-4/25/07- Otto's Shrunken Head in NY, NY w/ The Challenged and LGM.

90- 5/5/07- SUNY New Paltz College.

91- 6/23/07- 30 Hilltop Road in Levittown, NY w/ For Science, Holy Mess, and more.

92- 7/26/07- Temple Emanuel (Tour kickoff show) in Long Beach, NY w/ Jay (acoustic), Sententia, Reminiscing in Tempo, Shapiro, The Free Watts, and The Hungry Hustlers.

95- 7/31/07- The Stink House in Columbus, OH w/ The Tattle Tales.

96- 8/1/07- Memories Bar in Chicago, IL w/ The Tattle Tales.

97- 8/2/07- Barely Standing Milwaukee, WI w/ The Tattle Tales.

98- 8/3/07- The (DuPont) Civic Center in Washburn, WI w/ The Tattle Tales.

99- 8/4/07- Turf Club in St. Paul, MN w/ The Tattle Tales.

100- 8/7/07- OUR 100TH SHOW!!! Dagger Mouth in St. Louis, MO w/ The Tattle Tales.

101- 8/8/07- Cara Thompson's Backyard in Huntsville, AL w/ The Tattle Tales.

102- 8/9/07- Denton Shelter in Henderson, KY w/ The Tattle Tales.

103- 8/10/07- Glendora House in Cincinnati, OH w/ The Tattle Tales.

104- 8/11/07- The Waiting Room in Philadelphia, PA w/ The Tattle Tales.

105- 8/12/07- Charm City Art Space Baltimore, MD w/ The Tattle Tales.

106- 8/18/07- West Olive St. Block Party, Long Beach, NY.

107- 8/23/07- Cedar Beach Recreation Center in Mt. Sinai, NY w/ Exit 63 and more.

108- 9/1/07- BottomFest in Clarks Summit, PA w/The Leftovers, The Ergs!, The Steinways, The Guts, Pat Termite, and more!

109- 9/15/07- Tommy's Tavern in Brooklyn, NY w/ Body of Castle, LGM, Univox, and Lost Locker Combo.

110- 10/5/07- DJ Rider's (formerly the Funky Munky Lounge) in Oceanside, NY w/ LGM and Encounter at L13.

111- 10/13/07- Joey Mac's Driveway in Long Beach, NY w/ The Erase-Hers, Body of Castle, and Reminiscing in Tempo.

112- 11/3/07- The Shillelagh Tavern in Astoria, NY w/ The Steinways, The Challenged, and The Asthmatics.

113- 11/8/07- The Jam Factory in Long Beach, NY w/ The Leftovers and The Ridicules.

114- 11/16/07- Tommy's Tavern in Brooklyn, NY w/ The Erase-Hers, Bang Bang, and more!

115- 11/23/07- The Worthen Attic in Lowell, MA w/ The Ashmatics, Goodbye Sluggo, and Scars Like Ours.

116- 11/24/07- T.T The Bears in Cambridge, MA w/ The Asthmatics, The Fake Boys, and The Gobshites.

117- 12/1/07- Queens Village Hollis Woods in Queens Village, NY w/ Rosecrantz, strangedeadfellows, and Shadow Machine.

118- 12/7/07- 230 Myrtle Ave. in Albany, NY w/ For Science and Infidels.

119- 1/19/08- Knitting Factory (Main Stage) in New York, New York w/ The Queers, The Leftovers, and Children of the Unicorn.

2008:

120- 1/26/08- Jam Factory in Long Beach, NY with the Challenged and Body of Castle.

121- 2/9/08- Crash Mansion in New York, NY w/ bands.

122- 4/14/08- Trash Bar in Brooklyn, NY with Johnie 3 and Buttnaked Butthole.

123- 5/4/08- Sound Beach Inn in Sound Beach, NY with Body of Castle.

124- 6/15/08- Tommy's Tavern in Brooklyn, NY with Vengeance 77, Rational Anthem and Body of Castle.

125- 6/21/08- Sound Beach Inn in Sound Beadh, NY with The Mess Around and Amanda and Barbie Acoustic.

126- 6/28/08- Insubordination Fest 2008 in Baltimore, NY with the Queers, the Beatnik Termites, the Copyrights, the Ergs! the Steinways and much more!!!

127- 7/9/08- People's Media Center at Afishawy in Washington D.C. with Dead Mechanical, Death and the Compass and Grab Your Socks.

128- 7/10/08- at the Pour House Music Hall with Woah...An Ellipsis and the Aggressive Pedestrians.

129- 7/12/08- the Venue in Dalton, GA with Endive and Yellow Team.

130- 7/13/08- the Venue in Dalton, GA with the Gullibles and the Autopsy Outlaws.

131- 7/15/08- Delicias Colombianas (a.k.a. the DC Sports Bar) in Greenacres, FL with the Ridicules and the Ruins

132- 7/18/08- Coasters in Fort Walton Beach, FL with the Tattle Tales

133- 7/19/08- Checkpoint Charlie's in New Orleans, LA with the Saltines and the Worries Minds

134- 7/20/08- Windows Off the Cumberland in Nashville, TN with Second Saturday and the Tattle Tales.

135- 7/22/08- Mesker Shelter 17 in Evansville, IN with Be My Doppelganger and the Tattle Tales.

136- 7/23/08- the Halloween House in Indianapolis, IN with Shot Baker, Till Plains, Bulletwolf and the Tattle Tales.

137- 7/24/08- the Buzz Bomb in Chicago, IL with the Hollywood Nightmares and the Hypnic Jerks.

137- 7/25/08- the Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL with the Methadones, the Copyrights, the Chinese Telephones and the Tattle Tales.

138- 7/26/08- the Civic Center in Washburn, WI with the Side Project, Periphery, Paulson's Glove and the Tattle Tales.

139- 7/27/08- 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, Minnesota with the Side Project, the Strait A's and the Tattle Tales.

140- 7/28/08- the After Dark Coffee House in Steven's Point, WI with Sullen Riot and the Tattle Tales.

141- 7/29/08- the Halloween House in Indianapolis with Highway Magic and the Tattle Tales.

142- 7/30/08- the Blue Rock Tavern in Cincinnati, OH with the Dopamines, Team Stray, SS-20 and the Tattle Tales.

143- 8/1/08- Creative Treehouse with the Shut Outs and the Tattle Tales.

144- 8/2/08- Brendan's Basement with Everyone Everywhere, the Pirouettes and the Tattle Tales

145- 8/3/08- the Bread Box in New Brunswick, NJ with Troublemaker and the Tattle Tales.

146- 8/13/08- Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai, NY with the John Stamos Project and the Whoa Babies.

147- 8/30/08 - BottomFest in Clarks-Summit, PA with the Ergs!, What Happened?, the Sheckies and the Slot Cars.

148- 9/12/08 - DJ Rider's in Oceanside, NY with Body of Castle and Let Me Crazy.

149- 9/26/08 - Purchase College Student Center in Purchase, NY with Drain You and Screwed Again!

150- 10/04/08 - Sean and Kieran Sweeney's House (Irish Day Show) in Long Beach, NY.

151- 11/14/08- Tommy's Tavern in Brooklyn, NY with Joe Coffee, Measured in Grey, Arms forward and Barnaby Jones.

152- 12/06/08 - Fitzy's Pub in Binghamton, NY with Nancy, the Serlingtons, Get Bent and Man Without Plan.

153- 12/12/08 - DJ Riders in Oceanside, NY with Trikuti and more.

2009:

154- 2/02/09 - La Mia Pizza in Freeport, NY with the Schmellys and Rabid District Attorney.

155- 2/06/09 - La Mia Pizza in Freeport, NY with the Flying Hellfish.

156- 2/21/09 - DJ Riders in Oceanside, NY with Dorian.

157- 3/21/09 - Dover Brickhouse in Dover, NH with the Guts, Man Down, and the Zambia.

158- 4/10/09 - Dogwood Studios in West Hempstead, NY with Vandeveer St., Cue The Sun, and Holden Pan.

159- 4/17/09 - 11 Buttrick Road in Hampstead, NH with Jack of All Boxes Silent Distortion, The Fake Boys, Goodnight Neverland, The Asthmatics, Gregory Nahabedian and the Scary Scary Foliage.

160- 6/19/09 - DJ Rider's in Oceanside, NY with the Apers and the Schmellys.

161- 7/23/09 - Asbury Lanes in Aasbury Park, NJ with the Groucho Marxists, Surf City Rockers

162- 7/25/09 - Jen Prola's House in Blairsville, PA.

163- 7/27/09 - Blue Rock Tavern in Cincinnati, OH with Forty Lashes.

164- 7/29/09 - the Eagle's Club in Green Bay, WI with the Jetty Boys, BJ and the Quickies, and more.

165- 7/30/09 - The Spot in Ashland, WI with Aphamy, Emulate, Noris, the Meatheads, and more.

166- 7/31/09 - K & D’s Standard Hall in Sheboygan, WI with the Methadones and the Jetty Boys.

167- 8/2/09 - The Last Stand in Buffalo, NY with Iceberg.

168- 8/6/09 - Moultar's Basement  in Manchester, NH with Georgian and more.

169- 8/7/09 - 115 Franklin Street in Allston, MA with Jack Of All Boxes, This Is A Stick Up!, Forty Lashes, Boston Jolly Pirates, SBT and Senior Discount.

170- 8/8/09 - Molloy Center in Point Lookout, NY with Badfellow, SSO, Skip Town Matty, and more.

171- 9/9/09 - Bayview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Island Park, NY (acoustic set).

Check back for more updates!

A testament to perseverance, Project 27's long-awaited debut full-length comes as one of the most pleasant surprises of the summer. This Long Island-based band's been around for a really long time, hanging in through multiple personnel changes, long hiatuses (the singer relocated to another state for a while,) and scraping out gigs well outside the geographical boundaries of the NYC pop/punk scene. But here they are, on a national tour as I write this, with one of the strongest, catchiest, and well-constructed albums of the year to their credit. The "Time To Fold" EP (whose songs are repeated here, remixed and with extra guitars) let us know that these Long Island young'uns had an LP's worth of solid tunes in them, but I really wasn't expecting songs this polished and well-produced. Singalong anthems follow one after another – "Time To Fold," "Gotta Get Up," "My Future," "Next September" – each bringing a bit of a twist to the usual Weaselcore formula of teen angst lyrics, one-string solos, bracing verses, and fist-pumping choruses. The two-guitar attack bristles with dynamic tension, elevating the band's sound beyond the usual power-chord chug of a lot of pop/punk, and the harmony vocals accentuate the band's knack for memorable melodies. Good work, guys, and kudos for hanging in there.

Reviewed by Jim Testa at jerseybeat.com
July 2008


Another nominee for album of the year. Yes, there's been a few so far, but none have been as consistent in all fields like the first album from this energetic, lyrically innovative - though still maintaining a loose, carefree simplicity - but still fairly undiscovered heavy hitting New York pop-punk band. Seriously, I can't think of one filler track. With Smarten Up, Project 27 create a discourse which never lets down and yet their strong twelve song set somehow avoids sounding too repetitive. That's not to say this is a life-changing record, but it's certainly had a great impact on me. The only album of 2008 thus far which hasn't contained a single track I would think of skipping, this will no doubt see me through the rest of the year.

All the right elements are present: catchy chorus lines, a raw and rasping but strangely soothing vocal style from RP, and heavy production which allows a clean but beefy sound to what could be accused of being overly subtle like many bands in a similar vein but thanks to this factor, isn't. This couldn't be made more obvious in a delightfully noisy opening wall of static and an intense barrage of gang vocals. You just don't understand, this band is doing something very special as well as acting as a powerful musical unit. It is all too easy to dismiss them as just another Blink 182 when you hear all the re-recorded hits from E.P's from the last couple of years, but far from it. The addictive "Next September," "Dying" and "Time To Fold" are cleverly sequenced, with a new and improved version of "Alfonzo's Morning" with its brilliant keyboard fadeout acting as yet another perfect closing track (also the wrap-up to the Time To Fold E.P). Usually, this kind of trick bugs me (note: the latest Off With Their Heads) - only eight out of twelve songs are originals?! - but here I am more than happy to oblige some forgiveness. One of my favourite songs has to be "Not What I'm Hopin'," which stands out as the ballad among a load of short but snappy compositions. "Bloody Nose," another favourite, is almost a polar opposite to "Hopin'," but is equally as impressive. It could be the fluid yet razor sharp, guitar playing and seemingly endless drum beats, but I think more likely it's the recurrence of those magnificent gang vocals that are to blame for this obsession.

There is plenty of variation throughout the album, which is most evident in latter gothic rock inspired track "My Future," where a dramatic opener sees the band suddenly sounding like they're playing on the new Alkaline Trio L.P. In "Our History," Project 27 could for a second be compared to just any old underground pop-punk band from New York, but this is saved by the delectable vocal harmonies which float in amid the relentless chug-chug-chug guitar patterns near the middle of the song. These examples prove this group could potentially win a more mainstream following if they wished, and that they can switch styles with great ease - which, surely, can only be a good sign.

Thematically, you are given all the cliché drama sitcom type situations, y'know: feeling outcasted and worrying about looking like a loser in front of That Girl, the standard pitfalls of a long term relationship in "Bloody Nose," "I'm hangin' on to something that's not there, oh I know just damn well about it, and I can sing about it" and even the song about a guy with new found confidence, "Gotta Get Up" (or is it about penis trouble?), "I gotta get up, I gotta get out, I gotta start movin'..." There is all this fairly censored frustration in the lyrical sense until the cursing and almost psychotic exasperation (in comparison) in songs like "Passing Phase" which give it that more "shocking" edge, which renders them untouchable for the radio at that point. Encapsulating the inner turmoil of feeling like a social mosquito, "I feel so fucking lame, I feel so fucking lame around you," Project 27 are a teenage punk's best friend.

Reviewed by punkornothing.com
July 2008


I tend to buy random pop punk albums on a whim when I have a wild hair up my ass to hear something smooth and simplistic. But the turnaround is usually pretty quick; I grow bored with it in short order and those albums inevitably end up at one of the local used music stores within a matter of weeks.

But I have to say, I don't see that in the cards for Smarten Up. After a month of periodically listening to this album, it still retains its place in my music collection. Project 27 has managed to take the few great aspects of cheesy mainstream pop punk and turn it around and not only make it palatable, but pretty enjoyable. Of course, they still generally have the same youthful angst/teenage love angle that most of their contemporaries do, but it comes across as much more genuine and they keep the saccharine sweetness to a minimum-always appreciated.

And allow me to be honest here; this is a great album but there are two major aspects about it that's saving its ass from the used bin. The first being RP's raspy vocals, which certainly lets the sentiment of the songs out while still retaining a little bit of edginess to it, never once sounding weak or whiny. He reminds me of Ben Weasel. Secondly, the music is inventive and sometimes heavy hitting. I'm so tired of bands engaging in Ramones plagiarism or stooping to half cocked Mr. T Experience horseshit. The epic background vocals on Smarten Up have definitely earned an honorable mention as well; they really bring this whole package together nicely.

Of course, there are a few 'what were they thinking' moments on the album, but really, there are few albums out there that don't have at least a few. I'll keep silent on that subject and let you make your own judgments in that arena. Overall, it's not enough to take away from the great character that this albums displays, any pitfalls or missteps are easily overshadowed by the rest of this great CD. If you like pop punk, you'll probably dig this. If you don't like pop punk…you may still like Smarten Up.

Reviewed by Chris at Diatribe Webzine
October 2008


Long Beach, NY's Project 27 take the familiar and well-loved Weasel core sound and run with it, creating and album full of melodic anthemic pop punk tunes. I owned a couple of 7"s from this band before, and even though some of those songs are rehashed on this disk, there's still enough new material from this band to get me excited. Vocalist RP's voice is golden, and the band backs it up beautifully. A must own for fans of the genre.

Reviewed by Danny White at Nuthin' Zine
Autumn 2008


Long Island's Project 27 have been battling for the past eight years to churn out hook laden pop songs that can turn someone's day around within seconds and put a smile on anyone's face who is in listening distance. With the pop sensibilities of great acts from the 80's such as the Cars and the punk attitudes of 90's era Lookout Records bands Project 27 master their instruments, find their voices and shred through twelve of their most heartfelt tunes. Smarten Up is a big step for this band who has previously only officially released a handful of 7 inch records, but now with two full tours and a full length under their belts, it is obvious the greatness that is in their near future. I can almost guarantee with utmost certainty that after the second time this album plays through you will be singing along with a big smile on your face. So sit back, relax, enjoy and smile real big because Smarten Up is one of the best releases to hit our stereos in 2008/2009.

Review by Noah WK at WK Reviews
Autumn 2008


There was a point in my life where I (unwisely) turned my back on
almost all things "punk." I think it was during 10th or 11th grade. At
this point, I'm not entirely sure. Either way, I don't know if it was a
completely misguided attempt to look "sophisticated" or some bullshit
like that, but it's a time period in my life that I can only shake my
head at now. If it had continued, I probably would have missed out on a
ton of albums that are just as fun as Project 27's Smarten Up.

On this album, the production is uber-slick, the chord progressions are at
times incredibly elementary, and the lyrics are questionable at times.
However, all of this is just fine. In my Top 20 of 2008 list, I talked
about Teenage Bottlerocket's complete lack of bullshit when it comes to
songwriting, how awesome I find their 1-2-3-4, three chords, verse,
chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, out format. The same formula
basically applies here, except Project 27 are a lot more prone to
tinkering around in the studio. On top of straightforward pop-punk,
vocal harmonies are slathered like a thick layer of butter on toast.
It's all instantly sing-a-long-able and pretension free. Drummer Joey
Mac penned most of the lyrics here, and although they aren't about any
topics not already tread in this genre, they're still personal enough
to not be considered anywhere close to generic.

Till Plains played with these guys this past summer, and I have to say, they're a
band where you have to take their live experience and combine it with
the album to truly appreciate them. All of bassist Richie Roast's parts
are clear on the album, and are surprisingly intricate, considering the
genre. Live, I never really noticed this.

There is probably only one truly cringe-worthy moment on this album, and that's on the song
"My Future," with its totally wanky guitar parts. It's really hard to
hold this against them, though.

At the same time, the album doesn't last long enough for you to get tired of it, which is an admirable aspect.

So, here are two things I can say to sum up this album:

1) This is the kind of pop-punk I wish people were making when I was in
high school. I will never, ever, understand the appeal of all that
nu-emo garbage that magazines like Alternative Press
try to shove down the throats of people everywhere. All it is is
boy-bands with guitars. But, then again, if you bother to even read
this blog, I doubt you're even into that kind of music, so I'm probably
preaching to the choir.

2) I'd like to thank Project 27 for making this album, as it brightened up this dismally cold Boston evening considerably.

Side note: I haven't dug that far into Rally Records' catalog, but this is
the second Rally album I've bought that features very cursory organ
work, along with The Leftovers' On The Move. Is there an in-house organ player that has to make appearances on every Rally release?

Review by Erik
at Perpetual Riff Blog
January 2009

More reviews may be posted soon. If you have or would like to review the album, e-mail us at project_twentyseven@yahoo.com, thanks.

Our full-length CD, "Smarten Up" is out now! You can but it on iTunes and interpunk.com. It's also available in some small record stores.

Also, we've been writing new songs. We have some new tunes written for our next album. They are:

Abby
Rotten World
Word Gets Out
Something Unfamiliar
Family, Genus, Species
Blue Eyes, Brown Hair
Gotten to Me
Pitch Black
Losing My Mind
................

....


More titles will be posted when more songs are written. The album will probably be released in Fall / Winter 2009.

Keep an eye out for local shows and tours!

Until next time,
Project 27

Wednesday, July 9th:

After not being quite able to get to sleep the night before because of excitement, the day has arrived again...the day to leave home to start another Project 27 tour! The rest of the band arrives at my house at 9:30 a.m. or so. The songs on my IPod have been deleted by accident, so I frantically update it with thousands of songs right before we leave. We depart from our hometown of Long Beach, New York at 11:30 in the morning after buying some word search and crossword puzzles for the road. Willie Nelson's, "On the Road Again," suitably plays as we head to our first show in Washington D.C. with smiles on our faces. Our van, "the Blue Monster," has taken off.

The D.C. show is rather lame. No one's really there, despite Dead Mechanical and Death and the Compass rocking the place. We have to pay to rent out the venue, called the People's Media Center at Afishawy. That sucks. We play downstairs in the dingy concrete-walled basement full of old furniture and defunct computers. Kris mentions that he pissed on them later in the night. In the meantime, a Native American meeting goes on upstairs. A man by the name of Jay Nightwolf introduces himself. We have bad Chinese food and our lovable roadie, Ian Scum, pukes.

We don't have a place to stay for the night, so we stay at an EconoLodge in Virginia. On the way, we pass the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Monument and the Pentagon.

Thursday, July 10th:

We wake up and eat at a local Waffle House. The next drive is to Raleigh, North Carolina. We then arrive at the Pour House Music Hall. It's a nice venue with great sound and a friendly "sound guy."
Before unloading the van, a street guy named Donald has an extended conversation with us about how he's been to jail on numerous occasions (I think he said 32 times, not bad). He explains how "Snitches get stitches," and exactly how he and his girlfriend get it on. "I create my own moves!" Donald exclaims. He tells us never to smoke crack (a good tip) and he refers to white girls having "pimply pale pumpkin asses."

At the show, the Aggressive Pedestrians play first, a punk band consisting of three teenagers who all excel (see: "shred") at their instruments. We're impressed. Next we play, to barely anyone, but we sound good. Lastly, Woah…an Elipsis plays. They're cool and have a lot of energy.

Scotty from Woah…An Elipsis brings us to party at the Dive Bar after the show ends. We drink and listen to our kind of music courtesy of the punk rock bartender. Then I notice a girl walking in the bar with her friend, falling over, walking out of the bar and walking back in. Later she tells me that I'm the only reason that she came back in the bar. Hah, this girl is trashed. She's no fun to talk to so I walk away. Richie Roast sits at the bar in misery as he can't drink for a few more days, due to being in the hospital up until the night before we left with a torn esophagus.

Scotty and his girlfriend put us up for the night. We have some drinks and sing-alongs with an acoustic guitar at their place. Some of us drunkenly play the game Twister. It doesn't last long. Ian keeps us awake with what seems to be a comedy routine of babbling nonsense, and then we fall sleep as the sun comes up.

Friday, July 11th:

We have the day off. We drive from North Carolina to South Carolina. On the way, we buy $100 worth of fireworks and an El Torro poster (the name of a firework, with Mexican bull holding dynamite on it, toting the slogan, "So loud it's criminal), at Shelton's Fireworks. We also stop at Bedtyme Stories adult shop and stock up on magazines. The band then purchases a six-person tent, a grill, charcoal, and food supplies at a Wal-Mart in hopes of finding a camp ground, since we don't have a place to stay again.

Our Global Positioning System fails to find the local campground, so we stop and ask for directions at Buffalo Bob's Outpost, a fireworks store in a city called Travelers Rest, South Carolina. The folks at Buffalo Bob's tell us to stay the night in their backyard (coincidence?!), behind the store. Not a bad idea, except that Mark, one of the staff who sports a rifle on his back is telling us that hoodlums occasionally try to rob the store. He also tells us to put away all of our food when we're done so that bears and mountain lions don't show up to our tent in the middle of the night. Mark explains, "If anyone comes and fucks with you, I'll rain the heat on them." With threats like that, we start to think that he wants someone to come attack us.

A drunken Buffalo Bob and friends continue to spoil us with a free fireworks show, lighting off at least $500 worth of their inventory. We show Buffalo Bob our fireworks collection and he tells us that he's putting some of it in his fireworks "Hall of Shame." We laugh. This was another very fun night, and we start to declare this tour to be the "Best tour ever!"

Saturday, July 12th:

Well, we live through the night. The band travels from South Carolina to Dalton, Georgia. We think we have the day off, so we go to the library and make flyers to pass out. The band gives flyers out at the local mall and then puts some in Mason's Music. In the music store, we meet a band called Endive from New York who is playing the Venue tonight. We're scheduled to play there tomorrow, but we call the promoter, Susie, from the Venue and she okay's us to play tonight as well. Cool!

The first band seems like rednecks doing parodies of current pop songs, which is blah. We play well, I think people enjoy us. Next, the Yellow Team from Manchester, New Hampshire, plays. These guys are cool and know our friends, the Asthmatics, from the same area. Endive play, they are real tight and their punk/ska combo is fun to watch. Finally, 50/50 from Dalton headline the show.

We light off some sky lanterns that were given to us by the Buffalo Bob crew. You light the fuse near the bottom of the sky lantern, and as it heats up the balloon, it rises into the sky until it can't be seen.

We're allowed to stay at the Venue, which we're told is haunted. We party and at 3 a.m., we hunt for ghosts. RP, who is obsessed with the television show, Ghost Hunters, yells for the ghost to come and get him! I still think I may have seen a ghost that night. Dutch gets wacky and starts dancing around us as we're trying to fall asleep on the concrete floors. Goodnight.

Sunday, July 13th:

Susie brings us Bojangle's for breakfast. We hand out flyers for tonight's show at the mall again in Dalton. Back at the Venue, we have a baseball catch.

After our downtime, it's time to play a show at the Venue again. A street-punk band called the Autopsy Outlaws play their set which includes a few old punk and hardcore covers. Our Ghostbusters theme plays through the speakers which is our right of passage to get on stage. We open with the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach." The Gullibles play after us. They're tight! They had a very enjoyable set of catchy pop-punk tunes. Some of the people who are at the show meet us at the Waffle House and we eat. A few
of us party after at the Venue, where we are allowed to sleep for a second night.

Monday, July 14th:

We have another day off today. We leave the Venue in Dalton, Georgia around 10 a.m. and we're on the road again for 12 hours, heading south to West Palm Beach, Florida. We stop at Wendy's for lunch.

In West Palm Beach, we meet up with our pal Matt Parker of the Ridicules. We party at his girlfriend, Christen's house. Richie Roast lights a sky lantern which rises and quickly drops into the neighbor's backyard that is full of trees and other plants. He jumps over the fence to get it before the neighbor's house could become on fire. He trips over the fence and we laugh. That's about it for today.

Tuesday, July 15th:

I wake up in a sweat, before everyone else, in the Blue Monster because I decide to sleep in it with the window cracked. I take a walk around; it's a nice sunny day in the neighborhood with palm trees standing tall and small lizards crawling around. At Walgreen's, I buy a couple of disposable cameras.
When people wake up, we eat at a tasty sandwich joint named Jon Smith Subs nearby. The band then heads to the beach in Jupiter. RP fishes while me, Kris and Richie Roast enjoy the southern ocean, which easily could be mistaken for bathwater.

The Ugly Harts play first at the show. Then the Ridicules play, who are definitely one of my favorite bands who we play with on this tour (myspace.com/theridicules). Eric Stank of the Come Ons joins them on lead vocals for a song. We play next. Most of the crowd leaves after the Ridicules and we don't sound great because half of us are drunk, so I'm not in the best mood. I'm anxious to leave the club as the Ruins close the show with some original songs and a hearty amount of old punk covers.

On the way back to Christen's place, we have one of the many drunken sing-alongs on the trip, to the 90's tunes of Smash Mouth and Lit.

Back at Christen's house, we party. Ian Scum and I are disappointed in the limited late night menu at McDonald's. Kris decorates Richie's face with nail polish while he's sleeping. He wakes up and applies nail polish remover to his face to clean it off.

Wednesday, July 16th:

The band leaves Christen's house after a two-night stay. We enjoy fried chicken from the supermarket for lunch. The next drive is from West Palm Beach to Gainesville, Florida.

In Gainesville, Tony from the Atlantic is cool enough to let us watch the Ergs! and Hunchback show for free since we were supposed to play originally but it got overbooked. We arrive in the town at 7 p.m. and hang out until the Ergs! play at around 11. The Ergs! are tight as always and call us out for being the loud guys in the crowd from Long Island. They play ZZ Top's "Tush," upon Richie's request (The Ergs! are breaking up soon, but they'll always be remembered by us for raising the standards of the pop-punk scene…myspace.com/theergs). Afterwards, there is a mo-town dance party where everyone seems wasted. We make the short trip to the Gainesville Lodge and stay there for the night.

Thursday, July 17th:

Heading out of Gainesville, we pass by the No Idea headquarters on accident. We make the drive to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, located on the panhandle. Me, Richie, Kris and Ian write songs in the car in the five cent notebooks that I bought for everyone at a Wal-Mart a few days before. We pass a place called, "Niceville."

We stop at a Sonic's in Fort Walton Beach and make a tour flyer for the show tomorrow. I call the promoter, Chris, to see if we can hop on a show because we've arrived in town a day early. He's excited to put us on the Ergs! and Hunchback show in Pensacola, which is about 45 minutes east of Fort Walton Beach. We are as excited to play and hop in the car to drive there.

Then, our van breaks down.

…We can't make it to the show now, which bums everyone out. Even more discouragingly, our van is screwed. After two hours on the phone with AAA, a plan is finally worked out where we will be towed to a local Ford dealership. As we're stranded on the side of the road, a nice married couple named Jenny and Dan notice our distress and asks us to come in for a drink. We take them up on the offer and after a few minutes of talking with them, Dan tells us we have the invite to stay the night. Awesome! This saves us.

The band learns that Dan used to be in a ska band so he knows how it is to be on the road. We also meet Cody, their roommate, who tells us he was married and divorced by age 22.

We play Rock Band and party at their house. Ian makes funny but seemingly unintentional poses while playing drums and we make fun of him. Domino's is ordered before bed.

Friday, July 18th:

I wake up in a sweat at 5:30 a.m. because it's not unlike a sauna in the house. The others wake up shortly after. They mention that fleas were jumping on them during the night from the multiple cats (one being a lynx) and a dog in the house. Dutch wakes up in a puddle of urine from the animals. They ruin his and Kris's sleeping bags, which have to be discarded.

The band walks to the Gary Smith Ford to see the status of the Blue Monster. A few more hours are needed to finish fixing the van, so we go back to Jenny and Dan's and swim in their pool. Then we play more Rock Band. We pick up the van around 5 p.m. and it's fixed! Best of all, the dealership covers the costs. Phew.

We play Coaster's in Fort Walton Beach. This is our first of many upcoming shows with the Tattle Tales on this tour.

The Tattle Tales play. We play next and sound alright but people are really into it. We sell a lot of merch, and make pretty good door money. We even have to sign a few autographs, haha. This show was definitely a pleasant surprise for us.

A guy named Patrick at the show says he'll put us up for the night. He lives in Pensacola so we drive there. As we arrive at Patrick's place, the Tattle Tales call me and say their van broke down seven miles back so I go and get some of them. The other half of the Tattle Tales stay with their van so they can bring it to a Tire-Plus car repair shop across the street from where they get stranded at 6 a.m.

RP vomits outside, while Dutch falls asleep with his eyes open. I fall asleep at 4:30 a.m. in a big comfortable bed upstairs.

Saturday, July 19th:

Project 27 and the Tattle Tales leave Patrick's at 1 p.m. Some of us eat at Whataburger, which is just okay, and some eat at the Waffle House.

Project 27 drives from Pensacola, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana, while the Tattle Tales drive to their show in Gulfport, Mississippi. We enter New Orleans listening to "City of New Orleans," covered by Willie Nelson. We notice some beat up houses on the way…

At Checkpoint Charlie's, the Worried Minds play for about two hours to a few barflies as we hang out in town. We meet up with Dan and his friends. Dan is my friend from New York, but he goes to Loyola College so he knows New Orleans too. We dine at the Praline Connection where I order fried alligator sausage and gumbo (Everyone keeps asking me what alligator tastes like and I'm still not sure…maybe sausage…).

We load into Checkpoint Charlie's and I drink a hurricane at the bar. There we meet George, one of the only people that come to see us, and who later is our tour guide around Bourbon Street.

We play after the Saltines play a rather boring set of unexciting punk rock tunes. We sound pretty good, but only about 15 people are there to witness it. A crew of unimpressed pirates walks out during our second song. Argh (Sorry, I had to). We make less than 30 bucks from the door. Yee-ha.

But we can't let that get us down, afterall, it's not everyday that we're in New Orleans. Although we had ventured onto Bourbon Street before we played the show, it's now Saturday night, almost 12 a.m., and things are really picking up! George guides us and suggests we get hand grenades, a local drink that comes in a hand grenade shaped bottle with a long spout. I doublefist mine as we all start to get a buzz…

Some lady with her…err..."parts" out walks by. We talk to her and her boyfriend, who sports a skimpy leather outfit. A sloppy girl claims it's her birthday and calls Kris cute, and he proceeds to get some lip action right on the street! We make it to the end of the excitement on Bourbon Street and turn around. Everyone around seems wasted and having a good time. I knock over a barricade in a drunken stupor. A few of us make a stop at a strip club. At around 3:30 a.m., George hints that he's had enough and we go back to his place and crash on the floors and sleep. What a fun day…Today's show wasn't great, but I think this was my favorite day of tour, at least so far.

Sunday, July 20th:

Day 12. The band wakes up early, at 8:30 a.m., because we have to make a long drive to Nashville, Tennessee for the next show tonight. I wake up with what feels like a brick in my brain, after a fun night and sleeping on a tile floor. We get McDonald's for breakfast.

The drive from New Orleans, Louisiana to Nashville, Tennessee is a lengthy one. We arrive at Windows off the Cumberland live music venue in "Music City" at around 6:30 p.m. We get fried chicken for dinner at a gas stop. The Tattle Tales have more van problems and show up a little late. Ian pukes again. "Chicken!" is all he says after we hear the splatter on the ground. He blames his misfortune again on food, and not the Bud heavy that he drinks non-stop.

The show has good monitors and overall sound. We play well. Wyatt, the lead singer and songwriter of Second Saturday joins us to sing the third part harmony on our Teen Idols cover of "Midnight Picture Show," and it sounds awesome. Second Saturday play next and they blow us away. They play power-pop with some straight some riffs. Their songs are great, I suggest you check them out (myspace.com/secondsaturday). Then the Tattle Tales play and they sound great as well! Not many people are at this show but we have a blast anyway because the venue is cool, the sound is good, and the bands were great.

At a local supermarket after the show, we buy beers and food and head back to Wyatt's place. I drink a local beer called "Don Perros," which was real good. I don't drink Bud heavy tonight, and RP legitimately gets kind of upset with me, claiming that it's the choice drink for this tour and we're all supposed to chip in so we can get the most beers possible... Phht. Anyway, we party at Wyatt's until 5 o'clock in the morning and have a sing-along, with him and Christian Tattle Tale switching off on guitar. We notice the sun rising as we fall asleep. Fun day, goodnight.

Monday, July 21st:

Another day off. We wake up, shower and play videogames. Wyatt shaves Richie Roast a Mohawk. Project 27 and the Tattle Tales go to Barbecutie's for lunch for some Tennessee barbequed food. We get an oil change for the van at Wal-Mart and Dutch gets a haircut there. Kris and Dutch get new sleeping bags, free of pet piss.

Back at Wyatt's, we thoroughly clean the Blue Monster and decide to see the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," at an IMAX theater. The Opry Mills Theater is near the famous music venue, the Grand Ole Opry, so a few of us check that out. "The Dark Knight," is entertaining as well. Wyatt graciously puts our band and the Tattle Tales up for another night.

Tuesday, July 22nd:

After finishing laundry at Wyatt's, we say our goodbyes and head north to Evansville, Indiana. I realize we have tomorrow off again. I call Pat from the Halloween House in Indianapolis and ask if we can play a show there tomorrow night. He says that we can hop on the bill with Shot Baker and others! Excellent.

We play at night at the Mesker Shelter House 17 in Evansville, which is a place in the woods that families can rent out to stay in on vacations. People who had seen us the year before in Henderson, Kentucky as well as new people are in the crowd, so that's nice. After us and another band, the Tattle Tales play. P.A. problems cut their set a bit short. The audience ends up singing the Tattle Tales' "So Wanna Kiss You," as loud as they can over the music. Be my Doppelganger is able to fix the problem, and they play a rockin' set.

After cleaning up our empty beer cans and lighting off some fireworks, we head to Bradley Anxiety's place in Henderson, Kentucky to stay. We get settled in Be My Doppelganger's practice space as we eat some Dodge's fried chicken. Bradley tells us that he's related to Patrick Henry, the man who once said, "Give me liberty or give me death." Bold statement.

Wednesday, July 23rd:

I wake up at 12 p.m., shower and eat more Dodge's food. We leave Henderson, Kentucky at 2 o'clock for Indianapolis, Indiana. The Tattle Tales have even more van problems and are towed there from an Indiana corn field to another repair shop.

We get to the Halloween House and play the show. We sound very good and so do the Tattle Tales. Bulletwolf and another band play, who I forget the name of now. Shot Baker closes the show and dedicates the Vindictives' "Glad to be," to us. They sound great! The band gets trashed and Ian Scum and Richie sleep in the van.

Thursday, July 24th:

We wake up at the Halloween House at 11 a.m. to find out that Mike and Zak Tattle Tale have been at the Firestone car repair shop since 7. The firestone refuses to fix their van and tells them that it is unsafe to drive. We decide to help them out and take them with us.

The Tattle Tales leave their van behind, but keep their trailer. They buy a trailer hitch and attach the trailer to our van. The seats from their van are put into our van, and our equipment goes in the trailer with their equipment. Now we have a new set up.

As the trailer hitch is put on, we eat at a Steak'n'Shake, which is pretty delicious. Tim and the Tattle Tales buy us our first round of gas, which is appreciated. We drive to Chicago, Illinois to play our show tonight with the Hollywood Nightmares, the Hypnic Jerks, and the Tattle Tales.

The Hollywood Nightmares and the Hypnic Jerks both play impressive sets and are friendly guys. The other band, whose name I forget, was okay. We play next, but it's not up to par with the other nights on this tour so far. The crowd seems to dig us anyway. The Tattle Tales play especially well on this night!

Neither Project 27 nor the Tattle Tales make any door money from this show. The original promoter was fired before he was able to actually run the show. The newer promoter treats us rather poorly, refusing to pay us even a few bucks for playing and says, "You gotta promote the show more, this isn't a rehearsal space." Ouch.

The band is in somewhat of a sour mood as we head to Adam Alive's hotel room (Adam Alive co-runs It's Alive Records, based in California). The drive there is pretty horrible, between getting lost for over two hours and getting a ticket for running a red light. Ian gets the ticket (He burns it up soon after with his lighter). We pass a White Castle District Office, and we later get their wonderful "slyders" before we get to the hotel.

Adam Alive is in town for the weekend and is nice enough to let us stay with him in his Chicago hotel room. Jon Weiner of the Dopamines and his friend Nick also stay the night there.

I do a computer update from Adam's computer, while Kris and Rich stay up watching television and drinking until 5 a.m.

Friday, July 25th:

We're in Chicago for my 22nd birthday. Our show tonight is at the Bottom Lounge with the Methadones, the Copyrights, the Chinese Telephones and the Tattle Tales!

Shortly after waking up, me, Dutch and Mike Tattle Tale decide to try to find tickets to buy for the Chicago Cubs day game, even though we're aware that it's sold out. The others check out the city.

We drive for a while in traffic and finally make it to Chi-Town. We can't find scalped tickets in our price range so we do the next best thing and watch the game at a local bar and pizzeria called Slugger's. We drink Old style beers and Jell-O shots, and we eat famous Chicago deep-dish pizza. It's cool to see the Cubs fans in their own environment, not to mention all the good-looking girls who are around! The mood of Slugger's becomes sour as the Cubs lose to the Marlins.

Dutch buys a Cubs hat in the team store.

Again, we're stuck in traffic as we drive to our show. The Methadones, the Copyrights and us perform a sound check. This was the only show of the tour with a backstage, so we hang out in our room with the supply of free drinks.

The night was a success as all the bands play well. First we play, then the Tattle Tales, next is the Chinese Telephones, followed by the Copyrights, with the Methadones closing. We pack up after talking a little with the other bands.

After a thorough debate, we decide to drive through the night to Washburn, Wisconsin, which is about eight hours away.

T'was a fun birthday.

Saturday, July 26th:

The drive from Chicago, Illinois to Washburn, Wisconsin is rather unpleasant. Some people attempt to sleep in the cramped van, while others yell at their drunk significant other over the phone. I get about two hours of sleep. However, the soothing scenery of Wisconsin relaxes me. At 5:30 a.m., we stop for gas and it's actually chilly outside.

We arrive a few hours early and hang out at Kjell's dad's work (Kjell plays guitar and sings in the Side Project).

We play the Civic Center with Periphery, Paulson's Glove, the Tattle Tales and the Side Project. The crowd's response to us is energetic and amazing, unlike any show on the tour so far. They even raise RP to crowd surf during our set.

The Tattle Tales also get a great reception and the kids continue to go nuts for the Side Project. Between bands, we light fireworks outside (Soon after, the cops come by and frisk us).

The show ends around 10 p.m. As we're hanging out outside the Civic Center, the locals remind us that beer is only sold until 10:30 at night. Kris and I race to a gas station to get three 18 packs of Budweiser just in the knick of time. The other band members are excited by this purchase when we return.

We go to Ben Sargent's family's house (of the Side Project) and feast on pulled-pork sandwiches, sausage, potato salad, chips and cookies that his family made and bought for us. Mmm.

The bands take a ride to Ashland, Wisconsin, for a party at a guy named Steve's house. We light off most of our fireworks and sky lanterns to present our most impressive fireworks show to date on this tour. Steve begs us to stop after a while. RP and Kris get messed up on the throat spray they're using to soothe their voices. The rest of the crew gets drunk. Our nightly Misfits sing-along occurs. We screw around with the stuff at Steve's house, including the collection of antlers that are stashed in a box. Ben entertains us with his impressions of characters from the movie, "Jurassic Park."

Steve brings us down the road to go cow-tipping, but we can't get past the electric fences. Someone lights a firework and we're all forced to scatter away.

After making a shabby log cabin back inside Steve's house, Richie Roast sleep in the bed with Steve's crush. This prompts Steve to leave his house. He says, "Do whatever you want," and leaves at 4 a.m. People try to start the tractor and ATVs but the attempts are unsuccessful. Dutch and I sleep in the van after yet another crazy and wacky night.

Sunday, July 27th:

I wake up in a sweat in the van, yet again. The band is anxious to leave because Steve's mom has arrived home, and Steve isn't home yet. She's ticked off, and barks, "I don't know who you guys are, but you better clean up and get the hell out of here!" Well, that's the censored version of what she said. We leave after lighting one last firework and throwing it on the lawn on the way out. Bye Steve's mom.

We play baseball in Washburn with the Side Project guys and others. People aren't into the game as much as last year, so it ends rather quickly. Kris, Richie Roast and Ian take a bath in the lake.

The bands stop for lunch at McDonald's and Culver's, where I enjoy a butter burger and cheese curds. We drive from Washburn, Wisconsin to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We open up the show at the 7th Street Entry. We played well and the sound is good too. We even get drink tickets! The Tattle Tales and the Side Project have good and fun sets as well. The Strait A's close the show with their great pop-punk songs rich with three part harmonies. They were awesome; even though I hear they're breaking up too, check them out (myspace.com/smartasawhip)!

Back at Kjell's house in Minneapolis, we drink beers and Sailor Jerry's liquor and make prank phone calls to a handful of our friends back home for a laugh.

Monday, July 28th:

We leave Kjell's house at 3:30 p.m. after a Quizno's lunch. We drive from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Steven's Point, Wisconsin. Enjoying the beautiful green scenery of Wisconsin again, complete with cattle, silos, fields, bales of hay and farmhouses, I realize the obvious differences with New York, a place that it seems like we haven't been in forever. The road ends without warning so we take a detour.

We arrive at the After Dark Coffee House just before 8 o'clock. Sullen Riot (a.k.a. Putrid Fucking Homer) plays. They're good for a chuckle. The Tattle Tales sound great again, and we play well too I think. We get some gas money and sell some of our stuff.

No one at the show is willing to house us for the night, so we check into the Blue Top Hotel a few blocks away. They are cool with the idea of touring bands staying the night. While the others drink in the hotel, me, RP and Tim Tattle Tale go to the local bar and eat a pizza and drink beers and Jaeger bombs. I chat with Troy Reed, a friendly older guy who's in town to give demos of his own soaps and detergents. He explains that his brother Lance is a drummer in a touring band so he knows what it's like seeing, "starving artists," in action as he put it. That being said, he is supportive of our musical ventures and buys us a round of beers. Thanks, Troy.

We get back to the hotel and I'm a little tipsy. RP and Kris get in a little wrestling match and fall off the bed while Christian orders Domino's. Then we sleep.

Tuesday, July 29th:

The bands wake up to a bike in our hotel room –Tim took a bike from somewhere in the middle of the night, ha ha. We check out of the Blue Top Hotel. Our trailer isn't connected right, and Sheriff Schweers comes to the rescue with his tool kit and fixes the problem. H asks us if we've ever heard of the Bo Deans, and starts singing one of their songs.

We travel from Steven's Point, Wisconsin back to Indianapolis, Indiana for the second night on tour at the Halloween House.

We forget about the time zone change so we end up at the show at 9:30 p.m.
Highway Magic and the Tattle Tales play, then us. It was another fun show, as the kids in the basement seemed to like it. The Halloween House supplies us with free beers again. We have a music session late at night where we attempt to cover songs electrically, but it stinks. Some 17 year-old girl is wasted and pukes outside. There is a huge knife in the draw and someone mumbles that we stab him with it and put him out of his misery. Go to sleep, ya dummy.


Wednesday, July 30th:

Day 22. We wake up around 11:30 a.m., pack the van and hang out. We drive from Indianapolis, Indiana to Cincinnati, Ohio. I eat at another unsatisfying White Castle with Tim and Zak Tattle Tale. The bands go to check our a cool record shop called Shake It Records, where I end up buying a Lagwagon CD, a Blue Angel CD, and a John Cage DVD. Project 27 drinks near the van before the show.

We open the show. I don't think we sound our usual. I'm not really focused on the show for some reason. I'm actually thinking of sleeping in my own bed as we're playing. I feel mucas dripping down my nose as I'm singing, guhh. I'm a little under the weather today, I guess. Despite all this, we have a pretty good crowd. The Tattle Tales play after us, followed by SS-20, who toured with the Dead Kennedys back in 1985. They break a bass string on the first song and continue to play their entire set without a bassist. Team Stray and the Dopamines play, and they're both great! Almost everyone at the show is energetic but wasted at this point.

After the show, we go to the Glendora House to hang out and sleep. We have a rough time backing the trailer into the driveway, and people proceed to argue with each other over how it should be done. While I choose to fall asleep, RP, Kris, Richie Roast and Ian Scum party till the early morning hours. Ian tries to fall asleep after not sleeping well for a couple of days, but someone apparently bothers him by talking too loud, and Ian threatens to attack the person. Eesh. People break bottles, and RP defecates into a bucket and puts it in an empty Red Bull fridge. During his delusional experience, Ian claims, "The dragon told me to kill everyone and it would be fine."


Thursday, July 31st:

We have the day off. We wake up around 1 o'clock at the Glendora House on this last day of July. People shower. We eat lunch at Hooter's in Newport, Kentucky with Jon Weiner and friends. The waitresses there are not too attractive.

As the rest of the group goes to see the movie, "Stepbrother," after lunch, Mike Tattle Tale and I hang out in the van, enjoying the sunny summer day, and then watch RP and Ian fish on the Ohio River. Across the river, we can see the Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Next, we go to the Newport on the Levee mall to hang out and get refreshments at Smoothie King.

A girl named Alex invites us to swim in the pool at her parent's house with her friends, Lauren and Nick. Afterwards, she invites us to her apartment. We eat a crave case from White Castle. Nick shits off a roof because of a dare, attempting to have it land in a neighbor's pool below. It was unsuccessful, but still an impressive endeavor. I fall asleep at 2 a.m. I'm told that Ian apologizes for last night's antics. A select few stay up till 5 o'clock. drinking wine until they all fall asleep at Alex's apartment.

Friday, August 1st:

We shower and leave Cincinnati for Bellevue, Pennsylvania. I miss my chance again to get Cincy-style chili, although I'm told it's not very good. I enjoy a juicy pork chop at a Waffle House for lunch. We pass the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Ohio. We also see a field full of Christmas trees. So that's where they come from…

The bands arrive at the venue, a large art space called the Creative Treehouse, in Bellevue Pennsylvania at 7:15 p.m. The Tattle Tales play and sound good, despite their claims that they can't hear themselves at all. Next we play and it sounded good. The Shut Outs close the show, to a few odd-looking girls dancing along. After having a hard time finding a hotel nearby, we get McDonald's and rest at a local Motel 6.

Saturday, August 2nd:

The bands depart from the motel at 12 noon. Panera Bread is consumed for lunch…finally a halfway healthful meal. We drive from Bellevue to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We get to the run-down neighborhood in Philly at 6:30 p.m. Tim Tattle Tale and I indulge in a Vietnamese hoagie, which we're both eager to try. We like the sandwich comprised of roast pork, cucumbers and carrots a lot! A side project band consisting of members of What Happened? play first (myspace.com/whathappenedmusic). The Tattle Tales play and then we play. You can see a video of part of our set here, thanks to Chris (youtube.com/watch?v=pCUcwMp3NrA)! Everyone Everywhere closes the show. A few of us buy 40's with Drew and Sarah Peabottom, and drink them in the small backyard of the house we're playing, known as Brendan's Basement. People seem to be happy we played.

We physically push someone's car out of the way so we can successfully back our van and trailer out. Christian Tattle Tale drives us to Tim Tattle Tale's house in suburban New Jersey, while we all drunkenly yell and sing loudly to the music blasting in the van on the way. We break at a rest stop and enjoy Roy Roger's. We crash at Tim's house for the night.

Sunday, August 3rd:

Day 26; our last day of the tour. We wake up for the first time on the tour where we don't have to rush out of where we slept. We are made a nice breakfast of eggs, bagels, sausage, bacon and orange juice, courtesy of Tim's parents. The movie, "The Pick of Destiny," with Jack Black and Kyle Gass is on television, so we watch it. Some of us swim in his pool backyard.

We drive to Zak Tattle Tale's house and separate the Project 27 equipment from the Tattle Tales' stuff. No more trailer for us! We drive to the Bread Box in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It takes me almost two hours to go on a beer run because New Brunswick doesn't sell it at many places.

Back at the show, Troublemaker, a hardcore punk band, plays first. They sound cool. We play in front of New Jerseyans plus a small crowd of New Yorkers from our hometown of Long Beach since it really isn't that far. There is energy in the crowded basement. The Tattle Tales close the show. RP burns his white Mets shirt on a tree, only to sort of regret it minutes later. As a finally, we throw fireworks on the property as we leave (of course).

Our shows on tour are done. On the way home, we drop Anya and Christian off at Anya's mom's house, in Englewood, near Yankee Stadium.

We arrive back at my house in Long Beach, NY at about 1:30 in the morning on Monday, August 4th. I'm home. We've made it in one piece! We hug each other, realizing our accomplishments on the road…
THE TOUR WAS A SUCCESS!!!

…Well, if you're reading this then you survived my lengthy tour journal. I left out some entertaining stories because they probably embarrassed us or others. If you were at the shows and the after-parties, you know mostly everything.

In short, make sure to see us next time we haul ourselves across the United States of America and elsewhere! Thank you and we'll see you soon.

Sincerely,
Joey Mac and the rest of Project 27 (RP, Kris, Dutch and Richie Roast)

Friday, 30th May, 2008

Dick: Welcome to Punk Or Nothing. What's been happening with the band since those lovely seven inch gems you had out over the last couple of years?

Joey: Hey! Well, we've been writing and recording new songs and playing local shows in New York mostly. We went on the "Gas is Expensive" tour for two weeks in the summer of 2007 with the Tattle Tales from Nyack, NY, who also had a release on Rally Records. That was our first tour and it was a great life experiences for us! We played in the Midwest for the majority of the tour. We also had someone put a video together for the song "Next September." We may make another video soon. All of those activities led up to our first official full-length CD, "Smarten Up," to be released on Rally Records in June 2008. Hopefully someone will want to press the vinyl LPs for us too. To support the release, we're touring with the Guts from Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the summer of 2008. We're coming to the east coast, the south and the Midwest in the United States. In the meantime, we've written almost half of the next album, which will probably be released in 2009.

Dick: Why did you decide to re-record "Time To Fold" when it was such a great song to begin with?

Joey: We didn't re-record much of that song at all, just some rhythm guitar parts for a better tone. We did the same thing with the two other songs from the Time to Fold EP. We also remixed and remastered those songs to make it sound similar to the rest of the full-length. We remastered, but didn't remix, the songs from the Next September EP for the CD too.

Dick: What do you think the forthcoming LP has to offer the pop-punk world?

Joey: The quality of the song writing is definitely strong and people who've heard the album already agree. I'm a person who usually wants Ramones-like pop-punk to be a bit more refined and new school pop-punk to be not so disposable and lame. So I write songs to adhere to my desires and to what I think fans of the genre would appreciate. Basically, it's old school meets new school pop-punk rock and it should be a refreshing and enjoyable album for the pop-punk world.

Dick: Sounds pretty promising! Will there be any "celebrity" guests appearing on the album, or is that hush hush?

Joey: Nope, no "celebrities," but a few of our friends are on it singing backup vocals, including Matt Parker of the Ridicules. Ben Weasel sequenced the album for us, but he's not on the recording.

Dick: So, have you actually met Ben in person? What's he like?

Joey: I haven't met him in person. The Insubordination Fest last year was pretty hectic so we didn't end up talking. That's another way of saying I was too shy to strike up a conversation, but he's been friendly and supportive of our band, which is really cool.

Dick: Are you coming to England to promote the new LP?

Joey: Possibly next January we'll make it Europe, but not this summer.

Dick: What's it like working with Rally, because I know they're supposed to be quite a great label name to operate under.

Joey: Rally's a good guy who's got his act together. He keeps an eye out for us. He's like a pop-punk dad to his bands. We're proud to be on the same label as the Leftovers and the Guts, just to name a couple.

Dick: Isn't it great that the Leftovers are moving onto a bigger label? I feel like the pop-punk world is nearing revolution.

Joey: Pop-punk is gaining popularity again in the US and it's awesome. I love the Leftovers. Their music is fun and they're cool to hang out with. The Leftovers are one of the few pop-punk bands today that are enthusiastically touring and gaining a following and it's working for them. I was not aware that they are moving onto a bigger label. What label is it?

Dick: Oglio Records, which is owned by Universal [I've been told I'm wrong about this]. How actually big is pop-punk over there? It's still underground here. Do everyday kids know about bands like Teenage Bottlerocket and the Leftovers?

Joey: No no, we're all still underground but the venues are crowded when a few popular underground bands play the same show. It's hard to estimate how big the scene is. I don't think the scene is huge in any one place, but a lot of people from a lot of different places are into pop-punk now and are willing come out to see a show when a band comes to their town.

Dick: What, to you, would be the perfect scene? Or is it already perfect? Discuss.

Joey: The perfect scene probably entails a bit more change, but a better scene would be comprised of a larger pop-punk audience.

Dick: What changes would be made?

Joey: I'd like to see pop-punk expand musically I guess, I don't know what other changes are needed as of right now.

Dick: Name a few good local up and comers I may not have heard of.

Joey: The Ridicules, the Monikers and Cheeky come to mind. Dear Landlord puts out great stuff but they've already proven to be pretty popular. Their full-length should be good. You've heard most of the underground bands that matter. The Copyrights, the Leftovers and the Ergs! are the best bands in the pop-punk scene right now.

Dick: Punk... or nothing?

Joey: I enjoy punk and I don't enjoy nothing. My choice is punk.

Project 27 tour blog - 7/15/08

What's up everyone! I'm writing this blog from the beach in jupiter, florida. We are about one week and one shower into tour, and it has been going awesome so far. We've made our way down the east coast, played some great shows, met some awesome people, camped out, shot off fireworks, slept on floors, its been fun. After florida we will be making our way through the midwest and meeting up with the tattle tales, we are super excited. Check out our page for updates and new shows. Hope to see you all come out!

dutch P27

Project 27 was recently interviewed for the video podcast, "Matt Rock," hosted by Matt Allen. Check it out here:

Project 27 on Matt Rock

To check out more of the Matt Rock video podcasts, click:

Matt Rock

Watch the "Next September" video here:

"Next September" Video

You can also find some live videos of the band by searching for Project 27 on YouTube

Sincerely,
Project 27

p.s. - A video for a new song will be coming in the next couple of months.

Past Band Members:

Sergey Maslioja
(Guitar: June 2001-December 2007)

Johnny Stamos
(Bass and Backup Vocals: July 2004-November 2005,
September 2007-November 2007)

Guy Luerssen
(Bass: June 2001-June 2004)

Kate Eldridge
(Guitar: July 2004-November 2005)

Mark Bonner
(Guitar: Summer 2006)