"Sleep When You're Dead Tour" – couldn't be a more appropriate name for the last two months of my life.  Over 7500 miles, more than 45 shows in most states across this country - sleep was not really an option either way.

As I point my nose west and head home to LA, I look back on the great times, amazing shows and lack of rest that made this tour so timeless.  I have to first thank each and every fan / friend along the way that supported us throughout this journey –  Whether you were a new friend or an old - your support, food, love, shower and help were mucho appreciated. 

There were plenty of crazy moments out on the road.  Here are a few of my personal favorites in no particular order:

• Rocked a country / western hoedown / hootenanny in Omaha – and had the crowd boot stomping and punk rock line dancing!
• Recorded a rap song in Memphis – complete with Jay – Z on backing track!

• Slept under the Chicago subway tracks and dreamt about the terminator (now our Cali – governator).

• The RV caught on fire and turned 2 Pac into 1 Pac (almost no-Pac)
• When showers were unavailable- we broke into several private pools – strictly for sanitary concerns of course.
• Broke down outside Vegas with no A/C – and the devils hairdryer pointed at our skulls.

• Hurricane Ike on our tail throughout Texas and just barely bitch slapped us.
• Free Bar-B-Que from the most amazing Pittsburgh stop- Big Mama's House of Soul.
• Played an all ages, acoustic gig at Best Buy – What the eff?
• Rocked out with Cute is What We Aim For in SLC!
• Wake Boarding in upstate New York.
• Hannah Montana dishwashing song and dance- nuff said!
• Lost the best tour manager ever – in 5 days!
• Broke into a house - just to climb on the roof and get a better view!

• Threatened by a skin head in Ogden, UT for not being punk rock enough!
• Captured, skinned and mounted a white tiger in SLC.
• Crashed a lesbian party in Memphis.
• Shot handguns and a shotgun at a wiley mannequin (Creeper Tom) in Indiana!
• Pulled over by the police in a boat!
• Accosted in Austin by a homeless man named Leslie in a small girls cheerleading outfit.

• The Pick of Destiny!
• Wheel chair raising – Uncle Rico- you're a disgrace to the sport- you cheat!

• Tiara of shame if you've been bad- you know who you are!
• Played a last minute, open mic night at a bowling alley in Plano.
• The unwarrented hike in gas prices - i hate you oil, i hate you!

We're going back into the studio real soon to work on new material (many of which was written on this tour).  Keep your eyes on our calendar for upcoming shows.  We will be back in your city to rock hard real soon!

Thanks for everything-

Chris

B.A.M.N.

The half way point....

At this point in the tour I assume we should be at a vantage point that provides us with some perspective to look back at the last 5 weeks and reflect.  It's been intense.  I can say that with absolute certainty.  With out a doubt this tour has lived up to its name "Sleep When You're Dead" and has been the most intense tour I've ever been a part of.  From 9-10 shows per week schedule, to hard traveling and venue drama, it's been quite a journey.  But, it has also been an amazing adventure and one that is still far from finished. 

We had a killer time playing Chicago and both of the photos below are from the windy city.  Reggie's rock club is a fantastic venue and Chicago has a great music scene... we can't wait until we can return.  

We also started a new tradition on this tour.....The Tiara of Shame!  Whoever messes up for the day has to wear the Tiara all day long.  The pic below is Chris modeling not just the Tiara, but also the clip on earrings and princess wand that c accompany that beautiful accessory to any outfit.

There are some new videos on youtube so check 'em out and if we haven't hit your city yet, we look forward to meeting up everyone. 

Thanks for all the support!

-Matt

By All Means Necessary

I feel like it must feel very similar....preparing for tour and preparing for war...without the possibility of....well...DEATH.  I have a brother in the U.S. Navy and it seems that our stories are eerily analogous.   Today I packed everything in the BAMN RV, attempted to think of all the last minute details that I might need while away from my home for months.  My uniforms (or...uh...stuff that I'll wear on stage) are uncontaminated and ready for action.  I've insured that all of my weapons (aka instruments, mics and in-ear monitors) have been properly cleaned, checked and tried.  And since this isn't our 1^st bbq I know, by now, that some things are going to go wrong out there....that's inevitable...but you try to be as prepared for the unexpected as possible. 

And that's pretty much it.  I have 36 hours to myself before I'll meet the band and crew bright and early for a 10am equipment checklist and departure.  So until then I'll try to actually not think about it as much as I can.  Although not thinking about it is nearly an impossible challenge.   You feel this certain anxiety and excitement growing in the back of your mind.  You can almost hear it coming on like a freight train.  Attempting to quiet the noise is like attempting to close the windows so you don't realize the hurricane is just outside your house.  Don't you love a good storm?

We're finally finished!  For the 1^st time since we started this band in 2005 we took 6 months off of playing live to just focus on writing and recording.  We actually have close to 25 new songs ready to sort through for our full length that we will finish recording this fall when we get off the road.  We're planning for release of our debut full length sometime early 2009.

For this record we worked with Billy Mims, who has engineered for Rick Rubin (Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Neal Avron (Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Yellowcard).  We tracked at the legendary Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, CA and I sang vocals in the same booth used by Jim Morrison.  Lots and lots of history at that studio.  Actually everyday during instrumental tracking I used the same restroom Prince had specifically built for him while recording Purple Rain, because he was too much of a germ-a-phob to use the "common" restroom. 

Anyways...it was an amazing experience.  Billy pulled some strings and we got to use some amazing gear for this record.  Actually our mixing was pushed back a few days because Metallica needed to use the gear we had in the studio to mix their record.  Whatever!  Haha. 

It was kind of tough to think of a name for this EP.  It's not a complete piece of musical work, but we felt it has embodied a lot of the past year and half of our lives.  It's strange to think we wrote some of the songs on "Left Out In The Open" over 2 years ago.  You live a lot of life in 2 years and as a relatively new band you evolve tremendously in the beginning.  I relate it much to your first few years of high school.  You know that you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, but you're still trying to figure out who you really are and what direction you want to take your future.  So, at the end we felt that "The Sunset Sessions" was an appropriate title.  We have fought our way through the Hollywood music scene, and Sunset Blvd has definitely been our home and teacher for the past couple of years.

I'd love to know what you think of the new tracks so hit me back and let me know what you think.  We'll release one new song every Tuesday until we leave for tour.  We're also allowing everyone to download a copy of all the new songs for Free until August 1^st.  So, download a track and tell someone about us and come support.  It's up to every one of us to keep rock music alive by supporting bands and music.

We've added some pics if you'd like to witness the ridiculousness.

Thanks and much love

-Matt

By All Means Necessary

6/17/07

HOLLYWOOD, CA

We're goin back to Cali!  Our Pep Rally Homecoming and the last show on the "Left out in the Open" tour.  What better way to celebrate than headlining at our home venue—The World Famous—Viper Room.  Pulling into LA on the 10 West didn't seem real.  The sky line looked a lot like every other city that we've been through.  Strange that the rest of America felt more like home than California.  That was until we hit the Viper Room.  Seeing our friends and fans pile in like soldiers, we felt much more at home.  We shared the stage with some of our closest friends- Daybreak Ends (who have a sick new album coming out), Strike Twelve, Chris Holley and the Rollers, The Logan.  We finished up, caught up with friends, and were getting ready to leave.

As we all cleaned out Free Willy Wonka of our belonging we got the strangest feeling.  We grabbed our personal items, started saying our goodbyes.  It felt like we were leaving the dorms at the end of our freshman year of college.  We each left one by one—but I don't think any of us really wanted to just yet.  Luckily, we'll be back on the road in August- ready to take America by storm once again.  The Free Willy Wonka will ride; and By All Means Necessary will rock!

B.A.M.N. BITCHES!!! And thank you all for a kick ass tour!

6/16/07

LAS VEGAS, NV

Vegas Baby, Vegas!  We have always been huge fans of touring through Vegas.  The last time was in a Ford, 15 passenger van.  Rollin' into the strip in The Free Willy, we felt like we'd hit the jackpot.  While we didn't bring down the house at the casinos (Chris did however win $175), We did bring the house down at the venue.  The Emergency Room was dedicated to Greg, who took a dive off of the lifeguard stand in Maryland into some pavement!  The club was adorned with sirens and coffins (just in case it got too crazy)  The next day was painful when our generator blew out in the 167 degree dessert.  When we rolled down the window of the bus, it felt like the devil was pointing a hair dryer plugged into the sun directly at my face!  I drank 4 gallons of water and still felt arid and depleted.  I don't care if it's a dry heat—it sucked!  Either way, we all still love Vegas in all its desert glory.

6/14/07 and 6/15/07

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

There is nothing wrong with another big beautiful city surrounded by mountains.  There is also nothing wrong with Burt's Tiki Lounge, which is basically Utah's version of the CBGB---definitely some SLC Punk!  In the heart of Mormon land, the venue smelled of beer, urine and punk.  "Fail to Follow" absolutely killed it on stage.  Tons of energy and some really sick songs.  It was so much fun, we decided to stay another day and play at Burt's again!  All of the mountain driving took a toll on Free Willy Wonka.  We had to show her some love with two new front tires and an alignment.  She was delighted and drove like a dream for the rest of the tour.  Funny thing is- the same thing happened to my car a few years ago on a snowboarding trip in Salt Lake City.  I completely lost my brakes and had to drive 400 miles at 110mph to Vegas!  I couldn't slow down, so I could only speed up.  Something about that place and vehicles—You know you don't want to leave and the city won't physically let you!