We'll be playing at The National in Richmond again on May 8th.  You can get tickets here! 

They are $10 (no service charge) if you get them at the link above and $13 at the door (plus service charges).

See you soon.

We hope you are all having a Happy Thanksgiving!  Don't forget to come see us and our friends Against Grace and Zelos this Saturday, November 29th, at IOTA in Arlington, VA.  The Washington Post selected the show as one of their weekend picks, and here's what they had to say: "With an opening spot for Coldplay and a soundtrack highlight on ESPN, the local up-and-comers have proven they fit on a big stage --  all the more reason to catch them on a more intimate stage now."

Speaking of the Washington Post, they also will publish a review of Wake From Yourself in tomorrow's paper.  It's also posted online in their electronic edition.   The full review will be on page 7 of the Weekend section, so be sure to keep an eye out!

See you Saturday!

Hey everyone, 

Our song "Take Me Home" was added to rotation on XM Radio's Flight 26 Channel - modern hits and one of the most listened to channels on XM! 

Please email or call XM and ask to hear Take Me Home!!

Email XM http://www.xmradio.com/help/emailus.xmc?ch=26

Call XM: (866) 631-2626

Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyVjlAyU1OY

Sunday, August 3^rd, 2008.

We started loading stuff onto a cargo van around 1:30 pm or so.  Everyone was in high spirits, and I think the reality of everything fully hit during packing.  Rehearsals were one thing – actually packing up the van was a huge indicator of YES, THIS IS HAPPENING.  We got to the Verizon Center around 3 and were escorted to our dressing room.  It was everything like you see in band documentaries – stalls with cubbies and a hanging rack lining the walls; a refrigerated case where we put our two cases of water; a curtained-off bathroom and shower area; and eventually, pretzels.  The refrigerator was a Coca-Cola case with the sliding glass doors, the kind you see in gas stations and behind food stands at arenas and sporting events.

Let me give you a general idea of where we were:  we were in a room at one end of a long hallway running the length of the Verizon Center.  At the other end was Coldplay's side.  They had a ping-pong table set up in the middle of the hallway down at their end, and they had several dressing and family rooms.  We didn't see them soundcheck, and we didn't see them when we came in.

Around 5 pm, we started putting our stuff together; as we were doing so, we got called up to do our soundcheck.  This was around maybe 5:20 or 5:30 or so.

Walking onto the stage, past Will Champion's drums and percussion instruments (a timpani, bell and field bass drum, all used on the song "Viva La Vida"), I could scarcely contain my excitement.  We set our stuff up, got mics placed, started line-checking (making sure that a signal is going from the mic to the mixing desk) and getting monitor levels set.  It was probably about maybe 6:00 by the time we got offstage, after soundchecking with "Catch My Breath". 

We went back to the dressing room, where we hung out for a little while until Coldplay's drummer, Will Champion, came to visit.  We had brought some stuff to get signed, hopefully – five vinyl editions of "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" and ten posters that were specially made just for us – and Will graciously signed every one of them.  He took some pictures with us and talked for a while, and then he had to leave.  That was really nice of him to do all that, you know?  Shortly after that, we headed towards the stage entrance and started focusing on what we had to do for the next 25 minutes.

7:30.

Go time.

The backstage manager got onto his radio and signaled the light operator.

"And we have a go on the house lights."

The house lights went dark and a cheer erupted from the crowd.  Exhilarating, I tell ya.  The audience was excellent – I felt like we got a fantastic response.  As each song progressed, I just felt extremely happy and light-hearted.  We were all having the time of our lives onstage.

Our set list:   Take Me Home

                    Catch My Breath

                    Now That I've Started

                    Backwards

                    Impact

                    Coma

And as the last note of "Coma" rang out, we got offstage, waving to the audience on the way.  We had to take our equipment off the stage with the help of roadies, but hell, it was just… awe-inspiring.

We got our stuff packed away, and we went back to the dressing room.  There was a tub with four bottles of champagne on ice, with five champagne flutes, accompanied by a handwritten note from Coldplay, which read:  "Hi guys – Thank you so much for playing with us today – Love, Coldplay", surrounded by all their signatures.  Close to the start of Coldplay's set, I found some of my band members around the ping-pong table near Coldplay's dressing room.  On the table were all the posters and records that we'd asked them to sign, which they all had.  After collecting them, we proceeded to watch the concert. 

Folks, let me tell you – Coldplay was AMAZING.  All the energy, all the excitement… they're just awesome.  Favorite moments?  "In My Place", "Fix You", "Lovers in Japan", "Lost!", and "The Hardest Part", where Chris Martin played half of the song by himself on the piano before stopping and saying, "Well, that's enough of that."  The new spins that they put on certain songs – the electro version of "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face", the acoustic set that was played up on the second level – made the night more than memorable.

After Coldplay's set, we went and handed out postcards on the street, after which we packed up our dressing room and left.  We took the call sheet (the piece of paper that lists everything hour-by-hour – setup, rigging, soundcheck, dinner, set times and pack-out) off the wall as a memento, and after doing an idiot check, we left and put stuff in our cars.  We had drinks and a late dinner at Clyde's next door, where we all just sat and talked down the night.  Each person had different "favorite moments" of the night – be sure and ask them about it.

And so went the night.

To Shaleigh, Ted, Eric, Jenn F., Leanne, Nate, Ashley, Tom, Meg and Jenn C. – thank you so much for all the support onstage and offstage and in our daily lives – and thanks for helping us load our stuff on or off the van.  Jenn, thanks for hooking us up with Emre – he and his crew deserve a big thank you from us. 

If anyone from Coldplay is reading this, thank you so much for the opportunity.  It was an honor.

To Chris, Freddy, John and Viv – I couldn't have asked for a better day.  Thank you.

And finally – to the fans that voted so that we got here – thank you all.

eds