So we just got off tour with rock legends Alice in Chains... It still hasn't sunk in just yet. I don't know if it ever will really...
How do I begin? When I was growing up idolizing bands like AIC, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Soundgarden, STP... I never could have imagined being in the fortunate position I have been blessed with now. Of course Alice in Chains is one of the reasons I even picked up a guitar in the first place, but I never could have imagined getting to share the stage with them every night. In my childhood my only dream of touring with a band like this was "maybe someday I'll get lucky enough to be a roadie!" Needless to say, the tour was an experience that we'll never forget, and we'd like to personally thank Alice in Chains for not only the opportunity of a lifetime, but bringing out a different side of the band that we didn't know we had!
Previous to this tour, Social Ghost had never played an acoustic show. It wasn't anything we ever really had thought about, but this opportunity brought it out of us, and you can definitely expect to see more acoustic shows in the future! And on top of that, the opportunity to play our music for AIC's INCREDIBLE FANS! We couldn't have ever anticipated the awesome response we received in every city! Thank you so much! We sold about 500 cds in only 6 days, and you guys made this tour a success for us. We look forward to getting back up your way very soon!
The tour started in our hometown of Orlando, FL at House of Blues. We had a great time playing for our home crowd, and we played "Shade of California" in a public forum for the first time. It was important for us to debut this song in our hometown... Needless to say, it's great to kick things off at home.
We made our way to Jacksonville, FL the next day to play at Plush. Definitely one of the best venues in Florida. The crowd in Jacksonville was outrageous! Everyone seemed into what we were doing, so much that it incited riots! I actually saw a man about 4 rows back punch a woman! To remedy this violence, Van pulled out the cello for a mellow, yet intense version of "Dry." Aside from the fighting, it was an awesome night and Jacksonville definitely showed a lot of love for us.
Next stop on the tour was House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC... We arrived a little late, so we basically had to load our stuff right onto stage for sound check. Everything went smoothly for sound check, and we headed upstairs and sitting in our dressing room was Mike Inez! We hung out for a few minutes until he realized that we didn't have beer. Upon noticing this, he says "how can they expect you guys to play without beer?!?!?" He then gave me a lesson in rock-star bitching 101, instructing me to start kicking and shaking the fridge saying "Where the f*** is my beer?!?!?!" I think he forgot to inform me that you have to sell a couple million records before you're allowed to do that... But I kind of already had that figured out. Mike took care of our no-beer situation by actually giving us some of his.
We went onstage and the crowd response was incredibe! By the end of "Shade of California," I saw 10-15 people up front singing the words! Crazy! We did a reggae-style version of "War without a Gun" that seemed to be a crowd favorite that night, and we tagged a little bit of "Land of Confusion" by Genesis at the end and the crowd was singing along with the "oh-oh-oh"s. It was frickin rad!
We had a day off and then headed to The Norva in Norfolk, VA. The venues on this tour kept getting cooler and cooler. The room sounded great, and the crowd was awesome! Everyone seemed to like the song "Ashes" which we actually threw into the set last minute, but it worked out great. This was probably my favorite performance from AIC on the tour, the room sounded so great and the vibe was just right.
We then headed to Asheville, NC the next day to play at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. I just have to say that Asheville was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been! My family actually made it out to the show, and it was refreshing to see them on the road. The thing that wasn't so beautiful was the load in to the venue. 3 flights of stairs!!! ugh! It was more than worth it though, as the response from the fans in Asheville was insane! We even had a guy so happy (or drunk) to see us at the merch booth, that he got up on the table and danced!
Our last stop on the tour was the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. This stage has welcomed legendary artists like Elvis, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, basically anyone you can think of that is great! Perhaps the highlight of that set was the sing-along part of "Tomorrow." To look out and see people in a place with so much history singing your song is a feeling I will never forget! Playing on that stage was almost a spiritual experience. So much so that we were actually "haunted" by 3 guys in bedsheets dressed like ghosts (which included Sean Kinney from AIC) in the middle and end of our set.
So that's it. The skinny of what happened on tour. The experience of a lifetime.Hopefully we can make our way back up soon! Plugged-in even!!!!
Neight/SG