photoblog

November 13th – Hartford, CT

(ciukurescu) So today we are in Hartford, CT. We’re coming up on the last few days of tour and to me it feels like the end of a school year or something because we’re going to play these shows then have some time off but before that we have to say bye to our new friends and it’ll be sad but good to get some rest for a little bit before we start playing shows again in December. Anyways, the craziest thing about this week has been going from Baltimore to Buffalo and it being 60 degrees out and turning into 30 degrees overnight. It was definitely pretty weird for everyone.

(walter) Yeah man, school was pretty hard this year and the exams are in 3 days. I don’t know if I can handle it, I haven’t been studying at all. My roommates have been keeping me up all night and I’ve just been really stressed out. Ms. Kerwitz has been on my back about stupid bullcrap that I don’t feel like dealing with. Anyway, enough of those school analogies, tour HAS actually been really fun and even though it feels like it’s been really short, it’s been a substantial tour and it’s been really fun. We’ve been really making the best of every show and having the time of our lives.

(ciukurescu) It’s the truth. Anyways, since the last time we sent in an update, we’ve been to the best venue in the world, which is the Norva. Everyone thinks it’s great because of the food and the fact that they have a basketball court and stuff like that, but the real reason it’s the best venue ever is because of their ping-pong table. I wasn’t as good as I used to be but I think it’s safe to say I’m the 5th ranked ping ponger on the tour.

(walter) I think I may be tied for second place of the ping-pong tournament. Mr. Matt Whalen destroyed me at the Norva , thus putting me in second place. The best of everybody is Andy from The Status...he is a BAD ASS! He is a sexy man who makes dreams come true. – written by Andy from The Status. I had no part in this. But in all seriousness I only lost 2 games all day, one was to Matt Whalen and it was the first time I ever bet money on anything. I think it got in my head and that’s why I lost… but I played about 30 games all day. (annual outdoor punk rock festival tour) this year, I am planning on bringing a ping-pong table and having tournaments everyday, it’s going to be the best tour ever.

(ciukurescu) The Next Day. We played in Baltimore. Saw some friends we haven’t seen in a while. Bryan and Madison came with vegan cinnamon buns. I didn’t eat one because I didn’t think it would be fair but the rumor that day and night was that they were delicious. Buffalo was the next night. That day we learned a ton of Huey Lewis and the News songs so we decided to cut our “Valencia” set a little short to make room for hits such as “The Power of Love” and “Do You Believe in Love?” I think the kids really appreciated it.

(walter) It really hit home with the older crowd I think. We have a new demographic consisting of older people and Back To The Future fans. The next day we did the same thing but instead of playing some Valencia songs and switching back and forth, we just did the whole set of Weird Al covers. We killed it. “Eat It” was so good and you should have heard our rendition of “I Lost On Jeopardy” it was truly epic. Which brings us to today, we are playing in the greatest place ever. We decided that it would be best to play in the middle of the ghetto. Last night we were leaving and we said…. Hey, Bayside, instead of playing somewhere normal, let’s just all meet in the middle of the ghetto and then see what happens. So that’s where we’re at now, it’s cold and it’s rainy and ghetto as ever, and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


George and Hodge playing inferior ping-pong. No one can beat the great Matt Whalen...


Seinfeld + Hodge in the hotel. He was uninterested that Joe DiMaggio dunks his donuts.


auuuuuu-wapppp-naiiirrrrr


Andy is stoked about his green background.


Snapped a rare shot of Maxim. Hunters have been searching for him for years and this is only the second photo of him ever in existence. The first was taken off the cost of Malta. This was in Buffalo, NY.


Checking our e-mail as a family.


Manly chest bump? Wing men for life (or wing girls...)

'
Stopped off at Barnes & Noble for some coffee and books before our show in Buffalo.


Mid conversation with Wapner about how graphic novels really can be compared to reading classic literature. Sort of. AND reppin' the Veterans Day pin. 


Matches in Buffalo.



We had to cancel one show. This was the one where we played Weird Al covers.


Me shooting George shooting JD. (not pictured - everyone shooting angry stares at us for not playing)


Lots of napping. Even Matt Whalen in the background was napping... standing up rooting through his bag so no one would disturb him. Nice try Matt.





George, eating.


What the hell is he doing with his hand?


LOOK HOW PUMPED DYLAN IS TO FIND OUT WHAT'S IN THE HATCH!!!!!!!!!!!


Sudoku Jon, Shane, Ryan "Lategreat" Wapner


Chris, Knightbeast, Maxim.


I was caught in the endless void of a black hole. Luckily Shane took this picture as a memento of my journey through an infinite supermassive black hole just before I came back. It's always fun to transcend space and time!!!!!!


Eskim-oooooo.





November 14th – New York Citayy

(walter) New York City is the place to be today… We’re sitting in the famed Irving Plaza just lounging around for a bit, it’s been a long day so far. We left at 9 am and went to our label to meet everyone who we’ve never met and play some acoustic songs and eat some free lunch. It was quite a day. On our way into the city we got a ticket for the blocking the box, hit a hummer with a really huge Australian guy inside. He said ‘watch that driving mate.’ Jd said ‘sorry’ and then he said ‘see ya in anotha lyfe brutha’. Turns out it was Desmond from Lost. While we were at the label, I saw Beyonce’s dog and I tried to kidnap it. Everyone was pretty pissed, Shane and Jay-Z got in a pretty heated argument, but in the end it was all cool. We convinced them that I just wanted to pet the dog and that it was all just a misunderstanding! Whoops!!!

(ciukurescu) Today’s been pretty insane. Brendan didn’t mention that Desmond from Lost had a Batman symbol on the spare tire case of his big yellow Earth destroying machine, but he was the man and I feel really bad that we nudged him a little when we were trying to move around the crowded street and not block traffic. Sorry, Desmond from Lost, you really didn’t deserve to get scraped a little bit, because your car is so practical and everything, it really should have happened to someone else. I also just want to note that we actually did meet Beyonce’s dog, she’s kind of a diva but I guess it comes with the territory. Anyways, since tonight’s show is in New York City, it’s been nicknamed the “Show Where Every Tour Manager’s Head Explodes” because there’s too much going on all day and nowhere to park a van and trailer. We’ll make it out alive though, I swear by it!

(walter) I hope you’re right, George. I don’t know if we’ll make it out alive but I won’t go down without a fight. And I’m not referencing the fight with Jay-Z earlier… I’m talking about something else. Gah you don’t get it. Anyway, we’re in the city of dreams, the NYC, so I must go explore… keep you posted.


Hanging out at our label before the show. You can't see it here but we were all freaking out because of the TRAIN plaque on the wall... "Meet Virginia" really just defines us. JK!


The view from Jason's office.




Pre-show trip to Whole Foods with Andy and Nicole.


Bayside soundcheck at Irving Plaza.


I always thought they were called the Statues. Boy was I wrong.


Love.


Custom Valencia bracelets... we have apparently earned our place next to MTV and Fall Out Boy.


Shawn was escorting this random bellhop from the Plaza hotel out of our dressing room. No one's quite sure how he got in there.


November 17th – HOME.

(ciukurescu) Tour is officially over. Sorry we didn't update while we were in Philadelphia or Asbury Park but in my former years, I ran into quite a few problems blogging while in center city or anywhere near an ocean and I swore I'd never do it again, and I had to keep that promise to myself. Those shows were pretty cool though, so I hope you Philadelphites and Asburians aren't too upset about the lack of blog that day. It was good to play at home again and to see some friends that we hadn't seen since before tour started. The Trocadero is always a fun place to play, and my favorite vegan Chinese restaurant is around the corner so you can probably tell I had an awesome time that day.

(walter) Don't even try and ask George why he won't blog in center city or by the beach. It's a sore subject. On a lighter note The last 3 shows were incredible. New York City was truly epic. Rob Hitt crowd surfed to the front of the stage just to tell us it was the best show he ever saw us play! Philly was really cool because we got to play for all of our best friends. It was also great because we played for some new people in Philly. Hopefully we gained some new fans! Asbury was really cool too because we had a chance to play the "legendary" Stone Pony. Apparently Bruce Springsteen and other great artists got their start there... I really don't buy it. The "Boss" (more like the employee) was there and no one even recognized him. He was in the front row singing every word. Either way it was still an awesome night. A bitter-sweet end to tour. It was awesome because I couldn't wait to get home to poop in my own bed... but on the other hand i was going to miss all my friends and playing music every night.

(ciukurescu) Yeah, I'm already starting to miss everyone on the tour. I sort of still think we're on tour and I keep asking Hodge what time we have to leave the hotel every morning and he's always all like "Shut up, George, you're in your bed in Philadelphia and I'm in (some town outside Asbury Park)." It's a harsh reality to have to deal with so quickly but I think I'm handling it well so far. Anyways, one day I'll get it together but until then I'll have to handle the transition by filming myself in iMovie lip synching to our songs and posting them on youtube. Talk to you guys soon!

(walter) I'm with George on that one. I've been waking up at like 1030 everyday and texting everyone to give me their hotel keys so we can check out, then I quickly realize that my neighbor isn't actually a hotel clerk and that I have broken in to her apartment. Things get messy but I clear it up by telling her that I have mulitple personality disorder and she is cool with it. Anyway, the end of tour always reminds me of the final episode of M*A*S*H. I'd be Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce and I'd say something like "I can't say I loved you all either, but I loved as many of you as I couuullldd" and everyone would throw army stuff at me and giggle. In case you were wondering how tour ends, that's how. Anyway... we've taken tons of pictures and we hope you enjoy them. We're going to be keeping busy until the end of the year. We're going to be playing shows, writing music, making videos, podcasting and blogging bout it all for you guys. I hope you'll keep checking in with us for new stuff as it comes!

(ciukurescu) That's true, I've heard that more people came to the last show of tour than watched the series finale of M*A*S*H* so actually these days, M*A*S*H* is more like tour than anything else. Here are the photos, let us know what you think, and if you made it out to a show (or just lived vicariously through our pictures), let us know what your favorite moment of the tour was! Mem'riesssss


Soundcheck at the Trocadero.


Hodge working his magic on my guitar.


Chris bought this papier mache mask in chinatown and we had a good time with it over the next few days.



Steve, waiting for something to happen.


Jack is playing, Hodge. He's not gonna text you back until after he's done.



Nick from Bayside still has my vote for classiest dressed person on tour. Look at that hat.






After the show we went to a really weird techno party to see our friend Alex play. Unfortunately we missed him.


Before the show in Asbury Park Chris, Andy and I went down to the beach and took some pictures.


Brendan pretending he's in a Coldplay video.


The apocalypse!!!







Empty beach. Pretty strange to be there this time of the year.


Creepy casino. We won so much money they had to take all the windows out and pay us in glass.






Doing an interview with Inklings TV. Discussing the important things like who would be the parents and who would be the kids in the Valencia Family Portait.


A sweet Valencia tattoo that our friend got. My (Brendan) handwriting and Jd's drawing of musical notes. "Learn from what you've done" - Lyrics from "I Can't See Myself".


Before the real show we played a little free acoustic show at the Kill Brand store.



Jon from The Matches gave me self defense lessons because I told him all about the kids that bully me when I'm walking around the city while I'm home. This is him teaching me the "Sudoku Sleeper" as he liked to call it.


It got a little awkward. I don't think I'll let him do it again. But at least I have some new skills to show the bullies.



End of tour gambling.

"Lategreat" Wapner learned how to beat everyone in Cee-Lo. I guess the entire tour had a gambling problem.