10 for $10 Tour

10 for $10 Tour
by Jason Walsh

The change in season sees the end of the school year and folks deciding on their vacation destinations and fun-filled activities before the arrival of Labor Day. Summer has traditionally been the time for thrill and adventure and one of the mainstays of this time of year has been live music, namely the colossal festival tours that seem to relentlessly invade cities across the nation. And as the cavalry of merchandise stands, overpriced food and beverage slingers, and self-absorbed rockstars prepare to invade communities in every major market, the question most American music fans start asking themselves is “which show can I afford?” Ticket prices and their attached service charges have gone through the roof and during the summer inflate even more, coupled with insane parking fees and the little bit of scratch needed to get you a $8 hot dog, $10 drink, and the $25 t-shirt that says you were there. In the greater scheme of things, choices have to be made on what big-time festival to hit and how much of a loan will be needed to get through it.

And though the media says times are getting better, the country is still in a recession and in the last year more than a half million Americans were laid off. Times are bad and for many, there isn’t extra money for entertainment when you can’t pay the bills. However, some forward-thinking members within the hardcore community have banded together to stack a tour that’s not only affordable, but enjoyable. The 10 for $10 Tour will feature ten quality bands, from old school staples to the new school upstarts, that will be hitting 32 cities between July and August for a mere ten bucks. It will be a long, hard-hitting day of hardcore in which fans won’t have to break the bank.

“The 10 for $10 Tour came about as an idea from our friend Tim (Borror),” said Poison the Well guitarist Ryan Primack. “He had an idea of a really cool summer tour with some cool bands. It was an idea of a cheap show to sort of address the current ‘everyone is broke’ situation. There are only a couple of summer tours and they are all really big festivals, so to speak. So, he asked if us and a couple other bands might want to do something different. It was the idea of a really great club show.”

The metalcore South Florida unit Poison the Well has been together since 1997 and latest record, “The Tropic Rot,” hits shelves this summer. The band is one of the headliners on the road that will be playing every venue along the way and Primack believes that a tour of this caliber is great for all the bands involved as far as getting their music out there to the people.

“It’s gotta be cool,” he said. “We’re a band a little over a decade old. In hardcore years that makes us a brontosaurus. I think for us the exposure is even cool. I don’t know how it’s good for the hardcore scene. I think for me, I focus on a different picture. It’s good for music. Sometimes people try to separate the two so that it’s one scene and another scene and whatnot. For me, I’ve always just focused on music. I like personally like music that isn’t worried about any scene. My favorite hardcore band is Bad Brains. How much of a simply defined hardcore band is that. They played dub songs. I think it’s good for a scene of people that want to hear music that comes from the most important place and that’s from the heart and mind. It comes from those places without consideration for the wallet.”

New York hardcore mainstays Madball will also be co-headlining the tour, bringing their blend of breakdown five-borough mayhem. Frontman Freddy Cricien was on board when the idea was in its early stages.

“The tour concept was thought up by my friends Tim Borror (Agency group) and Paul Conroy (Channel Zero Entertainment). They’ve been long time supporters of the hardcore scene. I became involved pretty early on. I think they had Madball in mind from the beginning.

Cricien believes this event will have a positive impact in rejuvenating the underground movement which sees its fair share of peaks and valleys.

“The hardcore scene is a funny thing,” Cricien said. “It’s amazing yet fickle. I’m being brutally honest here because I’ve been part of this scene on many levels for a very long time. So, I’m obviously passionate about it among other things. For me, it’s a scene that people look to for inspiration. It’s unique, rebellious, street credible, diverse, et cetera. Still, it’s somewhat under appreciated. Mainly, right here at home in the U.S., the birthplace of the genre. Don’t ask me why but it’s volatile in that way. On the worldwide scale, I believe it’s more respected. Here, everyone knows about it, wants to be affiliated with it in some way, but the support is not always there. I think this tour may spark a new and well deserved interest and appreciation for this scene.”

Terror from Los Angeles were also one of the first acts in consideration for the roster. Frontman Scott Vogel said the bands involvement came easily because he knew the key organizers setting it up were doing it for all the right reasons.

“The people putting the tour together are a huge part of the Terror team,” Vogel said. “Tim books us and Paul helps manage us. I know when they put the tour concept together they had Terror in mind on all angles. Since I’m kind of crazy and can’t sleep at night, those two have gotten lots of emails with questions and ideas of mine for the tour. For better or worse, but at least this kept me on the ‘up and up’ as the tour came together.”

Vogel agreed with Cricien that the 10 for $10 Tour is a way to help bring back the original spirit that hardcore is all about in a time when the community could use some rebuilding.

“A tour like this actually shows that the scene is worth something. Mostly all you hear about is fights and violence, bands that left the scene for bigger and better things, bands that sold out or ate their words. You know, all the bullshit. This is positive stuff. Real shit. Fighting back against the system. Things that drew me to hardcore many years ago and never let go of me.”

One of the biggest advantages of the event is that many of the lesser known bands along for the ride will get in front of some new faces for the first time. This is an opportunity to bring their aural assaults to fresh ears and hopefully gain some fans along the way.

“I’m super excited Trapped Under Ice got put on this bill,” Vogel said. “They are one of the youngest bands on the fest but also one of the best. Their new record comes out during the tour. It’s perfectly timed for them. But on the other hand, for a band like Terror, we do some ‘out-of-the-box’ type tours like Chimaira or Emmure, which is always fun and we always love playing to people who have never heard of us. But, it will be great for us to play with bands that influence and inspire us everyday.”

Baltimore’s Trapped Under Ice will be releasing that new record, “Secrets of the World” in August on Reaper Records. Vocalist Justin Tripp said the band was excited when their participation in the “10 for $10” came to be.

“Initially, we heard from Scott of Terror,” Tripp said. “We got more details of the tour when Tim Borror hit us up to play. Obviously, we jumped at the chance. It’s definitely true that this tour is a good opportunity to open the eyes of new people to the hardcore scene and to a lot of the smaller bands that people might not necessarily have heard of.”

The 10 for $10 Tour kicks off at the Trocadero in Philadelphia on July 9, winding through the nation to nearly three dozen destinations before the final show at Xtreme Wheels Skatepark in Buffalo. Through the course of the run, some bands will drop off and jump on, and fans should check their local venue to see what lineup they can expect in their respective cities. All said, the roster of performers involved is pretty impressive: POISON THE WELL, MADBALL, TERROR, DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR, BANE, VISION OF DISORDER, TRAPPED UNDER ICE, VISION, THE MONGOLOIDS, THE GHOST INSIDE, CRIME IN STEREO, VISION, WAR OF AGES, THIS IS HELL. Vocalist Leroy Hamp from War of Ages is a believer.

“Amazing,” Hamp said. “Sharing the stage with great national acts like Poison the Well, Madball, Bane, Terror, Death Before Dishonor, Vision, VOD, and more for ten bucks. A lot of these bands I grew up listening to and now playing alongside them on a tour that’s geared around the fans. If this doesn’t capture the true meaning of hardcore, I don’t know what would. Since War of Ages started touring five years ago, we’ve been touring with hardcore bands. Though we lean toward the metal side musically, we’ve always respected the hardcore scene. Hardcore bands were the only bands that would give us the time of day in the beginning of War of Ages. We’re doing this tour and encouraging our entire fan base to come out as a big thank you to every hardcore band or kid.”

Bryan Harris of Death Before Dishonor from Boston has always been a strong advocate for the hardcore community. According to him, the truth in the music is what has always set it apart.

“I think one of the things that never changes, especially with the bands that stick with it and have been with it forever is that hardcore is a real music,” Harris said. “The kids are real, the lyrics are real, and it should always be alive. I think that is always something that will stand the test of time.”

The boys from Boston have just released their latest offering, “Better Ways to Die,” on Bridge 9 Records, and having just returned from Europe, were excited to jump at the chance to join the 10 for $10 Tour.

“When I first heard about it, I know it was in the talks for a while and I kind of heard through the grapevine that this was going to happen, and once it became official and we landed it, we were pretty psyched,” Harris said. “Every summer there’s big tours and small tours and you know, you never get to see a ticket price for ten dollars, especially with ten bands ranging from bands like Poison the Well and Madball. You know, the way the economy is going and everything like that, I mean it’s a great way to expose bands from all genres of hardcore for ten bucks.”

Los Angeles based The Ghost Inside also have a new CD out, “Fury and the Fallen Ones,“ and have packed up their gear to take the countryside with their hardcore brethren. Vocalist Jonathan Vigil from echoed this sentiment that the upcoming summer’s campaign is just what is needed for the scene.

“This is exactly the kind of tour hardcore needs right now,” Vigil said. “Lots of diversity, lots of really, really amazing bands both well renowned and up-and-coming, all for a price that most everybody can afford. I really honestly can’t think of any other tour we’d want to be a part of right now.”

New Jersey’s Vision will be hitting some select dates through the course of the summer. Guitarist Pete Tabbot also agrees it is a much needed infusion to stimulate the hardcore family across the country in a time when good times are not abundant.

“Hopefully this tour will be a great kick in the pants for the scene in various cities across the country,” Tabbot said. “Whether people come out for a headliner like Poison the Well or VOD, shows like this can only fortify local scenes, bringing lots of kids together and hopefully inspiring more DIY shows and low-cost opportunities.”

Long Island’s Crime in Stereo has seen the affects that the economic downfall has had not only on music lovers but touring acts as well. Guitarist Gary Cioni agreed that though this is a great opportunity for bands to get their music out to the masses, the fans are really the ones who benefit the most.

“Well, it’s no secret that everyone is cutting back on spending lately,” Cioni said. “Many people may choose not to attend a show they might have gone to int the past because they would rather keep whatever money the show might have cost them, between tickets, gas, transport, whatever. I think that anyone would agree that with the 10 for $10 Tour, what you get for only ten dollars is more than a good deal. So many people will hopefully choose to come leave the house when they may have otherwise stayed home.”

www.myspace.com/10for10tour