Last week kicked off the Newmore Switchblades Tour featuring the Death Set, Ninjasonik, Cerebral Ballzy, Totally Michael and Team Robespierre trekking down and back to Austin for South by Southwear. To try to make sense of it all and stir up some SXSW jealousy in Williamsburg, the Press has a diary of the tour coming straight from the bands on the road, beginning today with the first entry from Johnny Siera of the Death Set.
Johnny Siera's Introduction to NMSB:
I have known Tod Seelie for probably about 4 years now. Pretty much that one photographer that was at almost EVERY rad show I was at. Initially I met him though influential Brooklyn band Japanther. His blog http://suckapants.com has been documenting underground NY culture ever since I have lived there and if you wanted to see how the craziest Bike Kill (Brooklyn bicycle meet) parties, awesome punk or experimental shows popped off, you could be pretty certain he documented it and it was up on his blog in matter of days. On top of this he has always supported bands by letting them use his fucking awesome photos to help them promote their band. So we thought it was best to let Tod document this Newmore Switchblades Tour, because he's always been part of this family, and is the best at capturing what we do.
This is the second run he has done down to Austin with us for SXSW. And this run is especially rad because of all the awesome bands and family that have come together for this. For starters the newest and most exciting band I have seen in a long time, skate punks Cerebral Ballzy. Second is our Bloomington brother Totally Michael with his pop punk jams to make all the girls move. Next up our brothers Ninjasonik from Brooklyn who I have seen come up in the last year or two fueled with nothing short of pure fucking P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude), making Brooklyn warehouse parties sweat like I have never seen before with their Bmore Club-tainted Hip Hop. Next Team Robespierre in the same family making warehouses shake with their dance punk anthems. And finally our band The Death Set. A band initially from Australia who made Baltimore, Brooklyn and Philadelphia home and done our best to tour and destroy as many cities all over this awesome world as possible.
All I can say is peep the photos and feel it with us. This is more than a tour. For me, it's a time where instead of trying to stand out and stand over the other bands in our scene, we're moving as a unit, a posse, a family. Especially for me not coming from America, these motherfuckers have become my brothers and sisters. More than that, we brought and involved a crew of our awesome friends along for the ride too. Our good peoples from Chief magazine, Tod Seelie of course, Hot Crew 57, Bikes in the Kitchen, all peoples involved in making the scenes from Brooklyn to Baltimore so so rad and important. So fuck yeah, I'm super stoked for this to be documented cause it's fucking important.
Newmore Switchblades, bitch!!!!!
Jason and Honor of Cerebral Ballzy
The Death Set
Ninjasonik with Cerebral Ballzy
Jah Jah from Ninjasonik and Honor from Cerebral Ballzy
Ty from Team Robespierre
All photos by Tod Seelie: http://suckapants.com
Tour Diary, Part I
- Brooklyn show even though starting at 8'o clock when parties rarely start before midnight, pops off!!!
- All bands play on a stage about half a foot high and get swamped by a warehouse full of kids spazzing like crazy.
- Pretty hard for every band to ACTUALLY play their instruments with people crowd surfing on their heads but its so so much fun and why we all love playing Brooklyn.
- Show promoter Todd P who booked the show, and has been responsible for so much of the awesome underground DIY shows in NY, holds it down once again. (Thanks again man, I should have more faith!)
- Honor taking over half an hour to pee in a Gatorade bottle in the van.
- Hitting up the 24-hour Subway and watching people shuffle in wearing their pajamas.
- 10% Switchblades crash at Joey's place in Baltimore where everything was candle-lit because they didn't have any electricity.
- Tara (Baltimore Wham City affiliate) lets 90% of all the Switchblades crash her place. Rowdiness erupts and everyone parties till the break of dawn.
- Weary drive to Virginia Beach begins.
More to come...
