Two thousand Too much

It was late 2001, We didn't recognize it at the time, but there was an abundance of places we could play in johnson City, Kingsport, bristol, and elizabethton. We played alot with metal bands, and we played alot with hc bands. It was a fun time. I spent new years eve at Seth Neumans house that year with a girl that I adored. That was one of the first times i hung out with Ben Farmer. IROM had a changing sound. I had for the first time heard Hopesfall the previous year. That band changed my life. It was the year of the no wings to speak of ep. I couldn't comprehend how well they mixed melody and heavy. Up untill that point the only hardcore bands i had heard were bands like Stretch arm strong, Sick of it all, Ag Front, etc. And, where i loved these bands this band was something that was alot different. I was really into them. It sucked that by the time i got to see them, they had a new singer, who was horrible and most of the band couldn't play or harmonize as well as it was done on the album. End rant. the Heros Text played like 2 shows a week that year. It was very weird for me. I felt that since irom was the band that my heart was the most in that i couldn't commit to stuff with the heros text. I should have either made it work in two bands, or just quit tht and let them get another, probably better, bass player. But they were to sweet of guys to kick me out, and i was too stubborn since i was in that band from the beginning. Either way, it was fun. The best part was in most songs. Travis would write one set of lyrics, I would write another, and we didn't know each others lyrics, so it was like we were singing two songs at once. on purpose. It fit sometimes. Other times it didn't. I was really active in church back then. My faith has always played and important role in my life. At a time that i could have been the most self destructive in my life, that was what held precedence, and it helped me, and still does to this day. I feel like when i have had a horrible couple of weeks and i get down on myself, and want to just go get wasted and stay there, It is the voice thats telling me that this isn't going to work for more than a few hours. Almost all the local bands either had ties to the christian scene, or were christians. It was 50/50 for me. I didn't start out believing in god when i started playing music. I wanted to be punk as fuck, and that didn't involve following the rules of a higher power. So it was a bitter pill for me. I saw alot of bands who would draw a multitude of 16yr old girls and sell 600 bucks in merch a night to stand in the front and hold up thier hands, and whisper talk about feeling the lord inside tonight. These were the same dudes that gave in to their "temptations" and fucked the 16 year old that they got drunk the night before after younglife. This wasn't the majority, this was the 30% of dudes in that scene so don't think i'm talking about anyone you know. Either way, i used to have a hard time with that. In all honesty, it made me sick to the point that i didn't want to be physically involved with anyone that i wasn't in an actual relationship with. And in a way, made me want to withdraw from starting any relationships. This came to bite my ass hard in april of 2002. I had been hanging out with this girl for about 6 months. I was head over heels for this chick. Super intellegent, funny, beautiful, all of those were things i wanted. We went to her prom type thing for the christian school she went to. Afterwards she asked me how i felt about her, and i literally said, I am totally into you, but i'm scared that maybe its just infatuation, and i'll wake up tomorrow and not feel the same way, and that she was my best friend. Needless to say, It was an akward silent hour and a half ride home, when i got lost and we had to take backroads to johnson city from abingdon. We are still friends to this day. What an asshole. I wanted to play music, that was it. By spring we had played in kentucky a handfull of times and had made good friends with Eddie, Jr, and the other guys in Rapture of the Meek, SCIJ and a couple other bands. The appalshop was getting some pretty big shows, and we were getting to play up there alot. By this point we had a few new heavier songs, but we were still the same band i guess. We played in the theatre one night at the appalshop and it was absolutely nuts. it was the first time that we had played where kids went apeshit, Jumping off of speakers dancing like idiots, really making us feel like a huge band. Soon after, brian would quit the band due to other obligations, and never being allowed to go to the parts of town where shows were going on. Whatever. We now had Chris Mitchell playing bass for the time being and i went to vocals.
I moved in with chris and daniel swain in elizabethton around may of 2002. None of us were ever home, Chris was in the Dikkens, and irom. Daniel was in 2540. I was in the Heros Text and irom. We all had shows all the time. It was an awesome time to be alive. Steve Shell from Truth Be Known used to put on a show every year called AppalFest in whitesburg at the appashop. This was not to be confused with the applefestival held in erwin. This was the appalachian punk and hardcore festival. That particular year, both irom and the heros text played appalfest
It was first show irom played as a hardcore band and not a band that played one song of every genre of music we liked haha. We played a 4 song set, it was so much fun. The heros text played a little later. There were over a hundred kids i guess at this show, they all sang with us on 18 years. It was so awesome. The energy was great. Here are some Pics from Appalfest 02' Thanks Stevejustdie



the heros text-








Eastern Kentucky was always bittersweet for me. I have so much respect for the kids that put on shows up there. In 2002 it was the middle of nowhere place to play, that totally suprised you with over a hundred kids with most shows, No huge bands, a very family like scene, and they were very sincere. A "local" show for most of those bands/kids could involve them driving as far as 3-4 hours to play/hangout/smoke pot in thier cars. There was a band from pikeville called high hopes. They took off kind of. They were on Let It Burn records from germany(i think).
If you like lifetime/fairweather/Saves the Day, you'd like them.
http://www.letitburnrecords.com/

That summer I saved my pennies and went to Cornerstone (with everyone in my house). I made the sweet move of getting my lip pierced a day before going camping for a week in 100" weather. Whatever. We played a show at the Refuge in boones creek the day before i left. Then we took off. I was so tired that we stopped and slept a few times in the car before we made it up there. My grandmother lived in Le Claire, Iowa, about an hour from Bushnell IL. We drove on into iowa to hang out with her for the night and let my cousins listen to my band's demo we had just recorded at Musik alley. My family is awesome, they are quorky, wierd, silly, and super nice/lovable. Thats where i get my goofy side from. We hung out with my grandma and talked about mom and dad/ all that crap. She gave me $50 bucks for gas or something. I tried to give it back, but you know how that goes. This would be the last time I saw my grandmother alive. I loved her very much. We hadn't been extremely close, since i moved to TN when i was 5. I miss her when i think about her. Anyway, Chris and I finished our Journey to cornerstone the next day and put our tent up and set up camp. Soon after we met up with my friend pete phillips. He was from NC and was going to join IROM as bass player so chris could move to 2nd guitar. Over the course of the week, we got to know him better, and know his mannerisms. He is one of my favorite people that i have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Anyway. My week at cornerstone started with me doing merch for the Combat Junkies when they played some stage that their record label put up. I got the worst sunburn i've ever had from sitting out there for 2 hours. I felt bad because kevin thought i was mad at him. I was just tired. So i returned to my tent and had some water and lunch. I drank about 2 gallons of water a day while i was there. It was so hot. It was a killer fest. I saw all the bands i was into at the time. By the 4th day i decided i had enough. Wes Baughman and i came home. We dove through the night and were back the next day. After i took a good 2 hour shower and unmatted my hair, i went and got my chest tattooed with the money I had left over. While I was in the chair, a girl that i was friends with came in becasue she saw my car, and was unusually excited to see me. So after i was done i drove to her house to hang out. Her stepdad was on the front porch and he told me that it was a good idea for me to come home early. We fooled around that night, and that started a 9 month relationship. It was cool. Pete was now in the band, and he slept on our couch alot. I was cool with it, I wanted him to move down, but he never did.

Throughout the summer we played alot of shows. With pete in the band we now had contacts in nc too which was cool. All of my friends' bands at this time were super busy, and everyone was having a blast. Rapture of the Meek were putting out a split on Blood and Ink, Truth Be Known Were putting out a full length, and now IROM were putting out a split with Foreknown on Harvest Earth Records.

That Fall we planned for a winter Tour going from December 26-Jan 1. With Rapture of th Meek and Showdown. It would pick up like this

Dec. 26- Johnson City, TN
Dec. 27- Hazard, KY
Dec. 28- Myrtle Beach, SC
Dec 29- Augusta, GA
Dec 30- Atlanta GA
Dec 31- Memphis TN
Jan 1- Knoxville, TN

About 3 days before we were to leave for this tour Chris came to me and told me that he wanted to quit the band. Yoko was taking john away. At first i was really pissed off by this, but then I realized in that situation i may have done the same thing. But probably not.. This didn't stop us. We just went as a 4 piece. It was great. The third day in when we were coming through Erwin on the way to Myrtle Beach. We were barracaded in on the off ramp by police cruisers and highway patrol men. They drug rapture of the meek out of the van, busted anthony's head, and put them on the concrete, shotguns drawn.
The cops thought that they had robbed a little ceasars in Elizabethton. Their van didn't even match the description. What an ass.

The whole tour was amazing. This kid named bradley booked us in memphis. He used to be a huge dude, but lost a fuckton of weight. He gave me A shai hulud windbreaker and a takehold records shirt. I still have the shirt. Over the next few years i would find that he and a few other people that i had met along the way had died. I wasn't great freinds with him, but still, he was a killer guy. It seems everyone that passes on young does so, after they burn the bridge between who they were and who they were to become, always after they put aside childish things.

So this one is for Dan, bradley, benjaman b, matt, and Dub. In the smallest ways you guys all impacted my life for the better.
Ben- you gave me my first pennywise tape
Bradley- You booked the funnest show of my bands first tour
matt- you and i used to listen to danzig, and firebomb the dumpster at pizza plus
Dub- you traded me my first pair of skates, Always used to kick my ass when we were in boy scouts, Ultimately watched out for me and were a true friend when i needed it.

A.D. Two Thousand Too Much