Caught the show last night and had a great time! Not a huge crowd but everyone was super into it. I loved the energy. The whole band sounded great. AJ sounded awesome and was slamming waters the whole time. Josh and the other guy (Marcus?) are both great players. Oh, and the new drummer really loves his double kick pedal. Wasn’t expecting that. But he was able to pull off some Ben Cato riffs no problem. There was a ton of crowd interaction which made the whole thing feel like we were all just hanging out somewhere together. And the song selection favored a lot of the newer stuff. Which I’m okay with. I’ve seen them 5-6 times and i’d rank last night towards the top. Best $25 I’ve spent in a while.
Seeing the boys here shortly. AJ was slinging merch and sans hat. Will report if the hat gets on stage.
Dream is included in the soundtrack for the new NASCAR video game, along with a song from Have Mercy. Pretty awesome sync deal for two great bands.
Ah damn I was really looking forward to seeking them this fall. But understandable, he’s been going all in for a few years straight.
Wow, I wish AJ all the best, it's pretty unexpected to be canceling all those dates this far in advance - tour doesn't even start for over a month, and there were some weeks off before the overseas leg too. Must be a really heavy situation to go ahead and cancel all of those. Hope he's okay and able to recover.
Yeah I'm taking this at face value. Dude has not stopped grinding forever now. And with a band of this size that constant churn is probably necessary to make ends meet. But it looks like he is putting his wellbeing first for once. That's great to see especially given how he has not exactly prioritised his health previously (was swigging Jack Daniels on stage all show when I saw them - no judgement but certainly not what 9/10 doctors would recommend). I hope he takes all the time he needs and releases the pressure he has placed upon himself, I think he has some great music left in him if and when he is ready to go again. All the best to AJ, his family and band mates.
Finally got to The Dangerous Summer in the "My Life In 35 Songs" series! My Life In 35 Songs, Track 25: “Miles Apart” by The Dangerous Summer
I’ve been listening to the new Have Mercy album and it gives me such TDS vibes. Especially this song reminds me of like Reach for the Sun era TDS:
A.J seems to be in a better spot with his break from the tour grind. His one story he said he hadn't drank in a month too. This is definitely a humble confession of sorts about the band that you don't hear from artists as much