Awaken the Empire – 1st ROAD BLOG from their “West Coast US Tour”

Awaken the Empire is on their West Coast U.S. Tour with Eyes Set to Kill. While on the road they will  be doing periodic blogs for us. The first one can be read after the break.

04.12.12 – 1:13AM – Awaken the Empire Rehearsal Studios in North Hollywood, CA

Where’s the fucking fog machine? Be right back… Ok, now we’re officially ready to go. Tonight, or this morning (whichever you prefer) we leave for Arizona to begin our tour with our friends in Eyes Set to Kill. The plan is to drive as far as possible until we either:

A. Wake up confused in a ditch on the side of some lonely highway.
B. Find a Walmart parking lot and activate the cloaking device on our bus.

Welcome to Walmart. Thank Satan for cloaking devices… Good night.

04.13.12 – 8:00AM – Random Walmart Near the California/Arizona Border

Wake up… Count the number of bodies on the bus. Some missing, some out cold. Put on boots, put on cheap vintage sunglasses, look at self in the mirror, feel unworthy to go out into the real word, shake head to style hair, look at mirror… Fuck it, it’s Walmart… Feel guilt.. Put on vest and scarf to combat insecurities.. Open bus doors, cringe at sunlight, realize we are actually in a ditch on the side of the road….no wait, nevermind. It’s Walmart.

04.13.12 – 3:00PMish – The Underground in Mesa, AZ

At the venue… Got in trouble within the first 2 minutes of entering the building..New record? Not sure… Talked to the other bands who are thankfully all rad/genuine people. Time to unload our gear and then combat anxiety until we play at 8:25.

04.13.12 – 8:54PM – Hiding behind an amp at The Underground in Mesa AZ

The stage is one of the only places on the planet that I actually don’t feel anxiety… I have no problem opening up emotionally, crying like a basket case, spitting water on people, grabbing strangers… The second I get off stage however, all of that anxiety comes crashing back into me. In an attempt to acclimate to my new surroundings, I typically hide for a couple minutes, and try to not have a panic attack. Since I have a little time… Here’s a rundown of the show we just played. The crowd was amazing… so open and full of excitement. I got sucked into the crowd for a bit and was attacked with hugs…and a little groping. Water was spit and thrown on random targets (including myself) Playing “Cross my Heart” was definitely the highlight of the night… Tons of crowd participation: clapping, jumping. All in all, probably the funnest show that I have ever played. Time to go talk to the humans…

04.14.12 – 9:36AM – In The Bus, Leaving for Texas…

Half asleep, doing something reminiscent of sitting on the bus…thinking about how amazing last night was. Bus engine starts… The Texas shows are going to be even bigger…can’t wai…What the fuck was that noise?!? Is that gasoline I smell? (yes that was a crow reference…but it applies to the situation so don’t judge me) Pulling over… This can’t be good…