So a last minute bit of luck gained us a prime spot on this years Wacken Open Air! We're playing Friday at 8pm on one of the larger stages. Details are still filtering in, but I have to say I'm fucking stoked to get back to Europe, and for the mightiest metal festival of all!
I remember the night, 5 years ago, when Swashbuckle was formed, in a seedy galley in Jersey. And now, to be able to share it with the masses, and fucking play Wacken is simply an amazing feeling.
See you at the fest!
~RedRum
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Fuck
I am just now realizing that I neglected to make a post of my travels in Europe. Zoops!
From what I can recall, the flight to Munich was quite average. From LA is was about 11 hours. Not half bad. I've flown to Japan before several times and that flight is around 14 or so, so anything under that is cake. However, I was squashed next to the Admiral for the whole trip, and this did not bode well with me. He is a large man. Upon landing, we were met by our companions Magnum P.I.rate (who did a bulk of the auxiliary percussion on our upcoming album) and Cabinboy Arsewhipe (our short lived keyboardist). We also met up with our driver Marc Raner with the tour company Vans for Bands, who turned out to be the coolest dude ever. After a debacle with too small a vehicle (somebody didn't get the memo that we were traveling with all our gear coming off the Paganfest North America tour) so we had to wait around for another driver to arrive and made arrangement for our friends to stay at a hotel by the airport with some of our gear to await for her. The pirates three, most of our shit, and Marc started out trek to Switzerland.
We arrived in the middle of the night to our tiny ass hotel in the same town the festival was going on in. The euro's really know how to condense space, not as much as the Japanese, but they still cram the fuck out of everything. We woke up, got to the Metal Dayz festival and we're the first band on the main stage. We were a bit apprehensive as to how the Swiss, and Europeans in general would accept us, but it was ridiculously positive. I think they called for something like 5 or 6 wall of deaths throughout our set. Circle pits were all over the place. It ruled. So worth the trip. Unfortunately, our friends missed our set by about an hour, but we still got them in and enjoyed the rest of the festival. We had a brief signing session after we played. A major highlight for me was Textures. I've been into that band ever since their first album came out, and they did not dissapoint. Kick ass guys as well. Slightly after our return to the states, I learned that they had just signed with Nuclear Blast, so it's an honor and a pleasure to share a label with them. We dipped out of the fest during Sodom I believe, and missed Arch Enemy, knowing that we'd have 2 more chances to see them because they were also playing the same two more fests with us that weekend. Stayed the night again in our little hotel room, this time with Magnum P.I.rate and the Cabinboy on the floor. Tight quarters. But we managed.
The next day we had about a 7 hour drive to north east Germany, the town of Dessau for the Legacy festival. We saw castles! REAL castles! When we got there we were pleasantly greated by the likes of our friends in Alestorm. Ran in Merlin from Eluveitie as well. Hadn't seen him in forever. That guy is magical. Anyway, hung around backstage for a bit and then played in the middle of the day. Not as good as a reception as in Switzerland, but still largely positive. We had a signing session again after we finished up which went very well. Nuclear blast reps really took care of us this fest. Apparently, lots of split demos were given away with us and Ex Deo on it, and they had huge Swashbuckle posters of our album artwork to give away. This was a big deal for me, I've had Nuclear Blast band posters up in my room back home forever (most notably Blind Guardian and In Flames ;)), and to see my bands poster with the little Nuclear Blast logo at the bottom just made me feel all sorts of happy. Eluveitie took the stage during the signing session, and then the heavens opened up and it began to downpour. Most of the crowd ran back to the campgrounds and we all just huddled within the Nuclear Blast tent. Good times. After the weather clamed down, I walked around the festival shops with Dani from Alestorm taking it all in. We have nothing like these festivals in the states. It was simply amazing. We stayed in another small hotel, although not AS small, which was coincidentally the same hotel Alestorm were staying in. Those guys all rule and I can't wait to get back and tour Europe with them in September.
It was another long drive to the final festival in Austria. On the way Christina, our other driver, informed us that we were playing AT a real castle. Fucking awesome. This was probably the biggest fest of the three. Something like 7500 people+. We showed up, and found out that we were headlining the small stage, were on after Arch Enemy, and had to play for an hour. What a way to finish off the night. We don't even have an hour of written thrash material I think. We met with some other Nuclear Blast people, had another good signing session with people who already knew us, Alestorm was there again, we signed the bassist's ass. (Man that kids got a white ass.) We drew dicks on him. lolz. Afterwhich, we had a photosession with some well known photographer chick inside the castle. She did good work.
We threw together an acceptable setlist of all our songs, took the stage, and thrashed peoples' faces off. Packed our shit up, drove back to Munich to catch our flight, got ass raped on overage charges at the baggage dropoff ($2000+ to ship it all back when somehow we payed NOTHING to get it there, go figure), had a stop over flight in Zurich, the Admiral almost beat up some guy who asked him the score of some Mets game, then had a 9 hour flight back to Philly, thankfully not right next to the Admiral. All in all, an intense trip that really showed us just how awesome Europe is. I'm amazed at how it's legal to drink alchohol anywhere, even in a moving car. Can't wait to get back.
~RedRum
From what I can recall, the flight to Munich was quite average. From LA is was about 11 hours. Not half bad. I've flown to Japan before several times and that flight is around 14 or so, so anything under that is cake. However, I was squashed next to the Admiral for the whole trip, and this did not bode well with me. He is a large man. Upon landing, we were met by our companions Magnum P.I.rate (who did a bulk of the auxiliary percussion on our upcoming album) and Cabinboy Arsewhipe (our short lived keyboardist). We also met up with our driver Marc Raner with the tour company Vans for Bands, who turned out to be the coolest dude ever. After a debacle with too small a vehicle (somebody didn't get the memo that we were traveling with all our gear coming off the Paganfest North America tour) so we had to wait around for another driver to arrive and made arrangement for our friends to stay at a hotel by the airport with some of our gear to await for her. The pirates three, most of our shit, and Marc started out trek to Switzerland.
We arrived in the middle of the night to our tiny ass hotel in the same town the festival was going on in. The euro's really know how to condense space, not as much as the Japanese, but they still cram the fuck out of everything. We woke up, got to the Metal Dayz festival and we're the first band on the main stage. We were a bit apprehensive as to how the Swiss, and Europeans in general would accept us, but it was ridiculously positive. I think they called for something like 5 or 6 wall of deaths throughout our set. Circle pits were all over the place. It ruled. So worth the trip. Unfortunately, our friends missed our set by about an hour, but we still got them in and enjoyed the rest of the festival. We had a brief signing session after we played. A major highlight for me was Textures. I've been into that band ever since their first album came out, and they did not dissapoint. Kick ass guys as well. Slightly after our return to the states, I learned that they had just signed with Nuclear Blast, so it's an honor and a pleasure to share a label with them. We dipped out of the fest during Sodom I believe, and missed Arch Enemy, knowing that we'd have 2 more chances to see them because they were also playing the same two more fests with us that weekend. Stayed the night again in our little hotel room, this time with Magnum P.I.rate and the Cabinboy on the floor. Tight quarters. But we managed.
The next day we had about a 7 hour drive to north east Germany, the town of Dessau for the Legacy festival. We saw castles! REAL castles! When we got there we were pleasantly greated by the likes of our friends in Alestorm. Ran in Merlin from Eluveitie as well. Hadn't seen him in forever. That guy is magical. Anyway, hung around backstage for a bit and then played in the middle of the day. Not as good as a reception as in Switzerland, but still largely positive. We had a signing session again after we finished up which went very well. Nuclear blast reps really took care of us this fest. Apparently, lots of split demos were given away with us and Ex Deo on it, and they had huge Swashbuckle posters of our album artwork to give away. This was a big deal for me, I've had Nuclear Blast band posters up in my room back home forever (most notably Blind Guardian and In Flames ;)), and to see my bands poster with the little Nuclear Blast logo at the bottom just made me feel all sorts of happy. Eluveitie took the stage during the signing session, and then the heavens opened up and it began to downpour. Most of the crowd ran back to the campgrounds and we all just huddled within the Nuclear Blast tent. Good times. After the weather clamed down, I walked around the festival shops with Dani from Alestorm taking it all in. We have nothing like these festivals in the states. It was simply amazing. We stayed in another small hotel, although not AS small, which was coincidentally the same hotel Alestorm were staying in. Those guys all rule and I can't wait to get back and tour Europe with them in September.
It was another long drive to the final festival in Austria. On the way Christina, our other driver, informed us that we were playing AT a real castle. Fucking awesome. This was probably the biggest fest of the three. Something like 7500 people+. We showed up, and found out that we were headlining the small stage, were on after Arch Enemy, and had to play for an hour. What a way to finish off the night. We don't even have an hour of written thrash material I think. We met with some other Nuclear Blast people, had another good signing session with people who already knew us, Alestorm was there again, we signed the bassist's ass. (Man that kids got a white ass.) We drew dicks on him. lolz. Afterwhich, we had a photosession with some well known photographer chick inside the castle. She did good work.
We threw together an acceptable setlist of all our songs, took the stage, and thrashed peoples' faces off. Packed our shit up, drove back to Munich to catch our flight, got ass raped on overage charges at the baggage dropoff ($2000+ to ship it all back when somehow we payed NOTHING to get it there, go figure), had a stop over flight in Zurich, the Admiral almost beat up some guy who asked him the score of some Mets game, then had a 9 hour flight back to Philly, thankfully not right next to the Admiral. All in all, an intense trip that really showed us just how awesome Europe is. I'm amazed at how it's legal to drink alchohol anywhere, even in a moving car. Can't wait to get back.
~RedRum
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