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Oct. 5, 2026

Traverse the Abyss Bring Chaos and Heartfelt Stories to Aftershock Festival 2026

Traverse the Abyss Bring Chaos and Heartfelt Stories to Aftershock Festival 2026
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In this lively and candid episode, Pipeman sits down with the members of Traverse the Abyss at Aftershock, touching on everything from surviving the festival heat as performers, insane band experiences on the road (including Japan tour stories), crazy family histories, and the chaos that fuels their music and shows. The conversation ranges from tattoo origins and festival mischief to the importance of passion, self-promotion, and community—sprinkled with plenty of humor and unfiltered moments.Main Topics Covered

  • Performing at Aftershock and Dealing with the Heat
  • Band Tattoos and Their Meanings
  • Family Stories and Teenage Rebellion
  • Touring Japan: Venues, Culture, and Experiences
  • Stage Chaos, Festival Antics, and "Quacky Chan"
  • Band Promotion Tactics
  • Importance of Passion for Music and Community
  • Memorable Festival Stories and Pop-Up Shows
  • Upcoming Events and Charity Initiatives
  • Band’s 10-Year Anniversary Reflections
Key Discussions & StoriesLife as Artists at Aftershock
  • Discussion about performing in extreme heat, the adrenaline rush, and what happens once the show ends 00:29.
  • Skipping meals before shows/interviews to avoid sluggishness in the heat 01:23.
Tattoos with a Story
  • Conversation about a Hebrew tattoo, its origin, and meaning ("Who is like God"), connecting back to family and faith 02:24.
  • Pipeman shares his own story of 1980s rebellion—pierced ear, upside-down cross, and familial drama 04:26.
Embracing Chaos and Personality On and Off Stage
  • Selling out Scranton EP release show and crowd surfing with "Quacky Chan," a giant inflatable duck 12:44.
  • Band known for unpredictable, energetic shows making photographers’ jobs a challenge 14:55.
  • Reference to bandmate on parental leave as having a "new sex trophy" (baby) 15:06.
Adventures Touring Japan
  • Touring Tokyo—highlighting the unique intimacy of Japanese "live houses" 10:08.
  • International differences in venue protocol, including bilingual introductions and clear roles for staff and artists 10:29.
Sharing Festival Promotion Tactics
  • Recounting advice from Snow the Product about repeatedly saying the band’s name to make it stick with the audience 16:26.
  • Handing out cards and stickers at festival gates, echoing the relentless self-promotion style of early Mötley Crüe 17:08.
Pop-Up Shows and Festival Community
  • The story of an impromptu, guerilla-style pop-up show at Louder Than Life after being shut down by security 21:20, with the help of supportive campers and security personnel (notably Moe from Quest Security) 23:35.
  • Creating a non-mosh, communal experience to protect festival-goers' personal property 24:01.
What’s Next for Traverse the Abyss
  • Upcoming collaboration with Nail Bite in PA 24:40.
  • The annual Sled Dog Entertainment “Mosh for Tots” Toys for Tots charity festival, festival-style with bands from all over the country 24:49.
  • Plans for recording and releasing new music in 2027 26:02.
10-Year Band Anniversary
  • Reflecting on a decade together, the stress, and the artistic choices that come with longevity 27:43.
Notable Quotes
  • "You feel it when the adrenaline dies down."
  • "It's like you have permission to die."
  • "The chaos too is part of the show...it’s like a bomb goes off. Everyone goes everywhere all at once."
  • “If we didn’t love it, we wouldn’t have crammed each other in an RV and traveled over 40 hours across the country to perform.”
  • "The best bands that make it, it's because they have the passion so much to do that, and then they just keep going."
  • “Our 10-year anniversary of being a band... We’re gonna get our touch of gray and grab our walkers.”
Resources and Links Mentioned
  • Traverse the Abyss on Instagram:Traverse the Abyss Official
  • Sled Dog Entertainment:
    • Annual Mosh for Tots charity event at the Ritz Theater, Scranton, PA
  • Battle of the Bands by Danny Wimmer and Space Zebra Team
  • Mentioned Artists/Influences:
    • Mötley Crüe
    • Snow the Product
    • Sublime
    • Iron Maiden
    • Ozzy Osbourne
  • Shoutouts:
    • Moe from Quest Security for supporting the band's guerilla pop-up show
    • Camp Butthole at Louder Than Life
Follow Traverse the Abyss
  • Instagram: Traverse the Abyss Official
  • Other social platforms: Search “Traverse the Abyss”
  • Reach out directly—band members are friendly and love to connect with fans!


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WEBVTT

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Hi, you're listening to Adventure on W4CY Radio.

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This is the Pipe Man here on the Adventure's Pipe

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Man W4CY Radio, and I'm here with.

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Traverse the Abyss.

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Nice, here at Aftershock.

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Yes, sir.

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So, how fucking hot is it to be at Aftershock?

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It's cooking.

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It's nice because it's not like very humid where it's

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sticky and you feel like you can't breathe. But it's

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definitely cooking.

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Yeah, it is. And my heart always goes out to

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artists to perform in this weather. I don't know how

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you do it. It's hard enough doing an interview, much

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less putting everything you got out on stage.

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You feel it when the adrenaline dies down.

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Well, that's the point, right?

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You know, like.

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You don't even give yourself permission to feel it, and

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you're in such a zone. But then as soon as

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you're done, it's like you have permission to die.

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It's like the cool-down period. You're running at top speed,

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adrenaline's going, you ain't thinking about it, and then those

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endorphins start dying down, and it's like, oh. Today, none

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of us ate breakfast. We were running around doing the thing,

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and we gunned it on stage, and we're packing up,

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and it's like.

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Do we eat heat today?

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Oh, my God.

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Yeah, well, I think, too, like, sometimes I do that

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with interviews. Like, I don't want to eat until I'm

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done with my interviews because I don't want it to

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slow me down, especially in this heat. So, like, you know,

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and you go over to catering and you stuff yourself,

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and it's like you probably don't want to do anything

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the rest of the day.

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That is true. That's fact.

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So, I don't know if I brought it up last time.

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And if I did, I'm bringing it up again. Your

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tattoo on your right arm in Hebrew. Did I bring

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it up last time? I don't think so. Give him

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the mic.

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Sure thing.

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I'm almost certain that you did not.

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I'm surprised I didn't notice that.

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You might have.

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Yeah, I'm surprised I didn't notice that.

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Me too, because I'm always wearing sleeveless shirts.

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Yeah, and it's like right there. So tell me the

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significance of that tattoo. Because I'm a Jew, and I

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know it's the Hebrew, so I want to hear.

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So, can you read it?

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Hold on, I got to see it better.

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Hold on, let me move.

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Because you got it in Torah, too, because there's no vowels.

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I can't tell if that's a tallit or a.

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It's a pretty bad tattoo.

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Yeah. Avraham. Or close. It's hard for me to tell.

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So, basically, I grew up in a church.

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Okay.

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So, it's a long story. My family was very Christian.

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We got time. We got two minutes.

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Yeah. I'll do it in like 30 seconds if I can.

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There you go.

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My family was very Christian, so I grew up playing

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music in the church, and I was a big part

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of it, which is why the other side has the

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three crosses and everything like that. I still believe in

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all that. I'm not as hardcore. But, like, I'm not, like,

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I'm not, like, one of the typical people you'd meet. But, basically,

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when I was in college, I had a stupid idea

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where I wanted to dye my hair white because my

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last name's.

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White, and I rode a white pickup truck.

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Oh, yeah.

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So I thought that would be cool.

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I would do that, too.

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Yeah.

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Like, that makes sense.

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And then I made another dumb decision where I was like,

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I'm going to get a tattoo. And where words derive from,

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you know, Michael... The original language, you know, that it

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derives from is Hebrew.

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Yes.

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And what it means is who is like God. And

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I was like, you know what? I want that on

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my arm. So I got like the original, you know,

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like where my name derived from.

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That's very cool. I like that story.

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Yeah.

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That's not a dumb move.

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Well.

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You know, and you can always like, you know. Put

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crosses around it. No, I don't want.

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You to do that. No. I'm going to do some

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stuff to it.

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But I can tell you a funny story of stupid

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teenage logic. So I asked my dad about getting my

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ear pierced. And you're talking the 80s when it wasn't

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like now. Like it wasn't very often guys got their

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ears pierced, okay? It was only like in the punk

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or metal community. And he's like, over my dead body, blah, blah, blah, blah.

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So I did anyway. I had long hair. I got

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away with it for a while. Then the Santa Ana

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winds hit one day. And my hair went behind my ear.

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I walked in the house and my stepmother saw it.

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She ratted me out. And my dad was like, freaking out.

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But then it was really freaking because of what I

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was wearing because I was wearing a dangling upside-down cross. Oh. Okay?

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But here's the teenage logic. Get that fucking cross out

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of your ear. I'll pull it out. I'm like, Dad,

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it's not a Christian cross. It's an upside-down cross. It

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stands for Satan. I'm not going against my religion.

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So there you go.

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And it really isn't, if you think about it, because

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in Judaism, we don't believe in that. It's perfectly 100%

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great to be a metalhead and a Jew, because we

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can praise Satan all we want, and nothing's going to

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happen to us.

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So are you trying to convert me?

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No.

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I can't even. You know, that is another thing. I

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can't try to convert you. It has to be your

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own idea. But I'm just saying, maybe you could convert

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to You know, going in a mosh pit and praising

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Satan and not worrying about going to hell.

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Yeah. That's a good concept.

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See? There you go.

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So what was the end of the story, though? Did

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you get it ripped out? Did you have to take

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it out?

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I did have to take it out, and then I

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had to figure something out later.

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Some damn stepmothers.

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Yeah, fuck them. Yeah.

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No, I agree.

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What a douche.

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I had the same problem.

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Oh, yeah. My stepmother was a douche.

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Yeah.

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She still is. But I don't have to see her

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or talk to her.

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Mine served in prison for a while because she tried

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killing her ex-husband with a hitman.

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You know what?

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That's Kyle.

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It's a true story.

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Well, my mother didn't go to prison, but she did

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send a hitman to the door after my dad. But

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that wasn't the stepmother. That was the mother.

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Oh, the real mother.

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The real mother. So I was blessed with two psychos.

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Oh, perfect.

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And there we go. I'm wearing the Harley Quinn shirt.

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I was wondering why we hit it off so well.

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See?

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It's because we had bad moms.

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Yeah. And I do have bad choices that I pick

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in women.

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Yeah.

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They're all batshit crazy.

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I agree.

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I like it that way.

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Yeah.

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See, he likes it that way, too. How about you?

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Do you pick the batshit crazy ones? Brother, you have

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no idea. Oh, I have a real good idea. Harley

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Quinn's the love of my life, and I'm not talking

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about Margot Robbie. I'm talking about the character.

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All right.

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Like, you're a little fucked up if a character's the

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love of your life.

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Heard that.

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Well, uh.

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Oh, yeah.

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Sorry, I forgot.

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Um.

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Yeah, no, Chaos and Carnage, not the festival, even though

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that was a hell of a fun time, is kind

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of the name of the game. We look for trouble

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wherever we can get into it, find it, extortion it.

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And amplify it.

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And then play it on stage.

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Oh, absolutely.

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Little short story I'll try to condense really fast. Uh,

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Joel Berrios, very, very good. I don't want to call

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him friend cause we don't really hang out, but like acquaintance,

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very respectful man.

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He, yeah, yeah. He's a friend. If you were a girl,

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he'd be your bestie.

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Uh, Oh my God.

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Yeah.

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This, he's, he's like the number one sought after photographer

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for like metal injection, metal insider and all that.

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Nice.

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Like the news pamphlets.

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Well, He got us to get half of us on

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top of the Louder Than Life stage and then half

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of us on the bottom. And he, like, tried to

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shoo away someone and then it turned into this whole thing.

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But we almost got him kicked out and banned from

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DWP things.

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Whoa.

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But, yeah.

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And yet you're playing it aftershock. A level of.

206
00:08:43.809 --> 00:08:47.769
Chaos to, like, simmer the pot for you, if you will.

207
00:08:47.929 --> 00:08:49.610
So what kind of chaos are you going to cause

208
00:08:49.649 --> 00:08:54.240
at Aftershock? We can't disclose that for legal purposes. Okay, good.

209
00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:56.700
Because we want Danny Wimmer to put us back on

210
00:08:56.919 --> 00:08:58.059
stuff like this.

211
00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:02.480
There you go. What's your crazy story? Did it happen

212
00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:03.440
at the Rock Tower?

213
00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:08.919
No, the Babel Rock Tower is actually absolutely incredible, though.

214
00:09:09.299 --> 00:09:10.259
Tell me about it.

215
00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.960
We went on a Japan tour earlier this year in May.

216
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.899
And this was the second to last date was Babel

217
00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:23.970
Rock Tower, which is in Tachikawa section of Tokyo. And

218
00:09:23.990 --> 00:09:28.960
we were staying in Nishitachikawa, which is west of Tachikawa.

219
00:09:28.980 --> 00:09:33.100
So we actually got to walk over there. And the

220
00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:35.519
guy's house that we were Airbnb-ing at, he was a

221
00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:39.039
roadie with Iron Maiden and Ozzy and stuff like that.

222
00:09:39.059 --> 00:09:41.940
He wanted to help carry the gear for old times'

223
00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:46.820
sake and everything. I'm usually wearing black and white stuff.

224
00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:48.240
A lot of the checkerboard.

225
00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:49.070
I guess my....

226
00:09:50.850 --> 00:09:51.429
Your thing.

227
00:09:51.529 --> 00:09:51.750
Yeah.

228
00:09:52.250 --> 00:09:54.610
And, uh, so I saw this one and I was like,

229
00:09:54.629 --> 00:09:58.240
that's a good conversation point. because it's you know and

230
00:09:58.419 --> 00:10:02.120
uh yeah that was one of the coolest things we're

231
00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:04.330
going international for the first time.

232
00:10:04.629 --> 00:10:06.850
What was it like playing in japan.

233
00:10:08.169 --> 00:10:12.330
Awesome um the venues are called live houses And they're

234
00:10:12.889 --> 00:10:15.129
more small and intimate.

235
00:10:15.690 --> 00:10:19.940
And they're like a combo live music venue rub and tug?

236
00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:25.899
Oh, those are called Soap Land. Soap Land and the

237
00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:26.539
Girl Bars.

238
00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:27.740
Nice.

239
00:10:27.779 --> 00:10:33.059
Out in Shinjuku. The cool thing that they do at

240
00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:37.399
the Japan venues is they'll have a little powwow before

241
00:10:37.470 --> 00:10:40.269
the show starts. So right before doors, like a half hour,

242
00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.279
You'll gather all the bands in a circle, and they'll congregate,

243
00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:47.960
and the promoter will come forward, and he'll do it bilingually.

244
00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:50.879
He'll come in and say, like, hi, I'm so-and-so, I'm

245
00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:53.700
the promoter, thank you guys for being here. And then

246
00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:57.470
we have, from the United States, Traverse the Abyss is

247
00:10:57.529 --> 00:11:02.049
their first time. In Japan, Onigashimasu, and then everyone clap. Okay,

248
00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:06.909
right here, hometown, we have... Insert band. You know and

249
00:11:06.950 --> 00:11:10.149
love them. And they'll go through all the artists and

250
00:11:10.190 --> 00:11:12.710
introduce everybody. And then on the other side, they'll talk

251
00:11:13.149 --> 00:11:17.950
and introduce everybody that works the show. So, this is me.

252
00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:19.879
I'm the promoter. If you need something, talk to me.

253
00:11:19.889 --> 00:11:22.379
If you need a question about sound or lights, that's

254
00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:24.539
those two guys up there. They're waving. If you have

255
00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.100
anyone guest listed, that's the person for the door. So, like,

256
00:11:27.909 --> 00:11:31.639
you get a visual of who your coworkers are for

257
00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:34.519
that evening and everything and who to talk to. Like, Oh,

258
00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:36.320
we want to throw something on the video wall.

259
00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:36.539
Okay.

260
00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:39.379
I'll talk to the guy with the spiky hair. You know,

261
00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:42.440
you get, it's locked in. It's a go talk to Daniel.

262
00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:43.039
And it's like, cool.

263
00:11:43.220 --> 00:11:46.049
I have no fucking idea who Daniel is. This is

264
00:11:46.090 --> 00:11:46.690
my first.

265
00:11:46.509 --> 00:11:49.289
Time here, you know, but Daniel's the man.

266
00:11:49.590 --> 00:11:49.750
Yeah.

267
00:11:49.789 --> 00:11:50.669
Daniel sounds great.

268
00:11:52.129 --> 00:11:57.070
So what about you? What kind of story do you have?

269
00:11:59.610 --> 00:12:00.529
Because that was a good one.

270
00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:03.820
Yeah, I mean, it's hard to top that one. It's

271
00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:05.159
hard to top that one, but.

272
00:12:05.220 --> 00:12:12.039
Can you top the chaos one? You have three topics

273
00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:14.379
you can pick from so far, or any other one

274
00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:19.649
that you like. You could have batshit crazy women, chaos,

275
00:12:21.070 --> 00:12:26.570
and Japanese... What are they called? Soapboxes. Soapboxes.

276
00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:30.360
What were some.

277
00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:34.299
Of your favorite festival moments?

278
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:37.080
We can go in the chaos category. We could bring

279
00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:37.960
in Quacky Chan.

280
00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:43.139
Oh, tell me about Quacky Chan. That sounds like Japanese chaos.

281
00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:49.389
No, this was hometown chaos. Hometown venue right in downtown Scranton.

282
00:12:49.870 --> 00:12:52.190
We did our EP release show, and we were able

283
00:12:52.210 --> 00:12:53.269
to sell out the venue.

284
00:12:53.830 --> 00:12:55.570
Why weren't you guys on The Office?

285
00:12:57.230 --> 00:13:00.549
They were done for, yeah, probably before we even started.

286
00:13:00.570 --> 00:13:03.830
Oh, man, like timing. What bad timing. You're the perfect

287
00:13:03.889 --> 00:13:05.490
band for that show.

288
00:13:06.909 --> 00:13:08.340
That's the backdrop we used.

289
00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:12.379
Oh, there you go. That's cool. That's funny.

290
00:13:12.899 --> 00:13:17.980
Well, Quacky Chan was the big, giant, inflatable duck that

291
00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:20.620
they threw out into the crowd, and the crowd started

292
00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:22.379
riding the duck on top of everyone.

293
00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:22.970
Nice.

294
00:13:23.110 --> 00:13:24.389
It was very, very, very dangerous.

295
00:13:24.970 --> 00:13:25.669
Very dangerous.

296
00:13:28.929 --> 00:13:35.240
Is it more dangerous than stage diving off your stage?

297
00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:37.440
I would say so, yes.

298
00:13:38.700 --> 00:13:41.840
People get up there and the weight becomes so displaced

299
00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:44.980
that it just immediately would flip over or people would

300
00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:46.779
try to stand up on it. That would make it

301
00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:47.399
even worse.

302
00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:51.360
Yeah, I was on stage for Sublime yesterday and the dog,

303
00:13:51.379 --> 00:13:53.970
the inflatable dog, kept trying to attack me.

304
00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.169
How about the actual dog he had up there playing fetch?

305
00:13:57.190 --> 00:13:58.169
Oh, that was cool as shit.

306
00:13:58.230 --> 00:13:58.730
That was awesome.

307
00:13:58.750 --> 00:14:01.289
That dog was cool as shit. And I really dug.

308
00:14:01.990 --> 00:14:05.070
I wish I had my skateboard because the guy told

309
00:14:05.110 --> 00:14:08.679
me I could have if the skateboarding and the little

310
00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:10.879
ramp on stage. Like, that's so sublime.

311
00:14:10.899 --> 00:14:12.620
That would have been really cool.

312
00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:15.360
They did that. Did you see they had a guy

313
00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:16.220
up there doing that?

314
00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:17.470
I didn't catch the skater.

315
00:14:17.710 --> 00:14:20.549
Oh, yeah. He was skateboarding, and there was a little

316
00:14:20.629 --> 00:14:23.259
ramp up. And he was going up the little ramp

317
00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.000
and down and around and stuff. Yeah, it was pretty cool.

318
00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:28.480
That's a Sublime show right there.

319
00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:30.220
Yeah, Sublime was awesome last night.

320
00:14:30.340 --> 00:14:33.340
What would you guys incorporate in your show that they

321
00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:36.769
would say, this is a Traverse the Abyss show?

322
00:14:41.409 --> 00:14:47.529
I would say everyone's personality-wise, too, kind of is like

323
00:14:48.330 --> 00:14:51.580
part of the show. Like, nick is always running out

324
00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:54.460
and getting into the crowd and stuff we have always

325
00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:57.220
some kind of chaos like a lot of the photographers

326
00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:00.000
are they'll tease us and be like you guys are

327
00:15:00.110 --> 00:15:02.590
tough to shoot because everyone it's like a bomb goes

328
00:15:02.669 --> 00:15:06.789
off everyone goes everywhere all at once uh we usually

329
00:15:06.830 --> 00:15:09.529
are running a six piece but our one guitar player

330
00:15:09.570 --> 00:15:12.210
had a new sex trophy so he's on parental leave

331
00:15:12.250 --> 00:15:14.409
right now so we're rocking with just the five guys

332
00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:15.440
but uh.

333
00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:18.139
I didn't know you were going there with that. I

334
00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:21.610
heard sex trophy, and I didn't even think in that realm.

335
00:15:22.669 --> 00:15:25.190
I love it because everyone I say that to when

336
00:15:25.230 --> 00:15:30.169
I talk about children, they go, oh, my God. Once

337
00:15:30.190 --> 00:15:32.690
it settles, you always see that click in their eyes,

338
00:15:32.789 --> 00:15:33.440
and they love it.

339
00:15:34.070 --> 00:15:37.549
Yeah, that's the prize you win at the Carney game

340
00:15:37.769 --> 00:15:38.340
of sex.

341
00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:41.600
So I would say, yeah, to make it a Traverse

342
00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:44.580
the Abyss show, you know, Justin's going to have Mike

343
00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:47.580
on his shoulders. Nick's going to be running around in

344
00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:49.019
the circle pit in the crowd.

345
00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:51.059
What's that? Pens.

346
00:15:52.019 --> 00:15:55.480
Back home, there's a venue, and our buddy was outside,

347
00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:55.759
and he goes.

348
00:15:55.779 --> 00:15:56.230
You know what?

349
00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:59.990
I come here regularly, man, and ain't nobody got the

350
00:16:00.029 --> 00:16:04.570
weed pens. But when you guys play here, everybody got

351
00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:05.889
the weed pens out.

352
00:16:06.309 --> 00:16:09.399
See, you can have your own weed pens. You could

353
00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:11.779
be like Wiz Khalifa and just hand it out to

354
00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:12.379
the crowd.

355
00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:14.440
We'll be featured in high times like Signs of the

356
00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:15.100
Swarm was.

357
00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:17.299
Yeah, see? There you go.

358
00:16:17.419 --> 00:16:20.590
They could probably count, almost definitely count on me saying

359
00:16:20.649 --> 00:16:25.169
our band name from Scranton, PA a million times. Fun

360
00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:27.889
story with that. A long time ago, it was a

361
00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:31.110
Cottonmouth King show we saw in Poughkeepsie, New York. And

362
00:16:31.149 --> 00:16:35.080
the opening act was Snow the Product. And she kept

363
00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.659
repeating her name in between as much as she could.

364
00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:39.340
And it was towards the end of her set, and

365
00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:41.080
she's like, yo, I don't care if I sound like

366
00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:44.240
a broken record. I get 20 minutes of you guys

367
00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:46.340
actually paying attention and listening to what the fuck I

368
00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:48.220
got to say. I'm going to drill my names because

369
00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:50.669
you're going to fucking remember it. And that stuck with me,

370
00:16:50.730 --> 00:16:54.070
and it was not shortly after we started doing this band,

371
00:16:54.129 --> 00:16:56.850
and that's usually the name of the game.

372
00:16:56.870 --> 00:16:59.320
That's what you got to do, right? It's like when

373
00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:02.360
Motley Crue first started, you couldn't go anywhere in LA

374
00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:05.380
and see a telephone pole that didn't have Motley Crue

375
00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:08.319
flyers on it. They were like the master promoters.

376
00:17:08.660 --> 00:17:11.099
We were at the gates. As soon as they opened,

377
00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:16.240
these cards right here, we were bumping them. Cards, stickers, boom, boom, boom, boom.

378
00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:17.799
Just running it.

379
00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:25.700
Look at that. We'll set up like a seven-card stud. Oh,

380
00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:26.180
look at that.

381
00:17:26.809 --> 00:17:29.130
But we'll run that for, like, at the Louder Than

382
00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:34.779
Life and Incarceration, like, the campgrounds. We'll split up, all five,

383
00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:38.079
six of us, whoever's in the crew, all cards, stickers,

384
00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:41.400
go around, just talk to everyone, soak in the festival vibes.

385
00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:43.819
Because it's like, as much as we're artists, we're also

386
00:17:43.900 --> 00:17:45.019
those guys, too, you know?

387
00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:46.759
Well, that's what you got to be. I think you're

388
00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:49.019
not a good artist if you're not a fan first.

389
00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:49.779
Absolutely.

390
00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:52.819
And that's where the art and appreciation and the passion

391
00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:55.019
comes from, too, is because you love it as well.

392
00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:55.650
Like, I.

393
00:17:56.549 --> 00:17:59.650
I'll sometimes get requests to interview bands, and if I

394
00:17:59.650 --> 00:18:02.950
don't like their music, I can't do the interview, not

395
00:18:03.549 --> 00:18:06.670
for a judgy reason, but my job's to promote the band.

396
00:18:06.730 --> 00:18:09.670
How do I promote something I can't get behind? Yeah.

397
00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:13.619
That's the bottom line. People can tell. They can tell

398
00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:16.650
real from trying to fake it.

399
00:18:16.940 --> 00:18:17.799
Manufactured.

400
00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:18.460
Mm-hmm.

401
00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:22.859
And why would you even do, as an example, why

402
00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:25.099
would you do this kind of stuff if you didn't

403
00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:25.579
like metal?

404
00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:28.519
If we didn't love it we wouldn't have crammed each

405
00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:32.140
other in an rv and traveled over 40 hours across

406
00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:36.480
the country to come perform nice but that's this is

407
00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:39.789
one of the craziest and awesome festivals too and so

408
00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:42.809
grateful for danny wimmer and the space zebra team for

409
00:18:42.910 --> 00:18:45.710
having the battle of the bands and allowing artists like

410
00:18:45.789 --> 00:18:48.170
us to get these opportunities.

411
00:18:48.069 --> 00:18:52.029
Yeah and because like You're out there. It's not even

412
00:18:52.049 --> 00:18:55.329
the weekend yet. It's the beginning of the day. It's

413
00:18:55.470 --> 00:19:00.769
fucking hot out. How does it blow your mind that

414
00:19:00.809 --> 00:19:05.309
there's a massive crowd at that time under those circumstances?

415
00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:07.160
Feels good.

416
00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:09.880
You see the hard work pay off and you're just

417
00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:13.299
grateful for everybody that goes out of their way to

418
00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:16.440
catch the band. You know what it's like. It's hot,

419
00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.660
like you said. It's early in the day. There's going

420
00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:20.579
to be a bunch of people that are just skimming

421
00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.640
past on the schedule app to see a band name

422
00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:24.259
that they know.

423
00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:24.839
Yeah.

424
00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:26.859
But you're on the other side of that coin. You

425
00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:30.440
have a bunch of people that are hunting and going, yeah,

426
00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:32.859
I saw this band a million times. I don't know

427
00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:34.799
who the fuck these guys are. Let's go find something.

428
00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:36.420
That's the way I am. I want to see all

429
00:19:36.460 --> 00:19:39.000
the bands I've never seen because you never know. It's

430
00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.319
like Ozzfest 99. I saw on third stage, the little

431
00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:50.970
teeny stage... In this moment, Mudvayne and Slipknot. you wouldn't

432
00:19:51.089 --> 00:19:55.079
go to that stage because some other bigger bands playing

433
00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:58.319
you would never know who those bands are yeah you

434
00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:01.000
just never know who's who and like you may like

435
00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:01.700
it you may.

436
00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:06.109
Not and We're super grateful and appreciative of all the

437
00:20:06.170 --> 00:20:09.809
festivals from Incarceration, Louder Than Life, and now Aftershock. Everyone

438
00:20:09.829 --> 00:20:12.250
that took the time, checked us out, and has stayed

439
00:20:12.289 --> 00:20:12.950
with us since.

440
00:20:13.630 --> 00:20:15.960
And now you've got to play Sonic Temple because that's

441
00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:18.039
in a stadium, so you can take all those cards

442
00:20:18.099 --> 00:20:20.299
and stickers and just throw them.

443
00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:21.339
Everywhere.

444
00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:23.400
And then we've got to go down and hang out

445
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:24.859
with you at Welcome to Rockville.

446
00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:28.779
Yeah, no doubt. And drive on the Daytona International Speedway.

447
00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:33.529
It's crazy stuff. Got to put the good word in

448
00:20:33.549 --> 00:20:33.869
for us.

449
00:20:33.970 --> 00:20:36.069
There you go. What's your story?

450
00:20:37.190 --> 00:20:40.130
Yeah. Oh.

451
00:20:40.529 --> 00:20:43.130
You had plenty of time to prepare, just saying. Yeah.

452
00:20:43.390 --> 00:20:47.829
No, my favorite, one that kind of holds dear in

453
00:20:47.849 --> 00:20:51.279
my heart but is also extremely chaotic, is when we

454
00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:56.119
played at Louder Than Life. And we told everyone, hey, well,

455
00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:59.019
we talked to the guy that was a DJ for

456
00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:02.369
karaoke in the camping area. Because they had a whole

457
00:21:02.410 --> 00:21:05.579
thing set up for tables where people can eat, karaoke, whatever.

458
00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:09.759
And he's like, yeah, you guys should definitely play.

459
00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:12.940
At night. After all the bands are done, we'll do

460
00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:13.779
a little pop-up show.

461
00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:18.059
People were sick of karaoke and they wanted an actual band.

462
00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:20.119
That makes sense to me.

463
00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:22.430
So we were hyped about it.

464
00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:27.150
We went around everywhere telling everyone and anyone, yo, campground,

465
00:21:27.170 --> 00:21:31.460
this time at the karaoke dining section. when we get there,

466
00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:33.839
it got shut down. And we're like, you gotta be

467
00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:36.500
kidding me. Like we told all these people and we're like,

468
00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:38.720
we're not going to stop. Like we told everyone we're

469
00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:40.339
going to do this. We're going to fucking do it.

470
00:21:40.980 --> 00:21:44.849
So how it works is with that, there's two sets

471
00:21:44.890 --> 00:21:48.589
of security. There's the festival security, then the campground security.

472
00:21:49.230 --> 00:21:53.269
That was still kind of technically the festival security. So

473
00:21:53.630 --> 00:21:55.279
we were like, all right, how are we going to

474
00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:57.700
go about it? There's a camp called camp butthole.

475
00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:03.660
Um, Oh, they have one at Rock, Lahoma, except it's buses, boobs,

476
00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:04.299
and buttholes.

477
00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:07.160
Oh, there you go.

478
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:10.180
So, yeah, Camp Butthole was amazing.

479
00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:13.660
They're like, all right, they had a whole area.

480
00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:16.349
You want to tell us what you did at Camp Butthole?

481
00:22:16.529 --> 00:22:17.450
I don't want to know.

482
00:22:17.829 --> 00:22:21.130
Well, no, I'm about to. They moved all of their shit.

483
00:22:21.170 --> 00:22:24.230
They took down their tents. They moved their vehicles, everything.

484
00:22:24.630 --> 00:22:28.349
Made this huge area. Well, the festival security didn't want

485
00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:31.589
us playing up there at that dining section. The camping

486
00:22:31.630 --> 00:22:34.529
security was like, we will help you guys out. So

487
00:22:34.589 --> 00:22:37.490
what they did was drove us around in golf carts,

488
00:22:37.990 --> 00:22:40.279
drove us to our bus to get all the gear,

489
00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:42.839
took it up to that low camp section.

490
00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:44.740
We had a speaker. They gave us power.

491
00:22:45.349 --> 00:22:48.670
And then they drove us around the campsites just to promote.

492
00:22:49.210 --> 00:22:52.349
Like even them on their own was driving around saying, yo,

493
00:22:52.769 --> 00:22:55.599
go to Camp Butthole, this area. Traverse of the Abyss

494
00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:57.220
is going to be playing a pop-up show at night.

495
00:22:57.660 --> 00:23:00.920
We ended up doing it. A shit ton of people came.

496
00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:03.339
I mean, I truly couldn't believe it. It was late

497
00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:06.720
at night. It was hot ass day. Everyone was partying.

498
00:23:07.220 --> 00:23:10.319
Everyone still showed up. Um, we did make a note,

499
00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:13.839
no moshing because, um, at that point we're going to

500
00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:16.240
be held liable. So what they ended up doing was

501
00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:21.079
just making this insanely, disgustingly big rope pit and everyone

502
00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:24.420
just had a blast. So for me, that all time

503
00:23:24.609 --> 00:23:26.230
favorite and chaotic memory.

504
00:23:26.529 --> 00:23:27.829
And I'll never forget that.

505
00:23:28.549 --> 00:23:30.630
Love it. That's great. That's a great memory.

506
00:23:31.069 --> 00:23:34.490
All the people were donating generators.

507
00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:38.680
Oh, also a shout out to Moe from Quest Security

508
00:23:38.759 --> 00:23:42.200
because without him, most of that wouldn't have happened. So

509
00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:45.700
if you somehow hear this, thank you for making one

510
00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:47.140
of the best memories of my life.

511
00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:49.099
Gotta go to Moe's.

512
00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:52.940
Yeah, all the campgrounds, all the campers were like, nah,

513
00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:55.539
they're all scavenging.

514
00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:56.500
Oh my God, if I could speak.

515
00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:00.130
Then uh getting their generators to donate so we could

516
00:24:00.150 --> 00:24:02.210
have some kind of power nice to run to the

517
00:24:02.269 --> 00:24:05.190
stuff and yeah like nick said like we were like

518
00:24:05.730 --> 00:24:08.049
don't please don't mosh not that we don't want to

519
00:24:08.210 --> 00:24:11.589
get everyone hype or anything but that everyone was loaning

520
00:24:11.670 --> 00:24:14.869
us their campsite and their personalized stuff and we're like

521
00:24:14.890 --> 00:24:18.569
yo just like so we're like yo chill vibes smoke

522
00:24:18.730 --> 00:24:21.569
drink do your thing grind on your girl whatever you

523
00:24:21.609 --> 00:24:24.789
need to do respect like no know your surroundings you

524
00:24:24.809 --> 00:24:25.529
know what i mean.

525
00:24:25.589 --> 00:24:30.339
No doubt no doubt And so, what's going to be

526
00:24:30.380 --> 00:24:32.019
going on the rest of the year in the beginning

527
00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:33.599
of 2027 for you guys?

528
00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:34.500
Cool.

529
00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:36.259
This is a fun one to talk about. We're going

530
00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:38.059
to link up with our friends Nail Bite.

531
00:24:38.769 --> 00:24:39.809
Oh, man, that's cool.

532
00:24:40.029 --> 00:24:43.430
And we're going to play Pennsylvania Date with those guys.

533
00:24:44.009 --> 00:24:45.890
And then at the end of the year, this is

534
00:24:45.950 --> 00:24:50.289
the third annual Sled Dog Entertainment Mosh for Tots. So,

535
00:24:50.809 --> 00:24:53.880
we own a production company where we book shows and

536
00:24:53.960 --> 00:24:55.779
such in northeastern PA.

537
00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:56.039
Okay.

538
00:24:56.809 --> 00:25:01.079
And Mosh for Tots. Sorry about that. Mosh for Tots

539
00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:06.349
is our Toys for Tots charity event. Admissions either $ 10

540
00:25:05.890 --> 00:25:09.849
or an unwrapped toy. And we do it festival style.

541
00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.119
I think back to when I went to mayhem fest

542
00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:14.779
the first time and I came in and they had

543
00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.809
the stages parallel to each other. So we, we rip

544
00:25:17.849 --> 00:25:19.410
it like that. Or this year is going to be

545
00:25:19.450 --> 00:25:22.150
more like a warp tour with the monster stages next

546
00:25:22.170 --> 00:25:22.670
to each other.

547
00:25:22.910 --> 00:25:23.170
Yeah.

548
00:25:23.210 --> 00:25:23.470
Yeah.

549
00:25:23.509 --> 00:25:27.509
We gather bands, local bands and bands all from around the,

550
00:25:27.990 --> 00:25:29.690
pretty much the country. Last year we had bands from

551
00:25:29.750 --> 00:25:32.670
Florida come down, Michigan and everything. And, uh, it's all

552
00:25:32.730 --> 00:25:34.319
on charity this year. We get to do it at

553
00:25:34.359 --> 00:25:37.019
the Ritz theater in Scranton, PA. So that's kind of

554
00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:39.940
like our, uh, end of the year send off. Like,

555
00:25:40.329 --> 00:25:43.250
In PA, there's Christmas Burns Red, and then we got, like,

556
00:25:43.329 --> 00:25:45.549
on our scale, we have Mosh for Tots.

557
00:25:45.809 --> 00:25:50.230
See, that's where you got to reach out and get

558
00:25:50.410 --> 00:25:56.750
all of the actors from the office back and take

559
00:25:56.869 --> 00:25:57.460
part in it.

560
00:25:57.890 --> 00:25:59.509
That would be fucking incredible.

561
00:26:01.109 --> 00:26:01.990
Go look for that.

562
00:26:02.130 --> 00:26:05.650
Aside from that, during the holiday season, we'll be taking

563
00:26:05.690 --> 00:26:08.029
time to spend with the families. We've been writing a

564
00:26:08.049 --> 00:26:11.670
bunch of music. So we're going to, like, falcon eye,

565
00:26:11.710 --> 00:26:15.390
lock in on that, get stuff prepped, get into the studio,

566
00:26:15.430 --> 00:26:19.700
start rolling out. You know the drill. Music, video, this,

567
00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:24.079
press release, spit to that, Spotify campaign, cross your fingers

568
00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:28.940
for editorial, rinse, repeat. So new music should be coming

569
00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:31.769
in 2027. And then this year we're going to finish

570
00:26:31.809 --> 00:26:33.230
it out in our hometown state.

571
00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:34.089
Nice.

572
00:26:35.029 --> 00:26:39.369
Well. What else has been your experience here at Aftershock

573
00:26:39.390 --> 00:26:41.430
you'd like to share with the listeners, anybody?

574
00:26:42.089 --> 00:26:47.910
The lights at night with the trees is, like, breathtaking.

575
00:26:47.990 --> 00:26:51.210
Our friends, as soon as we got done with incarceration,

576
00:26:51.380 --> 00:26:53.640
the day after we parked in the truck stop, and

577
00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:56.240
this car next to us, they got out, and I

578
00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:58.380
think it was Nick was wearing Blackcraft stuff, and so

579
00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.079
were they, and we're like, hey, Blackcraft. And they were like, oh,

580
00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:03.750
my God, we work the tents. At the festival.

581
00:27:03.829 --> 00:27:04.210
Nice.

582
00:27:04.470 --> 00:27:08.450
We played at the festival. And they were from California.

583
00:27:08.470 --> 00:27:10.950
They moved to West Virginia. And as much as they could,

584
00:27:10.990 --> 00:27:12.789
they come up for all of our shows and such

585
00:27:12.829 --> 00:27:16.549
like that. So... Oh, my God. My brain's gone.

586
00:27:17.890 --> 00:27:26.099
That is way cool, though. No, that is way cool, though. Because, like, listen.

587
00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:30.259
Any way you can get yourself out there in anything

588
00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:33.450
that you're doing... That's part of it, man. The best

589
00:27:33.809 --> 00:27:36.230
bands that make it, it's because they have the passion

590
00:27:36.289 --> 00:27:39.710
so much to do that, and then they just keep going.

591
00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:42.720
You've got to experiment and try different things, too.

592
00:27:43.079 --> 00:27:45.759
Yeah, just keep yourself open to it. This is our

593
00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:47.819
10-year anniversary of being a band.

594
00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:50.099
Wow. Yesterday, October 1st.

595
00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:51.579
Does that blow your mind or what?

596
00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:53.519
Yeah, we're going to get our touch of gray and

597
00:27:53.539 --> 00:27:54.400
grab our walkers.

598
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:58.940
Yeah, there you go. You've got to get the Just

599
00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:00.000
For Men. Yeah.

600
00:28:00.470 --> 00:28:00.950
Honestly.

601
00:28:00.970 --> 00:28:04.390
You definitely need it.

602
00:28:04.410 --> 00:28:07.160
I need it bad. Salt and pepper. Oh, yeah.

603
00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:10.000
Well, but, you know, it's funny. The women, they all

604
00:28:10.099 --> 00:28:13.660
say that they like it. But I'm here to tell you,

605
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:17.690
I don't know. I get more attention from women when

606
00:28:17.750 --> 00:28:22.990
I don't have the gray hair. So, I don't know. But,

607
00:28:23.109 --> 00:28:28.839
you know, hey, you're musicians. So, you got that. Basket

608
00:28:28.910 --> 00:28:29.980
case stress, man.

609
00:28:30.710 --> 00:28:33.019
Anything we do, it's an artistic decision.

610
00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:34.000
There it is.

611
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:38.240
100%. Anybody else have anything they want to share?

612
00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:44.630
Follow Traverse the Abyss on all social media platforms. On Instagram,

613
00:28:44.690 --> 00:28:46.329
it's Traverse the Abyss Official.

614
00:28:47.690 --> 00:28:48.240
Hit us up.

615
00:28:48.609 --> 00:28:51.660
We're all friendly. We all like to chat, especially Nick.

616
00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:55.789
He's probably the most talkative besides Eric. But you can

617
00:28:55.829 --> 00:28:58.009
really only get Eric to talk with a mic. But yeah,

618
00:28:58.049 --> 00:29:00.509
follow us. Follow us on all platforms.

619
00:29:00.569 --> 00:29:00.950
Thank you.

620
00:29:01.890 --> 00:29:04.930
Well, thank you for being here at Aftershock and kicking

621
00:29:05.009 --> 00:29:07.599
our ass. And thanks for being on the Adventures of

622
00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:08.059
Pipe Man.

623
00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:09.240
Thank you for having us.

624
00:29:12.420 --> 00:29:13.359
Thank you so much.

625
00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:16.660
Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Man

626
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:18.059
on W4CY Radio.