The front-back design for the homemade States...

The front-back design for the homemade States shirt I wore in support of the band! If you’re a fan of pro-wrestling, you might recognize it haha. It’s in the style of CM Punk’s “Best In The World” tee. Go figure; a combination of two of my favorite things, music and rasslin’; and my two most inspirational people, Mindy White and CM Punk. But for what this is all about… best BAND in the world. They digged it, which makes me happy, but more importantly, it just shows support for a band that honestly whole-heartedly deserves it. I know that sounds cliche, but after seeing them live, hearing them in person, and saying hi to them, I meant what I said… and I said what I meant… I think y’all know the rest.

Last night, States opened up for Circa Survive at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz. It was a short, little gem of a set, but totally worth driving all the miles (roughly 100) to hear them live. Also worth getting rained on :P

They put on an amazing performance, so I set out to do the other thing I wanted, half the reason I came out, and that was to support ‘em. Threw down a cool 100 bucks worth of merch, including their debut album, Room To Run! Got a tote bag’s worth of goodies AND potentially pneumonia! Neat! Just kidding.

The long drive home was totally shorter for some reason. Might’ve been because I popped in the new CD. And got a lead foot. What a sonic ride. All I have to say is that for y’all who pre-ordered it… you’re going to love it. It’s Line ‘Em Up multiplied by like, pi (3.14). I could’ve easily said gajillion… but pie sounds delicious. Which is what the album is. It’s worth the year-long wait since their EP.

It was a truly wonderful show. States, Maps & Atlases, and Circa Survive all killed it. I love Circa Survive and all don’t get me wrong, but I’d be lying if I said I came to see them. I paid to see States (bought the tix through States’ tour dates on their website in fact). All the band members are not just awesome, which I know sounds redundant, but they are awesome in a down-to-earth way. I managed to get all five to sign the album, Captain Planet style! I’m hoping they come back to the Bay Area soon, and if they do, you can bet your buns I’m soooo there.

Oh, one more thing. If any of you guys got to see them on this tour and bought their album, do me (well, the band really), a favor: Keep it away from the interwebs. Importing it to your iTunes, syncing it on your iPods and what not, OK, but just stay away from the Mediafires and the torrents and stuff. As fans who support these guys, the worst thing we can possibly do after coming out to see them and buy off them directly, is to put it up on the net and leak their album before its official release date! And that’s not cool. This bad boy is staying in my car, even if it means buying a digital copy on iTunes come 10x18x11!

Support, support, support! The more you do, the more they get to do what they love to do, and the more times you’ll get to see the band you love swing by!

-Alain