Tag Archives: Jimmy Eat World

When We Were Young Announces 2024 Lineup Featuring over 50 Full-Album Live Performances & More

My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy to Headline with A Day to Remember, Jimmy Eat World, Pierce the Veil, The Used, Simple Plan and more!

LAS VEGAS FESTIVAL GROUNDS
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2024

PRESALE BEGINS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17 AT 10AM PT

When We Were Young will return for a third year to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on October 19, 2024 with headliners My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy leading the massive lineup. In 2024, over 50 bands will each perform an album front-to-back with highlights including My Chemical Romance performing The Black ParadeA Day To Remember’s HomesickJimmy Eat World’s Bleed AmericanPierce The Veil’s Collide With The SkyThe Used’s In Love and DeathSimple Plan performing No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls, Dashboard Confessional’s Dusk and SummerCoheed and Cambria’s Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, along with Nada Surf’s Let Go, in addition to rare reunions from Cobra Starship performing ¡Viva La Cobra! and Chiodos performing All’s Well That Ends Well and much more. View the entire lineup with dedicated album performances below.

Fans can sign up now for the festival SMS list at WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com to receive an access code for the presale that will begin Friday, November 17 at 10AM PT. Any remaining tickets following the presale will go on sale to the general public at 2PM PT. GA, GA+, VIP, and VIP Cabana Tickets will be available, with layaway payment plans starting at $19.99 down.

VIP packages include preferred viewing areas, charging stations, a dedicated entry lane at the festival entrance, air-conditioned restrooms, and more. VIP Cabanas are available with exclusive viewing areas, featuring VIP service including food vouchers and select complimentary beverages, expedited entry and more. When We Were Young has partnered with Jampack to offer hotel and ticket packages with exclusive amenities, including discount rates on select Las Vegas hotels. For the full list of available tickets, packages, and the amenities included in each, visit WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com.

Sign up for official When We Were Young SMS and email lists to be the first to receive new information on the WWWY website.

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When We Were Young is produced by Live Nation and Redrock Entertainment.

REVIEW: Jimmy Eat World & Dashboard Confessional Take Rock Underground at The Caverns (3-12-22)

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Pelham, TN — If you were to ask any emo fan who spent their formative years in the early 2000s, “Which bands would make up the tour lineup of your dreams?”, you would get a plethora of answers with combinations that sound much like the When We Were Young Festival happening this fall. But, more than likely, two bands’ names would pop up in nearly every combination provided: Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional.

These bands, who have provided the soundtrack to the lives of countless individuals over their 20+ years of existence, have accomplished much over the years. However, there is one achievement they were missing until this year: hitting the road together on a tour. This “oversight” was rectified when these two powerhouse bands joined forces, and asked Sydney Sprague to open for them on the tour dubbed “Surviving the Truth,” which is a mash-up of Surviving, Jimmy Eat World’s 2019 album, and Dashboard Confessional’s newest album All The Truth I Can Tell, released on February 25th of this year.

Fortunately, they also added another new experience and scheduled two back-to-back nights of shows in The Caverns – a unique venue near an area known as TAG – a place where Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia all converge. Being about an hour away from every major city, a bit of travel is required to get to the venue – through a tiny town where the livestock that disinterestedly watch you drive by likely outnumber the human residents, down Charlie Roberts Road until you reach the end, and find yourself facing a black building with a massive painting of a Big Mouth Cave Salamander named Sally painted on the side of it. This is not the end of the journey, however, as you must now walk down a sloping path into the mouth of a cavern, and then step through enormous wooden doors where the words “Welcome to The Caverns where the Great Spirit brings all people together through music” are carved, using the Sequoyah script of the Cherokee. It is here your journey ends and the adventure begins…

Sydney Sprague

Sydney Sprague (Vocalist)
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Sydney Sprague – an Arizona based musician who first started writing and playing at 11 and performing at 14 – would be first onstage. Before the band kicked off the show with “i refuse to die” – the first track of 2021’s maybe i will see you at the end of the world – she gave the audience the first of many puns of the night: “If you haven’t heard of us, that’s ok. we’re pretty…underground.” As the crowd chuckled, she deadpanned: “it gets worse.

This could not have been further from the truth, as Sprague and her band – comprised of Chuck Morriss III (keyboard, bass), Larry Gast III (guitar), Sebastien Deramat (guitar), and Tom Fitzgibbon (drums) – are all exceptionally gifted musicians and artists who bring an enormous amount of energy that complements her laid back nature. Sprague has a quick, dry wit and the ability to capture the audience’s attention and form a bond that both her and the crowd feed off of as the set goes on. 

While some may compare her vocal timbre to Michelle Branch or Taylor Swift, and it should be noted these are fair and valid comparisons, it would be a mistake to attempt to shove Sprague’s sound into a box and slap a label on it. Her vocals and sound defy conventional expectations, she writes songs that are relatable, and her performances are simple and straightforward – leaving the audience wanting more in the future. Her 8-song set included most of the tracks on her debut album, which had the paradoxical effect of leaving the audience both wishing for a bit more, and yet satisfied with what we were able to witness from this budding star. 

Sydney Sprague
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Between sets, one of the quirks of the cavern became quite obvious: it had the audacity to form without giving a backstage for the bands and their crews to work with. There is no easy access to move the equipment on and off, nor to unload and then load everything back into the waiting vehicles outside. This unusual set-up meant the audience was able to watch the pre-show rituals of the bands and view what the hard-working (and often underappreciated or forgotten) crews do with the equipment they hastily move off and onto the stage. 

Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Dashboard Confessional was up next, with Chris Carrabba singing “The Brilliant Dance” with an acoustic guitar while the rest of the band stood just off stage. As he finished, they joined him, and a jovial Carrabba asked the audience if anyone had been in attendance last night. There were surprisingly few affirmative replies. Carrabba then asked, “Is anyone here tonight?” and as the cheers faded, he exclaimed, “Me too!” as the first notes of “The Good Fight” started to play. At the end of the song, he asked the audience to give a round of applause for Sprague and her band, and then caught himself cussing when he spotted a kid at the front of the crowd. Asking the young fan if he had ever been to a show in The Caverns, he stated with a huge grin, “I’ve only been to one other show here, and it was last night!” 

Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional performing at The Caverns
Chris Carrabba (Vocalist, Guitarist), Dashboard Confessional
Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Carrabba – joined onstage by Armon Jay (guitar), Scott Schoenbeck (bass), Abigail Kelly (back-up vocals), Chris Kamrada (drums), Dane Poppin (keyboard, guitar) – mixed the nostalgic hits like “Stolen” and “Vindicated” with “The Better Of Me,” the only song from All The Truth I Can Tell. Through it all, Carrabba radiated joy and excitement, possibly because he was playing inside of a cave, but also because, as he noted multiple times, it was just so good to be back together with everyone again. Carrabba is just under two years removed from a motorcycle accident that nearly ended his career, and to be back on stage after all he has endured during his recovery must feel like a miracle he celebrates nightly on this tour with 1,500 or so of his closest friends. His energy radiated out across the audience, many of whom sang along with him during the 17-song set. 

Chris Carrabba (Vocalist, Guitarist), Dashboard Confessional
Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World took the stage during the opening notes of “Futures,” the title track from their 2004 album. It only takes a few verses of watching frontman Jim Adkins pour everything he has out in front of the enchanted audience while drummer Zach Lind, guitarist Tom Linton and bassist Rick Burch effortlessly provide the canvas on which each song is painted anew on each night.

Jimmy Eat World
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

This is the magic of Jimmy Eat World and perhaps the secret of their longevity: their ability to take the songs that helped emo kids grow into slightly less emo adults and make the nostalgic magic that you feel hearing “Sweetness” on the radio disappear during a live show, and make it feel like you’re hearing and experiencing the songs for the first time. Other favorites like “Pain,” “Hear You Me,” “23,” and “Lucky Denver Mint” were included in the set list as well. 

Jim Adkins (Vocalist, Guitarist), Jimmy Eat World
Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Halfway through the show, Adkins switched over to an acoustic guitar to play “555” – a song that has not only inspired a comic book, but also a near-cult-like following among some fans, including a small Facebook group dedicated to posting solely about 555 found in daily lives. Adkins, like Sprague and Carrabba, expressed awe and disbelief that they were playing in a cave, and then threw in a joke about telling a distant relative that he was in an underground rock band. If there were any surprises from the night, it would be that the bands didn’t end up making more bad cave and rock puns.

The level of exertion that Jimmy Eat World puts into each show can evoke the image of a fighter who has gone 10 rounds with their opponent, leaving the ring glistening and triumphant. As Jimmy Eat World closed the show with their most well-known hit “The Middle,” towels awaited them just off-stage. The song generated the the perfect energy to end the incredible evening… the best way to end the adventure at the bucket-list worthy venue, and to send those lucky enough to bear witness a once-in-a-lifetime show on a journey through the improbably cold pre-spring night to wherever their roads may carry them. 

Fans in The Caverns as Jimmy Eat World closes their set
Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Photo Galleries

Photographer: Katherine Amy Vega

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Sydney Sprague
 | Dashboard Confessional
 | Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Sydney Sprague – The Caverns 3-12-22

Photography © Katherine Amy Vega, Kataklizmic Design
All Rights Reserved.

When We Were Young Adds Third Date To Highly Anticipated Festival

PRESALE STARTS MONDAY, JAN. 31 AT 10AM PT FOR FANS WHO SIGN UP FOR EARLY ACCESS TO PASSES ONLINE AT WHENWEWEREYOUNGFESTIVAL.COM

The When We Were Young Festival has announced a third date has been added to the highly anticipated fest, taking place on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

The festival will feature the same lineup on all three dates, with the exception of Alex G replacing Wolf Alice on Saturday, October 29th and La Dispute will not be performing on the newly added date.

The full lineup for October 29th includes:

My Chemical Romance, Paramore, AFI, The Used, Bring Me The Horizon, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, Alkaline Trio, Manchester Orchestra,  A Day To Remember, Pierce The Veil, I Prevail, The Story So Far, Dance Gavin Dance, The All American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Car Seat Headrest, Sleeping With Sirens, Knocked Loose, JXDN, Avril Lavigne, Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills, Senses Fail, Bayside, Mom Jeans, Mayday Parade, The Maine, Neck Deep, Silverstein, Palaye Royale, Bright Eyes, Poppy, Nessa Barrett, Wolf Alice, Acceptance, Story of the Year, Atreyu, PVRIS, Saosin, Glassjaw, Lilhuddy, TV Girl, The Starting Line, Thursday, Anberlin, Jimmy Eat World, 3OH!3, State Champs, Four Year Strong, We The Kings, The Wonder Years, Royal & The Serpent, The Ready Set, Kittie, Hawthorne Heights, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Garden, Horrorpops, Meet Me At The Altar, The Linda Lindas, Prentiss and Alex G.  

There will be a presale beginning Monday, Jan. 31 at 10am PT for fans who sign up for early access to passes online at WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com. Following the presale, any remaining tickets still available will go on sale to the general public beginning Monday, Jan. 31 at 2 pm PT. 

General Admission tickets start at $224.99, GA+ tickets start at $399.99 and VIP tickets start at $499.99. VIP cabanas will also be available to purchase for guests 21 years of age and older. 

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“When We Were Young” Emo Music Festival Sells Out, Adds Second DatE

Due to overwhelming demand, a second date has been added to the When We Were Young Festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. Tickets for the new date are on sale now.

The festival will run the majority of the day, from 11am to 12am. There will be multiple stages of varying sizes placed around the festival grounds with several bands performing at the same time. The length of set times will vary. Opening acts will have shorter set lengths while headlining performances can range up to an hour or more. 

Full lineup details including set times and performances by stage will be released closer to the festival. 

The festival will feature the same lineup on both dates, which includes:

  • My Chemical Romance
  • Paramore
  • AFI
  • The Used
  • Bring Me The Horizon
  • Taking Back Sunday
  • Dashboard Confessional
  • Alkaline Trio
  • Manchester Orchestra
  • A Day To Remember
  • Pierce The Veil
  • I Prevail
  • The Story So Far
  • Dance Gavin Dance
  • The All-American Rejects
  • Boys Like Girls
  • Car Seat Headrest
  • Sleeping With Sirens
  • Knocked Loose
  • JXDN
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Motionless in White
  • Black Veil Brides
  • Ice Nine Kills
  • Senses Fail
  • Bayside
  • Mom Jeans
  • Mayday Parade
  • The Maine
  • Neck Deep
  • Silverstein
  • Palaye Royale
  • Bright Eyes
  • Poppy
  • Nessa Barrett
  • Wolf Alice
  • Acceptance
  • Story of the Year
  • Atreyu
  • PVRIS
  • Saosin
  • Glassjaw
  • Lilhuddy
  • TV Girl
  • The Starting Line
  • Thursday
  • Anberlin
  • Jimmy Eat World
  • 3OH!3
  • State Champs
  • Four Year Strong
  • We The Kings
  • The Wonder Years
  • Royal & The Serpent
  • The Ready Set
  • Kittie
  • Hawthorne Heights
  • The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
  • The Garden
  • Horrorpops
  • Meet Me At The Altar
  • The Linda Lindas
  • Prentiss

General Admission tickets start at $224.99, GA+ tickets start at $399.99 and VIP tickets start at $499.99. VIP cabanas will also be available to purchase for guests 21 years of age and older. 

When We Were Young lineup - Sold Out

What health & safety protocols will be implemented for the festival?

The safety of fans, artists and staff is thoroughly planned for among event organizers and in coordination with local authorities.

They will follow all guidelines as set forth by the city of Las Vegas and state of Nevada at the time of the festival. Preventative health measures (e.g. proof of negative COVID-19 test or full COVID-19 vaccination, etc.) may be required for this show. Details of any necessary measures will be communicated as early as possible and will be shared on the event/venue website and social media channels.


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RECAP: The Second Twitch Goes Emo (05-08-21)

Yesterday, the second Twitch Goes Emo musician streamer festival was held on the Twitch platform. In celebration of primarily early 2000’s emo and pop punk music, the line-up included artists from all over the world: Kintsuku, SabySpark, Sayanoe (dropped out), TylerLevsMusic, GabiStreams, JordinLaine, CERIANmusic, JulienBelhumeur, Andrewcore, AnnaCarmela, ClosureClub, and JonLiMusic.

The first Twitch Goes Emo took place on December 5th, 2020 and featured many of the same artists, as well as MattWaldenAC and Annelle:

Twitch Goes Emo 2020 line-up

1. Kintsuku

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Ellie, who goes by the alias Kintsuku, is a musician based in Manchester, Northern England. She writes, produces and performs atmospheric / experimental pop, playing guitar, keys and vocals. Kisuku has been streaming on Twitch since December 2019. Hoping for a release later this year, she is currently writing her debut album. 

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clips:

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2. SabySpark

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Saby is a singer-songwriter from Slovenia, “trying to spark some joy in the world”, who has played the guitar for 10 years, ukulele for 3, and is slowly learning piano. By starting to stream last year, she is conquering shyness and self-consciousness, and following her deepest dreams.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” (Fall Out Boy cover)

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3. Sayanoe

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Budapest-based singer-songwriter Mimi – stage name Saya Noé (pronounced: sigh – ah – no – ay) – was unable to make the event (for reasons outside of her control). She plays the guitar and keyboard, and performs originals and covers, with acoustic, live production, and looping.

Connect with Sayanoe

4. TylerLevsMusic

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Tyler Levs is a singer/songwriter from Maine USA. With a taste for multiple genres and a passion for music, he performs live loop tracks as well as unplugged. Tyler has streamed live on Twitch.tv since 2017, and has been featured on the Twitch front page for approximately 23,000 people. He has performed for various causes through Saving Music Live (a Twitch charity stream) as well as talent shows (The Austin Talent Show and “Gamers Got Talent” Luminosity gaming). Twitch helped enable his transition to full-time musicianship in February of 2019.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clips:

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5. GabiStreams

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Gabi Belle is from the East Coast of the US, and she has been streaming since February 2020. Not only does she produce her own music, sing, and play the keyboard and guitar, she also directs and edits her music videos. She was vocally trained for theatre, and she has experience playing the flute, trumpet, and saxophone. Gabistreams is also a gamer who loves Nintendo games – her favorite being The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“The Ballad of Mona Lisa” (Panic! at the Disco cover)

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6. JordinLaine

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Singer-songwriter JordinLaine has been focusing heavily on writing music, creating content, and live streaming since 2018. Through the universal language of music, she has shared that she  found the power to express herself in the most open and authentic form. 

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

(JordinLaine does not allow clips on her channel)

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7. CERIANmusic

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Cerian is a singer-songwriter from London that plays harp, piano, and guitar. She plays a mixture of originals and covers,  switching it up between instruments. Cerian(a Welsh name, pronounced: Kerry-Anne) released her debut EP in April 2020. She has worked as a musician for many years with an impressive resume, singing backing vocals and playing harp for lots of incredible artists, like Radiohead, U2, Sam Smith, Imogen Heap, Thom Yorke, David Attenborough, Neneh Cherry, Charlotte Church and games like The Sims, Guitar Hero Live and Those Who Remain. Although she has been streaming for a while on other platforms, she is new to Twitch.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“Hear You Me” (Jimmy Eat World cover)

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8. JulienBelhumeur

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Hailing from Québec, Canada, Julien Belhumeur is a singer, musician, and loop artist that plays both originals and covers. With a minimalist bio, he lets his prowess speak for itself!

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clips:

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9. Andrewcore

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Andrew has, in his humble words, ‘been faking his way through playing drums for about 20 years’ – beginning with learning completely by ear, and focusing on learning more basic principles and improving overall now that he’s streaming. He is a member of the band Fable Cry, which includes another popular music streamer, joplaysviolin. He began touring in 2006 and has hit the road and recorded with a number of metal, rock and hip hop artists. 

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

(andrewcore does not allow clips on his channel)

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10. AnnaCarmela

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Anna Carmela is a self-described “hyper-active singer/songwriter” and music student with musical theatre training as a youth in her background. She has toured in the US and Canada. A bit of an autodidact, Carmela is self-taught on guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, kazoo, and mouth trumpet. She certainly does have energy to be contended with, and with a voice well-suited for it, loves performing blues, rock, and soul music.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (Green Day cover)

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11. ClosureClub

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Full-time artist, songwriter, and musician Heathy goes by ClosureClub, and is referred to by many more names (ex. j, lostcause, jarebear, red, clo) as he has streamed across multiple platforms for several years. His experience shows through his performance, and his music is “inspired by 80’s tones, dreamy lo-fi aesthetics, and melodic intervals drawn from the moody years of never escaping ‘the punk phase’.”

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“The Middle” (Jimmy Eat World cover)

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12. JonLiMusic

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Jon Li, arguably the headliner – if not co-headliner – of Twitch Goes Emo 2021, closed out the night with a respectable 4 hour and 40 minute stream, despite having performed a bachelor party gig prior. The expanse of his catalogue is impressive, to say the least, and what he doesn’t know, he can offer quite a decent Live Learn performance.

Li started performing by ear in high school after many years of studying and performing classical piano. While in the process of earning his math and music degrees in college, he was introduced to the world of Dueling Pianos that set him on a career path that led him to travel the world and play with hundreds of talented musicians. Li released Finding February in 2010. In 2020, COVID-19 began his live streaming journey on Facebook, followed by Twitch.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clips:

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Coffee, Comics, and Wine Coming from Musicians – Is This A New Fad?

co-written by Katherine Amy Vega & Nate Wert

March, 2020 – in just a few short months, the world went from whispers about a mysterious new virus overseas to a growing buzz around the virus and some signs of concerns. In mid-March, the unthinkable happened: the bars, concert halls, stadiums, and every other live music venue went dark as the virus took root and started to spread quickly worldwide. 

As the music world reeled from the sudden and shocking shutdown – and as it became painfully apparent that we would likely be throwing a birthday party for the “two weeks to flatten the curve” promise – bands started looking into different ways to stay relevant during the shutdown. 

During the past year, we have seen releases of coffee, graphic novels, and wine from the likes of Lamb of God, Jimmy Eat World, and Incubus.

In August of 2020, Lamb of God announced their Memento Mori medium roast coffee, in collaboration with Nightflyer Roastworks, owned by the guitarist of Between The Buried and Me.

Jimmy Eat World recently made their 555 graphic novel with z2 Comics, conceptualized from the uncharacteristically sci-fi music video for “555”, available for pre-orders with an expected release date of May 21, 2021.

Incubus’ Make Yourself Foundation has a long history of partnering with various organizations over the years – at least 47 since 2003 – and is partnering with Rebellium Wines on the limited stock “Our Love” Rosé. The label was designed by artists at Secure the Arts, an organization whose ethos is described simply as: “Rebels, trouble makers, the round pegs in the square holes.

One might think it is possible that Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria with The Amory Wars comic series, and Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer) with Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards, largely paved the way for such releases from musicians. Each of Coheed and Cambria’s studio albums (except The Color Before the Sun) tell a chapter of The Amory Wars, beginning with the release of the album Second Stage Turbine Blade in 2002. As a descendant of northern Italian winemakers, Keenan’s passion for winemaking is in his blood: the aptly titled 2010 documentary Blood Into Wine offers insight into his journey, creativity, and personal growth involved in this fruitful endeavor. 

This begs the question as to whether these were aspirations of other artists prior to the pandemic.

Comics & Graphic Novels

Long before becoming frontman of the legendary My Chemical Romance, a young Gerard Way found his passion in comics. Pursuing a career in comics, in 1999 Way graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He created Eisner-award winning The Umbrella Academy series (2007) – which went on to become a wildly popular series on Netflix that has a third season in the works – followed by comic mini-series The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (2013) and co-founded DC Comics’ Young Animal imprint (2016). 

Canadian electropop artist Lights wrote and illustrated her own comic Skin&Earth – a story of a girl looking for hope in a hopeless world – along with her album by the same name in 2017. Following suit, dancing electronic violinist Lindsey Stirling, well known for editing her own music videos, creating the costumes she wears, and having a huge hand in the choreography of her videos and shows, released her own comic book Artemis in 2019. In it, the story of her album of the same name comes to life, adding another layer of complexity to the already fantastic album.

In 2004, Courtney Love co-wrote the manga series Princess Ai about a female rock star that Love described as, “like my alter ego, bust in a fantasy setting.” The manga was illustrated by Ai Yazawa, the acclaimed artist behind the award-winning music-based manga NANA (2000-2009), which focuses on the pursuits, rise, relationships, and mentality of members of the fictional bands Black Stones (aka BLAST) and Trapnest.

z2 Comics actually specializes in helping musicians tell stories through graphic novels. In addition to Jimmy Eat World, they have worked with Poppy, Gorillaz, Machine Gun Kelly, Dance Gavin Dance, and Ice Nine Kills, to name a few.  

In May of 2017, MentalFloss.com offered “10 Musicians Who Have Also Written Comic Books”, detailing some interesting releases from Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave), Rob Zombie, Tyrese, Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s), and more. Interestingly, many of the musicians mentioned explore post-apocalyptic themes in their comics in their pre-pandemic releases.

Coffees

Touring is a grind in and of itself, and many bands turn to coffee to wake themselves up in the morning and keep themselves going throughout the day. Indeed, DrinksFeed.com posted “Metal bands with coffee brands” in February 2020, confirming that many bands have offered their own branded brews, including Korn, Metallica, and Judas Priest.  Separate from their bands’ branding, David Ellefson of Megadeth owns the coffee business Ellefson Coffee Co., and Joey Kramer of Aerosmith offers a subscription for his coffee brand Rockin’ & Roastin’.

Lamb of God’s second signature coffee, the Overlord dark roast, was revealed in December of 2020. Frontman Randy Blythe mused, “I like my coffee strong, dark, and BLACK like my soul.” Both blends’ beans were grown in El Salvador. In collaboration with J Gursey Coffee, Korn first offered nu metal fans the chance to “Wake the F Up” with some fair trade Korn Koffee in 2018.

Green Day dropped a sustainably grown organic coffee through Oakland Coffee Works in 2019, which was named “Father of All… Dark Roasts” – a name derived from their thirteenth studio album Father of All Motherfuckers (censored as Father of All… or FOAMF) released in 2020, but recorded prior to the game-changing year. 

Wines, Beer, & Liquor

Wines that Rock boasts the production of wines for many artists, such as All Time Low, Pearl Jam, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, KISS, and for Graceland and Elvis Presley’s estate. Made for The King of Rock ‘N Roll’s 86th birthday, the limited-edition wine is quite reasonably priced at only $24 a bottle.

Bottles of wine from Wines that Rock

Slayer’s Reign in Blood red wine comes in tantalizing packaging consisting of blood-like red wax dripped from the cap, Slayer branding, an inverted typographical cross, a limited edition coffin-shaped box, and other features, resulting in quite a work of art inside and out that appeals to both wine aficionados and music memorabilia collectors.

Over the last two decades, craft beer has enjoyed an explosion in popularity. Unlike wine and many other alcoholic drinks, many beers take two weeks or less to go from the raw materials to a cold, refreshing beer. As the turnaround time is much shorter, it is far easier to set up a collaboration that is still relevant when it comes out. A great example of this is the ongoing collaboration between the Deftones and San Diego-based Belching Beaver. By far, the most popular of the six beers to come out of this is the “Phantom Bride,” first brewed in 2016.

Dogfish Head created “American Beauty,” a Grateful Dead-inspired beer with granola and wildflower honey which was first released in 2013. Less Than Jake offered a limited edition beer by JDub’s Brewing Co. in 2018. Last, but certainly not least, is the Queen creation appropriately named Bohemian Lager. Brewed in Pilsen – the Bohemian now-Czech Republic city where the Pilsner style originated from – the limited edition beer was brewed in 2015 for the 40th anniversary of “Bohemian Rhapsody“.  

Finally, we have liquor. First is the Motorhead vödka made in Malmköping in Sweden since 2019. Motorhead also partnered with Hillrock to make some very limited bourbon, retailing for a whopping $275 per bottle.

Bob Dylan unveiled a line of whiskeys called Heaven’s Door in 2018. Multiple artists have their own tequila brands, such as Justin Timberlake, Rita Ora, Sammy Hagar, and Nick Jonas. Timberlake entered the tequila business in 2009, co-founding 901 Tequila – which was rebranded as Sauza 901 when Beam Inc acquired a stake in 2014. With hopes to push boundaries in the industry as a female-founded brand, Ora launched Próspero Tequila in the US in 2019.

Rita Ora

Hagar has been in the tequila business for almost 30 years, having launched the award-winning Cabo Wabo brand in 1991. In contrast to the once-Van Halen frontman, Jonas is the most green of the listed musicians, having joined the game in 2019 with Vanilla One.

These are just a few of the many types of alcoholic beverages that musicians have owned, made, or collaborated on. Ultimate Classic Rock shared an impressive list of “73 Rock Star Beer, Wine and Booze Brands.”

While the pandemic has indubitably unleashed a tsunami of projects that fall outside the typical domain of the music industry, the question one must ask when examining said projects for originality is: are these artists trailblazers, going down a path none have tread before, or are they innovators in their own right who take a path others have cut before them to bring a product to market that the world might not have expected from the source? The overwhelming body of evidence is that in the decade or so before the pandemic began, the trends in the industry were increasingly leaning toward this path. As such, releasing coffees, graphic novels, and wines during the pandemic may not be a unique course of action, but it does allow for creative release in a different medium, and perhaps an opportunity for many of them to manifest a once-dormant dream into a delectable reality.

Jimmy Eat World Announce Phoenix Sessions

A Global Stream Series in Partnership with Danny Wimmer Presents

Watch the event trailer here:

A year, a week and a day from their last live performance at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas, critically acclaimed alternative rock band Jimmy Eat World are excited to announce Phoenix Sessions, a global stream performance series in partnership with Danny Wimmer Presents

Performing Surviving, Futures, & Clarity in their entirely over three nights…

To kick off 2021, the band will come together for one-of-a-kind performances of three “chapters” in their storied career. Beginning January 15th with a performance of their 10th studio album Surviving (Chapter X), which has only been seen live by the lucky fans who made it to the shows last October, followed by Futures (Chapter V) on January 29th and Clarity (Chapter III) on February 12th

“We are always looking for ways to challenge ourselves, to do things as music fans that we think would be cool for OUR fans. We came up with the idea of presenting a series of concert films centered around a few specific albums (for now) and performing them on a different level. It isn’t the way we normally play a show and it’s definitely something new for how we approach a performance, but we haven’t been able to share the experience with our fans in over a year… so here we go!” Jim Adkins, frontman of Jimmy Eat World

Recorded at the Icehouse in Phoenix, AZ, the virtual events will feature the band performing each album in its entirety for a full concert experience.  Each show will start at 2pm PST / 5pm EST / 10pm GMT / 11pm CET and will be available on demand for 72 hours post stream at JimmyEatWorldLive.com

Global Stream Performance Dates

  • January 15 – Chapter X – Surviving
  • January 29 – Chapter V – Futures
  • February 12 – Chapter III – Clarity 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT JIMMYEATWORLDLIVE.COM

Tickets for these events are on sale NOW and can be purchased as a single show or in a three-pack bundle.  Early bird pricing begins at $14.99 for a single performance (through the Sunday prior to each show) and $39.99 for the bundle of all three through January 10th.  Other bundles, merchandise and VIP meet and greets will be available at a variety of price levels.  For more information on tickets and bundles please visit JimmyEatWorldLive.com.

Danny Wimmer Presents recently entered the digital content curation space, promoting pay-per-view concert streams and creating the popular digital series Offstage with DWPDWP is known worldwide for their stellar portfolio of music and lifestyle events, which includes Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Epicenter, Hometown Rising, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, and Welcome To Rockville.

Jimmy Eat World is:

  • Jim Adkins
  • Rick Burch
  • Tom Linton
  • Zach Lind

Jimmy Eat World Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

(Burning Hot Events earns from qualifying purchases.)

Jimmy Eat World Announce Criminal Energy Tour with The Front Bottoms, Turnover and Joyce Manor

Jimmy Eat World announce their Criminal Energy Tour today. The 20 date summer run will start in Atlanta, GA on August 6th and culminate in a hometown gig in Phoenix, AZ, Labor Day Weekend, on September 5th.  New Jersey based The Front Bottoms will join the tour as direct support with Turnover and Joyce Manor splitting the duties of opening the festivities on select dates (noted below). Tickets for the tour will be available to the general public starting on Friday, March 13th at 10AM local time with various presales beginning as early as Tuesday, March 10th at 12pm local time. The tour is produced by Live Nation, For more information and tickets please visit www.JimmyEatWorld.com.  

Jimmy Eat World continue the 2020 roadshow in support of their “bold, brave and  ultimately defiant” (NME)10th studio album, Surviving (listen here). With 10 records to pull from, the sets will prove to satisfy all fans new and old… As the band proclaims:  

“Whether we’ve slept on your floor after the ‘97 basement show or you’ve just only recently heard about us, we will have something you’d be into catching live!” 

Not to be missed, The Front Bottoms recently returned with “Camouflage,” a standalone single teasing a larger body of work on the horizon in 2020.  The FADER declared the song, “…a celebration of sorts for a band perennially on the fringes of a major breakthrough.

Criminal Energy Tour Dates 2020

  • August 6th Atlanta, GA – Coca Cola Roxy*
  • August 7th Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre^
  • August 8th Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheatre^
  • August 9th Baltimore, MD – MECU Pavilion^
  • August 11th New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 (co-headline The Front Bottoms)*
  • August 14th Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage (co-headline The Front Bottoms)*
  • August 15th Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia (co-headline The Front Bottoms)*
  • August 16th Boston, MA – Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion (co-headline The Front Bottoms)*
  • August 18th Toronto, ON – Rebel^
  • August 20th Indianapolis, IN – Amphitheater at White River State Park^
  • August 21st Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit^
  • August 22nd Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion^
  • August 26th Minneapolis, MN – The Armory#
  • August 27th Milwaukee, WI – The Rave (non-Live Nation produced show)#
  • August 28th Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom#
  • August 29th Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland#
  • August 31st Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium#
  • September 1st Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex#
  • September 4th San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU#
  • September 5th Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre#

*with Turnover
^with The Front Bottoms & Turnover
#with The Front Bottoms & Joyce Manor

Jimmy Eat World Online

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

REVIEW: Surviving — Jimmy Eat World’s Subtle Masterpiece

Released on October 18th, Surviving is the tenth studio album by Jimmy Eat World. Available in every imaginable format; it can be streamed, purchased as a download, a CD, vinyl pressing, and if you really wanted to throw it way back (as frontman Jim Adkins loves to do) it can be found as a cassette tape. Surviving is an expertly crafted journey, one that explores the time Adkins spent battling depression and self-doubt. There are ten songs on the record — a theme, perhaps, given the release in the tenth month of the year.

From the first notes of the driving guitars, before the kick of the drums, before the ever-recognizable voice of Adkins kicks in, it is apparent that this will be familiar but new ground. The first lines of the title track “Surviving” appear to confirm this:

Don’t hide your face, what you were before
it doesn’t have to be you anymore

The song “Surviving” could be considered a confrontation of sorts. One could interpret it as the singer confronting his past, and simultaneously the listener could perceive it as a confrontation of their own past. It is relatable in every line, and because of that, powerful.

“Criminal Energy” was my favorite to watch live at the Crescent Ballroom a few weeks ago, and the album version is just as good, if not somewhat muted compared to the live version. That is not to say it is bad in any way; rather, this is a song that is designed to get the blood pumping and the crowd dancing. And it is delightful — Adkins’ voice soaring behind the crashing guitars and drums. Just as quickly as it comes, it fades to a softer, slower song in “Delivery”.

While “Delivery” is paced more slowly than “Criminal Energy”, it is deep. There is a subtle beauty in the lyrics, an essence of yearning for the love of the years gone by. This is the genius of Adkins: the ability to relate to each listener even without meeting them, and to draw a picture in such a way that they don’t always realize the scope of the art. 

Adkins continues this in “555”. The art could be lost if you got lost wading through the shock that longtime Jimmy Eat World fans will undoubtedly feel: the shock of a song that sounds more like it came from M83. However, it fits with the message from this song so very well. The expectation of Adkins, and in turn Jimmy Eat World, is that there will be an album that sounds much like what has been done before. There is a danger in that expectation, and it is daring to break it. That is exactly what they do, with synth clapping as the backing and one of the oddest and yet entertaining videos you will ever see.

“One Mil” starts the ramp up back into the heavier songs on the album. The story of wasted chances will resonate with the masses, though I would argue that most of them have never fallen for a camera girl.

Camera girl, you still there?
If I look you’ll disappear
Worse, you might wanna talk
I’m so underprepared

To some it is the classic story of the introvert attempting to find love and upon finding a chance at it, wasting it. To others, it is like a remnant of teenage love, which we would all like to think that we eventually grow out of.

Wish I had mastery of wit, luck and fearless confidence
Then shred majestically to your heart

This story changes in “All The Way (Stay)”, a song that is raw, raw in sound and lyrics, the clang of a guitar and then the echo of a snare drum your only companions at first. It is not comfortable in the first 30 or so seconds, and that discomfort draws you in to listen to lyrics like:

 We get discouraged by the pointlessness
And we’re pretty quick to judge things pointless
There’s what I want and what I need
And the latter takes a while to see

Behind it all, you realize that this is again urging the listener to show who they really are, to allow others, or possibly just one other, to see under the layers where you hide. While the song starts with a crashing drum that may force you to shift uneasily, by the end you will find yourself swaying to the catchy beat and powerful vocals. It is a great lead into a song that has a far more comfortable feel, “Diamond”.

“Diamond” is the song you didn’t know you needed to help you through a really rough time. Hopes, dreams and careers take time, and it’s easy to want to take the easy way out and get a quick payout. After over a quarter of a century playing with Jimmy Eat World, Adkins can say with the utmost confidence in the lyrics:

That’s how a diamond grows, yeah
Give yourself the right chance over time
Don’t believe them
If they try to sell you something quicker, yeah

This theme extends to “Love Never”, where Adkins vocals are on display second only to “555”. This is another life lesson, this time a reminder about love, set over a near frantic beat. Depending on your stage in life, it either serves as a warning for those who still romanticize the ideal love and the idea that cute, fat angels will shoot you with an arrow shortly before you meet the perfect match, or a reminder that love looks a whole lot more like you summoning the strength to not murder your partner for not picking their socks up. At any rate, it is a fantastic, underrated song on this album. 

“Recommit” feels like something that all of us have wanted to sing, or yell really, at that one person in our lives who sits on the fence when push comes to shove. To some, the music may feel a little underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the tracks. However, one can appreciate its beachy pop revivalist vibe that flows and ebbs from the verses to the contrasting heavier chorus that barrels in between them.

The album closes out with “Congratulations”, a song that seems so far out of place that it is a bit jarring. Unlike much of the rest of the album, this seems to almost take a political stance, with lyrics such as:

Suspiciously, through editing
The facts are disappearing
With discipline and message
You’ll take awkward possession
Of nothing you really wanted
Welcome, congratulations

The defiance and air of dissonance present throughout the rest of the album melts into the background, as sarcasm seems to run rampant in this unusual and yet enjoyable song. It should also be noted that Davey Havok of AFI and Dreamcar lent his vocals to this song, something subtle you can pick up on once you know to listen for him.

Surviving is an incredibly solid album overall. It harkens back to the energy we all bore witness to in the fantastic journey that was Bleed American (later re-released as Jimmy Eat World). Adkins is a master of self-awareness, weaving life lessons into the verses in much the same way a master weaver would work threads into a rug. While the frontman has been given much praise in this review, the entirety of the band deserves recognition for this album. While it is the norm for the music world to decide to try to build an architectural masterpiece like the Empire State Building, often falling far short of that lofty goal, Adkins and his bandmates decided to build a comfortable mansion in the Midwest overlooking a lake. The band succeeded in doing exactly what they set out to do, giving the world a sometimes odd but overall enjoyable work that will stand the test of time.

Featured photo (top) by Oliver-Halfin


REVIEW: Jimmy Eat World Launches “Surviving” Era with Hometown Show at Crescent Ballroom (10-6-19)

PHOENIX — Jimmy Eat World announced on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on October 1, 2019 that they would be playing a hometown show at Crescent Ballroom in support of their 10th and newest studio album “Surviving”, which will be released a couple of weeks later on October 18th. The tickets went on sale at the same time the show was announced, and those lucky enough to be on social media at that time managed to snag a ticket or two to what would turn out to be one of the most incredible shows the valley would see in 2019. The opener was Gabriel Sullivan, a Tucson native who also was playing in support of a new album, his 4th: Black Crow, released on September 27th this year.

Gabriel Sullivan

Crescent Ballroom in Downtown Phoenix was less than half full when Sullivan took the stage, his band playing a nearly ethereal opening few notes with the stage bathed in blue light before he bounded onto the stage. Gabriel has a passing resemblance to a younger Eddie Money, his low, growling voice reminiscent of Nick Cave, with a sound that would be at home in a Quentin Tarantino movie. He is, in short, what one would think of if someone mentioned music that sounded like the desert.

By the time the final note had played, he had the crowd’s rapt attention and had many heads bobbing along to the music. Mid show, he raised a can and talked about how incredible it was to open “for your hometown heroes, Jimmy Eat World!” He also made mention of Casey Golden, who had played in the lounge before the show and told everyone to grab the record of a fellow Tucson native.

Jimmy Eat World

 As the stage was prepared for Jimmy Eat World, the anticipation in the crowd built, with a near electric feeling prevalent in the room. Finally, the time came for the band to take the stage, with frontman Jim Adkins wasting no time in starting the show: “Howdy y’all! We’re Jimmy Eat World from Mesa, and this is Surviving!”. The title track off of the upcoming record had a retro sound and yet was brand new. This was the magic of the evening; 21 songs, some new, some old, all sounding timeless and explosive.

Jimmy Eat World just reached 25 years as a band, a milestone that is no small feat, and in that quarter of a century of existence they have released nine records with Surviving being the tenth. To say that they have released some incredible songs over those years would be an understatement, and many songs have resonated with fans in various stages of life. To that end, as past hits such as “Pain”, “Sweetness” and “The Middle” played, Adkins’ face would light up as the fans sang every single word back to him, matching his passion and his energy. Very little time was spent talking to the audience, but every word he said was full of gratitude. Repeatedly, he would wait until the applause died down and would say, “Thank you so much!” At one point, while wiping sweat off his face, he told the audience, “you guys are fantastic. It’s just better when we have our fans.

Jimmy Eat World
| Photo courtesy of Nate Wert

Seven of the songs on the expansive setlist were from Surviving. “All The Way (Stay)” and “Love Never” were already familiar to much of the audience, as they were singles that were released when the album was announced on September 23rd. Others, like “Surviving”, “Criminal Energy” and “555” were new and well-received, with the latter two being heavy, and yet soaring songs, a sound that has traces of “Integrity Blues” and traces of the time Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who produced the album, spent with Nine Inch Nails.

Jimmy Eat World has played many venues all over the world, from the majestic Red Rocks in Colorado, to the enormous music festivals such as Kaaboo Del Mar in San Diego and the massive Rock am Ring in Germany. They can, and do, sell out massive amphitheaters, and yet they appear to still be in awe when they return to their hometown and play a concert in a cozy venue such as the Crescent Ballroom.

Saw some old friends. Made some new friends. Pretty solid afternoon. 🙏@rockamringofficial #rockamring

Posted by Jimmy Eat World on Friday, June 1, 2018


The respect they have for the fans could be witnessed multiple times throughout the night. After “Bleed American” Jim asked the audience to give themselves a hand because “That was really cool!”. Later on he would thank the Crescent Ballroom for allowing them to play, and announced, “We’ll be on Jimmy Kimmel next Thursday! Is it Thursday? It might be Thursday.” As the last notes of “The Middle” were still fading away, members of the band shook the hands of the fans in the front of the stage, gave some high fives, and thanked everyone for coming out again.

One of the coolest parts of the night did not happen on stage. Rather, it happened by the merch booth, where Adkins stood and took pictures and talked to fans up until the point Gabriel Sullivan took the stage. Jimmy Eat World came from a Phoenix music scene that was rough in the 90s, and rose to the top of the nationwide charts. However, as this show proved, they have not and will never forget their roots. This show was a love letter of sorts, a thank you to the fans in their hometown.

There will be a Surviving listening event on October 18, with a Zia Records/Jimmy Eat World pop-up shop, while DJ Chelsey Louise (of Fairy Bones) spins emo classics at Arizona Wilderness. Don’t miss it!

It’s finally here. Can’t wait for you guys to give this a spin. #Surviving #vinyl https://smarturl.it/Surviving

Posted by Jimmy Eat World on Wednesday, October 9, 2019