My Experience/Meeting Sum 41/Interview WARNING VERY LONG!!!
Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 1:59 am
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Well, well, well where do I start? Let me just put it this way, if you were debating on going to see Sum 41 this tour and you missed them, you made a bad choice! Lets start from the first concert…
11/14/12 Irving Plaza New York, New York
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This was my first time seeing Sum 41 and the doors opened at 8 at night. I drove 120 miles (one way) to see them. Well I got there at 10 in the morning. Yes 10 hours early. Let me tell you, it was not warm! The sun only came out for like 5 hours and the buildings were so tall that the sun barely touched the ground. I was freezing the whole time. There was only one other kid with me (he came at 11:00). It wasn’t until 2:30 that the next kid came. I thought I would be like the fifth on there, but there weren’t many people until 6:30 at night. I just ordered normal tickets, but apparently if you ordered the VIP you got in earlier. I was so pissed because the people that had VIP tickets got there around 7 at night. I was trying to get the security guard to let me in before them. He wanted to because of what I did to get there and how early I was, but he couldn’t. Well there were maybe 30 VIP people.
This is just the beginning of the line around 7:15...
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Once I was let in I pushed my way straight to the front next to the kid I waited with since 11. I wanted to take a look at the merch and when I saw there was a signed drum head I bought it! I had the one merch guy from another band hold it and the shirts I got because I didn’t want that to get damaged during the concert. The concert was beyond amazing. I sang along to every song, and when Deryck was choosing people to go onstage guess who got picked first? Yes, me! I’m still trying to find a youtube video of it but not many were uploaded from that concert which sucks! I stood onstage for almost the whole set right next to Cone. Once we had to go down, I stood as close to the front as I could. After the concert was over the body guard that I saw outside asked if I got a pick. I said no, and he gave me Cone’s pick. I thanked him, and he said I deserved it for waiting so long.
Now came the wait to meet the band. I knew what their bus looked like thanks to Chad (Resident Skumfuk) for telling me! I kept an eye out while I was waiting outside before the concert, but they weren’t coming out. I saw Deryck’s girlfriend, Arianna, and she was really nice. I just had a normal conversation with her. I did ask if it’s awkward always hearing about Avril and she said it wasn’t because they all hangout (Her, Deryck, Avril, and Chad). Well after 2 hours of waiting outside they come out. There were only 8 people, including me, that waited. It was 2:30 in the morning! I saw Tom first and asked if he could throw me a pick tomorrow, well he just reached in his pocket and gave me one!! I thanked him a lot. I had them all sign my big poster I had made of them, well come to find out my marker dried up because of the cold. I got pictures of everyone, but I was like a zombie in them because I was so tired. I gave Deryck a letter I wrote him, and told the band I would see them tomorrow. It was a good 2 hour drive home, and I was falling asleep on the drive back which wasn’t good. I got home around 5 in the morning.
The pictures I took when I was onstage (these pictures weren't zoomed in at all)...
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Meeting the band for the first time (and yes I know I look like Eminem, I get that a lot!)...
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11/15/12 Theater of Living Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Well I woke up around 8:30 so I only had about 3 hours of sleep. Took a quick shower and made sure I was wearing the same jersey as the night before. That way I knew they would remember me. I got there around 10:30, this time only 8 ½ hours early lol! I got there so early the band wasn’t there yet. They ended up coming around 11:30/12. I started to try to get to know some of the crew people. I knew they recognized me from the night before. First was the Merch guy, Nick. Awesome guy! I asked if he remembered me and he told me exactly what I got the night before, I was shocked! I then started talking to their bus driver, Josh. He was a cool guy and it was his first time working for Sum 41. Well I was letting the crew do their thing while I was waiting. Next thing I hear is someone talking to Josh saying, “Look I can’t get you a ride to the hotel until 3.” I said to them, “Hey I’m not doing anything, I’ll take him if you want me to” Well I was actually talking to Dan, the tour manager/Steve’s drum tec. He was hesitant and asked what I wanted. I said a drum stick from Steve, a pick from Deryck, and just to take a few pictures because the ones from the night before were blurry. Right away he said, “Done. You got it.” Come to find out Deryck’s guitar tech, Larry, came with us because there were packages at the hotel. Obviously they weren’t under Sum 41, but rather the bus driver’s name. I brought Larry back and helped bring in the packages. I couldn’t stay in there because the employees that worked there were being dicks. I then saw Cone and Tom and they remembered me from last night. I just shook their hands and let them be. I also saw Steve and he remembered me too! I stood outside waiting where I thought the line started because I asked everyone that worked there who came out if this was where the line was and they said yes. It actually started down the road near an alley. I said to the group of kids there before me that I was there since 10:30 and they let me in front of them. I saw Deryck walking with Arianna and just said hi to them. She actually remembered me too!
The concert was pretty good, but I didn’t think the crowd was really into it. A lot of young kids and not many knew the songs off Does This Look Infected. After the concert I again waited outside, but this time I talked to Josh a little longer. There were atleast 15 kids this time, and I think maybe 4 knew the band member’s names. Steve literally walked right past all the kids and went into the bus. I said, “Hey Steve do you know you walked past all those kids and they didn’t even recognize you?!” He said, “It cause of the glasses,” I said, “No, it’s because they don’t know who you are!” He laughed and went into the bus, just to come out a minute later with a drum stick! He said, “Here, I heard you wanted one.” I was in shock, thanked him, and got a picture with him. I then saw Tom and Cone, got pictures of them, and said they did an awesome job. I then saw Deryck coming with Arianna. I heard her say to him, “This is the kid I was talking about.” Deryck then said to me, “Hey man, I heard you wanted a pick.” And he gave me one personally! I was so happy! I said, “I got this for you Deryck, I hope you enjoy it” It was a bottle of Jack Daniels. I had him sign my poster and then my arm near my Sum 41 tattoo. I said that I was going to get his signature tattooed. He pulled back and said, “Are you sure?” I said, “If you read my letter I wrote you, you’ll know why.” He told me it’s on the tour bus, but he didn’t get a chance to read it yet. I then had Larry, and Den (Cone and Tom’s guitar tech) give me picks. I got like 5 of Deryck’s, 5 of Cone’s (one that he hasn’t used in a long time), and 2 of Toms that are glow in the dark that he rarely uses) I thanked them so much, but they just kept thanking me for helping them. I said I would see them next week in New Jersey. The next day I went to a tattoo parlor and got my arm tattooed.
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Here's what the tattoo looked like after Deryck signed my arm...
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11/25/12 The Stone Pony Ashbury Park, NJ
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This concert was supposed to be at the Starland Ballroom, but due to the hurricane they had to relocate. Since the venue is like ¼ mile from the beach it was much colder. I dressed the same way as the other two concerts. I got there a little later, 11:30 AM. Only 7 ½ hours early this time! I was cold, but the bus was right in front of the venue the whole time. I saw Larry, Dan, Andrew (Sum’s body guard), Nick, and Josh. They all remembered me and I had some small talk with them. The band mainly stood in the tour bus, but there were more kids that knew who Sum 41 were at this concert. There were actually (I think) 2 people from this site that I saw there! Sorry I forgot your names though! This was the smallest venue out of the three I saw them play in. They actually didn’t play the album in full, but they did do Sick of Everyone. Probably because I kept screaming it at every concert when Deryck would say, “Sick of you, sick of you, sick of you, and sick of you.” I would then scream out “SICK OF EVERYONE!” I actually got him to laugh in Philly when I said it. I was shocked they played it. Sum 41 only ended up playing for about an hour and a half, but it was the most intense of the three concerts. New Jersey knows how to bring it! I waited outside once again for 2 hours. Sum 41 were eating next store, and everyone was around the door. I just waited by their bus. You have to give them space, they’re just normal people. That’s what I was saying to Andrew. He said he appreciated me being a dedicated fan, but not a crazy one. They came out signed stuff and took pictures with everyone. Well I still waited near their bus. Around 1:15, in the morning, is when Steve came out. He was shocked I was still there. I told him I didn’t want to bother him while he was eating. He thanked me for that. I actually had a nice conversation with him. Here’s what’s up with Sum 41…
• They’re doing the west coast shows, then Australia, and then they’re going to do a Canadian tour with Billy Talent until April. (He asked me if I knew who they were, and I said duh, they’re awesome! And he laughed)
• After that they are going to take a break (about a year or so) for downtime. I said that’s normal because you need time to relax and recuperate. After that, they are going to work on a new record. He says Deryck has some ideas, but there’s not much done right now.
• I asked why they’re not playing Thanks For Nothing on the tour. Steve says it’s because of two things. One the band is actually sick. Tom and Deryck have a cold and Steve’s shoulder is hurting him. He also says it’s because the song is really high for Deryck to sing. Steve doesn’t mind singing it. He said they rather play Pieces than Thanks For Nothing.
• I then asked about Blood In My Eyes Acoustic Version. He said Deryck has it on his computer and that it sounds pretty cool. I asked why they won’t release it, it’s not like they’re with Island anymore. He said they’re going to, they just don’t know when. I asked if they would release more stuff since they’re independent. I mentioned Blink was independent and that they were releasing an EP. Steve said they’re planning on doing something, but doesn’t know when. So don’t expect too much.
• There’s not going to be any more music videos for Screaming Bloody Murder.
It was pretty awesome for him to stand out there with me and answer my questions. I had him sign my ticket. This time I made sure I kept the sharpie warm. Then Cone came out. He signed my ticket and I thanked him for an awesome time, but he thanked me for coming to the shows. Tom signed the ticket next, and asked if I was cold. I said duh, but it’s worth it. Lastly Deryck came out. His voice was shot, but I didn’t mind. He signed my ticket, and I asked if he remembered me. He said, “Yea, you gave me the Jack.” I asked if he read my letter and he said he did, and he appreciated it very much. I had Andrew take a picture but he didn’t focus the camera and his finger got in the way which kinda sucked. I finally left, feeling happier than I’ve ever felt in my life. Not only did I get to see my favorite band play, but I saw them play three times and I met the band all three times!
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This is everything I got from the band after all the shows...
This Deryck pick is the one he personally gave me
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I calculated it, I waited outside 26 hours before the shows, and 5 hours after the show. 31 hours outside in the cold. Was it worth it? Heck yes it was! Sadly it caught up with me and I’m sick now, but if I had the chance to do it all over again I wouldn’t change a thing! Well maybe bring a heater! This is probably the longest review about a show so whoever actually read this kudos!