Attention: Bands who... (edited version)

Attention: 

Bands who join annoying battle of the band contests and nag your closest friends and family members, maybe even strangers, into voting for you so that you can have an ill placed sense of accomplishment... or believe that somehow this will bring you closer to your dream... ...
                   Heck~!
What. The. Fuck~! ...Stop!  
                                                                                                                              
If you spent half the time dedicated to practice and writing... If you took all the energy you use in 
annoying others
promoting your band and put it into some thoughtful, edgy, meaningful, new creative anything from the depth of your soul... you will be heard. 

These disgusting excuses for talent searches don't reward talent, they reward and exploit those who bring the most people to the events. You aren't paid, as if that was even an option... the show promoters are paid. These events are Scams. A type of pyramid scheme. 

                    hecks 
These sick fucks prey on your weakness and take advantage of your dream. And they know what they are doing.  
                                         dummies                                                                                                    dummies
The plan is simple, the winners, or maybe two move on to the next round, with other winners who were very popular in their show and brought out a lot of close friends and family who they talked into it or they "just want to see my kid/buddy succeed." "He's following his dream". The shows rake in t thousands! Big thousands!! 

           dummies                                                dummies
Those winners get together with regional winners, who go on to a semi final round, to a final round, to  the goal... maybe a record deal with some subsidiary or a big show with a celebrity, some endorsement... whatever!                                                                        
                          
                                     do something dumb
If you want to be famous, good luck. If you want to be a musician, then sit in a room by yourself or with your friends and create something new and amazing.And Practice all the time... ALL THE TIME. That is proactive. Going out and getting fans by playing real shows and not looking for shortcuts. That is proactive. Touring on a shoestring budget, paying your dues and sleeping sitting up in a van is a time honored tradition. That is proactive. There is no easy way to follow your dreams.
                      
                             producer want-to-be assholes
                             assholes

Don't let these producer want-to-be's twist your dreams or shape your career... don't let anyone tell you how the "industry" works. The industry is an illusion... ... Be successful on your own. Please.

Red Bacteria Vacuum: The Tour 2012 (Debrief)

Red Bacteria Vacuum California Tour 2012

We received plenty of notice from RBV to begin production on booking and promoting this tour. Unfortunately many venues had never heard of the all girl super group from Japan. After months of stressful emails and phone calls the tour was booked and the dates went up!

The girls were excited about this tour because it was their first international headlining experience. They had never toured the US alone (aside from opening the entire "A Perfect Circle" Us tour in 2011)

6/5 San Francisco

We checked the girls into their hotel and let them rest up. Tom and I ran around  San Francisco tying up all of the loose ends. At 7pm we had a welcome dinner for the band at Kyoto Sushi (our "go to" spot for welcoming bands). Dinner was great, we invited Tom Gatewood (of Robot Octopus) Chris Mayrena (Hyper Raje Records) The Coo Coo Birds (musicians opening SF show) and Alicia (SSP coordinator). RBV invited a few friends too :) Dinner ended and then… to the bars. The girls are very friendly and so even though there wasn't a show, they made friends with everyone and turned a regular Tuesday at a dive bar into a dance party!

6/6 San Francisco

The show at Broadway studios was great. We had hoped for a better turnout, but never a better crowd! The venue management tried to take control of the show, but luckily we had a great promoter, Scott, to talk them down! The show was great, with opening sets from The Thunders, and the Coo Coo Birds. The after-party was pretty wild ( I hear) I went home to bed, because I take the first driving shift to LA in the morning.

6/7 LA

We get down to LA in 6 hours with just a few stops. We are so tired from the drive and the night before that we check into the hotel and take a power nap. Then we're up and to the venue. Amplyfi is a great spot run by Kota. An inmate venue gave us the opportunity to hang out and meet everyone comfortably. The turnout was fantastic, and we had the chance to meet our new friends from One High Five and of course many old friends. The after party was small at location we like to go to after the Pillows tours… we ate and drank and caught up with old friends. Then to the hotel for sleep? No… one more beer and about an hour of a laughing fit! Maybe a gas leak?! Then bed.

6/8 San Diego

The drive to San Diego took a long time. Traffic was terrible the whole way down. We quickly realized this would be a problem for our San Diego show. The show was early, we barely had a chance to drop our gear off at the hotel before we had to be at the venue, Bar 11. Ziggy, our San Diego promoter met us with open arms and we set up. He agreed that the turnout would be slim due to the traffic and time of show. We played the show just the same to a group of no more than 15 people. RBV melted their faces anyway! Luckily for us a friend of Ziggy's had a show later in the evening and invited us to join the performance. The girls quickly agreed. We broke down our gear, thanked Ziggy, and headed to The Tower Bar. We didn't have time to promote, we were just  hoping that Friday night would bring a large audience… and it did! The place became packed, and all the bands were in great form. Aside from some very drunk and persistent concert goers, the show was a huge success and a redemption from our ill-fated Bar 11 spot. The crowd couldn't get enough of the band and we had to wait in the venue until 3am to leave. Tom and I woke up early to bring Esal (All Ages drummer) to the airport. He had a previous commitment show in San Francisco, and would drive down to San Louis Obispo to join us at The Z.

6/9 San Louis Obispo

The drive up the 101 was beautiful! We arrived in town a few hours early and went straight to the hotel. We got a call from Esal, there was a problem with rent-a-car place. Time was ticking and we had to find a solution. Tom and I became stressed and took a nap. We woke up to head to the venue with messages from Esal saying he was on his way. His good friend agreed to drive him 4 hours down to SLO. We got to the venue and met the players in Derailed and Blind Story who opened the show! We also picked up a great article written for the girls to announce their show. We have to thank John for setting everything up!! What can we say, this was the perfect place to end the tour. The audience was spectacular, and just the type of people we love to hang out with. The night turned into a party of it's own. There was singing, dancing, and drinking until 2am… when we had to pry the girls away from all the lonely boys and get them back to the hotel.

6/10-6/12 San Francisco

We got back to SF in time for the girls to make an appearance in Japan Town to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. 

Later we met up with Tom of Robot Octopus to begin planning and shooting a new music video for Red Bacteria Vacuum. Shooting continued into the late night on Monday. Today is Tuesday, the girls are shopping and Tom and I are debriefing our team. Tonight is our goodbye dinner… Tomorrow RBV heads back to Japan, with their first headlining tour in the United States under their belt. 

We are just happy to come home safe and we are pleased to have seen our friends again. Now, back to the office to plan the next tour… who will it be for? … tba

Red Bacteria Vacuum Tour 2012

The amazing Red Bacteria Vacuum from Japan are coming to play select dates in California. The girls are fresh of their tour with "A Perfect Circle" and will be playing San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and a special event in Fresno. 

Featuring the always over-the-top antics of San Francisco rock band "All Ages" 

June 6th, 2012 San Francisco, CA Broadway Studios

June 7th, 2012 Los Angeles, CA   Amplyfi

June 8th, 2012 San Diego, CA      Bar 11

June 9th, 2012 Fresno, CA        Geek Jam (all ages event)

Music Video "Words of Love"

We've just released "Words of Love" the video and single...

All Ages was on tour in Japan when the earthquake and tsunami hit. We had to cancel our shows and came back to the US. Frustrated, Inspired and Hopeful, we began the Words of Love charity in which we collected thousands of signatures and little notes from people in more than 15 languages. Over the 6 weeks of charity we were able to fill more than 60 yards of banner with beautiful, hopeful and encouraging words of love. This song was inspired by the humanity shown in Japan and by all who participated in the US.
Once the banners were full, we returned to Sendai and delivered the banners. Your kindness has given strength to millions!

Watch Video

Download Single

All Ages N.A.P. Tour Set-List

The N.A.P. ~utatane~ Tour 2011

All Ages and Shameless Self Productions prepared 3 months in advance for the N.A.P. tour with The Pillows and All Ages... we slept in 3-4 hour shifts, worked side jobs, rehearsed, reworked and rebuilt over a long 2011 summer... only to find now, the tour has ended... and it has been worth the entire struggle.

The greatest pleasure I have known, being unmarried and not having children, has been touring with the Pillows and noodles from Tokyo.

The tour began in Los Angeles at The El Rey theater. This wasn't our first time to performing to such a beautiful house and more than 650 people, we were nervous however that Sawao and Manabe both stood side stage during our sound check. They chuckled at Tom and my banter, and enjoyed the freedom we have with our wireless systems... both of us love doing a long run of the venue with our guitars on!

Next we hit home, San Francisco's SLIMS! Thanks to everyone who came, we felt home, and we felt as we always do, that San Francisco is a second home for The Pillows and noodles who frequently come to SF to record, play, or just hang out! Our best friend here and designer for Shameless Self, Tom Gatewood a.k.a. RobotOctopus (www.robotoctopus.com) helped us with our final two songs Tsubasa and Class Ring.

Then, for us, the long drive to Seattle. The Pillows and noodles flew :) We arrived in Seattle much later than the rest of the group... so we decided to go grab a bite to eat... on the way, we see a familiar bunch coming back from a baseball game! They were tired, but agreed to meet up for a nightcap! The show was at El Corazon, a much smaller and intimate venue... very cool for us, but not quite what the Pillows expected... turns out, the crowd was amazing and the Pillows quickly decided that the venue was perfect!!

Here we said goodbye to our West Coast Staff and flew to New York. We were met by SSP staff at the airport, my brothers, Matt and Mark (tour manager for 2011 US and Japan tour). We played at the Gramercy Theater, once the Blender theater. This venue was huge!! This was the first time we ever saw such a large space... and full :) All Ages was very well received... we even heard a "We love you like we love the Pillows!" nice!! There we met a few great people, two of whom flew from Chicago... and others from surrounding New England and PA. Sawao came up to us after the show and made it a point to tell us how great the set was, and that he had a great time watching and listening to our set. COOL!

Finally, Austin... some part of me remained there! The venue, Speakeasy, a testament to the amazing music scene in Austin!! The show was amazing, great energy from the crowd, and all 3 bands gave their extra push...

The next morning Tom and I saw the bands off... It was difficult to watch them go, but we know they will come back and we will be on a tour of Japan in the Spring!

All in All, I have to say to those who can... quit your job, take up your art and pursue. Don't give up, ever... We may not have made much money or become famous and... almost no groupies!! But the experience is priceless... The life we live is our own.

NAP Tour 2011- LA @ The El Rey

We are back in San Francisco for tonights show at SLIMS with The Pillows and Noodles. The SSP production team in LA helped pull off a smooth and organized show. The Pillows and Noodles were fantastic and All Ages had a blast!!! We had a great time and were so happy to be so well received. Thank you to all the Pillows fans and friends who made us feel so welcome!! Peace, Love and Music.

Derrik