We stayed at an Airbnb in Port Deposit, a small town that reminded me a lot of where I grew up. It was nice seeing a quiet Main Street again. We started the morning with a great breakfast at a little café downtown. With plenty of time to spare before the Philly show, we explored the town for a bit, then drove into the city to kill some more time. We got to Foto Club early and hung out until the venue opened.
Tour Diary
Split Chain: Tour Diary - Day 7 - Washington, DC /
We woke up in Richmond, where we’d crashed for the night, and met up with the guys from Tarantula who dropped off the drum kit at our Airbnb so we could load it into the van. On the way out, we made a Walmart stop—Tom grabbed some Magic The Gathering cards that Bert later cracked open at the venue.
The drive to Union Stage in DC was a short one. After loading in, we took a walk around the city, checking out monuments and talking about how surreal it all feels—especially hearing about it from someone who's not from the U.S.
We eventually made our way back to the venue. As the guys were getting ready to play, the guy handling lights came up and asked Bert and me how we felt about strobes and haze. We told him to have fun with it.
Split Chain: Tour Diary - Day 6 - Raleigh /
Woke up, Packed the van, and rolled out of the Airbnb by noon.
Spent the afternoon in Fayetteville doing laundry and making a pit stop at Guitar Center to grab a new mixer. The guys were just hanging around, throwing a football in the lot while the clothes spun. A couple employees from Family Dollar recognized them and came out for a photo with them—small world.
We made it to Raleigh and hit a Subway for a bite to eat before load-in. I messaged a photographer friend I’d met online to see if he was still down to link up and shoot the set.
During some downtime, I slipped out for a slice with a few of the guys from Dull Mourning, then headed back to Kings.
The crowd tonight reminded me why southern shows hit different—loud, locked in, and just really there with you. Felt like the room was breathing with us.
Split Chain: Tour Diary - Day 5 - Travel Day /
Yesterday was an off day, so we spent a few hours at the beach before hitting the road. Most of the day was a 10-hour drive getting us into North Carolina for the next show, so I didn’t film much on this stretch — but here are some photos from our gas station stops along the way.
Split Chain: Tour Diary - Day 4 - Orlando /
Florida has always held a special place in my heart, and today made it even more special — getting to spend it here with these guys after being away for so long.
We kicked off the day swimming at Daytona Beach before heading to Orlando for the show. Naturally, when it was time to leave, we got the van stuck in the sand thanks to all the gear weighing it down. But in true Florida fashion, a guy with a winch on his Jeep came by and pulled us out.
Once we made it to Will’s Pub, it was a quick load-in so the guys could soundcheck before doors. The venue was awesome — a real community hub, the kind of place I wish I’d had when I was living in the South.
The crowd was incredible. Southern pits always go off — there’s not much else to do down here, so when people show up, they give it everything they've got. It's always so refreshing to see a room explode like that.
Split Chain: Tour Diary - Day 3 - Atlanta /
Running late getting into Atlanta from Kentucky. The guys had a show at The Masquerade opening for Silverstein—a makeup date from the tour that got canceled due to severe weather. .
It was 4:02 PM, doors at 5:30, and still about an hour left on the drive.
We hit Atlanta traffic right around 5 and didn’t pull up till like 15 minutes after doors. As soon as we loaded in, me and Oli ran straight to merch. I started folding down all the shirts into size runs to make it less chaotic, and we managed to sell a few right away.
Once the boys hit the stage, I started running around trying to catch a few different angles. Kids were moshing in the middle of the room, so I ran down from the balcony to try and get in it—but by the time I made it, the pit had closed and the crowd surfers were out. Started filming that instead.
At one point, this tall dude tapped me and was like, “You wanna get on my shoulders to film?” I told him if he could lift me, just launch me to the front. He picked me up and next thing I know, I’m crowd surfing with my camera in the air, filming the whole ride.
Watch Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y-T_QlqDAs
Split Chain: Tour Diary - Day 2 - Louisville (LDB Fest) /
We were on the road by 10 a.m, making the three-hour drive from Columbus to Louisville for LDB Fest. The guys spent most of the ride trying to piece together a setlist, since they only had 20 minutes to play.
As soon as we crossed into Kentucky, the rain started—coming down hard, then easing up, then slamming again all the way to the venue.
Once we got there, we set up the merch table next to a band called Big Ass Truck. Bert immediately hit it off with them, matching drinks like old friends.
The festival flew by, and before we knew it, we were back in the van, inching closer to tomorrow’s destination: Atlanta. After about an hour, we pulled off for Waffle House and found a spot to crash for the night.
Split Chain: Tour Diary - Day 1 - Pittsburgh /
Today kicks off the first day of tour with Split Chain—I’ll be tagging along through May 2nd, documenting the ride as we make our way down the East Coast.
Caught a train to Hoboken to meet up with the guys and load into the van with our driver, Josh—a Canadian from Windsor who honestly could moonlight as a stand-up comic with how funny he is. Once we hit the road, I spent most of the ride with my back on the dash, filming and chatting about music and whatever else came up, usually random tangents.
We looked into booking a cabin for after the show, but quickly realized it didn’t have a bathroom—which, with seven people, was a no-go.
Eventually made it to Preserving Underground in Pittsburgh. Such an amazing spot—really felt like a true community hub, with all kinds of people, young and old, coming together. After the show, we packed up, hit a Walmart for food, and drove on to Ohio to crash so tomorrow’s haul to LDB Fest won’t be as brutal.
Writing this from the van en route to a Days Inn somewhere in Columbus, Ohio—it's 1:28AM, but there's a Waffle House across the street, so I’m not complaining. I brought about 40 rolls of film for the trip, but for these end-of-day posts, I’ll be sharing snapshots from my little Contax digicam.
Just woke up at 6:40AM and found out the Waffle House is to go orders only (horrible).
I was planning to sit there and work on this post, but looks like Waffle House will have to wait for another day.
