Jersey Calling – DREAM TOUR

In this Dream Tour segment, the alternative rock band, Jersey Calling, reveals who they would want on their ultimate tour lineup. You can check out their picks, after the break.

Hey, we’re JERSEY CALLING from the Garden State, and we’ve often thought about who we’d love to open for on a dream tour…

Operation Ivy: Though now defunct, with most of their members moving on to form Rancid, Operation Ivy was a band whose influence can be heard in most of the music we enjoy, and they kickstarted the Bay Area punk scene that blew up in the early 90s. We’d love to talk about song-writing with powerhouse vocalist Jesse Michaels and guitarist “Lint,” aka punk legend Tim Armstrong. Not to mention, it’d be cool for our bass player to meet one of his heroes, Matt Freeman, whose bass playing influence can be heard in the punchy rhythm of our own songs. We’ve always loved their music recorded, and it’d be a dream come true to see those songs come to life onstage.

Less Than Jake: These guys are a party on stage, and we’ve even met a few of them up in Boston back when they played a show in the early 2000s there. They’re so relatable and down to earth, so it seems like they’d be an awesome band to tour with, plus their music shaped so much of our own songwriting and overall world-view. Half of us have tattoos inspired by their lyrics and albums. Also, while playing the kind of pop/punk/rock that we love playing, sometimes you just crave the big sound that horns can bring to a song, and Less Than Jake’s horn section brings another layer to their music. Everyone has days when they feel down, and their upbeat ska music would be the perfect pick-me-up on a long tour.

NOFX: Speaking of pick-me-up, NOFX’s show is part punk rock, part comedy gold. While they might also be a liability with some of their antics (as seen in their show, Backstage Passport), there’s nothing wrong with a little adventure on the road. We’ve always been influenced by their devil-may-care attitude about their songwriting, and it brought us to the realization that there is only one audience that our music needs to appeal to: us. Having fans who appreciate your music is amazing, don’t get us wrong, but in the end, you’re the one who has to play the songs over and over again, so it’s probably best that you’re playing something that you like. If you’re doing that, then you’ve already succeeded. Plus, we’d love to try and convince them to play “The Decline,” their 18-minute magnum opus, at one of our shows.

Keep up with the band on Facebook and Instagram.