Saint Diablo – 1st ROAD BLOG from the “South for the Win-Tour” with Seasons After

The latin metal band, Saint Diablo, is currently on the “South for the Win-Tour” with Seasons After and Everybody Panic. While they’re on the tour, they will be doing an exclusive blog for us. You can check out the first entry, with photos, after the break.

This adventure begins with packing the van and trailer with gear and supplies we will need on the South for the Win-Tour 2015. Fredericksburg, Va. is our launching point for this run, as we will need to pick up the tour on Nov 21st with Seasons After, Everybody Panic!, and Murder Fm in Kansas City, Mo. or “KCMO” as the locals call it. We have a 17 plus hours drive ahead of us.

I (Justin) being the first to drive, start the trek around midnight on Thursday the Nov. 19th, giving ourselves an extra day to get to the first venue and some extra time, in case it is needed, for any unforeseen issues that might arise (trying to be proactive).

As the guys always try and stay awake for as long as they can on night drives, it’s usually not for very long. So, to keep myself awake and aware, I have two Monster energy drinks and am listening to the latest Jamey Jasta podcast.

I get in about 8hrs of driving before I need to stop and sleep. Only after and hour of sleep I am awakened by everyone else needing to use the bathroom and whatnot of the morning goings. Tyler and Tito continue the drive as Brian and I slept most of the way. It is decided to stop and get a hotel room the night before the first show so we are well rested. No one likes to drive for 17+ hours and then jump out the of van to run and play.

As Tito goes to check in, Tyler, Brian and myself go on a pilgrimage to find beer. Lucky for us, Walmart is close by. We also come to find out that this Walmart sells liquor!! Of course, we get stocked on Jäger, Crown and some KC local fav, Hamm’s beer! …Very cheap and pretty tasty for being such!!

As everyone is washing off the last 24hrs., Beers and shots are being had. Nothing like ice cold beer after a long day, right?! Hours later some jackass (Me) thinks it’s a good idea to go ahead and do a live broadcast of our crazy shenanigans. With Tito passed out on the bed, Tyler, Brian and myself turn on Periscope and let it rip! Drinking, getting loud and partying with whoever is watching turned strange and awkward fast. (Something about an ironing board and shot gunning beers… )

First show day at Davey’s Uptown in KCMO. Great little bar and live venue to see music! The stage is up high and it’s a close, intimate room with the crowd. The evening started out slow meeting all the other guys in the bands. But once a few beers at the bar were had, and merch tables getting set up, it was easy to see we were all going to have a great time on this tour!

Loading in was a little challenging, with few places on stage to fit all the back line. Only having one door to load in and out of, all the bands worked together to make it run smooth. Our set for the evening was a little rushed due to a slight change in set times, but nonetheless, we got up there and set it off! Felt good to jam after such a long 2 days of driving… The first one always feels rusty and that maybe we could have done better… But I think we Always want our sets to be our best. If you are not always evolving to want to be better at what you do, to bring a Great show and not just a “good” one, then you are just going through the motions…

We have a 5-hour drive to the next venue in Peoria, IL. We leave KCMO to head out, 30 mins out, stopping to get gas on our mildly short journey. I noticed the trailer we are pulling is leaning slightly to one side (a sight I have seen before). I knew we had a broken leaf spring. I looked up under and sure enough I see the frame resting on the axel (not a good sign). I jump in the van and start looking for a Tractor Supply or Trailer dealership. I find one… 30mins back the direction we just came in!! So back to KCMO we go! At this point it’s 3am, obviously they are not open. So it looks like we sleep in the parking lot till they open at 9am.

Hoping we can get the part, repair it, and drive the whole trip to still make a 3pm load in on a show that “oh yeah” was an early show because it was a Sunday!! WTF?!!

The things the road teaches you is that this is not the first time we have had things like this happen to us. We have toured a lot and when you are a touring band, Murphy’s Law is in a van driving right behind you and it Does catch up to you sometimes. For us, it seems like we can’t escape it.

But with my brothers and a little bit of team work, we crushed it! Got it fixed and made load in at 5pm, which was at a place called Wild Tails. Pulling up to the venue we could hear the opening band playing, so we knew we had to work fast to get unloaded and set up as we were the next band to play! With the help of some stage hands from the venue, we got it all done and ready. We got back in the van real quick to get our “game faces” on. We were ready!

As the shows and days roll by we are finally getting our road legs again. It is always fun to be able to talk with the fans, face to face, getting to hear from them their stories and how they are enjoying the bands and shows. It makes the long drives and countless hours of down time all worth it. Watching the crowds and fans from the stage getting into your songs is the greatest feeling ever!

This tour runs into Thanksgiving, and as the routing has it, we would be rolling through our home town on the holiday. It was wonderful for us to actually be able to spend the day with friends and loved ones. It’s a lot harder being on the road on holidays like that when you can’t be with family. We were fortunate enough to be able to do that and still head out the next day and pick up the tour.

The guys in Seasons After and Everybody Panic have been great and we are looking forward to the dates ahead!!

Keep up with the band on Facebook and Twitter!