Sequel: The Cave ›
This City, So Pretty
Dallas, TX
(June 24, 2011 8:00am)
„Ahh, smell that fresh warped air.“ Alex said.
We were walking around looking at the venue. The place didn't open until 11:00am so we had time to figure everything out.
„Are you guys nervous?“ Rian said.
„Nah, not really. We're pretty chilled.“ Joey said.
My brother introduced us to a few bands that they were good friends with and we really connected. We heard that we were also the youngest band here along with another band called The Bots.
„We all get free vans. You know that right?“ Alex said to me.
„Really?“ I said.
„Yeah, follow me.“ Alex lead the guys and i to this huge area filled with boxes of vans shoes.
„Help your selves.“ Alex said, „I already got me some.“
„How many are we allowed to get?“ Cole asked.
„I think up to 6.“ Alex said.
We went and picked out our shoes, taking them back to the bus. Cole got his cousin Brian some too.
"Micah, how would you like your first job?" Jason asked.
"All depends." Micah laughed.
"Wanna be our merch guy?" Jason asked.
"Sure. Do i get paid?" He asked.
"Of course. We'll work out a steady pay thing with Mark later." Jason told him.
„What time do you guys go on?“ Alex asked me.
„12:15am at the ernie ball stage.“ I said.
„Ah so right by the entrance.“ He said.
„Yep.“
„You're gonna do great.“ He said putting my arm around my shoulders.
„Thanks bro.“ I smiled. „I'm glad that my first tour is with you.“
„Glad to be here Nat.“
(12:00am)
„Alright guys, you ready?“ Joey asked.
„Yeah.“ We all said.
„We're gonna fucking wail!“ Cole said.
We started doing pre warm ups and vocal warm ups as some crew people hooked us up with wireless PA's. Soon, we walked onstage. There were a whole lot more people there then what i expected. But we did get close to 50,000 votes on the battle of the bands website. I'd have to say that there were maybe 1,400 people out in the crowd.
„Hey, we're Enemy1Three!“ Cole said. People cheered.
„This song is called Punk rock's not dead!“ I said.
We started and seen we had a pit going, which pumped us up so much. We were aloud to play about 5 songs which we filled with only our best 'get up and fucking mosh' songs.
„Make sure to check us out at our tent right by the kevin's says stage. We'll be hanging out there most of the day.“ I said.
We walked off stage and got our pa's off and went over to our tent that had our merch and cd's at. Micah is going to be our merch guy.
„I sold a bunch of shit already guys.“ He smiled.
„That's amazing.“ I said.
„Gas money.“ Joey sang. We laughed.
We sat down with him and had people line up for pictures and autographs and buy stuff. They told us we were one of the best bands on warped which made us feel pretty good.
„I'm going to get us some pizza at the papa johns.“ Micah said.
We thanked him and he went out into the crowd of people. He brought it back and we ate and chilled with the fans and the bands that had tents close to us.
I don't think most people realized that i was Alex's little sister, which was good. Because most of my life, i was always, oh that's alex's sister. Not natalie. And i'm glad they don't refer to me as that. Especially since my brother got famous.
„Hey guys, come hang with us in the VIP area.“ Rian said coming up to our tent.
Micah stayed behind as the guys and i followed Ri to the VIP area. Which i didn't know warped had. There were some bands under the tent, some big name bands.
„Oh my god.“ I said, trying to contain myself. There, in front of my very eyes, was A Day To Remember.
„Oh no.“ Joey said, knowing how i feel about them. It took all i could to not squel.
„Hey Nat, guess whose here.“ Alex smiled.
„I know.“ I said smiling.
„You want to meet them?“ He asked.
„That's a stupid question.“ Jason said laughing. Alex led us over to where they were sitting at a table.
„Hey guys.“ Alex said.
„Hey Alex, what's going on man?“ Jeremy said.
„Not much. This is my little sister Nat, and those guys are Jason, Joey, and Cole. They're huge fans.“ Alex said.
„Oh right, you guys are in that band Enemy1Three. You can rock.“ Alex S. smiled.
„Thanks.“ Cole said.
„So, i had no idea you were Alex's little sister. Following the steps of your bro huh?“ Jeremy asked.
„Somewhat. We both grew up with a passion for music but he took it that extra step. I was just a little kid.“ I said.
„How old are you?“ Kevin asked.
„16. Alex is 6 years older than me.“ I said.
„Wow.“ Alex S. Said. We all sat down and talked about a lot of interesting stuff.
„You don't look 16 at all. More like early 20's.“ Neil smiled. I tried to hide my blush. I had a huge crush on him.
„Hey we should get going alex, it's almost our spot.“ Rian said coming over.
„Ok, you guys wanna come watch?“ Alex asked me.
„No, im good.“ I said smiling at Neil. Alex pulled my arm away from them.
"Dude what the hell?" I said, pissed off.
"Don't flirt with them Nat." Alex said.
"I wasn't." I smiled.
Jason, Cole, Joey, and i followed them to mainstage and went sidestage to watch. They did really good. They played a lot of their new songs from Dirty Work. My personal favorite from that album is Time Bomb. Probably only because i helped in the studio on that one. Alex's favorite is under a paper moon. I was walking toward the tent when i bumped into someone.
„Oh, sorry.“ I said turning to see it was Neil.
„Oh hey, Alex's sister. Nat.“ He smiled.
„Yeah, hi.“ I smiled like an idiot. (This probably sounds so redundant)
„So, where are you headed?“ He asked.
„I was just gonna go to my booth and hang out.“ I said.
"Well then i'll catch you later at lunch. Bye.“ He smiled and headed the opposite direction.
I had a little mental freak out on the way to the tent. There were people lined up meeting the guys. I showed up and was swarmed as well.
„I didn't know we were so popular.“ I said.
"Guys, you got the wrong booth!" Joey yelled, smiling.
„You guys are the best band ever.“ Some guy yelled. That made us smile.
„And you guys are the best fans ever.“ Cole yelled. The little crowd of people cheered.
(2 hours later)
„Mmmm, barbaque foods.“ Cole said, smelling his hot dog before putting it on his plate.
„You're strange brody.“ I laughed.
„Hey Nat.“ I turned to see Neil signaling me to come sit with him and some other people at a table. Cole followed me and we sat down.
„How was your time at your booth?“ He asked.
„Overwelming.“ I said.
„Lots of fans.“ Cole said.
„That's cool.“ Neil smiled. „We get swarmed like that all the time. Especially this year. You'll get used to it.“
Cole and i chilled with him and talked it up, learning a lot about warped and touring in general.
„It's really amazing that you guys aren't even signed yet and you have a huge fan base. Back in 2008, we played for like 200 fans and we already had like three albums out.“ Neil laughed.
„We haven't even released an album.“ Cole said.
„We use social networks.“ I told him. „I guess that was enough. But we are working to get in the studio after warped this summer.“
"I'd be the first to buy your album." He smiled.
„Aweome bro. We'll send you a copy.“ Cole said. We finished up our meal and started walking.
„So, you guys got a bus or a van?“ Neil asked.
„A bus.“ Cole said.
„I wasn't into the whole riding in a van with four dudes for two months.“ I said.
„I completly understand. I've had my share of life on the road in a van. It's a stink bomb.“ He laughed.
„That's our bus right over there.“ Cole said, pointing to the left of us.
„Sweet, looks awesome. Ours is the black and red one right over there. You're welcome anytime.“ Neil said.
„Cool. Same here.“ Cole said.
„Hey! There you are.“ Alex said, jogging up to me.
„Hey bro.“ I said.
„Where were you at the barbaque?“ He asked.
„I uh, sat with Cole and Neil.“ I said.
„Oh, that's cool. Well, are you gonna come hang out with the guys and me?“
„Sure i guess. I'll be right there.“ I said. He started to his bus.
„Well, are you gonna be playing Houston tomorrow?“ Neil asked.
„Yeah.“ I told him.
„I'll see ya there.“ He smiled, going to his bus. I smiled like a freak on the way to my brother's bus.
„Dude you totally love him.“ Cole smiled.
„I sure do. But, there's no way i would be able to date him.“ I said.
„Why not?“ He asked.
„He's 24 Cole.“ I said.
„Hey, so what dude. If you like him, you like him.“ We sat down on the ground by the bus.
„I do like him. But i think it's just a phase. Just forget it.“ I said, about to get up.
„Wait, sit down.“ Cole said. I sighed and plopped back down.
„Look, if it's Alex you're worried about. Don't worry about him. Yeah he's gonna be pissed off but he's your brother. If you really like Neil, you like him. I can tell he likes you.“ Cole smiled.
„Really?“ I asked.
„Of course. I'm not completly dumb, despite what my brothers say.“ He said. I laughed.
„No you're not Cole. Thanks.“ I said, hugging him. We stood up and walked on the bus. Everyone stumbled and looked at us weird.
„Were you guys watching us?“ Cole asked.
„No!“ Jack yelled.
„Yeah, you were.“ I said.
„We didn't hear anything.“ Alex said.
„Ok.“ I said, getting a coke from the fridge. I sat down next to Rian. Cole looked at me weird.
„What bro?“ I asked.
„Are you gonna talk about it?“ He asked. My eyes got wide.
„Not yet retard.“ I said. He laughed.
„Talk about what?“ Alex asked.
„Nothing.“ I said quickly.
„Tell me!!“ Alex whined.
„Ok. I uh, i um, hurt myself earlier.“ I said.
„Doing what!“ Jack laughed.
„Getting something from the cabinet. A box fell on my head. No big deal.“ Everyone laughed. I smiled.
„I'm glad my pain amuses you all.“ I said.
Wow, they're actually buying it. I need to hold off on telling alex about neil. At least until something happens. Which im hoping for.
„Alright, bus call guys. See you tomorrow.“ Alex said. Cole and i went to our bus where Joey and Micah were asleep in their bunks, Jason was watching tv, and Brian was reading a magazine.
„Sup guys.“ Cole said as we walked on the bus.
„Yo, just in time.“ Brian said looking at his watch. He started up the bus and we headed out to Houston. Cole and i headed to our bunks and went to sleep.
„Ahh, smell that fresh warped air.“ Alex said.
We were walking around looking at the venue. The place didn't open until 11:00am so we had time to figure everything out.
„Are you guys nervous?“ Rian said.
„Nah, not really. We're pretty chilled.“ Joey said.
My brother introduced us to a few bands that they were good friends with and we really connected. We heard that we were also the youngest band here along with another band called The Bots.
„We all get free vans. You know that right?“ Alex said to me.
„Really?“ I said.
„Yeah, follow me.“ Alex lead the guys and i to this huge area filled with boxes of vans shoes.
„Help your selves.“ Alex said, „I already got me some.“
„How many are we allowed to get?“ Cole asked.
„I think up to 6.“ Alex said.
We went and picked out our shoes, taking them back to the bus. Cole got his cousin Brian some too.
"Micah, how would you like your first job?" Jason asked.
"All depends." Micah laughed.
"Wanna be our merch guy?" Jason asked.
"Sure. Do i get paid?" He asked.
"Of course. We'll work out a steady pay thing with Mark later." Jason told him.
„What time do you guys go on?“ Alex asked me.
„12:15am at the ernie ball stage.“ I said.
„Ah so right by the entrance.“ He said.
„Yep.“
„You're gonna do great.“ He said putting my arm around my shoulders.
„Thanks bro.“ I smiled. „I'm glad that my first tour is with you.“
„Glad to be here Nat.“
(12:00am)
„Alright guys, you ready?“ Joey asked.
„Yeah.“ We all said.
„We're gonna fucking wail!“ Cole said.
We started doing pre warm ups and vocal warm ups as some crew people hooked us up with wireless PA's. Soon, we walked onstage. There were a whole lot more people there then what i expected. But we did get close to 50,000 votes on the battle of the bands website. I'd have to say that there were maybe 1,400 people out in the crowd.
„Hey, we're Enemy1Three!“ Cole said. People cheered.
„This song is called Punk rock's not dead!“ I said.
We started and seen we had a pit going, which pumped us up so much. We were aloud to play about 5 songs which we filled with only our best 'get up and fucking mosh' songs.
„Make sure to check us out at our tent right by the kevin's says stage. We'll be hanging out there most of the day.“ I said.
We walked off stage and got our pa's off and went over to our tent that had our merch and cd's at. Micah is going to be our merch guy.
„I sold a bunch of shit already guys.“ He smiled.
„That's amazing.“ I said.
„Gas money.“ Joey sang. We laughed.
We sat down with him and had people line up for pictures and autographs and buy stuff. They told us we were one of the best bands on warped which made us feel pretty good.
„I'm going to get us some pizza at the papa johns.“ Micah said.
We thanked him and he went out into the crowd of people. He brought it back and we ate and chilled with the fans and the bands that had tents close to us.
I don't think most people realized that i was Alex's little sister, which was good. Because most of my life, i was always, oh that's alex's sister. Not natalie. And i'm glad they don't refer to me as that. Especially since my brother got famous.
„Hey guys, come hang with us in the VIP area.“ Rian said coming up to our tent.
Micah stayed behind as the guys and i followed Ri to the VIP area. Which i didn't know warped had. There were some bands under the tent, some big name bands.
„Oh my god.“ I said, trying to contain myself. There, in front of my very eyes, was A Day To Remember.
„Oh no.“ Joey said, knowing how i feel about them. It took all i could to not squel.
„Hey Nat, guess whose here.“ Alex smiled.
„I know.“ I said smiling.
„You want to meet them?“ He asked.
„That's a stupid question.“ Jason said laughing. Alex led us over to where they were sitting at a table.
„Hey guys.“ Alex said.
„Hey Alex, what's going on man?“ Jeremy said.
„Not much. This is my little sister Nat, and those guys are Jason, Joey, and Cole. They're huge fans.“ Alex said.
„Oh right, you guys are in that band Enemy1Three. You can rock.“ Alex S. smiled.
„Thanks.“ Cole said.
„So, i had no idea you were Alex's little sister. Following the steps of your bro huh?“ Jeremy asked.
„Somewhat. We both grew up with a passion for music but he took it that extra step. I was just a little kid.“ I said.
„How old are you?“ Kevin asked.
„16. Alex is 6 years older than me.“ I said.
„Wow.“ Alex S. Said. We all sat down and talked about a lot of interesting stuff.
„You don't look 16 at all. More like early 20's.“ Neil smiled. I tried to hide my blush. I had a huge crush on him.
„Hey we should get going alex, it's almost our spot.“ Rian said coming over.
„Ok, you guys wanna come watch?“ Alex asked me.
„No, im good.“ I said smiling at Neil. Alex pulled my arm away from them.
"Dude what the hell?" I said, pissed off.
"Don't flirt with them Nat." Alex said.
"I wasn't." I smiled.
Jason, Cole, Joey, and i followed them to mainstage and went sidestage to watch. They did really good. They played a lot of their new songs from Dirty Work. My personal favorite from that album is Time Bomb. Probably only because i helped in the studio on that one. Alex's favorite is under a paper moon. I was walking toward the tent when i bumped into someone.
„Oh, sorry.“ I said turning to see it was Neil.
„Oh hey, Alex's sister. Nat.“ He smiled.
„Yeah, hi.“ I smiled like an idiot. (This probably sounds so redundant)
„So, where are you headed?“ He asked.
„I was just gonna go to my booth and hang out.“ I said.
"Well then i'll catch you later at lunch. Bye.“ He smiled and headed the opposite direction.
I had a little mental freak out on the way to the tent. There were people lined up meeting the guys. I showed up and was swarmed as well.
„I didn't know we were so popular.“ I said.
"Guys, you got the wrong booth!" Joey yelled, smiling.
„You guys are the best band ever.“ Some guy yelled. That made us smile.
„And you guys are the best fans ever.“ Cole yelled. The little crowd of people cheered.
(2 hours later)
„Mmmm, barbaque foods.“ Cole said, smelling his hot dog before putting it on his plate.
„You're strange brody.“ I laughed.
„Hey Nat.“ I turned to see Neil signaling me to come sit with him and some other people at a table. Cole followed me and we sat down.
„How was your time at your booth?“ He asked.
„Overwelming.“ I said.
„Lots of fans.“ Cole said.
„That's cool.“ Neil smiled. „We get swarmed like that all the time. Especially this year. You'll get used to it.“
Cole and i chilled with him and talked it up, learning a lot about warped and touring in general.
„It's really amazing that you guys aren't even signed yet and you have a huge fan base. Back in 2008, we played for like 200 fans and we already had like three albums out.“ Neil laughed.
„We haven't even released an album.“ Cole said.
„We use social networks.“ I told him. „I guess that was enough. But we are working to get in the studio after warped this summer.“
"I'd be the first to buy your album." He smiled.
„Aweome bro. We'll send you a copy.“ Cole said. We finished up our meal and started walking.
„So, you guys got a bus or a van?“ Neil asked.
„A bus.“ Cole said.
„I wasn't into the whole riding in a van with four dudes for two months.“ I said.
„I completly understand. I've had my share of life on the road in a van. It's a stink bomb.“ He laughed.
„That's our bus right over there.“ Cole said, pointing to the left of us.
„Sweet, looks awesome. Ours is the black and red one right over there. You're welcome anytime.“ Neil said.
„Cool. Same here.“ Cole said.
„Hey! There you are.“ Alex said, jogging up to me.
„Hey bro.“ I said.
„Where were you at the barbaque?“ He asked.
„I uh, sat with Cole and Neil.“ I said.
„Oh, that's cool. Well, are you gonna come hang out with the guys and me?“
„Sure i guess. I'll be right there.“ I said. He started to his bus.
„Well, are you gonna be playing Houston tomorrow?“ Neil asked.
„Yeah.“ I told him.
„I'll see ya there.“ He smiled, going to his bus. I smiled like a freak on the way to my brother's bus.
„Dude you totally love him.“ Cole smiled.
„I sure do. But, there's no way i would be able to date him.“ I said.
„Why not?“ He asked.
„He's 24 Cole.“ I said.
„Hey, so what dude. If you like him, you like him.“ We sat down on the ground by the bus.
„I do like him. But i think it's just a phase. Just forget it.“ I said, about to get up.
„Wait, sit down.“ Cole said. I sighed and plopped back down.
„Look, if it's Alex you're worried about. Don't worry about him. Yeah he's gonna be pissed off but he's your brother. If you really like Neil, you like him. I can tell he likes you.“ Cole smiled.
„Really?“ I asked.
„Of course. I'm not completly dumb, despite what my brothers say.“ He said. I laughed.
„No you're not Cole. Thanks.“ I said, hugging him. We stood up and walked on the bus. Everyone stumbled and looked at us weird.
„Were you guys watching us?“ Cole asked.
„No!“ Jack yelled.
„Yeah, you were.“ I said.
„We didn't hear anything.“ Alex said.
„Ok.“ I said, getting a coke from the fridge. I sat down next to Rian. Cole looked at me weird.
„What bro?“ I asked.
„Are you gonna talk about it?“ He asked. My eyes got wide.
„Not yet retard.“ I said. He laughed.
„Talk about what?“ Alex asked.
„Nothing.“ I said quickly.
„Tell me!!“ Alex whined.
„Ok. I uh, i um, hurt myself earlier.“ I said.
„Doing what!“ Jack laughed.
„Getting something from the cabinet. A box fell on my head. No big deal.“ Everyone laughed. I smiled.
„I'm glad my pain amuses you all.“ I said.
Wow, they're actually buying it. I need to hold off on telling alex about neil. At least until something happens. Which im hoping for.
„Alright, bus call guys. See you tomorrow.“ Alex said. Cole and i went to our bus where Joey and Micah were asleep in their bunks, Jason was watching tv, and Brian was reading a magazine.
„Sup guys.“ Cole said as we walked on the bus.
„Yo, just in time.“ Brian said looking at his watch. He started up the bus and we headed out to Houston. Cole and i headed to our bunks and went to sleep.