Dispatches: Outbreak: Episode 1

Hardcore outfit Outbreak has hit the road with fellow east coasters, A Wihelm Scream. They'll be updating us when possible, and tonight we bring you the first installment. The band is supporting their self-titled release from last year.

Click Read More for Episode 1.

Tour got off to a smooth start when I realized I left my passport at home. You now need a passport to get into Canada, so I was pretty stoked that I decided to leave it behind. Luckily we were leaving for Canada a day early, so I had time to have it overnighted to the border (thanks, Brooke). I'm usually not a very forgetful guy so it was an embarrassing way to kick things off. Oh, and before this I managed to get not one, but TWO flat tires on the way to our drummers house for rehearsal. Maybe the gods are trying to tell me that it's a bad idea to go on this tour. Hopefully I make it out alive.

After a very long stop at customs (2+ hours) we made into the great white north. Erik and Billy already knew the Wilhelm guys, and the rest of us got acquainted before a decent kickoff show in Toronto. The crowd was relatively tame, but we've never really been a band concerned with crowd response - we'll have fun regardless if anyone is with us. Wilhelm blew me away. It was my first time seeing them and I'm so stoked to be out on the road with them. Nice guys too. Some of the Comeback Kid guys were in town recording their new record (which is probably going to be really awesome) so it was cool to catch up with them for a bit.

We hit a local bar/restaurant after the show called "Sneaky Dees". The menu was not very tour-budget friendly, but luckily they had a daily special. For 7 bucks I put down a grilled chicken sandwich with a disgusting amount of fries. Good stuff! Actually it kind of sucked, but for 7 dollars it was a damn good deal. Most of the guys stayed for drinks, and myself and Brian (the non-drinking losers) watched the new South Park and passed out.

Day two was a weird one. Things started off good with a quick visit of the Niagara Falls…but then things went in a different direction when a junkie hopped in our van, grabbed our GPS and started running down the streets of St Catherine. Billy was the only one in the van at the time, so he chased him down the street. He took note of the building he was hiding in, called the rest of us over, and we all scrambled down the street frantically. It was kind of like that scene in Reservoir Dogs when the guys are running down the street and the cops are chasing them in broad daylight amongst all the innocent bystanders…except instead of robbing a bank, the guy robbed our GPS, so not quite as cool. Plus no one was shot. We confronted the guy in the methadone clinic he was hiding in, made a minor scene, and got our GPS back.

The St Catherine show itself was a fun time. Awful sound, but an otherwise cool venue. Things got pretty wild during our set too. The center monitor (including the table holding it up) was knocked over and it looked like a trainwreck of bodies that went down with it. These guys know how to party!

Alright, that's all I can think of for now. Congratulations if you read this far. More updates to come. Sorry for the shitty quality of most of the pictures, they were taken with my phone. Oh, and listen to the new Menzingers record when it comes out - it will be your favorite record of 2010, I promise.