propertyofzack:

The Acoustic Basement is one of PropertyOfZack’s favorite additions to Warped Tour in recent years, which is just a small part of the reason why we’re so excited to be sponsoring its satellite tour that kicks off in just two days. There’s an interesting story behind the idea and creation of the Acoustic Basement though, so we thought it’d be a great idea for Editor-in-Chief Erik van Rheenen to speak with Brian Marquis to tell the story of the Basement. Check it all out below! 

This is the story of the Acoustic Basement, but it doesn’t start in the blistering summer heat in the dog days of the Vans Warped Tour. The story of the Acoustic Basement starts with a young Brian Marquis in his own basement, waking up to his dad playing blues guitar at 5 o’clock in the morning.

“I grew up with a father who played the blues on the acoustic guitar and harmonica,” Marquis says. “I used to hate it sometimes, when he played really backwoods stuff. He’d wake me up at 5 a.m. playing the guitar next to my bedroom in the basement.”

As a baby, Marquis would mess around on the harmonica, — he actually focuses on playing it well, now— but it wasn’t until he was 11 that he took up guitar. It wasn’t really the music that allured him — at least not yet, anyways. It was just that, when posing with a guitar, 11-year-old Brian Marquis thought he looked so fucking cool.

“Me and a friend would just hold the guitar in front of the mirror and look badass,” Marquis says, recalling the memory with a laugh. “I took lessons, but I only wanted to play songs, so I stopped and would just try to play along with records or the radio.”

Fast forward to 2010. Marquis’ post-hardcore band, Therefore I Am, just broke up, and Marquis moved to Los Angeles for the scenery. Just before the break-up, Marquis began taking guitar lessons again, this time switching from electric guitar to acoustic. Once the band split and Marquis stopped touring full-time, he started making friends with the Warped Tour production folks. 

During the waning years of Therefore I Am, Marquis realized he needed a creative outlet he could call his own. The band was a democracy: everything from tours to T-shirt designs — down to the simplest chord of a song — was carefully deliberated between the group’s members. Playing acoustic shows was a solitary pleasure for Marquis, and one he takes pride in. “It’s such a simple setup,” he says. “It’s just you and your guitar. There’s something so great in the simplicity of going anywhere with a bag to sing your songs and tell your story.”

Acoustic guitar in tow, Marquis set out to start his solo career, releasing his first acoustic EP, Snow Damage, in November of 2011. He talked to Kevin Lyman, founder of Warped Tour, and threw out his idea: an acoustic tent. Lyman wasn’t sold, since acoustic shows historically flopped on the Warped Tour. So Marquis asked some of his closest friends to go all-in with him on the idea.

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propertyofzack:

PropertyOfZack spoke with Vinnie Caruana a few weeks ago for a great interview. We spoke about his new solo EP, why he decided to release material now, upcoming touring, future release plans for both solo and Avalanche material, and much more. Check it all out below!

Your solo EP was announced just a few days ago with I Surrender Records and Run For Cover Records and you released a new song as well. We knew you were recording something, but how was the initial excitement behind the song, and release in general, been from fans?
It’s pretty cool man. I’m definitely feeling the excitement from people. People have been coming out of the woodwork, being like “I heard the song. I loved it.” It’s a different feeling when it’s your solo thing, you know? It just feels really weird. I was kind of scared to read what people had to say. It’s kind of different.  Like, “I don’t like Vinnie.” Or, “I don’t like I Am The Avalanche.” So I was a little apprehensive about that. But, it’s been really positive and I’m super excited. 

You’ve done solo shows for years now, but what made right now the time to do this?
I had been thinking about doing it for forever. I’d been talking about doing it and slowly writing it. The Avalanche got done touring in July for the record, and I definitely saw this as a window where I could record original music. I wasn’t going to have a release and not tour in support of it so this is just a nice little window between everything that I’m doing, where I can actually pay attention and put the time in or put the effort in to full support the EP. This is it. I’m touring a bunch from February through the summer. And recording the new I Am The Avalanche record in between solo tours. I sit there… I have this really great woman and she manages everything I do and she helps me to plan my year out. Basically to help me structure a year and to be creative throughout the year. 

This is coming out with I Surrender Records, which you’ve done with Avalanche, and now Run For Cover as well. Was there a reason you decided to add Run For Cover and Jeff into the mix?
You know, Run For Cover is, I’d say, among our peers and among our circle of friends, as far as people in the music business and people in the more touring community. They’ve done a lot of good things for a lot of our friends and peers. We got to tour with Jeff when Avalanche took Hostage Calm on the U.K. tour. Jeff came along and I got to know him. We actually started talking about it back then. I knew that doing the vinyl with Jeff would be a really good decision. I know that they work hard to distribute and to advertise their product. They did a really good job. The amount of vinyl that we sold in the last two days is staggering. I know that I made the right decision for the job. 

The last Avalanche record came out years and years after the first one. But with this solo EP, you went in, recorded it, and did same thing with the Peaced Out release. Is it nice to have been able to get something done within a six month span and give it to your fans.
Oh yeah. All these different releases definitely reflect on it. Not officially releasing any music in like five years was crazy and really killing me. This is definitely a result of that. Just going and trying to be as prolific as I can be. 

Is the first song that was released indicative of the rest of the material? 
I think it’s a good representation. I think it was a good solid song to lead with. It kind of varies; the vibes and the dynamic kind of vary and come in and out. Not every song sounds the same. But I think this is a good overall tone to set and to assure people. People who watch me play are probably familiar with the song called “To Be Dead In Love.” That’s a song I’ve been playing for a few years and that’s on there. People think they already know it. The difference between that song and this song is pretty drastic. That’s pretty much the realm that we’re in right now with this EP. 

To support it, you’re headlining along with Geoff Rickly on the Acoustic Basement Tour. You did a good amount of dates for the Basement this summer on Warped Tour. Are you excited to take it on the road in its first year? 
Oh yeah. It’s the most perfect timing. This EP was a thing where we were trying to figure out when the release date was going to be. We got a tour about the tour and it was February 1^st. It was like, “That’s right around the release date, and this could be amazing.” And it all worked out really well. Now I have an EP coming out four days into the tour. The fact that it’s with Geoff too… It’s pretty special to me. Me and Geoff have toured all around the world together. It’s really nice to go and do our thing again together. Everyone else on the tour is close friends. We all were on Warped Tour together. I was actually not on the part that Geoff was on this summer, I missed out on that. But all the other guys, I toured with last summer. Its pretty killer and I think it’s pretty ideal for my situation as far as releasing this EP and having a cool tour to go out and do. 

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propertyofzack:

PropertyOfZack is very excited to be doing a second major contest with all of the bands on the Acoustic Basement Tour that kicks off on February 1st. We’re giving away two tickets to any date of both the Acoustic Basement Tour and Warped Tour in addition to signed CDs and shirts from every band on the bill. The contest will end on January 30th, so find out how to enter below!

To win the Acoustic Basement prize pack you must do each of the following things:

• Follow PropertyOfZack on Tumblr.
• Follow Acoustic Basement on Tumblr.
• Reblog this post on Tumblr. 

Win:

-(2) Tickets to the Acoustic Basement Tour (date of your choice)
-(2) VIP Vans Warped Tour Tickets (date of your choice)
-Geoff Rickly Limited Edition Signed Poster Print
-Vinnie Caruana ‘City by the Sea’ Signed CD + T-Shirt 
-A Loss for Words ‘No Sanctuary’ Signed CD + T-Shirt
-Koji ‘Some Small Way’ Signed CD + T-Shirt
-Brian Marquis ‘Snow Damage’ Signed CD + T-Shirt 

Check out all the dates for the Acoustic Basement Tour below by clicking “Read More.” 

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propertyofzack:

PropertyOfZack is very excited to be doing a major contest with all of the bands on the Acoustic Basement Tour that kicks off on February 1st. We’re giving away two tickets to any date of both the Acoustic Basement Tour and Warped Tour in addition to vinyl and other goodies from every band on the bill. The contest will end on January 23rd, so find out how to enter below!

To win the Acoustic Basement prize pack you must do each of the following things:

• Follow @PropertyOfZack on Twitter.
• Follow @AcousticBSMNT on Twitter.
• Tweet: Want tix to @AcousticBSMNT/@VansWarpedTour + vinyl from the tour? Follow+RT @PropertyOfZack + @AcousticBSMNT to win. http://pozne.ws/X7IvZe

Win:

-(2) Tickets to the Acoustic Basement Tour (date of your choice)
-(2) VIP Vans Warped Tour Tickets (date of your choice)
-Limited Edition Silk Screened Tour Poster Signed by all the Artists
-Geoff Rickly ‘Mixtape 1’ Limited Edition Cassette
-Vinnie Caruana ‘City by the Sea’ Limited Tour Only 12” Vinyl 
-A Loss for Words ‘No Sanctuary’ Limited Edition 12” Vinyl
-Koji / Into It. Over it. Split 12” Vinyl
-Brian Marquis ‘Snow Damage’ Limited Edition 12” Vinyl

Check out all the dates for the Acoustic Basement Tour below by clicking “Read More.” 

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