"Actually, I have no idea why [the tour] is called that," guitarist Casey Calvert said. "Someone in the band came up with it in the van, and [other band members] were laughing about it, but it doesn't really make sense," he said.
Calvert said that five of the first seven shows of the tour were sold out, so anyone hoping to get tickets at the door might want to arrive a little early.
"We toured with Number One Fan before and those guys and their band are great, and we knew the guys in Spitalfield from doing shows with them before," he said. "It's always a plus to be out with guys that you like and are familiar with."
Calvert said he was not familiar with fellow Victory Records label-mate The Black Maria, but the band was added to the tour as a favor to the label, something Victory did for Hawthorne Heights when it started out.
"To have them just throw us out on the road, that was really big for us," Calvert said. "We have played so many shows that we are starting to play places for the second and third time, and the crowds get bigger every time."
Chris Gray, lead singer for The Black Maria, said his band is eagerly awaiting next Tuesday, when Victory Records will release its first record, Lead Us to Reason, and said people coming out to the shows on this tour have been very supportive.
Mark Rose, lead singer/guitarist for Spitalfield, has been impressed with the very unique and cool sound of The Black Maria, and they are having a blast so far on the SkeleTour.
Spitalfield played Crowbar in September, a show which Rose described as one of the most fun and crazy nights of that tour. Members of the band dressed in sailor/pirate costumes and delivered a memorable, hilarious performance -- something Rose thinks is important to deliver.
Rose said the band has just finished recording a new album, which will be released sometime this spring.
He added that the new album will showcase a heavier sounding rhythm section.
Singer/guitarist Nick Ziemann of Number One Fan said he and his bandmates are itching to get back into the studio to record the follow up to Compromises, the band's first record that was recorded June 2003, but not released until August 2004.
"We still love playing our songs, and every time we play somewhere new and people are singing along, it's like we are playing them for the first time," Ziemann said. "But we have been playing these songs for a really long time, so I think it's time to make another record."
Ziemann, Rose, Gray and Calvert agree that the SkeleTour has a very strong lineup of bands that are similar, but also very different, which will make for a great show for anyone who likes emotional, punk-inspired music.
"The last time we played [Crowbar] was one of our best shows, and it seemed as if every kid that walked out of the show was really glad they came out," Rose said.
