August 10, 2004
What's hotter than hot? Right outside of the Big D van. It's so incredibly hot that I feel like my skin is melting whenever I go outside. It's 114 degrees today. That's not normal. Crap.
We're en route to San Diego right now. Unfortunately Streetlight Manifesto will not be playing the show with us. Their brakes died yesterday so they're getting them fixed today. We'll meet them in Phoenix tomorrow.
There's another old school Big D reunion today, too. Gabe, our old trombone player will be at the show today. He was also on Shot By Lammi and Good Luck. Gabe is the epitome of Southern California. He's a really laid back, cool, surfer guy who can play his ass of at the trombone…and he's even better at the guitar. So, it'll be cool to hang out with Mr. Feinberg again tonight. Maybe we'll toss the disc around or go to Mexico…who knows.
Last night was awesome! After our set, we got to go bowling. Dave McWane was a golden god on the lanes. Dave's usually not into sports, but my friend tore it up! Chris Bush was a close second and Steve wasn't far behind breaking 100. Oh, guess who came in last…yup, yours truly…Sean P. Rogan. I really sucked. Granted, I haven't bowled in years, but one shouldn't be that bad at anything!
We also hit up the Peppermill after the show. It's the coolest bar on The Strip in Vegas. It's got a water-fire in the middle of the room and they have little T.V.'s playing music videos the whole time, all surrounded by really comfy couches. After that, we (Dave, Paul and myself) made an attempt to gamble. We pooled our money together, organized it neatly and slapped it down on the roulette table…black. The guy running the table gave us a "you're not serious" look. The reason for the look was the total of our money. Uh…I guess $5 between three guys in their mid-twenties is pretty lame, huh? Five bucks was all we had. We lost it. On a lighter note, Dan gambled all night and came out on top with $20! Big D!!!
After our feeble attempt at gambling was over, we watched a Guns N' Roses concert at the hotel bar. At this point it was almost 5 in the morning! So what else to do other than call my old man. Dave called his parents too. As he was on the phone, he decides to say, "Sean wants to say hi." That's weird. I love Mr. and Mrs. McWane, but what the hell am I going to say? It was pretty funny. Payback is a bitch though. I called my pops, shot the shit, and passed the buck. It's weird seeing one of your best friends talking to your dad in the middle of a casino at 5 in the morning. We wanted to call our friends, but our families were the only ones we knew who could possible be awake back on the east coast.
Well, my apple juice is getting warm so I'm going to go and drink it. We're an hour away from the venue, Bruce Springsteen is playing on my iPod and we're still in the desert. Tomorrow we start heading east.
Not even close to being home,
Sean P. Rogan Oh yeah, two more things:
Our concert from Oakland will be re-broadcast on the internet tomorrow (Wednesday the11th) at 4pm Pacific time on www.imusiccast.com if anyone wants to check it out. They did a really good job with it.
If you're planning on skydiving with us on Labor Day weekend at Skydive New England, make sure you sign up! Slots are starting to fill up. It's going to be awesome, so don't miss out!
Take care of each other.August 9, 2004
Well, we're back in Las Vegas…the city of sin. It's sort of ironic that the venue won't give us any beer or let us swear on stage. Either way tonight is going to be a great show. I'm sitting backstage with Dan and Bush. We're listening to some new music that I got last night. I'm not a big fan of downloading music, I feel as though you should buy it and support the bands. However, I think it's pretty cool to find unreleased tracks online. Songs that are live or especially acoustic, stripped down versions of songs. That's what I got. There's a great version of "Underneath It All" by No Doubt that's just acoustic guitar and vocals. It's awesome!
Today was possibly the hottest day I have ever experienced in my whole life. There was a thermometer on the side of the road in between L.A. and Vegas and it said 113 degrees! That's just wrong. There's a song by a reggae band called Third World called "96 Degrees in the Shade". That's how it felt. Whenever we're done playing, that's the first song the audience hears over the PA. It's another great song.
So, last night we played in Anaheim at the Chain Reaction. Anaheim has never let us down. We pulled up to the club and set up "Camp Big D" in the parking lot. We had a bunch of chairs and gear for seats set up under our merch tent that we use on the Warped Tour. We played a little dice and had some cocktails. It was nice, you know?
As for the show…it was electric. Actually, it was electrocuting. I got zapped! There was a break in one of the songs where I don't play and I reached up and grabbed the wall but I touched a metal pipe and completed the circuit. I felt in all the way from my head down to my toes. It totally sucked. The show though was great! We played with our buddies in Streetlight of course, as well as MU330, the F-Ups and Suburban Legends.
The night before we rocked L.A. It's always fun playing there since we have a song ripping it apart! Actually, the song just puts down the crappy part of the city and it's inhabitants…none of our fans of course! This was like a mini ska festival. It was us, Streetlight, our buddies from Boston - Westbound Train, Chris Murray and his combo, Go Jimmy Go from Hawaii and our friends, the Pietasters. Every band did such a good job. It made me proud to be in a ska band. There's so many good bands out there in our scene that when they come together for a night or a tour, it makes all of our drives, sleepless nights and empty pockets worth it!
Another high point of this tour was in Oakland on Friday the 6th. We got to see a few old school Big D members. Chris Sallen and Max MacVeety, who played tenor sax and drums respectively on Shot By Lammi and Good Luck, came out to the show. It was so good to see them. There both doing their own things out on the left coast now and we're psyched for them. We also got to see our friend Chris Candy and his rockin' band the Figurines. We met Chris on the Warped Tour last year. He worked for Asianman Records and the Plea For Peace tent. So, basically this week has been really good.
We're about to go on stage now so I have to run. We'll be staying at the Stratosphere in Vegas tonight and hopefully I'll get to go bungee jumping either tonight or tomorrow! Perhaps this'll be my last tour update.
Hopefully not,
Sean P. Rogan August 2, 2004
Well, I'm playing catch up again. I haven't written a tour update in a few days…but I'm back. Let's see, we're driving from Salt Lake City, UT to Seattle, WA and have 2 days to do it. Yesterday we were supposed to play with Streetlight in Salt Lake, but their van didn't make it. We pulled up to the show and a few kids left because Streetlight wasn't going to play…I guess that they didn't like us enough to stay. Anyway, there were a handful of kids left and we had been driving for about 11 hours already that day and were beat. We had a band meeting and decided to not play the show. We don't normally do that. However, there were a few factors that helped us make the decision.
First of all it was a Sunday in the Mormon capital of the world. That's just not good for a ska/punk show. Second, we wouldn't even have gotten paid! Not that we're in this for the money…obviously, but we're not in this to lose money. We made the decision and we definitely felt bad, and we're sorry, but sometimes stuff like that happens. We regret any inconvienience that we may have caused anybody that did come out.
There was this one white van that we saw on our way to Denny's…since we hadn't eaten all day because we were busting our asses getting to the show that was super pissed off at us. The driver was really angry waving a ticket out the window swearing at us as we passed him. Sorry man, honestly. But if you were in our situation, you probably would have done the same thing. It's not like we drove 45 minutes to the show, we had just driven 11 hours! So once again, we're sorry.
On a lighter note, we had Saturday night off in Denver because Dave had to go to a wedding in San Francisco. Some of the boys used their internet skills and rounded up some locals through www.myspace.com and they showed us a good time.
The morning started with Bush and me cleaning out our van, and then we took a dip in the pool. We had a contest to see who could jump the farthest while doing a belly-flop. I thought that Steve would win for sure, but JR came through with the win! Good work buddy.
As Jon, Paul, Steve, Bush and I were lounging by the pool, staring up at the sky discussing our upcoming gig at Skydive New England; I realized that it was a perfect day to jump! So, I found a local drop zone called Mile Hi Skydiving Center, called them up, got directions and made my way to jump! I only had time to get one jump in, but it was awesome! The Rockies look amazing from 3500 feet under canopy! It's always weird jumping a parachute that isn't mine, but it was still cool. The people at Mile Hi were cool, but the atmosphere is way better at Skydive New England. We've been talking about the gig again today (Monday) and we're psyched! So, make sure you come up and jump with us!!!
That's all for now, we're in the middle of a huge thunderstorm right now. Dave and Dan are watching the Sopranos, Steve and Paul are playing with their laptops and JR's driving. Bush is doing some last minute revisions for the text for the new artwork of our upcoming CD, How It Goes. The Suicide Machines are on the Hi-Fi and I'm about to take a nap! Oh yeah, it's crazy on the road!!!! I'm out.
Sean P. RoganAugust 1st
So there we are in Denver Colorado with a day off. Dave is off in San Francisco at a family wedding and we are day two of no shows. The drive from Kansas City to Denver was excruciatingly long so we were all highly anticipating our day off in town. After a short stint outside by the pool betting on who could run and jump across the 12 foot wide obstacle (which of course none of us could accomplish) Sean decides to take the Van on a little excursion outside of Denver to a drop zone and get a sky dive in. The weather was totally perfect for it, but I'm sure he'll recap the whole experience. So being the internet savvy jackass that I am spent my afternoon looking for the hippest spots and the coolest people in Denver to hang out with. Mission accomplished with a little help from some new myspace friends and denverdrinks.com (an entire website devoted to where and when the alcohol is cheapest in town). OH and for the record, DON"T EVER buy beer from a gas station or super market in Colorado, it isn't real! No one told Paul or me that little fact until it was too late. On the drive there we bought beer at a gas station for the hotel and I drank so much with out getting drunk on that whopping 3.2% alcohol content. So now we know all the best places to hang out and party….when it comes time to actually go out, we picked Table Steaks…the complete fuckin' polar opposite of everything my research suggested. I'll get to that in a minute though. So we get in the van to head out for the evening. Instead of following the map quest directions we took surface streets. Next thing you know we end up on Sheridan and 44th street at this lovely Mexican food joint called Tacos Tijuana. I suggest to Dan that we stop there to eat. So I walk into the place and attempt to order two been and rice burritos. I even try to order them in Spanish after they didn't understand my English, and they still said no. It was written on the menu I told them what I want and they said no more. I leave and Dan orders his food. He gets a meal that includes rice, beans and tortillas the SAME ingredients that to me would make up a rice and bean burrito. So I have no clue what the hell was wrong with them. So I'm waiting outside for Dan to get his food. Jon and Paul are on the Phone, Bush is chilling in the parking lot and Rogan's in the Van. We all look over and there are about 6 cops with guns drawn circling this house. One had a 12 gauge shot gun and the rest hand guns. Once the house was surrounded they infiltrated their target and stopped a potential escapee from fleeing the scene. We were totally in an episode of cops, all we needed were the cameras and we could have made it on TV with blurs over our faces. It was pretty intense. So we left the joint and continued on our way to Table Steaks. We hung out with our new found friends and shot pool all night. I think everyone had a good time and even though it wasn't the Mecca of night life it was a fun time all around.
Today we are driving to Salt Lake City.
-SteveJuly 29, 2004
SOTUH DAKOTA KNOWS HOW TO PARTY, SOUTH DAKOTA CITY OF CHAMBERLAIN!!!!
-Steve
We're on route to Kansas City, MO from Renner, South Dakota. Last night, in South Dakota, was crazy…believe it or not. There were about 150 kids in this little American Legion Hall. The show was sick, mostly because of a little town called Chamberlin. More than half of the crowd drove from Chamberlin to see us and Streetlight Manifesto. A few of the crew were at our Warped Tour show and our show in Minneapolis. That's a lot of Big D!
We pulled up to the parking lot and there was a bunch of drunk kids waiting for the show to start. These people are priceless! The lifestyle in the Midwest is so different from city life on the East Coast. Every person there was extremely entertaining. They have a love for life that's so different than what we normally see. There's some really good people out there and a good deal of them were at the show last night.
After the show, we went to a party in town. It's always weird going to parties put on by fans, but we had a great time. I busted out my mini-disc player and a small microphone and recorded so much amazing "one-liners" and odd, drunken conversations! Maybe Chamberlin will make it onto our next record!
So, we just got off of a week on the Warped Tour and it was awesome. Every show we played on the little Ernie Ball Stage was a good one! It makes me feel like all of our touring since last year's Warped Tour was well worth it.
My personal favorite experience was in Minneapolis, MN at the Metrodome…home of the Minnesota Twins. Bush, Florez and I snuck onto the astro-turf in the morning and ran the bases, pretended to play catch and tried to take in all of the overwhelming sensations of being ON THE FIELD of a professional baseball stadium! We ended up going back to the RV and getting our gloves and a ball, then we snuck back in. We played catch for about a half an hour before a member of the grounds crew came out.
"Hey!" he yelled. We thought that we were busted. But, the guy was so incredibly nice it blew my mind. He gave us about 7 more professional balls to have a catch with! He even gave us a little tour of the grounds crew work area, taught us about the turf and the different dirt they use. It may sound boring, but if you're a fan of baseball like some of us are, then you'd know how awesome it was!
More members of the Warped Tour caught onto our idea and by the afternoon, there was a full on game happening. The grounds crew guy even found a bat for us to use too! So, by the end of the day, I was playing baseball with Kevin Lyman (the owner of the Warped Tour) and Lars Frederickson of Rancid! At one point, I was pitching to Florez and he drilled one right back at me like a bullet! I barely dodged it and the ball just grazed my face. If it was another inch to the left, my whole face would have been broken!
I had a flashback to when I was a kid. Just like in the movies, when someone gets hurt and they end up falling to the ground, and when they open their eyes, there's a circle of people standing over them to see if they're alright. Anyway, that happened to me a lot when I was a kid. My point is that when I opened my eyes, who was the first person checking me out…but my boy, Lars! That ruled! Plus I was okay! Anyway, sorry it's been a while since I've written, but it was too tiring on the Warped Tour. That's about it for now. Oh yeah, I lost my cell phone! That totally sucks by the way. If that's the worst thing that happens to me though, life is good! Alrighty, I'm out.
CHAMBERLIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sean P. RoganJuly 22, 2004
So today is our third day on Warped Tour. It has been excruciatingly hot out and I thought I was going to die yesterday. We played two sets in St. Louis. The second one on the Ernie Ball stage which was our official one, but we managed to sneak onto the Space Station stage in the afternoon as well. The Space Station stage is being run by our buddies in The Phenomenauts, the Groovie Ghoulies and the River City Rebels. They had an open spot and asked us to play. It was definitely cool to get to chill with some of our new label mates. By the time our Ernie Ball set was done that I was completely wiped out. I stumbled back to the RV like a rabid dog ready to drop. With each step I was holding back the urge to spew chunks all down my clothes and drop to the ground unconscious. Somehow I made it there safely. We blasted the AC and I basically slept from 8 pm till 8 am. Anyone who knows me knows that this pretty much unheard of, I'm usually last one to bed and first one to wake. Our set is coming soon and Sean and I are abusing their wireless internet access until then.
Peace,
SteveJuly 17, 2004
It's Saturday and Big D's heading north…actually, to the Great White North. Last night we played in Augusta, ME at The Edge. It was a pretty cool show, but what I really need to write about was the Boston show on Wednesday, the 15th.
I've written in past updates that, "today was the best day ever!" Well, I need to write it again. The whole day went perfectly…well, almost perfectly. The only thing wrong was that about 200 kids got turned away at the door. We sold out AXIS, which is awesome, but some fans left without seeing us or Streetlight, The Know-How and Slater. However, there were a handful of kids that stuck around and the bouncers let them in, even after it was sold out, and they got to see the show! The staff at AXIS does a really great job for the band, the kids crowd surfing and security. Thanks guys!
Whenever we play Boston, it's a stressful day. We all have a bunch of friends and family members that come to the show. Somehow, everything worked out though. Plus, we had a kick-ass party at Dave and Steve's house after. Everyone came. All of Streetlight showed up along with Dave and Jeron, the sound-guys, Bi Anal Ham Sandwich, and way too many more to list. The party had shopping cart races at 3 in the morning, way too much Jack Daniels and a bunch of smelly dudes on tour.
Skydive New England was well represented there too. A good amount of the staff and fun jumpers also came down to the show as well as the party. People were asking about our skydiving endeavor at the show last night, too. Don't forget…September 5th…it's Labor Day weekend, we're playing a FREE SHOW at Skydive New England in Lebanon, ME. It's an hour and a half north of Boston and there's some perks that come along with the show. Not only can you bring a tent and camp for free with us at the dropzone and see a free show, but you get a really good discount on a tandem skydive! Check out www.ugojump.com for more info about skydiving and their dropzone.
Well, we're about 10 minutes away from the Canadian border…I should finish up the rest of my drugs and hide the hookers…I wouldn't want to get deported. Oh yeah, Dan's not with us for the next two shows. Hi Dan…are you reading this update at home?
I'm out. Big D bee-atch!
Seany P.July 13, 2004
We're heading back to Boston from my home state of Rhode Island. Tonight we played in Providence at The Call with Streetlight and Slik Willy. I want to personally thank a few people that have been coming to shows and supporting us throughout the band's 8 year run. Here's a list, in no particular order, of people that we really appreciate:
Meryl, Eve and Emily, Jonah and Darleen, the whole Bi Anal Ham Sandwich crew of Adam, Sam, Matt and of course Alex were all at the show tonight. Alex's girlfriend, Chris, made us all cupcakes tonight and they were amazing! There's just so many people that we are very grateful for. Last night in Poughkeepsie, NY we received some KIX and Fruit Loops from Squash and his buddy…we appreciate it!
Here's something weird too. A few of the kids in the Bi Anal crew are members of the Boy Scout troop that I was in back in the day…Troop 49 Lakewood. Some people may think it's dorky, but it's a really cool organization if you find the right people. Anyway, I thought that was cool.
I want to be honest in this tour update. Sometimes we play awesome shows, really good shows, plain ol' good shows and honestly…crappy shows. Tonight in RI, we had a really, really good show. But, sticking with the honest tip, I didn't have as much fun as I should. I'm not complaining, but I went through 3 guitars and one of my cables got bashed up causing my level of enjoyment to diminish. It happens to every band member of every band once in a while. Tomorrow is a new day and a new show! I'm feeling better all ready.
Tonight was our 100th show this year! That's so many. I'm proud of this band…we've been busting our butts for a long time and it's paying off. Not financially, but just the fact that we play for so many kids each night that really, honestly like us…it's a good feeling. Boston is great place for our 101st show of the year, too.
Well, I'm getting really sleepy right now, it's 1:15am and we have a big day tomorrow. I'm going for a run and will be hitting up Guitar Center. Bush, Dan and Jon are getting a new batch of merchandise from Florez's house. Paul's got an early breakfast date. Dave's getting the keg for the party tomorrow night. And Steve's sorting out the immigration papers for Canada and has to check the mail for Fork In Hand. Pretty exciting huh?
Load in and sound check at 2pm…and then burritos! The show is going to kick ass. I've got a bunch of friends from Skydive New England coming down to check us out, too. So, if you read this before the show…get ready.
Thanks again to everybody.
Cheers,
Sean P. RoganJuly 11, 2004
I'm sitting in a parking lot…what are you doing? We're listening to ACDC on the Hi-Fi waiting for Dave to deal with the lovely customer service at the Sprint PCS store. I'm glad I'm not him right now.
So I know that a bunch of people out there know about www.myspace.com. Well, we in Big D have our very own account and would love for everyone out there to be our "friends". It's sort of a useless website, but I have to admit that it's very addicting and fun. Paul runs our account. If you don't have an account set up yet, you can do it for free at the website. If you want to add us, do a search for Big D and use this email address: ska_bigd_punk@hotmail.com. That's only our email for myspace, it's not our contact info or anything…sorry ladies.
Hmmmm…what else to write about? We rocked Albany, NY last night and it was a really good show. We played with This Time Tomorrow, Third To None, Streetlight Manifesto, Rory Breaker and Bel Biv Devoe. BBD tore it up as usual. If you haven't heard their hit single, Do Me, you should check it out!
We're about to watch A Bug's Life in a minute so I'll have to cut this a bit short. In case anybody cares, we watched The Count of Monte Cristo yesterday, too. That's a good one. Alright rudies, I'm out!
Seany P.
July 7, 2004
Broke As Hell Tour 2004
We've played three kick-ass shows with our new friends, Streetlight Manifesto so far on this tour and it's going amazingly! Those guys are great people, great musicians, great friends, but piss poor football players. The shows have been awesome…but really hot. We sweat through our shirts, pants, socks and underwear, but it's worth it.
Today, the promoter (and the man) from the last two Connecticut shows, had a BBQ with his lovely wife for us and Streetlight. We had such good food in such a lovely, bucolic setting. There was a big backyard and a football, so we had the first Big D vs. Streetlight Manifesto football game. It was a tight game all the way through the end, but in the end, your favorite boys in Big D came out victorious! We only won by one touchdown, but we won. I'm not bragging, but Bush, Jon, Paul, Dan and I killed it. The teamwork that Big D displayed was far superior that Streetlight. Maybe it's because we've lived together for the past 8 years, and know what each other is thinking at all times; or the fact that they haven't, but we won.
Now Dave and Steve didn't play, but their cheers were top notch! Dave even bragged onstage, but was later called out on the fact that he didn't even play by Tom, from SM. So, the bullshit that spilled will be the inspiration for the Tom vs. Dave thumb-wrestling event…coming soon to pay-per-view.
Other than that, it's been the most sober tour we've ever been on. I personally haven't even had a drink in a week or so. Reel Big Fish killed us, but we're recovering. Speaking of recovering…one thing that helps us recover is food! Some friends/fans have been more than gracious by giving us little snacks. Tonight, Jossie, Tina and Emily Helen gave us not one, but TWO huge bundles of Ramen noodles! Thank you ladies so much, we really appreciate it! And another new buddy of ours, Chris, gave us a bunch of snacks too…thanks dude!
We're heading back to Boston right now from Enfield, CT. I didn't know we were going home until about an hour ago…it's around midnight right now. So, I get to sleep in my bed! We'll be playing a show in Albany, NY tomorrow and we can't wait. This tour is breath of fresh air actually. Not that we don't like huge shows, like with Reel Big Fish, the Suicide Machines and Warped Tour, but the smaller, indie-club shows kick ass! We played a VFW tonight, which we haven't done in a while, and it was sick. The crowd was right in our faces and we fed off of their energy the whole show. On a side note, at those shows, I LOVE when the crowd sings the vocal breaks in LAX!
That's about it for now. I feel like I end all of my tour updates like that. That's about it for now. Well, I like it like that. I'm getting sleepy and am going to zone out and listen to some Flaming Lips (Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots) and Nada Surf (Let Go). Check those CD's out if you're looking for some good, mellow, sleepy-time music. Gotta go! I'm psyched about this tour!
-----------Sean P. Rogan----------------June 28, 2004
Dear Diary…I'm hungover.
Last night was the last show for Big D on the Coast to Coast Roast with the Reel Big Fish, Catch 22, Lucky Boys Confusion and the RX Bandits. We also celebrated Matt from RXB's birthday last night. Not to talk about drinking, but we drank…and we drank a lot! We no longer fear God for we danced with the devil last night.
We were in Rochester, NY and there were two rooms at the venue. We ended up being in the smaller of the two rooms and were kind of bummed out about it. But, lady luck was on our side last night and it was personally my favorite show of the tour. It was like an old school Big D show where the kids go nuts the whole show. We've been opening the shows lately and the kids aren't really warmed up yet. But the difference last night was that there were two bands that went on before us so the crowd was ready to go with the first notes of Girls Against Drunk Bitches. There was no security or barrier separating the crowd and us. It was awesome!
So we're heading to Beantown right now and to be honest, it'll be nice to sleep in my bed for a week. However, I can't wait until we hit the road with Streetlight Manifesto on July 7th. We've heard a lot of good things about them.
What else about last night…oh yeah, we busted out the GXL 1050. That's Dave's little creation. The double beer bong, or funnel if you will. The whole tour experienced it last night…especially the birthday boy, Matt. He even got to funnel on stage! Okay, sorry, that's enough about drinking. We're currently starting our detox on this van ride home.
So, thanks again to everyone who came out to our shows over the past two weeks. This tour was a blast and once again, every band and crew member on this tour was a stand-up guy. Hopefully you'll all continue to support those bands.
I almost forgot…I was so close to GIVING my first tattoo last night! Joe, the merch guy for Catch 22 is a tattoo artist and wanted me to tattoo his butt cheek! What did he want? Oh yeah, he wanted me to tattoo Sean P. Rogan…my name on his ass! Unfortunately he had to sell merch all night and we couldn't do it. BUT, he said we'll do it next time we meet up. I'm flattered and all, and I support getting tattoos and have a bunch myself, but I'm not sure if getting my name on your ass is the best idea!
Well, that's all for now. Take care of each other.
Sean P. RoganJune 25, 2004
Thanks to everyone who came out early to the Roseland Ballroom in NYC last night…it was an awesome show. We had some old school friends come out like, Rich, Lauren, Chris, Rebecca and even Dan's brother, Gary came out. Good times.
Big D sponsored the after-show party and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We bought 40's for all of the bands on this tour. Buying a case of 40's is not as easy as one might think. We even managed to make one guy, as he so eloquently put it, "snot himself" when we asked for a case. The mission was successful. Michael J., our new merch guy on tour, Paul E. Cuttler and myself were walking through Manhattan with a case of 40's and ready to go!
On the way back to the club we saw those really cool rims that keep spinning when the car stops. They're pretty intense. I bet they cost more than the whole band makes in a month! We also saw Biff Henderson from the David Letterman show. He was nice enough to let Paul and me take pictures with him.
Bush and Dave rode with Catch 22 on their tour bus last night so I'm not sure what stories they have lined up…we'll see though. There's 3 shows left on this tour with the Reel Big Fish, Catch 22, the RX Bandits and Lucky Boys Confusion. It's been short and sweet. If anybody wants to see us in NJ, Philly or Rochester, get there when doors open. We go on first every night.
On July 7th, we'll be back on the road starting at the Downtown in Long Island with Streetlight Manifesto. Also on the bill for that day are the boys from ASOB, and the High School Football Heroes. And don't forget about the Skydive New England show at the end of the summer on September 5th. I just talked to the owners of SNE and they said that anyone who wants to jump can get $20 off on Saturday and Sunday and $25 off on Monday. That's pretty cool of them. I hope to see a lot of people up there that weekend. Make plans now!!!
We're almost at the club now, so I'm out!
Sean P. Rogan
June 21, 2004
We're on our way to Washington D.C. from R.I. and I think we're going to be late. There's so much traffic in New Jersey it's ridiculous. Not much has happened since my last update. The Providence show was really good. We didn't write a set-list and just had the kids in the crowd call out songs. It was pretty fun and it made for a different set. If we do it again at a future show…which we probably will, here's some advice. Don't request Quiet Room or Giving It Up…we're not going to play those. Ha! Other than that, we'll play just about anything. We love when we get requests for new songs, too.
Here's some cool news for everybody…FREE BIG D SHOW!!! On September 5th, Big D and the Kids Table will be playing a free show at Skydive New England. The drop zone is in Lebanon, Maine and it's only about an hour and 45 minutes away from Boston. It's a Sunday night, but the next day is Labor Day so come out and party with us. It's really cool place to hang out and on Labor Day, we can all jump out of a perfectly good airplane together! I'll get more details later, but I'm pretty sure that there will be a discounted rate for anyone who wants to jump…as long as you say that you came to see Big D. Now you have to be 18 or older to jump, but anyone can come to the show. If you've ever thought about skydiving before, or you've always wanted to do it, this will be the perfect opportunity. The whole band will be jumping on Labor Day, too! There's free camping right at the drop zone and it's Tiki Bar Weekend, which is the biggest party of the year there. There will be a huge bon-fire and lots cool people, too. What better way is there to end the summer than skydiving with Big D? I can't think of one! We'll also be playing a really long set. So, mark your calendars and check out Skydive New England's website for more details, www.ugojump.com or call them at 1-800-ugo-jump.
That's all for now, off to our nation's capital…or at least the ghetto of our nation's capital. Let us know what you think about the skydiving too!
Blue skies,
Sean P. RoganJune 20, 2004
Here we go again. We've been on tour with the Reel Big Fish for about a week now and it's awesome! Before I forget, I have a story. I'm pretty sure it's funny…it is to us anyway.
Every time we go to Quebec City we get lost. The city isn't really that big, but it's tough reading the signs, you know? Anyway, Quebec was our last Canadian date of this RBF tour so we need to ship our merchandise back to Montreal. The way people ship stuff up there is by bus. You find the local Greyhound station and just use it as a FedEx. So, somebody from the venue told us how to get there…
We were told to go to the main street, go through three lights and take a left. Easy enough, right? Well, those directions didn't work. There was nothing there. We ended up driving around for a bit and were no where near where we started from. So we pulled over and asked somebody waiting for a bus how to get to the Greyhound station. They said to go through three lights and take a left. Weird. We tried that and guess what…it didn't work. Finally we saw a bunch of kids waiting at a corner for a bus and we decided to ask them. As I pulled up the van in front of them, Bush rolled his window down to ask for directions. We got a little closer and noticed that this kid was getting a picture of his ass taken by some girl! They were really embarrassed but were nice enough to give us directions. Go through three lights and take a left. Damn. It didn't work…again. Finally we found it and of course it was closed. After about an hour of driving around, we gave up. It totally sucked.
Other than that little episode, we've been having a great time. Reel Big Fish are an amazing band and we're psyched to be playing with them every night. We're on our way to my home state of Rhode Island right now. This is the first tour update I've been able to write in a while. I'll do a better job now that we've got this new laptop.
If anybody is thinking of seeing us over the next week, make sure you get to the show early because we go on first. Our last show on this tour is the 27th in Rochester, NY. After that we've got a week off then we start our next tour with Streetlight Manifesto. It should be good. We're also doing a week of the Warped Tour in the middle of that tour. Lots of shows, lots of miles, lots of fun!
That's about it for now. Come say hi at a show and we'll see you soon! Happy Father's Day!
-------------Sean P. Rogan---------------
I MUST SAY THANK YOU TO THE BADASS GUY WHO GAVE US SNACKS……
Man, I don't know if we ever introduced each other. You must e-mail me you're name so I can get you into any show that I can.
You guys, this kid gave us so much food. We needed it so badly - you're saving us a lot of money….
OTHER THEN THAT…..
I just wanted to say THANKS to everyone who has come out to see us play.
These days we're on real early and we only play for 30 minutes - again - thanks to those who have been hitt'en up the shows early…
Cool guys - see yah at the clubs…
David McWane

Tuesday, June 8, 2004: Boston
What's up everyone? Well, we've decided on a lable on the new record. Yet, I'm not gonna tell you as of yet...
Sorry about that LONG ISLAND show. To those who don't know, some kid pulled the fire alarm out of the wall and with that - the show was cancelled.
WHILE IT'S ON MY MIND: PLEASE POST ANY SONGS YOU WANNA HEAR ON THE TOURS COMING UP - I'M NOT SURE WHAT WE SHOULD PLAY THIS LEG OUT...................
Back to the record: The art is getting done - finally. We suck at remembering to do that.  We always record it - master it - then go, "oh fuck art, right damn - uhhh what you guys wanna do?" Lots of tours com'en up huh. I think we're gonna hit England and Europe with The Voodoo Glow Skulls - but I'm not sure that's finally - so "shh shh".
On a lighter note - this is the poorest the band has been and let me tell you , we've been pretty poor. Two are homeless in the band, usually it's one - ME. Oops, no three are homeless - my bad. So, if anyone wants to bring 'snacks' to show - by all means do so. Ha ha ha ha. Be better than good everybody - it's summer,
David McWane
Friday, April 23, 2004: Ottawa, Canada
We've been on the road practically non-stop this year. It obviously has it's ups and downs, but overall it's been a successful year. We're on the Ska Is Dead Tour right now with the Planet Smashers, Catch 22 and Mustard Plug. They are the best bunch of guys to tour with and the shows have all been really, really good!
The artwork for "How It Goes" is coming along and we're very anxious to get the new record in everybody's CD players! We've been throwing a couple of new songs into our set each night. Y´Last night in Guelph, I saw a couple of kids singing along to "Girls Against Drunk Bitches". It was a really good feeling, nobody has done that yet. Y´Hopefully it'll catch on now that we put the mp3 up.
Steve's got a creepy mustache and wears it well. Everybody else pretty much looks the same though. Paul and I rocked the mustache for a few days too. Oh yeah, guess who we ran into Eve 6! They're a total MTV band and they were at the hotel bar that we visited in Pittsburg a couple of weeks ago. Y´ We hung out with them for a while and they were really nice. Y´It's refreshing that their success didn't go to their heads. Y´At least they didn't show it around us.
Thanks to everyone who has given us DVD's lately. We just watched the Reel Big Fish DVD today. I'm not begging, but if anyone is looking to get rid of any, I know seven guys that'll be more than happy to take ANYTHING off of your hands!
Tomorrow we'll be meeting up with Florez, our merch guy / saving grace. We're going to go to an Expos game in Montreal before the show. And about a week after that, we'll be going to a Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards. I love baseball. Only a couple of us in Big D are into sports as well as music, and touring is a great opportunity to see a bunch of different stadiums. Fenway Park is still my favorite though.
Well, I have to get back to the club now, we go on in about an hour. Y´Take care of each other and come say, "hi" to us at our shows!
Sean P. Rogan
Hello, on behalf of Big D, I'm writing to tell you that their computer died on tour and, like you, have very few ways of getting a hold of them. it also means they can't see what goes up... for now... so if you have any dirty secrets or gossip you'd like to share, email me at yosef@trashpop.com. who knows, maybe itll make it onto the front page... and to answer many questions, yes, the new album is almost ready... everyone's just waiting for me to hurry up... right?
yosef
6.2.04 I'd like to thank everybody that came out to the Downtown show on Long Island this past Monday. We feel really bad that we didn't get to play because of some moron who ripped the smoke detector off of the men's room wall. The smoke detectors are hooked up directly to the PA so that in case of an emergency, the PA will shut off so that everyone can hear the alarm.
Good idea...unfortunately, it was Memorial Day and the Downtown didn't have an electrician on call to fix the situation. So once again, we're all sorry that we didn't get to play. However, we will be back on July 7th with Streetlight Manifesto. I know ASOB is honoring the tickets for this past Monday's show at a show coming up. Other than that, we're getting psyched for the new album. It's getting a bit closer to being done each day. Thanks for coming to our shows and we'll see everybody really soon. We're going on tour forever in about 2 weeks.
Check our website, under "shows", for all of our tourdates. AND, we got a new laptop yesterday so I'll be updating the website on a more regular basis from now on. ----------------sean p. rogan----------

5.27.04 We've been off tour for a couple of weeks now, just playing shows on the weekend. It's a nice little break for us, but we're ready to be back on the road. We're playing at the Downtown in Long Island, NY this Memorial Monday with a boatload of good bands...come and check it out if you can. After that, we leave on June 15 to meet up with Reel Big Fish! This tour should be sick! We've got a lot of tour dates coming up this summer with RBF, the Warped Tour and tenntative, but big Streetlight Manifesto tour. We'll be heading back over to Europe again either in late 2004 or early 2005. Lots of stuff... On Monday we all went to see a sneak preview of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabaan. It was really good, not as good as the book, but definitely worth checking out if you're into that kind of stuff! I honestly can't think of anything else that we've been up to lately. It's nice to get to watch the Red Sox, catch up on the Sopranos and hang out with our friends that we haven't seen in a long time. We've played 81 shows in 2004 and are about to add on to that total. So, keep coming to the show, checking out the website and we'll keep playing shows! Thanks for the support!
Down by the river,
----------Sean P. Rogan---------------
Oh yeah, as for the new album...it's coming along; slowly, but that's just how it goes.February 25, 2004
First of all, everyone can go to the “Photos” section of our website…it’s underneath the guestbook link, then click on “Tours” and you’ll be able to see a bunch of new pics that we’ve been taking on the Ska Brawl and Ska Is Dead tours. Anyway, it’s taken a while to get the photos up, but they’re there! Thanks Yosef!
Today is Scottie from the Planet Smashers birthday and yesterday was Paul’s. We’re trying to think of how to celebrate. My idea was to drive all day, play an awesome show and then maybe have a celebratory drink and eventually go to a hotel. It’s just a guess, but we’ll probably end up doing my idea.
We just left “South of the Border” in South Carolina. We ran into the Smashers at the gas station there and the lady working behind the counter was freaked out. (read the following in a thick southern accent) “My God, y’all in a band or somethin’? Hell!” I simply said, “Yes ma’am” and left. The south is a definitely a different world. We’re heading towards our destination of Columbia, SC tonight.
Last night was a good night. We played in Richmond, Virginia and as I mentioned, it was Paul’s birthday. After our set, Paul and I decided to play some pool in the back of the club while Mustard Plug was rocking out. Either Dave or Colin of the Plug said for the crowd to go and “skank” around Cuttler during their next song. Well, they did. We had to put our game on hold for about four and a half minutes while at least a dozen kids were dancing around the both of us! During Catch 22’s set, Paul was ambushed by Matt from the Plug and our Dave. They managed to lift him up and he crowd surfed all the way to the stage without even spilling his beer! If that’s not talent, then I don’t know what is!
The night before VA, we were in the nation’s capitol. The crowd at the 9:30 club was sick! We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout for a Monday night. I got to play my new lap steel guitar onstage with the Planet Smashers for a song, too! After the show, we hung out with Dave’s sister, Sarah and her husband Kurt. They were more than hospitable and we were psyched to stay there. We watch Sportscenter and Maury Povich in the morning, too.
That’s about it for now. Oh yeah, we’ve started a poll at www.skaisdead.com and everyone is more than welcome to join in. We’re trying to get everyone to vote for the hottest guy on this tour. There’s for bands and over 20 sexy men. Just so you all know for when you vote…my name is spelled S-E-A-N. Thanks!!!
So hot,
-----Sean P. Rogan----
Here’s some updates on what we’re doing for 6765 on our guestbook:
Our new album “How It Goes” will have 20 songs on it. We’ll be putting an MP3 on our website of Girls Against Drunk Bitches within in a week or so. The album is recorded and mixed. When we get home in March we’ll be mastering in down in New Jersey and we’ve been working with a few different artists for concepts for the album cover and inside artwork. It’s going so slowly because we’re on tour all of the time and it’s hard to get all of these different people together. Trust me, this album will be worth it. It’s better than “Shot By Lammi”, “Good Luck” and “the Gipsy Hill EP/LP” combined. Be patient, it’ll be out by the Warped Tour! We’ve gotten a few dates and are hoping for more, check out the “shows” section to find out all of our dates.
Besides “How It Goes” we’re currently writing new material for our album after that tentatively titled “Strictly Dub”. It’s heavily influenced by the early dub music from Jamaica and we’re all really excited about this project. We’re going to get to show a different side of Big D on this album. There’s a lot of ska or ska/punk bands that change their direction after four albums. Unfortunately, they end up sounding Emo or just like another rock band. This is our tribute to some of our main influences and roots…with our own experimental touch. During March, we’ll be concentrating on this and finishing up “How It Goes”.
Also, we were supposed to be playing with Ludacris and Jurassic 5 at Northeastern University on April 2nd. Due to the recent riots in Boston following the Patriots Superbowl victory, the president of the NEU decided that it wouldn’t be the best idea to have a huge, free show. But, we’ll be in town with the Ska Is Dead tour soon enough! Thanks for your support and keep checking the site for updates…we’re doing our best!
sprFebruary 22nd, 2004
First of all, here’s a link to some pictures that we’ve been taking from our camera phones over the past month or so. The “photos” section of our website will be updated within the next couple of days. Enjoy!
http://www.bigdandthekidstable.com/photos/tours/2004/skabrawl/
We just got out of the movie theatre and are heading towards Poughkeepsie, NY. Steve, Paul, Jon, Bush, Dave and I saw 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. It was good…and we love going to the movies on tour anyway! Dan decided to go solo and see Mystic River. There was also this crazy snowmobile racing game that Cuttler kicked ass at, too!
Right now we’re listening to “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” by The Flaming Lips. This album is so, so, so good! I highly recommend it along with my other new favorite album, “Let Go” by Nada Surf. Enough about what’s in the Hi-Fi, here’s my tour update for today…
Last night’s show was reminiscent of and old school Big D show. It was at the Knights of Columbus in Hamden, CT and it was definitely a good one. The crowd was nuts and it sounded okay even though there was a small PA and no stage. We also played table shuffleboard with the Planet Smashers, Mustard Plug and the boys from Catch 22. It looked stupid but as soon as I started playing it, I got hooked! It was good, clean fun…and I’m a fan of that.
This was the second show in a row that nobody got hurt at too, which is a good thing. The Flaming Tsunamis were on the bill last night, too; it’s always good seeing them. The shows as of late have been the best ever.
Friday night the Ska Is Dead Tour destroyed Worcester, MA. It was a homecoming of sorts for us. Every band, including the Stray Bullets for the night, killed it! This was one of the biggest shows we’ve played in a long time. The crowd went mental and if you watched from the back of the Palladium, the kids looked like popcorn being popped! It was really a cool site to see. The staff at the Palladium did an excellent job as well. After the show, we ate some cookies and headed to Beantown! I got to sleep in my own bed for the only the second time in about six weeks…so nice.
Saturday morning I visited my local music shop in Allston, Mr. Music. I picked up a lap-steel guitar from the 60’s and it’s the coolest thing ever! We’re going to be using it all over our next release after “How It Goes”. Matt from the Planet Smashers even asked me to join them onstage for a song during their set, too. That’s about it for now.
Heading back to New York,
---------Sean P. Rogan---------
February 20th, 2004
It’s okay Mrs. McWane…Dave’s all right! On Thursday night at the Downtown in Long Island, Dave managed to loose some blood in a most interesting way. He was just feeding off of the energy from the crowd and decided to stage dive. Unfortunately on the way into the pit, Dave split his head open on the monitor hanging from the not so high ceiling! I saw the whole thing…it was crazy! He came up out of the front row with blood gushing down the right side of his face and all over his arm, shirt and hand! I didn’t know if I should help him or keep playing. He seemed all right because he finished the song. But, after the song he stepped off stage and got some help from the staff at the Downtown (thank you) and the rhythm section busted into a sort of scary, trippy groove until Dave came back. Well, we weren’t sure if he actually was going to come back; but, like a champ, he did! We finished our set and then Bush took our buddy to the emergency room. Dave ended up getting six staples in his noggin and a big headache to boot! He’s doing okay now and we’re all glad he’s all right.
Feeling good,
-------Sean P. Rogan-------
Here’s that link again to our new pics…more coming soon, too!!!
http://www.bigdandthekidstable.com/photos/tours/2004/skabrawl/
February 17, 2004
Mighty Taco is the beacon of light for the residents of Buffalo, NY. Steve, Jon, Dan and I just finished our late night dinner there with some kids that went to the show. They were all really weird, especially Carl. He had this subtle twitch and kept staring at me, he was all right though.
Unfortunately, Catch 22 wasn’t on the show tonight, but Mustard Plug, The Planet Smashers, Cherry Bing and Big D tore it up! These past few shows have been amazing! This was the first night of the Ska Is Dead tour and it is going to be the best. We got to see all of our friends from these great bands and catch up on some good times. There was also the Erie, PA crew at the show. These kids are nuts! We saw them in Cleveland the other day and they’ve even come up to Canada to see us! Thanks guys! We’re in the van right now heading towards NYC for our show tomorrow at the Knitting Factory.
Last night’s show, Tuesday, was in Manchester, New Hampshire at a really cool venue called the Bomb Shelter. We played that show with Catch 22 and Skully B. Nuts’s new band, Air Hockey Champion. It was their CD release show and the crowd seemed to love them…I know Big D did! If you’ve been to a show in New England, particularly Connecticut, you’ve seen Skanking Richard. He’s this guy that supports local as well as touring bands and is a future legend in the ska scene. Anyway, he told me that he’d be seeing a lot of us in the next week. Thanks for the support Richard!
The day before that, President’s Day, we had off in Boston. It was so nice to see all of our friends and do laundry. I got to sleep in my own bed and NOT eat Subway or Taco Bell! We’ve been on the road for over a month now and two days off would have been nice, but I can’t complain. Well, I guess I just did. Anyway, this tour we’re on now kicks ass! Speaking of kicking ass…
Wilkes Barre, PA was nuts! It was the craziest show we’ve played in a while. We showed up late due to a 45-minute drive in the wrong direction (Dave) and we just running late anyway. We did have time to win a bunch of stuffed animals in a claw game though! Well, we showed up at the club and it was sold out! It was packed in there, so trying to load the merch in was a nightmare. But, we prevailed…everything always works out. As soon as we went on, the crowd exploded! There were kids jumping off the stage, walls and the ceiling! I apologize if you wanted to go to the show but couldn’t get in, it was amazing! It was also the last night with our friends, the Toasters. We had a blast on the Ska Brawl 2004 Tour and hopefully we’ll see some of them tomorrow in NYC. Our buddies from Florida, the Know How were also on the bill and played a great set.
That’s about it for now. I’m pretty worn out from all of these long drives but it’s well worth it because of the shows. I have the best life out of anybody I know and am truly thankful for the opportunity to tour the country…and even the world with Big D.
It’s almost midnight and we’re getting psyched about the NYC show. We’ve all got some good friends coming out to the show tomorrow, I know that I do!
--------Sean P. Rogan---------
Mighty Taco…hopefully our paths will cross again! **** IF ANYBODY SEES A KID RIDING A SUICIDE MACHINES SKATEBOARD WITH NEW TRUCKS AND WHEELS, THEY STOLE IT FROM DAN TONIGHT! PLEASE TAKE IT FROM THEM AND CONTACT US. THANKS BUFFALO! ****