GUEST BLOG: VALIENT THORR'S VALIENT HIMSELF

Alahoyus to all,

Holy shit. I literally just woke up. We just finished the Volcom Tour ’08. Now I have 10 days off. I need them all. My face hurts. My eyes are puffed out. I just drove from Asbury Park down the east coast here for a bit of relaxing. Didn’t get here till 6 A.M. Slept till 3 P.M. today. Absolutely worn out.

First of all, lemme thank the whole Volcom crew: Slater, MarkG, Beto, and Clayton. Next, thanx to ASG, Year Long Disaster, and, of course, Motörhead. What an insane month. If you asked what could’ve topped our tour with them last year in Europe, it would only have been to be able to tour the U.S. with them, and this just did it [watch below].

Wow, let's think about highlights for a second. Well, the venues were insane. Roseland Ballroom in NYC? Forget it! I thought we were hot shit cause we headlined Bowery Ballroom last month. Roseland is classy. Met Triple H there. He's pretty tough, I guess, but if you know me, then you know that I am straight-up pre-’90s “wrasslin.” No diss there, just wanted to make it clear. I am full-on NWA...Charlotte NC represent!

Anyway, probably my favorite show was in Montreal. Wow...the Metropolis... Fucking Nuts. Supersuckers played, that was rad, too. We really blew it out hard that night. There's prolly video of all of this lurking around. We partied afterwards, and I got to pick up season 7 of the Trailer Park Boys. If you don't know what this is, then you should google it right now. If that wax dummy and chick from Alaska somehow become the leaders of this great land—I know a lot of people who talked the talk last election—but I think I’m seriously considering walking the walk on this one. I may end up in the Great White North. Quebec was so hospitable to us. If not here, then maybe Toronto. We'll see.

Plus—poutine!! Gravy fries with cheese curds! Take that, healthy living! As you may or may not know, I have my strength back, and my energy. Bad news for my belly, liver, and kidney. No worries, I’ll take it easy.

Madison, WI. Once home of Chris Farley. We always try to have a day off betwixt here and Minneapolis in the dells. There's this big-ass water park resort there called Kalahari. Bands, take note. 64-oz Pina Coladas with Kailua and other magic inside. Plus, indoor/outdoor waterslides and an indoor constant wave. Best day-offs ever.

We had some rad in-stores on this trip too. St Louis at Vintage Vinyl, and Baltimore at the Sound Garden. Check both those stores out. They really hook it up. Can't forget about Cactus Music in Houston. We just did one there on the last run, and they were amazing, too. Support your local rekkid stores, kids!! There’s not many left, but there are still a shitload of good ones. Help them have a long life.

Wow, the weirdest thing that happened was the fake storm in Columbus. Sorry to those Thorriors and Motörheadbangers who drove from Indiana, and West VA only to be curbed by the power outage. Thanx for the doobage. And thanx to everyone else for coming back out the very next day.

Yeah, I don’t know what to say about the Misfits. Jerry Only was nice to us. I’ve heard two versions of what happened. I think, either way, he felt disrespected and split. Maybe by fans yelling "Danzig!" or maybe cause they didn't get a soundcheck. Or maybe something else was said. I don’t know, and don’t care, but I think everyone else had a fucking awesome time anyway. Thanx so much to Motörhead's Crew...Stefan, Tim, Roger, Hobbs, Eddie, Emma, and everyone else for all their help. And thank you to Phil, Lemmy, and Mikkey for being so kind to us. We'll see you guys out there again.

Yours in the further facilitation of positive vibrations and debunking of bullshit,
Valient Himself