Holdin' It Down With Hodge

HOLDIN’ IT DOWN WITH AILEEN!

Here ya go Aileen! Sorry it took so long!

Aileen Burns is DA BEST! She does merch/tour manages for several different bands including Plain White T’s, OK Go, Dashboard Confessional, and Set Your Goals.

She is from Hawaii but currently lives in California. Her mom hates it when she gets tattoos. She loves The San Diego Chargers. I met Aileen at Emo’s in Austin, TX about a year ago and that rocked. Apparently she loves exploring new foods?!

She doesn’t want to do Warped Tour this summer because she is afraid it might be too much fun even though Set Your Goals brought her back a Koala from Australia. That’s a deal breaker!

Check out Aileen by clickin’ da PIC!

I’ll update this thing again next year. haha.

Holdin’ it down with Lights!

Lights hails from Toronto, Canada and she’s awesome! She plays keyboards and loves World of Warcraft. Not only is she beautiful, but this girl can SING! She’s about to embark on a tour with Owl City and I caught her on a headlining show she played on Long Island. “Lights” is apparently her real first name, but her parents aren’t hippies.

She’s quite honestly one of the nicest and most genuine people that I’ve ever met.

Lights should probably move to NY/LI so we can hang out. Just SAYIN!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT HER NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “ICE”!!

Holdin’ it down with Diplo.

I tour managed this guy in Europe and the UK with his side project called, “Major Lazer”. He’s a pretty well known producer and has worked with people like Missy Elliot, MIA, Santigold, and Snoop Dogg. He also owns a label called Mad Decent Records. Aside from being a producer he is a DJ as well. He is from Florida but now lives in Philadelphia.

Holdin’ it down with Brendan Walter.

Brendan plays guitar and rocks in Valencia. THIS GUY!

He loves Tim and Eric, David Cross, making videos, being vegan, taking pictures, writing music, his girlfriend Nicole, Philadelphia, indie music, and Peanut Chews.

Right now I believe Brendan is out in California getting ready to record the next Valencia full length. ROCK MUSIC!

Click on the picture to watch the new Valencia video for CARRY ON!

BRAMBLES?

Holdin’ it down with Chris Kirkpatrick. Chris used to sing in N*SYNC!! Haha I met Chris when we were down in Florida on the 4th of July for a Radio show The Cab was doing. I’m not sure how this actually came about. But we wound up going to his house for a 4th of July and then later on during the tour he invited us to stay at his house. This guy has 3 diamond records and like a billion moon men. I slept in his movie theater. Haha CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO WATCH CHRIS!!! I KNOW I AM THE SLOWEST BLOGGER EVER!!!!!!!!!!

Holdin’ it down with Bill Austin.

Bill Austin INVENTED THE HEARING AID. Straight up this dude is a genius. He’s my first billionaire that i’ve held it down with and he is the founder of Listen Hear by Starky. These guys make amazing In-Ear Monitors. I’m actually holding my brand new molds in the picture!!! Don’t pay attention to the other guys in the picture because they don’t matter. Just look at me and Bill.

How great is BILL????

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT LISTEN HEAR!!!

Holdin’ it down with Nick “Fit” Painchaud.

Nick is one of my best friends. He tours with a few bands including Trash Talk, The Mongoloids, and Alpha and Omega. He’s the best at grinding and he loves to pit ;)

He’s always out on tour because touring is the best. Jersey Straight Edge REPRESENT!!! He once knocked out a kid for me, for NO REASON!! It might not make sense but it was a good time.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT NICK SINGING A SONG.

What do you think of Nick’s lips?

Holdin it down with Dave and Alan.

YEAHHHH IM BACK!!!! SORRY I’ve been a LITTLE busy tour managing The Cab (www.myspace.com/thecab).

Dave and Alan play in The Mongoloids. BEST DUDES! Alan plays drums and loves to rock and roll. His best friend is Doolio Duwangus and he’s got some great locks.

Dave is an animator and he plays guitar. He lives in NYC with Alan and they always rage. Dave loves jazz music and swingin his hair. He’s a badass to MAXXXXXXX.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK THEM OUT IN THE MONGOLOIDS MUSIC VIDEO!!

You guys miss me?

Hey! I’ve just been added to Friends or Enemies! Big shout out to Rob Hitt and Gabby.

SO CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT MY FRIENDS OR ENEMIES PROFILE!!!

WHO WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND?

Holdin’ it down with Ryan Wapner aka “THE JUDGE”.

Wapner does merch for Valencia/The Secret Handshake. WAP WAP WAP. I first met Wapner when he was first doing merch for Sing it Loud. Since then, Wapner has done a few tours with me working for Valencia. Wapner runs shows in Altoona, PA with a very special co-owner.  HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND!!! Wapner should shave his head and I’ve told him that repeatedly. You can see THE JUDGE this summer on tour with Valencia.

In all seriousness this guy is great and one of the most optimistic people I know. You can’t break his smile… ever. Unless you take away his treats or mess up his merch count :)

BUY HIM TREATS!!!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT WAPNER’S SHOWS!!!!

Do you think Wapner should shave his head?

Holdin’ it down with Dan Mancini.

Dan plays guitar in Energy. Energy is an awesome band from Massachusetts. Dan is the man and he’s straight edge. GO PICK UP THE NEWEST ENERGY ALBUM, “INVASIONS OF THE MIND”.  You need to go see these guys play live, so go to their myspace and see when they are playing by you! The next time you see Dan, buy him a dozen roses.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT ENERGY!!!

What do you think of Dan’s American Nightmare shirt?

Holdin’ it down with Pete Robertson.

Pete is the Tour Manager Extroadinaire/FOH for New Found Glory. If it wasn’t for Pete all  of us would’ve cried….. a lot. Pete wanted to hold it down on top of Set Your Goals’ van while they were trying to leave. He’s worked with other bands such as Killswitch Engage and Coheed and Cambria. This dude is legit and he’s my hero. I wish I was in Europe with ya bud!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE A PICTURE OF PETE WASTED!!!!!

Would you kiss this man?

Holdin’ it down with Juan Ramirez and Dan Coodaire.

Juan is the tour manager for Set Your Goals and Dan plays guitar in Set Your Goals. I love these men. We took this picture at Desert Fox paintball in Arizona. It was straight up in the desert and it was 100000 degrees. The instructor told us to watch out for rattle snakes. YIKES. Juan is from Corpus Christi and he loves driving me around to malls/food/and bowling. He also takes pictures. Dan is Jewish and has a great beard. He lives in California and loves to rage. Both of these people will be on the GIG LIFE TOUR this summer. Go to it. The next time you see either of these guys, buy them a sandwich. I don’t care how broke you are. JUST DO IT!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT JUAN’S TUMBLR!!!!

ALSO CHECK OUT DAN’S FOOD BLOG AT roadnoms.com

How bad do you hate Tumblarity?

Holdin’ it down topless with Fireworks.

These boys are from Detroit Michigan and are the best dudes in the world. I’m not lying when I say their new CD “All I have to offer is my own confusion” has not left the CD player in my car. It was great to see them play on the Not Without a Fight Tour and I miss seeing them every night. Check them out this summer on the GIG LIFE TOUR with Four Year Strong and Set Your Goals. We took this picture on the last day of tour during NFG’s set.

Fireworks is: Brett Jones, Chris Mojan, David Mackinder, Kyle O’Neil, Tymm Rengers

www.myspace.com/fireworks

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO CHECK OUT A CRAZY NIGHT WE HAD WITH THE FIREWORKS DUDES VIDEO TAPED BY STEVE KLEIN AND JUAN!!!!

What do you think about these guys?