FIVE : Well , I was talking to Forrest downstairs and he mentioned to me that people say that he ’ s a rock star and he ’ s famous and all this but why not get a real job , but him and me both agree that you need to have a work ethic in this . I ’ ve talked to other bands before where they sleep in their van and are almost too broke to afford something to eat on the road . Can you guys relate to that ?
HM : There ’ s a couple of us who do work regular jobs and save up money but even the guys on the road who do have jobs are eating the dollar menu . And then the people who can ’ t afford the dollar menu , we pay for out-of-pocket or the tips that we gain at the merch table we use for food or whatever .
FIVE : How much does the label help out ? Micah Peck : They give us CDs to sell . HM : They help out with some of the recording because we recorded most of it by ourselves . They press the albums for us , got us distribution . Make our posters . But that ’ s thousands of dollars that we can ’ t afford . But they don ’ t give us money to tour , they don ’ t book tours . They ’ re an independent label . They signed us knowing that we have the ambition to go out and do the stuff ourselves .
Forrest Turner : Most of the big bands that are on , like , Fearless records go through a management company that books the tours for them . What ’ s that one company that everybody goes though ? The Artery Foundation , that ’ s it . They make the dates for these bigger bands . But bands like us have one person that manages the band .
Moore : There are hundreds of thousands of bands worldwide , on the same level as us that are just trying to go out there and get some support . We do DIY touring . We go online , find people that book in cities we want to go to , message them , talk to them , then even at some point we have to find the local bands to play the shows . It ’ s a lot of legwork . Even on something like an 11 day tours takes weeks of organizing and stressing over .
FIVE : Well , that attests to the drive you guys have . You write the music , play the music , you ’ re your own management , booking agent . And in this internet age , a lot of bands are doing that because you ’ re able to promote yourselves with that platform .
HM : This definitely wouldn ’ t have happened like seven or eight years ago . Before Myspace and Facebook and social media in general , you would have to be lucky . [ all laugh ]
FT : You either get it or you don ’ t . Back then you just have to hope someone is at that show to see but nowadays …
FIVE : To wrap up , most hated thing about touring and most loved thing about touring ?
FT : Walmart showers . I ’ m the king of Walmart showers .
JK : You can pick out the pretty boys who want to take a shower . Me , on the other hand , it ’ s not an issue . [ everyone laughs ]
FT : This last tour , Keith didn ’ t shower the entire week we were on tour .
Keith Tallman : Yeah , but you couldn ’ t smell me could you ? [ everyone laughs ]
HM : I remember one time on tour , I was in a Walmart family restroom taking care of business and then I finish up and I ’ m walking out with my backpack and this lady with a stroller looks at me with the dirtiest look .
FT : I was in a regular restroom cleaning up one time and all these people kept looking at like “ what is the guy doing ?”
MP : Sketchy people . It was freezing cold out while we were in Carolina and someone is outside banging on the van and I run out with a bat but they were gone . I thought I was going to have to hit somebody .
FT : My favorite thing , is one time , I saw my first black chick ’ s boobies on this last tour . And it was awesome . [ laughs ] MP : Getting away from Pensacola . HM : My favorite thing is leaving . Hated is coming back .
Scream Out Loud is a band driven by their passion for playing live , touring and their fans . Each member of the band puts a part of himself into this project to keep it alive and well and no expense , tangible or otherwise is spared .
Scream Out Loud is currently preparing for their appearance at Jef Bond ’ s Art Party which takes place on March , 9 . They are also preparing a summer tour up the east coast . For more , check them out on their Facebook page , https :// www . facebook . com / screamoutloudfl .
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