Paramore put out their EP, and then we put out our album about a week later. The tour started a week after that, and everyone was super busy. We had all our equipment, but we just had to make sure it all arrived in time. We kind of needed to start working out too, 'cause we couldn't lift that stuff.
We managed to get a couple of the same crew that we had a few years before. Our tour manager also hooked us up with a some other people. We took them all out to lunch one afternoon. That was pretty interesting.
We talked about the tour, where we were putting all the equipment, and stuff like that. We also had to figure out lighting. We had our stage design and everything, but we'd put off lights for a long time.
"Who all is on this tour again," Tay asked. We were out grocery shopping. We had two separate carts. One was filled with stuff to stay at home. Stuff that Tay would probably eat while we were gone. The other was filled with tour stuff. How do you prepare for three months, though?
"Us, Paramore, and You Me At Six," Jack said. He had his arm around her the whole time. I think they were both secretly hoping that Tay would somehow sneak onto the tour. Hayley would flip.
"Paramore and You Me At Six toured in Europe together a couple months ago. Insane crowds," Rian said. He took a whole box of canned ravioli, and put it in the cart.
"Someone's been doing research," I commented. Rian shrugged.
"They're pretty cool dudes," he said. "And you don't remember that because you were in jail."
"Chill, ladies," Jack said. Rian stuck his tongue out at Jack, and commented about how he wasn't even helping.
"We can't take you guys anywhere," I said, and rolled my eyes. Zack came back from the produce with a bunch of healthy food. He was the only one that would eat any of it.
We went to the check outs, and then headed home. There was no way this would all fit in the fridge.
It finally came to fill the bus. We claimed our bunks, and put our bags in. We moved the gaming stuff, and all the food. The crew guys helped load up all the equipment, and everything for the shows. Then we were off.
I sat on the couch by the window the entire time. I kept staring and thinking. The guys would move around and come and go, but I wouldn't move. I think they tried to talk to me sometimes, but I didn't notice.
I didn't move until I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I took it out, and answered. It was Hayley.
"Hey! Are you guys close," she asked. I could hear general noise behind her. A lot of laughing and joking. This was gonna be fun.
"Yeah, I think we have about half an hour. What's the venue like," I said. I turned around and sat back down. No more staring at the passing scenes.
"It's beautiful. I can't wait for you to get here. But it sounds like I'll have VIP meet and greet by the time you arrive. Make sure I get to see you before you go on stage for real," she asked. I could hear her pouting through the phone. I sighed, and switched the phone to my other hand.
"If you didn't need to be at meet and greet so early, then it'd be easier," I said. I really wanted to see her. I needed her help with warm ups. I also needed a lot of advice. I hadn't done this whole performing thing in a while.
"Don't rush getting here. I'll probably have time to meet you in the green room or something. Love you," she said. I said it back, and then she said she had to go.
We'd never had a proper meet and greet. We would meet fans after the show at our merch, but that was about it. I decided that I wanted to meet as many fans as possible. Whether I had to stay at the merch booth for hours, and also had to wait outside in the cold, it didn't matter. I wanted to make sure they knew they were appreciated.
When we got to the venue, we had to unload everything. We set everything up right onto the stage. With everything set up, we had to test the lights. That's what we'd spent the least amount of time on.
After that, everything was tuned, and then we had sound check. We ran through the first song, just to make sure that everything sounded good. After that, the guys headed off to the green room.
I stood, and looked out at where the crowd would be soon. This was all so overwhelming. The lights were on, lighting everything up. I leaned on my microphone stand and looked at all the space. It would disappear soon enough.
"Ay, mate!" I heard from behind me. I turned around and found a guy walking towards me. He had a bit of beard and short curly hair.
"Uh, hey. I'm Alex," I introduced. He stuck his hand out for me to shake, and I met it. He pulled me into a hug, and patted me on the back.
"I'm Josh, singer of You Me At Six. I heard you're coming back after some time off," He said. I nodded, and tried to figure out what to say next. "You feel prepared?"
"Uh, kind of, I guess," I said. It came out as a question. Josh smiled big, and nodded a couple times.
"Come with me," he said. I mumbled a response, but he'd already turned and started walking. I followed behind him, trying to figure out what was going on.
After talking with Josh for a while, and finally getting to meet with Hayley, the show was about to start. I was backstage with Hayley and the guys. She was leading me through some last minute warm-ups. We also kissed for good luck.
I looked out at the crowd, and started freaking out. There were so many people. I wasn't actually expecting that many.
"What is it," Hayley asked. She pulled on my arm, and tried to get me to face her. "What's wrong?"
"I can't go out there. Look at all those people! I'm gonna fuck up," I said, and then quickly walked away. I took my guitar off, and shoved it into one of the crew members' arms. I could hear Hayley running after me.
I went into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut. I felt like puking. I leaned over the toilet, and puked. I let everything out, and then leaned back. I wiped my face, and flushed the toilet.
Hayley knocked on the door. "Alex? Come out here please," she said. I washed my hands at the sink, and then opened the door.
"There are so many people," I stated. She nodded, and gave me a hug.
"You'll do great," she said into my chest. We ran back to the other guys, and one of the crew guys gave me back my guitar. Hayley kissed my cheek and said, "do or die."
Then we were off.