No Echo is pleased to announce that it will be sponsoring an upcoming tour featuring Purgatory and Reserving Dirtnaps, two metallic hardcore bands previously featured on the site. The run will kick off on March 9 in Nashville, TN and conclude in Louisville, KY on March 16. "Originally, I had asked Reserving Dirtnaps about doing some dates for our West Coast portion of the Cold Side of Reality tour," Purgatory vocalist Matt Anderson told me about the upcoming dates, which will also include Papertrail and No Option on certain dates. "We weren’t able to work anything out for that but they told us about availability in March, so we jumped on the idea right away. Our friends in Cast In Blood were originally going to do some of the support dates but scheduling conflicts arose. Reserving Dirtnaps and us just kinda brainstormed and thought Papertrail would be an awesome fit and we hit up No Option outta Delaware for the remaining support dates, and it all worked out great.
"I'm very stoked to be able to play shows with all three bands and I feel the lineup is diverse enough where everyone can enjoy it."
I asked Matt if the tour will hit markets where Purgatory has previously done well in, or if they're mostly new spots for the Midwestern outfit. "We’ve played some of the areas a few times and a couple dates only once or twice. I will safely say we’ve had a great time and great reactions basically every time we’ve come through or been in the area. I’m excited to be back and to see the reactions the other bands get as well."
Trying to balance work life with playing in a touring band is a grind, man. "It’s definitely difficult having a full-time job at times, but they know full well we’re in a band and need to spend time on the road. If we were making a ton of money on the road—which the average person think you do—then we wouldn’t be working a day job [laughs]. As much as we would love for this to be full time, some of us have bills and families to take care of, so it’s just not realistic."
Since we were on the subject of touring, I asked Matt what he found to be the toughest part of it, on a personal level. "Being away from my girlfriend and my dogs. I hate that. Those are things I look forward to everyday. Getting out of a routine at the gym sucks and I work on cars a lot, or usually have some type of project, it keeps me busy and out of trouble, and helps my peace of mind. I’m a head case, so not having my things to keep me grounded sucks. I also really fucking hate going from place to place and sometimes feeling like I’m collectively looking at the same person on repeat in public. Trends man..."
As I usually do on No Echo, I pressed Matt to see what bands he was excited about in 2019. "Zero Hour put out an awesome record at the end of 2018, so I’m excited to see where it brings them. Section H8 is a new fave of mine. Buried Dreams and All Out War will have new music... man there’s a lot of bands I’m excited for! Piece of Mind got new shit comin', Living In Fear and NAM are two awesome newer bands from Atlanta. All our friends in Chicago, Milwaukee, and NWI — The Connection. We’re taking over."
No Echo and Unbeaten Records present Purgatory and Reserving Dirtnaps on tour:
3/9 – Nashville, TN @ The End (w/ Papertrail)
3/10 – Norfolk, VA @ Pourhouse (w/ Papertrail)
3/11 – Baltimore, MD @ TBA (w/ Papertrail)
3/12 – Monclair, NJ @ The Meatlocker (w/ Papertrail)
3/13 – Wallingford, CT @ Wamleg (w/ No Option)
3/14 – Albany, NY @ Fuze Box (w/ No Option)
3/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Black Forge Coffee House (w/ No Option)
3/16 – Louisville, KY @ Spinelli’s (w/ No Option)
Tagged: purgatory, reserving dirtnaps
