stoked for this tour! i will be on this! reblog this and catch a date on it!

Oct 29 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown

Oct 30 - Chattanooga, TN @ The Warehouse

Oct 31 - Memphis, TN @ Escape Alley

Nov 1 - Raleigh, NC @ Tremont Music Hall

Nov 2 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Club Relevant

Nov 3 - Annapolis, MD @ Knights of Columbus

Nov 4 - Lemoyne, PA @ The Championship

Nov 5 - Dayton, OH @ The Attic

Nov 6 - Louisville, KY @ Encounter Church

Nov 7 - Evansville, IN @ The Hatch

Nov 8 - Goshen, IN @ Goshen Theater

Nov 9 - St Paul, MN @ Station 4

Nov 10 - Sioux City, IA @ The Underground

Nov 11 - Wichita, KS @ TBA

Nov 12 - Little Rock, AR @ Downtown Music Hall

Nov 13 - Tulsa, OK @ Marquee

Nov 14 - San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit

Nov 15 - Waco, TX @ Art Ambush

Nov 16 - Fort Worth, TX @ Tomcats

Nov 17 - Mobile, AL @ The Indie Spot

Nov 18 - Savannah, GA @ City Church

Nov 19 - Douglasville, GA @ The 7 Venue

Nov 20 - Jacksonville, FL @ Murray Hill Theatre

A PLEA FOR PURGING|NO BRAGGING RIGHTS|GIDEON|TAKE IT BACK! (FINAL TOUR)

ALSO IF YOU’RE GOING ON TOUR, LET ME KNOW SO I CAN POST IT!

andy atkins just did merch for his band, a plea for purging. so why not do an interview with a man doing double duty! 

merchguylife:how did you end up doing merch for your own band?

andy:First off let me say, we have been blessed to have had some great

merch dudes along the years we’ve been touring, two of our favorite
have been The Hot Boss himself: Jake “Damifino” Willard and our own
Ginger Problem, Trevor E. Denton.  They both have served us well.

In the current touring climate, with gas prices rising to an all time
high, we have found it to be beneficial to cut all “needless”
expenses, i.e. -crew, production, extra gear, etc…
PLEA has recently decided to go back to the basics of touring.  No
more full stacks, one cab per player, no head cases, we are traveling
with the bare essentials, thus allowing us to tour without our 7x16
trailer.  We’re packing all our gear, merch, and personal items in the
van.  In doing so, we have found it to be the smartest idea to tour
with just the four members of the band and no crew, still allowing us
all to have a seat without sharing a bench.  Sharing a bench on an
over night drive is the worst.  This new step in PLEA touring has us
going back to the roots of when we worked our own merch table, which I
kinda like.  It allows me to spend more time with the kids that come
out to shows and meet a lot of great people.  Sure its more work but
the extra couple dollars a day in tips is a plus.

merchguylife:worst part about doing merch and doing vocals?

andy:I’d say the worst part of sharing the double duties of merch and vocals would have to been seeing a lot less “down time” or “personal”time on tour.  When we would tour with a merch guy, I had lots of time throughout the show to spend hanging out with other band dudes, kids,talk to my girlfriend on the phone, walk to a local food shop, etc.Working merch pretty much puts me inside the venue walls from load in to load out.  Usually sitting behind the table till we start our set and then pushing through the crowd at our last note to get back to the table before the “post set merch rush.”I’d say the constant incoming of “sound” is rough too.  You get real tired of hearing heavy music all night every night.  Ear plugs have become my best friend.

merchguylife:biggest pet peeves about customers?

andy:I could write a book about merch table etiquette.  I have a list ofpeeves for both merch guys and customers a mile long.  Lil TrevorDenton hit a large amount of them in his interview with Merch Guy Life. I’ll probably write a book about the subject one day, until then: “no I can’t hold your stuff while you MOSH and no we don’t need a merch guy.”  Oh and any venue or promoter that takes merch rates from support bands can burn and file bankruptcy for all I care.

at: doodoodoods.tumblr.com/merch

Follow PLEA on tumblr at doodoodoodes.tumblr.com

Merch Guy Life Rules!

also check out andy’s first merch set up. 

merchguylife:how did you end up doing merch for a plea for purging?

trevor: I started doing merch for A Plea for Purging because Tyler Wilson (their old guitarist) and I played in a band from Nashville together, so I had known him and the plea dudes for years. 

merchguylife: favorite part about touring?

trevor: Favorite part about touring is probably every merch guy’s favorite part. Traveling. I love traveling and seeing different cities/people across the country. Oh and free food.

merchguylife:  worst tour story? 

trevor:I stage dove in Seattle, landed on my head, got a concussion. An ambulance ride and an $800 hospital bill later I still don’t remember stage diving or what I did that entire night.

merchguylife: big pet peeves about customers?

trevor: “Do you have a sharpie?” 

“Can I borrow your sharpie?”
“Do you have a silver sharpie?”
“How much are your sharpies?”
“I don’t like green sharpies”
“When is the band going to be back here?” 
“How does that shirt glorify the lord?”
“Are you guys a Christian band?”
“Can you hold my stuff?”
“Can I have a free shirt?”
“Andy said I could have a free shirt”
“I can’t wait for the My Children My Bride show next week.”
“Are you a Christian?”
“I’ll take the black shirt.”
“Who’s Plea?”
“How much does Andy weigh?”
“Who’s Andy?”
“Who’s Dozer?”
“Where’s the old merch guy?”

Tipping change.
Picking up my tip jar.
Sweaty money.
Not enough money.
Paying in change.
Smelling awful.
Not knowing how to talk.
Not having any social skills whatsoever.
Hanging around the merch table.
Wanting to come behind the merch table.
Wanting to be my friend.
Adding me on facebook after the show.
IMing me on facebook after the show.

merchguylife: anything else you’d like to include?

trevor:Tour is for people who want to party and then become jaded about other people who want to party after you.

trevor runs @gingerproblems, check it out! 

have you ever seen ginger problems? or @gingerprobles on twitter.

well the guy who runs it is trevor, he does merch for facedown records band “a plea for purging”. good dude. and also an awesome graphic designer

support this. 

http://www.gingerproblems.com/