1983
Born December 3rd 1983. Approximately at 11:30 pm
1984
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1994
At the end of 4th grade they brought in someone with a bunch of musical instruments introducing the school band to us. I decided I wanted to play the trumpet.
I will always remember my 5th grade teachers. Mrs. Jacobs for Reading was my favorite. I remember her reading a book called “Nancy and Plum” it was more papers than a book. I remember sitting in class and thinking that someday when I got older I would find her a new one. Mr. Corella in Science was very kind hearted. I remember him giving a kid that didn’t have much money a nice notre dame jacket. This would be the last year I was a bit addicted to Snoopy.
1995
As the school year came to an end I decided I did not want to play trumpet anymore and my band director asked me if I wanted to try drums which I didn’t know was an option, so I said yes. My mom got me weekly private drum lessons from David Coldren and bought me a little practice pad with music books. I played cymbals in the 4th of July parade and was super pumped to be a drummer. By the time the school year started I moved up to bass drum and became good friends with Heath Wood and Cody Smith. They were the other drummers in my grade.
1996
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1997
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1998
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1999
July 20th Blink 182 had just released “Enema of the State” and were to headline the Vans Warped Tour. My parents bought me, Jimi, and Josh tickets to the concert. My mom drove us to the T at the south hills village mall and we rode it to station square, where the IC light Amphitheatre was. As we walked in we were to the right of the main stages. Grinspoon, an Australian punk band was playing. Walking around seeing people dressed like I had never seen before in real life. People were having a blast in mosh pits and crowd surfing. It was like discovering a whole new life. We walked around listening to all the new music. We saw a really good ska band, The Berlin Project and after they were done we went up and told them if they ever needed an opener we would do it. He asked us what kind of music we were and when we told him pop punk he told us to checkout Punchline and we would be a better fit. Overall I watched the sets of Blink 182, Grinspoon, The Berlin Project, Black Eyes Peas, Less Than Jake, H20, Lunachiks, Pennywise, Sevendust, The Living End, Royal Crown Revue, Buzz Poets, and Suicidal Tendencies. Afterwards I got to see The Black Eyed Peas, Pennywise, and The Vandals who put on a very entertaining show. When Blink 182 came on I started crowd surfing repeatedly. It was hot, humid, people smelled, but no one cared. At one point I was up and Tom Delonge looked at me. I didn’t know what to do so I gave him the rock n roll sign with my hand. When I landed in between the crowd and the stage I reached up and touched Tom’s foot. They played mainly songs from the album and Dude Ranch since they were still kinda new. After the show Steve from Punchline walked up to me and tried hustling me a cd for $5 which I bought. I told him I had just heard of his band earlier that day and we exchanged info. While leaving the parking lot there was someone signing up bands for a battle of bands at Club Laga in Pittsburgh. We filled it out and got back on the T. I remember my ears ringing, but being filled with as much excitement one could have. There were others coming home from the concert also on the T and were singing songs excitedly also.
September 25th Passive Shadows played our first show at Ryerson State Park for the Arts in the Park battle of the bands. We got 2nd out of 3 bands. Optical Illusion and 7’77 were the other bands.
October 30th I performed at the Bands of America Regional Championship at West Virginia University.
I stayed New Years Eve at my granny’s house. There was the big Y2K scare that all of the computers would go down because they would not know how to move to the next century.
2000
Towards the end of March Passive Shadows had an opening show for Froglodge at the Elk’s Club in Waynesburg. After the long night April stayed at my house where I lost virginity. I was beyond nervous.
July 18th Me, Jimi, and Josh went to Vans Warped Tour again at the Chevrolet Amphitheatre. I watched the sets of Green Day, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Papa Roach, MXPX, Showoff, Jurassic 5, NOFX, Flogging Molly, AFI, Hot Water Music, Suicide Machines, Lunachiks, and Snapcase. After the show me and Josh snuck behind the tour buses and met and got pictures/autographs with Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Mike from MXPX. I got Mike to sign a cd cover for my girlfriend at the time because they were one of her favorite bands.
July 19th Passive Shadows played at the Jacktown Fair Battle of Bands. Froglodge won the show which was no surprise. Optical Illusion and MRC also played.
December 29th Almost Cool hosted a Holiday Bash at the Waynesburg VFW. Even though Froglodge was bigger and better they agreed to open to help us out. 3 Miles Down from Pittsburgh also agreed to come down and join the bill.
2001
January 27th Almost Cool played Joker Productions Battle of bands at Club Laga. 16 bands competed, we got 8th place.
March 18th Almost Cool had a Fundraiser Buffet at the Waynesburg Pizza Hut.
March 30th Almost Cool hosted a show at the Waynesburg VFW. Punchline was headlining with Almost Cool and Despite Best Intentions opening the show. The Waynesburg College paper did an article on the show.
March 31st Almost Cool played in the championship round of the Pancake battle of the bands which had been going on for months. Josh was grounded so even though I didn’t really know how to play guitar, I tried so we could play and make the $500 for 2nd place. We would have won the whole thing if Josh didn’t get grounded. My friend Jeff Hartley played drums and we put together a quick set.
April 1st Community Outlook at Washington County paper did an article on Almost Cool.
August 2nd I went to the Vans Warped tour for the 3rd year in a row. I went with Jimi and Josh again. It was at the IC Light Amphitheatre. I saw Jimmy Eat World for the first time. Bleed American had just been released. I also watched the sets of The Bouncing Souls, The Dropkick Murphys, Fenix TX, Less Than Jake, The Ataris, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Alien Ant Farm, The Vandals, and Thursday.
I was in my Senior English class when on September 11th 2 planes flew into the world trade center buildings in New York. A plane also crashed into the pentagon and one crashed a couple hours east of Waynesburg. Everyone was in a panic and I remember telling my friends that we didn’t have to worry because we lived in the rural country. Our school nurse had a son that worked at the WTCs and one that worked at the pentagon. I remember being worried for her. They stopped school and turned on the televisions for everyone to watch the news, it was the only time they ever did that. After school my dad was helping me fix something on a car when we saw a plane fly over. This was significant because the air travel was banned except for military/ government. It was most likely Air Force One heading to camp david.
July 29th Almost Cool played at the Rainday Festival Battle of bands in Waynesburg and took first place!
September 16th The Greene County Messenger released an article of Almost Cool with our picture on the front page. We met the interviewer at Bill’s work place called Mel’s. I was eating french fries while they were taking our picture.
October 12th I went to the Punchline CD release show at Club Laga in Oakland.
2002
April 13th Almost Cool performed in Joker Productions guitar center rock off at Club Laga. There were 15 bands. We got 5th place overall. 2nd in stage presence, 3rd in industry potential, musical content, and crowd response.
In May I graduated from Waynesburg High School.
August 13th I went to the Vans Warped Tour for 4th year in a row. Once again with Jimi and Josh. This time at The Post gazette Pavilion since the tour had grown a lot in popularity. I watched the sets of New Found Glory, Something Corporate, Simple Plan, Allister, Bad Religion, Punchline, Reel Big Fish, Alkaline Trio, Thursday, and Finch.
I started at Waynesburg College. My first day of school my car broke down on the way there.
Towards the end of the year Derek started jamming in our band.
2003
February 1st Almost Cool was recording “Nothing to Say” at Silent Wing Audio with Dan Festog in Bobtown, PA.
June 1st Almost Cool played the first Playr’ Productions show at the Charleroi VFW with SF Firehydrant, Nothing Unexpected, Honin, Michael Faryna, and special guests, The dirty garbage men (punchline.)
June 23rd Almost Cool opened for The RX Bandits and No Motiv at Club Laga.
July 6th Almost Cool played our 2nd Playr Production show at the Charleroi VFW, but this time headlining. The Spacepimps, Distant Future, and Every Second Sunday also played. (shopping cart)
July 22nd Almost Cool played our 3rd Playr Production show at the Charleroi VFW with The Victory Year, Wings of Azrael, Cobra High, Clearview, and Running from Romance.
July 30th was the Almost Cool / Second Before the Crash CD Release show at Club Laga. This was the only show we headlined at Club Laga. SF Firehydrant, Nothing Unexpected, and Thought Deposit were also on the bill.
August 6th was a dream come true, Almost Cool played at the Post gazette Pavilion for the Vans Warped Tour through the Ernie Ball Contest. Besides playing I got to watch the sets of The Spacepimps, Punchline, Motion City Soundtrack, Brand New, The All American Rejects, The Ataris, Rancid, and The Starting Line.
October 4rth Almost Cool and Playr Productions held had a show at the Waynesburg VFW. Punchline, A Week in July, Ritter, and Punchbox also played.
We went to New York and recorded at Nada Studios in November.
December 12th Almost Cool headlined The Upstage. This was our first and only Playr Production show at this venue. SF Firehydrant, Thought Deposit, Runner Up, and Clearview also played. We closed the set with Sorry But You’re Not a Winner and I got off the drums and aggressively played a slide whistle. This was also the night that Big Eugene hustled me for some money by loading my equipment, even though I didn’t want help.
Derek had a party and by the end of year he was no longer in the band. Pat joined.
2004
March 20th Almost Cool played another Playr Production show at the Charleroi VFW. We headlined with Tel Star, One Left Standing, and Thought Deposit also on the bill.
June 7th Almost Cool opened for Riddlin Kids at Mr Smalls theatre.
June 17th Almost Cool started a Northeast tour in Meadville, Pa.
June 18th Almost Cool played at Xtreme Wheels in Buffalo, NY.
June 20th I met Jenny at a show Almost Cool played at Club Drifters in Nashua, New Hampshire.
June 25th Almost Cool played at Bloomfield Ave. Cafe in Montclair, NJ.
June 26th Almost Cool played at Hamilton Street Cafe in Bound Brooke, NJ.
July 3rd Almost Cool finished our tour at the Hopewell VFD #2 in Hopewell, PA.
July 26th Almost Cool played a Playr Production show at the Charleroi Italian Club with Transition, Gametime, Afterdrama, Right Mind Insomnia, ian Cicco, and Echojade.
October 1st Almost Cool played a Playr Production show at The Rhythm House with Audio Karate, Clearview, Nothing Unexpected, and The Eventide.
November 6th Almost Cool headlined at Playr Production show at Monessen Civic Center with Wings of Azrael, Isadora, Molly Jade Coneybeer, and Ian Cicco. Portugal the Man was suppose to play this show, but cancelled.
December 3rd My 21st birthday Almost Cool opened for Chronic Future at Mr Smalls Theatre. Antoon stole a case of coors light from backstage. I drank a can on stage. The next night I rode with Nichelle to Antoon’s for a party in Oakland. I drank some whiskey and chased it with coke out of a santa clause cup Nichelle had.
At the end of the year Josh decided he didn’t want to play anymore and Ben joined.
2005
We recorded our album at Squirrel Sound in Morgantown, West Virginia. Robert was the engineer/owner and his biggest claims to fame were that he recorded Billy Ray Cyrus and would do events with the white house. In April Victory Lane released our first full length album called “Listen and Believe” I wrote 9 out of the 11 songs, so this was a big accomplishment for me. We had out cd release show at the Armory in Waynesburg.
May 28th Victory Lane opened for Nothing Unexpected for their CD release show at the Level Green Community Building. Afterdrama and The Reflections Lie also played the show.
June 7th Victory Lane Headlined at Mr Smalls Theatre as playr production show. This was split cd release show for Victory Lane and Clearview Kills. Also on the bill was Afterdrama, Five Feet Ahead, and Me Just Being Me. There was issues with Me Just Being Me, but I can’t even remember what they were.
June 20th Victory Lane played at the Williamstown VFW in Williamstown, NJ. There wasn’t many people at the show, but we had a really good response and the promoter invited us back the next night so we could play in front of a bigger crowd. We stayed at his house for the night and we slept on his floor. He said he knew Richard from Drive Thru Records and that he thought Richard would like us.
June 21st Victory Lane played at the Wiliamstown VFW again and the show was much bigger and we made a lot of new fans. Jeff, from The Early November was there and said he liked our set. That was pretty amazing in itself.
August 1st Victory Lane played the Vans Warped Tour at The Post Gazette Pavilion and Ben got an underage drinking fine. We weren’t scheduled to play, but that didn’t stop us.
September Victory Lane headlined at Mr Smalls Theatre. Socratic, Nothing Unexpected, and Feeding Zeus opened the show. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette put a small article in the paper.
December 10th Victory Lane headlined at Mr Smalls Theatre. Mark This Day, The Elderly, Zander, & The Lie opened the show.
2006
February 6th Victory Lane opened for Mest and Scary Kids Scarring Kids at The Rock Club.
March 6th Victory Lane played a playr production show at Mr Smalls Theatre. Halifax was the headliner. My American Heart, Isadora, and A Fall From Grace were also on the bill.
April 15th Victory Lane played a Playr production show at the Level Green Community Center. Socratic was the main attraction, but A Fall From Grace, The Spacepimps, Park, David Melillio, and Operation Super Catch were also on the bill.
April 22nd Victory Lane played a Playr production show at California University. Gym Class Heroes were the headliner. Loko Phylum, Distorted Penguins, The Spacepimps, burning West, and Amy illy were also on the bill. We smoked weed with the guitar player of gym class heroes in our van after the show. I also was harassed for money at my friend Nichelle’s party.
In May I graduated from Waynesburg College with a Bachelors Degree in Communication with a emphasis on Electronic Media.
July 2nd Victory Lane played at Pittsburgh Regatta Festival. We opened for The Violent Femmes. I got to meet Mr. McFeely from Mr Roger’s Neighborhood. I got his autograph. As we started the set I was told to say ” You got to Regatta” but in an all together kind of way. Instead of saying it correctly I stuttered the phrase and there was a very brief oh shit feeling as I could hear a friend laugh from behind me.
July 27th Victory Lane played the Ernie Ball Stage at the Vans Warped Tour at The Post Gazette Pavilion.
In August I moved out of my parent’s house and into a house with the rest of the band and Rachael. It was located in Sewickley Heights. We referred to this house as the band house and was meant to keep us together more to practice more frequently.
In October I started working for The Cheesecake Factory as a busser.
December 22nd Victory Lane hosted a holiday show at The Henning House in Sewickley, PA. We did a video advertisement for this show where me and Ben were being goofy.
2007
June 7th Victory Lane played at Playr production show at Mr Smalls Theatre. The Morning Light headlined and it was their cd release show. All Time Low (acoustic) was the 2nd headliner. Mark this Day and Annasay were also on the bill. This was the first show for our Northeast tour.
Started dating Laura Rose.
Moved into my own apartment.
November 7th Victory Lane played a playr production show at Diesel. RC Static was the headliner and Cali AC and An evening Affair were also on the bill.
2008
Started working for Clear Channel Radio.
Quit Clear Channel in July.
Started back at Cheesecake Factory in September.
Thanksgiving Disaster
Rented a house with Francesca in December.
2009
May 30th I went to see Coldplay with my parents at the Post Gazette Pavilion.
Started jamming with Randy.
2010
February 28th I bought my home at 815 Geyer Road Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
Started jamming with Brad.
Broke up with Laura Rose on a Thursday in May.
May 22nd I played acoustically with Randy at the death of playr production show at the Lawrenceville Moose Lodge. There were a lot of acts on the bill.
2011
February 13th The Mondaze had our first show at Chatham University. I remember feeling a bit awkward, but it felt great. We did songs like Music and Hockey, Bring me Back to You, pleasure and pain, It wouldn’t be so bad, and check your clock.
April 9th The Mondaze hosted and played the Joe Forgione farewell party at Around the Corner Bar. We even wrote a song for him and he joined us on harmonica.
April 20th The Mondaze received our first batch of shirts. They were designed by me and had stick figures on them.
Towards the end of May I started my payment processing portfolio. I rode around with Jimi and we solicited small businesses for our service.
In August I drove 24+ hours to New Brunswick with my mom and dad. The main goal was to see the Bay of Fundy and Hopewell Rocks. I remember being totally exhausted by the time we were close. I was almost positive I was going to see a moose. The area was rather remote, but the sight seeing was pretty unbelievable. I walked at night into the bay where the tides change over 50 feet twice a day. (highest tides on earth) When I was out it was really dark and I could feel the water creeping on my ankles. Deeply concerned I tried heading back to land as fast as possible, but it being dark made it harder than normal. For a little bit I thought that I might get swallowed up by the ever rising water. After Fifteen minutes of walking from the wetness I made it back and then went to the hotel where my parents were.
Shortly after I got back from my trip I was waiting tables and a table of Canadians were sitting at table 1.
On September 11th The Mondaze went to Innovation Studios to record 2 songs; “Love Bomb” and “Take Me Now” It was a great experience. Mike Ofca was really talented and professional. Both songs turned out great and we had a really good response.
2012
January 6th The Mondaze played at the HMBFC in Pittsburgh. Mace Ballard, August Ruins, Anchors End, and Paper Politicians also shared the bill.
Got 3rd job at PNC Park as a suite attendant.
Family road trip to Upper Peninsula of Michigan in August.
Started dating Ivy.
August 31st The Mondaze had our CD Release show at Hard Rock Cafe. 720 was the opener.
2013
July 27th The Mondaze played at Sieb’s Pub.
Family Road trip around the great lakes in August.
Went to the Grand Canyon in October when the government shutdown occurred.
Stopped dating Ivy.
2014
My granny passed away in March.
Hooked up with Missy in December.
2015
The day after Wassell’s wedding I was called in for a food run shift by Tim Byers. I did not want to go in, but I did. It was this day I printed some paper out of pos and wrote my 2 week notice. I did not tell anyone but Chuck who I handed my paper to. It was real short and messy and he didn’t even want it, so I kept it.
August 22nd I went to Club Cafe to see Wicked Chief and Cold Roses.
December 13th I went to the Four Chord Music Festival with Yellowcard and Anti Flag.
2016
February 24th I went Where’s the band? concert at Mr Smalls Theatre with Jake.
July 29th I went to see Bush and Chevelle at Stage AE with Spurks. Gavin got off the stage and walked right up to us while singing Little Things.
Family trip to Vancouver Island and Washington in August.
2017
May 11th I went to see The Red Hot Chili Peppers with Spurks at PPG Arena.
May 13th was the first annual Millvale Music Festival. The Mondaze performed at the Double L Bar and it was our first show back.
May 15th I went to see Jimmy Eat World at The Main Stage in Morgantown, WV. Beach Slang was the opener. I bought an extra ticket and Jimi came with me. It was awesome!
June 17th The Mondaze played at Drinks.
Road trip to Acadia National Park in August.
2018
March 2nd I went to see the West Greene High School girls basketball team play in the WPIAL championship at the Peterson Event Center with my parents. They lost, but was impressive.
March 31st I went to see Punchline play at Mr Smalls Theatre with The Morning Light. I went by myself and got pretty drunk. I saw lots of friends and had a really good time. I even held the door for a bunch of strangers.
April 4th was Almost Cool Reunion show with Scenes From a Movie, Time and Distance, and Mace Ballard. This was held at The Smiling Moose in the south side of Pittsburgh.
April 29th I went to the Look Out Loretta EP release show The Smiling Moose.
May 6th I went to see Jimmy Eat World at Mr Smalls Theatre.
May 25th I went to see New Found Glory and The Movie Life at Stage AE. I had a lot of friends going so I went by myself. Robin also went and we hung out for a little. I also ran into DLY
May 30th I went to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Chicago Cubs with my parents.
June 5th I went to see Real Estate play with Ryan. It was at Mr Smalls Theatre and Habibi was the opener.
June 9th I went to see Hall & Oates and Train at PPG Arena with Robin.
June 16th The Mondaze played Mr Smalls Theatre with All in Uniform, Dash City Skyline, Vantage. and AMC dreaming.
July 20th I went to see the Gin Blossoms, Tonic, and Punchlne play at Stage AE with Brad.
July 22th I went to see Taking Back Sunday and Coheed and Cambria at Stage AE with Robin.
July 28th I went to see Chicago and REO Speedwagonwith my parents at the Key Bank Pavilion.
August 5th I went to see Punchline play with The Spill Canvas at The Rex Theatre in the south side. After this show Robin asked me out and I said yes.
Family trip to Montana and Wyoming in August.
August 26th I went to the 5th annual Four Chord Music Festival with Robin.
August 31st The Mondaze played a playr production show at Cattivo with Tiny Stills, Get Married, A Week in July, and Young Lungs.
September 18th I went to see Guided By Voices with Ryan at Spirit Lounge.
2019
May 11th was the 3rd annual Millvale Music Festival. I performed solo and The Mondaze performed.
August 16th I went to see The Doobie Brothers with my family and Brad.
September 13th I went with Ryan to Andrew Bird at the Roxian Theatre. We ran into Steve and Pat.
September 17th I went with Ryan to see Built to Spill. Spurks came along. This was at Mr Smalls Theatre.
August 2nd I sent a message to Jenny via facebook messenger. This began a continuous conversation which lead to me asking if she wanted me to stop by on a road trip I was planning. Her reply was yes and she seemed excited. This was exciting news! Right after we started chatting I went on “date” with a nice girl named Brittany, but the whole time I had my mind on Jenny. September was a month of preparation and adventure. I routed a road trip from Pittsburgh to Cherry Springs State park to camp and look at the stars. It was so dark outside you couldn’t see a foot in front of you. They had lighting rules so the astronomy would not be harmed. I saw the milky way with my bare eyes. That night there was a loud owl hooting as I caped in my tent. Then next morning I drove non stop through New York, Vermont, and into Quebec to Atlantic Coast. I was chatting with Jenny throughout the whole trip. I setup camp at Forillon National Parc and hike around for a few days. I saw several porcupine and a black bear. I was making a goofy music video wearing funny glasses and and coyote head. There was one day that was very rainy and windy. I hiked to the top of observation deck at Mt. Alban. I did not see any other hikers this day and although it was not desirable weather, it was pretty amazing. Most of the trip I was just eating cheerios, but one night I did go to a pub and had a beer and General Tsos. This was not the general tso’s I was used to. There was french fries, pasta, and like cheese balls. It was ok. The guy next to me and some others teased me about being from America and how we don’t use the metric system. The guy was like ” you know you base your measurements off someone’s foot?” It does sound pretty ridiculous when you think about it. I followed the coast south and made it to Perce’ Rock. This was a surprise and was unbelievable. I first saw it from a distance and had to pull off the road to take a picture. As I got closer I got out and took more pictures. By the time I made it there I was as excited as one could be. There was a neat little town all around this enormous rock in the ocean.
2020
The year started busy with work as I set up a pos system for a beer distributor. At end of January I went to Jenny’s for Jenny & Jason’s Best Decade Yet Kickoff Celebration. It was amazing to see Jenny as always. Cam remembered me and it was pretty amazing hanging out with him. Jenny took me up to Woodstock, New Hampshire to look at and walk through Ice Castles. It was really neat and we slid down a mini snow hill. We ate a brewery and I got to re meet her mom and meet Bob and her Uncle George. On the night of the superbowl we went out on a night in Nashua.