We go behind the scenes at Amity Affliction’s sold out show at The Riverstage in Brisbane to chat to alternative suicide prevention charity Hope For The Day founder Jonny Boucher, Big Ass Tour production manager (and Slipknot production/.stage manager) Jacob Raggio about his life on the road, plus fans Demi, Mitch and Keegan about what the Amity Affliction means to them. Features live footage from Amity Affliction’s incredible performance. We also captured two songs live – “Let The Ocean Take Me” and “FML.” Watch our feature playlist here.
Jonny Boucher started out as a Chicago show promoter and turned his attention to suicide prevention and mental health awareness when he saw fans being claimed by suicide in the scene. He’s since taken Hope For The Day around the world, joining forces with bands like Amity Affliction, Tonight Alive, Killswitch Engage and tours like the Vans Warped tour to introduce mental health to young music fans in a new way, with the strong support from artists who care deeply about their fans’ state of mind and have overcome their own struggles. Watch the feature above, or on YouTube here.
Watch Amity Affliction performing “Let The Ocean Take Me” Live at The Riverstage, Brisbane
Jonny Boucher on working with Joel from Amity Affliction:
“We do a lot of combining with tours because its kind of like a reverse approach to mental health and mental illness. Because people think its so pigeonholed and in the corner, we bring to the forefront, we team up with their favourite bands. We also team up with their favourite bands because they have experienced this.
We’ve had the pleasure of working with The Amity Affliction for the past half a year. We were working with them in the States, then we did Europe and the UK. And now we’re here for the first time, primarily because of them. Joel Birch the lead singer and I are very good friends now and we’ve talked a lot about personal experiences and he wants to be there for them.”
Jonny Boucher addressing the Riverstage crowd:
“Right now, suicide is now the second leading cause of death for 15 – 24 year olds worldwide. And if you’re struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts or even self harm I want to let you know that it is OK not to be OK, that getting help does not make you weak, it only makes you stronger. So one of the things we’re doing tonight is I want to let you know back at the merch table we have these resource cards … so if you’re struggling, grab one, but more importantly if you know someone that is not here – that is struggling – grab one of those and go reach out to them and say you’re here to help them get through life, because that’s what we need – we need love, we need compassion, we need community. If you’ve ever lost someone to suicide or you’ve struggled, put your hand up right now. Look around, we can start that conversation right here right now because together, we’re too strong to drown.”
The Amity Affliction, A Day To Remember, Hands Like Houses and Motionless In White tour was a mammoth live music experience, touring arenas and outdoor amphitheaters like The Riverstage with epic visual production, deafening crowd singalongs and a truly electric atmosphere. Having witnessed both the Sydney and Brisbane legs of the tour, it must be said that watching an arena full of kids sing along to every word is a magic experience, and knowing that an Aussie band has inspired this kind of reaction is even more meaningful. Keegan, Demi and Mitch from the crowd shared some of their stories in the feature video above.
To understand a bit more about how a gig like this is put together, we spoke to production manager Jacob Raggio, a veteran production manager who has worked with Slipknot (since 2008), My Chemical Romance and did four years working with the Mayhem Festival.
Jacob on getting into being a professional production manager:
“My godfather who was a carpenter for The Rolling Stones, U2 and Aerosmith. He brought me out as his production assistant when he was the tour manager for Taking Back Sunday on their only arena headliner that they ever did. He gave me a shot and I started working with My Chemical Romance after that and went from the third carpenter with them to their production manager. I was with them to their last record cycle when they broke up. I thank them a lot for where I am today, same with Slipknot. I’ve been with them since 2008. It worked out where both of those bands’ record cycles allowed me to work for them.”
Jacob on what is involved in a typical Slipknot production:
“Seventy locals including riggers a day, about ten loads of stuff … I have carpenters, I have pyrotechnicians, we have seven backline guys for nine band members, which is a lot of people. Full audio team, full lighting team, production assistant, wardrobe. Just for Slipknot we have the equivalent of what we have for this whole tour for all the bands.”
Christina from The Void has also interviewed A Day To Remember’s tour manager, Guy Sykes who was Pantera’s only tour manager and now also tours with Hellyeah, Godsmack, Die Antwoord and Volbeat. Read his interview here.
Christina’s Top 11 Tips For Headbanger Mental Health
Beyond heading to a show and getting covered in other people’s sweat or headbanging in the car, here are Christina’s super practical tips for better mental health and wellbeing. Share this with a mate who is down in the dumps, and you could make their weekend. Party on Wayne!
1. Make your bed. Seriously. It means you can’t get back in.
2. Try and sleep at the times normal people do. Disrupting your circadian rhythms sets you up for mood swings.
3. Eat some decent fresh food. The modern plague of mental illness in the western world could be attributed in part to terrible nutrition. Google a recipe.
4. Get some therapy. A year of it can change your whole outlook. Go to your GP, they’ll ask you 20 questions then give you a referral for ten sessions subsidised by the government that make them cost $30.
5. Feel lonely? Call your mates. Everyone is busy as hell. From your twenties onwards, you gotta make the effort.
6. It’s not about you. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”
7. Write down what you want and fearlessly pursue it. Get aggressively comfortable with rejection and don’t give up.
8. You’re awesome. Really. We only get a short time on this planet. Be kinder to yourself. Your life is a perfect reflection of your beliefs. If it sucks, challenge your deepest belief.
9. It’s always darkest before the dawn.
10. Get some exercise. It feels awesome.
11. Get your favourite record, put on some headphones. Lie down on your bed and focus on your breathing and think about the best live gig you’ve seen recently. Rinse and repeat.
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