This July, Montgomery’s Hail the Titans will be doing a 17 day show that will start here in Montgomery, going up to New York, then coming back down the East Coast to end in Atlanta. 17 days, 17 shows. At the moment, they have about half of those venues booked and confirmed. What they don’t have is a reliable van.
“We don’t have faith that the van’s going to make it to New York,” Hail the Titan’s Josh Carples told The Local Scene in a recent interview. Not only is their current van nearly 30 years old and, but it is also has a track record of breaking down on them. In addition, it is currently lacking in certain “luxuries” (as the band puts it), such as heating, air conditioning, a radio, or break lights.
Not only is the van a way for the band to transport themselves and their stuff from show to show around the Southeast, but it also acts as a second home for them while they’re on the road. When a floor can’t be found for them to lay their heads on between gig and travel, and when money is too tight for a hotel room, they can find someplace safe to park the van and sleep in it.
New vans aren’t cheap. In order to afford this upgrade, Hail the Titans have started an IndieGoGo fundraising campaign:
All who donate to IndieGoGo will receive goodies from the band in return, including such items as buttons, posters, shirts, hoodies, and even a home-cooked meal made by the band themselves!
In addition, the Organic Hippie of Montgomery is hosting a car wash this Friday, April 20th, to help raise money for the band. In addition to getting your car washed, there will be a dunking booth, stenciled t-shirts, Bad Mustache Beanie merchandise, and, most importantly, CUPCAKES! The car wash will begin at 11 a.m. and continue all day. The Organic Hippie is located in the Vaughn Plaza Shopping Center on the corner of Vaughn and the Eastern Blvd, next door to the Head on the Door Tavern.
Hail the Titans explain more about the car wash in the video below.
Hail the Titan’s Wes Andrews says that the band could probably travel without the van, but it would require “3 or 4 cars and we’d be broke because of the gas.”
“Broker,” interjected his band mates.
In the band’s first year, “with everyone working day jobs and doing mostly weekends and stuff,” says Carples, “we still had more than 50 shows.” He continues that they try to stay out of town as much as possible.
The Local Scene will keep you posted on dates and venues of the 17 day July tour when they become available.
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