The Pilgrims' Revenge: Musicians (and JADEDPUNKHULK) Give Thanks

November 19, 2012

I can’t remember if it was a home improvement mega-complex or some sketchy dollar store, but I could’ve sworn I saw Christmas decorations for sale in mid- September. This discovery always trips my contempt switch, reminding me that the pilgrims will always get a raw deal.

The AP crew are a pretty multi-faceted bunch, but I can safely say that if there were two things every staff member here were grateful for, it would be having great friends and possessing the gift of hearing. The internet gives the planet a forum to let our hate flags blow in the wind like some U-Nihilist Nations convergence. But whether it’s the first responder who helped your fam when Hurricane Sandy threatened to tear it apart; a piece of music that resonated with you during a particularly trying time; the look of love you see in a pet’s face; or the hearty laugh you share with a friend, the truth remains: Every last one of you are thankful for something.

We know some folks in bands who are thankful for things, and we asked them to share those very moments with us. On behalf of everyone here at AP, Happy Thanksgiving to you and everything that makes your life worth celebrating. —Jason Pettigrew

“I’m thankful for my wife and daughter, my bandmates that help me do what I want for a living, and my current tourmates Cursive and Girl In A Coma.” —ERIN TATE, MINUS THE BEAR

“I’m thankful for a—knock on wood—working tour van, but most of all for my family who help me out so much, which lets me do what I love.” —MARIEL LOVELAND, CANDY HEARTS

“It’s hard not to be thankful for everything. My dad taught me to be thankful for even the things that appear to be horrible at the moment. It seemed to work out for me pretty well. I’m thankful to everybody and everything in my life.” —CASEY CRESCENZO, THE DEAR HUNTER

“This year I am thankful for my job, the support of our fans, and most of all, the support and understanding of my new wife who gets what I do and makes me feel lucky every day.” —JACK O’SHEA, BAYSIDE

“This year, I’m thankful for a lot of things: my first year of marriage, my amazing wife, friends and family. But 2012 also marked the 10th year I’ve been lucky enough to call being in a band my job. I’m incredibly thankful for everyone I’ve had the pleasure to share a stage and van with—all my Early November and Hellogoodbye brothers—and all the great people—labels, agents, managers, magazines, etc.—who took a chance on either of those bands. But above all else, I’m thankful for anyone who has come to a show, bought records and supported those bands. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it, and I truly am grateful.” —JOE MARRO, THE EARLY NOVEMBER

“I’m thankful for the fact that I get to play music for a living and travel for a living—and fucking hell, isn’t that just an absolute blessing? But what I’m really thankful for is the new travel adapter I found the other day. It’s this plug, and you can literally plug anything into it and then itself into any wall socket in the entire world. Literally anything in, anything out. Fucking amazing. It has turned my life upside down. I had bags and bags of plug converters, and now I’m like, ‘Don’t need you anymore!’ So I’m very thankful for my new power adapter.” —FRANK TURNER

“I’m thankful for having an amazing group of people I call friends to come home to after tour. They’re always there for me and it makes me even more proud to call Flint, Michigan, my home.” —JONATHAN DIENER, THE SWELLERS

“I’m thankful for the following, in no particular order: change which comes one funeral at a time; the concept of the Occupy movement; punk ethics; dogs; direct action; appreciation of the arts; organic food; family; community; and a slew of other things that humans tend to take for granted. I am not interested in the bullshit holiday known as Thanksgiving.” —JUSTIN PEARSON, RETOX

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to do all this again and still have people believe that what we’re doing is relevant. Oh, and that the Detroit Tigers picked up Torii Hunter and we’re going to win the World Series next year.” —BRADLEY BELL, CHIODOS

“I’m thankful to still be making music, even on my own, and that it’s possible to give it away in this weird digital world. I’m thankful Thursday had an amazing 15 years, and I will surely miss it. I’m thankful for so many smart, wonderful friends and fellow musicians, writers, artists, video and filmmakers. I’m thankful for those guardians of our dreaming lives. I’m thankful for all the young, ambitious bands going out there to do their thing and not give a fuck what anyone thinks. I’m thankful that punk is dead and that punk will never die.” —GEOFF RICKLY

“I’m thankful for more now than I ever have been in my life. I was going to put out [Megalithic Symphony] on my own, in the hopes that a couple people would join me at an L.A. show. It ended up being much bigger than I thought, and I’m very grateful for that.” —AARON BRUNO, AWOLNATION

“I am thankful for my friend Jason Pettigrew, who for many years, despite his position as a popular music reporter, always offered me an honest and critical evaluation of the state of music and the environment I have devoted my life to. Jason continues to remind me that integration is a much better way to influence change than resistance. Thus our decision to play the California Metalfest in a few weeks.” —BEN WEINMAN, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN

“I’m thankful for everything. I’m thankful for an amazing family and amazing friends and being in two great bands. I feel really blessed. I’ve come out of some financial hard times, and I’m just thankful for everything. Especially around where I live in New York, there are so many people who just had their homes devastated; it just makes you count your blessings even more.” —JESSE LEACH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

“My wife, Sherri.” —MAX BEMIS, SAY ANYTHING

“I’m thankful for my family and friends. Also, it may sound cheesy, but I’m thankful for all the opportunities my band have been afforded this year and the fact that we’ve been able to do this for five years.” —JOHN O’CALLAGHAN, THE MAINE

“I’m thankful that gasoline is reasonably cheap again. It makes touring easier when gas is cheap, and I tour a lot! But mainly I’m glad because now people don’t constantly ask me ‘how hard it is’ to tour in a time of expensive gas prices. What a silly question.”—CHRIS FARREN, FAKE PROBLEMS

“I am thankful for NFL football, fantasy football, Xbox live, my girlfriend, my awesome friends, my mom and freedom!”—RYAN ROCKWELL, MIXTAPES

“I’m thankful for my friends, family, music, people who like the music that I play, and food.”—MICHAEL REMLEY, MIXTAPES

“I’m thankful for my family, friends, music, freak boyfriend, freak cat, freek-a-leek, the fact that my mom moved to Florida so I can eat mashed potatoes on the beach this year, touring and the people who help make that possible, other stuff, LUV LYFE.”—MAURA WEAVER, MIXTAPES

“I have many things I have to be thankful for: my beautiful wife, my supportive family and my understanding employer. I am thankful for having bandmates who also happen to be my best friends and the brothers I never had. I’m also thankful for our fans across the world without whom none of this is possible.” —PAUL PENDLEY, RED CITY RADIO

“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart on Thanksgiving Day. With that said, I’m thankful for Morrissey.” —SAM LISTER, SHARKS

“FRANKLY, IT HARD TO FIND THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR IN YEAR WHERE GREEN DAY PUT OUT THREE NEW ALBUMS. BUT IF HULK THANKFUL FOR ANYTHING, IT THAT PROPAGANDHI STILL PUTTING OUT RECORDS WHILE UNDEROATH BREAK UP.