Acclaimed post-hardcore heavy rockers Norma Jean will headline the “Explosions 2009” US tour, presented by Hot Topic, Monster Energy Drink, Activision / Tony Hawk: Ride, Denny’s All Nighter, Rockett Clothing, Keep A Breast, Solid State Records, Vagrant Records, and Century Media Records.
Rolling out in late November and running through late December, the tour is the band’s first headlining trek since the Fall of last year and boasts an impressive lineup with a few surprises from the powerful live band. Norma Jean handpicked the bands for the tour’s impressive bill: Horse The Band, The Chariot and Arsonists Get All The Girls.
“We’ve always loved heavy music with no loyalty to any genre, style, approach or ‘fashion’ and this tour is just a taste of that non-allegiance,” says Norma Jean frontman Cory Brandan. “Arsonists are an insane band from Santa Cruz. The Chariot are our good friends from our home state of Georgia. I’m really looking to hearing the songs from their new record live. We may even join each other on stage once in a while. Horse The Band is such a different sounding band. You can tell they really love what they do and have fun doing it. That’s something we love about any band.”
Norma Jean will be touring in support of their most recent album, The Anti Mother. Horse The Band drops a new album Desperate Living October 6th. The Chariot and Arsonists Get All The Girls are touring in support of their latest albums as well.
In addition the spectacular bill, Norma Jean has a surprise in store for their longtime followers: in select cities, which will be announced at a later time, Brandan reveals that the band will perform their breakthrough album Bless The Martyr and Kiss the Child in its entirety (save for the album’s 15 minute track). “We have always wanted to do something special for our fans and at some point we’d like to do even more atypical things like this.”
The Explosions 2009 tour will boast very affordable ticket prices, in observance of the difficult time many musicians are sharing with their fans and everyone else in the beleaguered country. “We know it’s tough times out there,” Brandan observes. “We’re definitely looking forward to this tour and hanging out with the true Norma Jean fans.”
This will be the last chance to catch Norma Jean live before they huddle together to write and record a new record.
Dates for the Explosions 2009 tour featuring Norma Jean, Horse The Band, The Chariot and Arsonists Get All The Girls are as follows:
Thu/Nov-19 New Orleans, LA The Hangar
Fri/Nov-20 Houston, TX Meridian
Sat/Nov-21 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
Sun/Nov-22 Ft. Worth, TX The Door
Mon/Nov-23 OFF
Tue/Nov-24 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse
Wed/Nov-25 Pomona, CA Glasshouse
Thu/Nov-26 OFF – Thanksgiving
Fri/Nov-27 San Francisco, CA Slims
Sat/Nov-28 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
Sun/Nov-29 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Mon/Nov-30 Boise, ID The Venue
Tue/Dec-01 Salt Lake City, UT Club Sound
Wed/Dec-02 Denver, CO Marquis Theater
Thu/Dec-03 OFF
Fri/Dec-04 St. Paul, MN Station Four
Sat/Dec-05 Chicago, IL Reggie’s
Sun/Dec-06 Cleveland, OH Peabody’s
Mon/Dec-07 Pittsburgh, PA Altar Bar
Tue/Dec-08 Toronto, ON Opera House
Wed/Dec-09 Montreal, QC Tulipe
Thu/Dec-10 OFF
Fri/Dec-11 New York, NY Gramercy
Sat/Dec-12 Lancaster, PA Chameleon Club
Sun/Dec-13 Towson, MD Recher Theatre
Mon/Dec-14 Richmond, VA Canal Club
Tue/Dec-15 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern
Wed/Dec-16 OFF
Thu/Dec-17 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
Fri/Dec-18 St. Petersburg, FL State Theater
Sat/Dec-19 Atlanta, GA Masquerade