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{photo credit not mine}

The End Of An Era ~ 1.21.17

One minute you’re at a bar enjoying life and everything seems right with the world. Then, you get the news, your favoirte band is done. But at this point, they are no longer ‘just a band’. Over the years they became family. They helped shaped you into the person you are today. They introduced you to people across the world. They weaved their way into all of your favorite memories. Their songs became the anthem to all the major events in your life.

It’s going to be okay, it might not feel like it now but, “Everything’s Fine”. It’s okay to be upset, hurt, angry, confused. All of these are normal feelings. It’s okay to cry and hug your best friends when the lights go off for the last time. This might be the last time you’re traveling to see them but this won’t be the last time you get on a plane and see the friends you met through out the years because of them. They’ll still be there, and will continue to be there for you, as you will be there for them.

Note to self: Don’t ever forget the feeling you got the first time you saw them live. Don’t forget the way your favorite member hugged you and held you in their arms when you opened up to them. Don’t forget how you felt on your first long drive to see them out of state, even better, the feeling you had on the way home and couldn’t fall asleep from the rush you had when the lights turned off. Don’t forget the smiles on their faces when they said “I can’t believe you’re here!” and are happy to see you far from home. Don’t forget the goofy pictures and kisses on your cheeks. Don’t forget the way they said your name or the nickname they gave you years ago. Don’t forget their words that got you through the tough times. Don’t forget the jokes that were made somewhere along the way, or the way some of their crew treated you like family. Don’t forget how much you really enjoyed your love/hate relationship with Asshole (always out of love). Don’t forget how you watched the sunrise on the long overnight drives going from city to city.

Don’t forget the friends you made over the last 7 years that became family. Don’t forget that fateful night with your best friends; roaming the streets, taking shots, laughing and singing along to the songs you’d never hear live again (not to mention your friends absolutely hate - ear blood), toasting to the future. You’ll always have Columbus.

Please don’t ever forget any of these things. When you feel sad and you want to give up, think of all the great memories you now have because of them.

In the words of one of my best friends, “I thought we had time. I thought we had… at least a year. I suspected this was coming. But not yet. I thought I’d be better warned.” No one saw this coming, not after the amazing year of touring and promoting they had. I thought we had at least a year too. Tomorrow, Sunday January 22nd, I’ll be taking my last plane ride home from an amazing weekend thanks to a band I decided to listen to for the first time 7 years ago. Tomorrow, I’ll be upset and probably cry for the next few days. Us HMK need to stick together and always remember the good times. This might be the end of an era, but when one door closes, another opens.

It’s been a great 7 years I’ve been given thanks to The Summer Set, and I look forward to what the future holds for Stephen, Josh, Jess, Brian, and John. I hope they find everything they’ve been looking for and hold on to it.

My youth wasn't wasted on you, it was made because of you.

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Fun facts learned at the Orlando VIP session (1/23/16)

So, I was curious about what the most difficult lyric to get perfect in writing was, and Josh came back with an answer that I’m still laughing about. He was talking about how hard Dearly Departed was to get perfect, since it was so personal to him, and how it had originally been much more harsh at the beginning (with Ian saying how he liked the harsh version more). After a moment, he decides to sing the original lyric, and it went like so. 

It’s the third of October, you should come over Best laid plans are not sober I guess it’s safe to say the wedding’s off But we can still get drunk and fuck

Thought y’all might appreciate that.

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This has probably been done already, it’s the harmonies during the bridge on Dearly Departed.

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Being young with not a care in the world, having fun, hanging with the boys until you start develop feelings for one. It’s walking in the same dirt path for hours until it was time for dinner. Your parents joking about how you like each other and would end up together one day. Not realizing the friendship actually had potential to be something more. It’s Fourth of July with fireworks and tents, bonfires. Threatening to kiss him but laugh it off and change the subject when he dares you back. Hide and seek on ATVs in the middle of the woods together, without being found for hours. It’s sharing your first kiss with him, even if it was under water in your pool so your parents wouldn’t see. Watching Saw at his house and holding hands, and pulling them apart in a frantic way every time his mom would come downstairs in the middle of the night. Hanging out in the creek behind his house, just sitting and talking about your life and dreams, how you made the girls JV soccer team in 7th grade. Saying goodbye after a long weekend together with him and his family, who treated you as your own. It’s waiting until you get home every day from school to talk on MySpace for hours, talking about the time you were scared in the woods and grabbed his hand to hold onto for some comfort years before. Making fun of one of your friends who you and your sister wrapped duct tape around his head for messing with your hair. Talking about all the pranks and messes you’ve made. It’s sitting on his lap by the pond in the backyard. Not only him hugging your waist as you enjoy the scenery and company of friends while feeling up shirt and under your bra. Him telling you his family is moving to Texas the following November, trying to act like it didn’t bother you. Falling asleep on his shoulder after a long day out in the sun. Then waking up and realizing where you were laying so you just put your head back down and pretend you never woke up. Your parents waking you up telling you it’s time to go, and thinking about him the entire hour ride back. It’s having one of thee best nights of your life and all you want to do is tell him about it, but when he answers your phone you find out he already moved a few days before. Staying up on Oovoo with him every night until one of yous fall asleep, telling him how talking to him makes your day even if you only talk for a couple of minutes. It’s agreeing to a long distance relationship even though you know it’s never going to work, you’re just happy he still has feelings for you. It’s exchanging songs with each other that you believe is ‘your song’. It’s laughing on the phone and hearing their voice after a long day at school or soccer practice. It’s the thought that weeks go by and he stopped responding to your text, even though you’re hurt you can’t help but make excuses. Going through a major sports injury and wanting to talk to him because you know it will take the pain away. Eventually he gets ahold of you and he explains he was grounded and says he’s sorry. You believe him even though you know he was ‘in a relationship’ with a blonde girl from his school. It’s getting the news that his mother passed away and all you want is to go and comfort him. You tell your dad you want to take the 22-hour drive to Dallas to be there for him. The feeling you got when he was excited to find out you were visiting too. I worked on a friendship bracelet in your favorite colors on the way there. It’s meeting his other family and friends, going to the mall with the occasional flirting. Seeing the 3rd Transformers movie with his friends and he’s not ashamed or embarrassed you fell asleep on his shoulder because he likes being close. It’s sharing a bed for 3 nights while cuddling, letting him put his guard down, talking about how he misses his mother and the guilt he felt. Falling asleep with his arm around your waist and waking up the same. That one time he almost changed in the same room I was in until my dad walked in. I guess I should have known around this time it was the end of the ‘us’ that was left. Hugs were given to everyone but me. You finally had the bracelet I made on, it helped knowing you were wearing it when I left. It’s not talking the entire drive home, or for months after, just hoping you were ignoring me because you were busy. I always made excuses for you. I finally got you to talk to me when I wanted advice on a guy I liked, in reality I really just wanted you to tell me you didn’t want me to move on. You never said that, you encouraged me with actual advice, although I didn’t take it. It’s trying to move on, really trying. I started dating someone who I was convinced I did love but I wasn’t in love with him. I guess I really realized it one night when I had a very detailed dream about you. You were visiting that old backyard pond and we were an ‘us’ again. Making each other laugh, cuddling with your arms around me, until I woke up and it wasn’t you around me, it was someone else. I wasn’t the same after that, you consumed every thought of mine. Heartbreak; the one thing we all go through but wish we wouldn’t have been able to get the chance to feel. It’s the feeling when it’s their birthday and you can’t stop thinking about how they are enjoying it. Thinking you should wish them a happy birthday but end up not – they didn’t get the message the last 3 years. It’s seeing them be with someone else, trying to be happy for them when you see post they’re tagged in on Facebook. You constantly wonder how they are doing, if they’re happy. Then you see the pictures of them with their girlfriend and remember how it felt to be the reason they smiled. It’s realizing you lost your chance five years ago, and replay everything in your head to see where you went wrong. Then you wonder if the family they accidently started, is going to continue to grow, while secretly (desperately) hoping they will split up before it has a chance to begin. It’s comparing every single guy and relationship to him, your first real love, your first everything, the one you can’t forget no matter how much you want to or try to erase from your memories. He’s engraved into every ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ adaptation of what could be.

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Youth Wasn’t Wasted On Us

It’s been one week since the end of tour, I have finally been able to recollect my thoughts and talk about the events of the tour without (completely) ripping my heart out. It’s Thursday afternoon and this time last week I was waiting in front of the Grog Shop in Cleveland, Ohio.

// LEG ONE //

April 17th, 2016 I was on my way to San Antonio, Texas to hangout with one of my friends Alyssa who I had met the previous June at a Summer Set concert. This stop on the tour was not originally on my itinerary but it was needed. I needed to be back home, where the weather was just about right (although they were dealing with some pretty shitty rain that day). Something about the Texas air made me feel like I was at home even though I was about 1,600 miles away. After spending about 12 hours in different airports I finally made it to San Antonio but by the time we got to Alyssa’s house is was about 10:30pm and I was drained so we just decided to call it a night. The next morning we had gotten up and made it to our tattoo appointment where we got in Stephen’s handwriting, ‘Don’t give up when you’re down.’ both on our left forearms. Once we made it to the venue we were able to relax and just talk, there were only 2 other people in line ahead of us. I ended up seeing Dylan come off of the bus so naturally I went up to him to say hi and yell at him for keeping the original tour a secret from me. Once I got a hug from him and we talked about it he made me feel much better about this not being a ‘farewell’ tour. During the acoustic part, Brian and John sang Jean Jacket and All In. Then John stayed talking to Alyssa and I about our new tattoos before he had to go stand with the others for the group picture. After the group pictures I made sure to go hug Josh and thank him for being the reason The Summer Set is still The Summer Set. This show was the first time I got to see CallMeKarizma at all, and I was skeptical at first but after a song or two he hand be begging for more. Shortly after his set started, I knew I was in trouble with this kid. The Summer Set had one of the best sets of theirs I have ever seen (John had given me the setlist also) and I couldn’t be more thankful the first show of the SFM tour I was seeing was back in Texas.  Below are some pictures from Austin, TX - 4/18/16:

(Alyssa and I)

(I made Morgan sit still for a minute so I could get a decent picture, lol, he asked “what position?”)

// LEG TWO //

May 24th, I left my house at 3:00 in the morning and started my 7.5 hour drive to Washington, DC. The drive turned into almost 11 hours after stopping to take a nap or two on the way. It was my first time going to that city and I was nervous as I made my way to the venue in the busy city. Not entirely sure why I was so nervous, maybe it was the fact that I didn’t get a ticket or VIP and I was relying on Dylan to come through for me. After all the worrying I was able to get in, even for the VIP part of the show. I didn’t really watch any of the openers that night, I ended up just chilling in the back with Dylan while I waited for my friend to show up, we had met online on the group chat I was a part of at the time. She showed up and we watched the show from the back of the venue (this sight was new to me, I’m used to having barricade for the show, but I didn’t mind), it was fun even with the drunk older guys in front of us. After the show we grabbed food and made our way back to the cars where we said goodbye and said we’d see each other the next day. Below is the group from the VIP session in Washington, DC - 5/24/16:

From DC, I drove to Philadelphia, PA. I got there around 7-8am and walked around the venue for a few minutes to see what was around, I found a Starbucks close to the venue where I decided to relax for a bit before heading back to my car. After sitting in the coffee shop for about a half hour I decided to go to my car and take a nap while I waited until I could line up for doors (which we weren’t allowed to until 5pm). At 3 I decided to just walk around again and made my way back to the Starbucks then eventually went over to the venue anyways even though it was only around 3:30-4pm. There were two other girls I met while in line. We talked and hung out for a bit while we waited, closer to 5 other started lining up, some other fans I became friends with in line were playing heads up to pass the time, I tried to help as much as I could, it really helped to keep myself busy as well. Once we were allowed in I found those same fans in the crowd once doors opened. John got mad at me in the VIP session for not asking for a picture so we ended up taking one anyways. I explained that I wanted other fans to get a chance to see and talk to him. He responded with “well you’re going to 9 shows, we might as well get a picture at each one!” so I agreed. The whole band was showing off a little since the entire show was being streamed live on Yahoo! After the show John and Josh were hanging out with fans by the bus, I got to tell Josh the story of how Figure Me Out helped me graduate college this semester and he was grateful to be able to help. I talked to John after about how I was going to miss him the next day, but then found out I’d be seeing in NJ after all at a radio contest a friend had one. He was excited he was going to see me after all. below are some pictures fro Philadelphia, PA - 5/25/16:

I still want this jacket so fucking bad.

Bryr and I after the show, we hung out talking for a few solid minutes. 

(I requested the picture on the bottom or John & Dylan in Pittsburg, so happy Dylan was able to come through for me again.)

May 26th, I did not go to the first NYC show but I still got to see John, Jess, and Brian that morning in New Jersey at an acoustic radio show. Nothing really spectacular happened there they played 3 songs and then we took a group picture, that was was more of a ‘filer’ day, but I was excited I got to get my daily hug from John all the more! Also, May 26th is my moms birthday so I made sure to call her on her lunch break and work and we talked for the whole time and I thanked her for not being mad that I wasn’t there, she understood what The Summer Set meant to me so she wasn’t mad at all, only joked around about it. Here are two photos from that day:

After going to the radio show I got to meet my best friend for the first time in (almost) 6 years. We met on Tumblr during the times of The Travelin’ Show back in 2011. Getting the chance to finally meet her felt so surreal and I had a blast in NJ meeting her family and boyfriend who we spent the better part of the time I was there with. We went to the show together in New York City on May 27th. John was excited to see me, as he was all the other nights. Below are the pictures from New York, New York (day two) - 5/27/16:

(My friend and I made it onto John’s snapchat story in NYC -- far left, my hand is near my face, lol, yes I was super excited at the time - just like I am now!)

May 28th, I was supposed to see the band in Boston but decided that would too hard of a driving to Pittsburgh right after considering it was a 9 hour drive and by myself it just seemed close to impossible to go, so I stayed in NJ until about 4pm and made my way to Pittsburgh from there. I got to see my friend Taylor who I haven’t seen since December, we met at a The Summer Set show last June. We drove to the show the next day and got there around 2pm, so we waited until doors and met up with the friend I met up with in DC, Rachael. Two of my friends I had met at the Philly show were also at this show as well. Below are pictures from Pittsburgh, PA - 5/29/16:

(Horrible lighting but it’s the only picture I have of all three of us.)

May 30th, memorial day the tour had a day off and I went home for the day since it’s on the way to Toronto. My mom had some family and friends over for a pool party/cook out. I got a little burnt that day before having to leave to go to Toronto but I got to sleep at home which felt great!

The next morning - May 31st - I left to start driving to Ajax, Ontario around 10am where I met up with my friends Jaklyn & Victoria. After they finished getting ready we left so I could go get a CallMeKarizma tattoo then we stopped to get lunch. We started making our way to the venue shortly after since we were limited on time. After the show Morgan gave me a giant patch to keep for the whole tattoo thing then we (Jaklyn, Victoria, and I) went to grab McDonalds (felt like 5,000,000 miles away but only about a 20 minute walk). On the way back we ran into Bryr who was looking for a movie and after driving to 7-11 we had no luck so I told him he could borrow the movie in my trunk (The First Time with Dylan O’Brien) and promised he’d give it back the next day in Michigan.  Below are pictures from the Toronto adventures - 5/31/16:

This picture though.... ^^^ <3

June 1st, after sleeping at Jaklyn’s house we started going to Michigan, the drive was horrible and getting the car searched was even worse. After that I decided I can’t handle going back to the US from the Michigan boarder and next time I’d rather take the longer way through Buffalo. Never again! But anyways, I decided to hangout in the back for the show (after Karizma we left barricade) to save all my energy for the show the next day, the last day, especially since I was starting to get sick. I needed all of my energy for the final show of the tour. Cass came to sing with Morgan for F U Till I F U (she's from Michigan) and it was pretty great! After their set hung out mostly around merch and talked to the opening acts for the most part.  Below are pictures from Detroit, Michigan - 6/1/16:

****I need this part tot be KNOWN!!!! On this fateful night in Michigan, I had created the best thing in the entire world and I didn’t even know it yet. I created a group chat with one of my best friends and two other people I at the time sorta knew but not to the extreme I do now. In less than 48 hours we  were talking non-stop and they helped me get through the last day of tour and the days following. I’ll talk about them more later but I just need it to be known this was the night our group chat started because it was the best thing to ever happen.****

June 2nd, 2016, the last day of tour in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a hot (but enjoyable) day at the Grog Shop. After driving around and looking for the venue then parking I made my way over. First I grabbed lunch at Chipotle (thank heavens it was right next door), then Morgan asked me if I could take him to UPS to ship some things home, so naturally him being adorable and Bryr with him when I asked - I couldn’t say no. So we took about an hour doing all of that fun stuff and headed back to the venue. Then I just waited around until doors, talking to random fans and what not - and the group chat, can’t forget them. Kylie tried talking me into going to Chipotle after John went in there, and I almost did. Okay, I did but only to go to the bathroom (and it was locked so I never ended up going) but I made sure he didn’t see me. ------- During the VIP session Josh, Jess, and John all made sure to tell me how great the last 2 weeks has been and they were sad it was coming to a end, they all lost said they would see me in the fall, obviously they knew I can’t stay away for long. John told me “I can’t believe today is the last day! I’m going to miss you so much!” as he hugged me (really tight, god I’ll never forget) and we said (what I was REALLY hopping would not be our last) goodbyes. Also John asked me how old he was in a picture (I’ll post it below) and then didn’t believe me when I told him 17, until he went back up to me like a minute later telling me I was right. I told him to never doubt me again. ------ After the show, I ended up buying two shirts from the tour even though I didn’t really plan to before. I stayed and talked to Dylan for a few minutes about his birthday plans and gave him my (very bad) gift, I had no time to stop and get him anything and sorta broke so I just gave some money to him for a drink (sucks to be underage). After I went outside and met some pretty cool fans and we just sat and talked until Josh came out, and I didn’t even see him leave it happened so fast. After about 25 minutes, John came out and started making a b-line for the tour bus until I walked up to him and he stopped to give me a hug (at this point everyone who was outside was already circled around us waiting to talk to him). But he continued to hug me and talked to me while he did (let this be known I go weak in the knees for those kind of hugs, they are so personal) saying, “Oh I’m going to miss you! I can’t believe it’s over!”, and I said back (while hugging) “I know I’m gonna be sad when I wake up tomorrow knowing I won't be getting one of your hugs.” Then he pulled away and said, “I know, I’m gonna miss seeing you everyday too. But I’ll see you in the fall right?”, I told him of course (people started to get annoyed we were taking a while to say goodbye), so I asked him for one last picture and then gave him another hug where he talked to me AGAIN, saying, “I know I said this but I’m going to miss you so much Alie!” (and I will NEVER EVER forget how it felt to hear him say he’s gonna miss me, say my name, all while hugging me). Then I got to see Dylan for a quick minute before he had to head back inside, we took a quick picture and then he told me to wait around, which I did for an hour before he came back out. We talked about his birthday some more, he was so excited to go back to Hawaii. We talked about Warped Tour and when we’ll get to see each other again. We talked about the memories we shared on this tour and the ones from the past. It was nice just talking to him for a good 15 minutes for the first time in a long time without having to shout over the live music playing. We said goodbye again before he made his way to the bus to pack and I had to head back to my car and start my drive back to Buffalo, New York. Below are pictures from Cleveland, Ohio - 6/2/16:

Picture John asked me how old he was in...

Bryr and the balloon he had with the picture of him on it.

Best picture I got of Morgan that night.

Daddy Dagan during sound check.

My babe. (:

Josh playing with his hair.

Awe Brian’s smile. (: *This was during Legendary, so it explains the giant smile.)

Brian again, cause I got great ones of him that day.

Brian during the U2 part of Wasted, my favorite song live this tour!

Morgan made sure to put what show # this was cause he thought it was crazy I had seen him 8 times this spring (after never hearing of him till this tour) and then getting his faced tattooed on me, he loved it.

John and I after the show during our goodbyes.. this was between the two long hugs. <3 God bless! <3333333333 

My buddy on tour, thank you for all the favors you did for me and for the water on the last day, I know you think it was nothing but to me it was more than a water bottle. It was you looking out for me like the Dad I always call you. Thanks for the good times, hopefully I’ll see you soon! (:

I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who I was lucky enough to hang out with and met along the way this time around. The memories I’ve made on this tour will always hold a special place in my heart and I think you for playing a part in all of it. I may have lost my mind a few times without having y'all by my side.

And to The Summer Set, THANK YOU for not giving up last year. Thank you for taking time away from your family and friends to tour. (Stealing this part from Ky) Thank you Brian Logan Dales for getting your ass up in the middle of the night to play with the line “Too pop for the punk kids” on that piano in the basement of your old house, it became an anthem to a lot of people (some of which didn’t even know they needed it then). Thank you to Jess Marie Bowen for dealing with the guys giving you horrible nick names, and playing your heart out even after a car accident when you probably should have taken a few days or a week off. Thank you to Joshua Wesley Montgomery for breaking up the band and putting it back together, you have no idea how many times I thought about how much I owe you for this tour. Thank you to Stephen James Gomez  who although people think you hate everyone, I know you don’t and it’s social anxiety, thank you for dealing with those idiots. And last but not least, thank you John Christopher Gomez for everything you have said to me the last 6 years, thank you for being the one to let me vent (and cry) after my parents split up - I needed that more than you could ever know. Thank you for always taking the time to meet fans after the show, I know you will always come out and spend at least 20-30 minutes, and sometimes longer if you can. Thank you for every VIP session I got to experience. Thank you for the hugs, the kind words, the laughs, the pictures, they all contributed to the moments I’ll never forget.

The last week since tour has ended, has been rough (emotionally) to say the least and I may have lost my job over this tour but I wouldn’t change anything, this tour was everything I never knew I needed.

Love, Alie (@legendalie)

P.S. // I asked my lovely friends in the group chat to call me (after I said goodbye to John) while I literally cried on the phone to them and THANK YOU GOD they came through when I needed them the most. We may have only been really talking for less than one day but Kylie knew what to say to me to keep me from loosing it right then and there, and I needed that at the time so thank you Kylie. And thank you Emily and Alyssa too for always listening to my bullshit about whatever I need to vent about that day, I love you guys so much and thank The Summer Set (and the bitches from the group - although we hate them, I wouldn’t have had a reason to start the group chat without them) for y’all everyday! Here’s to the fall tour when we get to go to a show together, and to our future Legendary House! <333