The four members of Roll the Tanks have everything going for them right now. After moving to Los Angeles to follow their music industry dreams, they singed to Epitaph Records in April, joining upcoming acts like Joyce Manor and The Menzingers and punk stalwarts Bad Religion and Pennywise. They were tapped by Weezer to open an upcoming show in Connecticut, and today they are debuting their new video for “Toeing The Line” right here on Allston Pudding (check it out below).
But things haven’t always come so easily for the band, who’s debut album “Broke Til’ Midnight” is equal parts gritty guitar work and catchy choruses. The quartet originally formed just up I-95 in Lowell before making the jump to Hollywood. When they arrived, they paid the bills by taking jobs as carpenters, electricians, and waiters – the type of work that would make the folks back in Lowell proud, but not the type of work that generally allows a band to make the jump to the national stage.
While they may still be working on the national tour, they will be returning to the East Coast in two weeks, playing at Great Scott with Red City Radio on 10/20 and The Last Safe and Deposit Company in Lowell on 10/21 before hitting the stage with Weezer on 10/24 at Foxwoods.
After that, they’ll return to their (somewhat) normal lives in LA – where, as lead vocalist/guitarist Danny Carney describes below, things are quite a bit different then they were back in New England.
East Coast vs. West Coast: The Five Most Notable Differences:
1. The word “stoked” suddenly enters your vocabulary when you live on the west coast. It embarrasses you but you can’t help it. Everyone has an inner Jeff Spicoli, and he gets stoked by constant good weather and vibes.
2. At the ripe age of 22 you discover what an avocado is and what they taste like. You realize that it’s the main ingredient in guacamole, and as a result you develop a much firmer understanding of guacamole in general.
3. Goodbye submarine sandwiches, hello fish tacos.
4. People on the east coast only smile when they’re happy. People on the west coast smile during root canals. The explanation never arrives. But you just smile even though you’re super confused about it.
5. When the tough gets going in LA, it gives you the humbling opportunity to be jealous of the wages you made as a teenager. But at the same time, you can magically not have a boss if you don’t want one.
