In a room no bigger than two dorms smashed together, people packed themselves tighter than anchovies in a can. Adrenaline pumping, they pushed each other around and screamed at the top of their lungs. All for the love of music.?Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Bakersfield Dome, Senses Fail, Dance Gavin Dance, Sky Eats Airplane and Foxy Shazam put on a show that rocked fans.
The tiny venue couldn’t stop fans from pouring into the hot, humid and overly crowded room. Music, for these fans, is much more than something listened to when driving or working out: It’s a way of life.
But what is it about this music that brings so many people together??Senses Fail fan Alexandria Dent said, “The music bonds us together. We all have our differences, but the second you enter the hardcore scene, all of life’s problems get left at the entrance. We don’t care anymore. We just want to rock to the lyrics and the beat that make us who we are.”
Lead singer of Senses Fail, James “Buddy” Nielsen gets that. Even after his success, he knows what it’s like to be a fan and to live for the music. “I love playing my music, and I love my fans. They’re the best.”?The $17 show makes 37 stops on their tour from coast to coast.
Nielsen’s favorite thing about touring is the show itself, and though he doesn’t have a favorite song to sing, he enjoys singing anything that his fans want to hear.
“It’s all about the fans. I guarantee you: If we were only concerned about making money, we wouldn’t be stopping in Bakersfield. But it’s not. I know when other bands make it big, they raise their ticket prices, but we’d rather not. Man, I wish that the tickets could be like ten bucks, but making music is my profession, I have to make a living.” ?Nielsen, now 24, has been writing and performing since he was 17. He thinks that his music has grown and matured since. “When you grow older, you care about different shit. You can move on musically from what you were and had done. You grow from being 17 and hating everything.” ?According to Nielsen, “Life is Not a Waiting Room,” Senses Fail’s newest album is just as good, if not better than the previous two. “You can listen to it for a long time. It’s like going on a journey from beginning to end. Its coherent and was done very well.” ?The song that means the most to him, however, is “Still Searching,” from the “Still Searching” album. He said that the song, for him, is very autobiographical and “pretty much summed up that record.” ?And as for the music scene being a part of his life? “I’m glad that so many people can relate to our lyrics and embrace themselves in our music. I hope our fans keep their uniqueness. I love what I do; I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”