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Touring as rock showcase helps keeps things 'Scary'

BY KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT

It doesn't take a music writer to point out the obvious: the economy isn't doing so well these days.

But enough bands have realized this fact, that even on the club circuit more and more artists are pairing up for small-scale package tours.

One such national tour coming through Charleston is a trio of acts featuring Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Ivoryline and The Photo Atlas.

"It's ideal for bands to package together because you get the benefit of sharing everyone's fans," said DJ Wilson, in an e-mail from Europe where Scary Kids were wrapping up a tour before returning stateside in the next few days. "I think touring with a package is definitely the way to go."

The benefits are equally universal from one band to another as well as between bands and the respective fans they bring with them to each tour stop.

For one, aside from the increased fan base, the bands can — in many cases — enjoy a reduced production cost when sharing the bill with one another as opposed to touring on their own.

In the same sense, in this case, fans can enjoy three bands for the price of admission as opposed to just one or maybe two.

In any case, the added camaraderie, especially when the bands are already friends before the tour, usually makes for a better performance.

"We went to a couple of their shows and just partied with them," said Photo Atlas' Alan Andrews about the friendship they formed with Scary Kids.

"It just kind of happened. We talked about doing some shows with them then and this was probably like a year ago. In time it just sort of worked out."

Scary Kids, who have on many occasion gotten to benefit from opening for a more popular band in a larger venue than they would headline on their own, understand the importance of helping out support acts like Ivoryline and Photo Atlas.

It only made sense the group would bring along Ivoryline, with whom they share management, as well as Photo Atlas, a band they befriended almost two years when they passed through Denver.

"It's great to be out with bands that you love as musicians as well as people," Wilson wrote in his e-mail. "If we could tour with only a small select group of bands for the rest of our career we'd do it. It's always good to have similar minded people around you that you get along with and learn to respect and love. (It) becomes like a big family."

Only a few years removed from their high school graduation, Scary Kids — founding members Tyson Stevens, Chad Crawford, Peter Costa and Wilson recently added Steve Kirby and Pouyan Afkary to the fold — have already released a pair of full length albums — "The City Sleeps in Flames" and last year's selt-titled follow up — along with the independently released EP "After Dark."

In spite of an influx of popularity after Alternative Press referred to Photo Atlas as "one of the twenty-two best underground bands that likely won't stay underground for long," the guys — Bill Threlkeld III, Mark Hawkins, Nick Miles and Andrews — are grateful for the opportunity to hit the road with Scary Kids and Ivoryline for the next couple of weeks.

"It's good to do both," said Andrews, whose post-punk dance jams have compared to Fugazi and At the Drive In, "preferably support shows (like this) are better because it's nice to have other bands want to take you out on tour."

The show, which is slated for Tuesday at Music Farm, is just the start for appears to be a yearlong tour for both bands in various parts of the world.

Keith Ryan Cartwright is a Colorado-based freelance entertainment journalist.