Yuma metal band to kick off tour

In my constant search for local nightlife and entertainment, one band in particular stands out.

Yuma's own Beg For Life, a hard-core metal-thrash band, has a great album out. The album, released through Westcoast Worldwide Records, is titled "Doomed" and takes the listener on an angry journey through some of life's most volatile topics: death and religion.

I like to throw their CD on whenever I'm in a bad mood and mad at the world. I have had the pleasure of watching the band perform live on several occasions, and I'm excited to announce they are going to kick off a monthlong interstate tour Friday night. It's not often a band from Yuma gets signed to a major legitimate record label and goes on tour.

The performance Friday begins at 8 p.m. at the Open Aired venue, 2103 Winterhaven Drive.

I sat down recently with guitarist Jeff Schuster and drummer Conrad Jackson to ask them about life in a band on the road.

CM: You guys are kicking off a new tour. Your last album dropped on May 22. Are you working on anything new?

Jeff: We are writing for our next record, and we have one new song, but mostly, we are still promoting ("Doomed").

CM: What is it like going on tour?

Conrad: We are out there playing music. It's what we love to do, you know. We live off of the energy we get from the crowd. It’s just an amazing feeling.

Jeff: On the last tour, we played like a month straight, and we got a little burned out. But besides a few wacky instances, tours can get ridiculously boring. On our last tour, we had to be at the venues by 2 or 3 in the afternoon so we could put everything together and do a sound check, and that was after a 10- to 12-hour drive. Basically it is just hanging out in whatever vehicle you are in.

CM: You guys are going to be stuck together in one little van for long periods of time. Does it ever get stressful, like you want to strangle the guy next to you?

Conrad and Jeff: Hell, yes...

Conrad: But that is the relationship with us. We are all really good friends and are like brothers. It doesn't matter, and we will get through it.

Jeff: We can’t get away from each other..

Conrad: ...and you just have to accept that fact.

CM: Are there any foods that are totally banned on tour?

Jeff: Beans...

Conrad: I stay away from gas station bean burritos, because I know my farts smell. I'm just looking after them and when I fart, I take the blame.

CM: How do you guys budget your money on the road?

Jeff: What we do to save money, because we are pretty much living on next to nothing, is buy a loaf of bread, some peanut butter and jelly, and maybe some meat and chips and just eat that nonstop, because when it comes down to it, that is really cheap. It's better than going to fast food and spending a ton of money.

CM: Have you ever been at shows where girls threw themselves at you?

Conrad: I was in a previous band and I had a bunch of bras and panties thrown at me; but that was about it.

Jeff: For the most part the shows we play are usually ... a lot of angry, gnarly dudes who want to rock out to some metal.

CM: What do you guys listen to while you are on the road?

Jeff: Spin Doctors, Hootie and the Blowfish and a lot of ’90s alternative.

Conrad: Vertical Horizon...

CM: That seems kind of light for guys like you.

Jeff: Well, when you hear people screaming at you and are playing a metal show every day, you have to get away from it. We do throw in metal sometimes and the demos of other bands we meet on the road.

CM: Do you guys ever listen to yourselves?

Conrad: I love listening to my own stuff.

CM: What is your band all about?

Jeff: Our songs can be taken a bunch of different ways. The overall theme is that anyway you slice it and no matter what you believe in, you are going to die, and because of that you should live your life how you want to live it. I want to be able to look back when I am 50 or 60 and say "I was in a band and I did exactly what I wanted to do."

Conrad: I don't want to look back at life and see that I didn't do anything. I want to enjoy it. We want to play really good music and do what we want to do.

CM: Are you guys excited about the tour?

Conrad: Pumped! Amped!

See you next week under the midnight sun...

BANDS PERFORMING
• Ronny & Clyde - 5 p.m. today, and Tuesday, Nov. 3 - Parrish's Bar and Grill
• Jon Sandoval - 5:30 p.m. today, and Friday, Oct. 30 - Market Wine Bar Bistro
• Leavin' Ruston - 9 p.m. today - Cocopah Casino's River Room
• Kevin Melcher - 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - Daybreakers Cafe
• Re-Wind - 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - LZ Bar and Grill
• Slick Nickel - 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - Yuma Landing
• DownTime - 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - The Mine Shaft
• Buena Ventura - 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 - Cocopah Casino's River Room
• Wayne & Ernie - 5 p.m. every Sunday - Parrish's Bar and Grill
KARAOKE
• 5 p.m. today - Daybreakers Cafe
• 8 p.m. today - LZ Bar and Grill
• 9 p.m. today, Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - Pop A Top Saloon
• 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 - Friendly Tavern
• 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4 - Friendly Tavern
• 8 p.m. today, Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - Cocopah Casino's River Room
• 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4 - Hooligan's Sports Bar/Grill & Comedy Club
MUSIC JAM
• Yuma Blues Band Jam - 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday - LZ Bar and Grill
OPEN MIC
• 9 p.m. every Sunday - Pop A Top Saloon
CONCERTS
• Dierks Bentley - 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 - Quechan Casino's Pipa Event Center
• Tony Orlando - 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 - Quechan Casino's Pipa Event Center
COMEDIANS
• Ron White - 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22 - Quechan Casino's Pipa Event Center

Chris McDaniel can be reached at cmcdaniel@yumasun.com or 539-6849.