Emmure Guitarist Mike Mulholland Recalls Life-Changing ZZ Top Show

Posted on Jul 24th 2012 11:00AM by Chris Epting Comments

Robert Scheurman

Emmure is currently kicking ass on the inaugural Trespass America Festival which is not even two weeks in yet and has already become one of the summer's hottest tickets. The New York group's aggressive blend of hardcore and metal is making the festival's crowd foam at the mouth, delivering huge circle pits every time they hit the stage.

Besides Emmure, the package tour also features heavy hitters Five Finger Death Punch, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, God Forbid, Battlecross and Pop Evil. When all is said and one, the trek will have hit 30+ major cities.

Noisecreep caught up with Emmure guitarist Mike Mulholland before the Fargo, North Dakota stop of the tour to get a sense of how the outing is going so far.

So Mike, an off day today?

Right. We're here in Fargo and we've got a few one-off gigs built into the schedule and so this is the first time the band has ever played here in Fargo. The people seem very cool here and I think we're gonna have a great show tonight. They're ready.

We know it's early in the tour but how is it going so far?

Awesome. Sioux City last night was incredible. We're having a lot of fun. All of the bands on the tour are incredible and I think we've been able to hang out with just about everyone so far. When you look at the lineup of bands on this tour it's sort of hard to believe. We feel very lucky to be a part of it.

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Summertime is concert-going time for a lot of fans. What shows stand out to you when you were younger?

Well my first show – understand I'm from a first small town in West Texas so we got nothing and we had to drive three hours for this - was ZZ Top. They played in the Midland Odessa area and it still one of the most mind-blowing shows I've ever seen. I just worshipped them from all those MTV videos with the girls and that car. Later in life, it was all about the Warped Tour. I was a regular from like 1999-2001. It was a total tradition.

You're still fairly new in Emmure. Are you having fun?

I'm privileged. It's as much fun as I imagined it would be. I get to travel the world with my best friends and play the music I love. It's like winning the lottery.

What do you think it is about Trespass America that makes it stand out as a tour?

Well I think the big selling point the diversity - it's awesome to see these newer heavy bands and those are good reasons to show up early. I know we've already made a lot of new fans that might not have seen us before. And folks, we play third so be aware! Also, Death Punch is amazing –they have some of the most insane production I've ever seen - light panels and all kinds of craziness. Also, another great thing is most of our venues are indoors, which means great air conditioning. So instead of getting exhausted all day, there's shade, you can stay cool, and pace yourself as the show goes on. Come out!

Trespass America tour dates:

Jul. 24 - Lubbock, TX @ Lonestar Amphitheater
Jul. 25 - Belton, TX @ Bell County Expo Center
Jul. 27 - San Antonio, TX @ Freeman Coliseum
Jul. 28 - Beaumont, TX @ Ford Pavilion
Jul. 30 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 03 - Battle Creek, MI @ Kellogg Arena
Aug. 07 - Syracuse, NY @ SRC Arena
Aug. 08 - Glens Falls, NY @ Glens Falls Civic Center
Aug. 10 - Scarborough, ME @ Scarborough Downs
Aug. 14 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
Aug. 15 - Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
Aug. 17 - Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
Aug. 18 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
Aug. 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Penn's Landing
Aug. 22 - Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Coliseum
Aug. 25 - Rio Rancho, NM @ Santa Ana Star Center
Aug. 26 - Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
Aug. 28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium

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