This is Tour Diary, where artists give us a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road. In November, Home Front released their second studio album, Watch It Die, which saw the Edmonton punk duo double down on making their songs bright, urgent, and, above all, unvarnished. “For us, ultimately, this is music that comes out of loss and heartbreak and failure, but I hope people have a good time listening to us,” Graeme MacKinnon and Clint Frazier say, who spent years grinding it out in the DIY scene before forming Home Front. Initially a studio-only band conceived in a rehearsal studio during pandemic lockdowns, the project’s grown into something deeper and more meaningful. “You can get rowdy, you can get emotional, you can do whatever you want, but maybe with all of that freedom, we all take a second to reflect on all our fallen brothers and sisters and friends who may have slipped away.”
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Live, Home Front expand their sound and their lineup, completed by bassist Brandi Strauss, guitarist Ian Rowley, and drummer Warren Oostlander. They recently headed out in support of their latest full-length, taking us through its most memorable snapshots. From back-to-back nights opening for Cock Sparrer at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium to post-soundcheck naps to fan tattoos, check out the photos below. And if you missed these shows, the band will hop on select dates of Angel Du$t’s Cold 2 The Touch headliner, beginning in late March.
Grabbing a level 1 nap after driving all night to make the flight. The nap level graph is serious stuff. / Kate Suter
Smooch City USA. / Kate Suter
Are you insane?! / Kate Suter
Bucket Boys talk bashing buckets. / Kate Suter
Listen…to what the flower people say… / Kate Suter
Time to rock the house Saturday style. / Kate Suter
Time to rock the house Sunday style. / Kate Suter
Love getting to see Micaela and Jess, members of the LA posse! / Kate Suter
Brandi and Ian. Sorry, I meant Chakras Kahn Ch-Ch-Ch-Chakras Kahn / Kate Suter
This show was mental. I think by the end I was screaming into a kick drum mic while some lovely woman worked my ribs with her fists. / Kate Suter
Fuck this club and fuck their stairs! / Kate Suter
The best naps are the ones at the merch table after soundcheck and before doors. / Kate Suter
Minutes before Brandi recreated the Black Flag Damaged album cover. / Kate Suter
I’m on smoko. / Kate Suter
We know how to live! / Kate Suter
Blasting “I’m the One” and talking complete shit is what we do best! LA or bust. / Kate Suter
Nothing more satisfying than finishing a tour and having your flight stuck because of a snowstorm back home. At least the coffee was set to “Meth Brew.” Let the jaw jacking begin! / Kate Suter
