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Oil's well for Blameshift at Vans Warped Tour

Glenn Gamboa | DROPS

July 20, 2008

Blameshift has always been used to handling things for themselves, from releasing their album "The Test" last year to booking their own tours to even driving their own tour bus.

But when the Syosset band was faced with diesel prices of $5 a gallon for its cross-country tour this summer, which they had already dubbed the "It All Goes in the Tank Tour," they took the DIY ethic to the next level. They bought a conversion kit for their bus to run on vegetable oil and now, as they catch back up with the Vans Warped Tour, which stops at the Nassau Coliseum parking lot Saturday, their fuel woes are over.

"We're getting the fuel

for free now," says guitarist-singer Tim Barbour, calling as the band drove across Texas to get to its next gig. "We've learned that Japanese restaurants have the best oil, so we're going there. And we're getting to eat there, too."

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Of course, that kind of problem-solving will get a band only so far. The catchy new, guitar-fueled single "The Sirens Are Set," featuring Barbour and Jenny Mann trading vocals, shows that Blameshift has the musical skills to take them the rest of the way.

"We recorded it as a strict demo," says Barbour, adding that the band has already written 30 songs for a new album that it hopes to start recording later this year for release next spring. "But we felt really happy with how it came out so we put it out as something fresh for all our fans. It might not make the new album, but it is a way to connect."

With all the touring the band has been doing lately, Blameshift finds itself in the unusual position of having its Nassau Coliseum appearance as its first local show in months. "It's weird for Warped to be a hometown show," Barbour says, laughing. "But we like doing things differently."

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