“This band will outlast every relationship I’ve ever had,” he sings, a realization that comes after Weir lyrically traverses the 25-plus years he’s been performing. “This band will outlast every band I’ve ever quit.”
The song was released in December as part of Celebration Guns’ Midlife Vices EP, a release that prefaced uncharted waters for a band approaching its tenth anniversary: the biggest tour yet.
Starting in Phoenix on Thursday, April 13, Celebration Guns will embark on a nine-city West Coast tour, co-headlining with Denver’s A Place for Owls. The group is admittedly somewhat anxious.
Weir is the band’s logistical engine, a self-proclaimed “control freak” who tasked himself with lining up many of the tour’s venues and openers. The mission proved to be stressful, but ultimately came together in the 11th hour.
As of this week, the tour has shows lined up in six bars, two barbecue restaurants, and one Salt Lake City chain pizza joint. The lineup boasts an eclectic and impressive list of local openers: Really Rad Records labelmate Swiss Army Wife in Portland, evocatively poetic singer-songwriter Elliott Green in Seattle, and Oberst-esque emo rocker Birthday Dad in Sacramento.
And their tour bus — a faded green Dodge Caravan — has top-tier AAA coverage.
“I think we’ll be okay,” Weir says.
Celebration Guns bassist Ryan Miller missed the band’s 2021 Southwestern tour with Riley, so this will be his first time embarking on a lengthy tour as a member of the band. (For what it’s worth, Miller missed the Riley tour because he was in Europe proposing to his aptly named partner — Riley. One Riley for another, I guess.)
While this will be his first Celebration Guns tour, Miller made Warped Tour rounds in the mid-aughts with other bands, so he knows the emotional toll the road can take. He’s self-aware enough to know frustration is a near inevitability, yet even as he talks candidly about his concerns, there’s an underlying optimism.
“If I didn't have (Celebration Guns), I wouldn't be as healthy and happy generally in the rest of my life,” Miller says. “So if I have to bite my tongue and just get myself through some shit for the good of the band, then I'm gonna fucking do it.”
The positivity that underscores Celebration Guns’ charisma and sound seems to be the biggest link between the band and their co-headliners, A Place for Owls.
The two groups have still not met in person — and won’t until their first show together on tour — but Weir and A Place for Owls frontman Ben Sooy each share musical roots in Christian rock. Both vocalists cite David Bazan and Frightened Rabbit as inspirations and playfully accept the “emo youth pastor core” label, so the chemistry was essentially immediate.
In late 2022, Weir first heard of A Place for Owls after he noticed the band gaining immense traction on Twitter. The attention was partly due to the band’s widely acclaimed self-titled debut album, which was released in August, but also came from their relentlessly wholesome online presence.
Seriously, after meeting on Twitter and discussing collaboration, Sooy said the initial conversation between he and Weir went something like:
“I love your bass playing!”
“No, I really love your bass playing!”
“I really love your lyrics!”
“No, I really love your lyrics!”
I have never listened to @celebrationgunz before in my life and I am happy to report that I am 7 songs in and they are goddamn great
— A Place For Owls (@aplaceforowls) November 30, 2022
While Sooy said he appreciates corners of the genre that can be a bit crueler and grittier, it’s a trait that’s just not in his arsenal.
“That's just not how I operate or want to operate as a person, and so the ‘wholesome friendship core,’ or whatever you want to call it, is so good,” he said.
Celebration Guns has more releases planned throughout the rest of 2023, but for now, they’re focused on finding time to rehearse once or twice a week. With their trademark mathy intricacy, Miller and Weir say routine practice is crucial to knock off the rust.
But fear not, Celebration Guns, because in every city, we can only assume A Place For Owls will be there with their allegiant fandom no matter what.
“(Celebration Guns is) just an impeccable band,” Sooy said.
The tour starts on April 13 in Phoenix, at Rebel Lounge, with support from local acts Micah Bentley and Damn The Weather. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of the show, plus fees. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m.
