Native Seacoast musicians tour the nation as the backing band for teen sensation Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless. 

When local rocker Tim McCoy arrived at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Mass., for the 16th annual Vans Warped Tour on July 13, he got a little choked up. There, on the main stage of a venue that accommodates more than 18,000 attendees, were two close friends about to perform.

 

“Walking into that festival, with thousands of kids and this great vibe happening, and seeing our homeboys ready to go on, made me want to put my hands up in triumph,” McCoy said. “Here were two guys I’ve played a million shows with who had finally made it, and I felt like we all made it. This was a big win for the home team.”

 

Mark Damon and Jamie Perkins are the bassist and drummer, respectively, for The Pretty Reckless, a hard rock band fronted by “Gossip Girl” actress-turned-singer Taylor Momsen. Damon, Perkins and guitarist Ben Phillips are well known in the local rock scene as the members of Famous. Through mutual connections in New York, the trio was introduced to Momsen, who invited them to join her band.

 

The Pretty Reckless has had the number one song in the UK, “Make Me Wanna Die,” for seven straight weeks this summer and recently released a self-titled EP. In June, they joined the lineup for Warped Tour, a rock caravan featuring more than 70 bands playing in 43 cities.

 

“This whole experience has been great—bucket list stuff.” says Perkins. “Major label release, videos, national tour. I couldn’t be happier. The high point so far was playing on the main stage at The Comcast Center—Great Woods, dammit! It’s my favorite venue to see shows. I’ve had so many memorable moments in the crowd there, it was just awesome to get to play on that stage, especially with such a great reaction.”

 

Perkins’ delight was evident on stage last week as he hammered out his craft, smiling broadly and calling out, “Who wants a drumstick?” as he lobbed one into the audience.

 

The band played a half-hour set, as is the Warped Tour’s modus operandi. Aside from the main stage amphitheater, five stages were set up in an area usually reserved for parking. Stage and time assignments are handed out daily, Damon says, in an attempt to perpetuate a sense of equality among bands. 

 

“It varies every day, so we never know until the morning of the show what time our set will be. It’s the ethic of the Warped Tour to even the playing field for all the bands so there are no stars who get special treatment.”

 

The amount of musicians involved in the tour and the fluid schedule create a special atmosphere and invite camaraderie, he adds.

 

“It’s very much like a punk rock summer camp vibe. Everyone is pretty accessible and we are all here for the same reason—to put on a great show.”

 

Damon described a typical day on tour. “Usually the tour bus arrives at the venue at 7 a.m. Our stage crew, tour manager and merch girl get off the bus, load all of our gear onto the stage that we’ll be playing on and set up the merchandise tent. When we wake up later on the bus, the tour manager tells us the schedule for the day, what time our set will be, what time we have to go to our merch tent to do the autograph signing and what time our press interviews are. With each day being different, it’s a bit difficult to get into a groove, but we have a great crew that keeps everything moving smoothly for us.”

 

The Warped trek is two months long, and during that time Damon and Perkins will have a total of seven days off. “And those days off are often extremely long travel days. We’re usually playing six or seven days a week, a different city every night,” Damon says.

 

Damon is no stranger to big stadiums and life on the road. He has made music his full-time career and has toured with Fly Spinach Fly, Bim Skala Bim, New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, the Love Dogs, Matthew Stubbs, Lonely Gus and more. He has played bass, sax and trombone throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe, Scandinavia and South America. Still, this tour with The Pretty Reckless provides him with a sense of connection that has been, at times, elusive.

 

“This has been a bit more high profile. Due to the celebrity status of our lead singer, so many people in the local community are hearing about it and have gotten in touch with me to offer congratulations and kind words, which has been great,” he says. “And there are some very good friends within the local music scene and community who have been supportive of my musical career for many years. I appreciate them so much. I think, however, those of us who tour overseas or play in bands that aren’t local sometimes feel a bit disconnected from the community here. Musicians like Mighty Sam McClain, Nate Edgar, Al Barr and many more amazing performers who call New Hampshire home are out there all over the world playing world-class music and go largely unnoticed by the local community and media simply because of geography.”

 

Damon added that he was looking forward to seeing Portsmouth resident Al Barr of the Dropkick Murphys when they join the Warped festival for some West Coast shows.

 

Both Damon and Perkins say they have enjoyed seeing familiar faces in the crowds and being able to have family and friends meet up with them along the tour.

 

“Everyone’s been really supportive,” says Perkins, also a member of Dover-based band Museum of Science and a former member of Swamp Yankee. “It’s such a tight-knit little scene, when someone gets to bust out a little and do something exciting, everyone kind of relishes it, and deservedly so. I mean, I’ve been playing for so long with guys like Mark and Jon McCormack, Sean Larose and Tim McCoy that we’ve all helped shape each other as players.”

 

As rare as it is for Portsmouth-area musicians to make it big, Damon says if you have the right personality, the passion and the work ethic, you can make it happen. 

 

“I made a decision that music was going to be my life, no matter what. It’s a commitment that requires 110 percent of your body, mind and soul,” he says. “It’s not an easy path to follow. As the famed saxophonist Phil Woods once said to me, ‘If you can think of anything else you’d like to do in life, do it.’”

 

“The path has been full of sacrifices, both personal and monetary,” he adds. “It requires a lot of hard work, networking, and working on your craft. Being good at what you do, easy to get along with and always prepared will get you hired time and time again and keep you employed. I guess my main advice is to always be prepared, be professional, be personable and have your passport. You never know where or when an opportunity will show itself and you have to be ready, willing and able to go for it at a moment’s notice.”