Pennywise Attack Alesana at Warped Tour
Two drunken members of punk band Pennywise physically attacked both members of screamo rockers Alesana and their tour vehicle Aug. 8 at the Denver edition of this summer's Warped Tour.
Initially, Alesana singer Shawn Milke said that the band was "attacked blindly by two very drunk members of Pennywise ... had it not been for the Denver police showing up and restraining our assailants, the night could have been tragic." While no one was seriously injured in the attack, it was a scary thing for Alesana to have to endure during the annual punk rock summer camp known as the Warped Tour. The Denver date was Pennywise's final stop on the tour, and that is part of the reason that this whole fracas occurred in the first place.
The online community began to speculate about what had happened, going as far as to wonder if it was about disliking one another's music. Turns out, that could not be further from the truth, and the root cause of the problem was simple: alcohol.
Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge publicly apologized to Alesana in an interview and chalked the whole thing up to a big drunken mistake. The Reader's Digest version? Dragge and Pennywise bassist Ray Bradbury wanted to continue hanging out with the band Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band. In their intoxicated state, they entered Alesana's RV, thinking it was the Rev. Peyton's RV. Alesana's tour manager tried to remove the Pennywise pair from the bus, but they refused to leave and had to be escorted off. That's when the altercation escalated and the cops had to subdue Dragge with a taser. Ouch! The fight had nothing to do with Alesana or their music, either.
Milke also responded to the apology, saying, "We would like to thank Fletcher of Pennywise for publicly apologizing for the incident that took place earlier this week. We have been and will always be fans of Pennywise, and we look forward to touring Australia with those dudes. I guess next time we will just hang a sign on our door that says, 'This is not the bus of the Reverend Peyton.' Mistakes happen. For Alesana and Pennywise, this is already water under the bridge, and we urge you all to please do the same. Touring is about music and friendship, but unfortunately sometimes these things happen. We look forward to that beer, Fletcher."
Now peace has been restored in the Warped Tour world.