Local band Conditions tapped for UK tour

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Local band, Conditions, cut short their tour in Louisville and Nashville this month when they heard the news that Grammy-nominated band, Paramore, had tapped the musicians to be a part of the group’s tour heading to Manchester.

No, not the Manchester that Midlothian knows, but a town in the United Kingdom.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Conditions member Riley Emminger. The bass player, who also is a guitar tech for Paramore, noted that by far, the UK tour has been the biggest gig for the local band. “We hope it pays dividends,” the 2004 Midlothian High School graduate said.

Conditions, which gained its start in the halls of Midlothian Middle School nearly 10 years ago, has evolved into offering energetic sounds for its growing fan-base. Each of the five members has invested their dreams of signing a contract and the tap from Paramore for the tour has created a path for making those dreams a reality.

“In a word – “excitement!” ” said songwriter Jason Marshall, who grew up in Midlothian. “An unsigned band does not get this kind of opportunity,” he said. “We have to front all the expenses and it is borderline out-of-reach, but we’ll be doing the UK.”

Brandon Roundtree, a Monacan graduate, knows it’s been the practicing every single day that has brought them to this point. “If we didn’t do that, we’d be nowhere,” he said.

Although most of Conditions’ fans know the lyrics by heart, Roundtree isn’t expecting the same from the UK fans. However, the myspace.com international site has a few listening in to find out more about Conditions. One fan even sent Roundtree a link to a web site that offers a message board talking about the band. However, Roundtree is reserving his expectations. “I feel honored to grace the stage here and am so thankful. I’m keeping my head knowing that it could happen, I could do this for the rest of my life,” he said. “I would love, I suppose, a bigger label. It’s every boy’s dream to sign with a major label.”

Roundtree is also thankful for the support from family and girlfriend AleJo Kvitek. The support from family, friends and loved ones has helped them jump in to securing their expedited passports and gearing up to leave Saturday, Jan. 26 for the UK tour.

Ryan Tinsley, drummer, is really surprised. The Hanover resident is looking forward to performing in front of 3,000 to 8,000 fans and celebrating his 21st birthday in London. However, he’s not about to slack off from the practice. “Now that we’re touring I practice almost every other day, three to four hours at a time. I notice the better I play the better I feel,” Tinsley said. “My expectations are 100 percent; as long as I see people moving and dig our music.”

Alex Howard spoke for everyone that it’s been a whirlwind getting ready and no one has had a chance to be at their ‘day’ jobs. The guitar player has taken a semester off from Virginia Commonwealth University and is hoping – as are the other band members – that a few bosses might be flexible in schedules. Of course, with time off from their employers and paying their way, the band looks to invest on the $1 menu and maybe work that off with a quick scrimmage between shows, Howard mentioned.

To find out more about Conditions, link up to their site at http://myspace.com/conditionsband. You can also catch a quick peek of their recent gig at the CCBC in Chester last weekend on this week’s Midlo 5, your weekly webcast.