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Hey y’all … It’s Hayley again. Today is the first day in a week or so that I’ve woken up before 11 a.m. I’m pretty stoked about it ’cause I really dislike sleeping in. We haven’t had a day off in ages and you can tell everyone on the tour needs a break. Tomorrow, I believe, will be our first day off in two weeks. We’ll probably see “The Simpsons Movie” or go to a lake. I heard Interpol is playing in Milwaukee tomorrow night. That might be fun …

What exactly was the point of this post?

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As 1/3 of the trio that is Reggae/Punk/Pop band Pepper, bass player/vocalist Bret Bollinger is honest and outspoken, vocalizing his distaste for those who ride the emo-scene wave, and the mainstream media that embraces them. But he is also genuine and charismatic, sharing with us about growing up in Hawaii, the things that REALLY turn him on, his take on Angelina Jolie movies and even his steel-proof tip for enjoying life. Get ready for some dirty, hot sex-education about a band that is truly one of a kind!

“The Indians did it, why can’t we!?” proclaimed Bollinger matter-of-factly as we sat down cross-legged in a circle on the grass in the bus lot of Arizona’s Warped Tour.

Bare-chested, tan, and heavily bearded, Bollinger looked like a surfer version of that Spartan warrior dude in the movie “300.” Except war is pretty much the farthest thing from his mind. And if war is the farthest, sex is the closest.

“You know, you could send a herd of naked chicks into the war right now and it would stop it,” theorized Bollinger with a coy smile. “Seriously!”

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Check out the rest of Paramore’s Warped Tour diaries …

“At the count of 3, let’s educate all those who don’t know what the name of the new album is,” orders Paramore’s pint-sized singer Hayley Williams into her microphone. 1…2…3… “RIOT!!!” screams the crowd in unison. “RIOT!!!”

Appropriately titled, a riot is literally the only way to describe the complete fandemonium experienced at every one of Paramore’s Warped Tour sets. Their new album has caused quite a raucous on music charts as well, reaching an impressive 20 on the US Hot 200, while the album’s first single and ultimate revenge anthem “Misery Business” is at a current position of 75 (and rising!) on the US Hot 100 and 31 on the UK Singles Chart! Their 2005 LP “All We Know is Falling” never found a home on any US chart, further showing how quickly this Tennessee 4-some are achieving stardom and inevitable initiation into the pop-punk hall of fame.

Right beside pioneers New Found Glory, Paramore has found impressive company as one of this year’s Warped Tour headliners. And although they are the youngest band on the tour, you best believe they are holding their own… and doing it in S-T-Y-L-E!

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Call him Long Dan Silverchair. When Daniel Johns took the stage at New York’s Roseland Ballroom on Friday night, the singer, songwriter and auteur of the ever-evolving band known as Silverchair was sporting a bandana … and an eye patch. Now, the headgear is something he has been sporting a lot lately, but the patch was new, and as he showed me after the show, was there to cover a black eye that Johns incurred while playing the guitar with his mouth. There was even a bit of a pirate “Aaargh” to his voice, as Daniel has been battling a nasty bout of laryngitis that caused the band to postpone the first four dates of this tour.

He sounded fine though … more than fine, actually. Daniel and his bandmates Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou (who Johns jokingly introduced as “my two gay lovers”) delivered a thrilling show and served notice that the band has moved on, musically, with a set list that leaned heavily on tracks from the excellent new album Young Modern — including “The Man That Knew Too Much,” the infectious “Low” and “Insomnia,” which Daniel dedicated to the New York audience, the “city that never sleeps.” The prog/pop/rock Young Modern is light years away from what these guys were first known for (Watch “The Reinvention of Silverchair” right here). And while Johns pretty clearly refuses to be painted into any musical corner, this is still a rock band, and even new material like “Reflections of a Sound,” one of the album’s sweeter songs, sounded more muscular performed live.

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Wednesday night I headed back down to the O.C. Fair to see the 88, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Guster. To be honest, I went to see the opening band, the 88. I love this band, and I think their last album was packed full of great, catchy songs, but they really haven’t gotten as much exposure the last couple of years that I think they deserve. I’m sure it’s rough being an opener; the crowd was lacking, the energy was low. I think it was tough for them to get much of a reaction. Likewise, there were songs that I wish they would have played, despite their short set. But most of all, I think it would have been appropriate and/or clever if they would have played “How Good It Can Be,” a song used on the TV show inspired by Orange County; I just think it could have helped them interact with the crowd better.

So who the hell are Toad the Wet Sprocket? Don’t judge me for not knowing them; they’re apparently before my time. But my first question when I saw them onstage was, “What is the age difference in this band?” Lead singer Glen Philips looked to me to be about my age (I’m 22), and the others … a lot older. It turns out there’s only a three-year age gap, but they had me fooled. Despite my preconceptions, I enjoyed their show for the most part. It was nice to sit back and chill to, but the guys continued to try to make jokes that just weren’t that funny. It made me sort of uncomfortable. There were a couple of songs I recognized from the ’90s, and I’d probably describe their sound as ” ’90s” as well (appropriate since that’s when most of their albums were out), but I couldn’t tell you if they were covers or their own songs. The one funny comment they did make was when Philips said, “I don’t smell any manure, this isn’t really a fair.” It brought me back to my days going to the Sioux County Fair in Sioux Center, Iowa. I feel pretty unqualified to critique this band, so if somebody who’s more from their time wants to, please feel free to add to my review.

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There is absolutely a reason why John Mayer sells millions of albums, creates headlines, is featured in ad campaigns and sells out shows. And it has nothing to do with who he dates or what a blogger writes. The fact of the matter is, John Mayer is as true of an artist as they come.

After James Morrison and Ben Folds warmed up the capacity crowd, John took the stage at New Jersey’s PNC Bank Arts Center. Before the first note of the opening tune, “Belief,” was even played, the energy of the roofed outdoor amphitheater seemed electric. Although that may be the norm with any popular singer of the time, Mayer proved himself to be anything but over the course of his roughly hour-and-a-half set. With three screens layered on one another in the middle, left and right of the stage, a top-notch lighting show, and a crisp, clean yet airy sound, the entire production seemed nearly flawless.

What made the show stand out, however, was not the lights, the crowd or even the set list. In fact, some of the seemingly predictable tracks were left out of the show. Songs like his breakout hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland,” “Come Back to Bed,” which he claims is the “coolest song on the album” (from Heavier Things), and the Grammy-winning “Daughters” were absent. Instead, some of the highlights came during his uptempo tracks, which allowed for extended bridges and dramatic conclusions.

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I’m certainly not the ONLY one that has been waiting patiently for Maya “M.I.A.” Arulpragasam’s Stateside return. Since rumors of her visa denial became the topic of musichead conversation last year, though she confirmed she was simply waiting to be processed, where exactly she has been and what exactly she has been doing really only became clear to me last night.

Before trucking down to Studio B in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I had spent a good full day last week getting to know Kala, M.I.A.’s follow-up to her critically acclaimed Arular. And for those of you wondering, and NOT in attendance last night or at the Siren Music Festival last weekend, mami has been busy! It’s an impressive bouquet of beat-heavy tracks taking listeners to the steamy back-alley streets of Jamaica, North Africa, Portugal, South India … and beyond. She’s been hop-skipping around the globe, amalgamating sounds, pain and partying in a manner sure to make the likes of Gwen Stefani and Fergie burn with jealousy.

So I was excited, but also for more personal reasons. MTV News producer Joseph Patel and I shot the first video interview with Maya, back in 2004, and her profile was the first piece I ever produced for MTV News. I guess we’ve both come a long way since then, though you are probably somehow more aware of her achievements then mine. Here’s one of mine: I have beaten Sway and Tim Kash in our office table-tennis matches. Yes, it takes place after work, when everyone has left, and yes we do it on a conference table with beta tapes as our net. But winning is winning. And now you know …

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“People don’t dance no more/ They just stand there like this” — oh how the Rapture are wrong! That’s a line from their song “Whoo! Alright - Yeah … Uh Huh.,” and last night’s show at the Mayan theater in downtown Los Angeles was outta control.

People were dancing up a storm, which wasn’t too far off from the venue’s usual function as a salsa club. I seriously haven’t seen a crowd move like that since the Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty tour in ‘98. I was right in the middle of it all, cuttin’ it up all night, and doing things you weren’t supposed to do at a junior high dance.

The ornately decorated Mayan isn’t your typical concert venue, but the Rapture put on a heart-pounding performance that the gods would have approved. They played all of my favorites — the aforementioned “Whoo!,” “Get Myself Into It” and “First Gear,” just to name a few.

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