Warped Tour 2009 at The Gorge - Photo By PHIL PALIOS
By PHIL PALIOS
On a sunny Saturday afternoon at the beautiful central-Washington concert venue sometimes referred to as Heaven’s Amphitheater but most commonly known as The Gorge thousands of music fans migrate from their homes, skate parks and local rock club hangouts to the punk rock Mecca known as Vans Warped Tour. Sponsored by the famous footwear maker, Warped Tour is the masterpiece of tour organizer Kevin Lyman and has given hundreds of bands the otherwise impossible opportunity to spend the summer traveling around the country and playing amphitheatre-size venues for tens of thousands of music lovers.
This year’s tour included a diverse range of ages and exposure among the bands, from bands on their first tour to Warped Tour veterans quickly approaching AARP eligibility. The big names draw the most fans, but it’s the smaller acts that you’ve never heard of that make Warped Tour much more than just another rock show. Every year, without fail, I find a band at Warped Tour that I had never heard of and truly appreciate. These bands are usually outliers from the groups that tend to all sound the same, and instead bring a new style to the scene. Punk rock doesn’t always have to be about throwing a fit with a microphone in your hand. At my relatively old age I hardly fit the profile of someone who is attracted to Warped Tour, even when I was a teenager, this was not my scene. Yet , I return every year for the unique opportunity to discuss music with a diverse range of artists and the faith that out of the dozens of bands performing, I’m bound to find something new that I like.
Less Than Jake was the main attraction for me this year, I was a huge fan of their hit album “Borders & Boundaries” released in 2000. I still listen to that album every once in a while and I had never had the chance to see them live, let alone sit down and talk with one of the founding members. The tables turned after I began my interview with the band’s lead guitarist and vocalist Chris Demakes who painted an extremely bleak picture of the band’s lost ambitions and passive grind to keep paying their bills. There was no creative spirit or artistic excitement, he felt as if he had been defeated and could only hope to ride out the profits of the band’s past success. Demakes has no interest in even trying for another hit, but has rather resigned to touring and playing the same old songs over and over again. With over fourteen years since the band’s debut album life has changed a lot for the group members and Chris sees it more as a job than a form of art.
The fantasy of one of my favorite bands I had built up in my head was shattered by this harsh reality, but it didn’t take long for me to gain inspiration after talking with new singer/songwriter Alana Grace. Alana had developed a relationship with the tour’s press manager and frequently hung out in the press trailer. Whether she was there consciously seeking publicity or just enjoyed a change of pace from other parts of the tour, I’ll never know, but I’m glad I met her as I quickly discovered she was the outlier of Warped I was looking for. With her second album hot off the press and Warped being her first country-wide tour, she was excited to grow her fan base and share her music. Passionate about her songwriting and interested in improving the pop rock music scene, full of hopes and dreams, Alana Grace was a polar opposite of Chris Demakes. The only things these two artists had in common was their presence on the tour and excellent music. During my conversation with Alana I heard everything I was hoping to hear from Demakes: hope, happiness, excitement and inspiration. Of course it wasn’t until hearing her live performance that I was convinced she was certainly not just talk, she was the only person I had heard at Warped who could sing, with notes and everything! Not to mention her emotional and complex lyrics. Alana Grace has the fire that makes everyone around her excited and powers her talented stage performance, the same fire that had been extinguished in Chris Demakes long ago.
Streetlight Manifesto - Photo By PHIL PALIOS
Kevin Lyman’s ears are what I think make Warped Tour such a great success. Selecting a mix of “big name” artists and “no name” artists with a variety of styles surrounding punk rock that will appeal to a broad group of music lovers is not an easy task. Warped Tour has the power to transform artists and develop a huge fan base for a group that may have never left their home state before being invited on the tour. Thousands of bands submit their demos to Kevin every year and only a hundred or so get to play on one of the tour’s seven stages. The advantage of playing alongside legends like Bad Religion and pop sensations like 3OH!3 on the same tour is unique. With over ten hours of music to experience at Warped Tour you’re always going to have the chance to hear a group you never intended to. It’s quite different than going to a traditional show and either showing up late to skip the opener, or forgetting about them as soon as the band you came to see takes the stage. Warped reverses the roles and has a few big names but shines the spotlight on smaller artists. They also prevent you from showing up for one band by shuffling the schedule each day.
I had the chance to sit down with Kevin Lyman during this year’s show at the Gorge and try to gain some insight into what’s on his mind after such success over the last fifteen years. Here’s what he had to say:
PJ: What are some of the initiatives you’ve been pushing this year on the tour?
KL: Well, there’s the eco stuff that we continue to try and grow on. It’s nice that we were able to get involved with Green Peace and have that solar truck and bands on our solar stage. There’s also the recycling program, they’re up over what they collected last year. We did an initiative that will be online, all the bands made skate decks, and all the bands made drums one day. We’ll be auctioning those off through the United Charity website pretty soon. Music Saves Lives, the blood drive that will probably attract about 45,000 pints of blood this year. We just keep building on what we do.
PJ: Does the tour use bio-diesel?
KL: We do!
PJ: Do you keep a tanker with you or how do you get the fuel?
KL: No, we have a great network now. We developed our own network of suppliers and this is our fifth year on bio-diesel. We run all 18 production busses, all 19 semi-trucks and our generators on bio-diesel. Yesterday we were filling up and took on about 4,000 gallons, so we’re somewhere between four and five thousand gallons a day. Last year we were paying over six dollars per gallon delivered on bio-diesel, it was more than diesel and they were kind of extorting you if you wanted it. But now the supply chain is really good, $2.71/gallon or $2.80/gallon.
PJ: That’s great, I know some bands have stayed away because of the costs to have a tanker follow them on tour, it sounds like you don’t need to do that anymore?
KL: No, they’ll come and deliver it.
PJ: What do you see in the future, is there anything you want to do that you haven’t done yet for Warped?
KL: Build a connection to the history of the music, try to keep the history alive. We can’t forget the legacy of where this all came from.
PJ: What advice do you have for bands that want to get on Warped Tour?
KL: Present yourself well. Don’t walk up and hand me a demo and say “it doesn’t sound that good.” Let me know how you’re doing through the year. Let me know when you’re coming through LA, if I’m in town I might come see it.
PJ: What are you working on outside of Warped Tour?
KL: I have the Mayhem festival that finishes tomorrow in Oklahoma City. Slayer, Manson, Killswitch Engage, it’s a big metal tour. I just opened an office in Nashville and we’re going to be starting a country-style Warped Tour next year.
Music Lovers - Photo By PHIL PALIOS
Kevin’s efforts to bring bands together and tour through the country for a growing variety of genres are not only impressive, I believe that his work is fundamental in keeping the music industry growing. Renewing people’s interests by allowing them to see bands they love and discover new bands at the same time is the only way that new bands have a good shot at stardom. With all of the bureaucracy in the music industry that has radio stations and music labels in a panic, it’s refreshing to see someone that does away with that nonsense and focuses on the music and the fans.
The tour also provides an opportunity for bands to network and meet other groups that they get along with and may one day tour with or collaborate on a song with. For fans, it lets you connect with people who share your passion for music but may have come to see a different band than you. All of the bands have merch tents on the tour and can often be found signing autographs for fans after their performance, giving fans an opportunity to meet their favorite band. It’s a wonderful thing and I hope to see it continue for many years to come.
During my time at Warped Tour I was able to sit down with several artists including: Alexisonfire, Underoath, All Time Low, Less Than Jake, Alana Grace and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. All of these interviews will be published in the coming weeks so check back soon for more Warped Tour coverage!
