Written By: Jackie Rudolph
Photos By: Jackie Rudolph & Farah Tamaddon
Ventura, California’s Seaside Park Warped Tour probably ranks as one of the best locations for Warped. With a huge plot of land used as fairgrounds smack dab next to the Pacific Ocean with its breeze making you survive the heat waves is the luxury provided for this hot summer, Southern California day. It’s definitely interesting to see all the bands that roll into Warped year after year. This year’s headlining bands consisted of bands like Pepper, Circle Jerks, Gallows, Pennywise, and last but not least, Bad Religion. Being at Warped Tour for about 8 hours that day was pretty much an enthralling experience, and even being there years before, it still doesn’t get old.
Don’t you just love it when thousands of people are in the crowd with you singing along to the same words that are coming out of the lead singer’s mouth? Being able to be apart of that experience is such a momentous event. Who cares if you’re next to a big old sweaty shirtless guy, it’s okay because you’re just living it up at Warped. It’s the day that everyone looks forward to in the summer where they don’t have any guilt about ditching school or work, because dude, it’s Warped Tour.
With seeing all the sick performances, I was even able to speak with a couple of the bands which was pretty sweet I must say. The bands that were breathing the same air as me that day were: The Spill Canvas, Paramore, and The Automatic Automatic. Right when I got to the concert, it was straight to the press booth to chat it up with Nick (vocals) and Joe (drums) from The Spill Canvas. Proudly sporting Sire Records, these South Dakota guys have in their words, “pieced together the puzzle” with their hard work and commitment as they started as an acoustic act and came up to what they are now over the past few years. Especially with South Dakota not having such as big of a music scene like other places, these guys were able to make a great success by working hard and making it big. With guys like The Spill Canvas, they show that they have an unstoppable motivation that can get them anywhere. So when asked what their favorite part about Warped was, they easily responded back “the camaraderie.” With being on Warped Tour with so many different bands for the summer, how is it not easy to become BFF with another band? These guys say they are buddies with bands like Circa Survive, Yellowcard, and Cute is What We Aim For…how cute. (pun intended…haha) So you better make sure to watch out for these South Dakota studs because they’ll sweep you off their feet with their tunes and make you coming back for more! Be sure to check them at out www.myspace.com/tsc.
After the interview with The Spill Canvas, I wandered through the fairgrounds and came across The Circle Jerks and The Unseen. Being at Warped is nice since there’s a good number of stages so if you’re not really digging one band’s style, it’s cool because you can just continue on to the next one. It was good to hear some more intense music than the other bands. The Circle Jerks took the main stage and showed how they rocked out in front of everyone, where as The Unseen were on a smaller stage, but were still able to attract a huge crowd. And let me tell you, I LOVED this crowd. Seeing these punks with enormous Mohawks and decked out in the coolest clothes, they were passionate about singing along with the band. This crowd was loud, intense, and probably one of the best crowds around who really showed you what it was like to be at a great show.
Later day that I got to talk to Paramore which consists of Hayley (18), Zach (17), Josh (19), and Jeremy (22). Young ages, huh? One must wonder … did the members of Paramore finish high school since they’re so young? Hayley explained that they graduated at different times, and she added that she even took the SAT…now I must say, recording, touring, and taking the SAT, that’s pretty amazing. Not many can conquer that task. But what about their families being accepting of their young offspring going out and playing in the rock scene instead of staying at home? Fortunately for them, their families are really cool with it, especially since they’re all really close. With the four of them starting in 2004, they have had 3 years of being together, and hopefully many more to come in the future. This is their 3rd year on Warped Tour and are not even close to being sick of it. “It’s like summer camp, we hang out with our friends,” Hayley mentioned. If Warped Tour were my summer camp, wow, I’d be in Heaven. With bands playing from morning to night, food stands all over the place, thousands of people, and booths galore, what’s not missing? I came across one booth which Paramore is deeply involved in which is known as To Write Love On Her Arms. It’s a good cause that deals with suicide prevention, and if Paramore truly believes in it, as well as so many other people, then you might want to check it out at http://www.twloha.com.
Right after speaking with Paramore, I was able to have a nice conversation with Rob, the lead singer of the up and coming band, The Automatic Automatic. This Welsh guy was quite the character I must say. His stories were hilarious and if you have a chance to go see The Automatic Automatic, go for it! The band is new to America, but they are on the right track to doing well out here. A humorous story that Rob mentioned in the interview was that one time back in the U.K. during a summer concert, the venue was boiling, “it felt like a greenhouse.” Since it was so hot, the guys decided to play an encore in their boxer shorts for the hundreds of people that were in the crowd that night. Rob continued his story with saying, “After we knew it, there were loads of people who started stripping off their clothes!” Even if it was a joke that the band wanted to do at first, they inspired the majority of the crowd to get naked. So watch out everyone, because it’s hot this summer and The Automatic Automatic is coming to a town near you! Besides their success with getting their fans naked, they have been quite the roar back home in the U.K. with selling a numerous amount of records. But now that they’re in the U.S. of A, it’s a new game since the U.S. is the biggest market, and like how Rob puts it, “each state is like its own country.” At least the guys seem to get along with each other since they met when they were very young. Rob explains, “I met the guitarist when I was either 4 or 5 years old, so we got our music together for 15-16 years.” These guys seem like they are ready to take on the U.S., with their high ranked album back in the U.K., and their touring this summer, one must question…what will they come up with next? Well, just be ready to be taken by storm, America…and that goes for Canada too!
So with ending the day as the sun set into the Pacific Ocean waves, and Killswitch Engage being the final performance on the main stage, I am able to say that this was a successful Warped Tour. The performances from bands like Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, Circa Survive, Pennywise, Pepper, Gallows, Paramore, The Spill Canvas, The Automatic Automatic, and all the others on the lineup of that day were pretty much amazing. So you still have time to catch a Warped Tour since it doesn’t end until late August, so if you haven’t been yet…GO! Because I know you don’t want to wait until next year while you still have the chance to go now!
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