Nine standout artists from Warped Tour 2013
Throughout this year's Warped Tour run, which ended yesterday in Houston, we received plenty of feedback from within the tour and from you about who was winning over new fans and taking the tour by storm. Here are nine of the bands from Warped who we think should be on your radar.
CROSSFAITH
HQ: Osaka, Japan
Fan testimonial: “They're so intense, so in-your-face. Their musical skill is mind-blowing.” – Andy Davis, Louisville, KY
Claim to fame: Connecting Warped artists across continents.
Tamano Terufumi (programming), Takemura Kazuki (guitar), Ikegawa Hiroki (bass), Amano Tatsuya (drums), Koie Kenta (vocals)
How has Warped Tour helped your band?
Terufumi: I've enjoyed it personally, and, as a band, it's been a great way to play a lot of shows.
What was your best experience on the tour?
Kenta: The barbecues every night—those have been amazing.
Hiroki: Skateboarding with my favorite bands.
Kenta: This tour is different from most tours- there are so many bands, and now we're like family. I can't wait to meet them again.
Worst?
Terufumi: Our bus has fucked up twice.
Tatsuya: Hangovers.
Kazuki: I broke a tooth.
What are your next plans?
Terufumi: We go back to Japan to play Summer Sonic.
Kenta: Then we go to the U.K., back to Japan, then this October we'll do a tour in Australia with Bring Me The Horizon and Of Mice & Men.
Who were your Warped stand-out artists?
Kenta: Architects, While She Sleeps, The Amity Affliction, Bring Me The Horizon
CROWN THE EMPIRE
HQ: Dallas, TX
Fan testimonial: “I love how they talk to the fans. They give everyone a voice.” – Mason Chenoweth, Oxford, OH
Claim to fame: This summer's breakout act of the Ernie Ball stage.
Andrew Velasquez (vocals), David Escamilla (vocals)
How has Warped Tour helped your band?
Velasquez: A lot of tours we've done have been small markets, so this has been a test to see how many people will actually come out.
Escamilla: We've learned a lot about each other—being in such close quarters all the time.
Velasquez: And we've been winning a lot of new fans, people who walk by and stop to watch.
What was your best experience on the tour?
Velasquez: Buffalo was dope. We happened to play between two bigger bands’ [set times], while there was nobody else playing. We were on the smallest stage, but that day we had a crazy amount of space, and everyone watched us.
Escamilla: Also, [at another show] a mentally challenged friend of ours—he can't speak, but he's in love with music, he wants to be a singer, but physically can't—we brought him on stage for one of our songs.
Worst?
Velasquez: I almost fell the other day. The security guard's head broke my fall.
Who were your Warped stand-out artists?
Velasquez: Gin Wigmore, I fell in love with her.
Escamilla: Bring Me The Horizon and Memphis May Fire.
CITIZEN
HQ: Michigan/Ohio
Claim to Fame: Your favorite band's favorite new band.
Mat Kerekes (vocals), Nick Hamm (guitar), Eric Hamm (bass)
Have you noticed a lot of buzz this summer?
Nick: The biggest thing I've noticed is that a lot of bands you wouldn't think would like our band have shown us attention. It's really awesome feeling support from your peers.
How has Warped Tour helped your band?
Kerekes: It's helped us reach people we normally wouldn't. People pass by as we're playing, and they just stop and listen.
What was your best experience on the tour?
Eric: The catering. It's pretty great.
Nick: This is the healthiest I've eaten in a long time.
Worst?
Kerekes: When it rains. That's a disaster.
Nick: The other day people were literally floating in merch bins, and rowing themselves around.
What are your next plans?
Nick: Taking it easy for a little while, then we'll be playing more songs off our new record [on the road] later in the fall. We also have a new song coming on a compilation called Off The Board in October.
Who were your Warped standout artists?
Nick: For The Foxes. I just happened to see them. You have to dance to them; you have no option. >>>
WALLPAPER.
HQ: Oakland, CA
Fan testimonial: “Wallpaper. are my favorite band on the tour.” – Zach Hall, Five Knives
Claim to fame: A lot more punk-rock than they let on.
Ricky Reed (vocals), Novena Carmel (vocals)
How has Warped Tour helped your band?
Reed: We may have tapped into a part of ourselves as a band that I didn't really know that we had. We have more of a punk-rock ethos than maybe we realized. Going into this, we thought this thing was going to crush us, but realized we can keep up with big, loud, heavy rock bands. It unlocked a new part of us.
What was your best experience on the tour?
Carmel: The day of the album release, which was also Ricky's birthday, [we played in] Kansas City. People from our stage were giving us shots between every song. Then we had our very first circle pit.
Reed: And at the end, I got Silly Stringed and pied in the face. That night, the DJs on our stage threw an afterparty that was basically a rave. It was a great day.
Worst?
Carmel: In Detroit they had to evacuate everyone for a tornado. We haven't really had any particular mishaps though.
Reed: There's never anything that bad at Warped Tour, that's what we've learned. Even if there are 20 people in front of you in line for the shower, you're going to make 20 new friends. Even when they evacuated everyone into the amphitheater [in Detroit], our drummer ran in circles until everyone did the wave.
What are your next plans?
Reed: Visiting friends and family for a few days, studio work in August and September, then going back on the road in October.
Who were your Warped standout artists?
Reed: letlive., the Story So Far, the Summer Set, Chiodos…
Carmel: the Chariot, Stick To Your Guns. And that's not including all the cool people on our stage.
How do you feel about Warped winding down?
Carmel: It's a little sad. We're going to have a prom and they'll probably play “It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday,” and that's when I'll break down.
Reed: My drinking is starting to feel like sadness drinking.
SET IT OFF
HQ: Tampa, FL
Fan testimonial: “It's like going to church.” – Mileena, Montpelier, OH on her first experience seeing them live.
Claim to fame: Endlessly winning over fans through nonstop hard work.
Cody Carson (vocals)
Have you noticed your buzz grow throughout the summer?
Carson: Yeah, absolutely. Followers, social media count, crowd-size, it's been amazing. We went from no one knowing the words to people screaming the words.
How has Warped Tour helped your band?
Carson: I've made some really great friends, friends you wouldn't expect. Andy [Biersack] from Black Veil Brides and I found out we both have a love for Batman. But the best thing is winning over new fans.
What was your best experience on the tour?
Carson: Two days ago in Orlando we got bumped up to the main stage. That was surreal. Also, just seeing our hard work pay off and seeing our fanbase grow.
Worst?
Carson: We've gone through three drivers. The first one crashed into We Came As Romans' bus mirror.
What are your next plans?
Carson: We're going overseas with Tonight Alive, then a full U.S. tour in the fall. We're also constantly writing and hoping to be in the studio by the end of this year or beginning of next year.
Who were your Warped standout artists?
Carson: Definitely letlive. Tonight Alive are great, New Years Day—I've been jumping on for a song every day. I also saw part of Echosmith's set recently and really liked them a lot.
ECHOSMITH
HQ: Toluca Lake, CA
Fan testimonial: “I love Sydney's voice and her style. They're all really great performers.” – Emily, Cincinnati, OH
Claim to fame: The youngest band on the tour this year.
Jamie Sierota (guitar, vocals), Noah Sierota (bass), Sydney Sierota (vocals, keyboard)
How has Warped Tour helped your band?
Jamie: We went into it knowing we stick out like a sore thumb, and that ended up being a really positive thing.
Noah: One of the coolest parts is seeing more people in each city who know who we are.
What was your best experience on the tour?
Jamie: In Detroit, they evacuated everyone into the arena for a storm right when we were supposed to go on, and we got to go on first right after [the storm]. Everyone stayed and it was probably the best show of the tour.
Sydney: The WWE fighting during the barbecues—the first time I didn't know what was going on, but they've done three of them and they've been really fun to watch. Everyone gets super into it.
Worst?
Jamie: We've had some gear mishaps, and when there's bad weather it gets all over us. Our stage doesn't have any covering.
What are your next plans?
Jamie: We're doing a couple shows with Owl City, then figuring out the rest of the year. We want to keep touring.
Who were your Warped stand-out artists?
Noah: Alvarez Kings.
Sydney: Hands Like Houses, For The Foxes, Tonight Alive. >>>
