Vans Warped Tour 2015

By Felicia De Leija
Photos by Jennifer Lopez

DALLAS, TX – On Saturday June 27th the annual Vans Warped Tour made a stop in Dallas, TX at the Gexa Energy Pavillion. This tour consists of eclectic musical acts, from unsigned to major recording bands that attract audiences of all ages.  The scorching heat didn’t stop fans from taking advantage of the opportunity to interact with their favorite artists.  Bands held meet and greets at their tents some of which were limited to the first one hundred people.  Several nonprofit organizations promoting their cause at Warped Tour included, Music Saves Lives, Feed Our Children, Keep a Breast To Write Love On Her Arms, and PETA among others.

TTL began the day with interviewing a band called Night Argent.  An alternative pop/rock band from Pasco, WA.  Night Argent won their spot on Warped Tour in this year’s Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands.  They’ve toured with Andy Grammar, Parachute and even opened up for Imagine Dragons.  Their debut EP is set to come out this year!  Go Check them out on their later dates for Warped Tour, August 1st through August 8th.

Zach (drums), Shane (keys), Chase (vocals), Jeff (Guitar), Evan (bass). nightargent.com

TTL:  How did you all meet?

Chase:  Shane and I have known each other longest.  We’ve known each other since we were right fresh into middle school.  But we all actually went to the same high school at different times.  We played in different bands around our hometown.  So hearing about each other’s talents, we were able o come together.  We all had the same goal and that was to do music for the rest of our lives.

What made you want to pick up an instrument and start playing?

Shane: Inspiration from family members, role models…it’s a lot of things. Once you do it once, you just keep doing it.

We saw that you guys self produced the video for Nothing More Beautiful, how was that experience?

Jeff: It was honestly one of the funnest things we’ve done as a band. We got to know some people that had some land and they were more than willing to have us come out and stay on their property and we shot a video up in the mountains. Since we did it ourselves, you brought up a whole bunch of friends and all the people we needed to get everything done. It was like an all-night ordeal.

Zac: It was such a crazy experience. We had to tape black plastic bags on our legs because we were on this frozen lake and it was all muddy. We would go in there and it was like three feet deep and it would take forever to get out of there. It was awesome. It was a great experience. It was more like play than work

Where do you see yourself as a band in 5 years?

Shane: Retired? (laughs)

Chase: I see us touring the world, doing stadium tours, playing places like Lolapalooza and Brazil. That’s the dream for any band, but we wouldn’t be doing this unless we had faith in ourselves and what we could do and I see us there.

How difficult is it to be away from family [while touring]?

Jeff: It’s hard. It’s quite possible the only downside.

Chase: Your saving grace is FaceTime and Skype. That’s how you get through [touring]. You’re able to keep that contact with the people back home and keeping yourself grounded. It’s rough.

You guys are together all the time, is there any fighting [while on tour]?

Chase: Never! (laughs)

Evan: It’s like a family. We have arguments and stuff but within like 20 minutes it’s cool…it doesn’t even matter (laughs).

What’s your most memorable fan experience?

Jeff: I remember this one time when we first got the band together, one of our first trips was a tour with AXS TV and we had played at a high school. When we came out, people left letters all over our camper and trailer and were all like “we love you guys!” It was super cool! We weren’t expecting that so we came [outside] and were like “Wow, this is awesome!”

Evan: I think my favorite one was when we played that show in Rexburg in Sammy’s. It was an ice cream parlor slash burger joint with a venue attached to it. We played, it was packed, for like two hundred people. When we got done, right next door there was a laser tag place so us and everyone at the show went over. And we just played laser tag with all our fans. So cool.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and people who long to be where you are at right now?

Chase: Do it for the right reasons. Do it because you love it. Don’t do it because you want to get famous and make a lot of money because honestly, that is a very rare occurrence for a lot of people. We do it because we love it. Of course we want to be successful, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than onstage playing music and hanging out with my friends.

Shortly after chatting with Night Argent we ran to catch TAT, a punk-inspired alt/rock band on stage.  This was her fourth run on Warped Tour. The new single Anxiety is set to come out online on July 15th. The London native had two chart topping singles, Peace Sex & Tea and Pessimist Live From Reading by the age of eighteen. TAT is preparing to release a second album in early 2016.

We had a chance to speak with  Tatiana DeMaria.

What made you want to pick up an instrument and start playing?

My elder brother, who is like 13 years older than me, used to play House of The Rising Sun on the guitar, and as a kid I would look at him and go “He’s so cool! I want to know how to do that!” One day I was in school (and I played piano as a kid growing up), and the teacher picked up the guitar and started playing that song. I was about 10 years old and I was like “Okay, I want to learn how to play that song!” She literally walked me to the other room where I met a guitar teacher. I had about 4 guitar lessons, found tabs online, and just taught myself from there.

Where do you get inspiration to write your songs?

Experience and sentiment. I think honesty is where I like to come from in my writing. As a musician you get to really look inside yourself and why you’re feeling certain things. You get to spend your day being very self-indulgent. I think at the end of the day it’s almost a musician’s responsibility to find those things to help other people get through their things. If you’re going through a break up, you come home and you’ve got your favorite artist right there who can hold your hand, give you a hug, and make you cry. So for me honesty is very important and I write from my perspective. If people feel it great, and if people don’t, that’s cool…maybe you’ll feel someone else’s.

Can you describe how you felt the moment you finally got your big/lucky break?

I don’t feel like I’ve ever really had a big break in the sense that when you’re in it and you’re working very hard, you just get very grateful for every step of the way. I remember being 16 and we got this show with The Offspring at Bercy Stadium where there was 18,000 people. I remember getting on stage and just being like “Wow! This is insane!” It was in France and I had grown up in France. I didn’t live there anymore but I had gone back, so it was going back to one of my childhood homes and being able to play a massive arena. It was definitely something that stuck with me.

What’s your favorite song to play on stage?

Recently, there is a song that is distinctly my favorite to play…but it’s not out yet. I play it acoustically and we play it with the band too, but maybe I’ll come back to you on that one. Let’s meet when the album is out in a year’s time and I’ll tell you what it is because some of the titles are a bit under wraps right now. New album in 2016! Check it out J

What is the most memorable thing a fan has ever done or said to you?

Fans have done wonderful things. I think it’s more fan reactions to me in the sense that fans have come up to us and said “Thanks for getting me through drug addiction or my relationship…” One of them in particular I remember showed up to a show, said that, and you know… people will get your name tattooed (your signature). This girl had come in and was so passionate. We signed her and she literally walked down the street, got the tattoo, and came back 20 minutes later. On this tour, it has been wonderful.  We’ve had people fly in from everywhere, from Mexico and Utah and here and there. We’re just very grateful for that and grateful for our fans.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and people who long to be where you are at right now?

I would probably say, “Work harder than you’ve ever thought you’d work. And then once you’ve done that work twice as hard and you’re somewhat close to what it feels like.” You know I know a lot of very talented musicians who are talented but don’t have the work ethic. I think there are a lot of people out there, people who look at the radio and say things like, “this artist isn’t that talented why are they successful?” Audacity. It takes audacity , it takes strength and it takes determination and I think if you’re that passionate just follow your heart. The main thing is follow your heart, be relentless. If you really love it, go for it! Don’t let up. It’s not always fun it’s very very hard there’s a lot of people management involved but it’s a pretty good life if you do it right so be grateful for that too.

Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans?

Thanks for hanging out with these lovely ladies [interviewers] and myself. We have a new album out in 2016. Which you can check out, we’ll be on the road so keep your eyes peeled and in the mean time we’re at tatoffical.com. Tatoffical on facebook, you can find me on instagram at TatianaDeMaria. We have a new track out that we just put out for warped tour this summer it’s called “Anxiety” and it’s out online on the 15th of July so check it out. Spread the word. Thanks for sticking with us and I hope to see you on the road soon.

Next up was  The Relapse Symphony.  A rock band from Washington, DC who has toured with acts such as:  Black Veil Brides, The Dead Rabbitts, and more. They are currently out promoting their new album Born to Burn that was released June 23rd via Standby Records.

         How did you all meet?

Bret: Me and JC used to frequent a club when we were up in D.C. and we used to go to all of the same shows. I actually saw [JC’s] old band play
JC: He was a little kid and he saw one of my old punk bands play.
Bret: We knew each other for years and then he asked me to be in the band and I said yeah.
JC: Ray was a fan of one of my other old bands.
Ray: I tried out to join one of his old bands and I actually met [JC and Bret] at the club as well. It’s funny how we all met at the same place.
Bret: We’ve known each other from like the area that we are from.

What made you want to pick up an instrument and start playing?

JC: I was 12. I got a guitar for Christmas. I saw Back to the Future when I was very little kid and at the end when Marty McFly was playing guitar, I thought that was cool. Then I remember I got a Walkman as a gift and I remember the first song I heard on the radio was All the Small Things by Blink182, and that made me want to be in a band. I think what finally did it was I went to a music festival and I saw Good Charlotte. Then I started a band. I got a guitar.
Ray: My dad would always play guitar for me as a child. Then he bought me my first guitar and showed me a few Guns n Roses videos, and I just wanted to be in a band.
Bret: My dad was always into Rock n Roll so I just always listened to what he played in the car. When I was really little I used to have an obsession with Elvis Presley, so I always wanted to play music.

Could you talk to us a little bit about your new album, Born to Burn?

JC: Born to Burn, it came out a few days ago. It’s a pissed off rock record. It’s definitely the heaviest thing we’ve ever done. We actually wrote a record, we threw it away, wrote a new record, and that’s Born to Burn. It’s doing really well. The kids are liking it. It’s gotten great reviews so far. A lot of kids that are coming out actually know all the words already. So that has been cool.

What’s your most memorable fan experience?

JC: Oh man, there’s so many. Tattoos. Today, a couple came to our tent told me that they started dating…like, he asked her to be his girlfriend while our song was playing. So that was kind of cool.

Do you guys ever fight in the van?

JC: Yeah, definitely…but we make it work. A band is a marriage. You are all living in close quarters, not showering, some of us are drinking and getting crazy, but for the most part we are a family and we always have each other’s backs.

Where do you guys see yourselves in 5 years?

JC: Old, bald…(laughs). Hopefully still touring.
Ray: I want to be doing this band for a long time.
JC: Hopefully not bald either.
Bret: If I go bald, I’ll just buy a nice wig.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and people who long to be where you are at right now?

Ray: Don’t get discouraged and just keep on following your dreams. I’ve been in bands for like 7 years now and it has taken me this long to find something that actually works.
JC: I would say “Don’t quit.” We’ve been through a lot, recently even. We almost weren’t going to be able to do this tour. A lot of stuff went down right before tour, but we made it happen and we’re really thankful that we were able to pull that off and still be out here meeting our fans and playing. There’s no trick, just work hard. Eventually, if what you are doing…if you’re really believing it, you’re going to put all of your energy into it and it’s going to come back to you. Don’t take shortcuts, they never work. Don’t buy followers because you think labels are going to think it’s cool. Just make good music, and that’s all that matters.

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans?

Bret: Thank you for [reading] this interview. (To interviewers) Thank you for interviewing us. We just released a new record called Born to Burn. We have a new music video out for that record called “Die Alone” and we are going to have more to put out too so check those out.
JC: Come see us on Warped Tour!

Another band we managed to catch that day was Escape The Fate who played old favorites and newer songs.  We ended our day with catching Pierce The Veil’s set.  They had the loudest and rowdiest crowd of the day.  PTV opened with their newest single “The Divine Zero” and also played fan favorites from all three of their past albums.

 

Sadly we miss Palisades during their press time but were able to set up an email interview with them. Their video for No Chaser can be found here. The New Jersey musicians were among the first to be announced for this year’s Warped Tour. They’re toured with Crown the Empire, Memphis May Fire, Dance Gavin Dance and were also a part of Our Last Night’s world tour. They also released their album Mind Games earlier this year.Brandon(Bass), Earl(Producer/DJ), Xavier(Guitar/Vocals ), Lou(Vocals), Aaron(Drums), Matt(Guitar)

How does it feel to be in a professionally signed band?

It’s definitely an amazing feeling. Hard work pays off!

What’s your favorite song to play on stage?

My favorite song to play is No Chaser!

Who or what inspired you to begin a band?

I started listening to Taking Back Sunday and Brand New and after going to shows for awhile I realized that I wanted to do this!

Fans have you on their music playlist, what are some musicians you guys listen to?

We listen to so many things. Lately it’s been Travis Scott and Kanye West.

If you guys had the opportunity to tour with any band, active or not, who would it be?

Justin Bieber hands down.

If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing now?

I would be a teacher teaching high school English or history!

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and people who long to be where you are right now?

Social media, good music, and an image are key!

It was a busy day running back and forth between interviews and artist’s sets. Nonetheless it was an eventful and exciting day. Looking forward to next year’s Vans Warped Tour! Thanks for reading and a big thank you to all the bands that gave us some of their time for interviews.

About Author