Warped Tour: The Final Run – Part 6

What do Kaleido, Senior Discount, VANISH and SonderBlue have in common?  Of course, they’re all amazing bands, but they also took a moment to answer our questions about their experiences in the final run of Vans Warped Tour.  If you want to catch up on other bands’ interviews, check out our previous interviews in these related posts:

Final Run – part 1
Final Run – part 2
Final Run – part 4

Kaleido

Kaleido is comprised of Christina Chriss (vocals), Joey Fava (drums), Ronnie Rosolino (rhythm guitar), Cody Morales (bass) and Zach Bolling (lead guitar).  They are a fresh, modern day Detroit incarnation of rock ‘n’ roll.  Their 2017 debut full-length album, EXPERIENCE, is straight up rock with flourishes of pop, punk and funk undertones.  Their authentic and memorable songs are highlighted by explosive live shows, both of which quickly gained them notoriety in the Detroit music scene.   Our questions are answered by vocalist, Christina Chriss.

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

CC:  We feel honoured!  Warped has been, by far, the most influential music festival of our generation – it was a staple of summer.  I feel sad to see it go because I will miss it, but I’m thinking of music-loving teens no longer having that day in their home state where they can run around, meet friends, watch all of their favourite bands, and discover new bands that they maybe would have never known had it not been for Warped Tour.  To just be themselves and have fun!  That’s a loss, for sure.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

CC:  I feel the Warped Tour has been incredibly influential and shaped the music scene, especially festivals.  It gave so many bands their start, and launched the careers of countless musicians.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

CC:  The sweatiest and most fun you’ll have all summer!

What else does 2018 hold for you?

CC:  More of what we love most – touring, writing and recording new music.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

CC:  We have some of our deepest, most personal music on the way, so keep up with us on social media for info and tour dates!  Also, always follow your heart, chase your dreams, no matter how old you get; keep the kid inside alive!  Be unapologetically yourself and take the good with the bad because without the darkness, you’d never see the stars!

Hy Brasil

Hy Brasil is an American alt rock outfit fronted by vocalist Wyatt Hull and guitarist Nikolaus Gonzalez.  Through their eclectic sound and conspicuous live shows, they reflect an offbeat energy with a pop sensibility.  

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

HB:  For Hy Brasil, being able to be a part of the final Warped Tour run is a legendary way to start our burgeoning music career.  It’s also, for us, bittersweet as we feel a tinge peculiar to see such an iconic American music staple find its end.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

HB:  The mass influence Warped Tour had on the musical community, apart from the influx of sales on pyramid studded punk belts, cannot be measured in technical facts and figures; it’s an overall spirit that inspired a lot of us kids to pick up a guitar and start a band in a garage.  This single event provided a chimaera that actually seemed attainable to all of us outsiders that someday we could play on this tour.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

HB:  Warped Tour is a youthful soul’s self-prescribed requiem for ultimate summer success.

What else does 2018 hold for you?

HB:  The future of 2018 bring’s the final production of a new EP for Hy Brasil called For the Birds, as our band survived a tumultuous 2017 of fires, floods, and personal struggles.  We’ve taken those turds and buffed them into diamonds of artistic glory that we can’t wait to share with the world.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

HB:  You can’t rollerskate in a buffalo herd.

SondorBlue

Named after the realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, the boys of SondorBlue bring together people of all different backgrounds with their music.  From Charleston, South Carolina, SondorBlue is comprised of three vocalists — Andrew Halley, lead vocals and bass guitar, John Sheehan, keyboard and acoustic guitar, and Connor Hollifield, electric guitar — with the drummer, Drew Lewis, keeping a clockwork backbeat.  The band met as kids on Hilton Head Island, but it wasn’t until 2016 that they came together to form SondorBlue. 

Their 2017 EP, You Will Find Love On Ashley Avenue was inspired by their times living together in a house on Ashley Avenue, and has received praise from Relix Magazine, Guitar Player Magazine, Huffington Post, Culture Collide, and What Youth.  Our nosy questions are answered by acoustic guitarist, keyboard player and vocalist, John Sheehan. 

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

JS:  It’s a huge honour to be a part of the last run.  Warped Tour is such a nostalgic event, so this is a cool milestone for us.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

JS:  It’s undeniable.  Growing up, the lineup was always my go-to for finding new bands.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

JS:  Warped gave us Paramore!

What else does 2018 hold for you?

JS:  We have some great tours coming up in a few months that we’re really excited to announce soon.  Besides that, we’re in the studio preparing our next batch of songs.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

JS:  Without giving away too much, we have a lot of really special content in the works right now.  Get ready.

GrudgeHolder

GrudgeHolder is an American hardcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1992.  They have released two studio albums, one EP, a split 7”, and are currently writing a new EP to be released in winter 2019.  Their musical style blends influences from hardcore, punk and heavy metal.  They will be playing two dates on the final run of the Vans Warped Tour in 2018 in Mansfield, MA and Wantagh, NY. 

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

GH:  We feel incredibly honoured to be playing the final run of Vans Warped Tour.  We’ve been going to Warped Tour since the mid-nineties, so being able to land a spot on two dates is fucking amazing.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

GH:  For me, I think the Warped Tour has had a major impact on music as one of the front-runners of big travelling music tours.  Back when the tour started, there weren’t nearly as many giant name brand tours as there are today, so that was definitely a big influence on how music is presented to the cities across America.  Especially the smaller cities that don’t get every major tour that comes through.

It can also a major source of exposure for smaller alternative, punk and metal bands, to be able to play in front of such massive and diverse audiences.  It definitely helped different styles of music cross over into one another’s fanbase.  The fans have been able to get a taste of genres they might not get to see regularly.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

GH:  It’s a travelling musical family circus.

What else does 2018 hold for you?

GH:  We’re currently writing a new EP that we’re recording with legendary recording engineer, Don Fury, this fall.  We’ll be playing a few one-off shows around the northeast, and planning a short tour for the Spring.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

GH:  A sincere thank you for the love and support through the years.  Much respect to the hardcore scene, our friends and our family.  Definitely keep an eye out for the new EP and, of course, come out to Warped Tour and hang with us, you filthy animals.

The Voiceless

Change is an ever-present part of life, that’s something that The Voiceless have learned first hand over the last few years.  Formed in Orlando, Florida, by frontman Stephen Nettles and his brother Jonathan, the band set out from the beginning to be more than just a group playing music.  After several years of rotating lineups, they recorded and released their debut EP, Open//Closed, in 2016, mixing the exuberance of pop punk with the emotional honesty of emo, to create a collection of stories about the chapters we go through in life.  Recently, the band has added bassist Tori Valerio and drummer Brian Walters and is an active part of the Florida music scene.

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

TV:  It’s an absolute honour and a dream come true.  Van’s Warped Tour was a dream of mine since I started playing the guitar, and to be able to experience this with my bandmates is unbelievable.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

TV:  I think it’s hard to overstate what the tour did for an entire generation of musicians and music fans.  It gave us a place where we could realise we weren’t the only ones that loved this music, and it gave so many bands the opportunity to play for thousands of people that would go on to be their fans.  The scene will continue on and remain strong, but there will certainly be a hole left behind by the tour’s absence.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

TV:  The musical climax of every year, and one of the biggest vehicles that have driven our scene.

What else does 2018 hold for you?

TV:  We’re currently working on writing new music, and plan to head into the studio later this year to record our sophomore record.  We’ll be playing around Florida and enjoying making music.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

TV:  If you’ve never been to Van’s Warped Tour, don’t miss your last chance to experience it.  You may just find your new favourite band there that you’ve never heard of, and you’ll have a memory for the rest of your life.

Nihiloceros

With a sound grounded in the New York punk scene, Nihiloceros treads into ‘90s Brit rock, while displaying a power pop quirkiness that suggests life in the Big Apple hasn’t dulled their Chicago roots.  However, the self-proclaimed ‘trash pop’ band isn’t too quick to cling to labels; that’s because at the root of the music are two driving principles: energy and honesty.

N:  As kids, Warped Tour was such a big thing for us.  We’d go every summer and run around like little idiots seeing as many bands as we could.  Not only a bunch of our favourite bands, but we’d discover a lot of new music on some of the smaller stages; that was always the coolest part to me.  I remember one year stumbling across S.T.U.N. and being completely blown away by their performance.  We’re sad to see it end, but we’re really happy to be a part of it because it was always a dream to someday play Warped Tour.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

N:  Warped Tour was really the only big touring festival geared toward the counter-culture communities.  It brought a lot of attention to skating and the X-games early on when no one else was doing that.  It also helped a lot of kids get exposed to all kinds of music they wouldn’t have otherwise heard.  For every Rancid, Green Day, and Blink 182, there are hundreds of other bands that are equally amazing but maybe not as well known in the mainstream.

It encouraged us to go seek out other music in the community, and bridged the gap to all this really cool DIY stuff that was underground and previously unknown to us because it wasn’t on the radio or MTV.  In the days before streaming music, that was huge.  Warped Tour kinda opened up a whole new world beyond the festival and gave us the confidence to pick up instruments ourselves, start a band, and get involved in our local scene.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

N:  Warped Tour is a big punk party for people to celebrate being different and weird, and supporting each other in the expression of that pursuit.

What else does 2018 hold for you?

N:  This year has been crazy busy so far, and that’s been awesome.  We’ve been on tour for a bit, and also recently played a bunch of festivals here in NYC that we really love, like Northside, Color Me Bushwick, Punk Island, and RockAway Fest.  Playing some Warped Tour dates through July is the perfect way to follow all that.

The rest of summer and fall, we are doing some more touring in the Midwest and East Coast, and we are looking forward to going back to Canada as well.  Currently, we are working on songs for our next record, which we will be recording at the end of the year, and releasing in early 2019.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

N:  We’d like to thank everyone for listening.  We hope you check us out on Warped Tour, or wherever you end up.  ‘Nihiloceros’ is pretty easy to find on social media and streaming, so hit us up.  We really enjoy hearing from our fans.

Tropidelic

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

T:  We are honoured to be a part of an event that we have followed and idolised since we were just kids.  It is an amazing opportunity to work side by side with some of the acts we’ve been listening to for a decade plus.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

T:  The sheer scale of Warped Tour has set it apart from other major tours for years, but the community itself is what makes it more unique than any other tour; a diverse offering but one community of people.  In every city in the US, you can just say ‘Warped Tour’, and it spurs feelings of excitement, nostalgia, camaraderie, etc.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

T:  CARNIVAL.

What else does 2018 hold for you?

T:  We have a month-long tour with Ballyhoo and Bumpin Uglies this summer, and are doing dates with Dumpstaphunk in early fall.  So, more touring, always touring.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

T:  We love you fam. See you at Warped!!

Half Hearted

Half Hearted is a hard rock band based in of Hartford, Connecticut.  Formed in 2014, the band consists of Sean Dalke (vocals), Jason Grandell (guitar), and Parker Fortune (drums).  Later this year, Half Hearted will release their first new music since transitioning from a five-piece band to a three-piece.

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

HH:  We were so excited when we were able to hop on the Massachusetts date last year, so being on five dates this year is just mind-blowing for us, especially since it’s the final run.  We’ve been trying to play our hometown date in Hartford for so long, and we were worried that it was never going to happen; but, thankfully, we’re able to play it this year along with Holmdel, Darien Center, Scranton, and Mansfield!

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

HH:  Warped Tour has always made it a point to include bands/artists of every genre, and that’s what made it so unique.  The whole idea of playing Warped Tour is a common goal for bands, whether they’re pop, metal, rock, acoustic, or whatever.  Warped is able to bring all different kinds of people together to enjoy music and have a good time.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

HH:  You get to see twenty of your favourite bands all at once, and you sweat more than you ever have in your whole life.

What else does 2018 hold for you?

HH:  We have brand new music finished and on the way very soon, and we can’t wait to get it out to everyone!  We also have a lot of touring plans for later this year!

Do you have any last words for your fans?

HH:  Thanks for all the love, and thanks for sticking with us over the past few years!  We fully believe that the new music we have is better than anything we’ve ever done before, and if we don’t see you at Warped Tour, we’ll see you this fall!

VANISH

VANISH is a post-hardcore band from Central, NJ, with influences from artists like My Chemical Romance, Sleeping With Sirens, Lil Peep, and Pierce the Veil.  Their debut E.P entitled From Sheep To Wolves is out now!

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

V:  We feel so thankful to be a part of this last run.  Not many people get to say that they’re a part of the last run of Vans Warped Tour, and we’re so excited to play and share our music with everyone!

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

V:  Warped is a great opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together and share their passion for music.  We know from growing up with Warped Tour, it was a great and positive way to let loose and have a great time with friends, and even make friends.  So, it definitely had a positive influence on the musical community.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

V:  The greatest tour ever!

What else does 2018 hold for you?

V:  In August we plan on recording a full-length album, as well as some light touring in the fall.  2019 is gonna be a busy year for us!

Do you have any last words for your fans?

V:  Thank you to anyone who supports us, and we hope to see you all very soon!  In the meantime, keep jamming our EP, From Sheep To Wolves.  Got some big things coming from us in the near future!  Thanks!

Senior Discount

Senior Discount has played over 200 shows in RI, MA, CT, NH, NJ, NY, PA, and VT, and won the Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll for Best Punk Band two years in a row.   They’ve shared the stage with such acts as Gym Class Heroes, Girl Talk, Boys Like Girls, The Bravery, Guttermouth, Less Than Jake, The Ataris, Leftover Crack, A Wilhelm Scream, the Street Dogs, Zox, Big D and the Kids Table, Darkbuster, The Swingin Utters, Rehab, Mickey Avalon, Streetlight Manifesto, the Bloodshot Hooligans,The Loved Ones, MC Lars, Suburban Legends, Patent Pending, The Toasters, The Pilfers, and many many more.  

This is Warped Tour’s final run, how do you feel being part of it?

SD:  I’m super happy we were able to take part in Warped Tour for the final run.  Honestly, when I found out it was the final Warped Tour, I kind of made it my mission to become a part of it somehow.  It’s a bucket list thing for our band, for sure.

What sort of influence do you think Warped Tour had on the musical community?

SD:  I think Warped Tour was huge.  For us as young kids, 14 or 15, I think it really showed us that punk rock CAN be a community, you know?  You never saw so many fans and so many bands in one place together.  Normal shows (even huge ones) were usually about the headlining band, but Warped Tour always felt like a collective with people there that loved many different bands in that big collective.  Nothing else in my life has felt like more of a musical community than Warped Tour.

If you could describe Warped Tour in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

SD:  Warped Tour is Disney World for mosh pits.

What else does 2018 hold for you?

SD:  Well, Vinnie Fiorello from Less Than Jake just signed our band to Paper + Plastick Records, so we’re releasing our label debut, The Best Revenge, on July 13th.  I’m hoping that brings a lot of new great things for us.

Do you have any last words for your fans?

SD:  Please, pressure larger bands into taking us on tour.  Specifically (but not limited to) Against Me, Blink 182, NOFX, Rancid, Reel Big Fish, The Interrupters, Alkaline Trio, Goldfinger, and more than anyone LESS THAN JAKE.