Relient K "Warped Tour" Blog Entry 1

Considering that today was the first day of "Warped Tour," it was a great day. Not perfect, not entirely smooth or comfortable (108 degrees during our set), but still great.
I think we’re going to post a new song on our myspace tomorrow. Its called "The Lining Is Silver." It’s another one off of The Bird And The Bee Sides (26 songs – comes out July 1- ten bucks or less at most retailers).

Can’t wait for San Fran tomorrow. It’s supposed to be sunny with a high of seventy six.

Ha.
Matty

 

Relient K "Warped Tour" Blog Entry 2

Deep thoughts about a hot summer warped show…

A young wise man once asked me the meaning of life. I told him I did not know, but if he came to a warped tour show, to make sure he wore sunscreen. Lots. Of. Sunscreen. People have been asking me to sum up the warped tour in one word, or tell me the best thing about being out on warped tour, and I just can’t possibly do these sorts of things. This is the kind of tour that encyclopedias were made for. If you come to a show on this tour, and get lost on the way here, or stuck in traffic, you need fear not because there will still be four thousand bands playing by the time you arrive. It is the type of show that leaves you wanting more, and then leaves you wanting to sleep for three days. I think it will probably take me the whole tour to see every band and meet every band member, but it is the sort of atmosphere where that is not only encouraged, but invited. If you do make it out to a warped tour show, be prepared for a good time that will leave you with a cramped fist and a burned neck, but that is a small price to pay for a good time.

Jon

 

Relient K "Warped Tour" Blog Entry 3

Warped Tour Thus Far…

Ethan from Relient K here. We’re about nine shows into Warped Tour, and it has exceeded my expectations so far. People kept telling me how miserable it was. Well, the heat is…but other than that, this has been a great tour so far! We have a long way to go, but if the rest is half as good as it has been, then it’s gonna be a great summer. I have gotten to meet a ton of great people in amazing bands, bands I have been a fan of for a while now.

It truly has been an honor to get to know one band in particular, The Street Dogs. We have mutual friends, and I have come to find out that they are big fans of a record I produced by Flatfoot 56! We have been hanging out a lot, watching each other’s sets and having some meals together. I also got the chance to photograph them, and they were stoked on what I got.

Another great part of Warped Tour is being able to watch any band any time you want. I have watched The Bronx, The Aggrolites, Paramore, As I Lay Dying and many more. If anyone makes it out to a Warped Tour date, please come up and say hello! Thanks!

Ethan Luck

 

Relient K "Warped Tour" Blog Entry 4

Apple B Sides Served Medium Rarities

We released The Bird And The Bee Sides yesterday! We’re so happy to have it out and available. A toothy smile and thanks to everyone who picked it up or who is planning on doing so.

The first 12 days of Warped Tour have been nothing short of fantastic. Every show has been so much fun, and I’ve made a ton of new friends so far (behind and in front of the scenes).

There’s a ton of great bands on the tour that I’ve had a chance to meet and see on the tour. There’s more than 80 bands on the tour, and I think there might be 50+ that I’ve never listened to before in my life. I’ve been chiseling away at my personal "go see" list, and I’ve realized that this Warped Tour is an even better value than I originally thought.

Some highlights include:

Say Anything (my favorite show on the tour… It may have something to do with the fact that they’ve let me sing gang vocals on "Belt" a few times.)

The Higher (they play a great new song, and Seth’s vocal is pretty smooth on their cover of "Bye, Bye, Bye.")

The Academy Is (rumor has it…your foot will be tapping)Reel Big Fish and Oreskaband (you can’t beat a talented ska band on Warped)

Anberlin (I’ve seen them play a thousand times, but I still love watching my buddies tear it up.)

Street Dogs (classic Warped punk rock) The Maine (the day I saw them, they drove all night and played first on zero sleep… They still managed to pull off a superb set.)

August Burns Red (I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the drummer, Matt. At one point he pulled off a fill so crazy that I started laughing and yelled out "SICK!!!" I looked around, and everyone else watching was doing the same thing.)

Beat Union (punk/ska/reggae from Birmingham, England. I could tell that they’re really loving Warped Tour. So much fun to watch.)

The Aggrolites (They play dirty reggae, and they’re by far the tightest band on the tour. One of the best moments of the tour was when I watched the Aggrolites play the Warped BBQ in Las Cruces, NM.)

We’ve also been working with a wonderful organization called Blood:Water Mission. They’re providing wells and latrines for people in Africa whose lives depend on those things. A huge thanks to Paul Reed Smith (PRS) guitars for providing us with a guitar to raffle off for BWM at the end of Warped Tour.

In conclusion, I guess I’m just recommending that everyone come out and enjoy a day at Warped, and pick up our new EP/B sides record.

I’m having a lovely summer, and I hope the same applies to you.
Matty T.

 

Relient K "Warped Tour" Blog Entry 5

Hey friends. Nothing much going on in my world except for the last two weeks of Warped Tour.

Florida was a hot and sweaty ordeal, but a lot of fun shows. The Miami crowd was a great highlight.

The North Carolina, VA Beach and the DC area MD sets were all wonderful in their own right. It felt marvelous to stroll around in my Browns T-shirt in Cleveland, and Detroit was another highlight crowd (especially considering an earlier time slot).

Canada was interesting. Toronto had us singing "High of 75" in a hearty downpour, and Montreal made me wish I could transpose our lyrics into French. Both shows were a great time, but certainly not the easiest of the tour.

At this point, we had played 12 shows in a row, so we all slept a little better the night we drove into Boston for two days off. I continued supporting my new frisbee addiction, and I watched Hellboy, Hellboy II and the new Batman installment (which I adored).

Despite impressive thunderstorms and tornado warnings, the show went on in Boston. The result was one that led to smiles on all of our faces. The New England ladies and lads did not disappoint. That morning, Zach (from All Time Low) and I went for a jog. In an act of spontaneity, I steered our run onto a path that led through the woods. Zach got a bit off the path, and moments later said, "Dude, I think we should run faster. There’s a swarm of bees following you." I looked back and confirmed the colony in flight. After getting stung twice, he soon realized that he had followers of his own, and we high-tailed it out of the woods into a trailer park. Even though we were out of the bees’ natural environment, the bloodthirsty demons decided to pursue us without relent. We soon passed some kids walking toward Warped Tour and passed off our bee problem like a baton in a relay.

Start running kids.

Buffalo and Philadelphia area Jersey were another set of fine and dandy days.

This morning we played Long Island and enjoyed beautiful weather for the rest of the Saturday afternoon and evening. I love NY.
Matthew T

- CCMMagazine.com