Warped Tour Founder Kevin Lyman: 'I'll Make Less Money' This Summer
superherohq
Jun 20, 2008
HOLLYWOOD – Despite co-founding the Warped Tour, Taste of Chaos and Rockstar Mayhem, and continuing to be intimately involved in the details of each tour, Kevin Lyman says he never wakes up in the middle of the night in a panic.
How is that possible? Because he's almost always awake. "I'm down to about two to three hours of sleep," Lyman confessed to Buzznet at the Hollywood Guitar Center at a punk "evening of dialogue and insight" event last week. "I wake up and start sending emails and just kind of get excited."
And there's plenty to be excited about on the eve of this summer's Warped Tour, which kicks off in its usual starting locale of Pomona, California, today. This year's lineup includes Say Anything, Relient K, Gym Class Heroes, Norma Jean, Every Time I Die, Angels & Airwaves, The Aggrolites and more on the entire tour, with As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red and several others on select dates.
"We have a few less bands this summer than past summers," Lyman pointed out. Rising fuel costs and the general state of the economy are affecting Warped Tour just like everyone else.
"I think we're going back to 1995 in some ways," he explained. "In 1995 bands like Sublime and Orange 9mm shared a bus. L7 and No Use for a Name shared a bus. Then we went through this phase where there was a lot of money moving around the punk world and bands were getting signed and I have bands showing up with two tour buses with four people per bus. Now are going back to where they may be in one bus but they have three extra bunks and they're trying to find someone to rent those bunks."
[Click picture to view video interview]
Rockstar Mayhem launches this year as well. Whereas Taste of Chaos is unofficially billed as "Winter Warped," the Mayhem tour is more metal-leaning, boasting Ozzfest veterans like Slipknot, Disturbed and Walls of Jericho. The idea popped into Lyman's head during last year's Warped Tour ,when he saw metal bands like AILD, Throwdown and Killswitch Engage doing well with the crowd and generally enjoying the setup. The idea occurred to him that something run similar to Warped could work in the metal genre as well.
An early adopter of bio-fuels, Lyman is conscious about growing energy concerns and other current events affecting the consumer's bottom line, but he refuses to shutter his tours. "I'll make less money [on Warped this year]," he admitted. "I've already told my family that this summer is going to be how we sustain it. And we'll do all right. I make a living. We won't be living on the street because of the Warped Tour, but it's like, if I don't make money this summer, it's understandable because you can't every year."
However Lyman's tours adjust he's adamantly opposed to reaching any further into the fans wallets. "I got people coming to me going, 'Well, you should charge a dollar more for service charge for fuel.' And I go, 'What am I gonna put a hat outside?' Those kids are having the same struggles getting to my show. It's on my mind. That's why I'm up 3, 4 in the morning."
Don't miss our nonstop Warped Tour 2008 coverage:
"Classic Crime Promise 'Pyrotechnics': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Relient K Guitarist Recalls Seeing Blink-182, Eminem: Warped Tour"
"Warped Tour '08: The 411 on Four Year Strong, Against Me!, Every Avenue, The A.K.A.s"
"As I Lay Dying Guitarist: Don't Wear Black Clothes - Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Who Are You Most Excited to See?"
"Warped Tour '08: A to Z"
"Warped Tour '08: Hip-Hop Acts Might Give You a Reason to Leave Emo Alone"
"Norma Jean Considering Nirvana Cover, Fireball Dance: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Fall Out Boy's Andy Hurley Unveils Clothing Line; Plans For Warped Tour Booth"
"We the Kings Singer Saved Drummer's Life at Summer Fest: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: The 411 on Angels & Airwaves, Bouncing Souls, 1997, Devil Wears Prada"
"Angels & Airwaves Ditching Lasers This Time Around: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Race Through the Aisles of Virgin Megastore Phoenix With As I Lay Dying, Protest the Hero"
"From First to Last Call Themselves 'Romantics,' 'Fatties': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Midnight to Twelve Want Some McLovin: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Motion City Soundtrack Extend Warped Stay; Fear Just on for One-Night Stand"
"Academy Is ... Bassist Prefers Leap Frog Over 'Halo': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"All-American Rejects Drop Off Warped Tour"
"Warped Tour '07 Retrospective"
"Be Your Own Pet Talk Trash About Warped Tour: 'It's Like the New Hair Metal' "
"Every Time I Die on 'Punkguins,' GCH and Sitting in Pee: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: How to Meet the Bands"
"The Audition Buffing Up for This Summer: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Maylene and the Sons of Disaster Writing New LP on the Road: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Last Chance to Be a Pit Reporter and Get the VIP Treatment"
"Pennywise Can't Get Enough of Warped Tour, Add More Dates"
"A.K.A.s to Be Joined Onstage by Gym Class Heroes? Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Forever the Sickest Kids Want 'A Monkey at Every Show': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Roll Call - and Dos and Don'ts"
"Charlotte Sometimes Wonders if She'll Blow Up This Summer: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: A Guide to Pit Etiquette"
"1997 Keyboardist Longs for the Slip-N-Slide: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: The VIP Guide"
"Protest the Hero Singer Says 'We Don't Roll Like Carrot Top': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Set Your Goals Are Packing Extra Boxers: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Top 10 Must-Haves"
"Two More Killer Bands Added to Warped Tour Main Stage"
Also, feast your eyes on these pics of Katy Perry, Beat Union and more at the Warped Tour kickoff show on April 11 in West Hollywood, California – click on the image below.
Get psyched for summer with Buzznet's Warped Tour 2008 gallery:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
See which females will be rocking out on Warped this summer:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
Check out these bands that will be playing Warped for the first time:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
Find out which Warped artists are out of their 20s:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
Warped Tour dates:
6.20: Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairgrounds
6.21: San Francisco, CA @ Pier 30/32
6.22: Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
6.25: Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
6.26: Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U. Practice Field
6.28: Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA
6.29: Denver, CO @ Invesco Field
7.1: St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.2: Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.3: Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
7.5: San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.6: Houston, TX @ Sam Houston Race Park
7.9: Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater
7.10 : Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
7.11: Tampa, FL @ Vinoy Park
7.12: Miami, FL @ Bicentennial Park
7.13: Jacksonville, FL @ St. Johns County Fairgrounds
7.14: Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.15: Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.16: Washington DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
7.17: Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City
7.18: Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
7.19: Toronto, ON @ Downsview Park Allen Road
7.20: Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
7.23: Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
7.24: Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
7.25: Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
7.26: Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
7.27: Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
7.28: Englishtown, NJ @ Raceway Park
7.29: Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
7.30: Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
7.31: Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
8.1: Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
8.2: Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8.3: Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
8.5: Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
8.6: Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
8.8: Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
8.9: Seattle, WA @ George Amphitheatre
8.10: Portland, OR @ Columbia Meadows
8.13: Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
8.14: San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
8.15: San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
8.16: Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
8.17: Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center
Win Warped tix on Buzznet right here!
Get your Warped fix with our nonstop coverage right here.
How is that possible? Because he's almost always awake. "I'm down to about two to three hours of sleep," Lyman confessed to Buzznet at the Hollywood Guitar Center at a punk "evening of dialogue and insight" event last week. "I wake up and start sending emails and just kind of get excited."
And there's plenty to be excited about on the eve of this summer's Warped Tour, which kicks off in its usual starting locale of Pomona, California, today. This year's lineup includes Say Anything, Relient K, Gym Class Heroes, Norma Jean, Every Time I Die, Angels & Airwaves, The Aggrolites and more on the entire tour, with As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red and several others on select dates.
"We have a few less bands this summer than past summers," Lyman pointed out. Rising fuel costs and the general state of the economy are affecting Warped Tour just like everyone else.
"I think we're going back to 1995 in some ways," he explained. "In 1995 bands like Sublime and Orange 9mm shared a bus. L7 and No Use for a Name shared a bus. Then we went through this phase where there was a lot of money moving around the punk world and bands were getting signed and I have bands showing up with two tour buses with four people per bus. Now are going back to where they may be in one bus but they have three extra bunks and they're trying to find someone to rent those bunks."
[Click picture to view video interview]
Rockstar Mayhem launches this year as well. Whereas Taste of Chaos is unofficially billed as "Winter Warped," the Mayhem tour is more metal-leaning, boasting Ozzfest veterans like Slipknot, Disturbed and Walls of Jericho. The idea popped into Lyman's head during last year's Warped Tour ,when he saw metal bands like AILD, Throwdown and Killswitch Engage doing well with the crowd and generally enjoying the setup. The idea occurred to him that something run similar to Warped could work in the metal genre as well.
An early adopter of bio-fuels, Lyman is conscious about growing energy concerns and other current events affecting the consumer's bottom line, but he refuses to shutter his tours. "I'll make less money [on Warped this year]," he admitted. "I've already told my family that this summer is going to be how we sustain it. And we'll do all right. I make a living. We won't be living on the street because of the Warped Tour, but it's like, if I don't make money this summer, it's understandable because you can't every year."
However Lyman's tours adjust he's adamantly opposed to reaching any further into the fans wallets. "I got people coming to me going, 'Well, you should charge a dollar more for service charge for fuel.' And I go, 'What am I gonna put a hat outside?' Those kids are having the same struggles getting to my show. It's on my mind. That's why I'm up 3, 4 in the morning."
Don't miss our nonstop Warped Tour 2008 coverage:
"Classic Crime Promise 'Pyrotechnics': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Relient K Guitarist Recalls Seeing Blink-182, Eminem: Warped Tour"
"Warped Tour '08: The 411 on Four Year Strong, Against Me!, Every Avenue, The A.K.A.s"
"As I Lay Dying Guitarist: Don't Wear Black Clothes - Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Who Are You Most Excited to See?"
"Warped Tour '08: A to Z"
"Warped Tour '08: Hip-Hop Acts Might Give You a Reason to Leave Emo Alone"
"Norma Jean Considering Nirvana Cover, Fireball Dance: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Fall Out Boy's Andy Hurley Unveils Clothing Line; Plans For Warped Tour Booth"
"We the Kings Singer Saved Drummer's Life at Summer Fest: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: The 411 on Angels & Airwaves, Bouncing Souls, 1997, Devil Wears Prada"
"Angels & Airwaves Ditching Lasers This Time Around: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Race Through the Aisles of Virgin Megastore Phoenix With As I Lay Dying, Protest the Hero"
"From First to Last Call Themselves 'Romantics,' 'Fatties': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Midnight to Twelve Want Some McLovin: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Motion City Soundtrack Extend Warped Stay; Fear Just on for One-Night Stand"
"Academy Is ... Bassist Prefers Leap Frog Over 'Halo': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"All-American Rejects Drop Off Warped Tour"
"Warped Tour '07 Retrospective"
"Be Your Own Pet Talk Trash About Warped Tour: 'It's Like the New Hair Metal' "
"Every Time I Die on 'Punkguins,' GCH and Sitting in Pee: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: How to Meet the Bands"
"The Audition Buffing Up for This Summer: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Maylene and the Sons of Disaster Writing New LP on the Road: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Last Chance to Be a Pit Reporter and Get the VIP Treatment"
"Pennywise Can't Get Enough of Warped Tour, Add More Dates"
"A.K.A.s to Be Joined Onstage by Gym Class Heroes? Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Forever the Sickest Kids Want 'A Monkey at Every Show': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Roll Call - and Dos and Don'ts"
"Charlotte Sometimes Wonders if She'll Blow Up This Summer: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: A Guide to Pit Etiquette"
"1997 Keyboardist Longs for the Slip-N-Slide: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: The VIP Guide"
"Protest the Hero Singer Says 'We Don't Roll Like Carrot Top': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Set Your Goals Are Packing Extra Boxers: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Top 10 Must-Haves"
"Two More Killer Bands Added to Warped Tour Main Stage"
Also, feast your eyes on these pics of Katy Perry, Beat Union and more at the Warped Tour kickoff show on April 11 in West Hollywood, California – click on the image below.
Get psyched for summer with Buzznet's Warped Tour 2008 gallery:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
See which females will be rocking out on Warped this summer:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
Check out these bands that will be playing Warped for the first time:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
Find out which Warped artists are out of their 20s:
[Click on picture to view the rest.]
Warped Tour dates:
6.20: Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairgrounds
6.21: San Francisco, CA @ Pier 30/32
6.22: Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
6.25: Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
6.26: Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U. Practice Field
6.28: Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA
6.29: Denver, CO @ Invesco Field
7.1: St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.2: Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.3: Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
7.5: San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.6: Houston, TX @ Sam Houston Race Park
7.9: Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater
7.10 : Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
7.11: Tampa, FL @ Vinoy Park
7.12: Miami, FL @ Bicentennial Park
7.13: Jacksonville, FL @ St. Johns County Fairgrounds
7.14: Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.15: Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.16: Washington DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
7.17: Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City
7.18: Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
7.19: Toronto, ON @ Downsview Park Allen Road
7.20: Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
7.23: Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
7.24: Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
7.25: Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
7.26: Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
7.27: Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
7.28: Englishtown, NJ @ Raceway Park
7.29: Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
7.30: Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
7.31: Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
8.1: Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
8.2: Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8.3: Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
8.5: Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
8.6: Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
8.8: Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
8.9: Seattle, WA @ George Amphitheatre
8.10: Portland, OR @ Columbia Meadows
8.13: Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
8.14: San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
8.15: San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
8.16: Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
8.17: Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center
Win Warped tix on Buzznet right here!
Get your Warped fix with our nonstop coverage right here.
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