I woke up to the sound of my first alarm this morning, 6am on the dot. That was a little frightening since It usually takes at least 10 to get me to stir. I know I slept last night, but I don’t feel like I feel into too deep a sleep, I think I was far too excited, anxious, nervous...I was ready and waiting.
Hey gang!
tonight's post will be short and sweet as tomorrow is the first official day of the tour (!!) and i want to make sure i'm as well rested and ready as i can be (which, in reality, is kind of a joke since i know i could sleep for a lifetime and not feel well enough rested...i looooove sleep!). But Tonight, the point of my entry is short and sweet: this blog is telling my tale and sharing my experience, but i have no idea WHO i'm sharing it with, so let's get a repor going: introduce yourselves to me!
Websites have these nifty little data analyzers that can tell me how many different page views this blog gets per day, and where all of my viewers are coming from, so to all of you who have kindly been tuning in - tell me who you are! Friend? Family? Someone who randomly found this online and decided to follow along? I want to know who you are, and even more importantly, I want to know what brought you here! Where do your interests lie in terms of my content? Is it in the musicians themselves? in the road experience? Living situations? The food? How merch works? Management?
If any of you have particular questions, or areas that you have big questions on, please comment and let me know! I want to make sure I answer as many questions as possible so more people can fully understand what it takes to make a concert like this happen. Warped Tour is unlike anything else in the world, yet, at the end of the day, it's still has all the same basic functions of any other concert, so i'll be glad to teach you all the most I can.
Comment on posts, photos, Send me questions via the contact page, whatever it may be! Let me know who you are and why you're here, and hopefully we can all get just a little bit more out of this than just a fun story :)
Have a great night, everyone, tomorrow is a big day! Photos, stories, and explanations of today's woes and hilarious happenings will all come very, very soon :)
xoxo
-M
Hello hello! Today is the last in the “Who? What? When? Where? Why?” series, but fear not! This is all just the end of the beginning, as today I left Denver and headed west-bound with the band towards Salt Lake City - our first official tour destination. So, on a day when I’m thinking heavily about all this myself, I give you my “Why”.
This question of “why” can manifest itself in many different ways. Why am I going on Warped Tour? Why am I going with I Fight Dragons? Why did I choose to work in the music industry? Most of these questions are straightforward, but the basic idea of “why” has left me thinking for the past few days. My why’s all start with the same basic understanding that I do what I do because I love it. All of it. My Junior year of high school I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life for a career, for college, for anything really. I was going through the motions and enjoying what I was doing in the moment, but I really had no set idea of where these things would take me in the future. Being asked to produce a benefit concert for a school club I was a part of was the one thing that set me on my path. Crazy, right? They really mean it when they say that one moment can change your whole life, I just didn’t imagine that it’d ever happen to me in such a drastic way.
Why am I going on Warped Tour? Warped Tour has somehow always been on my list of things to do. Growing up, this tour was the epitome of “summer” and the tour that always made me think of the rock-n-roll lifestyle and what it was all about. I certainly wasn’t wrong! Warped Tour has been going for over 15 years at this point, and has always been a perfect mix of summer, extreme sports, and music. Although this tour is well known as being “the hardest tour to work”, I think it’s the perfect first tour for me. I’m still young, excited and adventurous, so I can handle all the insanity so many people fear and dislike. This is a big bus tour that fully encompasses everything that a musical tour should and could be, while still really giving both fans and the people working it a chance to have a ton of fun. This gives me everything I could ask for in terms of my first real tour experience: a fun summer full of growing relationships, great music, and memories made. And I Fight Dragons, you may ask? I’ll admit, I never thought I’d be going on my first tour with them. I always thought it’d be Bop Skizzum simply because they’re the band I’ve worked for the longest and the most closely. Although this isn’t what I expected, it’s absolutely perfect. This group of guys is fun, kind, and very open to having me join their rat pack. Even though they are a band I don’t get to work with every weekend, I've spent time with them whenever they've made it to Denver, and I happen to L.O.V.E. their live show! I think getting to build this kind of relationship with a new group of people will be a great experience. Everything feels like it’s lined up perfectly: this summer is my perfect storm to grow into my role working in my chosen professional field.
Although there are a few different “why” questions surrounding this trip, there is one answer that still remains the same: I love the music business. Since that first concert, I’ve gone on to actually study this industry and work towards making this some kind of career for myself. I know it sounds bonkers, but I really do think that somehow I’ll be able to make this work out. I’ve come to find in life that as long as I continue to do what I feel is right, honest, and the smartest decision for me, that everything else works out in the end. I try really hard not to worry too too much about the little things anymore because I’ve realized that too often I freak out about the most absurd things, and before I even know It, it’s all worked out. I’ll admit that these past few weeks have been full of little freak-outs and scary moments, but all with good cause. My last few days home were stressless and perfect, filled with fun and relaxation with Danny, family and friends. And now, the time has come! Tour is here, and I finally feel ready to go. I’m ready for this summer full of new adventures and opportunities. You hear me, world? Bring it on. :)
Howdy all! Maddie here :)
Sorry there hasn't been a new post in a few days...i've been busy spending time with family and friends (not to mention packing!) as Warped Tour is only a few days away at this point! Before I leave, I want to make sure I get through my "who? what? when? where? why?" segment, so tonight we talk about when and where:
WHEN? WHERE?
These two questions just might be the most quintessential of them all! The Vans Warped Tour is a tour that's been on the road for over 15 years now. Started in 1995, Warped Tour has become a staple of the summer music scene across the United States. With over 100 different bands all traveling in a caravan to different cities every single day, it's fun for everyone, and quite a sight to be seen. Even folks who aren't interested in the musical aspect of the show can find fun in watching skateboarding demos, parusing the many different vendors (both commercial and non-profit), as well as just watching hundreds of teens run around gigantic fairgrounds.
Here's the dates and locations for this years tour:
June 16th - Utah State Fairpark - Salt Lake City, UT
June 17th - Sports Authority Field at Mile High - Denver, CO
June 20th - Luxor Hotel Parking Lot - Las Vegas, NV
June 21 - Orange County Great Park - Irvine, CA
June 22 - Pomona Fairplex - Pomona, CA
June 23 - AT&T Park Lot A - San Francisco, CA
June 24 - Ventura County Fair - Ventura, CA
June 27 - Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre - Chula Vista, CA
June 28 - Camelback Ranch - Glendale, AZ
June 29 - NMSU Practice Field - Las Cruces, NM
June 30 - AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
July 1 - Reliant Center Parking Lot - Houston, TX
July 3 - Gexa Energy Pavillion - Dallas, TX
July 5 - Verizon Wireless Ampitheater - Maryland Heights, MO
July 6 - The Palace of Auburn Hills - Auburn Hills, MI
July 7 - First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre - Tinley Park, IL
July 8 - Canterbury Park - Shakopee, MN
July 9 - Sandstone Ampitheatre - Bonner Springs, KS
July 10 - Klipsch Music Center - Noblesville, IN
July 11 - Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, OH
July 12 - First Niagara Pavillion - Burgettstown, PA
July 13 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holomdel, NJ
July 14 - Parterre Île Notre Dame at Parc Jean-Drapeau - Montreal, QC, CANADA
July 15 - The Flats At Molson Canadian Ampitheatre - Toronto, ON, CANADA
July 17 - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center - Darien Center, NY
July 18 - Toyota Pavillion - Scranton, PA
July 19 - Comcast Center - Mansfield, MA
July 20 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
July 21 - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Uniondale, NY
July 22 - The Comcast Theatre - Hartford, CT
July 24 - Merriweather Post Pavillion - Columbia, MD
July 25 - Farm Beureau Live At Virginia Beach
July 26 - Aaron's Ampitheater at Lakewood - Atlanta, GA
July 27 - Central Florida Fairgrounds - Orlando, FL
July 28 - Cruzan Ampitheatre - West Palm Beach, FL
July 29 - Vinoy Park - St. Petersburg, FL
July 30 - Charlotte Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre - Charlotte, NC
July 31 - Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
August 1 - Marcus Ampitheatre - Milwaukee, WI
August 4 - King County's Marymoor Park - Redmond, WA
August 5 - Rose Quarter Riverfront - Portland, OR
follow the link to the Warp Tour website to buy tickets for any of these dates here.
As you can see, the Warped Tour hits every major city in the US, and even dips up into Canada for two days! If you're more of a visual person like I am, here's a map of all the different spots we'll be hitting:
if you didn't catch the multiple letters, I actually had to compile two different maps! ha. Funny thing, Google Maps only lets you get directions to and from 25 consecutive cities...too bad we're going to 42. Now you know!
Anywho, that's the basic idea of the where and when. If you've never been to Warped Tour, it's certainly a sight to be seen, and I'm one to know since i'll be seeing oh so many different sights this summer. If you look closely at the map, you'll notice that out of the 48 continential states, I will be traveling through all but eight. That's INSANE! 42 shows, 42 states. 52 days. Fasten your seat belts, and welcome to Warped Tour. If you all think that this summer is gonna fly by, wait till i try to explain how weird this all feels when I get home in August! ha.
lets get social
