Interview With Vans Warped Tour Founder Kevin Lyman (Enter Contest For Comp CD)

Interview Done By Mike Wilkerson

MW: Please introduce yourself?

KL: I am Kevin Lyman founder and producer of the Vans Warped tour.

MW: How did you get involved with Vans Warped Tour?

KL: I had been working in the clubs and venues around LA for 12 years and decided to do one last thing before I became a responsible father and probably went into teaching.

MW: How long have you been doing Vans Warped Tour?

KL: 19 years and counting.

MW: What do you do for Vans Warped Tour?

KL: I work on it year round.  Book the bands, booking venues with local promoters and just a ton of coordination.

MW: What do you enjoy most about Vans Warped Tour?

KL: Hearing from kids that we brought them the best day of their summer.

MW: Give me a good Vans Warped Tour story?

KL: The stories are always about the crazy weather or the great days off taking people fishing, rafting or doing good volunteer work in a community on a day off…

MW: Who was your favorite band to play?

KL: Always loved having Rancid on tour.

MW: What is your favorite town to visit on Vans Warped Tour?

KL: I really try to make the best of each one, but San Francisco when we play by the bay has always been awesome… The fans go nuts and then we get some great seafood and it is usually only about 75 degrees.

MW: How did you get involved with the new FUSE TV show Warped Roadies?

KL: We have a great relationship with Fuse and when they introduced me to Magilla through CAA I felt they would bring out the story without causing any drama.  They were fantastic to deal with out on the road and so far I have been very happy with the results.

MW: How was it doing Warped Roadies?

KL: They worked very well with me and respected that some parts just were not necessary to record…and worked with me on my schedule which is pretty hectic on the road.

MW: How many episodes is season 1?

KL: 10 episodes.

MW: Give me a story from the taping of Warped Roadies?

KL: I think when the production companies bus broke down and they had to sleep on couches and floors for a couple of days they really got to know what life on the road was like.. We also took one of the cameramen fishing and he got pretty sea sick.

MW: What do you do when Warped Tour is not traveling the country?

KL: I have a couple other festivals Mayhem and Throwdown, we also took warped to the UK this year and I do quite a bit of college speaking now… Other than raising a family it does not leave much spare time these days…

MW: What would you like to say in closing?

KL: In closing,  music has been a thread in my live for over 30 years and I look forward to having it for another 30.

Mr. Lyman has told me he wants Blastzone Online to giveaway 3 Vans Warped Tour Comp CDs. So this is what you need to do to be enter the contest.

1. List the 5 bands you would like to see play Vans Warped Tour 2013? The 3 closest to the right bands playing will be put in a drawing for 1 of the 3 CDs.

2. Email your name, Facebook to blastzoneentertainment@yahoo.com

3. Check back to Blastzone Online for new Vans Warped Tour interviews.