L óuring MUSIC Vans Warped Tour Celebrates 10 Years BY RAY WADDELL ative because of the low ticket price. to be part of the experience of the stage ever, the one -foot riser stage," The tour also stays true to its niche, Last year the tour drew more than Warped tour. And I appreciate that, Lyman recalls. "He wasn't very happy Eaton adds. "We try to keep the lineup And they said it wouldn't last. 500,000 people but grossed just $12.5 because there's no way I could afford about it." diverse, but we stay focused on bands The Vans Warped tour, a spikey- million, not nearly enough to rank it some of these bands." that appeal to a certain audience, and haired mongrel among touring music among the top tours of the year. There is a great credibility factor LOYALTY HAS GONE A LONG WAY we don't go beyond that." festivals, continues to beat the odds as "We don't have the big-ticket price, gained by playing Warped, Lyman Warped travels on 12 trucks, 42 Lyman says a goal for Warped each it preps its 10th- anniversary run. so we don't turn up in the big grosses notes. "A lot of these bands see it as a buses and various support vehicles year "is for kids to walk in and say, The tour begins June 25 in the park- at the end of the year," Lyman explains. chance to resolidify their fan base," he ranging from vans to RVs. The tour Wow, they're giving me something ing lot of the Reliant Center in Hous- "But our scene is very healthy." says. "We could easily charge $5 or costs about $150,000 per day to pro- new this year.' " ton. It boasts a power -punk lineup that Some 200 bands of varying $6 more a ticket, but we all agree duce now, including talent and pro- He says 80% of Warped -goers are includes Bad Religion, New Found stature on the punk scene if we raised the ticket price duction, compared with $20,000- between the ages of 12 and 19. That Glory, the Vandals, Thursday, NOFX, will participate in the var- that wouldn't be what $30,00010 years ago. means that the vast majority of origi- Good Charlotte, Simple Plan and Story ious legs of the Warped Warped is all about." Clear Channel Entertainment nal Warped kids are out of the picture, of the Year. tour this summer, and The Vandals have promotes about 30% of the dates, and most of today's fans were between That Warped has stayed close to the more than 60 perform per with the rest falling to House 2 and 9 when Warped began. hearts of fickle music fans and survived show on six to eight sepa- of Blues Concerts, AEG Live "They are young," Escalante admits, when deeper-pocketed fests have not rate stages, depending on and various local and re- "but they really are interested in new is a testament to the core concept of the market. gional independents. music. Warped is no place for the punk founder and partner Kevin Lyman. Other entertain- "We're very loyal, and legends of the past; these kids don't "The first thing we wanted to bring ment comes from we never solicit competing care, unless you have new music." the kids was choices," Lyman says. 'We extreme -sports bids in a market," Lyman Marketing is self-perpetuating. "We haven't really broken from that format. exhibitions, inter- says. "We stay with people do a lot of market research, and we've We don't announce the times bands are active technology rather than companies." found that 70% of kids learn about the playing until doors, performances all and sponsor par- Likewise, the Warped own- tour through word -of- mouth," he says. overlap and there is always plenty to do." ticipation that far played at least ership has changed hands a few "Thirty-five percent of them say they Value is perhaps the main compo- transcends simple venue five Warped tours, according to the times during its 10 years. "But go every summer. It's a rite of passage." nent of the Warped concept. In a part- signage. band's Joe Escalante. The tour's tar- now it's back in the original hands," The kids keep coming, and so do the nership with Musictoday and Fan - "Sponsors are integrated through- get demographic is perfect for the Lyman says. "That's punk in itself." bands. "Bands are already submitting scape, Warped offered an Internet out the show," Lyman says. "Kids come bands, he says. Now Vans, Creative Artists Agency for next summer," Lyman points out. presale priced at $23.74, which includ- for the experience as much as the "You pretty much hit every kid in and Lyman own the tour. CAA agent "We had over 2,000 submissions this ed one ticket, this year's Vans Warped bands. We're bringing back the the country that even has the possibil- Daryle Eaton was an early believer in year. I've never seen a more solid club tour compilation CD, a service fee and Human Cannonball this year." ity of buying your record," he says. Warped and has been instrumental in scene than there is right now, and the a 25 -cent contribution to Hollywood "You can stay relevant from one tour, its growth. kids are going to live shows again." Heart, a children's HIV/AIDS charity. BRINGING ON THE ALUMNI and for bands like us that own our own "People ask me how they can work Music TV network Fuse has signed on The Feb. 11 presale went quite well, Several Warped veterans will return record label, you can set up a booth." with Daryle; I tell them he was work- as media sponsor for Warped this year at least by Warped standards. "It was a for the 10th -anniversary run, even Bands that gained their first nation- ing out of a closet when I first met and will support it through promotion- typical Warped tour launch-a train though many of them carry price tags al exposure on the Warped tour him," Lyman notes. al spots and tour -date announcements wreck," Lyman notes. "Last year we that now exceed Warped's budget. include Sublime, No Doubt, Good Eaton says that Warped's secret is and will also develop weekly program- sold 300 tickets on the first day and "Bands are coming back because it's Charlotte, New Found Glory, Papa that "the Warped tour has consistently ming tied around Warped headliners ended up having our best year ever. the 10th anniversary, and they want to Roach, Limp Bizkit, Sugar Ray, provided good value for fans. They get to throughout the tour. A 10th -anniversary This year we sold 2,000." be part of it," Lyman says. "A lot of Deftones and Kid Rock. see a large number of artists for a tick- Vans Warped concert special will air Success for Warped, of course, is rel- these bands sacrifice their guarantee "Kid Rock played on our smallest et price that has never gone over $25." exclusively on Fuse in September. Staples Pulls Off Grammy /NBA Double- Header

13Y SUSANNE AULT lighting, sound and other stage elements for both Zeidman continues.' We pre -rigged the NBA All- Though lighter than the Grammys, the NBA shows at Los Angeles' Staples Center this year. Star [events] during the Monday, Tuesday and equipment was also beefed up with more Sure, the Grammy Awards and the NBAAII -Star 'We've never done anything on this scale in the 25 Wednesday [Feb. 2-4] of Grammy rigging. As the advanced lighting and sound systems than the basketball game are huge spectacles. But they have years that I've been doing this [at the company]." Grammys were continuing to load in, we found 2003 edition, says Peter Fink, VP of events for the nothing on the load -in/load -out of the two pro- Staples has hosted the Grammys four times, time and areas where the Grammys weren't going NBA. This was arguably its most showbiz-orient- ductions, which occurred less than one week apart. including the 2004 edition. The NBA All -Star to be hanging anything. And we started hanging ed installment yet, he says. "Basically, you spend a month in a building in game had never been played at Staples and has motors for the All -Star game." "The Beach Boys were Saturday night. Christi- a week," says Ed Kish, owner of Kish Rigging, not been based in Los Angeles since 1983. na [Aguilera] sang the anthem Sunday. Beyoncé whose crew assembled and disassembled the To stage the Feb. 8 Grammys and the Feb. 13- A LOT OF WEIGHT THROWN AROUND performed at halftime," Fink says. "It's a concert 15 NBA All -Star events, Sta- The 60 -truck Grammy set required 260,000 [surrounded by] basketball games." ples needed Kish to rig equip- pounds of equipment, including 900 moveable Another obstacle for Staples, Zeidman says, was ment for both productions at lights and 380 motors, to be hung from the arena's constructing a 24- foot -by-24 -foot stage for these the same time. This was the ceiling. This set a new weight record for Staples musical headliners in a section of Staples Center first time that Staples had events the Democratic National Convention in that has never had a stage before. attempted this sort of simul- August 2000 had previously been the heaviest, "It's normally the Zamboni area, where the ice taneous changeover. with 250,000 pounds suspended from the top. machines come in and out for the hockey game, 'We're doing what is every- Clocking in at 110,000 pounds, the 10 -truck and now there is the challenge of people going in one's dream or nightmare in NBA All -Star happenings-counting the Feb. 13 and out of the hole [during the building process]," this business," says Lee Zeid- Got Milk? Rookie Challenge, the Feb. 14 AOL Zeidman says. man, senior VP of operations All -Star Night and the Feb. 15 NBA All -Star To make the 2004 All -Star week a slam -dunk at Staples. 'We're doing two game- needed 300 moving lights and 126 success, the NBA event production staff worked internationally televised motors to be hung. two more overnights (Feb. 9 -10) than usual, Fink events back to back that need All Grammy production, which also included says. That increased production costs another six six to seven days of [prepara- a 125 -foot -wide -by -104-foot -deep stage and set figures, he admits. "It's challenging," Fink says. "But we've The Staples Center in Los Angeles had to simultaneously set up for tion] in their own right. pieces that resembled a UFO, was torn down by been two major happenings during the first two weeks of February: the "We've done something 3 a.m. Feb. 9. The NBA layout needed to be had good participation with the Grammys. We've Grammy Awards and the NBA All -Star Events. that has never been done for wrapped by the 5 p.m. Feb. 13 broadcast time of been able to share production elements with any type of Grammy load -in," the Rookie Challenge. lights and sound."

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