We got to catch up with progressive popsters Alvarez Kings backstage at this year’s Ventura Warped tour to chat about living the dream!
LN: HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING TODAY?
AK: Great! Happy to be here!
LN: WARPED TOUR FOR YOU GUYS – ANY CRAZY STORIES SO FAR?
AK: Oh god – so many things! Every night’s been crazy really. The first introduction to the craziness was literally as soon as we got here, the first night after the show there was a massive wrestling match!
LN: YEAH, I’M GOING TO NEED MORE DETAIL ON THIS…
AK: It was between two band members – I can’t remember which ones exactly. It was play-wrestling and they were being really dramatic and it was just everyone – everyone on all the busses just following these two guys around. People were filming, shouting “throw the chair” – it was pretty insane.
LN: WELL THAT DEFINITELY QUALIFIES FOR THE CRAZIEST EVENT SO FAR…
AK: Yeah… that and some stories we don’t want to mention really!
LN: SO R-RATED STORIES THEN?
AK: Yeah, like getting caught in the shower.
LN: THAT SOUNDS INTERESTING…
AK: By the bus driver…
(whole band erupts in laughter)
LN: DON’T WORRY. THAT WILL STAY ON THE DL THEN.
AK: No, no it’s fine
(Good because spoiler alert: I lied.)
LN: VANS WARPED IT HEADING BACK TO THE UK THIS FALL – HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK IT IS TO BRING IT BACK TO THE UK, WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT?
AK: It’s great! I think they need to do a Warped Tour on a scale like they do it here, in Europe! I know they’re still testing the waters but I think if they did it like 30-40 shows it would be great. There’s a huge market for it there.
LN: DO YOU WISH YOU ALL HAD SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO HEAD TO WHEN YOU ALL WERE GROWING UP?
AK: OH YEAH – absolutely! We grew up hearing about Vans Warped Tour back in the UK – we wished someone had brought it over there.
LN: AND NOW YOU DUDES ARE PLAYING WARPED TOUR!
AK: It’s like a dream come true really. Everyday we’re walking around and seeing bands that we grew up listening to. The bassist from Goldfinger just came up to us – we’ve talked to him a few times and he’s like “oh what are you doing on your day off- I’m going to be in L.A. Can I get your number & we’ll just hang out, have some drinks?” We’re just like o-o-o-k- yeah! So we cancelled any plans we had for this to occur!
LN: WARPED HAS DEFINITELY BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS – WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES THE FESTIVAL SO POPULAR?
AK: Well it’s got such an eclectic taste of music really. I mean, we’re completely different for Warped Tour. If anybody wants to catch our set walking around – you know – we’re not a metal band. We’re nothing like that. This is our first real tour here and I think that’s why people seem to like it. We’ll get crowds like a few rows deep and then by the finish of the second song it’ll be all the way back to the sound desk. People are obviously walking past and hearing something a little different.
LN: IT’S DEFINITELY A BREATH OF FRESH AIR IN THE MIDDLE OF 8 HOURS STRAIGHT OF POP/PUNK!
AK: That’s what everyone’s been saying really. We head straight back to the merch tent after our set and everyone’s been saying how different we are, and how it’s nice to hear something fresh and different. That’s the beauty of Warped Tour really – the diversity of music – there’s rap, pop, punk – everything really.
LN: OK, ON TO A TOUGHER QUESTION – IF YOU ALL WERE STUCK ON DESERTED ISLAND AND HAD TO PICK ONE OTHER BAND FROM THE LINE-UP TO BE STRANDED WITH – WHO WOULD IT BE? YOU HAVE TO AGREE!
AK: Goldfinger. Yes, Goldfinger. Bring Me The Horizon For Me. Reel Big Fish.
(Spoiler Alert: They couldn’t agree.)
LN: YOU HAD TO RECOMMEND ONE OTHER BAND’S SET TO GO SEE, WHO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?
AK: The guys from Echosmith are really cool. It’s a younger band on Warped Tour, but they’re really energetic! Them and Allstar Weekend – we’re sharing a bus with those guys so we’ve been a couple times. There’s like thirteen guys on our bus!
LN: THAT IS A LOT OF DUDES ON ONE BUS!
AK: Yeah – twelve bunks, thirteen guys.
LN: ALRIGHT – ANY CLOSING REMARKS FOR FRIENDS AND FANS?
AK: Just, thanks for believing in us and there’s more to come!