Warped Wednesday- The A.K.A.s

It wasn't until last year on Warped Tour that I discovered the A.K.A.s, but I'm so glad I did. Not only are they an amazing punk band, but they are some of the nicest people I have ever met on tour. Originally signed on the Fueled By Ramen label, (Panic at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, etc.,) they decided to part ways after FBR began to move towards other styles of music. In 2008, the A.K.A.s released Everybody Make Some Noise after signing with Metropolis Records.

I personally think that this split from FBR was the best thing that ever happened to the band, because I like Everybody Make Some Noise infinitely more than White Doves and Smoking Guns, their album released under FBR. Now don't misinterpret me, because I enjoy both albums, but there is just something so much more unique about their sophomore release.


Now unfortunately, without the Fueled By Ramen PR machine backing the band, they are far less appreciated than they should be. But trust me, any lack of fame is not due to lack of talent, or even lack of effort. The A.K.A.s run such an amazing grassroots effort that I'm surprised they haven't yet been recruited by a politician or two.

In fact, the only reason I even came to know about the A.K.A.s was because of their omnipresence in the crowd at Warped Tour 2008. Everywhere I looked that day, I saw hot pink stickers with their name and set time on them. When I walked through the merch booths, the A.K.A.s stood out because they were one of the only bands who spent the entire day at their tent. I'm not sure who took over while they were performing, but every other minute of the day had at least part of the band at their tent, drawing in passersby to have conversations, enter a contest, sign an eco-pledge, and buy some one-of-a-kind merch, printed on recycled clothing from thrift stores.

And I was already hooked, before I even saw their show. A show which only further convinced me that the A.K.A.s are awesome. I had, up to that point, never seen such an energetic and entertaining live show. Ironically, Cobra Starship, whose concert I missed to see the A.K.A.s at Warped, is the only band I know of who can compete with the A.K.A.s' live shows.

I'm so glad that Kevin Lyman took notice of the A.K.A.s this year, and I can't wait to see them out on tour this summer.


Photos of the A.K.A.s taken by Sarah Maloy at Warped Tour 2008 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"A sense of freedom and exhilaration that can't be found elsewhere."

Every summer, I spend my days working, spending time with friends, and just relaxing. But for the past few years, something has taken over and become the highlight of my entire summer-- the Warped Tour. A fifteen-year-old tradition, Warped Tour is the one day each summer that absolutely cannot be missed.

Each July, I pack up my drawstring bag full of water, sunscreen and cash, and drive an hour down to Cincinnati (always getting lost along the way) to stand in line with thousands of other fans. Upon entrance to the venue, teens and adults alike rush to the Vans tent to see what time their favorite bands are playing. Warped Tour attendees are quite a diverse group, and with approximately 100 bands performing each day, there are many styles of music-- something for almost everyone. Even with such diversity, Warped is a community-- a family.

At the end of 2008, WarpedTourDoc began following me on Twitter. I checked them out and saw that they were running a contest giving a way a free DVD and a ticket to the 2009 Warped Tour. The documentary sounded interesting and of course I could use a free ticket, so I began entering a few contests. After winning the "Most Embarassing WT Moment" contest, I received the DVD in the mail. A few weeks later, I watched it.

And I have to tell you-- Nothing could capture the spirit of the Warped Tour better than this documentary.

Right from the opening, which shows the show being organized and the stages being set up, I was intrigued. I've never been to a show before it started, so already I was being exposed to a part of the tour which I had not previously known.

The documentary works smoothly from one of the first few scenes in which a worker says, "Warped Tour has gone soft, yo," to the ending "feel-good montage," which captured the family feel of Warped, and made me incomparably excited for the 2009 show.

During the 91-minute film, directed by Jonathan Rach, I learned more about the Warped Tour than I ever could have in my nineteen years of life. When a tour, mostly targeted at teenagers, spans fifteen years, there are very few fans who have been around since the beginning. The documentary, The Warped Tour: A Concert, A Culture, An Entire Generation, covers the tour from the very beginning and includes onstage, backstage, tour bus, and fan moments that couldn't be seen anywhere else.

The documentary covers the politics seen at Warped Tour in a balanced and uncontroversial way that is perfect for a show that is about the people and their expression, more than it is actually about the political views of those people.

There is so much more I could say about Warped Tour and about this documentary, but this is already the longest blog I've written to date. I may add some more later, but for now I just leave you with my strong recommendation to check out this documentary and, if you haven't already, you should definitely check out the Warped Tour this summer.


Photos by Sarah Maloy at Cincinnati Warped Tour 2008
Top Right: Mike Ski of The A.K.A.s.
Bottom: A crowd watching The Gym Class Heroes perform "Peace Sign Up, Index Down" on the main stage.