Glacially Musical welcomes in a guest – Mega Ran! His new album Buddy’s Magic Toy Box (out Sep. 15), written for his new son, features G. Love & Special Sauce, JER (Skatune Network), New York Brass (Kanye West, Jay Z, Eminem), Stacked Like Pancakes, Whitney Peyton, Kadesh Flow, Koo Koo Kanga Roo, and more. We bared our souls for this one and Mega Ran blessed us with the gifts of his knowledge.
Kosha Dillz Live At Vans Warped Tour 2015
Kosha Dillz is one of the newest faces to make waves within the music scene in 2015, and his DIY approach at spreading his name out to the masses has made inroads with fans on various levels. His unique blend of hip hop music fusing English, Hebrew and Spanish lyrics has caught the attention of many new fans along the way on Vans Warped Tour this summer.
His name got out through blogging on various music tech sites such as Hypebot, discussing his experiences with promoting at and for shows and tours. His outlook on how to spread the word about his music has caught the attention of many readers, who eventually transitioned into becoming a fan of his music and even coming to see his performance at one of the Warped Tour stops.
Kosha Dillz Live At Vans Warped Tour 2015
“I’m trying to stay active during this time on social media and stuff. I’m giving shout outs to other bands and just being part of it. That’s what I like about it – being part of the entire get up. They’ve got 70 bands on here. I meet a lot of kids who’re like ‘man you played? I didn’t know you played…I wish I saw you play. I want to get your music anyways.’ ”
“There are other kids that are like ‘I look up all the bands before I come.’ Other people are like ‘I come because it’s Warped Tour.’ It’s a good thing. It’s something that people go to and never look the bands up.”
Prior to Warped Tour, he performed at South By Southwest in Austin, TX, and he shared his experiences and his thoughts on the ins and outs of promoting within such a large event.
“Yeah South By Southwest – you play ten times for 20 people each time, or maybe 200, and another for 100. On this one you’re playing for 100 or 200, or you could be jumping on stage with a bunch of other people, free styling with other bands for 10 people. It’s the same thing except you’re on a bigger stage and you have your own tent and people you’re taking pictures with left and right. That’s such a really cool experience,” he said.
Kosha Dillz. Photo Credit: Amelia Burns (via Facebook)
Back to Warped Tour, he adapted his past promotional tactics and his networking approaches and made it work with reaching unfamiliar attendees to checking out his music. Whether it was selling his CDs or simply talking to people about having his songs on a Warped Tour related CD compilation, he raised awareness of what he was doing and shared his experiences from this past summer.
“It’s been cool to tell people you’re on the Warped Tour compilation. I’m autographing those. It’s a nice experience to be like ‘yo…I’m on the CD that everyone’s buying!’ I’m one of the last tracks to finish it off. It’s kind of an honor that the song I made with the guy after….what’s going to happen after 60,000 views on YouTube and now it’s on 100,000 CDs that you’re going to sell. How cool is that? So I get to show people pictures of these shows and they’re stacked. The shows are huge. How grateful should I be? It’s like a second or third chance I never got.”
“The thing is, when I got the call to do Warped Tour, I didn’t expect to get the call. I was working hard and I could hope. I put one foot forward saying it’s only show time and time again if you work hard and do it DIY that something steps up and appears and disappears. It’s nice to hear a lot of people say we deserve it, but also it’s up to me if I seize the moment and take advantage of this. That’s what Kevin [Lyman] mentioned to us.”
During his time on the Warped Tour, he got to experience a lot of new artists he was previously unfamiliar with and bonded with those he knew from before. He shared some of his personal discoveries amongst his touring mates.
“Family Force 5 I think it is. They’re cool. I met them. Trace [Cyrus] from Metro Station – he’s a really humble dude. I like that they’re on the grind. Palisades – they’re my homies. They’re really dope. They’re from New Jersey. There’s a lot of New Jersey people. Candy Hearts are my friends. My homegirl Mariel [Loveland] – she’s dope. Le Castle Vania on the Beatport Stage, MC Lars, Koo Koo Kanga Roo – check them out. They’re amazing. Born Cages – I watched them play. New Beat Fund – they’re on Red Bull Records.”
“Riff Raff and Mod Sun are totally different. I love them both separately. I love their branding. I love the way they present their music, the colors and everything. There’s so much more. We live in LA. When’s the last time you’ve hung out with someone everyday for two months? I’m basically living with a bunch of people. I’ve never done that.”
Another year has arrived for the Vans Warped Tour full of anticipation and excitement to hit the summertime across North America. This year’s edition maintains their tradition of youth oriented angst filled music (or whatever the kids call it these days) and carving a path for the next batch of rising stars on the scene. Thanks to photographer Kevin Estrada for shooting these two dates of Warped tour for Ghost Cult!
The main stages (Shark and Unicorn) showcased the main attractions on the tour, ranging from the pop punk acts (The Wonder Years) to the screamo/emo (Pierce The Veil, Blessthefall) to the crossover half melodic and half aggro (We Came As Romans) to the harder sounding (August Burns Red) managed to keep the kids bouncing around in the crowd and rarely laying low.
August Burns Red, photo © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
Tour veterans Motion City Soundtrack made their brief California run appearance, showing the crowd how things are done on this tour. Metro Station (featuring Trace Cyrus, son of country performer Billy Ray Cyrus), melodic punk act Man Overboard, and hardcore outfit Fit For A King all set the pace for the day with their respective sounds while keeping the crowd engaged.
Atilla, photo © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
The main acts on these stages won over the crowd throughout the day. Memphis May Fire got the crowd into a high with their half heavy yet melodic styling that struck a nerve with them; Attila, led by their enigmatic frontman Chris “Fronz” Fronzak and his guitar crunching yet Eninem-esque “meth” suit bouncing along with the crowd; Black Veil Brides and their legions of die hard fan base singing along to every word; and Miss May I and their modern metallic sound that got the crowd worked up later on in the day.
The Amity Affliction, photo © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
While the main stage had their moments going on, there were a number of side stage acts making noise of their own. The Monster Stage housed their own brand of chaos throughout the day, as Senses Fail, Being As An Ocean, Beartooth, Mallory Knox and The Amity Affliction all got the pit crew throwing down alongside each band and rarely letting down. The harder driving acts such as hardcore outfit Hundredth had the pit kids going in effect, while veteran Canadian post hardcore act Silverstein had their mix of longtime fans as well as newbies who both showed their appreciation for the band. Australian metallic hardcore outfit I Killed The Prom Queen appeared to be bass player less, but that didn’t stop them from bringing out their At The Gates meets hardcore stomp to these fans. British metalcore act While She Sleeps briefly were down a singer (ie visa problems kept frontman Lawrence Taylor making a late start on the tour) but friends pitched in to lend a helping hand and fans didn’t even notice. Plus Escape The Fate closed out the evening with their eclectic brand of punk meets screamo meets modern metal that got the late comers their last bit of a sweat.
Neck Deep, photo © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
On the other stages, indie hip hop acts MC Lars gave a lesson in nerdcore with rhymes about video games and Game of Thrones (ie his latest single “Dragon Blood), while Kosha Dillz brought out his East Coast blend of Spanish, English and Hebrew rhymes; and electro-DJ-performance duo mystery men Drama Club put on an interesting performance that combined part Blue Man Group-esque percussive moments with part electronica meets EDM moments and spontaneous bursts of energy that kept the interested crowd on its feet.
Pvris, photo © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
The Journeys Stages found Juliette Sims and Night Riots wowing the crowd with their high energy sets, while hotly tipped electro pop outfit PVRIS became one of the much talked about acts on the tour and their set did not disappoint. Hip hop act Riff Raff put on quite the entertaining show on this stage, with his colorful summertime dress and animated raps to get the crowd bouncing along.
New York alternative rockers The Karma Killers stood out amongst the vast number of acts performing on the Ernie Ball Stage, with their fresh take on classic pop-punk, rock, and alternative rock with an energetic stage show. While they are newly signed to Island/Def Jam and new to the scene, they showed that they could one day end up on one of the larger stages in the new future.
The Acoustic Basement easily became an area largely for shade against the sun, but while most of the acts attracted stragglers throughout the day, Canadian singer-songwriter Saywecanfly and Brian Marquis were two of the acts who attracted a decent sized crowd throughout the day. Saywecanfly attracted a packed tent and entertained the audience with his emotion filled lyrics that got his largely female audience awaiting with anticipation.
Overall, this year’s edition featured a good mix of repeat acts moving up to larger stages, as well as a number of fresh faces to the scene. It is a positive sign to see new acts on the rise at a time when the music industry is struggling to attract new acts to the public. Hopefully someone is paying attention to this tour to see that there is a new generation of artists on the rise.
Set it Off, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
Tat, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
We Came As Romans, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
Miss May I, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com
[slideshow_deploy id=’29200′]
WORDS BY REI NISHIMOTO
PHOTOS BY KEVIN ESTRADA
The Vans Warped Tour announced eight more artists at the kickoff party at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA this past Tuesday, April 7, 2015. The acts confirmed include:
Senses Fail
Miss May I
H2O (08/07-08/08)
Knuckle Puck
The Bunny The Bear (07/26-08/08)
Kaya Stewart (07/15-08/08)
TAT (06/19-07/01)
Macy Kate (07/02-07/04, 07/06)
They joined previously confirmed acts:
Asking Alexandria
Black Veil Brides
Attila
August Burns Red
Memphis May Fire
We Came As Romans
Blessthefall
Hundredth
I Killed The Prom Queen
’68
Beartooth
Sirens And Sailors (07/14-08/08)
Slaves (07-14-08/08)
The Amity Affliction
Neck Deep
Palisades
Fit For A King
Crossfaith
Rotting Out
Escape The Fate
Being As An Ocean
Silverstein
Mallory Knox
Drama Club
False Puppet (07/23-08/08)
A+ Dropouts (06/19-07/03)
Man Overboard
Citizen
Carousel Kings (07/14-08/08)
Emarosa (06/19-07/12)
New Years Day
Set It Off
Kenneths
MC Lars
The Ascot Royals (07/01-07/08)
Rivers Monroe (07/04-07/21)
Svetlanas (07/29-08/08)
The Karma Killers
Mod Sun
Bebe Rexha
PUP (07/01-07/29)
Youth In Revolt
Juliet Sims
Koo Koo Kanga Roo
Metro Station
Never Shout Never
Night Argent (06/20-06/28, 08/01-08/08)
Riff Raff
Candy Hearts
BoyMeetsWorld
Ho99o9
Major League
Motion City Soundtrack (06/19-06/21)
While She Sleeps
Hands Like Houses
Le Castle Vania
Have Mercy
Our Last Night
ChrisB
PVRIS
Alvarez Kings
Moose Blood
New Beat Fund
Jule Vera
Seaway
This Wild Life
The Dirty Nil
Born Cages
The Wonder Years
Icon For Hire
Baby Baby
Matchbook Romance (06/19-07/11)
The Relapse Symphony (06/19-07/12)
Black Boots
M4Sonic
As It Is
Night Riots
Transit
Beautiful Bodies
Splitbreed
Handguns
Kosha Dillz
Alive Like Me
Family Force 5
Lee Corey Oswald
Trophy Eyes
‘Acoustic Basement Stage‘:
Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties
American Opera
Brian Marquis
Buttons
Grey Gordon
Koji
Meghann Wright
Onward, etc.
PVRIS (dates TBD)
SayWeCanFly
Speak Low If You Speak Love (07/09-07/14)
Transit
‘Comedy Tent‘:
Grant Cotter
Beth Stelling (06/19-06/26)
Chase Bernstein (06/27-07/12)
Dave Ross (07/01-07/12)
Eli Olsberg
Eric Schwartz (07/26-08/08)
Sammy Obeid (06/19-06/28)
Sandy Danto (07/26-08/08)
A recent advertisement from the August 7th Portland, OR stop of the 2015 Vans Warped Tour hinted a few more possible artists who have yet to be announced. Those artists in question include:
Attila
Memphis May Fire
Miss May I
Never Shout Never
Pierce The Veil
We Came As Romans
Beartooth
Senses Fail
Drama Club
False Puppet
Julie Vera
Knuckle Puck
Svetlanas
Prior to this leak, the newest additions include:
Silverstein
Mallory Knox
Man Overboard
Citizen
Carousel Kings (07/14-08/08)
Artists announced to date for the festival include:
Asking Alexandria
Black Veil Brides
Blessthefall
Hundredth
I Killed The Prom Queen
’68
Sirens And Sailors (07/14-08/08)
Slaves (07-14-08/08)
The Amity Affliction
Neck Deep
Palisades
Fit For A King
Crossfaith
Rotting Out
Escape The Fate
Being As An Ocean
Emarosa (06/19-07/12)
New Years Day
Set It Off
Kenneths
MC Lars
The Karma Killers
Mod Sun
Bebe Rexha
PUP (07/01-07/29)
Youth In Revolt
Juliet Sims
Koo Koo Kanga Roo
Metro Station
Night Argent (06/20-06/28, 08/01-08/08)
Riff Raff
Candy Hearts
BoyMeetsWorld
Ho99o9
Major League
Motion City Soundtrack (06/19-06/21)
While She Sleeps
Hands Like Houses
Le Castle Vania
Have Mercy
Our Last Night
ChrisB
PVRIS
Alvarez Kings
Moose Blood
New Beat Fund
Jule Vera
Seaway
This Wild Life
The Dirty Nil
Born Cages
The Wonder Years
Icon For Hire
Baby Baby
Matchbook Romance (06/19-07/11)
The Relapse Symphony (06/19-07/12)
Black Boots
M4Sonic
As It Is
Night Riots
Transit
Beautiful Bodies
Splitbreed
Handguns
Kosha Dillz
Alive Like Me
Family Force 5
Lee Corey Oswald
Trophy Eyes
‘Acoustic Basement Stage‘:
Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties
American Opera
Brian Marquis
Buttons
Grey Gordon
Koji
Meghann Wright
Onward, etc.
PVRIS (dates TBD)
SayWeCanFly
Speak Low If You Speak Love (07/09-07/14)
Transit