Warped Tour 2008

Playing house. Punching dolphins in the blowhole. Pulling off choreographed dance moves as huge fireballs fall from the sky. Ahh ... it's nice to know that while some bands are anxious about Warped Tour, vets Norma Jean are keeping it loose, laidback – and ludicrous.



With 11 years under their belts, the Atlanta metalheads will be one of the more seasoned acts on Warped this year – and lucky for them and their fans, they'll be sparking up mosh pits on the entire trek. Beyond that, the gang of five has slapped four off-date gigs onto their agenda: Monday at The Joint in Las Vegas; June 30 at Sokol Auditorium in Omaha; July 7 at the House of Blues in New Orleans; and July 8 at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama.

That's a pretty generous slate of gigs for the band, which spent a good chunk of early '08 in Venice hammering away at their new album, The Anti Mother, which is due August 5. That's a little ways away, but Friday isn't – and that's when Norma Jean will be sinking their teeth into Warped in Pomona, California, and clamp their jaws until the trek comes to a close August 17 in Los Angeles. When we caught up with singer Cory Brandan earlier this week, he was champing at the bit.

Buzznet: Share some highlights, good or bad, of past Warped Tours you've played or attended.

Cory Brandan: We did five days last year on the main stage, and we loved it. We had a really funny driver on those five days, and he kept making jokes that on the last day he was going to get a little pool, fill it with water and put water guns in it, so we could get some girls in it and party. It wasn't a joke! He really did it, it was awesome, and yes, we did get some girls to jump in it for him – but it wasn't weird or anything. We try to keep it clean for the kids.

Buzznet: Which bands are you most looking forward to seeing perform? Who do you think will blow up after Warped?

Brandan: I love Every Time I Die, they are our favorite band to tour with ever and have one of the best live shows. I hope they sell a billion records. [Check out our "Warped Tour Warm-Up" with ETID right here.]

Buzznet: What will you be doing to kill time on the tour bus?

Brandan: Eat, read, top-level headbang to loud music (preferably Crowbar), dance parties, Xbox, fan myself, prank calls, play house, Hide and Seek, Chutes and Ladders, sleep and more dance parties.

Buzznet: What's the best way to cure the heat while touring with Warped?

Brandan: One of the best inventions ever made ... air conditioning! And it's worth every cent!

Buzznet: How has Warped evolved over the years in your opinion?

Brandan: I actually have no idea. I just know that it's all about good music and good times. I am just glad that the people at Warped are keeping their ears to the ground and notice how music evolves. So if anything, Warped is evolving along.

Buzznet: List a few items on your rider that we might not expect.

Brandan: We used to have the "Simpsons" action figures on there, [and] parachute-man toys. We have a tendency to go overboard just ot see what we end up with.

Buzznet: Do you have anything unusual planned for your set, whether it be cover songs, tracks you normally don't play?

Brandan: We actually have talked about covering "In Bloom" by Nirvana, which is one of our favorite bands, but I don't think we're going to have time to pull it off. We'll see what happens.

Buzznet: Are you planning any props, backdrops, screens or anything else in terms of stage setup?

Brandan: It's so hard to have a ton of stuff onstage due to time constraints, but we will have two Norma Jean backdrop scrims [lighting devices] up there somewhere, it'll look cool. We are also going to have choreographed dance moves to huge fireballs falling from the sky, but ignore those, because I think they're illegal in some states.

Buzznet: What's the best part about playing Warped?

Brandan: The fans!!! That's it. It's such a blast to be there amongst all those people, and maybe not everyone will agree with me, but to me that's the best part, because we are all there for the same thing: music and BBQs. OK, so I'm there mostly for BBQ.

Buzznet: Any tips for people going for the first time?

Brandan: It's gonna be hot, it's summertime!! I recommend you embrace it and dress accordingly. Other than that, the only piece of advice I can give is to come watch Norma Jean's set, because we will make you want to punch a dolphin in the blowhole, which, where we come from, is a great thing somehow!

Don't miss our nonstop Warped Tour coverage:

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Also, feast your eyes on these pics of Katy Perry, Beat Union and more at the Warped Tour kickoff show on April 11 in West Hollywood, California – click on the image below.



Get psyched for summer with Buzznet's Warped Tour 2008 gallery:


[Click on picture to view the rest.]

See which females will be rocking out on Warped this summer:


[Click on picture to view the rest.]

Check out these bands that will be playing Warped for the first time:


[Click on picture to view the rest.]

Find out which Warped artists are out of their twenties:


[Click on picture to view the rest.]

Warped Tour dates:

6.20: Pomona, CA @ Pomona Fairgrounds
6.21: San Francisco, CA @ Pier 30/32
6.22: Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
6.25: Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
6.26: Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U. Practice Field
6.28: Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA
6.29: Denver, CO @ Invesco Field
7.1: St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.2: Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.3: Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
7.5: San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.6: Houston, TX @ Sam Houston Race Park
7.9: Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater
7.10 : Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
7.11: Tampa, FL @ Vinoy Park
7.12: Miami, FL @ Bicentennial Park
7.13: Jacksonville, FL @ St. Johns County Fairgrounds
7.14: Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.15: Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.16: Washington DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
7.17: Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City
7.18: Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
7.19: Toronto, ON @ Downsview Park Allen Road
7.20: Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
7.23: Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
7.24: Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
7.25: Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
7.26: Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
7.27: Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
7.28: Englishtown, NJ @ Raceway Park
7.29: Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
7.30: Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
7.31: Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
8.1: Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
8.2: Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8.3: Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
8.5: Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
8.6: Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
8.8: Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
8.9: Seattle, WA @ George Amphitheatre
8.10: Portland, OR @ Columbia Meadows
8.13: Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
8.14: San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
8.15: San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
8.16: Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
8.17: Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center

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