2016 was a year of first’s, especially for many bands who headed out on The Vans Warped Tour 2016 this past summer. I had the opportunity to chat with Broadside front man Ollie Baxxter and former drummer, Andrew Dunton about their first experience on what is said to be a musician’s hardest and most grueling tour.
How was it opening main stage for the first time in Vegas? Did it exceed your expectations?
Ollie: It was nerve-wracking I mean the position that we were in was we played mainstage but we played the first set of the day, so we weren’t cassed in front of thousands we were cassed in front of hundreds. It was terrifying, needless to say. I had to ask “where am I allowed to stand” and “can I do this” because every stage has their rules. I just found myself stepping on random things. The sound was amazing; everybody was nice and really stoked. I mean if you want to be mad that a no name band is playing on your stage, fine but we’ve been hustling all summer to get to this point.
Andrew: When we were told that we were playing the MainStage, we thought it was a joke. It was such an honor and a bucket list thing for me. It was daunting because it’s such a big stage to fill performance wise and crowd wise but I felt like we pulled it off. The sound on the stage was amazing.
Was there a day that you played and you got off stage feeling like the show didn’t go as smoothly?
Ollie: We had one bad show all summer long. In New Orleans, our RV broke down that morning so my mentality was already defeated. Warped hadn’t been in New Orleans in a while, everyone was confused as to where each stage was, set up was late. Because it’s the smaller stage we were between the walkways, it was chaos and ungodly hot and it messed with our human psyches. We were not there mentally during the show, we felt defeated afterwards. But we realized that we just have to learn how to roll with it.
Andrew: New Orleans was a rough day for us. We spent all morning/afternoon getting yelled at by parking attendants and trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Our minds were in a thousand different directions on stage.
What was the first show on the tour like? What thoughts were going through your head right before you played the first show on the tour? How about after? What were your feelings after playing the last set of the tour?
Ollie: It’s funny because we had a day before to get a feel for it I knew what it would feel like to get on. For instance, we started off the song and I climbed back down to the barricade and then climbed up and down and was like “why am I so exhausted?”. What’s funny is I watch videos from the first day of warped and I see all of the things that I learned since. I learned how to work the stage. Before our last set, I was like “alright this is it, we got bumped up again for the seventh time, let’s kill this, our friends are all here, let’s just have fun, I’m going to take all of this energy and the lessons that I learned along the way and I’m going to have fun and make it sound good” and that vibed the whole set. Afterwards, I felt limitless but also vulnerable like “awe shit its over my job here is done I could leave right now, I don’t have anything else to do”. Seeing everyone leave and packing up early it was like “wow I’ve been walking the same path for 46 days and now it’s over”. I felt not empty but fulfilled I guess really.
Andrew: The first show was a mix of excited, nervous, and anxious to see if anyone would even watch us. I remember thinking that I can’t believe I’m about to play Warped Tour. After playing the last set I remember savoring that last hit and really taking in the moment knowing I just played the summer at the Warped Tour.
Did the shows/ set list ever start to feel repetitive?
Ollie: It only feels repetitive in the best way. It feels like a formula I wouldn’t say that it was too repetitive. Since we are up and coming we didn’t have any expectations, people were stoked on different things. People were kind of like whatever, they know our song Coffee Talk. Luckily I NEVER felt as if people only cared about Coffee Talk, which it sometimes did in the past.
Andrew: We try to keep it fun and entertaining before, during, and after our set. There’s always something different going on.
How did you go about picking your crew for the tour? Did you want people who had already done the tour or did you all want to experience the first time together?
Ollie: My little brother is our TM and I wanted someone who would work hard for us and for themselves. There are people that just want to come on tour and waste people’s time but my brother would work hard for us. 7 Minutes in Heaven’s manager also came on with us. I saw how hardworking and loyal he was on the tour we did with 7 Minutes in Heaven and I liked that a lot. Our merch girl, Michelle was on tour with Like Pacific and things didn’t end up working out for them and she wanted to stay on the tour so we ended up being able to work something out.
Andrew: We had a few people in mind before going out. We have toured with some of the crew before and some were their first time or our first time meeting them.
Did you reach out to any friends that had been on warped tour before and ask for advice?
Ollie: I didn’t but the best thing about that is that everybody gives it to you anyway. Everyone’s like “you got to do this, you got to do that” so we listen and appreciate our elders, but we don’t really expect things to be so crazy we just take it day by day. We didn’t reach out to anybody personally. We did Warped in the past but never as a band, we just worked the lines.
Andrew: Luckily, I worked most of it in 2012 so I had a rough idea of what it was going to be like.
What was the best life lesson that you learned on the tour?
Ollie: I would say work really, really hard and it prevails. I also learned keep to yourself and kill people with kindness you know what I’m saying? Don’t be an asshole, don’t disregard people’s emotions or feelings, and do your own thing. The work and quality of your fan base and music speaks for itself. Everyone wants the same thing it’s just not everybody is willing to work for it.
Andrew: Stay focused on the positives and what motivates you to be a better person every day. Get the negative out of your life.
Where do you think, Broadside would be right now if you hadn’t done Warped? Do you think you would be gaining this much traction anyway with your following on the internet and everything? Did it open opportunities/doors that otherwise wouldn’t have been options if not for the tour?
Ollie: I feel that people wouldn’t take Broadside as seriously if we hadn’t. On the outside, the fans only see our successes and failures they don’t see all the work that goes into it. Which is fine, they care about us as individuals and WANT us to reach new heights but the mind of the youth is so temporary. If we didn’t do Warped, I believe our climb to the top would have been over. It’s so very important to stay relevant. Warped showed everyone the capability of a hardworking small band… We brought numbers and that attracted people.
Andrew: If we weren’t on Warped we would be busy writing and touring. Warped brings kids of all different backgrounds to one area for the day. It gives bands such a great platform to gain new fans. Someone who hates our genre could be walking by our set or any other bands set and hear something that catches their ear but wouldn’t listen to them outside of Warped because of a genre. It’s such a great opportunity to meet fellow bands and crew and just be friends drinking or hanging at the cook-outs.
What was the crowd turn out like at the beginning of the tour compared to the end?
Ollie: First show was 25-30, people towards the middle it was consistently over 50-70, and towards the end we reached about 400-500. Boston was 450 people by the end of the tour. I was stoked on the 25! I’m looking at a photo from Boston on my desk right now and it makes me nervous looking at it.
Andrew: I always compared it to a snowball. Our first day we were blown away by the turnout but people post videos, pictures, etc. on the internet and word spreads so it gains the interest of more people.
What songs got the best crowd reaction? Any songs that didn’t go over too well?
Ollie: We played Damaged Kids the first week and it didn’t go over too well. People requested it more and more, it’s funny because people on the east coast want this and the west coast want something different, but we stopped playing that cause the vibe was off. Human Machines was a big one, Come and Go, Playing In Traffic and Coffee Talk (obviously) were all pretty big. We started the set off with Storyteller so the show was already pretty amped up.
Andrew: Coffee Talk, of course and Playing In Traffic because it’s such a high-energy song. Damaged Kids is more of a mellow song so it’s a little lower energy for Warped. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a song that means a lot to myself and many others, it just doesn’t translate as a good song for Warped Tour.
Who was your favorite band to watch in your free time?
Andrew: Set It Off, With Confidence, Atreyu, Cruel Hand, Like Pacific, State Champs, Sykes.
Ollie: I really liked Set It off, they’re amazing and they just have their techniques down. I think at one point he (Cody), busted his leg up and he kept going strong, so they’re a really good band. Atreyu are all old dudes and they played over 100 percent and put on a show every day and then just dipped, but they were consistent. All the bands on Full Sail like With Confidence, Old Wounds, just bands on our stage that are hungry for success and are trying to give it their all. Falling in Reverse is just wild, Ronnie Radke is just a wild person. He puts on an amazing show and his voice never gave up on him.
Did you ever feel as if you had to prove yourself to anyone (i.e. bands, crew, fans) at any point in the tour? If so, how did you deal with it?
Ollie: I would. There’s a lot of comradery and it becomes this kind of jealousy. We were bumped up a few times and I’m sure a lot of people were like “What’s the deal how did they get bumped up” or “here comes the rock stars”. We don’t hang out heavy, I’m kind of an isolated person. The reality of the shit is if you work hard don’t party too much, good things will come to you. We’re a lady’s band, the ladies love us and ladies sometimes have boyfriends and the boyfriends are at our set like “I don’t like this shit, they all have the same haircut” and shit like that, but THEY’RE the ones buying cds after the show and being like “you were really good!” and I’m like “fuck yeah proving a point!” ya know? That’s my favorite thing.
Andrew: Not really. Everyone is in the same position on the tour where they have to make the same drives, play or interact with people everyday. We just went out wanting to give the people willing to watch us the best show we could give them.
Any last thoughts/ feelings/ anything else you would like to add about your Warped experience or just in general?
Andrew: First off, thanks to anyone who came out to watch our set, shake our hands, buy merch, etc. Thanks to Kevin Lyman and the entire Warped Tour staff. I have waited my entire life to say that I played the summer on the Warped Tour. Bucket List: Check.
Ollie: I mean if you would’ve told a little chubbier version of myself nailing around jumping on the bed getting yelled at by my mom listening to Taking Back Sunday, that I would be playing the main stage at warped tour, I would’ve told you were crazy. I think it’s nice to know that no matter what age you are if you believe that something should be in front of you then you can make it happen. People believe in this experience. They wait all summer, all year for it, and it was my job. It’s crazy when the hunger and scenery comes together. It’s funny because I felt both aspects while on stage, I felt like I was watching instead of putting on a show. I felt like I was watching the raw emotion of the fans and that’s what it is.
Broadside’s climb to the top is just beginning, make sure you check them out below!