Latest / LOYAL TO THE CRAFT / Warped Tour 2026: Kevin Lyman, Sum 41's Deryck Whibley & The Future of Rock

Transcript

Warped Tour 2026: Kevin Lyman, Sum 41's Deryck Whibley & The Future of Rock · LOYAL TO THE CRAFT

0:00
SPEAKER_02: What is up, Adobe Radio?
0:02
SPEAKER_02: This is Mike Traprari coming at you from Loyal to the Craft.
0:06
SPEAKER_02: We've got a crazy busy week this week.
0:08
SPEAKER_02: We're heading to Washington, D.C.
0:10
SPEAKER_02: for the first stop of the 2026 Vans Warp Tour.
0:15
SPEAKER_02: We're so excited.
0:16
SPEAKER_02: I grew up going to the Warp Tour and I found my culture and my community there.
0:20
SPEAKER_02: When I was about 13, 14 years old, I went to my first ever Vans Warp Tour, and it blew my mind seeing the eclectic lineup.
0:29
SPEAKER_02: You can see Eminem and a pop punk band homegrown on the same festival lineup, Limp Biscuit.
0:36
SPEAKER_02: It was crazy.
0:38
SPEAKER_02: And seeing the energy in the crowd, seeing all the vendors and the merch booths and the bands doing signings was just incredible to me.
0:48
SPEAKER_02: And I found my people.
0:51
SPEAKER_02: I found where I wanted to be, and it totally inspired me to be in the music industry, not to mention seeing all the drums on the stages, seeing all the bands, homegrown, like I just mentioned, Newfound Glory, the starting line, all playing custom drums on the drive-thru records stage.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: And I knew that's where I wanted to be.
1:11
SPEAKER_02: So as the drum brand that I started when I was a kid started to become more of a brand and a business and not so much a hobby, I decided, how do I get into the Vans Warp Tour and promote the drums?
1:23
SPEAKER_02: So I snuck in.
1:24
SPEAKER_02: It was such an influential festival to me.
1:27
SPEAKER_02: I knew that I wanted to be there and I had to be there.
1:31
SPEAKER_02: And I didn't know how to be there in a legit capacity.
1:35
SPEAKER_02: So I play I got the opportunity to play on the Kevin says stage one of the years, and I realized, and you can't do this anymore, so I'm gonna preface this with don't try this at home.
1:46
SPEAKER_02: Don't try this at the upcoming Vans Warp Tour.
1:48
SPEAKER_02: You're not gonna get let in.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: It's not possible to do this anymore.
1:52
SPEAKER_02: But when I was about 15, 16 years old, I got the opportunity to perform, and I realized if you have a van and a trailer and you drive around the back and you don't even need credentials.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: You basically just say, I'm playing one of the stages at 11 o'clock.
2:08
SPEAKER_02: They let me in.
2:09
SPEAKER_02: And so I packed my trailer full of drums after the Massachusetts date, went to the Connecticut date, drove in, tried it, it worked.
2:18
SPEAKER_02: So I got backstage, literally popped up a 10 by 10 tent and displayed my drums for the next three or four festivals until we ultimately got caught and kicked out.
2:28
SPEAKER_02: Sorry, Kevin Lyman, sorry, Steve Van Doren, and uh it was Kate Truscott from Fourfini that found us and kicked us out, but was very nice about it.
2:36
SPEAKER_02: And and we left and it was fine.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: It was it was a it was a thing.
2:41
SPEAKER_02: We promoted the drums, but more so, I realized even more the connections in the community backstage at the Vans Warp Tour.
2:49
SPEAKER_02: And so, fast forward 20 or so years when Loyal to the Craft has an opportunity to get out into the festival and to be a part of it, we jumped at that opportunity.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: 2025, we teamed up with Smart Punk Records and we made a real small DIY platform stage.
3:06
SPEAKER_02: We sold merch, we did keynotes and work workshops.
3:09
SPEAKER_02: And this year we're going even bigger thanks to our friends at the Gross Labs Foundation.
3:15
SPEAKER_02: Nick Gross, the drummer for girlfriends and Goldfinger, has a foundation called the Gross Labs Foundation, and they're sponsoring us to be part of this Vans Warp Tour festival season in 2026.
3:27
SPEAKER_02: And we've got a 60-foot activation space.
3:30
SPEAKER_02: We've got the same the same footprint for the DIY festival.
3:34
SPEAKER_02: You know, Kevin Lyman likes to call it the festival in between the stages and where all that's happening, the energy and the vibe that drew me into the Vans Warp Tour as a teenager.
3:45
SPEAKER_02: We're bringing that energy back again this year.
3:47
SPEAKER_02: And we've got school of rock students performing on our DIY platform stage.
3:52
SPEAKER_02: Throughout the weekend, we've got workshops and keynotes, and we're going to be interviewing bands for the Adobe show.
3:59
SPEAKER_02: We've got workshops.
4:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh literally, our friends at Ernie Ball are sending us guitar straps, and guitarists can come in and decorate them with studs and pins.
4:08
SPEAKER_02: We've got bands coming through all weekend in DC.
4:11
SPEAKER_02: We've got XCOM, Meet Me at the Altar, Girlfriends, members of the Ghost Inside, members of the story so far, members of Newfound Glory popping in and filming interviews, doing workshops with the students, jamming with the students and inspiring them to chase their dreams in music and showing them that there's a sustainable career in the music industry.
4:34
SPEAKER_02: That's what it's all about for us.
4:36
SPEAKER_02: We've got t-shirts for sale.
4:38
SPEAKER_02: We've got a whole line of new merchandise that Loyal to the Craft has been working on.
4:42
SPEAKER_02: Shirts and hats.
4:43
SPEAKER_02: Come hang out and fuel the habit.
4:46
SPEAKER_02: Every t-shirt sale, everything that we sell throughout the weekend goes back into creating opportunities just like this for the next generation of rock stars.
4:55
SPEAKER_02: We've got on the show coming up, we've got Kevin Lyman.
4:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm sitting down and interviewing Kevin Lyman about the Vans Warp Tour in the history.
5:04
SPEAKER_02: And it's so cool to be able to talk to somebody like Kevin, who's literally still doing the Vans Warp Tour 30 years later.
5:11
SPEAKER_02: He was such an inspiration and influential person for me.
5:15
SPEAKER_02: Again, going to the show from sneaking in and getting kicked out, but then actually getting, you know, uh into the Vans Warp Tour in a legit capacity, watching Kevin walk the lines and making sure everybody, all the way down to people that are attending the festival, making sure they're hydrated and they're good.
5:34
SPEAKER_02: He inspired me so much to chase my dreams in the music industry.
5:38
SPEAKER_02: He's the one actually that introduced me to Steve Van Doren from the Van Shoe Company.
5:43
SPEAKER_02: We interview Kevin about the Vans Warp Tour.
5:46
SPEAKER_02: I sit down with Stacey Ryan, the president of School of Rock, about how important it is to have School of Rock students coming into the Vans Warp Tour and giving them the opportunity to perform.
5:57
SPEAKER_02: Having these kids come in and watching them and watching their parents and the teachers transform through the weekend is so impactful and so important.
6:06
SPEAKER_02: And it is why Loyal to the Craft exists.
6:09
SPEAKER_02: We've got Derek Wibbley from Sum 41 on the show here talking about how he impromptu jumped in last minute at the Vans Warp Tour last year and performed a Sum41 song with the students.
6:24
SPEAKER_02: That content went viral, which was great for the brand, but also it was so impactful and important for those kids to get that opportunity that day.
6:33
SPEAKER_02: It changed so many kids' lives and it was so impactful for them and their families.
6:39
SPEAKER_02: So we chat with Derek, we chat with Frank Zumo about his early days on street drum core, setting up his own stage and doing the Vans Warp Tour and getting signed to Kevin Lyman's label back in the day.
6:50
SPEAKER_02: And Frank will be joining us in Orlando in November to do workshops and interact with the School of Rock students and all of the people at the Vans Warp Tour.
7:00
SPEAKER_02: So let's get into it.
7:02
SPEAKER_02: We're so excited to be back.
7:04
SPEAKER_02: We're packing behind the scenes.
7:06
SPEAKER_02: Make sure you're following along at Loyal to the Craft on all of our social channels to see the behind the scenes of us getting to the Vans Warp Tour setting up.
7:14
SPEAKER_02: We've got Patrick Alanti, ex-drummer of Ice Nine Kills, stage managing us this year.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: Super cool.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: Patrick obviously has done tons of tours from the DIY Vans Warp Tour to Arena tours.
7:28
SPEAKER_02: Patrick's going to be helping us stage manage and make sure the School of Rock students are performing at their top peak performance.
7:35
SPEAKER_02: Everything's going to be running smoothly.
7:37
SPEAKER_02: And we want the School of Rock kids to be able to interact with Patrick and learn from him.
7:42
SPEAKER_02: Almost a little internship, apprenticeship throughout the weekend.
7:45
SPEAKER_02: So lots up our sleeves.
7:46
SPEAKER_02: We're doing tons of giveaways.
7:48
SPEAKER_02: We've got snare drums that we're giving away, drumsticks with our friends Woody's, who Patrick is working with.
7:53
SPEAKER_02: Lots of giveaways.
7:55
SPEAKER_02: Come fuel the habit.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: Come say hi.
7:57
SPEAKER_02: Give us a high five.
7:58
SPEAKER_02: Interact with the bands that we have coming to do in workshops and interviews.
8:02
SPEAKER_02: Ask questions of your own.
8:03
SPEAKER_02: Have them autograph whatever you want.
8:06
SPEAKER_02: Bring it up.
8:06
SPEAKER_02: They'll be signing, they'll be hanging.
8:08
SPEAKER_02: Loyal to the Craft, Vans Wharf Tour 2026.
8:11
SPEAKER_02: We'll be at DC.
8:12
SPEAKER_02: We'll be at Long Beach.
8:13
SPEAKER_02: We'll be in Orlando.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: Stay tuned.
8:16
SPEAKER_02: If you're not going to one, make sure you're following along at Loyal to the Craft on all of our socials.
8:20
SPEAKER_02: Lots more to come.
8:21
SPEAKER_02: Looking forward to it.
8:22
SPEAKER_02: We're going to take a quick break.
8:24
SPEAKER_02: When we get back into it, we're going to be interviewing all the people that I just mentioned.
8:28
SPEAKER_02: We'll be right back.
8:29
SPEAKER_02: Let's get into it.
8:30
SPEAKER_02: Let me tell you, we have done so many things up to this point, and we are just getting started.
8:40
SPEAKER_02: All that is thanks to our partnership with DistroKid.
8:43
SPEAKER_02: DistroKid makes it super easy to get your music out onto all major streaming platforms so you can focus on creating.
8:49
SPEAKER_02: Sign up for DistroKid today and get your music out to the world.
8:52
SPEAKER_02: We'll see you out there.
8:53
SPEAKER_02: All right, Derek, thanks so much for joining us, man.
8:55
SPEAKER_02: I'm really excited to talk to you about your history and legacy with Warp Tour, but really, you know, I wanted to reminisce with you about last year in Orlando, you swinging by the Lil' to the Craft booth to surprise the school of rock students and sing a song with them, man.
9:08
SPEAKER_02: Thank you again for doing that.
9:10
SPEAKER_02: And what was it like for you?
9:12
SPEAKER_02: You know, what why'd you do it?
9:13
SPEAKER_02: And what was it like walking off the stage after performing with the students?
9:18
SPEAKER_03: It was great.
9:18
SPEAKER_03: It was really cool.
9:19
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I could hear them performing because you know I was there with the walking disaster booth.
9:23
SPEAKER_03: Uh, and so I'd heard it all day in the in the day before, and I could tell that they're a really great band.
9:29
SPEAKER_03: And I'd heard them play some other punk rock songs, and I think I can't remember if I heard them do a Sum-41 song, or somebody told me that they can do a Sum-41 song, and I just thought, I mean, let's let's do something.
9:41
SPEAKER_02: It's so awesome, man.
9:42
SPEAKER_02: When you left, the parents were in tears, some of the kids were saying it was the best day ever.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, for for a young musician like that to get to not only perform Warp Tour, but we really gave them a an all-access view, you know, behind the scenes, showing them what it takes to run a production like that, interview or introduce them to Kevin Lyman.
10:01
SPEAKER_02: What's your history with Warp Tour?
10:03
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, it goes way back, but you were young when you started performing at Warp Tour, what do you think that impact had on these, you know, future generation musicians?
10:12
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I I have no idea what the impact it had.
10:14
SPEAKER_03: I didn't even know if they really I at first I didn't know if they knew the song or if they actually wanted to play with me.
10:20
SPEAKER_03: Like I had no idea what was going on.
10:22
SPEAKER_03: So um I you know, I've to go back to like where I started with Warp Tour, I started as a fan at the very beginning of when Warp Tour first started started out.
10:33
SPEAKER_03: So I was going to the Warp Tours every year, and the very first time I went there, that was the day we started Sum 41 because it was all the music I was already listening to, but I wanted to be able to be in a band that played that kind of music to be on the Warp Tour one day.
10:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
10:49
SPEAKER_03: And uh, you know, cut to about three, four years later, uh, we ended up doing the first our first warp tour in like 99 or 2000, something like that.
10:58
SPEAKER_03: 99.
10:59
SPEAKER_03: And uh, you know, we started out just like on small, like it was like the tiki tent, which is basically the same size stage that we did the loyalist craft thing on, and we did uh like weeks and weeks the warp tour on the tiki tent stage, and then you graduated and went up and up.
11:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and we've done it so many times.
11:18
SPEAKER_03: I have no idea how many times at this point.
11:20
SPEAKER_03: And and of course, when I was launching Walking Disaster, my clothing line, I was like, where can I start this?
11:24
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna bring it back to Warp Tour.
11:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
11:27
SPEAKER_02: It's an unbelievable foundation for young musicians to either get bit by the bug of wanting to be in a band or be in the music industry.
11:34
SPEAKER_02: And that's our whole mission is giving that platform for the youth to be able to perform, be inspired, and motivate to chase their dreams.
11:41
SPEAKER_02: And you stopping by was definitely a highlight of the year for us.
11:44
SPEAKER_02: And I definitely know the School of Rock students as well.
11:47
SPEAKER_02: Before we go, could you just give me, you know, you posted recently about your new clothing brand, Walking Disaster, and how it's difficult?
11:55
SPEAKER_02: You're starting a new brand.
11:56
SPEAKER_02: And I think what you just said of, you know, Sum 41 starting on the small stage and working your way up and growing and learning from the mistakes and the challenges, what's it been like for you starting this brand now?
12:09
SPEAKER_02: And especially for the youth, what do they need to hear when they start to embark on in a new endeavor, chasing their dreams, whether it's being a musician, creating a brand, starting a band, what do you think that they need to hear from your recent experience?
12:22
SPEAKER_03: No matter what you're trying to do, you will always face a lot of resistance with whatever it is.
12:28
SPEAKER_03: There's always obstacles, there's always hurdles.
12:30
SPEAKER_03: It nothing's easy.
12:31
SPEAKER_03: There's there is not a lot of just, you know, you just do something and luckily you just make it.
12:36
SPEAKER_03: There isn't it's there's not a lot of luck out there.
12:39
SPEAKER_03: I mean, there are moments of luck, but like what luck really is, is like you're out there grinding and doing stuff so much like where the opportunity meets uh the moment, right?
12:50
SPEAKER_03: There's like there is an opportunity and it meets your preparation, but you have to be out there working, doing stuff to get lucky.
12:57
SPEAKER_03: Um, but you will always just face a lot of resistance and things are hard, and you just always have to figure out how to how to get around it.
13:05
SPEAKER_03: And that's sort of where I'm at with the walking disaster stuff.
13:07
SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of obstacles, a lot of hurdles, things are very difficult, even though it's doing well as a very as an early startup thing, it's really difficult.
13:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, I think that's important for kids to hear because especially nowadays, social media recognition seems like the highlight reel happens overnight.
13:24
SPEAKER_02: And in my experience in the music industry, especially, you don't want that overnight success.
13:29
SPEAKER_02: You want to experience those obstacles so that you're right.
13:32
SPEAKER_02: When you have the preparation of falling, getting back up, learning, and repeating, when you get lucky, quote unquote, and that opportunity presents itself to you because you're in the right place, because you're out there hustling, you're prepared for it, you can take advantage.
13:46
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
13:47
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think the biggest thing that people need to realize is like you need to be able, you need to be able to build the resilience to hear no a lot.
13:56
SPEAKER_03: And know that no doesn't mean anything.
13:58
SPEAKER_03: It just means, okay, we'll try again, we try another way, try another, try again.
14:02
SPEAKER_03: Um, if you can be comfortable with being told no all the time and still going, then that that's the that's a better gauge of someone who's gonna be successful.
14:12
SPEAKER_03: And you're gonna want to quit.
14:14
SPEAKER_03: You're gonna you're gonna tell yourself all the time, like I do this now.
14:17
SPEAKER_03: I'm like, maybe this isn't for me.
14:19
SPEAKER_03: Maybe this is something that like I should leave to other people.
14:22
SPEAKER_03: And then I go, no, I'm not gonna quit, because I only fail if I quit.
14:25
SPEAKER_03: So I'm gonna try to figure this out.
14:27
SPEAKER_03: You will all no matter how successful, how long you've been doing things, you will always be faced with is this really what I should be doing?
14:34
SPEAKER_03: Am I really cut out for this?
14:36
SPEAKER_03: Like, those are natural thoughts that every human has, no matter how long they've been doing something.
14:42
SPEAKER_03: So to just know that, like to be comfortable with that and just keep pushing through.
14:47
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
14:48
SPEAKER_02: And I think it's important to say too, on top of that, finding something you're passionate about, like music, like creative arts, and in that world, it's easy to push through when you're passionate.
14:58
SPEAKER_02: If you're not passionate about what you're doing, right, it's difficult to push through those obstacles and that kind of that resistance that you face.
15:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
15:05
SPEAKER_03: I mean, there is like you have to be realistic in certain things, right?
15:09
SPEAKER_03: Like, I'm not gonna try to get into the NBA right now.
15:12
SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, no matter how much I would love to do it.
15:15
SPEAKER_03: Like it's not gonna work, it's not gonna happen.
15:17
SPEAKER_03: So you have to be realistic about certain things, and yes, you do have to want to do something for the for real reasons, right?
15:25
SPEAKER_03: Like it's one thing to say, well, I just I just want to be really rich or something.
15:33
SPEAKER_03: It's like, well, you know, you gotta find something that you actually care about doing first and then find a way to make the finances work.
15:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, 100%.
15:41
SPEAKER_02: Well, I can say again, you know, with confidence, you definitely changed the the journey for a lot of young musicians last summer when you came and surprised them.
15:50
SPEAKER_02: And the cool thing that I like to see with with what we do at Loyal to the Craft is the relationship between the parent and the student.
15:57
SPEAKER_02: I've witnessed it time and time again where the parent is sending their kids to a music school, giving them the gear, which is a huge, a huge tip of the hat to the parents for supporting their kids in music.
16:07
SPEAKER_02: But when a moment like that happens, like what you did, and we can bridge that gap from, you know, influential musician, rock star that's doing the thing and has a has a career in music, and you come down to that level and you're interacting with the students, the parents, it's like a light switch goes off where they literally go, Wow, my kid can actually do this too.
16:29
SPEAKER_02: It makes it so real for them.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: And that's one of my favorite things I've loved watching every time we do a Loyal to the Craft event is the parents become even more confident and even more supportive of their kids.
16:40
SPEAKER_02: So for all of that, you know, again, thank you.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: We we sincerely appreciate it.
16:44
SPEAKER_02: And uh I know a lot of people enjoyed watching you sing with those students on that stage that day.
16:49
SPEAKER_03: I mean, honestly, it was like it was a gift for me.
16:51
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I just felt like I didn't know if they were actually gonna want to perform with me.
16:55
SPEAKER_03: Um, and it was so much fun for me, and it the band was so great that it felt great on stage to actually be playing with those guys.
17:04
SPEAKER_03: So uh it was just it was really good.
17:07
SPEAKER_03: The whole thing was great.
17:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, that's a great point.
17:09
SPEAKER_02: Shout out Orlando School of Rock because that did it legitimately happened on a whim.
17:15
SPEAKER_02: I didn't even know you were coming.
17:16
SPEAKER_02: All of a sudden I saw a few security guards and Dana was with you, and then there you were.
17:21
SPEAKER_02: And the kids were literally about to be done performing for the day.
17:24
SPEAKER_02: So the universe works in uh magical ways, and and everything worked out perfectly in that moment.
17:29
SPEAKER_02: So they surely did want to want to perform if you and again, literally, there were there were tears of happiness and and newfound confidence after uh after that performance.
17:38
SPEAKER_02: So it was amazing.
17:39
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
17:40
SPEAKER_02: I look to hear that.
17:41
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
17:41
SPEAKER_02: Well, Derek, thanks so much for taking some time and and uh hanging out here, and uh best of luck with the new clothing brand, and everybody go check out Walking Disaster and uh give them a follow and support Derek's new brand.
17:52
SPEAKER_02: Thanks, man.
17:53
SPEAKER_02: Cool.
17:53
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
17:54
SPEAKER_02: We're here with Kevin Lyman, founder of the Vans Warp Tour, and talking about bringing School of Rock, the next generation of rock stars, into the Warp Tour to perform, interact with bands that are playing on the main stages, and really just be inspired and motivate to chase their dreams.
18:09
SPEAKER_02: Kevin, thank you so much for joining us and for the opportunity of bringing these kids in.
18:15
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me, Mike.
18:16
SPEAKER_02: What was it like last year coming back, bringing the Vans Warp Tour back after a few years and, you know, loyal to the craft, bringing in these School of Rock students?
18:25
SPEAKER_02: We worked with the Insomniac team.
18:27
SPEAKER_02: They really welcomed us in and helped us figure out all the, you know, crossing the T's and dotting the I's to make it happen.
18:33
SPEAKER_02: What was the importance for you guys to have the, you know, the next generation students come in and get this opportunity?
18:39
SPEAKER_04: Well, you know, warp's always been about what happens between the stages, you know, and and coming back, I was a little nervous, like, oh wow, we're gonna have these bigger stages, we're gonna have video, we're gonna have lights, a lot of great festivals.
18:50
SPEAKER_04: And most, you know, festivals have that kind of production, which, you know, warped, we always had to move so quickly, so we didn't have that.
18:56
SPEAKER_04: But what people really, I think, look for is what happens between the stages and those little surprises here or there.
19:03
SPEAKER_04: And, you know, it's whether you're gonna go to a merch booth and there's the singer of the band sitting there signing an autograph or saying hello.
19:09
SPEAKER_04: But for me, it was a couple moments that warned on, is is right before doors when I met the students there, where you were getting them set up and everything, and them getting a witness like, oh wow, this is I'm playing music and this is somewhere I potentially can end up, you know.
19:24
SPEAKER_04: And they weren't that far away from it.
19:26
SPEAKER_04: You know, there's there's artists up on those stages that were just a few years older than them.
19:30
SPEAKER_04: And then, you know, I speak of big surprises when when Derek from uh Sum 41 kind of jumped in and sang some songs with them.
19:39
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that had to be a thrill for them.
19:41
SPEAKER_04: And the fans, I mean, the fans didn't expect that.
19:44
SPEAKER_04: And that's what warp tour is about.
19:45
SPEAKER_04: You're gonna come in and you might see a motorcyc jump, jump, do a backflip, or you might meet those band members, or all of a sudden you walk up and one of your heroes is standing on the pavement singing a song with a bunch of young artists and musicians.
19:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love it.
19:59
SPEAKER_02: And that's what drew me into that world.
20:00
SPEAKER_02: And I, you know, I just we had Stacey Ryan, the president of School of Rock, on talking about this and the importance for the students to be able to see the other side of the music industry.
20:10
SPEAKER_02: And I'm so passionate about it because going to the warp tour in my early teens, everything you just said, but also I witnessed you and Steve Van Doren, you know, making food and making sure people had water and everything was taken care of on the back-end logistics side, these kids are getting access to that and witnessing that to also see not only can I have a sustainable career path playing music, but there are jobs and actual careers that I can have running the logistics, being a tour manager, putting on festivals and being part of that big team that it takes to make the show go on.
20:44
SPEAKER_02: And so for us to be a part of that and give these students that access really meant a lot.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: And we can't thank you enough for letting us come in and, you know, creating the Vans Warp Tour.
20:53
SPEAKER_02: It gave me a home and it gave so many people around the world a community to be a part of.
20:57
SPEAKER_04: Well, thank you so much, Mike.
20:58
SPEAKER_04: It's been great watching your career progress through the years, too, and and uh you going down this path of kind of uh wanting to show that and usher in the next generation of musicians and artists.
21:08
SPEAKER_04: And, you know, it's kind of like why we do all our backstage tours of the production side for another set of students and kids.
21:14
SPEAKER_04: We want to inspire uh people with uh to come in and uh maybe do it a little way, a little bit like uh we did all this time, a little bit more like a big community working together.
21:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
21:23
SPEAKER_02: And the other thing I love too is, you know, obviously we've got chaperones, whether they're parents or the teachers or the franchise owners of School of Rock, them coming in, the parent-kid connection that we see curated during the day and especially after the weekend is over.
21:38
SPEAKER_02: We've seen parents in tears watching their kids perform on the stage, whether there's a hundred people or there were times we had a thousand people crowded around our tent.
21:47
SPEAKER_02: And the parent watching their kids shine and grow the confidence that they did just in a weekend, giving that opportunity to perform.
21:55
SPEAKER_02: You can't, you know, that that is something so special.
21:58
SPEAKER_02: I can't even put into words how proud.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: We are to be able to help facilitate that and watch that nurture and have the parent watch the kid actually see that there's a sustainable career path in music.
22:09
SPEAKER_02: A lot of parents, and it and it takes that.
22:10
SPEAKER_02: A lot of the bands performing Warp Tour had supportive parents or a supportive community that helped nurture them into that world.
22:17
SPEAKER_02: It doesn't just happen.
22:19
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of business and there's a lot of things that happen behind the scenes to get to that point.
22:23
SPEAKER_02: And so for us to be a small part of that, showing the parents that this is a real career and they really do have a shot at this is really, really special.
22:32
SPEAKER_04: Well, good.
22:32
SPEAKER_04: I'm glad there were tears for that reason.
22:34
SPEAKER_04: I thought their tears were because their feet hurt so much from walking so much all weekend, you know.
22:38
SPEAKER_02: They were true.
22:39
SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah.
22:40
SPEAKER_04: No, yeah, it it's great to see the parents.
22:42
SPEAKER_04: And so many of those parents had come to Warp Tour at some point, a lot of them.
22:47
SPEAKER_02: Hearing the nostalgic, you know, stories of seeing some 41 perform, especially when Derek came by, the parents were just in awe, I think, and in emotional because yeah, at the end of the day, they were exhausted and maybe, maybe hungry, dehydrated, tired, and definitely sunburned.
23:01
SPEAKER_02: But the energy was probably higher than it was at the beginning of the day when they weren't those things because of those opportunities.
23:07
SPEAKER_02: And again, we can't thank you enough.
23:09
SPEAKER_02: And we're just so excited to be back this year and do it all again.
23:12
SPEAKER_04: Great.
23:13
SPEAKER_04: We look forward to seeing you out in all those parking lots with all those uh great new uh musicians out there.
23:18
SPEAKER_02: Heck yeah.
23:19
SPEAKER_02: Well, Kevin, what what's one of the things that you're most excited about this year's warp tour that we can be looking forward to?
23:24
SPEAKER_04: A lot of it's you know, just for me, it's always about those new artists, those new bands.
23:27
SPEAKER_04: And, you know, for me, it's now getting the ticket international again, Mexico City and Montreal.
23:33
SPEAKER_04: It's nice to tie it all and tie it all together and just be out there, just seeing seeing new people get turned on music and and live events uh is really what it's all about.
23:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, amazing.
23:43
SPEAKER_02: Well, Kevin, thank you again for all the years of support and friendship and mentorship that you've given me, and now the opportunity for Loyal to the Craft to pass that on to the School of Rock students and the next generation of uh musicians.
23:54
SPEAKER_02: We really appreciate it.
23:55
SPEAKER_04: All right, great, Mike.
23:56
SPEAKER_04: I look forward to seeing you out there.
23:57
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for see you soon.
23:59
SPEAKER_02: Yo, what's up?
23:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm Mike, and for the past 25 years, I've been building a career in music.
24:03
SPEAKER_02: So I know for a fact it is possible to chase your dreams in the music industry.
24:07
SPEAKER_02: And we're not gatekeeping any knowledge, we're sharing everything that we know and we're bringing artists together to create a community so that you can learn from their mistakes and their triumphs.
24:28
SPEAKER_02: See you guys out there.
24:29
SPEAKER_02: All right, we've got Stacy Ryan, president of School of Rock here with us.
24:33
SPEAKER_02: Welcome, Stacy.
24:34
SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for joining.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: Excited to chat.
24:38
SPEAKER_02: Tell me about the mission of School of Rock and what the importance is to have a community and more than a music school for these young rock stars.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it means so much.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh, like you said, it's it's more than a music school.
24:53
SPEAKER_00: And um, having been with this organization since a hundred schools, and we just hit our 450th school today in our 19th country with 80,000 students across the world.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: It's it's so much more than just music education.
25:10
SPEAKER_00: It's giving the kids a place to belong, to be their authentic selves, to create connections and friendships and feel a sense of belonging and to do it in the coolest way possible.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's just, you know, school rock is incredibly special to so many people.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: There's so many stories of it changing lives, of it saving lives, and I've been honored to see that firsthand.
25:39
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
25:39
SPEAKER_02: When we threw the idea to you guys about getting involved in the Vans Warp Tour last year, 2025, when they came back for their anniversary, you know, after 30 years of the Vans Warp Tour, that was for me something so special because I found community and I found belonging at that music festival 20 some odd years ago when I was a young teenager.
26:00
SPEAKER_02: And so to have the opportunity for Loyal to the Craft to come in with this real DIY stage and keynote QA workshop kind of area and have the musicians that are playing the main stage come and interact with the students, but also have a little stage where the students can come and perform and show off all of the things that they've worked so hard at building their craft.
26:26
SPEAKER_02: Yes, playing music is a big part of that, but learning how to interact with the crowd and interact with each other and transition on and off the stage so the other band can come in and perform and have the parents see their kids perform and have that confidence in that in that spotlight.
26:44
SPEAKER_02: You guys were ready to go and just ready to support and ready to be a part of it.
26:49
SPEAKER_02: What's it been like for you all watching that happen and now being our in our second year of making this happen for the School of Rock community around the country?
26:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, just incredible.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: We're so incredibly grateful to Loyal to the Craft and the opportunity that our kids get to participate in this just epic, iconic event that happens.
27:09
SPEAKER_00: And for the students who got to go and perform and be a part of it, they are still a year later talking about it and just the life-changing impact that it had and the energy and the people and the artists coming to engage with them and the whole experience.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: This is what our kids work towards to be able to take epic stages and get on them and perform with confidence and with pride and with their friends that they created in that band through months of rehearsals together in preparation for much smaller shows.
27:50
SPEAKER_00: And then when these big shows and these opportunities come up, they just they kick into gear and they know how to do it and they know how to support each other, and they know most importantly, how to do it as good humans to perform with humility, to help each other problem solve, to you know, be humble in a moment where maybe it's like, hey guys, I gotta cut five minutes from your set list, and understanding that that is the way the business goes.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, okay, no problem, like we'll figure it out, and huddling together and problem solving, deciding which song to cut.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm I'm always so proud and humbled by our students when I watch them because one, they're way cooler than I ever was at their age, um, but their level of maturity on how to handle those situations.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: And I always tell people, like, yes, they're kids, but they will be professionals, I promise you.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: And seeing them deliver on that promise and just have this life memory unlock moment was just speechless.
29:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love it.
29:03
SPEAKER_02: And that and that's so important to talk about too, right?
29:05
SPEAKER_02: Where like there's so much more to the music industry than just the performance side of it.
29:09
SPEAKER_02: And when I was younger, as I mentioned, I kind of found my tribe and found where I wanted to be in the van's warp tour and watching Kevin Lyman run the warp tour and making sure the staff had water and making sure that everybody that was, you know, a fan of the music and watching the bands was taken care of.
29:26
SPEAKER_02: I would just watch him do circles around the parking lot all day, every day, every single summer.
29:32
SPEAKER_02: And that always inspired me to go, okay, there's so much more to this than just the performance.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: There's the backstage and the back of house and all these things.
29:40
SPEAKER_02: And it doesn't always go perfect.
29:41
SPEAKER_02: We're literally, you're loading in at 6 a.m.
29:44
SPEAKER_02: and you're literally in a parking lot out in the sun or the rain all day long in the School of Rock community, parents and teachers included, and franchise owners who are a part of this, you know, collective that we're that we're working on together here, getting them into the warp tour.
29:58
SPEAKER_02: We're meeting at a destination that isn't predetermined because we don't know where we're gonna meet.
30:02
SPEAKER_02: We're walking through security together, 60 of us, with all the other, you know, 85,000 fans.
30:08
SPEAKER_02: And it really is a special thing to watch these, these, I say kids, but these these young adults that are so inspired and excited to go perform and be a part of this, have that respect and that level of understanding of like, okay, this is a big deal, and I'm not gonna, I'm I'm gonna enjoy this and I'm gonna make sure that I take a mental picture, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna treat this with the respect that it kind of deserves and also encourage each other and give the high fives and lift each other up so that when those epic moments, like Derek from Sum 41 walking by, literally with one song left and the day's almost over and they're sunburned and they're exhausted, they're gonna be able to rile it up and get the energy to perform and make that happen.
30:50
SPEAKER_02: And it's been so incredible for us to witness and be a part of.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: I mean, loyal to the crap, you have been an absolute incredible partner for School of Rock for many years.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: And that's that's the magic of it.
31:04
SPEAKER_00: When we find partners like you who see our students for more than just kids playing instruments, for see them for who they truly are, who they're becoming, who they're working towards, and what they represent, and helping us really unlock their full potential.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: These are skills, these are moments that our students carry with them for the rest of their lives.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: They're they're learning opportunities, their growth opportunities.
31:30
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just so proud to be able to partner with you and loyal to the craft and be able to bring this experience, you know, for our students for hopefully many years to come.
31:40
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
31:41
SPEAKER_02: Well, I appreciate it.
31:42
SPEAKER_02: We appreciate it so much, and definitely many years of great endeavors and and opportunities to come.
31:49
SPEAKER_02: My favorite, one of my favorite moments last year was in Orlando, Florida.
31:53
SPEAKER_02: There was a young rocker with a really bright blue mohawk, and you could tell he had just dyed it.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: And I asked him and his parents, I was like, hey, like, is this the normal hairdo, or did you do it for Warp Tour?
32:04
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, who's your favorite band here?
32:06
SPEAKER_02: And literally, you know, School of Rock teaches incredible music.
32:10
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of, you know, the the oldies music and the the staples that you need to know and you need to learn.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: But what this opportunity at the Vans Warp Tour does, and it hit me so hard last year, is the the kid's parents said he had never heard of any of these bands.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: So not only did he learn how to perform and play most of the songs which were catered to the Vans Warp Tour crowd to get the energy going and have the people passing by stop and watch the them perform.
32:36
SPEAKER_02: But he not only learned and did all that, but he found some of his new favorite music.
32:41
SPEAKER_02: He was like, Man, I went down the rabbit hole, Sum 41, The Offspring, all of these bands, all-time low, all these bands that are playing Warp Tour, I now love.
32:50
SPEAKER_02: And we're almost, we're exposing them to all this new music.
32:53
SPEAKER_02: And so the best thing to keep them on this track of playing is to keep them inspired.
32:58
SPEAKER_02: And for them to go down that rabbit hole and have parents and a supportive community like School of Rock that allows them to do that.
33:05
SPEAKER_02: That just blew me away because I didn't have that as a kid.
33:08
SPEAKER_02: I had to really hunt and find the music that I wanted to.
33:11
SPEAKER_02: And for them to be exposed to this and have it be embedded at such a level that it is because of School of Rock and the Vans Warp Tour, for me, that was the biggest win of the summer for sure.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting, you know, we we recently did a social impact study and, you know, through a third party and discovered when we say more than a music school, we say it with data.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: We know that 80.6% of parents report their child is happier since joining school of rock.
33:38
SPEAKER_00: Um, we know that, you know, 96% of parents reports report increased levels of confidence since their child joining school of rock.
33:46
SPEAKER_00: One thing we didn't realize is parents reported in the 90s percent of um improved relationships with their child because their child is learning this music that is nostalgic to the parent and their childhood and memory unlocks for them.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: And like you said, they don't know about these bands.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: And then at school of rock, we teach it to them.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we teach them about the band and we teach them the music, and then they unlock these new favorite bands that they had never heard of before that maybe wouldn't have heard of, and all of a sudden they're getting in the car with their parent and saying, you know, can can you put some 41 on?
34:23
SPEAKER_00: I want to listen to that album.
34:25
SPEAKER_00: And the parents, like, what?
34:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, like you know who they are.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: Like, tell me about it, you know.
34:29
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, oh, you know, school of rock, we're learning about it.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: So it's really special to see how the parents feel and the memory unlocks that they have and the feeling unlocks.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: We all know music just gives you that feeling that they have watching their child perform this music that just has all these, you know, foundational memories for them too.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's it's really great.
34:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and my my other favorite is that talking, watching the parents and talking to them after seeing their kid perform and having them be taken aback going, like, I knew my child was good at music and I knew that they had what it takes, but to see their confidence level go from here to here just by playing on this stage, whether there was 50 people or sometimes there was literally a thousand people crowding the tent because the band was just crushing it so much.
35:22
SPEAKER_02: And the parent just seeing their kid in a different light and also understanding okay, this world of the van's warp tour in the in the behind the scenes of the music industry, there's actually a sustainable career path that my kid can be on.
35:36
SPEAKER_02: And thanks to School of Rock and Loyal to the Craft and the Warp Tour team for letting us come and be a part of this, I'm seeing it firsthand, which is so incredible because it's not something that you typically you know get to see firsthand.
35:49
SPEAKER_02: And so the unlock of the parent-student or the parent-child relationship uh is is so special.
35:56
SPEAKER_02: And I've seen it every time we've done an event with School of Rock, and it is one of my favorite things to witness.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it never gets old.
36:03
SPEAKER_02: For sure.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: We're 11 years in, it never gets old.
36:06
SPEAKER_02: So awesome.
36:07
SPEAKER_02: Well, Stacy, thank you so much for taking the time to come and tell us more about School of Rock and talk about this.
36:12
SPEAKER_02: We cannot wait to kick off 2026 Vans Warp Tour and bring School of Rock back in to perform.
36:17
SPEAKER_02: We know they're gonna crush it, and we know they're gonna bring the energy, and uh it's gonna be another great year.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Yep, another great year.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: They're ready.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: They are ready.
36:25
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
36:26
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Stacey.
36:27
SPEAKER_02: Hope you have a great rest of your day.
36:29
SPEAKER_02: All right, so I'm here with Frank Zumo, good friend of mine and an ambassador of Loyal to the Craft, motivating, inspiring the youth to chase their dreams and music to have a career just like him.
36:39
SPEAKER_02: We've got some awesome stuff happening this year at the Vans Warp Tour, something that I know is special for you as well.
36:44
SPEAKER_02: Finding your community, just the vibe and the energy from the bands to Kevin Lyman and Steve Van Dorn and the work ethic it takes to make that happen.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: Talk to me about Vans Warp Tour.
36:56
SPEAKER_02: What are your favorite memories and what do you think of the School of Rock kids coming in and having the chance to actually perform and interact with the musicians playing?
37:04
SPEAKER_01: Warp Tour was the first festival I ever went to in my life in Long Island, New York, in the arena parking lot.
37:09
SPEAKER_01: Didn't even know it was a festival.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: I was just going to see sick of it all.
37:13
SPEAKER_01: Went there and mind-blown, seeing multiple stages, action sports, like all of this stuff in one place.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: Then obviously knew about it for all the years.
37:24
SPEAKER_01: And when I started Street Drum Corps, like that was our vision board to get on the warp tour.
37:30
SPEAKER_01: Kevin Lyman found out about us on his own.
37:34
SPEAKER_01: Somebody shared some a video or something.
37:37
SPEAKER_01: He invited us to come on the West Coast um run, but he didn't have a stage for us.
37:43
SPEAKER_01: He's like, You can come on it, I'll put you in you know vendor village, but you gotta bring your own stage sound.
37:48
SPEAKER_01: We grinded.
37:49
SPEAKER_01: We got a million sponsors to donate 10 bucks to 100 bucks to make it happen.
37:53
SPEAKER_01: We got in a van trailer.
37:55
SPEAKER_01: And on that tour, because of the hard work we put in, he started a record label.
37:59
SPEAKER_01: He gave us our first record deal.
38:01
SPEAKER_01: It was my first record deal ever in my life.
38:04
SPEAKER_01: And then years and years later, I got in Sum 41, and my first American tour with Sum 41 was the Warp Tour.
38:11
SPEAKER_01: So Kevin, first night he's standing behind me playing, and I get upstage and he goes, That's exactly what it's about.
38:18
SPEAKER_01: You went from building your own stage to now headlining the main stage.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: So he just called me and said, You put out your book, Kevin's in my book.
38:27
SPEAKER_01: There's a whole chapter about Warp Tour.
38:29
SPEAKER_01: He's like, Why don't you come out and work with Mike, school of rock kids, and I'm like, This is the most epic homecoming to now be there to inspire, jam with kids, to do whatever Vans, whoever anybody, I'm gonna just go embrace it for two whole days and be at the Warp Tour and have some surprises up my sleeve uh to make it even more epic.
38:54
SPEAKER_01: It's actually where we met too.
38:55
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we did.
38:56
SPEAKER_02: The Vans Warp Tour for me was all about networking and being inspired, and I would see Steve Van Doren flipping burgers and you know, handing out food to people in the crowd, not backstage.
39:06
SPEAKER_02: I would see Kevin walking through the crowd, making sure kids were good, making sure the crews were good.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: And I was always inspired in going backstage, meeting people, meeting the techs, meeting the managers, and I hit you up on Facebook, you know, like, hey man, I'd love to make you drums one day.
39:20
SPEAKER_02: Let's just meet up.
39:21
SPEAKER_02: And you came through Massachusetts on Warp Tour and we met, talk backstage.
39:25
SPEAKER_02: It's just a melting pot of different people and communities and energies all coming together, and you just leave inspired.
39:32
SPEAKER_02: You leave sweaty and sunburned, but you leave inspired to be a part of that music industry in the scene, and being a part of that is such a big thing.
39:39
SPEAKER_02: And so for us to bring the School of Rock kids into play and interact with artists like yourselves, I don't think there's anything cooler.
39:45
SPEAKER_01: No, we're giving these kids, we didn't have these opportunities, so we're giving these kids these opportunities, and that's what it's all about like giving back, giving them this place to launch their career, inspire them.
40:00
SPEAKER_01: It's amazing.
40:01
SPEAKER_01: You know, I would have killed to have an opportunity like this as a child.
40:05
SPEAKER_01: So it's like that's why I do this stuff because no one else is doing it, no one gave me these opportunities, so it's like it's a mission.
40:12
SPEAKER_01: We're so aligned on that.
40:14
SPEAKER_01: And to see what Warp Tour now is, it's like back as a massive festival.
40:19
SPEAKER_01: Bands with full production, like it's as big as any other festival now, you know, from this little punk rock festival to what it is now.
40:28
SPEAKER_02: And it's not easy work.
40:30
SPEAKER_02: You're on the road, days off are pretty sacred when you're playing six, seven nights in a row, given it all.
40:37
SPEAKER_02: But you on every off day, even on show days, you're trying to find opportunities to go interact with the School of Rock community and inspire and motivate.
40:45
SPEAKER_02: And it's so special, and we just can't wait.
40:48
SPEAKER_02: Orlando, November.
40:49
SPEAKER_02: Frank Zumo is gonna be at the Loyal to the Craft Tent.
40:52
SPEAKER_02: And like you said, there's some stuff up the sleeves that we're working on and gonna make happen in November.
40:56
SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be here before we know it, we're weeks away from the first warp tour of 2026.
41:00
SPEAKER_02: So exciting times, this that's for sure.
41:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, this is red.
41:03
SPEAKER_02: All right, Adobe Radio, thank you so much for joining us this week.
41:06
SPEAKER_02: If you're heading to the Vans Warp Tour, come say what's up, find us.
41:10
SPEAKER_02: We'll be in Vendor Village, big, bright pink, loyal to the craft flags, all over, and you'll see the School of Rock, next generation rock stars performing, crushing it.
41:19
SPEAKER_02: Come say what's up, grab a photo, give us a high five, fuel the habit, grab a t-shirt or a hat or two.
41:26
SPEAKER_02: Support local music and independent music.
41:28
SPEAKER_02: Special thanks, Kevin Lyman, the entire Vans Warp Tour team for allowing us to come in and do this.
41:34
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Kevin Lyman, Stacy, Derek, and Frank Zumo for being a part of this.
41:39
SPEAKER_02: Again, high fives and shout outs to our great partners, DistroKid, for supporting independent musicians, Nick Gross and the entire Gross Labs Foundation for allowing this to happen.
41:48
SPEAKER_02: And shout out TriWorks Media for helping put this on and capture all the amazing, all the amazing magic and content through the weekend.
41:56
SPEAKER_02: And uh don't forget also, Patrick Galanti's stage managing.
41:59
SPEAKER_02: So give him a high five as well.
42:01
SPEAKER_02: And we're giving away snare drums at every single warp tour.
42:04
SPEAKER_02: So stop by, fuel the habit, sign up, and support local music.
42:07
SPEAKER_02: We'll see you guys out there.