A Day to Remember Give Advice to Smaller Bands on Warped Tour

Four years ago, A Day to Remember won the Warped Tour's Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands, and it exactly didn't live up to the post-hardcore act's name.

"We were playing the local stage one day in Tampa, and it was the worst thing in the entire world," bassist Joshua Woodard told Noisecreep. "It was so bad. I remember someone's guitar not working and strings breaking. We were not prepared to play something like that at all. It was funny to look back and remember that stuff."

But things are better these days for the Ocala, Fla.-based outfit. Starring on this year's Warped Tour couldn't be any easier for A Day to Remember, which also includes vocalist Jeremy McKinnon, rhythm guitarist Neil Westfall, vocalist/guitarist Kevin Skaff and drummer/percussionist Alex Shelnutt.

"In our free time, we just watch other bands, hang out with other bands we've known in the past or that we've met on the tour," Woodard said. "We're lounging around. It's kind of an easy tour to be a part of. You play, and the rest of the time you hang out. You do that for two months. It's a great summer tour to be a part of."

So, besides staying cool in the summer heat, what advice would Woodard give fledging Warped Tour bands?

"You need to have your merch stuff all figured out," Woodard said. "Running out of merch on the Warped Tour is the worst thing that can happen. It's a lot of kids, and they have a lot of money and they just want to buy stuff. They want to be able to buy as much crap as possible. If you run out of merch, you are shooting yourself in the foot.

"Your set needs to be tight," he added. "You have to be as prepared as possible, musically. And be ready to sweat. Be ready to get really, really hot. Be ready to get burned, at the cost of being with fans. Your market that you want to play to is dumped into one area. You don't really have to fight for it. They're there. You just have to go get it. New bands that work the hardest are the ones who come out on top next year."