In 1995, promoter Kevin Lyman launched The Warped Tour. The first year's lineup was an eclectic mix of bands from the 90s (including No Doubt and Sublime). In subsequent years, it gained a reputation as a punk rock festival, though the lineups always remained diverse. And ska was always a component, even during the 2000s and 2010s. Some years, Lyman booked a bunch of ska bands. 1998 included The Specials, Hepcat, Pietasters, Skavoovie and the Epitones, and more.

On today's episode, we talk to Lyman about his ska roots and discuss how important ska was to The Warped Tour. We talk about the time in the 80s he toured with The Untouchables, and we discuss how he booked Fishbone in the early 80s at rented halls. We also talk about some of the lesser-known ska bands that played the festival in the 2000s, like Oreskaband, Go Jimmy Go, Westbound Train, Stacked Like Pancakes and Sonic Boom Six.

We also talk about Warped Tour's most attended year, 2005, when Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance played as they were exploding on MTV. He tells us about the BBQ bands, and he reveals whether he knowingly allowed Jeff Rosenstock's old band, ASOB, to sneak on to Warped Tour or if he was blissfully unaware. 

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If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

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