We caught up with While She Sleeps backstage at Warped Tour in Ventura this year where they regaled us with stories from on the road!
LN: WE’RE HERE HANGING WITH WHILE SHE SLEEPS – HOW ARE YOU GUYS DOING?
WSS: Good – feeling great, thank you!
LN: ARE YOU GUYS ENJOYING WARPED TOUR SO FAR?
WSS: Absolutely, really loving it so far. Loving the sun, the shows have been great – just a good time all around really.
LN: SPEAKING OF THE SUN – HOW ARE YOU GUYS ADAPTING TO THIS HEAT SO FAR?
WSS: You know it’s not been too bad just yet. There have been some hot days – but we’ve got like a little merch tent and we’ve been putting on factor 50 everyday, so…
LN: WELL CHILLING IN THE SHADE IS TOTALLY THE WAY FORWARD.
WSS: I had to have a dabber for my forehead one day.
LN: BUT ASIDE FROM THAT…
WSS: Yeah aside from that it’s been great. We went to Australia recently for the first time as well and we were on a festival called Soundwave and we all got really, really badly burnt. We were only on the beach for like 3 or 4 hours but then we were all on our fronts on surfboards and shit, so the sun was just beating down on our backs. We decided best not to make the same mistake again on Warped.
LN: YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN ON A FEW WARPED SHOWS ALREAD – WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST THING THAT’S HAPPENED SO FAR?
WSS: Well – things that we probably can’t say! I guess craziest so far would be our guitarist, Sean (Long) fell asleep, holding on to a door. He was really drunk – it was his birthday actually. So he fell asleep and the door to the bus wouldn’t close and it was his fingers in the door. So someone slammed it on his hand- twice. Dan from Architects, just to name drop. It was weird because we decided to go out at like 10 at night, and the bus leaves at like midnight – so we just fuck it and went to this casino and had loads of shots. I’ve never seen anyone get drunk as quick as that.
LN: I MEAN HEY, SHOTS IS ONE WAY TO GO.
WSS: Yeah that would probably be the craziest so far then.
LN: THERE’S STILL A GRIP OF SHOWS LEFT TO GO, SO THERE’S TIME FOR MORE CRAZINESS!
LN: HOW ARE OUR (USA) FESTS COMPARING TO THE ONES OVER THE POND SO FAR?!
WSS: Well, you get decent weather to start with. The catering here is great. The queues are long – but the food’s great so. In terms of the way people watch the band it’s pretty similar – just the weather really. This is a travelling festival, so you never really know what to expect day-to-day. The bands are always on at different times. It’s a lot longer than anything we’ve ever done before – but the vibe’s kind of the same all in all.
LN: WARPED IS COMING BACK TO THE UK IN NOVEMBER – HOW IMPORTANT IS OT KEEP EXPANDING TO THE UK, AND WHERE ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT GROW?
WSS: I think it’s very important! There’s been one other Warped Tour so far and I think it’s really positive. The Warped line-ups are always really diverse – and diverse line-ups seem to be really working at the moment. I think the message and everything about warped tour is really positive – it’s been going for about 19 years now – so it’s definitely about time other people get to experience what Warped Tour is really about!
LN: WHEN YOU GUYS WERE GROWING UP, DID YOU WISH THAT THERE WAS SOEMTHING LIKE WARPED TOUR FOR YOU GUYS TO GO TO OVER SUMMER?
WSS: Yeah, definitely – I mean it was like Leeds festival for us really – although, I never got to go until I started working the bars and stuff.
LN: YOUR SCHEDULE IS PRETTY JAM-PACKED – DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY DAYS OFF WHILST STATESIDE TO JUST ENJOY IT?
WSS: We had a day off a couple of days back and so we went to a lake and just chilled out a bit. We have another couple of days off in a few days too so we always try and get out a bit. America’s just so different. We’re just loving it.
LN: IF YOU GUYS HAD TO BE STUCK ON A DESERTED ISLAND WITH ONE OTHER BAND FROM THIS YEAR’S WARPED LINE-UP – WHO WOULD IT BE?
WSS: I’d have to say Architects! We’re sharing a bus with them anyways so we’ve kind of grown attached to them.
LN: ANYTHING YOU DUDES HAD TO BRING OVER FROM THE UK SO YOU WOULDN’T GET HOMESICK TOURING THE STATES?
WSS: We brought out skateboards.
LN: AWESOME – THERE’S A HALF PIPE LYING AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE I THINK.
LN: ANY COSING REMARKS FOR FRIENDS AND FANS?
WSS: If you know us, and you’ve seen our shows thanks very much, and if you don’t know the band yet then please come and check us out! Our debut album ‘This is the Six’ is out now and it’s very cheap on itunes!