Protest The Hero have been added to the bill for Uproar Festival in Toronto. The Toronto area locals – from Whitby, ON to be precise – will headline the Jägermeister Stage at the Molson Ampitheatre when Uproar roars into T-dot on Wednesday 14 September.

The 2011 Rockstar Uproar tour features a return for last year’s headliners Avenged Sevenfold, along with main stage artists Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine and Escape The Fate. The Jägermeister Stage bands are Black Tide, Art Of Dying and Hell Or Highwater.

Tickets are available via Live Nation.

Check out Music Vice’s coverage from Uproar 2010 with a review and photos, including shots of Disturbed and AX7.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Internet links:
Protest The Hero
Uproar

A convo with Rody from Protest The Hero shot on December 18, 2008 at the Underground Operations Holiday Ho-Down bash at Sound Academy in Toronto. Rody discusses a few random topics including touring Europe, plans for 2009, the defining music genres of this decade and New Year’s hangover cure advice.

This is the second Music Vice interview with Rody – for the earlier one click here.

(Some iffy camera work but this was recorded on the fly with a cheap digi cam, so no apologies…)

Interview by Music Vice editor Brian Banks – July 25, 2008

Protest The Hero were top of my short-list of bands who I wanted to speak with at Warped 2008. Whilst waiting backstage in the press area, I saw Rody the lead vocalist from Protest approaching. I wasted no time in walking up to him, shaking his hand and getting this interview from the Cheese himself.

You can read the interview below or take the lazy option and listen to it. Or do both if you please.

Hey Rody. So how’s Warped Tour been so far for you guys this year?
Rody – “Humm, it’s been alright. You know, it’s Warped Tour. I’m surprised there’s not some punk rock legendary bands on the tour this year. So I’m a little bit bummed out about that. Other than that we’re starting to really have fun. The first couple of days were just really too hot. We flew out to Toronto from California. It gets hot in Toronto but not California hot.”

The heat’s worse in California than this?
Rody – “Oh fuck dude, I wish I could show you how disgusting it was there. I got a sunburn so bad on my shoulders that it scabbed.”

Something I want to talk to you about is the area that you guys grew up in, in Whitby. I know it quite well…
Rody – “You mean Whitby in the UK?”

No man, Whitby in Canada. So I’m just curious about how you guys grew up in that area – I know a bit about the venues there. Where were you playing?
Rody – “Well when we first started we were like 14 years old… well we were actually like 12 years old and like our ambition was to play The Dungeon. You know The Dungeon I’m talking about?

Yeah, it’s shut down now.
Rody – “Yeah. We played there just a couple of weeks before we left because it was closing down and we wanted to like send it out in a big way. But, uh, our only ambition was to play The Dungeon. That was it. We didn’t have any big dreams and we still don’t have any big dreams. We try to set our goals very small.

That was the only place we ever really played. We played Durham College and Bandwarz. That’s how we got our shit going.”

You wonder how new bands coming from outside that part of Toronto, in the Whitby area, like where are they going to play now? The Dungeon was like a guaranteed gig – just turn up and play.
Rody – “Absouletely… [now] you’ve got to go into Toronto.”

Tell me about your music. I think you’ve got a unique sound right now for a Canadian band. I put you up there with the Cancer Bats as being top 2 and everything else is kinda psssssh [a sound meaning not that good]. No disrespect to the rest of the bands but…
Rody – “No no dude, I agree with you completely. A lot of people in the United States give Canada a lot of credit for being creative. I wasn’t saying that I agree that we’re the most creative band in Canada, but there’s not really that much. People are like ‘oh all the hidden talent coming out of Canada’ – where is it?”

There’s not much. I’ve been here pretty much 2 years, on and off….
Rody – “…yeah. Like the only times I go to shows is when my friends are playing or there’s European bands coming in, or there’s bands from the States coming in. I don’t mean to bash Canada but it gets way too much credit for being a creative market for bands. I hope in the future it can get better.”

So tell me a bit about the music you guys make. What works the engine to come up with the kind of political, social and environmental stances that are in your songs? You’ve got masterclass guitar licks going on, while your singing can go from the ‘eurk’ gut sound up to the high notes, and at the same time you have lyrics.
Rody – “Well our bass player writes all the lyrics. He’s always been very proficient with the English language and all the acrobatics of such. And so it’s very easy for him to write such things. And when it comes to the melodies and singing, it’s always been since we started… (we started as a pop punk band in the 8th grade)… very important for us to have melodies and you know, actual singing. We really go by the belief that technical progressive music doesn’t have to be difficult to listen to.

There are a lot of bands that I love with all my heart but they are kind of hard to listen to because it’s very chaotic. It’s all over the place. It becomes very hard to listen to unless you’re listening for that exact musicianship”

I heard a story, not sure if its true – not from Wikipedia but an almost equally unreliable source. You guys used to hand out lyrics at concerts?
Rody – “For one of the videos we did, a long time ago when we were like 17. We played on the streets of Toronto . We just bought a generator and handed out lyrics to the song because it was a very sort of anti-American sentiment and we wanted people to understand what was going on. ”

So you guys are obviously going places rapidly. What would you say was your big break?
Rody – “Uhmm… the first show at The Dungeon! Uh, I don’t know. When you’re in the middle of something it’s hard to be really objective, you know. I feel like my life hasn’t changed for the last four years. But you know, I’m sure if I could objectively view it, it certainly would. I’d see the climb and I’d see the falls.. It’s difficult to pinpoint a moment when you know the band became the band. “

Let’s talk about Warped Tour again – any highlights, any lowlights?
Rody – “Um… highlights… I’m looking forward to the Gorge. The Gorge in Washington, which is hilarious because of George Washington. It’s just this really beautiful place. You know, like behind the main stage, it just drops off and there’s literally a massive gorge behind it. I’m really looking forward to going there…”

… what about Toronto, for your local fans here?
Rody – “Yeah I’m excited to play here today. The only problem is that we’re playing on a smaller stage today and it feels as though nobody’s taking us very seriously. And now that we’re back in our home fucking town and we’re going to have our audience coming out they refused to bump us up to a stage. So, I’m just worried that people are going to get hurt.”

It seems really weird. Looking across to the press table we see the interview requests – ‘Protest The Hero’, your interview slot is full. And I’ve been talking to the fans. Like, there’s so many fans wearing the Protest shirts coming in. Yet, like you’re saying, you’re playing on a smaller stage…

Rody – “I don’t mind playing the smaller stage. It’s not like an ego thing at all. I’m just worried that first of all people are going to get hurt, and second of all, people that want to see the band aren’t going to be able to see them. They’re going to be off to the side…”

… you don’t want to see it from 500 metres…
Rody – “… yeah. That would be a low point today.”

This interview is for Music Vice – could you tell me some of your Vice’s perhaps?
Rody – “Alcohol, cigarettes… pshhhhh [pause]….. vagina! Those are my three main vices. I typically like to say that everyone needs two legs to stand on – mine are cigarettes and alcohol.”

Gig/Concert: Van’s Warped Tour 2008
Venue: The Flats at Arrow Hall, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Date: 19 July 2008
Headliners: Angels & Airwaves, The Bronx, Pennywise, Protest The Hero, Norma Jean, Katy Perry
In one word: Bronx!

The Warped Tour location for this year’s Toronto date was once again in a less than convenient location – The Flats (fields) at Arrow Hall in Mississauga. Mississauga is an area west of Toronto, and the home of Toronto Pearson international airport. In recent years the Warped locale for the Toronto market has been in Barrie, which is 100k’s north of the city, so at least Mississauga was closer. But still this wasn’t the Toronto city centre location that fans had wanted: Warped had originally been slated to be at Downsview Park this year, which would have meant a less arduous journey for those traveling by public transport, like myself. Maybe next year Warped will actually be in Toronto city proper.

Vans Warped Tour 2008 "Tour Water"

I arrived at just before noon and was greeted by the familiar sight of a huge snake of people lining-up. Thankfully though, I was one of the lucky gits with a press pass, so I was able to smugly walk past the line and get in through the side entrance. I noticed that the vast majority of fans attending Warped this year were teenagers – ok, not a surprise but there was a bigger mix of ages two years ago when I was last at Warped, which perhaps had something to do with the line-up this year. My first stop was to go inside one of the halls on the grounds to find my way to the press area. This building was also the setting of the beer garden, and a rest area that provides refuge for revelers to hide from the elements: first the scorching sun, then the late afternoon two hour downpour of rain.

I made a note of set times and stages for the bands I was most interested in seeing, then made an exit back out into the hot midday sun for a quick charge around the grounds to catch some bands. I had 40 minutes to kill before I’d have to go back indoors to speak with The Bronx who were scheduled for interviews at 1pm. This time passed before I knew it and then I was back inside for over an hour. I waited my turn to speak to Matt Caugthtran the lead singer of The Bronx, then I waited again for Protest The Hero who had a 2pm interview slot. Thankfully I snagged the first interview with Protest frontman Rody Walker, then 10 minutes later I was heading outside and ready to see some bands. I made a beeline for the left-side Main stage where The Bronx were on at 2.30.

The Bronx were immense. It was an intense display from the L.A. hardcore band, spearheaded by the singer Matt whose energy went ripping through the crowd, attacking senses and raising pulses. Yeah, you better not stand still and tap your foot. This is The motherfucking Bronx, so you better throw yourself into it: head first, feet first, whatever. Most the crowd let go of themselves enough to be a part it…. like they even had a choice anyway.

Matt indulged in a little crowd surfing early on, and by the end of their set he was over the barrier again, demanding the crowd circle him and mosh like mothers. Matt was engulfed by the pit that he created, then spat out with volcanic venom, rising up and over his audience. Every song sounded great. “Knifemen”, “Shitty Future”, “Heart Attack American”… all these Bronx ace’s hit home. They were the best band of the day.

“It had been a hot and humid day in Mississauga, but now dark clouds filled the skies and the gods let loose with their giant watering cans. From a distance I saw The Devils Wears Prada lure many kids out of the rain to defy the gods and enjoy their set.”

The next band I saw were TAT, who were playing on the small skate ramp stage. This trio from London, England are fronted by singer and guitarist Tatiana. They got their break on Warped Tour ’06 and have been building a name for themselves by making America their touring home. This was info that I found out afterwards, because before I walked over to see them play I knew nothing about them. It was music that drew me close, then when I saw the hot girl singing and playing guitar I naturally got closer.

TAT are unashamedly named after, and built around, their singer and guitarist Tatiana DeMaria. They played to a very small crowd, perhaps 40 at its peak and that’s probably even being generous. The band reacted to the small crowd with good humour and played a set worthy of a much bigger audience. Songs like Pessimist and I Don’t Want To Love You charge along with a feisty melodic punk bliss, while Road To Paradise has an anthemic quality to it with its slower build-up. Tatiana is more than adept at delivering some decent guitar riffs to accompany her vocals, whilst Nick Kent on bass and drummer Jake Reed complete a line-up that seem destined for bigger things.

After seeing TAT I had to go grab something to eat, because hunger was kicking in. I’d skipped breakfast and not eaten since the day before. I stood in a line for half an hour to get a slice of pizza and a bottle of cola, and shortly after this the weather changed. It had been a hot and humid day in Mississauga, but now dark clouds filled the skies and the gods let loose with their giant watering cans. I ran for cover and stood under the shelter of a doorway entrance, many others did the same, and even more people were inside the main hall. From a distance I saw The Devils Wears Prada lure many kids out of the rain to defy the gods and enjoy their set.

Eventually the rain ceased and I headed out of cover to see and hear some more bands. I caught a few songs from Black Lungs who were on the Union stage. Black Lungs is a side project created by Alexisonfire guitarist Wade MacNeil, and the music is a step away from Alexis’ screamo stylings. The songs are sung clean but with a gritty honesty. “Hold Fast (Sink or Swim) ” is one of Black Lungs strongest songs.

Over on Route 66, one of the main stages, I saw Pennywise. Pennywise have recently released a new album called Reason To Believe on MySpace Records, which I thought was a little ironic given that even just 3 years ago they released an album with a song attacking Fox TV. MySpace is owned by Fox Interactive Media, which is owned by News Corporation, which, you guessed it, owns Fox television. Did anyone say sell-outs?

Pennywise played a mix of old and new material, but unsurprisingly did not play “Fox TV”. I found their new stuff to be boring. Of the older stuff Fuck Authority stood out, which had the crowd singing along and throwing up the middle finger. But again, I found this to be just a little ironic and couldn’t take it seriously. To me it has always been a challenge to listen to Pennywise for any length of time, and soon I found myself walking away to find another band to listen to.

“It was a farce that Katy Perry had a big stage while genuinely talented bands like Protest The Hero and TAT were stuck on the two smallest stages.”

It was at this point that I realised I’d somehow missed Protest The Hero’s set. Their singer Rody had expressed his anger that the Warped organisers had put them on the tiny Ernie Ball stage in Mississauga. Protest were guaranteed a big following for what would be their local date on Warped Tour, as the band come from Whitby which is a suburb town just the other side of Toronto. They are also one of the most talented bands in Canada right now, already firmly established as a major act and on the rise. Sometime during the rainstorm I missed Protest, who had been put on a on a ridiculously small stage round the corner. I consider it an injustice that they were put on such a small stage. These thoughts were amplified when I had the misfortune to catch some of Katy Perry’s set.

Katy Perry had a big stage and a big crowd, and she did not deserve either of them. Perry gave a painful performance, wrought with nervousness, insecurity and a complete lack of any stage presence. She strummed basic chord patterns on an electro-acoustic, while a guy sat to her right did all the monkey work on his guitar. Perry had little control over her instrument, and at times bad feedback rang out, which could have probably been stopped by simply muting the strings with her hand or by lowering the volume controls. However, she seemed oblivious of how to do this herself. Her right-hand man fixed the controls on the guitar for her at one point in-between songs.

Perry has built a following for herself by releasing pop songs that are ‘risque’ in the tackiest way. Her hits like I Kissed A GIrl, and Ur So Gay are about as bad as the Cheeky Girls’ Cheeky Song. Admittedly without the cheesy Europop synth but still, yeah, awful. If you’ve never heard of the Cheeky Girls then count yourself lucky. Perry could be heard at one point saying to the guy at stage side, “What do I do? Do I keep playing?”, and then to the crowd, “I don’t know how bad this sounds to you guys but I’ll keep it up”. It was a farce that that Katy Perry had a big stage while genuinely talented bands like Protest The Hero and TAT were stuck on the two smallest stages. Katy Perry was exposed as being nothing more than the hyped-up prima donna that she is, and on the evidence of this gig she cannot perform live to save herself. Though maybe she was just caught off-guard and ill prepared…

During Pennywise’s set the levels had got screwed up with the drums suddenly becoming too loud and the vocals too low, or something like that. At that moment the two guys in the sound booth had looked embarrassed and confused, as they frantically tried to fix the problem. Pennywise responded by turning the stage monitors around to face the audience and the sound mixing booth. It’s likely things had gone wrong because of the all the rain water, so this was also probably the reason as to why Katy Perry played an acoustic gig, and the same went for Angels & Airwaves.

“But credit where credit is due; Angels & Airwaves gave a very strong acoustic performance which had teenage girls in the crowd gushing and swooning, and grown men like myself quietly, if a little reluctantly, enjoying their show. “

Angels & Airwaves, otherwise known as the Tom DeLonge show, played a set that gave a mellow and chilled-out end to Warped in Mississauga. With three of the band sat playing acoustic guitars and drummer Adam Willard tapping a percussion box, it was a strong stripped-down display of A&A’s brand of melodic alt rock. Secret Crowds was their best tune and got a big response.

There was the odd lame moment, like when DeLonge got a cheap laugh by telling the sound guy to turn down the mic on his band mate David Kennedy. This kind of thing reinforced the view of those who label A&A as a band that massages the ego of the former Blink 182 member. But credit where credit is due: Angels & Airwaves gave a very strong acoustic performance which had teenage girls in the crowd gushing and swooning, and grown men like myself quietly, if a little reluctantly, enjoying their show. Well, at least it wasn’t Katy Perry.

The last band I saw as I made my exit were Broadway Calls, a three-piece on the Hurley stage who played out while the sun set. I liked these guys and made a note to check out more of their stuff later. They play punk rock, in the straight-edge pop style, but with a refreshing twist. A bit like Coke with Lemon, with a shot of vodka added to give it just enough kick. Broadway Calls have some catchy tunes, and with Back To Oregon the band do the unusual thing of singing in praise of their roots and the place they come from. Which is part of that refreshing twist.

© Brian Banks

Warped Tour Toronto Photos - all photos by Brian Banks, © Music Vice