On The Road With Summer Wars

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Summer Wars will be making the trek from their hometown of Raleigh to perform at Charlotte's Vans Warped Tour on July 30th. We caught up with singer Tripp Rowe and he told us all about life out on the road.

Describe your music for our readers who may not be familiar with you.
I always like to say it's emo-tinged pop-punk. We try to add a bit of an atmospheric vibe to our songs that I haven't heard a ton of other bands in this genre doing.

What's the first concert you attended?
The first real concert I ever attended was actually Blink-182. I was in eighth grade and Taking Back Sunday opened. Believe it or not, Fall Out Boy was playing on a side stage outside the venue while people were walking inside.

What's the strangest gig you've played?
We played at a deli in the middle of nowhere that was converted into a venue. There was no sound guy and most of their equipment didn't work. In between songs, they were calling out people's food orders. It was the strangest thing.

What's the craziest thing a fan has done at one of your shows?
I wouldn't call it "crazy" but we had this awesome fan of our band drive all the way from Canada to one of our shows in our home state of North Carolina. She has been one of our biggest supporters and that kind of dedication is unreal and so appreciated.

What's the first thing you look for when you hit a new town?
Almost always a Starbucks or Taco Bell.

How do you spend your days on the road?
Well I wake up super early which annoys the rest of the band, haha. Then normally I try to get some sort of mini-workout in if I can. Then I just drink a bunch of coffee, check all the band socials and emails. Once we get to the venue, I will try to explore the immediate area if we have the time.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Nothing super out of the ordinary, mainly just warm up my voice for about 20-30 minutes.

What's some advice you'd give to a band embarking on its first tour?
Try your absolute hardest to work as much as you can before you leave and save up money. Touring can be hard, and the pros definitely outweigh the cons most of the time, but touring broke is about as miserable as it gets.

Final question: You're the opening act of a music festival. You can get any five artists, living or dead, to perform on the bill with you. Which five acts do you choose and what song do you all perform together for the final jam?
Blink-182, Relient K, Jimmy Eat World, Motion City Soundtrack, and The Starting Line. Song: "Always," Blink-182.

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