“It was the best experience our band has had to date.  The heat that day was pretty unbearable, but it didn’t stop us from putting on a rockin’ show.  One of the best highlights of our experience was when we were standing in the crowd watching one of the bigger tour bands, Story of the Year, and out of no where we see the “Escaping Gravity” frisbees that we had been handing out all day start flying through the crowd all around us.  Before we knew it, we had a crowd around us wanting one for themselves.  It was a great promo tool!” – Escaping Gravity

“The Warped Tour was amazing for us.  We’ve played festivals before and have opened for big name acts in front of 10,000 people, but The Warped Tour was the favorite show we’ve ever done.  The people, the other bands, and the whole atmosphere were phenomenal.  It was a sweltering hot day in excess of 100 degrees, but the heat didn’t slow us down.  In the middle of the day, I donned a hot and heavy gorilla suit while our lead singer led me around on a leash and we handed out flyers to promote our slot and stage.  It was miserable inside the suit, but it was great fun interacting with all the people.” – The Banana Convention, members of Sonicbids since 2004.

“It was flat-out amazing. The fans were awesome, and the staff at WT was great to work with. We also had the opportunity to get some great advice from national touring acts and hang out with bands that we are big fans of, like Reel Big Fish, All Time Low, and others…”-Stasis, members of Sonicbids for four years.

What benefits does an event like this provide to artists who perform at it?

“Events like this are great for getting bands on the map.  We now have the ability to say we have played at Vans warped tour, and now we are one step closer to maybe being on the tour for several dates next year.  It also allows you to network with tons of other bands and get your name out there to more fans that need to know you exist!” – Escaping Gravity

“I think that artists that know Warped Tour know what it’s all about. National scene, national attention, and rabid fans!”- Stasis

“Exposure exposure exposure.  We had never played in PA before this show, and we made great connections with other bands and made tons of new fans who still keep in touch with us through our website and MySpace”.- The Banana Convention

Any advice for artists who are submitting to listings like The Warped Tour on Sonicbids?

“Just put your best effort forward in your EPK.  Selecting bands from hundreds or thousands of EPKs, I’m sure, is no easy task and probably gets pretty tedious after a while.  Do what you can to make yourself stand out.  Put up high quality images and recordings.  Avoid half-assing it.  If all you have are blurry cell phone images and a recording that sounds like you’re in a cardboard box, it makes it that much easier to ignore and move on to the next EPK.” – The Banana Convention

Try and have a decent bio on your profile, a decent pic, and great songs that fit this genre.  If you make the tour, bring lots of water… “– Escaping Gravity

“Our advice is simple. Be real, be professional and go in wanting to do it for the right reasons and you’ll come out having had an amazing experience like we did.”- Statis

“Don’t submit your Sonicbids EPK to an account like Warped unless you’re truly ready to deliver. If you have not been playing very long, it will just be a waste of money and time. Use this as a chance to promote your band and make new friends, and make sure your set is spot on. Have a good time, but remember you have to work as well.” – The Asthmatics

(Clockwise- Escaping Gravity, The Banana Convention, Stasis, The Asthmatics, and Mulatto)