On Tour with Alexisonfire: The Warped Tour Recap
Words & Photo: Justine Griffin

Alexisonfire, reigning from Canada, are no newcomers the punk-rock summer circus of the Vans Warped Tour. The posthardcore band jumped onboard the Warped ride for the entire summer this year, promoting their newest release, Old Crows, Young Cardinals which bowed June 23 from Vagrant Records. They played a mid-afternoon set on Sunday at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg to one of their largest crowds they’ve had in the states thus far.

REAX: So you guys have been following the tour all summer. How’s it going so far?
Dallas Green: Well, we played Frisbee on the beach in the warm bath water of the Gulf today.

Chris Steele: We’re big Frisbee cynosures. We actually have an Alexisonfire special-edition Frisbee for sale at our merch tent. It’s well weighted, you should check it out.

REAX: What’s you favorite thing about Warped?
Green: A lot of people call it the punk rock summer camp. I mean we just played Frisbee, and we’re going to a BBQ and then we’re going to go play our set in an hour. We play a half-hour set and have the whole day to ourselves. It’s great to have the time to yourself all day in between playing sets.

REAX: What’s the worst, or the hardest part of Warped?
Green: It’s weird because every day is different. The schedule is never the same. Sometimes we’ll play early in the morning and then the next late in the afternoon. It’s a little hard on the voice. You get into a rhythm on a normal tour when you sing at eight or nine o’clock at night and you get into a routine. It’s so hard to switch it up all the time now.

Steele: Warped is such a long tour, too. Usually we’ll tour for two months, maybe one month at a time. So it feels a little long dedicating the entire summer to one tour.

REAX: Who’s your favorite band on the Warped Tour right now? Why?
Green: We’re good friends with Senses Fail and Anti-Flag cause we’ve toured with them a lot. It’s great to have them around this summer.

REAX: So what’s your favorite part about playing in Tampa?
Steele: I love the Jannus Landing outside venue in St. Pete. It’s one of my favorite venues to play.

Green: I really like the Orpheum in Tampa by the railroad tracks. You guys have some great venues out here.

REAX: How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard it before?
Green: I guess you could say it has a punk-rock base and is technically considered posthardcore. You can just say screamo, if that’s easier though.

Steele: I’d say we’re an atmospheric, aggressive rock band with a three-vocal blend. And all three vocals and completely different from one another.

REAX: So how do the crowds compare here in the States to back home in Canada?
Steele: The States is the smallest market for us. This tour we’ve really noticed a jump in size for the crowds though.

Green: We play the main stage on all four Canada dates of the tour though. In the States we play the Hurley stage.

Steele: Which is still a great stage!

Green: It is! In the past years, it’s kind of been hit-or-miss shows on Warped. This year it’s been good so far. The kids show up, and they’re singing our lyrics and it’s been great.

REAX: So you just released a new album last month. What’s the response been so far?
Green: It’s been good. We play one or two new songs a day in our set, and the reactions have been good. Kids are already singing along with the new tracks.

REAX: So do you have any good road stories from the tour so far?
Steele: I won $200 playing poker in Cleveland. First game of the tour, we played with a few guys from Chiodos and some stage tech guys. They’re all big poker type guys. It was fun taking their money away from them.

REAX: Dallas, both you and member Wade MacNeil have other side projects outside of Alexisonfire. How does manage to do both Alexisonfire and City and Colour?
Green: The thing with City and Colour was that it was never planned, and it wasn’t supposed to be anything besides a bunch of songs I wrote for myself. Then people started liking it, so I felt obligated to go on tour some. The progression of the two is good because it allows me to express another side of myself without forcing that on the band. The two together wouldn’t make any sense anyways. There are usually never any problems because I just work on City and Colour when we’re home and off the road.

REAX: So what does the future look like for Alexisonfire?
Steele: Once the Warped Tour finishes up, we’re staying on the road and headed to England. We’re doing an European tour with Anti-Flag.

Check out Justine's photos of Alexisonfire live at Warped here.