Photo by Hayley Rippy
With the days of the Vans Warped Tour, Taste of Chaos and Mayhem Fest sadly behind us, this summer sees the birth of a brand new traveling festival featuring the likes of some our scene’s biggest names.
Dubbed the Rockstar Disrupt Festival, the 25-date summer trek is a new spin on the previously listed fests hosting 14 fan-favorite acts such as The Used, Thrice, Circa Survive, Sum 41, The Story So Far, Atreyu, Sleeping With Sirens, Andy Black and more.
With just three weeks to go until the highly anticipated summer circuit kicks off this June, we reached out to some of the artists playing to get their predictions for the first-ever Disrupt Festival.
Today, we are sharing what the creative and forward-thinking Anthony Green had to say about the inaugural, Warped-friendly festival. To see what the Circa Survive frontman said about potentially collaborating with the likes of Thrice and Bert McCracken of The Used (again) plus who he might come out of mosh retirement for, be sure to look below. Afterward, make sure to grab tickets to the first-ever Rockstar Disrupt Festival here.
Lastly, if you’d like a chance at winning free tickets – yes, FREE! – head here.
Which band do you think you are most excited to watch every day on Disrupt Fest?
Anthony Green: I think it’s probably a three-way tie. Can I do that?
Of course!
Alright, because I’m really excited to see Meg And Dia for the first time since I toured with them back in the day on Warped Tour – like back in the day, day. And I’m really excited to see Juliet Simms since I have never seen her. But I love The Used and Thrice so much. They make me so happy to watch. And I’ve never seen Sleeping With Sirens before, so I’m really excited to watch them.
Nice! If you could create new music with any artist on Disrupt Fest who would it be and why?
Oh, shit. That’s crazy because me and Bert [McCracken, The Used] have been talking about doing some stuff together. And I know that I’ve been talking to Meg & Dia about possibly singing and doing some writing [together] while we’re on tour. God, there’s so many people on this tour. I’ve been trying to write a song with some of the dudes in Thrice or work with any of those guys on something creative for like 15 years. So there’s going to be lots of opportunities for that to happen.
When you’re out on the road with people, is it common for you to try and be collaborative with them?
I like to do that. I like to jam all the time. When we find ourselves touring with people that I look up that are like, creative gurus, I just want to have as much time as I can with them.
It’s cool you talk about working with Bert more since you guys just did those Nirvana covers together.
When we were [writing] those, we were like, “Man, we should cover a song together on this tour! We should write.” He and I are a lot alike, and we’ve known each other for years, but we’ve never really gotten to know each other more than like, “Oh hey, what’s up, dude?” Like, mutual respect. We’re starting to learn more about each other and we both work really well together. So I feel like it will be fun to jam with him. He’s a great guy.
That would be really special. Okay, so next question. How do you think Disrupt Fest will compare to your days spent on the Vans Warped Tour?
Well, I think this lineup is all people who have toured [Warped Tour] for a really long time. And I think that having had that experience, you know how to do it well. You know how to do it in a way where you’re having fun, you’re making good decisions and you’re connecting with people – not just like the audience, but I’m talking about with each other [on tour]. And I think everybody on this tour has [been touring for] such a long time and kind of have this six degrees of separation with everybody. So I think my prediction is that people are just, they’re mature and responsible and you don’t have to deal with any kind of dumb bullshit you have to deal with when you’re younger and you’re trying to deal with things in a more destructive way.
Do you think that’s one of the reasons why when you were pitched this tour, it was a no-brainer?
Yeah, it absolutely was. When we were pitched the idea, I know The Used and Thrice were already committed and they were talking to Sum 41 and we were like, “Man, this is just all people that we know and respect and you know that the environment is going to be healthy for your mental health.” You know it’s going to be a bunch of people who just love music and are trying to take care of themselves and each other in a way where it just makes the music pure.
This next question might be the opposite of that being a little more irresponsible. Not in a negative way though. But who’s the person in your band least likely to shower during this long summer run?
That’s easy. Me.
Oh yeah?
Yeah, dude. I forget. There’s like no time in the day to get everything done that I want to get done that I have on my docket, you know? So like, I forget to eat, I forget to sleep and I forget to shower. So I need to get those three things more balanced when I’m busy. But yeah, there’s definitely been summer tours too where like, I’ve hit enough swimming pools where at the end of the day, if I’m jumping in a swimming pool, all the chlorine just kills everything anyway.
Bert once told us that he made a whole Warped Tour without showering once. Have you ever gone that long without showering?
Honestly, I’m gonna tell you the truth about that statement that Burt made. I’m surprised he remembers. Honestly, I couldn’t string together one full day of any Warped Tour I ever did. I was so fucking wasted. So I’m surprised that he remembers.
Okay, another question. This one should be easy. Which band do you predict will have the biggest hangout bus this tour?
Probably Circa. I’m already planning on all this shit – got a little speaker ready, I’m getting like a little outside speaker, like a jam box, and I’m gonna get some lawn chairs, a little thing that makes some coffee outside, like a grinder and French press. [I’ll] do some grilling. I’m excited to have some hang time.
Are you going to be touring with any of your family at all?
You know, the older they get and the more they multiply, it becomes difficult to get them all out on the road. I know that they’re going to be around for Warped Tour on the East Coast. And I know that they’ll be out for a couple of shows. But you know, touring is daddy’s time. When I get on the road, that’s da-da’s time right there. That’s my time to work, make music, have a little fun. I don’t think I’m ready to give up too much of that daddy time. You know, when I’m home, I’m pretty locked in. And [on the road], I need to get out there and just focus all my energy on the show and making music. It [gets] tough when the kids come out. When they get a little bit older, and they can play – like they can actually come and join the band – that will be awesome. Like when James is a couple years older and he can like play guitar or he can do something where he can work, that’ll be great [laughs].
Yeah, that’d be awesome! Which Disrupt Fest band do you think will have the gnarliest mosh pits?
Oh shit, that’s hard to say. It’s like, it could be Sum 41. It could be Sleeping With Sirens – kids go crazy for that band. I could see Thrice, they have some jams that are just so fucking huge. Oh, you know what? It’s The Story So Far. That’s the band that will have the biggest mosh pit. I don’t even know how that slipped my mind. Kids love that band. They’re fun. They have that good energy, that positive energy. They’re all handsome. People are going to go crazy. I’m going to be in the pit for that band.
We were just going to ask, would you want to get into the pit for any of these bands?
I come out of mosh retirement from time to time for a special occasion. But I don’t know if Disrupt Fest is going to have any of those moments. My 37-year-old body – people don’t know I’m [actually] 57 – my 57-year-old body can’t handle the mosh pitting and the crowd surfing as much anymore. Like, the last time I jumped out in the crowd, I was like “Yeah, I’m so cool!” And then afterward, I like pulled a muscle in my leg and my back hurt. I’m an old man.
Which band will have the loudest sing-alongs?
Oh shit. That’s hard for me. I know Andy Black has a lot of real sing-along songs, very anthem-y numbers. Fuck, I think Thrice has some serious sing-along parts. Oh no, The Used will for sure. Because [for] fucking “Taste Of Ink,” people will go fucking crazy on that fucking chorus. I can hear it.
That’s a good answer. If you could do guest vocals during someone’s set this summer, who would it be and which song would you pick?
Shit, that’s hard. That’s a tough one. It’s kind of hard to pick. But I fucking want to come out and rap during Sum 41’s set. Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do [laughs].
Lastly, what are your final predictions for the first-ever Disrupt Fest?
My final prediction? Well, I think that we’re all going to be in really good shape. We’re all going to be very tan. I think we’re all gonna have a lot of fun. I feel like we’re all old enough that we should be taking advantage of the time that we have. And I’m going to try to exercise as much as I can. I just want to be able to go crazy for the whole time that I’m on stage and not be tired once. So by the end of the summer, I want to look like one of the guys from Jersey Shore and just be humongous with huge muscles and be super tan looking.
What’s your usual exercise routine when you’re on the road?
I do yoga like every other day – some kind of yoga, like, mobility thing. And then on the other days in between, I’ll do light weightlifting. Sometimes I’ll do CrossFit. Sometimes I’ll do like, you know, whatever anybody is suggesting that’s around. Like, I want to try to Jiu Jitsu. I tried kickboxing stuff before and I love that. I like to skateboard and play basketball. So I just want to fucking be doing shit and be active. We’ll be around a bunch of water so I want to be able to go out and swim and go do fun shit.
