VANS WARPED TOUR: Mike Posner

“All Posner, all hits” or “All killer, no filler” are two of the catchphrases Mike Posner is using to describe his highly anticipated LP, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, which drops August 10. The “Cooler Than Me” emcee keeps it as real as possible. Matter of fact, probably the only thing not authentic about the album is its cover, which was not actually shot in an airplane.

“We rented plane props,” Posner admitted backstage at Vans Warped Tour to “The Ralphie Radio Show.” He also revealed that the record is finished, but he might have to scale back on that first slogan a bit, as there are two collaborations of note on the album.

“I do have Travis Barker playing drums on a song,” Posner said. “I have background vocals sung by… guess who?”
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Yes, the Duke University graduate turned the tables on me with a pop quiz of his own. I failed before he let me in on the correct answer: Boyz II Men.

“I had this song written and I wanted like a barbershop quartet feel to it,” explained Posner. “We reached out, sent them music, and they were like, ‘Yeah, we’re big fans.’ Within a month we were in the studio and those guys are like geniuses… that was a great experience.”

It’s been a summer full of great experiences for the Michigan-native, as his single continues to climb the charts, only raising his popularity while performing on Vans Warped Tour.

“It’s a grind, but it’s awesome man, I love grinding,” he said. “I’m doing sometimes three shows a day, so, I love it out here and I have the opportunity to meet kids all day long, and that’s the best part of the day for me.”

Posner will continue meeting and greeting fans on Warped Tour through the summer before launching on his own headlining trek this fall.

VANS WARPED TOUR: We The Kings Lead Singer Travis Clark

In an interview on “The Ralphie Radio Show”, We The Kings front man Travis Clark revealed that Demi Lovato may be performing “We’ll Be a Dream” while on tour opening for the Jonas Brothers. But would Nick, Kevin, or Joe be filling in for Travis?

“I mean… whatever!” Clark responded to my thought, clearly amused by it. “I’m entertained by the idea so it’d be funny to see it actually go down.”

The lead singer also let us in on plans to have Demi join We The Kings on a couple more dates of the Vans Warped Tour – Clark mentioned Atlanta and Chicago as two possible opportunities. While on Warped, the band has either deferred to the crowd for Lovato’s parts or invited Hey Monday’s Cassadee Pope on stage to fill in.

We The Kings first hopped on Warped Tour back in 2008, when “Check Yes Juliet” landed the boys from Bradenton, Florida on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and radio stations across the globe. Now three singles, two years, and one album later – much has changed for the band – but Clark believes the biggest difference is within the band members’ personal lives.
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“If we wanted to, for example, cut through the park to go to catering or something like that, we would get mauled, we would never make it. Where in 2008, we could walk around anywhere we wanted, go see any band we wanted, and now it’s just a little harder to get around,” he admitted. “It’s super flattering, and we want to go out and say ‘hi’ to everybody. But, we never want to be the band that takes away from other people’s sets.”

Clark explained the last part as if it’s an unwritten rule of the Warped Tour handbook – you never attempt to upstage another band, especially one that may fall within the same lane of music as your band. How far do We The Kings go to ensure this doesn’t happen? Clark said that his tour manager will specifically schedule the band’s tent signings at times that do not conflict with similar artists on stage, so that the mutual fans won’t have to miss a show for an autograph.

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