Let's have a beer and celebrate. The rest of the world has finally realized that Toronto is a hotbed for music! The goal of any serious Canadian band is to break into the US market, stirring up media and label attention. The Warped Tour is an amazing chance for local bands to not only do just that but also to play alongside their favourite bands, make industry contacts, sell merch, travel and have a jam-packed summer!

This year on the full tour you can catch:
Silverstein (Toronto)
The Black Maria (Toronto)
Billy Talent (Toronto)
Moneen (Toronto)
The Fully Down (Ottawa)
Protest The Hero (Whitby)
Sum41 (Ajax)
Alexisonfire (St Catharines)

Bands like Sum41 and Billy Talent have long since reached mainstrem rock radio so it's no surprise they're on the bill. However, it's satisfying to see underground heroes like Alexisonfire and The Black Maria finally added. Silverstein has seen amazing leaps in popularity this year as their video for "Smile In Your Sleep" blew up on MTV's video countdown and Much On Demand. Protest The Hero rocked last summer's Wakestock at Toronto Island with their Iron Maiden-inspired rock and has had a full schedule since then, touring everywhere from the US to England, but never forgetting to stop back home and say hello.

Recently I caught up with Dan, one of the guitarists from Ottawa's The Fully Down to catch his thoughts about hopping on the complete tour this year.

What was your reaction to getting put on the bill this year? What does playing Warped Tour mean to you?
We were overjoyed to be on Warped Tour this year. We had just played a show at the Whiskey in LA, and our label had come out to film the show for our upcoming video, so they actually filmed our reaction to the news. We’ve played Warped tour the last two years, but this is the first time we'll be doing the entire tour. We've all been going to Warped tour in Montreal for years, so it's pretty cool that we get to see some of the raddest bands everyday for an entire summer.

What bands are you most excited to see/play with this summer (and why)?
NOFX, we all grew up on skate punk and NOFX do it best. Also He is Legend, Halifax, and I am the Avalanche are playing the Smartpunk stage with us, so were pretty stoked to chill with those bands. There are about a hundred others I'm excited to see....but I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

Where are you most excited to travel to?
We've been pretty much everywhere Warped tour is going, but I'm excited to play the California Warped tour dates. There’s five of them, and a lot of the bands from previous years have mentioned that these are some of the raddest dates of the entire tour. Also the Barrie and Montreal dates are always fun because were close to home and all of our friends come out to party with us.

Any current news? (ex. recording, releases, other tours, etc)
We've had a couple weeks off at home, so we made the most of it by jumping in the studio and recording a new track. It's a skate punk song, so its fast and heavy. We'll be releasing it on a compilation put out by Machete clothing and Addictive Sound Studios - two Ottawa based companies that help us out. We're heading out in about a week to start a cross Canada tour with Protest the Hero, Bayside, A Wilhelm Scream, Spill Canvas, And Machete Avenue. This is gonna be a rad tour guaranteed. These are some of our favorite bands and it's Canadian, what more could we ask for. There’s a whole website made for the tour, check out www.tourandloathing.com
Immediately after that we'll be heading into the States for a month long tour with Boy Sets Fire and Versus the Mirror, than we start Warped Tour. Were basically workaholics when it comes to this band.

What advice would you give to other Ontario bands looking to play Warped Tour?
We got our first break by entering a contest in Alternative Press magazine. We sent them a song from our first record, and they sent us on three weeks of Warped Tour 2004. I'd say bands should keep their eyes open for any opportunities like that. Ernie Ball always has a spot on their stage for a local band in every city, so I think every band should go to Ernieball.com and submit a track. We played the Montreal date last year by submitting a track to Ernie Ball. We also got a string endorsement out of it, so its definitely worth the five minutes it will take you.

You can get all the info at www.warpedtour.com but Torontonians will have to wait until August 12th to see our homegrown bands at Molson Park in Barrie.