Don’t Miss Out: Like Pacific
Interview by Rachael Dowd
Festival season is in full swing, and with that comes the biggest traveling festival of the summer- Warped Tour. This year the tour features a ton of throwback bands like Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Less Than Jake, New Found Glory and so many more! And while we love these bands and appreciate their contribution to the scene, we want to introduce you to some of the bands that you may not know about. Who knows? You might get introduced to your new favorite band.
We recently caught up with Like Pacific guitarist Luke Holmes to talk about the band’s first summer as a band on Warped Tour and more!
It’s your first year on Vans Warped Tour! What are you most excited for this summer, and what bands are you looking forward to seeing/hanging out with on the tour?
Yes, it is our first time on the Vans Warped Tour. We’re all very excited to be apart of it and to be able to have this experience under our belt. Definitely looking forward to watching Sum 41, Good Charlotte and Reel Big Fish play. We all grew up listening to those bands so it’s pretty wild for us to actually be on a big tour with them. We’ve toured with a few bands this year who are also on Warped (State Champs, Knuckle Puck, Vanna) so it’ll be nice to get to catch up with everyone and get to hang again! Also excited to see our friends in Broadside, Capsize and Safe to Say.
Warped Tour has a ton of punk acts this summer, how do you think your live set will differ from other acts on the tour?
Our set for the summer is the most dynamic it’s ever been, so I think we’ll bring a good balance of heavier and more melodic songs to the table. While the tour probably has mostly heavier bands on the bill, there are a fair amount of more “poppy” bands who will be out there as well, so I think our sound will fit in nicely.
Like Pacific played a lot of big festivals this year including Never Say Never Fest and So What?!, did these festivals help you get prepped for the summer on Warped and if so, how?
I think they’ve definitely helped us prepare for Warped. We understand the “Music Fest” grind and the fast paced nature of it all. Get your gear loaded in and set up as quickly as possible, play and then tear down so the next band can get out there and start their set on time. It’s a little different than regular club shows, but it’s nothing we’re not used to by now.
Will you be playing any new material on the tour, or will your set feature songs from your album, Distant Like You Asked?
We will be playing some new stuff for sure! We’ve added in couple songs off Distant Like You Asked that we’ve never played live before and a couple that have been apart of our set since the record came out and some older EP stuff as well.
Were any of you fans of Warped Tour growing up and did you attend any of the years? If so, do you have any standout memories from attending the tour?
We’ve all been attending Warped Tour for years. A lot of our favorite bands have come through Toronto on Warped over the years. More often than not, it pours rain and or thunderstorms for the Toronto date of the tour. I remember one year they had to stop performances because it was raining so much and me and a friend took cover/got stuck in the “pit/floor” area of the Molson Amphitheater with a million other people standing in ankle deep water, freezing cold waiting out the storm. Eventually though, the rain passed and we got to see New Found Glory and go home.
Do you have any touring/studio plans in the fall after Warped Tour ends?
No studio plans for the fall, but we have firmed up some fun tour plans to go some places we’ve never been to before which is pretty exciting! Unfortunately, I can’t share too much just yet, but stay tuned for more details! We’re very excited to see you all this summer, don’t hesitate to come say hey and introduce yourself!
