Ballyhoo! has announced that they will perform nationally on the 2012 Warped Tour. After announcing their partaking in this year’s 311 Caribbean Cruise and Bamboozle Festival in New jersey, Howi Spangler (lead-singer/ guitarist) stated that The Warped Tour will be the ultimate test for them:
“100+ degree temperatures, overnight drives every night with 7am check ins. And then we’ll be out all day trying to promote our set times and what not. We’ve been touring solid for 5 years, so we’re ready for the challenge”.
Whether it is by winning one of the select ‘Battle of The Bands competitions or striking the musical senses of Warped Tour management, Founder Kevin Lyman has the ultimate voice. When Ballyhoo! was personally invited by Lyman, the 7 AM check-ins didn’t seem so bad after all.
Howi mentioned that the helping hands of label-mates Pepper and Law Records caused Kevin Lyman to catch the Ballyhoo! drift and extended an invite; “Everybody sort of pitched us and Kevin checked out our music. He became a fan”.
Ballyhoo! will be joining bands such as Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, The Green, and Echo Movement as the list expands into a mix of genres. The Warped Tour hasn’t finalized the list by any means. Thirty-eight bands have confirmed their participation and are prepping for the excursion. Luckily for Ballyhoo, it 
happens to be their first tour on a bus; “That will help keep our sanity a little more” says Howi.
In the midst of extensive tour planning and prepping, they have had little spare time to relax at Sound Lounge Studio in Orlando. “We messed around with some radio edits of Daydreams songs, taking out the cuss words and shit.” Howi continued on to say, “We threw down some acoustic tracks. Just had some fun. We don’t know if they’ll get released or whatever”.
2012 is shaping to be a hectic year for Ballyhoo. Ballyhoo spent the New Years with their families rather than on stage. Regardless, this is shaping up to be Ballyhoo’s best year ever and according to Howi, “We couldn’t be happier”.
Article By: Matt Emodi
Photo By: Jenni Anspach
