Kevin Lyman owner of the Warped Tour
I find Kevin to be an honest person. One of a handful of people in the music business who follows through with his word. I’m not saying he’s a saint. If you’re looking for flaws, I’m sure that you will find them‒he’s human after all, but he’s a fine example of what one should do.
There’s a Baha’i quote that I’m fond of: “Truthfulness is the Foundation of all Human Virtues.”
Consider, that for a moment. If people cannot follow through with what comes out of their mouths, then what hope do other aspects of their lives have? I’ve speculated for years that dishonesty alone killed the music business, not illegal downloads.
And I think the theory has some validity. Kevin has created several festival tours in an extremely volatile market, including the long running Warped tour, and he has endured through it all while the music business has collapsed all around him.
I first met Kevin in the early ’90s on one of my first forays into Los Angeles at a music conference called Foundations Forum. Years later I mixed several bands on two Warped tours and shared a bus with him in Europe on a third tour.
A conversation with Kevin requires that you know what he’s up to. His emotions aren’t labels on t-shirts and sometimes it’s difficult to know what he’s thinking. Nonetheless, he’s always returned my emails. I’ve been to his home for dinner on several occasions, he’s given me advice on various projects and followed up with my requests, even when his time was strained.
I’m glad that someone like Kevin is in the world. It gives guys like me, who haven’t done as much with their lives, hope.
Without further ado, Kevin Lyman…
Q: What is your favorite sandwich and who makes the best one?
K.L. A hoagie from the Central Market in Lancaster, PA. I forget the name of the place, but it is right through the main doors on the right.
Q: What is your favorite meal your mom makes?
K.L. Sadly, my mother passed years ago, but I do remember her tacos. She made them at least once a week.
Q: How did you meet your best friend?
K.L. In our business you have many people who pass in and out of your life. You have friends of opportunity, and when I say “opportunity,” it is only because of a lack of a real schedule or routine. Most of my closest friends I met through music.
Q: When or how did you find what you wanted to do?
K.L. I actually really had no idea and kind of backed into it because I needed a job out of college. I was offered a stage manager position at Fender’s Ballroom. I had experience putting on shows in college, but I was really supposed to pursue a job in the leisure industry, based on my degree. However, once I started to work on live shows I was hooked and I still love that experience more than anything.
I have never been one to want to work in a studio; however let me produce a live show and I am still in my happy place.
Q: How did you pursue it?
K.L. Like I said before, I fell into it. I also knew right away that I didn’t want to work in clubs forever and have always pushed myself to move forward and do new things. I’m still looking for new challenges to this day.
Q: Did you have a mentor/mentors in pursuing it?
K.L. I sometimes say in our business that you learn from all the people making mistakes around you. However, I guess from a distance I looked up to Bill Graham, but people like Gary Tovar, Bill Silva and Lee Zeidman are people I worked for that were positive influences.
Q: What do you dream of doing or are you doing it?
K.L. I dream of being a fishing captain, but I know the reality is that I do something well and probably should stick with it. I would also like to run a little resort in Belize, but I know, most likely, I will only be visiting them.
Q: What would your 15-year-old self say to you now?
K.L. Invest in a thing that will be called Apple. Also, I would say that in almost 40 years you will start to accept yourself and grow into who you are. Let’s eliminate that amount of time and do it now, since once you have accepted yourself, only then will you find inner peace.
Q: If life were a person, what would you say to it?
K.L. Slow down and enjoy the moment. Don’t always look ahead, but look around.
Q: If you were in charge of the world and you had no restrictions, real or imagined, what is the one thing you would give it?
K.L. Color blindness.
Q: Has morality disintegrated to the point that we now need Yelp for people?
K.L. That’s a tough question. I don’t think it’s any worse than before, but everyone’s flaws are put in the forefront of the public spotlight so much more now. With the advent of social media and the high-speed world we live in, things can be blown out of proportion very quickly. I think the morality of our leaders has hit a low point, but it’s been in a general decline for ages.
Q: How is society getting things right?
K.L. I think we are finally recognizing the need for alternative energy sources and I hope it’s not too late. The idea that you can’t just brush off global warming seems to be moving in the right direction. I think children are becoming less materialistic and appreciating experiences as important in their lives. We have a rough road ahead, but I do think society will survive.
Q: What do people need in order to see each other as equals?
K.L. Like I said, we have to slow down and not make hasty judgments of others.
Q: Do we still need religion?
K.L. I think religion is often justified by many people to do horrible things to one another. I am not sure how this has happened. Lack of education possibly. The corruption of our political leaders, possibly. Using religion to make ourselves feel better, possibly. A combination of all three, most likely. It frustrates me to see people taking things from our religious writings to justify atrocities toward other people.
Q: Do you have hope for the future?
K.L. I have hope for the future, but we will have to make some drastic changes to the way we think and act. When 60 million people were displaced last year due to war, drought, and religious persecution, we are at a tipping point for that future.
Income inequality is causing an undertow on society that needs to be addressed and it will be a great challenge to get anything done when we consider corporations “too big to fail.” We have left our children with a giant task, but hopefully they will rise up and take charge of their future.
Hot topic of the week:
This is an open discussion. Could be Gay marriage or Confederate flag, Donald Trump, for example.
K.L. Trigger responses and micro-aggressions: These are the things that I think should be addressed as much as anything. When I hear that teachers have to teach differently not to offend anyone, it really gets my burn. When I was in school we were challenged and conflict led to change and resolution. If things can’t be discussed because it might offend someone, then we will never fix anything. I believe that we should not go out of our way to offend a person, but in an educational space it is bound to happen and if it is addressed properly, then it can lead to change.
Trump. I think he has brought up some issues that should be addressed, but by attacking whole religions and races, he may have taken things a bit too far. He’s got people talking more about the stagnation and dysfunction of our House [of Representatives] and Senate, which is good, though.
Gay Marriage. By now, in our society, this should be such a non-issue that I’m amazed when I hear about it. I’ve always felt that it is fine and feel sorry that gay people still fight this fight. Let’s finally move on as a society and let them have the best lives possible.
Confederate Flag. I know it is a hot topic, but it never has affected me, so I won’t comment.
