When the House of Marley was invited to host a stage at the 2012 Vans Warped Tour, we were thrilled about the prospect of sharing our message, our products, and some of our favorite artists with audiences across North America. With a stocked 1955 Volkswagon Marley bus full of swag, Marley headphones, and a summer’s worth of sunscreen, the House of Marley team will be out in full-force at every date of the 2012 Vans Warped Tour, meeting fans, doing product demos and teaching kids everywhere what it means to live #LiveMarley.
Along the way, the House of Marley’s tour manager, Chris Hurley will be capturing the excitement in a series of backstage blogs, photos, and videos from the 2012 Vans Warped Tour. The first installment: coming to you right now.
WEEK 1
June 15 • Huntington Beach, CA
Hello.
My name is Chris Hurley. I am 25-years-old, from Huntington Beach, California, and I’m the House of Marley’s tour manager for the 2012 Vans Warped Tour! I just finished packing my bags for what promises to be a long and memorable road trip, kicking off tomorrow in Salt Lake City.
Joining me on the journey are Craig Jarvis and Taylor Miller. Collectively, we couldn’t be more excited about representing HOM on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour, and I can’t wait to share our stories. Buckle up.
That’s me.
June 16 • Salt Lake City, UT
Today we are in Salt Lake City for day one, and WOW! Talk about a huge production. There are seven stages and almost one hundred bands on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour. So cool that the House of Marley is one of those seven stages.
In addition to having our own stage, we also brought along our 1955 Volkswagon Marley bus. From the bus, we get to sell Marley headphones and interact with 15,000 concert-goers on a daily basis. Believe me when I say our stage, our van, and our products turn heads immediately. We definitely have the coolest, most eye-catching setup if I do say so myself!
The ’55 VW Marley bus!
June 17 • Denver, CO
Glad to say we made it to day two. We almost didn’t. Whewwww…
Last night, we were getting ready to load the Marley bus onto the trailer for the overnight drive to Denver. You see, the Marley bus is 57-years-old and dropped so low, it passes for a low rider. The ramps on the trailer were less than four feet long, so trying to get our bus up and onto the trailer was almost impossible. It just kept bottoming out. We must have had 20 different people helping us push, pull and lift the Marley bus.
After about an hour of hard work and creative thinking, we finally got it onto the trailer and strapped down safely for the trek to Denver. It was really encouraging to see so many people help us out considering we are the tour rookies. But then again, who wouldn’t help out a ’55 VW bus in need?
June 20 • Las Vegas, NV
Not sure if this happens every year, but whoever organized the 2012 Vans Warped Tour made sure to schedule two days off in Vegas! Think its a good idea to have a hundred bands and sponsors spend two days in Sin City? We sure did!
We stayed at the Luxor, went out to dinner, played a little Blackjack, hit the gym and spa, then took in the sights and sounds of the strip, saving a little time to rest up for our big day today. Now it’s 100 degrees of pure desert heat. 12 hour days in conditions like these can sometimes be tough, but luckily for us we have plenty of water and amazing hip hop and reggae artists to get us through the day!
Back to work!
June 21 • Irvine, CA
We are back in Cali! Craig, Taylor and I all currently live in Southern California, so it’s nice that the 2012 Vans Warped Tour is already bringing us back home. We all have a lot of great friends coming to today’s show in Irvine, and we get to enjoy the cool Pacific Ocean breeze. A welcome substitute for yesterday’s desert heat.
Today on the House of Marley stage I’m most looking forward to Hawaiian reggae band, The Green and hip hop artist and Riverside, California’s own T. Mills. Both artists have strong followings here in SoCal. Gonna be dope!
T. Mills running the House of Marley stage.
June 22 • Pomona, CA
On our way to Pomona! Team Marley is definitely making our presence known here on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour. More and more bands are coming up to us asking about Marley headphones. What is House of Marley? How are Marley headphones Earth friendly? What is 1Love.org? These are all questions we receive every day from some of our favorite bands. In the first week alone I’ve been able to talk Marley headphones with Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, The Used, New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday, Anti-Flag, G-Eazy and more. It’s amazing! I have yet to come across a single person who can’t appreciate something about Marley headphones. There is always something about House of Marley for people to relate to and appreciate, and I’m proud to be able to share this stuff with bands I admire and great people at every stop of the tour!
#LiveMarley Fan Photos
June 16 • Salt Lake City, UT
June 17 • Denver, CO
June 20 • Las Vegas, NV
June 21 • Irvine, CA
June 22 • Pomona, CA
