Grillmaster: Kevin Lyman Dishes On The Warped BBQ Band

Kevin Lyman Takes A Turn At The Grill
Lisa Johnson – Kevin Lyman Takes A Turn At The Grill

Lagwagon had a guy named Carlos who would barbecue at Warped Tour at night. And you had to have a special laminate to get into the barbecue. 

And I said, “Well, that’s not the Warped Tour way.” What we do, everyone’s welcome to. So I need to start a barbecue for everyone else. So we bought a barbecue trailer and it became a tradition starting in 1998 to have a band be the BBQ band. 
The BBQ Band hauled the barbecue, they get paid, they get 30 minutes onstage like any other band, but they have to go buy all the barbecue stuff and cook it for everyone. I pay for the food and they get the tips and get paid a bit for being out on tour. 
It was a way to bring everyone together after a hard day of work because everyone had the same role – bands, sponsors, stage people, setup people, merchandise people.  I wanted them to all be part of a community.
One claim to fame I have, on my country tour, Country Throwdown, the last BBQ Band was Florida Georgia Line. They hauled my barbecue for $500 a show.
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