Backstage in the ever-busy hallway at the Vans Warped Tour, I had an interview set up with Stephen Jerzak. Much earlier, a year or so, I was to interview him, but unfortunately that didn't happen. I was very excited to talk to him, considering how I was a fan of him and had been for a while.
He's been around for a good amount of time, playing his power-pop, dance-driven catchy tunes while spreading the message of just having fun and being yourself.
Mary Magpie: "What's the best thing about being on Warped Tour?"
Stephen Jerzak: "Definitely hanging out with all the other bands."
MM: "What's the funniest thing that's happened to you this tour?"
Stephen: "Two days ago in Toronto, somebody fainted at the merch table.(laughs)"
Here I got a little nervous… why would he find it amusing someone fainted?
Stephen: "She fainted because she saw me. (chuckling) It was pretty crazy. I'd never seen anyone faint before so that was pretty intense."
MM: "How're you holding up against all of the really hardcore bands at Warped?"
Stephen: "I think it's a good mix. I stopped listening to hardcore music a while ago, but I got kinda back into it now that Warped Tour's here. I think it's cool, there's so much variety. There's club bands, there's metal bands, there's pop bands. So many different kinds of people and it's really awesome."
MM: "What's in store for Stephen Jerzak? You've gone from starting out in really small venues and now you're on Warped! What's your major goal?"
Stephen: "My goal is to keep on growing, creating music. The venue changes have definitely gotten bigger and it's a crazy feeling walking away from a bigger crowd, like today, and then seeing some other people and it's really intimidating and crazy. I just love it."
MM: "Can you describe yourself in three words?"
Stephen: "Really really fun…really super fun."
MM: "What's an unexpected or embarrassing song on your iPod?"
Stephen: "I don't listen to it, but it's on my iPod. It's the Rugrats theme song."