Photographer Chad Sengstock (and, you know, all-around good dude) has released a photography book documenting the Vans Warped Tour—on and offstage—titled The Faces of Music: Vans Warped Tour Edition.

The book has been a labor for Sengstock since 2008. After shooting his very first Vans Warped Tour series in that year for AP magazine, Sengstock has returned to every Warped Tour since, thanks in part to the amazing crew that goes out on the road every summer in the name of music.

"It has been the hardest project to do take on, but it has been the most rewarding," shares Sengstock. "Seeing the first book come out after four-years is an amazing feeling. Can't wait to get the others out!"

Sengstock, along with his crew that consists of Shaun Hale and Chris Wallace, have shot over 400 subjects involved with the Warped Tour. And although the book features some favorite and memorable Warped Tour artists (such as Asking Alexandria, A Day to Remember and Blood on the Dance Floor), Sengstock calls The Faces of Music: Vans Warped Tour Edition a real nod to the individuals behind-the-scenes who help make the annual traveling festival happen.

Vans Warped Tour tour manager Devin Hornbeek (PHOTO: Chad Sengstock)

"I needed a creative outlet aside from shooting live concerts," says Sengstock. "I have always felt like music-related photography was my calling, so the idea of doing a portrait series of people in the music industry was born."

He adds that the book was by-product of two things: boredom and unemployment.

"I needed a creative outlet aside from shooting live concerts. I have always felt like music-related photography was my calling, so the idea of doing a portrait series of people in the music industry was born," Sengstock explains.

And if that's not enough to entice you to pick up The Faces of Music, the book features an interview with Warped founder Kevin Lyman and a forward written by Andrew WK himself. When asked how that came about, Sengstock replies that Andrew WK—who he describes as a "totally rad guy"—was gracious enough to pose for a portrait during the 2010 Vans Warped Tour.

"When I was thinking of someone to write a forward, I thought, what the heck, I'll ask Andrew WK!" says Sengstock. "He is well-known and a cool guy. The worse thing that could happen is that he says no. He was stoked to do it and I was honored.

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The Faces of Music: Vans Warped Tour Edition by Chad Sengstock, 102 pp. Blackhawk Publishing, $16.99. Available on Amazon.com.


—Vickie Chang