We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gunnar Warzon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gunnar, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

The main issue I’ve had to face, and which I’m always asked about, is my age. I get messages and people always come up to me wondering how I get bookings as a 16-year-old in the music industry. Considering how fast things have taken off for me, getting shows across different states and working with artists I’ve looked up to for years, it’s a valid question. I have been very fortunate with both the promoters who have reached out to me for events and the owners of the venues. They’re more lenient about my age when it’s made clear that I’m a performer for the night, especially when I always have one of my parents there with me. On the other hand, there are some promoters that turn me down from events based solely on my age alone. Whether it’s a genuine concern for liability reasons or just a cop-out to book another artist, it can be pretty discouraging. Luckily the event organizers are on my side more often than not.

Gunnar, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Gunnar Warzon, more commonly known as Warzone, and I’m a 16-year-old artist from Raleigh, North Carolina. From electronic music production to live DJ performances, my image has started to really take shape within the past couple of years. I’ve been involved with music for as long as I can remember, between getting a drumset for Christmas when I was two and getting introduced to Skrillex through my cousin when I was five. It wasn’t until around 2015-16 that I finally decided to dive into the EDM realm, with some of Marshmello’s very first Soundcloud releases and whatever Trap Nation videos showed up on my YouTube recommended. Things only picked up speed from there, getting into the heavier side of things with artists like Zomboy, Eptic, and Getter among others (these three remain some of my top inspirations to this day). At some point, it just clicked for me that I wanted to try my hand at this heavier, scarier dubstep sound. As far as an artist name, all I had to do was add the “e” to Warzon for a name that was not only personal to me but reflected the aggressive nature of the music I would go on to make. Now, I’ve played in cities all around North Carolina and a few other states, headlining venues as well as playing support for names like Eptic, PhaseOne, Leotrix, Codd Dubz, and more.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I made my first account for Warzone on Instagram when I was 12, and as per my parent’s request at the time, I would wear a paintball mask and sunglasses to hide my face in any public posts. I initially kept the page very lowkey, only following artists that I would listen to at the time before I followed any of my friends or family. My first posts were just random pictures of me in the mask before I even made any music to put out under the Warzone name. Just by using random tags related to music, I managed to gain a couple hundred followers before I put out any songs, which for the first couple of years were exclusively uploaded to YouTube and Soundcloud. Entering the pandemic era, I ended up opting for a black facemask instead of the full paintball mask I was wearing in my posts. This look with the bottom half of my face concealed would carry over into my first year or so performing live, as I felt it was tied into the Warzone image. About a year or so after, between mask mandates being lifted everywhere and the number of people who had seen my face at shows, I decided to drop the mask from my branding. I tied it in with the release of my single “Mask Off” a few months later, sampling the vocals from Future’s “Mask Off” over a dubstep/metal hybrid song. Now I feel there’s more of a connection with my audience, considering now they can really put a face to the name.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

One of, if not the main reasons that I’m driven as an artist is to prove to people that you can accomplish big things even at a young age. While many young producers and DJs alike have been gaining a lot of traction online recently, it’s less common you see them sharing the stage with bigger names at events and festivals. Some of the first that come to mind are Moore Kismet who just turned 18, and Marauda who was 18 when he played his first year at Lost Lands Music Festival. With a surplus of young talent releasing music yet a lack of representation on festival billings, I want to step up to the plate since I know it’s possible. As it stands with the shows that I’ve played so far and what I’m booked for in the future, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that some big lineups are attainable for me within the next couple of years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/itswarzonemusic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itswarzonemusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itswarzonemusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/itswarzonemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@itswarzonemusic

Image Credits
Denzel Brown (@dynsulmedia), Krzysz Wendling (@zzyzyx.media)