Steve & Bryan (Breakin’ Even Fest)
SPB: How are you approaching Fest #2 differently than #1?
Steve & Bryan: We definitely focused on making Breakin' Even Fest All Ages this year. Last year, all ages were admitted, but needed a chaperone.
We also expanded our lineup beyond just East Coast bands, including Sidekicks from Ohio and Pkew Pkew Pkew from Toronto. Last year we learning how to do a fest (and still are). Sometimes bringing people from far can be more complex – like trying to fit our fest into a tour route, or just making it financially viable for both parties.
Other than that, our approach remains the same: to book people we like who make music we love. Having a single stage and time for only 13 bands makes this a difficult task – we can't book everyone we'd like each year. So that means we'll have to keep booking it!
Thanks!
Poli (The Bombpops)
SPB: What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Poli: Worst job we've ever had... well, Jen and I are both servers at restaurants in Los Angeles, so that's an obvious one. But I actually have a story of us working together.
Jen and I did catering here in LA quite a few times and, even though, you get to see some cool houses and sneak some fancy food, it mostly sucks. We ended up both working a Halloween party in Hollywood for George Clooney's tequila company "Casamigos." It was baller, there was high security, tons of celebs in intense costumes and wehad to tray pass. It was a nightmare. There's nothing worse than trying to squeeze by Paris Hilton with a tray and getting smooshed into a bush, smashed in the face by a Victoria Secret Model Angel's wing, and run down by Leonardo DiCaprio's mob of babes. It was way too crowded, we felt like pieces of shit and we seriously wished we hid Halloween costumes in our bags and changed inside to join the party. We had to get out of there, so we snuck a couple of airplane bottles of tequila into our pockets and bailed saying we were sick from food poisoning, never catering again.
Tom (EORÐESLAJYR)
SPB: What is the most thankless job in the music industry?
Tom: We think one of the most thankless jobs in the industry is putting on DIY gigs and organizing DIY venues. Having a vibrant, encouraging DIY venue in your hometown is such a great asset for young bands. In Ireland there's such a strong drinking culture that unless you're gonna draw a large crowd that buys a lot of pints, it can be expensive to put on shows in bars and traditional music clubs.
We have a lot of respect for people who go out of their way to put on gigs and performances in different spaces and break away from the pub/alcohol culture. These alternative venues often serve as great incubators for musical projects and underground culture. Unfortunately the reality is that these spaces are often expensive and stressful to maintain. With a policy of low cover charge and BYOB, they usually don't last very long. I don't know if it's fair to say it's all thankless though, people can have a lot of love for these places and the memories they have there. It's just a sad truth that they are mostly a labour of love for the people organizing them.
