19 Things We Miss About The Fest
2020 has been hard. You’ve all read that a million times. But you’ve lived it too.
In most years, for many of us, The Fest offers an outlet to get away from those doldrums. But a socially distant Fest is simply inconceivable. The Fest 19 was originally scheduled to take place in Gainesville, FL this weekend. It’s been pushed back to October 29-31, 2021.
Delayed isn’t dead, of course. Check out The Fest That Never Was, a livestream event this Saturday Oct. 31, with dozens of bands an more than 11 hours of music and madness.
We may not have live, sweaty bars right now. But we’ve always got nostalgia. This year Scene Point Blank touched base with 19 Fest vets. We asked for favorite Fest memories, what they like to do in Gainesville, and how they’re dealing with the pandemic.
We asked 19 artists similar but different questions. Then we randomly put them in order below. Then we realized we counted wrong and it’s actually 20.
Enjoy.
Spells
Similar to the "describe your perfect Sunday" cliché, what would you do on a perfect Fest day? Besides specific bands, what venues, restaurants, or other stops would you visit?
A perfect Fest day for us would be for the spry members of SPELLS to crawl out of bed and head down to the pool at the Wyndham Gardens while any stragglers knock out the cobwebs from the night before. We're pretty sure Duke would be up before everyone doing his daily meditation or on some sort of run. BORING! Most of us would then head down to Maude's Cafe for some coffee so we could function and make our plan of attack for the upcoming day. After a few mug mug mugs, Charlie and Bohner would most likely head over to Hear Again Records look for old Discount or My Pal Trigger records for the collection.
If we aren't playing that night, we would most likely text a few of our non-Denver-dwelling pals to see what they were up to. Fest is a great chance to see amazing friends from all over the US (and the rest of the world!) and catch up on what all we've been doing. It's also a good way to find out what bands we should be checking out that might not be on our collective radars. Seeing headliners is fun, but it's even better to go check out the bands you heard about from a friend (or friend-of-a-friend) that might not be as well known... yet. Before you know it, you're at the High Dive at 3pm having your world rocked by some rad band you've never heard of. Yes, I'll take all the records, please! Also, come to Denver, we got you!
As the night draws on, we'll reconvene with some more buddies at Boca Fiesta or some random venue to catch some of our favorite bands. As with most festivals, it's hard to see everyone as they are all usually playing at the same time, so it's fun when SPELLS meets up in the middle of the street to compare notes on what bands we just saw. Of course, we will most likely get sidetracked by seeing old pals, and catching up will result in missing a few big acts from time to time. But ya know, friends)
As the night (morning) comes to a close, we will all most likely make our way to the hotel and order pizza to eat by the pool and drink beers ‘til one of us says something inappropriate and has to be excused from the grown-up table. At that point, Little Stevie Shithead likes to tuck us all into our beds and kisses us on the forehead before he heads to the executive suite. He's got points to spare.
Murder By Death
Adam Turla – guitar/vocals
Are you writing more, or less, music during this year of isolation?
I have pushed back writing a new album, so I'm writing less music, because I decided to take a much needed break. That being said, we recorded a Christmas album, with a couple originals, standards and covers, and that was a fun project that we have always wanted to do, but never would have been able to get around to with our normal schedules. We also launched a Patreon which is basically turning into a multimedia memoir. I'm having fun digging through the vaults and remembering all this stuff!
Reconciler
Photo: Nicole Kibert
Derron Nuhfer – bass/vocals
Who you were most looking forward to seeing perform at Fest this year?
With V.1, I was most excited to see Hot Water Music perform Flight and a Crash, runner up would have been Sparta.
With V.2 (the redo), I’m totally stoked to see Gorilla Biscuits!!!
War on Women
Photo: Drew Kaufman
Shawna Potter – frontperson
Similar to the "describe your perfect Sunday" cliché, what would you do on a perfect Fest day? Besides specific bands, what venues, restaurants, or other destinations would you visit?
My perfect day starts with sleeping in at a quiet and cheap Airbnb, booked months in advance, ideally with a pool. Then onto coffee and vegan breakfast sandwiches from Karma Cream, that magically serves them up whenever I show up, even if it's (inevitably) after 11am. Then onto a loose schedule of popping in on shows between impromptu street hangs. I can't stick to a rigid schedule, it's too much! Hopefully running into all kinds of friends, seeing new bands, and catching folks wearing WOW merch (it warms this cold cold heart).
If the day wasn't tied to a 24-hour cycle, I might also go visit those alligators that don't bother you when you walk amongst them - is that at La Chua trail? Not sure of the name, please correct me! Then it's time for lunch at Reggae Shack, more bands, a nice wheat beer at House of Beer, more music and hangs, Bloody Mary's at Boca Fiesta (at least I think that's what I was drinking at the time, not a lot of memories from last year), dinner at Reggae Shack, vegan ice cream at Karma Cream, then wind it down and sleep hard. REPEAT.
The Bombpops
Jen Razavi – guitar/vocals
What is your favorite record of 2020 so far (from a band scheduled for Fest 19)?
Skeleton Coast - The Lawrence Arms
The Tim Version
Russ – guitar/vocals
What is the best set you've ever seen at The Fest?
Best set I’ve ever seen. Phew. Tough one. I’m gonna go with the Billy Reese Peters set at the Side Bar. I can’t remember which Fest that was, but I think it was the same one where Bloodbath and Beyond played a house show and my friend open hand-slapped some dude in the head for lighting off fireworks and throwing them too close to his dog. They all kinda blur together at this point. That was a very different time for me.
Anyway, there we were at Publix -- the less sober versions of myself, Mike and Aaron -- to purchase a dozen or so champagne bottles for the show. You know, just to celebrate life. The BRP set erupted into complete chaos almost instantly and out came the champagne -- a thousand half-naked, grown-ass men on stage passing around champagne bottles and screaming into a microphone. I spent a good amount of time holding the hi-hat in place. Pretty sure that was also the first (and last) time I saw someone doing key bumps on stage. I think the set was pretty good. There’s probably video of it somewhere that may prove me wrong, but it was a religious experience.
Debt Neglector
Photo: @shuttercrust
Alex Goldfarb – bass/vocals
As a Florida-based band, I imagine you've been to multiple Fests (either performing or as fans). What was the first Fest you went to and how do you remember your first impressions?
Being from Florida (and OLD) I actually have played ALMOST every Fest. The only one I missed was Fest 12. I played the very first year it happened at Fest 1 (it happened in May that year I believe!) at a place called the Purple Porpoise with my old band New Mexican Disaster Squad. I remember we got to the venue and they handed us a 12-pack of PBR and that was our beer for the day. Only one of us actually drank back then so HE had a pretty good time from what I recall, haha. I don’t remember too much of who else played that year, it all blends together and was so long ago! But I don’t think I realized at the time what a huge thing it would become. My current band Debt Neglector has played Fest the past 4 years and we were REALLY looking forward to this year.
Sarchasm
Mateo – guitar
Alex – bass
Stevie - drums
You just put out a new record that, in a way, would have been debuting at Fest this year. What is a record you picked up at the last Fest you attended that's left a lasting impression? (Any deeper thoughts to go with that -- perhaps a memory of that band's set?)
The last Fest we attended/played was Fest 17, in 2018. Even though they weren’t a “new” band, and the record by this band was bought at a fest prior by our bassist, one of the sets that made the whole weekend memorable was Signals Midwest at the Atlantic on Friday and Wooly’s on Saturday night. The Atlantic set was a “mystery band” set; Signals played the entirety of their debut album, a record we hadn’t really listened to (At This Age is a staple in the band van, but we hadn’t really branched out past that), so seeing the entirety of Latitudes and Longitudes was awesome, and their regular set the next night was incredible, and led to an extra appreciation and love for that band.
Dollar Signs
Erik Button – singer/songwriter/guitar
Do you have any "Fest regrets" from previous years? Perhaps questionable tattoo choices, or on a less dramatic note, missing a set you'd intended to go see?
It’s hard to have regrets when so much happens. You can always see more bands and hang more with friends! I drank a little too much after our set and I missed Spraynard like a dummy. Usually my biggest regret is not taking the Tuesday off work so I can recover.
MakeWar
Jose
Do you have any Fest traditions?
Let me tell you a little story about my Fest traditions. They all involve alcohol, lots of it.
On our first Fest, me and some friends that used to live and run Suburbia here in Brooklyn drunkenly burned each other with a cigarette and drunkenly said this was going to be a tradition -- I'm really glad it wasn't.
My other tradition is to always be really hungover whenever I have to play an acoustic set. For some weird reason they are always early either on Saturday or Sunday after a night or heavy drinking and partying. You will always see me there with sunglasses on playing some sad songs usually slower than usual, haha.
On our third Fest we brought inflatable orcas to our show at the High Dive and people went fucking nuts. One person tried to stage dive on top of one and fell to the floor pretty bad. He is fine, I think. Part of the ceiling collapsed, which could've been really bad, but everyone held the part of the ceiling that fell down and slowly took it outside. Last year we didn't bring any inflatables but some people brought their own to our show which was pretty rad. So yeah, let's keep bringing floaties to all of our shows please, haha.
I think my favorite part of the Fest traditions is the purge at the Wyndham hotel on Sunday night. You are not in a band or a fan there. We are all friends drinking and laughing and getting in the pool and telling stories. Fuck I miss the fest and my Fest friends. See y'all next year!
The Raging Nathans
Josh Goldman – guitar/vocals
If Fest were today, what 3 bands (from the Fest 19 lineup) would you see first? (There are no schedule conflicts in this hypothetical.)
Gorilla Biscuits, The Lawrence Arms, Canadian Rifle
Timeshares
Mike Natoli – bass/vocals
Is there a single band who you discovered at The Fest that is now a favorite?
We played on Saturday night of Fest 16 at Rockeys Dueling Piano Bar. After our set I loaded offstage and walked over to the merch table. The band playing immediately after us was Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires. They were from Birmingham, AL and I’d never heard of them before. I was so blown away by their twangy sound, raw energy and sheer volume that while I was selling merch and talking to people I kept pointing out how good they were. It wasn’t until I got home from Fest and heard their 2017 record Youth Detention (Nail My Feet Down To The Southside Of Town) that I discovered their message was even bigger than their music. Lee’s lyrics speak loudly of dismantling systems of oppression, showing up for marginalized groups and building more inclusive communities. In 2018 they released Live At The Nick, which featured the between-song introductions that are a staple of the live experience. Since that first encounter we’ve been lucky enough to cross paths again, including a few shows around Fest 18. We’ve built a friendship with Lee and the boys and their records have been regulars in my rotation.
Nightmarathons
Photo: Jerred Lazar
Chris Stowe
What is your favorite thing to eat in Gainesville?
As far as a band consensus goes, we can all agree that The Top is always solid, it's a great spot to actually have a nice chill sit down meal. Corey spends most of his time at Taco Bell though. Another yearly tradition is Chris ordering way too much Reggae Shack.
Attic Salt
Fred Malcom – drums
How many times have you been to The Fest? Can you share a few memories (or hopes for when Fest 19 happens)?
Six or 7 times, I think? The most unforgettable unmemorable Fest for me was Fest 18, last year. I was beyond delusional sick with the flu driving down to Fest, like game 5, Jordan, ‘97 Finals sick. The show must go on and I didn't want to bail on my bandmates.
I only left my room to play 4 sets then retreated: one with Attic Salt, the rest with my other bands. Great story huh? When I'm not ill, my favorite place to hang is always the High Dive beer garden. It's the old duster pop-punk meet up hang. Hell yeah, I hope Fest 19 happens next year.
Kepi Ghoulie
Whether Fest related, or from another tour, what is your favorite memory as a performer in Gainesville?
EVERY SHOW I play at Fest is special! I know it may sound corny but my band always changes! Members of or with Mean Jeans, Chixdiggit, Slackers, AJJ, it is special every time! A great memory is dragging KJ Chix back from gator watching in time to play a daytime acoustic show!
My ongoing love affair memory is FIVE STAR PIZZA! ️
Franz Nicolay
Phoro: Miles Kerr
What is your favorite thing to eat in Gainesville?
Spicy Tempeh and Dulce de Leche Festival at Reggae Shack
Sam Russo
What is your favorite piece of music to come out of the COVID situation so far?
I had to pick two, sorry if that’s naughty.
My favourite two pieces of music to come out of all this so far are The Offspring’s cover of “Here Kitty Kitty” by Joe Exotic and “ACIYHAB” by Throwing Stuff. The Offspring video has a skateboarding tiger in it, and that Throwing Stuff jam is a cross continental hardcore banger.
DFMK
Marco – bass
Alex – drums
Davey – guitar
Mr. Cap - vocals
What bands do you make a point to see every year at The Fest?
Well, we always make a point in seeing bands with friends in them. Specially bands from La Escalera Records, all of them are friends of ours and we like to support them.
Rational Anthem
Noelle Stolp – guitar/vocals
Chris Hembrough – bass/backing vocals
Pete Stolp – drums
How has COVID changed how your band operates this year?
The band doesn’t operate nearly as much. We write and practice much less. There are no venues nor tours happening. We should have written a rock opera at this point but this year sort of took the wind out of our sails. We still have plans of writing and releasing a new album next year once things level out. We all live next to each and have a practice space so it’s just about getting together and getting our heads out of our asses and being productive. It’ll happen...eventually.
Broadway Calls
Photo: Jacki Vitetta taken at High Dive
Ty Vaughn – guitar/vocals
You released a new record this year. Is it odd to not be playing live in support? Do you think the songs will still feel fresh whenever live shows resume?
Yeah it fucking sucks to not be playing shows. Very depressing. I honestly don’t think live shows are going to resume. Not in the same way we had before. We were so lucky for so long.
The songs are solid, I’m not afraid of them going anywhere or sounding stale. Sad In The City is apocalyptic, and it’s not like things are getting better anytime soon.
