If you missed the Muddy River Jam Fest show I played back in 2010, you missed one of the most unique shows I have ever been a part of. This is years later, but in light of the release of my live album from that very show, I thought it might be good to give some background on the performance, the song selection, and anything else that is unique to that show.
It all started after the release of my first album, Deconstructing the Temporal Lobe. With my release through cdbaby, I got a 6 month free subscription to Sonicbids, a pay-to-play gig finder. I was young and naïve and thought this was a great idea (I have since grown to oppose the pay-to-play model) and a great chance to get in front of some audiences that I had never played in front of before. One of the big problems I had was that no one is looking for percussive fingerstyle guitarists; mainly because no one knows what we are or why someone would want to listen to instrumental music (“wait, so you don’t sing?”). So I stumbled upon this festival, Muddy River Jam Fest; they sounded pretty diverse, ranging from jam bands to DJs, and it looked like a place where artistic, instrumental music could fit in.
I submitted my press kit to them and heard back shortly thereafter. A few negotiations went down and eventually the details were ironed out. Basically, it ended up being for “exposure” (also, pointing to my naïveté) and gas money (which I never got) (Later on, the live recording got thrown into the mix, ultimately making it really worthwhile). It was exciting; one of my first festivals to be playing an actual stage. Accordingly, I prepared like crazy as the date approached. I was a bit nervous. I mean, a festival means lots of people and lots of other music to compete with, right?
Well, not at 10am. So I show up at this festival around 8:30-9am, with Kelly and Brad. Tents are everywhere, littering the fields, but not a single person is awake; no one is at the gate, which is locked. So I call all the contacts I have. No answer. Everyone is asleep. I keep trying to call and, finally, by 9 I get a hold of the organizer. By this time a line has formed behind me; mostly other artists, I presume. We finally get in at 9:30, giving me half an hour to find the stage, unload, park, set up, and do everything else associated with playing somewhere you’ve never played before. I’m a little frazzled at this point, but just trying my best to help things run smoothly.
Half an hour later, I was all set, save a quick sound check. However, the sound guy had only just arrived from his late night of partying, drinking, and drugs. He actually hadn’t gone to bed yet; cocaine and ecstasy apparently were the drugs of choice for festival goers… Not exactly my normal associates. Needless to say, it took him some time to get around to the sound check.
So the sound checked out alright and I began to play. To no one. You’ve got to come down, I suppose, and if you’re up until the sun rises, in some drug induced stooper, you don’t come back until the sun is at its peak. It was 10am; of course no one was out.
But shortly, a boy emerged. Wearing boxers, an open-faced Hawaiian shirt, and sunglasses, he wielded his red solo cup, dancing and cheering all on his own. Another couple passed by, but the crazy kid, drinking at 10am in the morning, was the only one to stay for the duration of the set. From the stage I could see the sea of tents packed into the adjacent field. This kid and the couple were literally the only festival-goers who were even awake. At that point, I didn’t feel bad about playing to a small crowd. I like to think that the rest of them were enjoying the tunes from within their tents, too hung over to will themselves out of bed.
So I played my set for Kelly, Brad, the sound guy, and the hippy kid. With probably over 50% of the coherent festival-goers in attendance, that’s not bad. The hippy kid, especially, was into it. I’ll post separately on the songs themselves and why I chose them for the set. This is just the story behind the show, for now.
So I played my set. I was told that I had a 45 minute set. The recording ended up at 44 minutes and change (the CD had some stuff cut out), so I think I planned pretty well. Regardless of how perfectly timed things were, when I got done with my set, I got blank stares from the sound guy. When I informed him that I stopped because another act was up at noon, he looked baffled. I think they either must have changed things (like my set time??) without telling me, or had a no-show; there didn’t end up being anyone back at that stage until after lunch.
After my set, I packed up and we wondered around the festival a bit. It was still rather quiet at that point, but you could tell that people were beginning to emerge from their tents to start their day. As we wondered around, we stopped by boutiques selling everything from tye-dye blankets to drug paraphernalia to hippie instrument shops; there was even a glass blower there, sculpting glass …items, right there in front of you. It was definitely a neat little artisan area they had set up; completely different from the art galleries and festivals I’d ever played before.
Eventually, we made our way to the recording trailer, tucked away at the far end of the fairgrounds. I picked up my recording, thanked them, and went to listen to it in my car, baking in the mid-summer’s heat. I don’t recall if I listened to everything at that point or not, but I was pleased with how it turned out. In spite of most everyone being stoned and/or hung over, the recording came out quite well.
The rest of the day we spent listening to jam bands and DJs. I’ve always been fond of jam bands, though only getting to see DMB and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, but I had never really gone to “see” a DJ; it was a new experience. Some were definitely better than others. My opinion is that if you’re going to be a DJ, you should be manipulating the tracks live, not just hitting “Play” and pumping your fist.
The highlight of the bands we saw was definitely this band, Fikus. They’re definitely worth checking out. The hippies were real into them. Notably, there was some sun child hippie girl, dreaded hair, body paint, and with more body hair than me, who was laying down some of the most bizarre dance moves I’ve ever seen. There were also several people with hula hoops, streamers, and all sorts of other strange garb. They were quite the sight, but it was really great to see people so into the music. And they were all really nice; lots of other people are not nice.
We ended up leaving the festival before it got dark. That is, before it went too crazy. After hearing about the previous night, it was probably in our best interest. It was already getting a little crazy and people had barely been awake 5 hours, so I’m sure as the night drew on, we would’ve been in for quite the treat.
Considering most shows I go to are metal shows, singer/songwriters, or experimental guitarists, the whole atmosphere was drastically different from anything I’ve ever experienced. Fun, but really bizarre from an outsider’s prospective. I haven’t gotten to play many festivals in a while and I miss the unique blend of people they bring out. Definitely the highlight of the experience was getting the live recording, but after that it’d be the atmosphere and the unique perspective it provided on the jam band and DJ subcultures.
The album is giving me some more time to sort out the second studio album and will help to keep fans held over until then. Up in the near future will be a breakdown of the songs on the album!