Review: W.E. Fest 2007 - Thursday
11 years of W.E. Fest, and despite being invited most of those years, this one was the first one I made it down to...but it's not likely to be the last.
W.E. Fest (or Wilmington Exchange Fest) happens every Memorial Day weekend in Wilmington, NC, showcasing independent bands (no major labels allowed), as well as zines, and indie comics and films.
And they do it all for the low, low price of just $1 a day.
Due to North Carolina not having a smoking ban in bars, my wife (who is allergic to cigarette smoke), was unable to come. However, if my wife couldn't come, who better to go with then one of the only people to make it to every W.E. Fest, Jersey Beat's Jim Testa.
THURSDAY
We set out early on the 10 hour road trip to Wilmington, and soon realized that my idea of scanning thru the radio dial to see what was out there was not a good idea. Lots of lite music stations, classic rock, best of the 80's, 90's & today stations, and even several other stations that broadcast the same Jack FM that broadcasts in NY. Oh, and once we got into Virginia a lot of country stations. My favorite though was a station whose billboard on route 95 said, "we play anything". What that really meant was anything mainstream from the 80's, 90's or today. I so wanted to call them and ask them to play something like Black Flag, but then when they started playing "always something there to remind me" by Naked Eyes, I realized it would be just as funny to call them and ask them to play anything else by Naked Eyes (seeing as they had no other top 40 hits).
Even when we found a "modern rock" station, they were playing a lot of shitty rock. For instance, Fall Out Boy. Does anyone else hear their new song and think it sounds like a boy band? I can't tell the difference between their shit and the Backstreet Boys/N'Sync, and yet Fall Out Boy is considered hip with the Warped Tour crowd. I just don't get it.
Ultimately what we learned, is radio doesn't just suck in NJ, it sucks everywhere. Thankfully we were headed to an indie rock fest.
We also learned that to at least one person thought Jim & I look like brothers. I find this comical because while Jim is a good friend, I don't think we look at all alike.
Here's a pic (courtesy of Elizabeth Lewis) of Jim (left) and me (right). You decide.
After a 10 hour drive, of which the last hour plus was on route 40 which is nothing but trees on both sides of the road, and bad music, I was ready to kick back and relax in our hotel room. But a few minutes after putting our bags down, I tried to call my wife on my cell phone only to find my cell phone would not make the call. I asked Jim to call my cell phone and found my cell wouldn't take calls either. So off we went to get my phone looked at. Thankfully, a minor repair was done and my phone was working again.
A quick call to my wife, and we were off to get dinner in downtown Wilmington.
Downtown Wilmington has lots of restaurants, bars, and a few cool shops. Jim has a tradition of going to this one Brew Pub on the first night of W.E. Fest. I sure as heck didn't want to break tradition, even if salad was the only vegetarian entree they had, so I ordered a surprisingly good Greek salad.
My stomach full of food, it was off to the Soapbox for my ears to become full of music. Standing outside of the home for W.E. Fest this year was it's co-founder and current curator, Kenyata Sullivan (who is also the lead singer of The Majestic Twelve). Over the last year I've had several opportunities to interview this interesting character, and it was good to see him again, this time on his home turf.
Entering into the Soapbox I could see why this was the home for W.E. Fest. The main floor is the lounge area, with a bar, that in addition to carrying a wide variety of alcoholic beverages also had a coffee bar and lots of juices to choose from. The lounge also had some shoot-'em up video games and a Lord of The Rings pinball machine, as well as a stage and a video projector screen that was showing some indie music videos when we arrived. Behind the lounge is a room with washers & dryers, so you really can do laundry and watch a rock show at the same time.
I didn't get down to the basement the first night when they had three different improv comedy groups performing, but on subsequent nights I would find the basement to be the least comfortable of the rooms. It was dark, hot, smoke filled, and had a low ceiling...basically I felt like I was at a real basement show.
The top floor, up several flights of stairs was a nice, spacious area with a pretty big stage. There were lots of signs up stating that the top floor was smoke free, but those signs just seemed to be there for display purposes only. It was up here that the first band of W.E. Fest would play, Kurt Reifler. With Kurt on vocals and guitar and Justin on drums, it would be easy to compare them to The White Stripes. As a matter of fact, when I spoke to them after their set, they said their manager describes them as The White Stripes meets Jeff Buckley. I'm not sure that really pinpoints their sound as it's obvious they've been influenced by several sounds. What I can say is that you should give them a listen for yourself, as they were very good.
Down in the lounge I caught part of an oddly funny documentary film called, "Brother To Brother". The film depicted a group of Civil War reenactors at SXSW asking bizarre questions of indie-musicians. The answers were highly amusing.
Back up stairs (yeah, I got some good exercise over the course of the weekend going up and down those stairs), Tom House had just started playing. Truly an amazingly talented singer/songwriter. I don't even know what else to say about him except that his set was outstanding.
Later in the evening was a Trekky Records showcase in the lounge. Sets by Butterflies, and The Never, were pretty good, but the highlight was a set by Auxiliary House. Basically the Trekky Records all-stars, Auxiliary House features an interchangeable line-up of musicians from the label. On this night I think there were 9 people on stage playing highly entertaining indie-rock.
But W.E. Fest isn't just about the performances, it's also about the people. I spent a while talking to one of the founders of Trekky Records about the state of radio and that internet radio has helped much more in promoting tours by Trekky Records artists then even college radio. We both lamented the fact that internet radio may soon be killed due to the new royalty rates being instituted, especially since the artists it helps most never see a penny of the royalty money anyway.
Unlike many other fests, W.E. Fest doesn't give you a swag bag . However, you get to make your own swag bag. Scattered on several tables in the lounge were gobs of CDs, 'zines, comics, and other assorted stuff, free for the taking. Let's just say I came home with a lot more stuff then I came down with.
Back on the top floor I caught Kenyata with his band The Majestic Twelve. I had been looking forward to this set, as their album, "schizophrenology", was one of my favorite albums of last year. Even with a sore throat, Kenyata still sang with intensity, and the rest of the band was just on fire. By the end of the set Kenyata's voice was pretty much gone, but the version of, "break it & breathe", that they closed with will always remain a happy memory for me, one that can only be understood if you were there to witness it.
Other Photos From Thursday
11 years of W.E. Fest, and despite being invited most of those years, this one was the first one I made it down to...but it's not likely to be the last.
W.E. Fest (or Wilmington Exchange Fest) happens every Memorial Day weekend in Wilmington, NC, showcasing independent bands (no major labels allowed), as well as zines, and indie comics and films.
And they do it all for the low, low price of just $1 a day.
Due to North Carolina not having a smoking ban in bars, my wife (who is allergic to cigarette smoke), was unable to come. However, if my wife couldn't come, who better to go with then one of the only people to make it to every W.E. Fest, Jersey Beat's Jim Testa.
THURSDAY
We set out early on the 10 hour road trip to Wilmington, and soon realized that my idea of scanning thru the radio dial to see what was out there was not a good idea. Lots of lite music stations, classic rock, best of the 80's, 90's & today stations, and even several other stations that broadcast the same Jack FM that broadcasts in NY. Oh, and once we got into Virginia a lot of country stations. My favorite though was a station whose billboard on route 95 said, "we play anything". What that really meant was anything mainstream from the 80's, 90's or today. I so wanted to call them and ask them to play something like Black Flag, but then when they started playing "always something there to remind me" by Naked Eyes, I realized it would be just as funny to call them and ask them to play anything else by Naked Eyes (seeing as they had no other top 40 hits).
Even when we found a "modern rock" station, they were playing a lot of shitty rock. For instance, Fall Out Boy. Does anyone else hear their new song and think it sounds like a boy band? I can't tell the difference between their shit and the Backstreet Boys/N'Sync, and yet Fall Out Boy is considered hip with the Warped Tour crowd. I just don't get it.
Ultimately what we learned, is radio doesn't just suck in NJ, it sucks everywhere. Thankfully we were headed to an indie rock fest.
We also learned that to at least one person thought Jim & I look like brothers. I find this comical because while Jim is a good friend, I don't think we look at all alike.
Here's a pic (courtesy of Elizabeth Lewis) of Jim (left) and me (right). You decide.
After a 10 hour drive, of which the last hour plus was on route 40 which is nothing but trees on both sides of the road, and bad music, I was ready to kick back and relax in our hotel room. But a few minutes after putting our bags down, I tried to call my wife on my cell phone only to find my cell phone would not make the call. I asked Jim to call my cell phone and found my cell wouldn't take calls either. So off we went to get my phone looked at. Thankfully, a minor repair was done and my phone was working again.
A quick call to my wife, and we were off to get dinner in downtown Wilmington.
Downtown Wilmington has lots of restaurants, bars, and a few cool shops. Jim has a tradition of going to this one Brew Pub on the first night of W.E. Fest. I sure as heck didn't want to break tradition, even if salad was the only vegetarian entree they had, so I ordered a surprisingly good Greek salad.
My stomach full of food, it was off to the Soapbox for my ears to become full of music. Standing outside of the home for W.E. Fest this year was it's co-founder and current curator, Kenyata Sullivan (who is also the lead singer of The Majestic Twelve). Over the last year I've had several opportunities to interview this interesting character, and it was good to see him again, this time on his home turf.
Entering into the Soapbox I could see why this was the home for W.E. Fest. The main floor is the lounge area, with a bar, that in addition to carrying a wide variety of alcoholic beverages also had a coffee bar and lots of juices to choose from. The lounge also had some shoot-'em up video games and a Lord of The Rings pinball machine, as well as a stage and a video projector screen that was showing some indie music videos when we arrived. Behind the lounge is a room with washers & dryers, so you really can do laundry and watch a rock show at the same time.
I didn't get down to the basement the first night when they had three different improv comedy groups performing, but on subsequent nights I would find the basement to be the least comfortable of the rooms. It was dark, hot, smoke filled, and had a low ceiling...basically I felt like I was at a real basement show.
The top floor, up several flights of stairs was a nice, spacious area with a pretty big stage. There were lots of signs up stating that the top floor was smoke free, but those signs just seemed to be there for display purposes only. It was up here that the first band of W.E. Fest would play, Kurt Reifler. With Kurt on vocals and guitar and Justin on drums, it would be easy to compare them to The White Stripes. As a matter of fact, when I spoke to them after their set, they said their manager describes them as The White Stripes meets Jeff Buckley. I'm not sure that really pinpoints their sound as it's obvious they've been influenced by several sounds. What I can say is that you should give them a listen for yourself, as they were very good.
Down in the lounge I caught part of an oddly funny documentary film called, "Brother To Brother". The film depicted a group of Civil War reenactors at SXSW asking bizarre questions of indie-musicians. The answers were highly amusing.
Back up stairs (yeah, I got some good exercise over the course of the weekend going up and down those stairs), Tom House had just started playing. Truly an amazingly talented singer/songwriter. I don't even know what else to say about him except that his set was outstanding.
Later in the evening was a Trekky Records showcase in the lounge. Sets by Butterflies, and The Never, were pretty good, but the highlight was a set by Auxiliary House. Basically the Trekky Records all-stars, Auxiliary House features an interchangeable line-up of musicians from the label. On this night I think there were 9 people on stage playing highly entertaining indie-rock.
But W.E. Fest isn't just about the performances, it's also about the people. I spent a while talking to one of the founders of Trekky Records about the state of radio and that internet radio has helped much more in promoting tours by Trekky Records artists then even college radio. We both lamented the fact that internet radio may soon be killed due to the new royalty rates being instituted, especially since the artists it helps most never see a penny of the royalty money anyway.
Unlike many other fests, W.E. Fest doesn't give you a swag bag . However, you get to make your own swag bag. Scattered on several tables in the lounge were gobs of CDs, 'zines, comics, and other assorted stuff, free for the taking. Let's just say I came home with a lot more stuff then I came down with.
Back on the top floor I caught Kenyata with his band The Majestic Twelve. I had been looking forward to this set, as their album, "schizophrenology", was one of my favorite albums of last year. Even with a sore throat, Kenyata still sang with intensity, and the rest of the band was just on fire. By the end of the set Kenyata's voice was pretty much gone, but the version of, "break it & breathe", that they closed with will always remain a happy memory for me, one that can only be understood if you were there to witness it.
Other Photos From Thursday