| Related links: WE Festival www.wefestival.com |
No Hidden Costs 1. First of all, let everyone know what WE Fest is all about. WE Festival is actually kind of hard to put your finger on; as far as brass tacks go, it's seven days in May (May 23-29 this year), in Wilmington NC, USA, with (at least) 42 genuinely independent bands playing (not even bands with major label distribution are allowed). Tickets cost $15 for the whole week, with no hidden costs. This is our 7th year. We don't care about who's cool at the moment in the indie scene, we don't care who's about to get big on the national scene, and we also don't care about genre (we've had everything from hardcore to West African dance music to AOR to improvisational soundscapes to pop to klezmer to metal - you name it). We just try to find the absolute best bands we can, and show them off to the world dirt-cheap. We also have "giveaway alley" where attendees can walk away with tons of free zines, stickers, posters, CDs, etc - we want everyone who comes to leave blown away by what they got for only $15, and with a better idea of what the underground landscape - as a whole - has to offer. 2. How did the initial festival get started and what was the inspiration behind starting this annual event? WE Festival started back in 1996 for a lot of reasons. First, it was a reaction to the major conferences - CMJ, SXSW, CMJ, NEMO, etc. There are lots of things those conferences do that we just aren't down with; bands having to pay money to the events to even be considered for slots, 10 different shows going on at once so lesser known bands are virtually ignored, bands getting in because of who they knew or whether they bought an ad in the guide and not because they were any good, bands having to pay for tables in order to give away promo, etc. All in all, all those events are fueled by money... not a genuine passion for music, culture, or community. But we were also a reaction to a number of insular indie scenes. Indie rock has often been plagued by a real arrogance, and I've just never been into that whole "I'm cooler than you, kiss my ass" crap, or people with specific agendas who only want to talk to you if you agree with them. WE Fest was a reaction to that as well. It's very anti-clique; we're into the idea of open forums and cross-cultural community, and WE Fest is the only place I've ever seen drag queens and skinheads doing shots together. Pretty surreal! It was also founded as a way for folks who were active in the pre-internet mail underground to get together. Back in the day, the underground was a bit more hands on, and more rooted in regional communities I think. And in some ways, it was a mini-convention of indie activists, zinesters, and grass roots musicians (primarily the ones who were also doing booking and/or promotion for bands, or running small labels, etc); it was a chance for these various unannointed representatives of different scenes to get together, share stories, and put a face to all the snail mail we had been trading back and forth. And even back then, most folks on the underground pretty much insulated themselves from one thing or another; the metal kids didn't interact with the dance kids who didn't interact with the twee kids who didn't interact with the rap kids. This is still true, to a certain extent. And with WE Fest we've always wanted to give folks a chance to check out what's up across all scenes - from hair metal to performance art to front porch country. Music is about passion and intensity, and that can come from any genre. It can be a good thing to break down those barriers a bit, and get away from the stereotypes that are associated with certain kinds of music or lifestyles. 3. What obstacles did that first festival encounter and how has the progression been on a yearly basis? Does it seem that each year as the festival grows the problems grow too or does it get easier? Wow, so many obstacles, so little web space! The first year, (other than the fact that we were completely clueless as to how much work was involved), the hardest thing was getting out crowds. No one knew what WE Fest was supposed to be - was it a political statement? Was it just a big drunken indie rock frat party? Was it a networking conference for DIY? Was it a big reunion for home tapers? No one really knew what the hell it was! For the record, it's all of the above (for better or for worse), but that first year, people really didn't know what to make of it, and a lot of folks didn't come. Some bands played to pretty empty rooms, and when it was over, I felt like I'd gotten in way over my head, and that it had been a disaster, and that I sucked. But then, the articles started coming in - people were saying it was the only pure festival in the country, that the contacts they'd made had been invaluable, that they'd never had so much fun, that they'd made lifelong friends, and even that the event had genuinely changed their lives. The reaction just blew me away. And sure, every year gets a bit easier; I actually retired (from all music stuff and networking) in the beginning of 1999 when my Grandmother had a stroke (I still take care of her), and I'm only now back to running things, but this year has been so much easier! There are so many people willing to volunteer and help, people all over the world, and even if they can't come this year they're doing what they can to help (hell, take this interview for example, thank you!!) The overall support has been unexpectedly fantastic, and that makes things stunningly less complicated. Plus, it's easier to put in so many hours working on the fest, when you know other people genuinely want you to succeed, and are willing to put their labor where their mouth is. It really makes you work harder to do well. 4. What would you say is the greatest satisfaction of organizing such a festival and bringing together people from all over the country to share and enjoy music and art? Just seeing folks smiling, and enjoying themselves. While WE Fest is, in many ways, inherently political, it's not a preachy kind of politics. It's about giving people information, and giving them options; not dictating to them which options are best for them. And if you take away the preachiness and the indie cliques, folks start to remember why they first started playing music, or doing zines, or creating art, and they seem to just fall back into that. Egos disappear, and everyone just jumps around, hangs out with each other, and has fun - and that's the best part, because a great crowd fuels great bands, making them even better. Dismemberment Plan still say that their first WE Fest show (from way back in 1996) is one of the best gigs they've ever had, and I also just got a really nice email from Chris in Lamb Of God, etc. one of the best parts is that bands usually leave glad they've been able to play WE Fest, and glad that they were treated with respect, when no one else gave a shit! That feels pretty good, too. We just really want folks to have a good time, and be glad they came. And when that happens, it makes my year - it makes it worth every dollar spent, and every hour labored. 5. What would be the biggest accomplishment for WE Fest so far? The way bands have networked after the fest. WE Fest in many ways lasts all year long, as bands share information, hook each other up with shows, write reviews for each other, etc. xbxrx booked their first national tour entirely from WE Fest contacts. Now they're really big (or I should say, were really big - I just got an email from Steve saying they just played their last show), but anyways, now Ian MacKaye is saying they're one of his favorite bands, but back at the beginning of 1999, they were just a great unknown band out of Alabama. Our biggest success is that great bands can truly get noticed at WE Fest by folks who give a shit before anyone else gets a peek at them; they're immediately in an environment where the entire crowd wants to hook them up if they can. That makes me proud as punch. That's the best, because it's fair. So much stuff in the music scene is unfair, but WE Fest is fair. Folks who rock at WE Fest have an instant army eager to help them rock the rest of the world, and we know that the kids in your garage might rock harder than the latest indie-hype in Spin, so screw the hype. Long live the kids. 6. With today's available media, the Internet and all the resources available, do you think it has become significantly easier to organize such a large event or does it merely assist you in what would normally be a very difficult task? You know, I'm not sure; I still haven't really been able to get a grip on the Internet underground landscape the way I had a pretty good fix on the mail underground in the 90's. I'm still not sure if there's more out there, because I'm still looking around. There are certainly more music sites than there were print zines back in the day, but how many get regularly updated? How many people are actually out there busting ass and participating in their communities, as opposed to how many just stuck up a page to get free promo from the majors? I'll probably have a better answer next year, but for now, I'm just working hard like always, and doing my best to have a good festival for everyone. More media might mean more attention, but it could also mean it's easier to get lost in the ocean of information, ya know?! Luckily, all us old dogs have been at this game for awhile, so it's probably a help to us, but I worry it might not necessarily help new folks get their own projects off the ground. 7. Who else has had their hand in organizing the festival on a yearly basis? It changes every year; last year I wasn't involved at all, and the entire event was orchestrated by James Cooper and Caroline Conoly (both of whom are also helping this year, from New Jersey and Baltimore respectively). The core group of this year consists of myself, Rick D'Anjolell (who was also one of the original founders, and has come back after being retired a few years), and Kim and Jeremy Ware-Matthews, who run Eskimo Kiss records. But we also have a small army of volunteers here, all of whom are doing fantastic work - Lex from Sister Adore, Emily Martian from Two Stoopid Girls, John from Fanboy, Michael from The Jackson Hives, Amanda from Encore, longtime festers like Tamar and MareMare, so many folks! I couldn't possibly do all this stuff by myself. I'd be in a coffin in no time, if only from the stress. And that doesn't even mention all the folks helping from outside of Wilmington - Jim Testa from Jersey Beat, Andy Gesner from Artist Amplification, Megan from Canary Promotion, Carla from The Swimmies, Ryan Gentles (manager of The Strokes, and WE Fest Class of '99), just so many great people busting ass. I owe them my mental health, and a ton of beer. I should also mention people like Nadia Labib and Lee Buffaloe (who were original founders (Buffaloe will be in the core group again next year)), perennial hard as hell worker bee Ziggy Nix, original web designer Alex (whom I never really got along with, but fair is fair), most recent web designer Skye (who has tons of ideas and is only getting started), and the fantastic Krysti + Billy Weatherill (who not only have put a great deal of effort into WE, but also met at the fest and subsequently got married). There are so many more great folks, but I'd better stop before I get nuts taking up space! I could never list them all, and that's a damn shame, because so many people deserve so much credit. Without them, I'm just a grumpy little man running around in my underpants, and shouting, "do this, do that!" WE Fest really is built, and sustained by, an entire community of people. It doesn't exist without all of us working together. 8. What would say is the most important aspect about WE Fest? What do you look forward to every year during the festival? The most important aspect, hmmmm.... like I said before, the fairness of it. While every now and again we cheat a little bit, for the most part, no one gets in because they're somebody's pal, or because they're currently all hyped-up. This is even the last year we're allowing bands who have showcased before to play again, because while it's great to be surrounded by friends, you don't want to get to a place where you turn into your own little clique, ya know? Our core group of festers, hell, they'll be here whether their band is playing or not. So after this year, no returning bands on the official bill (though there will probably be late night parties from 2-5 AM where they play - that's been a tradition since the first year. And as a matter of fact, there's usually more competition for the late night slots than for the regular gigs). Each year, hell, I just look forward to surviving! I look forward to it being over, 'cause then I can take a damn nap! 9. How would you like to see WE Fest expand over the next few years? We're actually going to be stepping up things quite a bit. We've
always been leery of getting too large, and have intentionally tried
to fly underneath the radar a bit, to keep things as pure as we
can. But at this point, we're all veterans, and I can say "no"
to just about anyone. I just told a guy from Interscope two weeks
ago that his bands were ineligible. And even though it would have
greatly increased our profile if those bands were on the bill, it
was completely painless for me - I never had a doubt that saying
"no" was the right thing to do. So I know that even if
we get a bit larger, we can still say "no" when we have
to - 10. What are your thoughts on corporate sponsors of such festivals? Would you let corporations "lend" their name to WE Fest? I'm probably not gonna answer the way you suspect! I kinda don't care what other events do (their sole purpose is to make money - and if that's their goal, hell, sponsorships are just natural for them!) As far as WE Fest goes, to be perfectly honest, it would depend on the company probably. In general, it's a bit of a mantra around here, that instead of trying to destroy the things we dislike, we'll work hard to build the things we love, and support the things we appreciate. I'm not really anti-corporate as an overall rule. That being said, we've always said "no" in the past, and I can't see us saying "yes" in the future. This year is actually the first year we're accepting any advertising at all for the guide (so we can keep the ticket price at $15), but when someone brought me a list of possible sponsors, I automatically marked off Dominoes Pizza, Footlocker, etc, and just left the local stores. Could I see CD Alley (which is run by Fred Champion from Glow In The Dark Scars) being a sponsor of WE Fest? Yep. Blockbuster Music? No fucking way, it just feels utterly and completely wrong. I don't want to leave anyone with the wrong impression that we're an intentionally anti-corporate political statement - I personally don't fight the anti-corporate battle (though of course, I have a lot of friends and cohorts that do). WE Fest has always been NON-corporate, and I don't see that changing, but I don't think that by doing so, we're throwing a rock in the anti-corporate fight. It's just I'd rather see kids buy CDs from their locally owned indie rock store than Wal-Mart. And I'd rather see bands get a good deal and good work from a fantastic CD manufacturer like Merkin, than pay too much to an overpriced Oasis. For me it's more practical than theoretical. So if we like the company, sure, no big deal. But off the top of my head, I can't think of a single corporation - other than someone like, say, eBay - that I would feel comfortable associating themselves with WE Fest. We fund a lot of what we do by selling stuff on eBay, so there's a corporation that I think in a very practical way allows people to do what they love without interference, and sure, I can support something like that. But hell, I think we'd even have to tell Budweiser no, and I love Budweiser (I'm really nothing like the stereotypical indie rocker many folks suspect - I'm just a six-string twelve-pack front porch redneck who chops his own wood and fixes up the old home place, fer chrissake!) I know it's more fashionable to be whole hog "fuck corporations", but if you can't be honest being indie, then you might as well not be indie. And there ya go. 11. Has their been a year which you could single out as your favorite year or the most successful WE Fest to date? Naw, that's like trying to say which child is your favorite! They've
all had great successes, and they've all had failures. We plan on
just working hard and doing our best to get better every year, and
staying true to why we started this - to create a fair arena, to
keep it an event where the driving force is passion instead of money,
and to help folks do what they love for a living, while we have
the time of our lives. |
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The
hot searing sun, sweaty bodies, $5 bottles of water and $35 dollar
t-shirts seem to be the prototypical description of today's music
festivals. These festivals are billed with today's most popular
artists and celebrities, sponsored by the largest commercial outlets
and cost a nice large sum for the general public to attend. Every
year, the same bands play their same hits and as their stock decline,
ticket prices seem to get steeper. Face it, they don't make festivals
like they use to. Try telling that to Kenyata Sullivan and the rest
of the organizers of WE Fest. In Wilmington, music, art and the
people involved come together each year and prove that hype is extremely
overrated. Since it's inception, the WE (Wilmington Exchange) Festival
has brought together kids from all over the country for their love
of music, art and the great memories made. Where else can you get
over 40 bands, great (free!) merchandise and meet people who share
your interests for a mere $15? Only at the WE Fest, and as Kenyata
Sullivan explains, it's about the passion, not the money.