The Fest 9
Latest Fest News
FEST WRAP UP!
Hello once-again FEST friends,
Well, after a few weeks of much needed recovery time, I am finally able to sit down and compose a little rambly-post-FEST message to you all. First and foremost, I and my crew want to thank everyone who came this year. We were working our asses off all weekend, but during my many bike adventures to make sure things were running smoothly, I got to see crowds of smiling faces and seas of singing friends. No matter how hard it is to pull this off each year and no matter how stressed out we get, seeing everyone having the time of their lives make it all worth while! Once again, we had no fights or real problems with attendees this year. This makes me really proud of us all. Collectively we can all come together from all over the world and truly respect each other like we are all the best of buds.
I would also like to thank all the FEST 9 volunteers. FEST would not be able to run as smoothly as it does without the hours these fine folks spend helping out. We did have a few folks that abused their volunteer position by picking up their free pass and neglecting to show up for their shift! We have a small list of these folks and they have all been contacted. A few have even contacted us back with their reasons and have paid us back for their passes. The others who have not contacted us will get theirs and will be banned from helping us out in any event we have for life! If anyone knows Sean T Kennedy and John Matt Knighton, please have them get in contact with us before it starts to get ugly!
I would also like to thank all the amazing FEST bands we have in our family who come year after year. I only wish I could have had time to see most of your amazing sets and put in some crucial hang time with you. This just means you need to tour more often and come visit us in Gainesville!
We have been getting many emails from folks asking if we still have FEST merch left over. Guess What? We do! You can still get all the awesome shirts we made over at the No Idea Distro. We have also made 50 more of the FEST hoodies that Horsebites designed for us. You can get those as well from No Idea now.
We have been getting great feedback from the press world about FEST 9. You can check out some of the amazing photo wrap-ups and stories of debauchery below.
Speaking of photos we had a great team of freelance photographers that shot for us. You can check out the FEST Flicker page over on the lower right hand side of this page to view some of those. There will be more updated as they come in!
You should also check out National Underground who filmed loads of sets from FEST 9. Check back weekly to their site for more updates.
FEST 9 WRAP-UP PRESS:
Absolute Punk
Alternative Press
PHOTOS
VIDEOS
AMP Magazine
Pop 'Stache
The Punk Site
http://thepunksite.com/media/thumbnails.php?album=289
http://thepunksiteradio.mevio.com/
In the end, we all once again pulled off a truly memorable weekend! Nine years down, and one year to go until we celebrate our big 10 year anniversary!!! I have already started plotting and planning. If the town is still standing and venues will still open their doors to us, we will be hosting you all once again for FEST 10 on October 28, 29 & 30 of 2011. Start saving your loot. Tell your boss you will be gone; your friends who think it is really cool to get married on Halloween that they are the worst; your future teachers that your mortal soul cannot consume any endless abyss of knowledge that weekend due to a prior condition called POST FEST DEPRESSION.
Until next year, we once again thank you all for the love and support!
Endless Cheers!
-Tony Weinebender and the rest of the FEST crew!!!
FEST UPDATE 10/27
FEST Friends and Lovers,
Joe from Worn In Red here filling in for a temporarily mega-slammed Fest head honcho Tony. We made the drive all the way down to No Idea HQ only to be welcomed by a list of updates for the masses. The Man doesn’t have time to keep you in the know, so I’m taking it on. He still loves you, but you spread him so thin…
PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS
Go see Planes Mistaken for Stars at 8 Seconds on Saturday night. By far, this’ll be the best decision you make this year. A great band or the greatest band? You decide.
DAVE HOUSE
Get excited! Previously unannounced, Dave House (of The Steal and Pacer (see Pacer at 1982 on Sunday)) is playing at CMC on Sunday, solo style. We’re super fucking stoked to add this at the last minute. Make our update worthwhile.
Punknews is also hosting two separate free download compilations of Fest 9 bands. The first was posted on Monday with a slew of amazing shit, and today they bring a whole new bag of fun. Electronically grab some new and some unreleased shit from Dead to Me, The Future Now, Make Do and Mend, The Measure [SA], VRGNS, City of Ships & others… Maybe Worn In Red is on it… I don’t know, and Tony is too fucking busy to tell me…
Also, check in with the ‘Org to read the running series of interviews with Fest players and VIP. Get to know some of the people that make this possible.
JUICEBOXdotcom.com
Juiceboxdotcom.com is hosting a download of all-Canadian bands that are crossing the border for Fest!!! They’re excited to give us more bands at the “beardpunk Burning Man.” This is a great intro for learning about our friendly neighbors to the north. Trigger Effect doesn’t make an appearance, but they fucking rule (see them at Rum Runners on Saturday).
TICKETS TICKETS TICKETS
Online ticket sales are cut off at midnight, TONIGHT. That shit is $65 online, $80 walkup. So, save yourself some money if you plan on joining us for the weekend.
REGISTRATION
When you get to Gainseville, go to the Holiday Inn on University for registration. I’ll be there. Tony will be there. The Bassman will be there. Also, you don’t have a choice.
ART SHOWS
If you’re getting in early, and you want some cool shit to do that won’t make your ears bleed, we have two art show openings on Thursday night right on Main St. The art show page on this very website has all the info. They’re up and running until November 17th if you just want to quit your job and stay in Gainesville until then (you know you do).
PRE-FEST SHOWS
If you’re getting in early and you want some cool shit to do that will absolutely make your ears bleed, Thursday has an ass load of Pre-Fest shows in and around Gainesville. Check the message board for posts about shows and the info you need to get there. I highly recommend Thursday night at 1982 with Young Livers, Worn In Red, Bridge and Tunnel, Landmines and more. I’ll be there. You should be, too.
VOLUNTEER MEETING
Attention all the volunteers!!! Tony fucking loves you; however, he will not fucking love you if you aren’t at the Holiday Inn at 7PM TONIGHT. Please don’t make him upset.
Lastly, increase razorcake.com’s hits for the month to listen to a super-cool special edition podcast of Fest Bands, chats, advice and the meaning of it all.
- Joe, Tony, & the rest of the FEST 9 CREW OF FLUNKIES
P. FRACKIN’ S.
Get out to No Idea’s 25th Anniversary Showcase at 8 Seconds on Saturday for the chance to see Planes. Rock the fuck out with us. I’ll be there. See you there.
FEST UPDATE 10/20
Hear Ye’, Hear Ye’ FEST friends,
We are getting super close guys. The weather is feeling a little like fall, but I would bring swimmies anyways. Still feels like Florida summer right now – perfect for your dirty south FEST adventures. We are burning the midnight oil over here at the No Idea/Southern Lovin’ house. I have started my sleep deprivation experiment. Just can’t sleep these days. My mind races at night thinking of all that still needs to be done and all the awesome folks I am anxious to see back here in Gainesville. We are knocking it out though. Each day, we inch closer to having it all ready. Each day, we get to put one more project to bed and open one more bottle!
For now I leave you with some cool updates. Be sure to check them all out and scroll down for other things we have announced over the past month.
See all you fools in a week!
-Tony
FEST 9 APP FOR YOUR iPHONE:
Yep that is right. A super guy named Rob McWhinnie hit us up months back with an idea for a FEST 9 app for the iPhone. Well, he has it done and it is just waiting approval from Apple. So, keep checking their store. IT WILL BE FREE!!! Pretty amazing stuff going down on it: you can view the schedule, click on a band, and get their profile and a song. If you dig the band, you can add them to your personal schedule! You can share your schedule with others too. Also has GPS with all the venues dialed into it. There is probably more, but I only played with it for a hot minute. Makes me bummed I have a DRIOD!
FEST 9 ZIP UP HOODIES:
Yep! We finally made some. Horsebites strikes again with another amazing design. It is an overall FEST design. We are making 100 of them. Limited baby! They are available right now on the TICKETS page of the site for pre-order. You do not need to buy a ticket to buy one. If we have any left over they will be for sale at FEST 9 REGISTRATION weekend of. Check out the amazing design!!!
WE HAVE DOUBLE ROOMS AGAIN!
There was a little mix up with the Holliday Inn, and we found 9 double rooms. So, head to the HOTELS page for the site and snag yourself a tight party room right in the middle of all the action. We also have kings left at both hotels.
VOLUNTEERS:
All FEST 9 volunteers need to drop off their shirts at NO IDEA asap! Deadline is Thursday the 21st!!! Also, make sure you are there for the mandatory meeting at the Holiday Inn’s 2nd floor – on Wednesday Oct 27th at 7:00pm. If you have questions please email volunteer@thefestfl.com
PRE-FEST ACTION!!!
There are a ton of PRE-FEST shows going down all over the state of Florida. Way too many for me to list so check out our FEST MESSAGE BOARD and see all the listings.
FEST INTERVIEWS:
So we did some really crucial interviews with bands leading up to FEST 9. The idea was to put them in the OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK, but we made the fucker too big!!! It came in at 112 pages this year. The printers could only bind a guide that was a 96 page max! We had to scramble and cut something. With the help of our fine media partners in crime, we are still able to get you these interviews. So, head over to Punknews.org all week long to read the interviews with Strike Anywhere, Hard Skin, Spansih Gamble, Planes Mistaken for Stars, 12 Hour Turn, Fat Mike, and Bomb the Music Industry!.
Todd Taylor from Razorcake fame did a memorable piece on NO IDEA RECORDS turning 25. Razorcake will be sharing that with you on their site as well.
Speaking of interviews, I recently did an interview over the phone with ROCKET FUEL. The podcast is up now where you can check me out getting all worked up about some aspects of FEST 9 as well as listen to some tasty tunes from some of the bands playing this year. Check it out here.
TICKETS STILL FOR SALE:
We are still selling FEST 9 WEEKEND PASSES! We are getting very close to the cut off though so check out the TICKETS page of the site to buy one online or see what outlets are selling them in Florida.
ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE ALLEY CAT BIKE RIDE:
Some good friends of ours have organized this Alley Cat bike ride this Saturday the 23rd through Gainesville. Registration is at 3pm at the JUNKYARD (13 SE 12th St); the race at 4pm & after race party at 7pm with some bands at the JUNKYARD. We will be giving away from tight FEST prizes to the winners. Good luck! I will be wearing a tie at Matt (No Idea mail order elder) Sweeting’s wedding getting housed on free booze!
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND:
Our friends at NU will be here FEST weekend documenting the shows and doing some interviews with bands and folks. They need help though since they have no funds and those little tapes cost a few coin. Go to their site and check out the fundraiser auctions they have running. While you are there check out some of the killer footage they have shot from FESTs past.
FLEA MARKET:
We still have a little bit of room. Get in touch if you are interested in tabling! Just a few spots left so get your apps in asap!!!
FEST UPDATE 10/8
Hello friends of FEST,
I am very thankful to all the venues who are participating in FEST this year. We have some new ones, a few free ones and plenty of room for all of you now that we have two big rooms each day that hold 1,000+ each!!!
FEST Update for September 27th!
Hey you guys!!!
So, we have been burning the candle at both ends this week, with wedding shenanigans running right into me leaving for a week to have some crucial family time in Virginia. While I am away, I will still be working on this year’s party beast. For now, I leave you all with a big bone to gnaw on. So, enjoy the post below and I will hopefully update you all with the schedule next week! Cheers!
-T
SCHEDULE BY DAY: Head over to the SCHEDULE page of the site and see who is playing by day. That’s right, we are close to getting the schedule done. I am sure there will be some bands that would now like to inform us that they could now not play the day we have scheduled them and with that I will say that I don’t give a rats. So, I doubt things will change much so plot and plan and when I return from family time in Virginia I hope to have the schedule signed, sealed, and delivered!
PLENTY OF ROOM THIS YEAR: I might have spooked a few folks with the news that Market Street Pub closed down on us. Fear not because before any of that pain in my ass situation happened we had been scheduling bands based on the fact that we have bumped the business up and locked in two 1,000 capacity venues. In the past the biggest nagging we have heard about FEST was the line around Common Grounds. No doubt CGs is the best venue in all the land but the bands we booked there in the past were just too big for that fine establishment so with adding 8 Seconds into the mix we were able to bump many bands up to a larger venue. I think this will make plenty of elbow room for everyone this year and a rather comfortable FEST experience for us all.
HOLIDAY INN SO CLOSE TO SELLING OUT: Yeah, so if you are slacking book a room on the TICKETS PAGE. You do not need to purchase a weekend pass to book a room!
ART SHOW LOCATIONS AND DATES ANNOUNCED: Check out the ART SHOW page to check out what is planned so far. Artists will be announced very soon.
HELP US PROMOTE: We are pretty much a grass roots festival and do not spend lots of money on advertising so we can have so many bands play. Help us spread the word!!! The more folks the more fun right! You can steal our web banner found at the lower right hand side of this site. You can email streetteam@thefestfl.com and get posters and postcards mailed to you to flyer for us. You can also join the social network world through MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. We will also send you any updates we announce or add to THE FEST 9.
WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS: We have had three volunteer sign up meetings and still need more good help. We have two more sign up meetings scheduled for Oct 6th and 7th at the Holiday Inn University at 7pm on the 2nd floor. Please visit the Volunteer page of our website for more info. Every volunteer that helps out earns a free FEST 9 pass and an exclusive shirt design from Horsebites!
TICKETS: We not only have FEST 9 passes available though our site but there are FEST 9 passes available at select Florida outlets. The fine folks at Anthem Tattoo have signed on to be a ticket outlet as well. So swing by, buy a pass, and schedule an appointment. You can also go to the TICKETS page to see a list of other outlets or book your weekend pass, book hotels, and purchase some of the awesome FEST 9 shirt designs we have this year online.
TABLING AT THE FLEA MARKET ALMOST FULL: We have had lots of interest in the FEST 9 Flea Market this year. Setting up so far we have Asbestos Records, Bakery Outlet, Night Owl Printing, I Hate Punk Rock, Jumpstart, Recycled Rockstars, Rorschach Records, Bands on a Budget, Sandusky Bay Poster Works, Silver Sprocket, Shirts for a Cure, Jailhouse Records, No Sleep Records, Top Self Records, Grooveshark, Harvest of Hope, Self Aware Records, Music Saves Lives/ Humility Now, Sound Study Recordings, Hex Records, Alternative Press, ADD records, and Fat Sandwich Records. If you are interested in getting table space please go to the FLEA MARKET page of the site and get your application in ASAP!!! Only a few slots left.
ADS IN THE GUIDEBOOK. NEEDS TO BE BOOKED BY OCT 1st!!! Every year we make a big deal guidebook (5,000 copies) for everyone that comes to FEST 9. If you are interested in taking out a full color ad in the FEST 9 bible please email sponsorship@thefestfl.com to get more info on the rates. All ads much be booked by October 1st, 2010 to get into the book.
FEST UPDATE!
Hello FEST Friends,
With that we are able to fit in everyone we have confirmed so far. Speaking of confirmations we are excited to announce that we have added the following bands to FEST 9 since we last posted news of our big first batch of bands. We are stoked to add Paint It Black, Paul Baribeau, Fake Problems, 1994!, Aficionado, City of Ships, Franz Nicolay, Hot New Mexicans, La Dispute, Todd Congellere, Living With Lions, The Takers (possible final show), Assassinate the Scientist, 10-4 Eleanor, Bent Left, Big Soda, Dickkicker, Dolarhyde, Douglas Shields and the X Factors, Dude Jams, Dukes of Hillsborough, Former Thieves, Giuseppe, Go Rydell, Gretski, Grids, Heavy Petty (A Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Tribute), Jared Grabb, Koji, Lindsey Mills, Little League, Mixtapes, Noise by Numbers, One Win Choice, Over Stars and Gutters, Pianos Become The Teeth, Punch, Rock Creek Jug Band, Rumspringer, Scum of the Earth, Shared Arms, Sister Kisser, Sleeping Spiders, Textbook Committee (Guided By Voices Tribute), The Anchor, The Bombpops, Timeshares, Toby Foster, Too Many Daves, Vacation Bible School, Young///Savages, Devout, Backpocket, Mauser, Divided Heaven, SMN, The Outsiders, and Towers of Hanoi.
Welcome to Fest 9
Welcome to the official launch of the Ye Old FEST 9 website. I would like to start off by giving a big thanks to the fine folks at The Black Axe for building the site and creating our medieval theme this year. I am sure there will be some brew-warrior costumes roaming the streets of Gainesville this year.
This awesome site will grow as we do, with more info on what we have planned as The Fest 9 draws nearer. We are once again holding THE FEST over Halloween Weekend!!! I hope to see more debauchery and costumes this time around. Last year we had some amazing costumes about but this year, especially with our theme, I can only imagine what folks and bands will come up with. So this is a challenge tossed down from the mountain to bring your best this year. We will not have another FEST Halloween for 7 years!!!
Last year I talked about scaling back THE FEST 8 and in the end we grew to having 322 artists in three days. What can I say? If I have room and awesome bands who want to play, we will make the party bigger. So with that I am excited to announce that we are adding a new venue to THE FEST 9! It is called 8 Seconds. Do you remember walking by a big place that was painted like a cow? Well they have lost the spots, got some rad new owners who love punk rock, and want to host everyone this year. The place holds almost 1,000 people and looks like a crazy country tiki bar inside. This will give everyone more breathing room and make the lines at smaller clubs disappear we hope. We are still using The Venue, Common Grounds, Market Street Pub (all three days this year!), The Atlantic, 1982, Rum Runners, CMC, and adding The Top (new outside patio) and Wayward Council. We are sorry to say that the Kickstand is no more. It was a great venue at FEST times and normal times, but they shut their doors recently. Also, we are not using Durty Nelly’s this year due to management change over. But, overall this will be our biggest and best year to date!
There are so many awesome bands playing so far this year. Plenty of new bands like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Teenage Bottlerocket, Cobra Skulls, High on Fire, Hard Skin, and Suicide Machines to name a few. Also, this year we will be celebrating No Idea Records turning 25 years old!!! So we got Twelve Hour Turn and Planes Mistaken for Stars to reunite, as well as a whole cast of No Idea alumni playing!!!
I am also pretty amped that THE FEST 9, so far, will be hosting more foreign bands! The active count stands at 22 bands full of foreigners and I am sure we will have more to come.
We are happy to also confirm that the HOLIDAY INN will once again be the official party down headquarters and will host THE FEST 9 registration and the FEST FLEA MARKET. Their room rates have stayed the same as last year too! Yeah! No price hike! Once again the Holiday Inn promises they will have real deal security so guests can party without being bummed by non-hotel guests trying to invade your party time. We will have the flea market/trade show/label expo thingy in their conference room again, and weather permitting; we are going to have another rad rooftop pool side reception on Friday afternoon with two awesome surprise guests performing for free!!! Oh, and they have rooms to sleep in (if you need that kinda stuff). So bring your swimmies, good vibes, and cold ones for the FEST 9 HALLOWEEN SPRING BREAK PARTY TIME EXCELLENT!!!
If you are looking for a more relaxed environment to rest your weary head, we have the EXECUTIVE FEST HOTEL. This will be at the Paramount Suites. It is super swanky and chills on a lake. Real nice stuff but no late night party time there. So if you are tired of the apeshit and need to re-charge this is totally the way to go.
Not only do we have the hotel and FEST 9 passes available now for purchase, we already have an assortment of FEST 9 shirts available. We have new designs from Horsebites, Black & Red Eye, Go Media, Barf! Comics, and Shark Guts as well as some old favorites incase you did not get them in years past.
We are still working through all the band applications and there are a ton. Problem is most of them kick ass!!! Deadline to get yours band application in is August 13th. You can mail in your app or apply online for a $5 donation to Harvest of Hope Foundation. Click here for more info on the application process.
So, we will slowly be adding bands in to our list so check back frequently. We will remind ya via MySpace, Facebook and Twitter of any updates we announce or add to THE FEST 9; so join up with us in this social media age.
Schedule is a pain in the ass each year, so be patient and I will try my best to at least get down who is playing on what day before summer is over. If you have applied hold tight and we will let you know by Sept 10th. Please do not email, text, call, MySpace, or telegram us about this. The more time it takes to check these messages the less time we have to plot and plan.
If you want to help us spread the word of FEST 9 we can send you flyers and posters once we get them made. Please email your contact information, address, and how many items you would need to streetteam@thefestfl.com
We are not doing volunteer sign ups yet but if you live in Gainesville and are interested please email Volunteer@thefestfl.com with all your contact info and we will let you know when we have sign up meetings. Usually they are late September/ early October.
For now enjoy counting down the days to debauchery, start training your livers, practicing your stage dives, start your beards, and in October we get to join forces in lovely Gainesville, FL again!
Endless Cheers,
Tony Weinbender/ THE FEST CREW/ NO IDEA RECORDS FOOLS
Ps: Here is your public service announcement for FEST 9. We made this statement last year and I feel like it still reigns true! If you are not planning on buying a FEST 9 ticket please do not come and invade our friendly environment and town. There are already enough people here who like to celebrate good times and in the past years there were some folks who thought that this was some kinda rainbow gathering. It makes the city not want to host the FEST when you have people destroying personal property, begging for money, raiding dumpsters, and overall just being a waste of time. Go to the woods and put on your own festival. Also, leave your dogs at home!!! I love dogs. Got a sweetheart of a pitbull at home. You know what she does not like? Loud music. Your dog does not either.
We will also not be hosting, encouraging, or condoning any house shows put on during FEST 9 weekend. We organize enough over three days to hopefully satisfy anyone. Last year, an incident happened due to someone trying to pull off another thing after hours. There are too many people here during FEST to have a show in your living room. I love house/space shows. I grew up on them, booked them, and still love going to them but during FEST weekend it is jus too much. GPD will be on extra after hours duties this year and will be checking the FEST message board to see where these parties will be going on. So we officially discourage hosting these at your house, space etc. We are also asking all bands who officially play FEST 9 to NOT play house shows in Gainesville during FEST 9.
