A Sonically Crafted Mixed Drink

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Hey everyone, this section will conclude my review on the Tall Tree Music Festival on Tall Tree Lake. Waking up Saturday had its high and low points. The sun had broken the horizon, and was already causing problems outside.  One of the great things about this festival was waking up and having a campsite of people I already knew there to greet me. Stew, Matt C. Robbie, A.J, Matt Copeland, Lana, new friends and of coarse “Paul”. For those new to camping festivals, falling asleep in front of a group of people is not a good idea.  At Summer Camp, Hot Rod told me about someone getting wrapped in T.P while passed out in a chair.

The stories go on, but this guy “Paul” decides he is going to take a “power nap” at our campsite. Robbie makes fun of this guy for the 2 hours he is passed out, A.J would look over and see Robbie and ask “When did Robbie get here”? Robbie would reply “simple, Paul drove me”.  A.J would look over at Paul and ask “who invited the Lumberjack over here to sleep”? “Why does this guy have his socks on the outside of his boots?” And the comedy did not stop for hours. A.J introduced us to some of his friends from Lawrence, KS. We all made it through the heat before checking out the Sam West Trio around noon.

The Sam West Trio has been building a buzz in Carbondale for years now, and festivals like Tall Tree give his band a chance to explore new grounds in his music. Playing funky original tracks, while mixing in some great covers is a direct way Sam connects with the crowd. It was interesting to hear him tease the “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” song from M.J. It was special on one level because M.J had just passed away, but also because Sam had been playing that song for months now, and it shows how some music will always carry on. After the sun beat down on me I made my way back to the campsite for some shade.

Defined Perception is another Carbondale band that continues to explore different styles of music to blend them together to make a sonic cocktail. If DP were a real sonic mixed drink, they would be two parts bourbon, one shot whisky, and a splash of coke. They get crowds rowdy and involved with the connection they have with their fans during their drum solos. DP invites fans to bring drums to shows, to create a buzz between the band and the fans. It really is nice to experience live. Once I watched DP jam out in the sun I retired back to my campsite for some much needed shade.

Spare Parts took the stage next. They have evolved from being a Carbondale band, to expanding into a Chicago based jazz group. Their set on Saturday was my chance getting to see them live, which is odd because I love jazz, and they play Carbondale often. As I chilled in the shade, I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing sounds of Spare Parts. 56 Hope road would follow Spare Parts, and if I am not mistaken the keyboardist from Madahoochi guest spotted with 56 Hope Rd throughout their set.

Madahoochi is a funk/rock/jazz group that is based out of St.Louis, MO. After helping a hand in the 56 Hope Road show, the members from Madahoochi threw down a funky set while the sun began to set. The female keyboard player adds a great texture to the vocals, much like Janis does In Family Groove. Watching Madahoochi for the fourth time was interesting, it caught my attention a band can grow on you without you even being aware of it. Their show was fun to dance to, and I look forward to seeing them again. Another great part to this festival was the sound quality that was available. The audio team did an incredible job of producing high quality sound throughout the weekend. 

Backyard Tire Fire would burn the remains of the stage during their performance late Saturday. The sun was setting and the crowd was gathering for the rocking sounds of BTF. They have been blowing up recently, and turning heads of the biggest name in music. Their fire hot set at Tall Tree Lake was another sign that they are a band on a mission. The group is based out of Central Illinois, and has been touring all over the country. The crowd was filled with my friends and family, and having those people always help make the best dance parties. After BTF, Rev. Peyton and his Big Damn Family rocked the stage. They hail from southern Indiana, and throw down a great live show.  It was interesting seeing all the different styles of music from all over the Midwest that weekend. During the Rev. Peyton show, Jason decided he was going to swim out to the lakeboat/houseboat in the middle of the lake. He made it back in time for the down home, back breaking dance party thrown by the Reverend.

The Woodbox Gang played later in the day Saturday, while Dean and his new band performed on Friday. I was hoping for a jam with all the guys together again, but maybe another time. It was still special to see the Woodbox Gang live in the summer. Last summer, I was able to see them play at a private party in the middle of nowhere. This summer, it was nice watching them with professional lighting, and sound. One of the lead vocalist, Hugh, was telling stories and sharing history with the crowd. It was a nice way to relax after a long weekend.

J Wail started his second set of the weekend on Saturday after midnight. The crowd was energy filled music lovers who were there to dance. It was great seeing J Wail two nights in a row, I kept looking for material he had used the night before, but found very little. When I asked him the next day how much he used, J Wail said he only used one song twice, (which is great for an up and coming artist). After his set I made it back to the campsite to find my brother and Shauna hanging out with a gang of people.

The Station made it back to Southern Illinois after rocking the pre-party show at Tres on Thursday. The come from Central Illinois, and bring the heat every time they perform. Their set was a nice mix of older stuff mixed in with some newer material. One song that was new I noticed was in their tribute to M.J with “Gonna Be Startin’ Something”, which is another sign that great music never dies. Watching the final show of the weekend was special to me. It was the end of my long weekend, after countless hours of working and filming with Justin, the festival was almost over. Thank you to everyone who help put together this event, it was a special weekend for a lot of us. And thank you for reading and viewing any of the media from the festival. Check back soon for updates, and always enjoy yourself.

I just finished this video, enjoy!

Record High Heat

.. ..Hello readers, this section are my review on Friday June 26, 2009 at the Tall Tree Lake Music Festival. The weather in the summer time can feel like it’s never been hotter before. The weather on Friday and Saturday either came close to breaking record high heat or matching the pervious record. This heat might be a possibility the first band did not arrive on Friday. The Gem did not play, which gave The Moon Buggy Kids room to work with the sweaty conditions.

Watching Matt Copeland work his music In the extreme heat was a true sign of an artist who gives it all for his art. During my last review on bonnaroo, I wrote about watching and signing along with Copeland as a younger man. Watching his band open the Tall Tree Music Festival was a real highlight to witness. After the Moon Buggy Kids ended their set, Justin and I made our way back to the campsite to grill some food. Grilling food in hot weather can be rough, but Mike was grilling food for the bands all day, (in the sun). He did cook up some tasty food though, I was busy catching up on some A/C in the RV’s.

The next band I was really excited about watching was the Family Groove Company from Chicago, Illinois. They torched the stage during their afternoon set, it was great watching my tenth show of theirs. They expand their sound very well, while giving you the core songs that you grow to love. Bawn in the Mash followed FGC with their style of modern bluegrass.

 Tall Tree Lake Music Festival did a great job of building a lineup with several different styles of music to choose from. It was my first time getting to see Bawn in the Mash, and I really enjoyed their use of percussion instruments in their foot stopping bluegrass.

The Great American Taxi would follow them on the Main Stage. Once the sun fell below the horizon, the weather went from being very hot, to almost perfect at night. J Wail would be performing twice that weekend, with his first late night set on Friday. During the day, he walked up to me and asked about filming and life in general. We talked about his tour on the Phish lot, J Wail told me about how some venues would let me rage in the parking lots before and after the Phish shows, and some places would shut him down real quick. It was interesting hearing about his unique way of performing music live. After some of his show, I went back to the jeep to charge the battery to my camera. On my walk back to the jeep, I noticed some people laughing and singing in the lake house. The door was open and I was curious to see what was going on. Walking into that lake house that night was much like walking into any other room on one hand, and on another it was like walking into room like no other. There was Vince Herman, sitting in a chair picking some bluegrass with some his closest of friends. It was a special moment for music lovers; one of the greatest bluegrass players is sitting in a barn with two dozen people picking his heart out for just the love of music. After Vince finished his late night pick with some guests, I made it back to the Main Stage for some late night electronic music from Colorado. The group that was performing the late night set on Friday is called The Passage Project. It was a relaxing way to end my long day. The late night sets were fantastic, another one of the Barrett brothers did the lights, and did a really good job.  After some late night music, I made my way to bed for some sleep.  Continue to the next section of my review for the Saturday portion of music and madness. Thank you for reading, and always enjoy yourself.

Welcome to Tall Tree Lake

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Hello everyone, and welcome to my review on the first Tall Tree Lake Music Festival. It will be split up into three days, and this section will cover Thursday June 25, 2009. Team B productions paired up with the people who own Tall Tree Lake to create a music festival with a wide range of talent. They also teamed up with Tres Hombres to throw a pre-party after the sunset show in Carbondale on Thursday. My day started early on Thursday, I woke up and rode along to the Tall Tree Lake with my older brother and Shauna. We got there to find John getting materials ready for the long weekend. Dave was in town, gathering some last minute supplies.  I met some good people from Lawrence, Kansas before getting to work. One of the main guys who were helping on Thursday was Kenneth. I was ready to work, and he had a fence that he needed help posting.  After we knocked that out, I took a trip around the camp grounds with John to check for additional entrances. My older brother worked on blocking off roads that may be dangerous, while I helped Mike prep some food in the kitchen. The kitchen was inside this converted barn/lake house. It was really interesting talking with the landowners on Thursday. They explained to me the land had been in their family name since the 1800’s, and the barn was created by their grandfather. The whole idea of creation is one of the core ideas behind the Tall Tree Lake Music Festival.  From John and Dave planning and organizing the festival, to the music being performed on stage, it was all essentially the foundation of an idea that can only grow into the tallest of trees. And that idea is the beauty of bringing people together for the love of music & nature. If you have not experience a camping music festival, I suggest you give it a try. You can learn a lot about yourself when you are camping with your best friends. Before heading back into town, Shauna and I made some new friends while we helped create signs for the festival. Once I got hack into town, I got a shower and cleaned up for a shift at work. The Station would be playing at Tres after I got off work. One of my fabulous co-workers gave me a ride to Tres to catch The Station live with one of my new friends, Justin F. who does photography. I filmed some of the show before getting some sleep before the following weekend. Check out the Friday and Saturday sections for more information on the Tall Tree Lake experience. Thanks for reading, and always enjoy yourself.

The Kickoff

Thank you for making it to the last section to my review on to Summer Camp 2009. This post kicks off summer and ends my festival experience in one fatal swoop. My days get a little mixed up, but it was either Saturday or Sunday when Jessica P. and I went to check out some yoga in the Soulshine Tent. We were running low on food and on Sunday we were eating hot dogs and granola bars. Madahoochi will also be throwing down some funk at Tall Tree Lake, they gave an amazing performance on the Campfire Stage to starts things on Sunday. Backyard Tire Fire is also on the TTL line-up and threw down a hot set at Summer Camp. When I was listening to BTF I felt an Alice Cooper, school is out kind of vibe. It was a great way to relax after two semesters at junior college. One of the biggest dance parties of the weekend took place at the improvised sounds of EOTO. They blend rock with electronic music that produces dance parties everywhere EOTO performs. I started packing the jeep after their set, the plan was for Jason and I to be ready to leave the festival after midnight. Easy Star All-Stars took over the Moonshine Stage for their interpretations of great music from Radiohead and the Beatles. They blend reggae with the original sound of the music to create an innovative style of cover music. MSMW brought the true nature of jazz from New York to Summer Camp for their set on the Moonshine Stage. Great American Taxi was throwing down some amazing bluegrass on the Starshine Stage around the same time of MSMW. They are also the headlining group at Tall Tree Lake Festival coming up June 26-27. I ran into some new friends from Colorado at their set as well. It was some of the members from The Corduroy who walked up to me and introduced themselves. They were some of the nicest people I met all weekend, and enjoyed their funk style jams on the Campfire Stage. I finished packing the jeep before checking out Bassnectar on the Starshine Stage with Janis from Family Groove. The real beauty about Summer Camp, are moments like those, when the bands get to interact with their fans and enjoy bands together. There were people camping out seats for Willie Nelson’s set on the Sunshine Stage. I was able to make it 3^rd row for some iconic country music. While I was up close, one of the cute country girls was all over me. She was nice, but needs to learn some boundaries when dealing with people in a close proximity. Watching Willie Nelson was a real treat, I also ran into Robbie D, before heading back to the jeep for a 3 hour nap. Jason woke me up around midnight, and I checked out a quick look at the Easy Star All-Stars late night set in the barn, and Greensky Bluegrass on Campfire Stage. I woke Jason up and drove 5 hours back home to make it to work on time at 10 a.m. The weekend was full of good times, and I hope to see everyone at the Tall Tree Lake Music Festival coming up in Southern Illinois. Thank you for reading, and always enjoy yourself.          

Wookies & Hippie Mamas  

Hello again, thanks for checking out the Saturday section of the Summer Camp review. Saturday was an amazing day for the “guest spot”. For those who don’t watch a lot of live music there is a thing called a guest spot. There are all kinds of guest spots, from one person sitting in with a band, to having several members from a group on stage with the performing act. Moe. is also one of the only bands who pull off an entire stage switch guest spot, this is when a whole band rotates with the performing act to take over the stage and perform and rotate back off stage. Gomaz did a set on the Moonshine Stage during the day before joining moe. later that evening on stage. Family Groove also used the power of the guest spot with the beautiful use of the fiddle from Allie Kral in Cornmeal during their midday set on the Sunshine Stage. FGC also did a special cover of Blackbird before their late night Big Lebowski set. Chicago Farmer guest spotted Jaik Willis on the camping stage during his set. They also did an acoustic set under the Soulshine Tent. The Ragbirds, and Al Schnier from moe. also gave special acoustic performances under the tent during the weekend. Al is such a great guy; he talked with the crowd and took requests. I requested “Blister in the Sun” and was lucky enough to hear Al throw down hardcore on the acoustic guitar. During The Station’s set I did some promo with my group to help build the buzz for Tall Tree Lake. Keller Williams also gave a first time performance on the Sunshine Stage. After checking out some of his set we made it over to Campfire Stage for some Rock and Roll with The Heavy Pets. Les Claypool was on the Moonshine Stage, his performance was good, but not long enough. Umphrey’s McGee gave the crowd a kick in the ass with their first time cross pollinating experience of Les Claypool on stage with them. Summer Camp also stepped their game up this year, with tons of beautiful fireworks and decorations to improve the festival environment. They also started a compost pile this year to help increase awareness for recycling. After moe. finished their headlining set I took a quick nap before the Wood Brothers late night set on the Campfire Stage. It was amazing waking up and hearing one of my favorite songs of theirs called “Postcards From Hell”. I ran over to the near by stage and ragged the late night show with my friends. We all sat around and made jokes about the Wookies (guys who don’t shave or cut their hair and look like Wookies) and Hippie Mamas. We all made it back to the campsite and rested at the end of our day. This marks the end of the Saturday section to the story. Thanks for reading, and always enjoy yourself.  

Pre-Party Thursday

Hello readers, this blog post will be cut up into four sections to make it easier to read. This post will cover the Summer Camp Music Festival 2009 in Chillicothe, Illinois. For those who have not attended a music festival, there are two kinds in general, which are camping festivals (on campgrounds in rural areas), and ones in large cities that stick you with the cost of getting a hotel room, or finding somewhere to crash. Summer Camp is on a campground that provides amazing campsites compared to other larger camping music festivals. The Tall Tree Lake Festival coming up June 26-27 will also have some shaded, comfortable and intimate campsites. When I started thinking about how I would review Summer Camp, I wondered if people needed to know the bad things about the festival as well as the good parts, or if leaving the negative parts out would be better. If you read this article and would really like to know some of the “dirt” email me and I will let you know. The festival experience starts when you pack your vehicle for the trip. If you don’t plan ahead, there is a good chance you will pay the price later. Once Jason and I had the jeep packed and ready we started driving north around 8 a.m. The gates opened around noon and we had to drive 5 hours to arrive to the chaos known as Summer Camp. We had some friends leave before us and saved us an amazing campsite, (top secret tip #1) if you have the chance, go to the campgrounds on Wednesday/ a day before the festival, and you can drive right in and leave your gear at the spot you would like to camp. After Jason and I moved the camping materials from the jeep to the campsite, we relaxed at the campsite with our friends from home while U-Melt was warming up the Starshine Stage. I missed the FGC side project group (Women’s Downhill), but plan to check them out at the next festival or show I can see them perform. Toubab Krewe took the stage after Family Groove melting the crowd down. The western African influence from Toubab Krewe gave the crowd a shot of culture with a chill dance party. We all cooked up some food on the grill before Cornmeal started their 3 day run at the festival. 56 Hope Road threw down the late night performance on the Campfire Stage. Thursdays pre-party also gave the festival goers a chance to feel the heat from the late night shows in the Barn. It gets packed and sells out easily, so be careful. Future Rock & Lotus threw down hot jams till late in the evening. The long day came to an end around 3 a.m. This concludes Thursday’s portion of my story, for more on this festival continue reading, and always enjoy yourself.

Team B Presents Tall Tree Lake Music Festival 2009

Hey everyone, there is an event coming up June 26-27 in the heart of Southern Illinois and I want everyone to know about this festival. When I was growing up/going to high school I had two older friends who would throw parties on the weekends and ask me to pull in the younger crowd. As time passed the parties got larger and larger. In 2006 they offered to let me help with a festival that will go down in histroy, (Wakarusa 06/Cop-a-rusa 06) The cops were bad, but it was on land owned by the state, (side note) the land for Tall Tree is private land. While in 06 the security was bad, the line-up is still one of the best line-ups ever made. Check it out for yourself. Team B decided to make their own festival and run it with the best intentions.  I would not be writing this if I didn't think these guys have everything it takes to construct the one of the best festivals in the country. Tickets are available at the gate, or online at the festival's website  http://talltreelakefestival.com/ 

12/04/08 (Thu)  Copper Dragon - Carbondale, IL               Cornmeal

Set 1: Drinking Away The Memories Of You, Shake A Leg, Edge Of The World, Dig A Hole, Rise Above, Feet On The Ground, Not At Home Anymore, Troubled Land, Girl With The Short Brown Hair, E: Alabama Song, How Mountain Girls Can Love

from setlist.com

09/13/08 (Sat)  Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival @ Mulberry River Mountain Ranch - Ozark, AR

Set 1: Slacker, Der Bluten Kat > "Jimmy Stewart" > Atmosfarag > Der Bluten Kat, Mullet (Over)

Set 2: Front Porch* > Resolution + > Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)+, Young Lust, Nothing Too Fancy > FF > Higgins, E: August > Nothing Too Fancy, The Song Remains the Same > The Rain Song

Comment: * with Jake on drums and Kris Myers on vocals. + with Bill McKay.

"Are We Famous Yet?"

The sunset concert series brings a wide range of music to its viewing audience. Junior is a punk band from Galdewater Texas. The term "punk" is defined as a young inexperienced person. That definition is the best way I could describe this show.  On Thursday July 10th,  Junior came to Carbondale to perform songs from there new album "Are We Famous Yet?' This performance was held at the steps of the Shryock Auditorium. The bluegrass group The Greencards played at Turley Park last week. I missed that show due to poor weather. The weather during this show was perfect for a cookout with your friends. My group and I were happy to celebrate summer with drinks and good conversation. Junior has surprisingly built a name for themselves with shows at the popular SXSW festival. They seemed to enjoy drinking on stage more then performing to the audience. If you enjoy southern punk rock music, then listen for their hit "Nascar Man".Jason had his slackline up as usual, putting on his show for the photographers. After the show ended, the group headed back to Jason's house on the strip. I sent Danielle a text massage, she was going to the bar and wanted to me join her. We went to pinch for a few hours before I called it a day. I saw some old friends at the bar, but I knew I needed sleep for the following night.

Cornmeal @ Hanger 9

06/26/08 (Thu)  Hanger 9 - Carbondale, IL

Set 1: I've Just Seen A Face, Edge Of The World, Calling Me Back Home, Workin' On A Building, The Way It Oughta Be, Midnight Moonlight, Rain Your Light, Not At Home Anymore

Set 2: Shakedown Street, Girl With The Short Brown Hair, These Old Walls, Trimmin' The Fat, Drinking Away The Memmories Of You, Shelter, Onward

Thank you Setlist.Com

1. Animal Liberation Orchestra in my backyard for a hot BBQ!

2. The Black Crowes w/ Luther on Beale St. Memphis, TN

3.New Years w/ Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden! (not confirmed yet)

This started off as a blog of old stories and ways to express yourself if needed. After the last the post I got the idea of reviewing shows and posting them on here. I used my cell phone for the last picture at the cornmeal show. The picture quality will continue to improve over the years. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the page.

This is a blog for anyone to comment on about how the music festivals effect them. Its important to know which ones are doing what they need to bring back fans with, and which ones are not. The point is to find the serious problems and try to find solutions to fix them. My first problem I want to use as an example is the weather that can turn a weekend at Summercamp into the Wizard of Oz. Be ready for spring weather and return to the festival after the weather clears.