Sound & Fury Fest is back and this year it brings a major powerhouse of supporting acts. Starting July 23rd – 25th at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, S&F will kick off with some of the best alternative-punk and hardcore bands the scene has to offer.  Some of the bands in attendance include: Sick of it All, Strife, Earth Crisis, Terror, Bane, Cold World, Down To Nothing, and more.

Come support punk & hardcore music at its best this summer!

Tickets: http://soundandfuryfestival.bigcartel.com/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sound_and_fury

Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundandfuryfest

MySpace: www.myspace.com/soundandfuryfestival

Words by: Tyler Ross
Photos by: Johnny Milano & Atrossity

Once Upon An Idea Came A Hardcore Weekend

Long lines and sauna-like temperatures highlighted the fourth annual Sound and Fury Festival.  Entering the parking lot overflowing with fans, band vans with trailers and license plates from all over the country, I took a minute in my car to prepare for one hell of a weekend.  The El Rodeo Community Center of Oxnard, California presented a vintage roller-rink appearance from the outside.  The three-day weekend unleashed a high-energy feeling into the atmosphere.

With digital camera in hand, a backpack full of snacks, and a digital recorder in my back pocket, I trekked beyond the path of fans toward the entrance of the venue.  There stood a security guard, who I flagged down for my press pass and preceded on through the double metal doors.

The inside of the venue was spacious, but not the usual festival setting.  While scanning the two large rooms for superior vantage points and daydreaming about the festivities, a nonchalant Sean Riley presented himself.  Riley, as most like to call him, walked around quickly, for his time was valuable.  Like the big man on campus, he was the go-to guy for all questions that needed answered.

Band members, roadies, photographers, promoters, clothing companies, a tattoo booth, and security filled the inside of the community center.  Two large rooms were divided; the main stage took up most of the space, with a curtain separating the main stage and side stage.  The refreshment area acted as an extra extension for additional merchandise tables and the tattoo booth.

There’s a tight knit brotherhood throughout the hardcore and punk scene.  For most old generation supporters and newcomers to the scene, you can find an interaction comparable to a traditional family gathering.  There’s a no tolerance attitude toward egos and non-realistic notions of thinking away from reality.  Everyone is essentially viewed as an equal, no matter status or background or language spoken.  There are no barriers.

About an hour into setup and finalizing the adjustments to the stages, the fans started filling up the venue.  The eagerness began instantaneously upon arrival, but the bond being displayed by the bands and fans is always a warming visual to experience.

As more equipment entered the side door of the El Rodeo Community Center, the scratching distortion of a guitar pounded from the main stage.  Immediately, the front of the stage become an opening outlet for a few moshers, who began their lively preparations.  Due to the crush of people trying to get in through one ticket booth, the first few acts had a limited audience.  However, those inside gave their full support and reciprocated with a genuine amount of feedback.

By the middle of the afternoon, the crowd multiplied by the hundreds and more people continued to pour into the main stage area.  No matter how hard you looked, an unhappy face was impossible to find.  Water was being tossed around from bands to fans throughout the entire festival.

Hardcore music is a very give-and-take oriented scene.  The shared ideas between the bands and their fans connect in a revolving circle.  As Bob Shedd, one of the founders of Sound and Fury stated, “The passion of the people and the reality hardcore can portray how heartfelt it is.  It starts with the passion and follows with the people behind that passion.  You meet so many unique individuals through that.  It starts with music and grows beyond that.”

It all started in late July of 2006, when Sound and Fury launched its first annual festival to hundreds of hardcore-ready fans at the Alpine Theater in Ventura, California.  “We are dudes who have been going to hardcore shows for a really long time.  We booked our own shows and we just really wanted to book a fest for the bands we really loved, says Shedd.

“Best advice we could give anyone is, if there’s something you really want to do, go do it,” he added.  For Sean Riley, Bob Shedd, and Todd Jones, S&F is a representation of selflessness and accomplishment within the hardcore music community.  They have continued each summer for four years running in obtaining some of the best bands in hardcore solely for the fans.  “The kids make Sound and Fury.  If nobody came, it wouldn’t be cool.  It’s what everybody brings to it,” says Riley.

He adjusts his black-rimmed glasses and continues.  “If everyone came with a negative, shitty attitude, S&F would be negative and shitty.  That’s the difference in hardcore, where as in a big rock concert, you can get a bunch of shitty people there and it’s not really going to ruin your time.  You can sit there in your seat and watch it and it’s your experience.”

In between bands, the air became musty, merch was purchased quickly, stage equipment switched out, and the bonding of fans continued.  There were fans helping with the distribution and the setup of instruments as well. Hardcore music is a lifestyle, an attitude, and an expression of art, raised from the punk rock scene.  “Hardcore is its own element.  I think people can find their own intrinsic value in any kind of music, but hardcore gives a more personal touch to it,” says Riley.

“You mentioned Bruce Springsteen; your main connection to him is if he comes to town maybe once every few years or your purchase of one of his CD’s.  You might go see him, but so much of the experience in hardcore is the live experience, and the recorded music is just the exact opposite. The live experience of a hardcore show can’t be captured typically on a recorded disc,” he elaborated more extensively.

Like the 10 for $10 Tour, which also stood apart as a priceless and selfless festival with a music over money operation, Riley, Shedd, and Jones dedicate their time to the hardcore music movement created especially for this particular event.  “At a hardcore show, so much of it is the people next to you, the band, and how they are vibing.  I think that’s why people have such a strong connection to hardcore music,” Riley enlightened me in between helping a fan with a ticket.

In the late summer of 2009, S&F brought its progressive music scene to Oxnard, California.  Three coordinators gathered their ideas beforehand and meet in the middle by suggesting bands they are interested in adding to the lineup.

By the end, S&F will exhibit 50-plus bands, and send hundreds of hardcore devoteès home with memories from incredible sets.  Some may even start bands of their own or use the experience to learn from their major influences.

This year, S&F brought back some of hardcore’s favorite heavy hitters; some bands returned for the third or fourth time.  To name a few, bands including, Ceremony, Blacklisted, Floorpunch, Cold World, Trapped Under Ice, Guns Up! and Betrayed, performed in front of wall-to-wall crowds, engaged in full-scale participation.

Around 4pm each day, bands on either stage would erupt into multiple stage rushes throughout almost every set.  Dedicated fans catapulted themselves toward the front of the stage in attempts to contribute to belting out the band lyrics.  Numerous band sets would have the stage full of ceiling high dog piles, along with waves of crowd surfing at intervals of two to four seconds.  Occasionally, you’d find a few bloody faces or shirts from the highly aggressive fun, which is considered the norm for any hardcore or punk show.  At the end of the day, the majority in attendance looks out for one another.

The originators of S&F not only were the overseers for the distribution of the tickets, and the handlers of random venue concerns, but could also be seen participating in the action.  Interaction is an essential ingredient to their recipe in having an incredible experience.  In between shooting photos, I caught Bob crouched down before jolting onto the tops of the chanting heads for a stage dive.  “There is no barrier between band and fan, in the ideal that they are both one and the same. You watch any band’s set and you look in the crowd, and you’ll see other band members joining in on the fun. There isn’t this ‘air of well, I’m in band and I can’t participate in another manner. I’m above that.’ There’s none of that.”

Upon returning to the stage, bathed in sweat, and wearing a joyous smile, Bob continued.  “S&F has taught me that small dreams can become big realities, and all it takes is effort to make it happen.  The fact we had the chance to help make a couple kid’s lives a little cooler, and give them something fun to do in the summer, means the world to us.  We love seeing people enjoy this.”

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Passion Exceeds Price
Words & photos by: Tyler Ross

Discovering a solid music event isn’t difficult to do, but when it comes to the cost of admission, it could be a challenging task finding a fair price.  For the underground music scene, a ticket can range from $8 to $30 at most.  The original cost always includes surcharges and extra fees.

A standard ticket price can be a drain on the average wallet.  It’s extremely rare to find a show with a low price and where the talent cares more about the passion of the music and performing for their audience more than the financial gain.  “The tour is very hardcore oriented ideally.  The show and the people coming to see the bands are way more important, than the money people are making.  Being in a hardcore band is hard enough to make ends meet because the money is not really there in the first place.  There are no rock star mentalities.  So, for the bands that are worth a lot more, they are doing it for the ideal and love for music.” (Rick Jimenez of This Is Hell)

The 10 for $10 Tour jets across the states for the months of July through August and showcases some of the finest bands in the hardcore metal scene in one event.  “I love the whole idea behind this tour.  I keep hearing it everyday; 10 bands for $10.  The whole concept really gets drilled into you.  It sounds like a wild idea and you think, how is this all going to work out?  I was definitely skeptical in the beginning, but from day one, this tour has brought in tons of kids, who show they really appreciate the bands taking a cut to come out and putting on a great show.  It’s a diverse bill and there’s something for everybody.” (Justice Tripp of Trapped Under Ice)

For the House of Blues in Los Angeles, this tour in general was exactly what the music community needed.  There was an eager, impatient feeling circulating, as I weaved through the masses.  The expressions on all the faces represented a geared up attitude and a readiness in kicking off the show.  “I think about it everyday.  You can go to a show nowadays and see five bands, sometimes it’s $15 to $20; ten at the least.  It’s not like you are watching Slayer, where you expect to pay that much.  It’s not dissing anybody; it’s just the way it has to work.  As shitty as it may seem, money has to be there, if you want to go across the country.  If I wasn’t playing on this tour, and this was coming through, I’d be blown away and so thankful.  I get to see ten of these bands and I’m sure 95% of the people like all ten of these bands together.  So, it’s a great deal for everyone.  I love this tour so much.” (Martin Stewart of Terror)

On the inside, music vibrated throughout the sweaty, stale air.  Dozens of fans rushed toward the stage in attempts to sing into the microphone, while numerous others, crowd-surfed over the tops of heads.  “When we play a show and right away the kids are catching on to the energy and they are just as excited as we are, all that energy exchange that goes back and forth, is the epitome of a good show.   To me, that’s the epitome of hardcore, the energy exchange, the give and take, not the look at me on stage, I’m important.” (Rick Jimenez of This Is Hell)

Lines continued to form, one after the other, starting in the late afternoon and continuing on into the night.  Never was there a static moment or a bitter fuss about any of the bands on the bill.  Each individual appeared to be in bright spirits, entering and exiting the venue with a sense of greater hunger for more. “As much as a lot of these bands are similar, there are a lot of differences too. Age, influence, etc.  Being backstage with nine other bands, kind of on top of each other, I think there’s a really good vibe going on.  There are no attitudes from any headliners or opening bands.  No one is acting like they should be the headliners.  That’s not always such an easy thing to accomplish.  The upside of it, it’s for a cause.  Underground music in any form should be about something.  The turnout has been great.” (Scott Vogel of Terror)

Most of those in attendance expressed and displayed why they felt they needed to be at such a diverse show.  The steady balance between the bands and their audience demonstrated a common relationship and reason as to why; they continue to be in attendance.  “The common thread that runs through everybody on this tour is that they grew up with this level of a down-to-earth and straight thinking mind-state.” (Ryan Primack of Poison the Well)

From the vantage point of peering out into the crowd, you’d notice the hundreds of fists thrusting toward the ceiling and could also find the various members of other bands interacting as fans themselves.  There was a full-fledged support from all the other bands.  Many were found on the side of the stage as well.  Others were found below staring up with enthusiasm.  “I hate bands that don’t support other bands.  They just expect everyone to support their band.  That doesn’t fly with me.  I’d rather support a band full of kids that really care about music and hardcore, that doesn’t sound good, than a bunch of dudes, who can play perfect hardcore, but don’t have the heart.  I’d rather support the people that care.  You don’t find that on this tour.” (Scott Vogel of Terror)

As I entered the tail end of the night, the air was still, but the buzz continued.  The magnetic bond between friends, and fans showed their appreciation for one hell of a tour.

Merchandise sold like water for exhausted and dehydrated bodies in need of thirst.  Besides the few unnecessary police calls and minuscule dramas, the 10 for $10 Tour’s self-sacrificing effort ended as a major success among all who partook in this extraordinary and treasured, music event.

“The biggest thing about this tour is getting to reach out to the kids, that maybe wouldn’t have checked us out before.  Kids that are into Poison The Well, War of Ages, or Death Before Dishonor, who would have had us pigeonholed as a certain kind of band, and would be interested in us, they are finding maybe, they’re wrong.  Maybe, they actually can connect with us.” (Aaron Bedard of Bane)

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