Krazy Fest was a staple years ago during the summer festival reason, and after taking a short break, it is back and running under Andy Tinsley. PropertyOfZack was able to catch up with Andy to discuss how he brought the festival back, the selection of bands he chose, and much more. Enjoy the read, and make it to the festival if you can!
Krazy Fest ended years ago, so what was behind the inspiration to bring it back?
To be honest, I don’t know why it ended. I wasn’t one of the originators and that was Andy Rich and the guys over at Initial. It was all his back then. I did production for those shows and sound for all the bands that didn’t have it and I kind of oversaw the audio end of everything for that. I work as a tour manager as well and a sound engineer. What made we want to bring it back was that last year an old hardcore band that I used to work with did some reunion shows to benefit a good friend of ours who was diagnosed with a form of cancer. I invited Mark Beemer from Shirts For A Cure to come up and have a table to help get the cancer awareness information out. So we had tables set up and Mark and I were sitting outside one day and Mark said, “Andy, what ever happened to Krazy Fest? You ought to bring it back.” And I said, “There’s no way on earth I’d ever want to do that.” About a week later I was thinking about it and decided I wanted to do it.
Was it more difficult to set up than you first thought it might be?
It’s not necessarily that much more difficult, it’s just a little more time consuming than I thought it would be. I was able to reach out to a lot of my good friends and get a lot of the bands that were on my wish list. It came together really quick, but the finer points are the time consuming aspects of it.
Has the excitement from fans been there?
Well, the buzz on it is great. Everybody is talking about it. I was just out with Alkaline Trio and we were on a little run around Bamboozle and everybody I saw was so excited for it and I have friends coming from all over. It’s going to be a good time in that regard. The buzz is there.
Can you discuss the band selection? You have the greats like The Souls to the newer bands like Lemuria who are causing some buzz.
I started with what I knew, which was all the older bands. When I started to create the roster I opened my phone book and started with the A’s and went down the list and came across this person and that person, called them and told them and asked if they were interested. It kind of stirred and went and as I went down the list I got opened up to other things. There was a local smaller punk club here in town that had closed on New Years and Jamie, the guy who ran it, helped me hone in on some of the smaller bands that I might not have heard of. He said, “Hey check out this band,” and he gave me a list of about two pages of bands. All of them were phenomenal. I put some things up on the Facebook page and saw the requests versus the list and between that and talking to other people, my lineup fed itself. All the names on there were on everybody’s list, so it only made sense to have a band like Lemuria because everyone is talking about them or Tigers Jaw and Title Fight. They’re on every kid’s list these days. Everybody is really excited to see where these bands are going.
Would you say there’s a band on there for everybody?
Absolutely. When you go through and look at the schedule you’ll see how the days are separated out. I made it so that any person who is stuck to one genre will have difficulty picking one day. I didn’t want to lump a lot of the same bands together on the same days. When I go to a show I like seeing difference and depth. I like my hardcore music, but I also like softer and fun stuff. When I was putting this list together I really wanted to make sure I covered all the bases. I wanted everybody to feel like, “Hey, this really is a festival for everyone.” I didn’t want it to be a hardcore fest, or a punk fest, or an emo fest. I call it a punk fest because the all encompassing world of punk rock.
POZ: I think the mentality of a punk fest is certainly there.
Andy: Right.
Are there any bands that you think could steal the show?
I’m so excited for stuff like Hot Rod Circuit. I toured with those guys and did sound for them and I really think they’re going to come back swinging. I think this show is really gonna remind everybody of how awesome of a band they were. When I listen to the music for all the bands on this list, growing up I listened to hardcore and that stuff, and Pianos Become The Teeth, that music is so raw. I think their set is going to surprise the most people.
How did getting Hot Rod back together happen?
Going down my phone list, Andy Jackson was one of the first guys I called. I did a few tours with those guys at the end of their touring. I still listen to them on a daily basis even before I started to make this happen. I didn’t have to twist his arm too much. Andy and Jay Russell and Mike basically bent over backwards to help make this happen. I wouldn’t say that I’m truly the reason, but I think that it’s great that they chose my festival to be the one that they’re going to play. Apparently they have some news coming up and I’m not privy to what it is, but I really hope that they’re coming back as a band at least part time on their schedules not a label’s schedule. I really hope they share their music and talents with everybody on as full time a basis as those guys can.
Did you have any particular issues putting the festival together?
I think my biggest issue is trying to make sure that I make everybody happy. Krazy Fest means so much to so many people. Things look better as they’re farther away, and the thing that I’m most worried about is making everybody happy because everyone has their fondest memories of the Fest. Everyone has a different view of the same events, so come next weekend when it happens, I really hope that I’m able to not recreate them, but create new ones.
Do you have a favorite memory from old Krazy Fest?
Maybe when we had a crazy rainstorm one night between Saturday and Sunday and coming in the next day to having 500 gallons of water sitting in the biggest bubble on top of the stage and basically having to take the roof off because it had stretched out so bad and we needed to put a tent over the band so they didn’t get sun burnt. It was a really brutal like 60MPH rainstorm that night. The next day we got the tent up and we were able to pull it off.
If this year is successful, are you up to do it next year?
100%. This is something I want to bring back and want to make happen. I really want it to do well. The only thing that would keep me from that is coming out of it and owing hundreds of thousands of dollars. That would leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I’m not doing it for the money, but I don’t wan to lose money in the process. I want to make it an every year thing and have it be something that’s as much as a staple time during summer as Warped Tour. I want it to be on everybody’s list. I want it to be a full time thing.
