Thursday, April 11, 2013

MOST TRANSPARENT FEST . . . GROUP.

"And so the wolverine grabbed me . . . like this . . ."

After a very long conversation the other day with very nice people far more responsible than we are, we've collected a bit of perspective. Namely, we haven't done a very good job of explicitly expressing our message, and what we plan to do with Richard Dreyfest. Unless you are someone who regularly goes to disease ridden basement shows with us, you probably don't have the slightest clue why you would want to be a part of the fest, or even why even we would go through the trouble of throwing the fest. Transparency and solidarity are key in throwing a diy event, and we haven't been nearly as transparent as we would have liked. So, as best as I can express, here is us-

     1. RICHARD DREYFEST 2013 IS AN ALL AGES, D.I.Y. ARTS AND MUSIC FEST TAKING PLACE ON AUGUST 2ND AND 3RD. The fest will take place at different locations around downtown Billings (Yes, this happens, see Totalfest, Awesomefest, SXSW). The official lineup will be posted on May 1st. For people wanting a break from the music but not necessarily the fest atmosphere, there will be events such as Richard Fryfest, a cooking competition, a record swap (Yes, this also happens), and other activities around town. There will be maps and directional sheets to guide you to all of these with relative ease.

     2. WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING. Some of us have been throwing punk rock diy shows for almost twenty years now. Although it may not seem like we are very active in putting on shows and events, I assure you, we are. Just because it's not in the Enjoy section doesn't mean it's not happening. Which brings me to the third point.

     3. WHY EVEN THROW RICHARD DREYFEST? We believe that it is very possible to live outside the framework of convention, and we're living proof. With that said, if you come to the fest expecting a run-of-the-mill local classic-rock, beer drinking, celebratory show, you will be very much surprised. So, if you are growing increasingly bored or weary of the structured, authoritative, Uncle-Sam-Seal-of-Approval art scene that's been offered to you, we have an alternative. We've done this for a while, and we'll keep doing it for a while, and you are more than welcome to join us.



"You can't play here! There's drawings on the walls!"
     4. HOW DID THE IDEA FOR RICHARD DREYFEST START? A few reasons- first, the Dreyfuss. The man deserves a festival named after him. Second, Rob Smith. He had the genius idea to throw a music festival at Devil's Tower called Richard Dreyfest, and after downsizing our plans, we decided it was still totally possible to throw the fest in town, so here we are. Last but not least, the good people of Minot, North Dakota. They do Whynot?! Fest every year, and it's a total blast. To not give them credit as inspiration for Dreyfest would be a crime. In essence, We see Richard Dreyfest as a way to get all of our favorite bands in town on the same day, to play a weekend of non-stop rock-n-roll.
    
      5. WE DO NOT RECEIVE CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS OR FUNDS OF ANY SORT. Although it seems silly to have to explicitly mention this, we are. Other events do, and that's fine, it's a free country. But we're not going to. Repressed self-expression is not self-expression. If we are not allowed to make fun of organizations or people that are full of shit, we have no business calling ourselves an "Arts and Music Fest". Art and music are two of the purest forms of dissent.  Not only should we be allowed to call bullshit when we see it, it is our responsibility to call bullshit when we see it.

     6. I ASSURE YOU THAT YOU WILL HAVE FUN AT RICHARD DREYFEST. You will see some of the coolest bands in the region, meet like-minded, friendly people, win a tug-of-war contest or two, and probably come out with some pretty cool swag.  We're not looking to throw the next Bonnaroo or anything. When I told Billy Leutzen, Whynot co-founder, that we were going to throw Dreyfest, he told me, "You've thrown shows before. Just throw a bigger show." And that's what we intend to do. If you'd like to be a part of it, we would love to see you. If you don't think it's for you, that's ok too.


     Please try and share this blog on the ol' social netwerks. We are all in this thing called life together; let's have some fun with it. Official ticket, venue, and line-up info will be up on May 1st.

     See you at Dreyfest.