I’m not even sure where to start. I guess I’ll start with ‘thank you’ to everybody who was part of Venicestock 2009. I had been threatening to throw a party for a couple of months and then one day I figured I would get a bunch of bands together and make it a much bigger event for local Venice musicians and bands to play for a cool local audience. From start to finish it took about 10 days to plan, prep, and promote. All-in-all it was so much fun, and throughout the day we had more than 400 people come through.
There are three very special things that really stand out about Venicestock 2009 for me. First, was the audience. We had a mix of everybody, from surfers, to die-hard rockers, stoners, homies, preppies, rastafarians, trustafarians, tourists, goths, shoegazers, etc. etc. etc., and everybody was just cool and had a good time. There weren’t any fights, there was no drama, and everybody was smiling and enjoying the music and sunshine. And then when the police finally shut us down and I told the audience we were moving to the Stronghold, everybody immediately pitched in and moved the whole party over there within about 45 minutes. The beer, the food, the bands, the audience, the vibe, everything, picked up and moved to a new location. Unbelievable.
The second incredible thing was the music. I have been wanting to get the local music scene in Venice to be more united and more of a real ‘scene’ for a while, and Venicestock 2009 proved it could be done. All the bands that played brought their own sound and vibe and the audience dug all of it, whether it was reggae, alt-country, funk, folk, blues, rock, and whatever else we threw in the mix. Every performance was good and showed we have some deep talent here in Venice. I’ll put links to all of the bands at the bottom of this wrap-up so you can visit their sites and spend more time with their music, they were all really good.
The third (and probably most) special thing about this event is that we raised a lot of money for the American Cancer Society. I didn’t want the event to be cancer focused, with all of the heavy and sad things that go along with it, but I figured if we were going to get a bunch of people together and give them beer and music all day, we should ask to see if they can help and donate to a good cause. And even though the message was subtle, everybody listened and got the point. Many people also came to me throughout the day and shared their stories about how cancer had affected their lives and said how they appreciated that we were doing something to help. And then those same people blended back into the audience and started dancing to the music again. It was magical.
So again, thank you for making it such a great day. I knew it was going to be a good day, but it really went to a much higher level. I’ll be putting together some more shows in the near future, and we’ll definitely do Venicestock 2010. If you have pictures from the event, I’d love to put together a collage, so please contact me. I’ll see you next time.
All the best,
Saint John
http://www.facebook.com/saintjohn
Saint John and the Revelations: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-John-and-the-Revelations/24515068195
Stevie Starlight: http://myspace.com/steviestarlight
Steve McCormick: http://www.mccormickaudio.com
Ironheel: http://www.myspace.com/ironheelmusic
Paul Chesne Band: http://paulchesne.com/
Amilia K Spicer: http://www.amiliaspicer.com
Braw!: http://www.myspace.com/Brawmusick
Mikel Farber (from Quebb): http://quebb.net/
Kim Michalowski: http://myspace.com/kimmichalowski
Julie The Band: http://www.myspace.com/julietheband