The next best thing to listening to music is having conversations about it. We caught up with eight artists and friends during Riot Fest Chicago, 2016 to get their insight on the festival and music culture.
Vol 1: Jule Vera
Riot Fest: It’s your first time at Riot Fest. What’s your first impression?
Jake Roland: We’re really excited to play alongside some really great acts and meet up with some friends we’ve met on past tours. It’s just going to be a fun time.
Vol 2: Gwar
Riot Fest: How do you keep your hair so perfect in this humidity?
Sleazy P. Martini: I used to use a lot of hair products. I tried Revlon, I tried several different brands. I tried Trump’s brand, and you can see that doesn’t always work for him. So, I outsmarted him. I went to an autobody shop and had them fiberglass it for me, which is great because I don’t have to wear a helmet when I ride my motorcycle. It’s weather proof, scratch proof, and I even Scotchgarded it for good measure.
Vol 3: NOFX
Festival Don’ts:
Smelly to Fat Mike: I told you to piss in the bathroom, not on it!
Vol 4: Worriers
Riot Fest: Worriers kicked off the Rebel Stage this weekend – What are your thoughts on Riot Fest’s rebellious side?
Lauren Denitzio: When you get so many sanitized versions of punk on the radio, it’s really nice to play a festival that has wide range of people, but also a lot of friends and a lot of like-minded people that are on the same page politically. Even a band like The Specials that were just talking about Black Lives Matter and Native American Lives Matter onstage. It’s a great atmosphere and I’m excited to be a part of it.
Vol 5: Bob Nanna (Lifted Bells)
Riot Fest: Which set was the highlight of your day?
The highlight of my day was Girls Against Boys. 100%. I was joking with my wife that it would be all people my age in the crowd because we were all influenced by Girls Against Boys in the early ‘90s and stuff… I was out in front, and I loved the whole set. They are one of those band I don’t think have gotten their proper due and they are so, so good.
Vol 6: Mark Rose
[On growing older with your favorite bands]
I get a little annoyed when people are like, “I feel so old, this band….” Don’t they understand that great artists that span 10-20-30 years, the fanbase that grew up with them doesn’t feel old, they feel free and liberated to enjoy it and still have something that matters? Let the nostalgia be there, but enjoy it as real music that still matters, not what you listened to when you were X age.
Vol 7: War on Women
Riot Fest: When you were onstage, you continued the conversation The Specials started on Friday about Black Lives Matters. Why is a festival like this a particularly place to start a conversation about radical politics?
Shawna Potter: Any time I have a microphone is the opportunity to share some radical politics, but I don’t think equal treatment under the law and equality are all that radical. I think of them as very normal, mainstream ideas and so, as someone who is only barely marginalized as a woman, the very least I can do is be vocal about my support, love, and allyship to people of color, trans people, and LGBT people.
Vol 8: Dee Snider
Riot Fest: You’ve spent a lot of time in Chicago with your musical, playing in bands, and now Riot Fest. As an expert on these matters, what makes Chicago such a great rock ‘n’ roll town?
Dee Snider: I have two rules: 1. If you like me, I like you. 2. If you don’t like me we’ve got a problem. Throughout my career Chicago has been very welcoming. It’s got such a rich history of blues and rock. It’s urban, and it’s a big city, but it still has a middle America feel where they’ve always appreciated rock ‘n’ roll, and especially hard rock ‘n’ roll. I’ve just found a second home here. I haven’t been here since we did the musical a couple Christmases ago, and my wife and I were just like, “God, I’ve missed this town.”
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