Summer Music Festival Footage Part 7 - Alliance Fest

Back in Pennsylvania, another festival happened that was primarily metal & hardcore. At the time I bought my ticket, Alliance Fest seemed promising then it got ridiculous! A one day festival with 3 stages and 60+ bands? I had to see how this would go off…

As the week of the festival came it was apparent there were some issues & things may not quite be what they appeared at first. Lots of bands dropped off with various explanations for why…for many it was an issue of financial compensation. Those final days leading up to the festival left the question would it even happen?

I don't know all the details of what went wrong at Alliance Fest. It's probably best to read the official statement from Alliance Fest itself than for me to try to rehash what I heard.

My friends in Corpus Christi were still planning to come out to Alliance Fest as the week came to a close and had some mercy sent to my house. The package arrived on the morning of the festival…it was a gloomy day but Elphie & I got ourselves up and going…semi awake.

We arrived at what should have been an hour or so after the festival was scheduled to start and nothing was happening. I delivered the package to Corpus Christi which was not quite the tshirt designed they had hoped for. After hanging around a bit we decided to go fetch some food and upon returning Corpus Christi was playing so we caught the end of their set. I filmed clips of 22 bands on this day. A few more than that played. Despite the issues, about half the bands still showed up including a few I really hoped to see such as Those Who Fear, Becoming The Archetype, Letters To The Exiles, Once Nothing, & Inhale Exhale.

Unfortunately not all those who were disgruntled with the festival issues stayed away and brought along a negative attitude. One (Hundredth) took it way too far and tried to destroy the sound production equipment in a classless & childish fit of anger I guess trying to get back at the promoter (though it was a bit misaimed since the production company had nothing to do with these issues). Most bands counteracted this negativity…2 in particular, Convictions & Ace Augustine, really made great statements of positive vibes.

For me, this festival did have its share of issues & lacked the organization necessary to be successful. People could wander into the grounds without paying & there was a lack of security & stage hands. There were way too many bands to fit the time allowed on two stages (one stage production pulled out last minute as well) without overlap. One band played one stage then the next band would play on the other stage…really it was probably the only way it could work due to the place where this festival took place. It happened in a park in a small town outside of Pittsburgh. The bigger named bands toward the end had their sets cut short. Despite all that & the negativity of some bands, it did go fairly well and was enjoyable overall.

Linked below is the playlist of the bands I filmed at this festival:  Corpus Christi, My Ransomed Soul, Phinehas, Blissed, Good Luck Varsity, Those Who Fear, Arcane Haven, Fit For A King, Blood Of The Martyrs, Ark Of The Covenant, Hundredth, Triple Stitch, Becoming The Archetype, Letter To The Exiles, The Protest, Ace Augustine, Convictions, Once Nothing, The Great Commission, Inhale Exhale, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, & Demon Hunter.


http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNhmU_erm9OFUrhyrLBPh4p

(there are technical issues with some of these clips - Demon Hunter & Red Jumpsuit Apparatus were the most affected. I'm not sure about a solution for this. Some clips would not properly upload from the camera to the Mac for editing and some parts were lost.)

Filmed using a JVC HDD Everio. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.
Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson

Summer Music Festival Footage Part 6 - Stand Together Fest 2013

July 19th & 20th, Elphie & I went to Nashville for Stand Together Fest. We got to stay with Natalie and visit with her a bit the night before the fest. Truth be told, by Saturday evening I had grown tired of hardcore (haha). A reason that I loved Cornerstone was the diversity of music going on at any time whereas Stand Together was a primarily hardcore/metal fest. There was a few variances here & there to help ease the hardcore overload. With that said, it was a good festival overall. During Saturday evening, it seems the sound levels increase substantially. My camera seems to have issues with that. It seems to believe it's being dropped by what I can only assume is the vibrations in the music. For the last few sets we sat upstairs where my camera seemed to work better.

Below is a playlist of the clips of all the bands at Stand Together Fest 2013

Reveal Renew, From The Eyes Of Servants, Conveyer, Strengthen What Remains, Thin Ice, Better Off, No Longer Bound, Bad Advice, Good Luck Varsity, Comrades, the full Jawbone set, With Increase, Everything Went Black, ThirtySeven, & Mychildren Mybride.



http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNszlAieB3xSP4ZoKyVL3CZ

Filmed using a JVC HDD Everio. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson

A New Year Brings FUN! (usually)

I hope to be able to do some major catching up on my videos I've filmed over the last year. At this point I'm about 6 months behind in editing then posting them up for whoever cares to see.

In the meantime I created a new playlist of footage from New Year's Celebrating over the years. There were 2 in particular that stand out. Ringing in 2008 with old friends in Apple Valley, Ohio while my friend Greg DJed was RAD. That would be the first set of videos in this playlist. The other year was a show at the Attic in Dayton, Ohio where For Today rang in the New Year for 2011. That is actually the last set of videos in this playlist. I guess ringing in 2012 and 2013 weren't too note worthy to get their own videos (haha). I know 2013 was spent at work…lame.

Anyway, enjoy these and watch for new stuff soon!



http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpPrqDuQJIDr2UrNmHOamQVX

Happy Christmas!

I've put together a playlist of the Christmas time videos I've made over the years.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpPX2UhJkt6XaYUAhQB0025h

Happy Christmas!

Summer Music Festival Footage - Part 5: A Show In-Between Fests In Pittsburgh

A couple weeks after Audiofeed ended prior to Stand Together Fest there was a show in Pittsburgh which I got to have a hand in helping take place. Derek Zanetti of The Homeless Gospel Choir put together a show for himself with Listener, The Wild, and last minute add-on The Soil & The Sun. It was good to be part of a show again even if it was simply taking money at the door. The show was well attended and all the bands were great as expected.

The Soil & The Sun

http://youtu.be/My4KvR8vpek

The Wild

http://youtu.be/NSM1-CmOvm4

Taking + Killing by The Homeless Gospel Choir

http://youtu.be/q3SXCnUgGlI

Tornadoes by Listener

http://youtu.be/zkrvVGoiJyw

After the show I hung with the guys for a while then drove a while…as long as I could then slept in a parking lot in Ohio.

Footage filmed using a Sony HD Bloggie & iPhone 4 & edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. All footage filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson

Summer Music Festival Footage - Part 4: Audiofeed Day 2 (or 3 counting the Hog Roast)

Saturday July 6th…we woke to another day at Audiofeed. A good number of new folks had shown up at the festival grounds after playing another festival in Illinois consisting of mainly punk bands. On the way to shower I caught a set by Triple Stitch and was able to catch up with a few friends.

http://youtu.be/0HIrg8umi40

After the shower on my way to the tent to drop my things off I happened upon my first "generator" experience of this fest on the Front Porch Stage by Must Build Jacuzzi. This stage gave opportunities to the bands who were not booked to play Audiofeed.

http://youtu.be/CU16NQjabE0

After a quick run to the tent, I returned to hear some celtic folk punk by 6'10. This is a side project with Tobin and Brandon from Flatfoot 56.

http://youtu.be/HbgKQ_oiW2Q

I was able to then see Brandon Reid on the Acoustic Stage after missing him the day before.

http://youtu.be/NLiFWhFUQcM

A Hill To Die Upon played metal at the Blacksheep/HM Stage.

http://youtu.be/eB_rXviCBqs

After this, I went indoors to the Arkansas Stage for the Spoken Nerd set.

http://youtu.be/5pUUUTWl6E0

Spirit & The Bride played in the field behind the Blacksheep/HM Stage as part of the Front Porch generator stage. It was another good performance by them and I was able to again capture the entire set on film.

http://youtu.be/vk5wjAPX1-E

Next, I caught The Scurvies set. I was intending to see them the week before in Chicago as well but due to a car accident this ended up being the only set I caught from the Scurvies for the summer.

http://youtu.be/Hxei_VCFy10

As night began to fall, the Acoustic Stage became the Asylum Stage and I caught a Steampunk performance by Insomniac Folklore.

http://youtu.be/qjebYH71xiU

Another unscheduled band played the Front Porch Stage and certainly left an impression with the performance and antics. Desiring Dead Flesh is not to be missed.

http://youtu.be/jyTSlIFFIho

We returned to see Midnight Valentine at the Asylum Stage.

http://youtu.be/BHvk33H9Rb0

I wasn't able to catch a lot of the set, but I was able to watch a few songs by the Saudades on the Front Porch.

http://youtu.be/MtD_FmMnm2c

I spent much of the set by Grave Robber back stage. I was privileged to shoot blood into the crowd before filming "Army Of The Dead"

http://youtu.be/sF1IszGZPQA

At the Arkansas Stage, I filmed the entire set by Listener.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ99GAswXMA&list=PL30E8FC2EF5314250

Flatfoot 56 made a surprise appearance at Audiofeed.

http://youtu.be/G5By7vftZ8o

The festival ended with The Soil & The Sun.

http://youtu.be/JUWAeMirNWg

All band footage is in a playlist that can be accessed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52SZu1in74U&list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpOJGjkj1EtnmCnbRSoZSHg7

This festival, though only a few days compared to the week long retreat that Cornerstone was, it was still refreshing and enjoyable. It was nice this year to have the company of Elphie though I did miss the crew from the 86 and all the banter and fun we would have over the course of the travel and week at Cornerstone. To me, Audiofeed is the logical next step in this journey of life for me & the way I hope to spend many of the summers to come.

That said, summer 2013 still had a long way until its end and a few more small music festivals to be attended...

All footage was filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson. Footage was filmed using a JVC HDD Everio & edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

Summer Music Festival Footage - Part 3: Audiofeed Day 1 (or 2 if ya count the Hog Roast)

Friday, July 5th I woke up in my tent which was nicely shaded due to good planning in the "picking a spot to camp" department. Elphie remained asleep so I explored the campgrounds as things began to start up. I visited the showers and found them to have warm water (some of which went to brew my coffee I purchase from The 86). I returned to the tent, drank some coffee and ate granola bars before venturing back out to listen to music...Elphie slept. The shade from the trees would remain through midafternoon.

Though my intentions were to see Brandon Reid, I mistakenly found myself at the Acoustic Stage watching another folksy fellow named Josh Ehrmann instead. Brandon was scheduled to play the following day there and was at the Arkansas Stage on this day. It didn't matter, I enjoyed the set by Josh Ehrmann.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOEiaIwb2BA

After Josh played I went to check in with some friends as to the start time of their set. Nothing seemed to be going on at the tent they were scheduled to be on though the paperwork indicated there should be music going on. I ventured to the Arkansas Stage to catch some of Timbre's set before returning to the Blacksheep/HM Stage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGceIzgqezg

Back at the Blacksheep/HM Stage, my friends in Spirit & The Bride were finally about to get things going. They would be the first hardcore band to play Audiofeed. I set up a second camera on the edge of the stage and came away pleased with the footage I got to edit of this set and how it fit together for the most part. It's a pleasure knowing these dudes and see them do so well when they get a chance to play.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpMumevkgvsvT6loilLyYb7S

After Spirit & The Bride I was able to hear some passionate spoken word from Keyoung.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XprfxSC1RA

Friends who would perform later at the Asylum Stage would arrive around this time so we all met up and then eventually ended up back at the camping area and Elphie began to wake up. I returned to the music to catch a little bit of From The Eyes Of Servants.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGEAc_05S3w

Around dinner time some more friends were starting their set so I caught a little bit of The Rose Hill then listened to the rest while eating dinner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIpnWNNkqSY

After dinner there some instrumental music by Comrades. I had the privilege of booking them at my house toward the end of being allowed to do that so it was good to see them again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FlwByq-89M

The Burial did some metal later...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn_O-nSw6uM

Relesser got the night started at the Asylum Stage...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx03KNkGG8M

I returned to the Blacksheep/HM Stage to catch a little bit of Maylene & The Sons of Disaster...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDR61iWFKR0

Then I returned to the Asylum Stage to see Leper play. Elphie got to light up some candles and then tossed candy (which you see at the beginning of the footage) during the set. It was a bit different than originally hoped but a good set nonetheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvWfMqpUK0

The evening ended for us after Leper. We hung out some with folks around the camp as well as at the Asylum. The feelings that this would be the new traditional summer getaway continued to grow as the day went on.

All footage was filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson. Footage filmed using a JVC HDD Everio & Sony HD Bloggie. Footage edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

A full festival playlist is here:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpOJGjkj1EtnmCnbRSoZSHg7