In this world we live in, with cookie cutter bands, corporate sponsored festivals, and free admission for parents at the Warped Tour, we need to hold on to every last bastion of real music we have left.
It doesn’t get any more real than Vic Giron and the Pondstock Festival he organizes.
This two day festival has been bringing out a wide variety of music and music fans to southwestern Nebraska for a whopping 10 years. This year the festival will be held August 29th and 30th. Set in a field near Trenton, Nebraska, Pondstock gathers great local, regional, and nationally touring talent.
Now I know that here at BadassConcert.com we are “So Metal We Piss Rust” but be warned, a lot of the bands on this show are not metal. F*** you. Thats ok by me. Just like Vic says later in this article: “….If it is good and moves you, it is good, I don’t care what it is.”
This years lineup includes:
- S.S. WEB
- Ando Ehlers
- Broken Spirits
- Smokestack Relics
- Slantpiece
- nerdRAGE
- Homemade Crazy
- Sammy Marz
- 9ine Foot Squirrel
- Mr. Smith
- Vic Giron’s own el Jefe and Country Rebels
- Ron Scott, TSMC
- Primal Waters
…and possibly more yet to be announced!
See what Vic had to say when we sat down and talked recently:
Damascus Wootz: Vic, I have sadly never been to Pondstock, what have I been missing out on? What makes Pondstock different than other festivals?
Vic Giron : It is TRULY grass roots and independent. There are a lot of people who come together to make this happen and the beauty is how it unfolds each time. The last few years we have had a lot of great musicians from all over the country make it out and it has been a really good thing to a lot of people.
DW: How would you describe what you do for Pondstock?
VG: I line up the bands and own the sound stuff. I put people where they can get the different things we need done done. Kind of the guy-behind-the-guys thing. A lot of people help and do different things to make it what it is. A lot of people thank me but there is no way I could pull this off by myself. There is a lot of love that has went into making it what it is.
DW: It takes a lot of work to pull off a big event like this, what do you think would be the most surprising thing that you have to deal with putting on Pondstock?
VG: I handle everything from lining up the sh*tters to doing sound to playing to dealing with anything that comes up. 2015 will be the 10th annual bash out there and we have dealt with all kinds of situations and new stuff comes up all the time. You have to be able to deal with things on the fly and make decisions. Being an outside event, you always have to deal with the weather and whatever curves it throws at you too.
It is a big event but not TOO big. There are a lot of acts but not TOO many acts. We used to have big dreams about having a HUGE event and getting a lot of big national bands but it didn’t happen that way. The beauty is that is is a nice gathering and about the music more than the party and trying to get as drunk as you can over two days.
Although there are folks that just like to see how drunk they can get over two days…
DW: Well…you’re going to have some of that. 10 years is a long f**king time, what stars aligned to get it started a decade ago?
VG: It started as a party with my first band (Rope) and another band from Nebraska (The Darts). Pig roast and trough of beer type of deal. We had friends (the three Hedke brothers) whose dads bought this land and let us have the party next to a pond and fire pit one of the boys constructed. The first two years were on car trailers next to the water.
DW: Well you guys must know how to have a good time if you’ve kept it going this long. The lineup for Pondstock always interests me because the bands are so diverse, where does that come from?
VG: I really get into a lot of different music and I like many styles – if it is good and moves you, it is good, I don’t care what it is. I really like that we have never went for one style of music like having a blues fest or country thing or rock thing and having 20 bands that all sound the same going at it. I feel that would get really old. We have had everything from techno and rappers to reggae to metal to country to blues and all kinds of things in between. We have never told anyone what to play or how to do their set. We meet a lot of people who travel the country from all over the country - especially these last few years - and have made them believers of what we do out there. Reverend Deadeye said it best once when he was talking to someone and said “Oh Pondstock, I love that deal. It is where a bunch of like-minded people with no pretenses get together to have a good time.” He gets it and appreciates that we don’t expect anything except for people to be real.
DW: Well amen to that. Any last thoughts for our readers Vic?
VG: If you can’t be good, be good at it!! Do what make YOU happy and don’t try and fit into any molds.
DW: F**kin’ A! It’s been a pleasure talking to you Vic.
You can also get more information about Pondstock here.
Well folks, there you have it. And you know what to do…
…get out to Pondstock and pay some cover charges f**kers!!!
