David Bash
Encyclopedia
David Bash is the founder and CEO of The International Pop Overthrow
Music Festival, which is currently held annually in 16 cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas, Austin, Boston, New York, Toronto, Vancouver BC, London, and Liverpool UK (at The Cavern Club
). The festival is dedicated to bring classic pop music - music with the kind of strong melodies and catchy lyrics that tend to stick in your head and make you feel good - to the hearts and minds of the mainstream public. Although the festival has over the years featured several major label acts, such as Phantom Planet
, Maroon 5
(under their previous incarnation, Kara's Flowers), and The Click Five, Bash tries to maintain the grassroots feel of the festival by featuring primarily unsigned bands, and presenting them in a festival platform with similar minded artists, where they will be appreciated by both the festival audiences and by each other. True to this grassroots ethic, Bash personally selects all the artists and is a fan of their music, something the bands tend to recognize and appreciate. Each year, Bash produces a CD compilation on the Not Lame Recordings
label featuring bands that have played in any of the cities in which the festival has appeared.
in 1981, with a BA in journalism, Bash had amassed a collection of 4000 LPs and 1000 45s. In 1982, Bash moved to Los Angeles CA. The following year, he returned to college at The University of CA Irvine; in 1984, he received a BA in psychology. He remained at UCI for graduate school, entering a PhD program in cognitive psychology
, but in 1990 decided to leave with his masters degree, and embark on a teaching career. From 1990 through 1998, Bash taught psychology at various community colleges, including Cerritos College
, Cuyamaca College
, Palomar College
and Camp Pendelton.
, Amplifier, and PopSided magazines, and penned the liner notes for various re-issue CDs, such as The Toms (on Not Lame Recordings
), Wanna Meet The Scruffs?, Nino Tempo & April Stevens All Strung Out (Varese Sarabande
), and the 3 disc set Magic Time: The Millennium/Ballroom Recordings (Sundazed
).
From his writing of CD reviews, Bash got to know unsigned bands from all over the world. Many of these bands expressed a strong desire to play in Bash's home town of Los Angeles, so in December 1997, Bash decided to create The International Pop Overthrow Music Festival. The name was chosen to pay tribute to Jim Ellison, singer songwriter of Material Issue
, a beloved powerpop band from Chicago, whose 1991 debut album was entitled "International Pop Overthrow." The name was also chosen to communicate Bash's desire to overthrow, with the kind of classic pop music being featured at the festival, what had become decidedly "unpop" mainstream radio sounds. In August 1998, the first International Pop Overthrow festival was held in Los Angeles, featuring 120 pop and rock bands from Los Angeles, several other US cities, and 10 bands from 5 foreign countries, including Canada, Australia, Sweden, France, and The Netherlands. The festival was a tremendous success, and over the next three years, its roster grew to include bands from countries such as Japan, Norway, Austria, Israel, and The United Kingdom. At the 2001 festival, during a panel discussion, it was suggested by several bands that Bash take International Pop Overthrow on the road.
The first city outside Los Angeles in which The International Pop Overthrow festival (or IPO, as it had affectionately become known) was held was New York, in December 2001, followed by Chicago in April 2002. Each new city that followed added both a cache of strong local talent, and provided opportunities for bands from other cities in which IPO was already established to play in front of an appreciative public. The festival truly became international in 2003, when Bash was approached by Beatles historian, Jean Catharell, to hold the festival in Liverpool UK. The festival has since become a highly anticipated yearly event at The Cavern Club, drawing some of the best unsigned pop and rock talent from around the world. The festival is now held annually in 16 different cities, and Bash continues to explore opportunities to share his love of pop music with both avid fans and the as yet unconverted masses by taking the festival to additional locales, with Sweden, Spain, Japan, and Australia high on the list of possible future International Pop Overthrow locations.
The International Pop Overthrow festival has been held in several world-renowned venues, such as The Cavern Club
(Liverpool UK), The Troubadour
(Los Angeles), The El Rey (Los Angeles), Spaceland
(Los Angeles), The Abbey (Chicago), Schubas (Chicago), Bottom of The Hill (San Francisco), The Rivoli
(Toronto), The Khyber (Philadelphia), Arlene's Grocery
(New York), Kenny's Castaways (New York), The Knitting Factory
(Los Angeles and New York), The Middle East (Boston), The Railway (Vancouver BC), City Hall (Denver), and The Orange County Fair (Orange County CA).
Artists who have played The International Pop Overthrow festival include luminaries such as Walter Egan
, Harmony Grass
, Shoes
, Off Broadway
, John Wicks & The Records, The Rubinoos
, The Cowsills
, and Enuff Z'Nuff
, as well as recent and current stars, such as Kara's Flowers (now known as Maroon 5
), Phantom Planet
, The Click Five, Jason Falkner
, Seth Swirsky
and The 88
.
The International Pop Overthrow festival has been covered in numerous publications, including The Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly
, The Chicago Sun Times, The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe
, New York Magazine, The New Yorker
, The Liverpool Echo, BBC Liverpool, SPIN!
, Goldmine, Amplifier, and Billboard. In addition, noted Liverpool historian and BBC radio personality, Spencer Leigh, devoted several pages to the festival in his recent book, The Cavern: The Most Famous Club in the World.
Bash currently writes music reviews and the occasional article for Bucketfull of Brains and Shindig! magazines.
Bash intends to continue to run The International Pop Overthrow Festival until he is unable to do so, or until IPO's brand of pop music once and for all gets into the hearts and minds of the mainstream music listener...whichever comes first.
International Pop Overthrow
The International Pop Overthrow is an American-originated music festival devoted to power pop music and related genres.Taking its name from Material Issue's 1991 album of the same name, the festival began in 1998, and has been held annually in the LA area since then...
Music Festival, which is currently held annually in 16 cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas, Austin, Boston, New York, Toronto, Vancouver BC, London, and Liverpool UK (at The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a rock and roll club in Liverpool, England. Opened on Wednesday 16 January 1957, the club had their first performance by The Beatles on 9 February 1961, and where Brian Epstein first saw The Beatles performing on 9 November 1961....
). The festival is dedicated to bring classic pop music - music with the kind of strong melodies and catchy lyrics that tend to stick in your head and make you feel good - to the hearts and minds of the mainstream public. Although the festival has over the years featured several major label acts, such as Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
, Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
(under their previous incarnation, Kara's Flowers), and The Click Five, Bash tries to maintain the grassroots feel of the festival by featuring primarily unsigned bands, and presenting them in a festival platform with similar minded artists, where they will be appreciated by both the festival audiences and by each other. True to this grassroots ethic, Bash personally selects all the artists and is a fan of their music, something the bands tend to recognize and appreciate. Each year, Bash produces a CD compilation on the Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings was a Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States based independent record label specializing in power pop releases. The company was started by Bruce Brodeen in November 1994 but it shut down per November 24, 2010. The reasons Brodeen mentioned were a career switch combined with...
label featuring bands that have played in any of the cities in which the festival has appeared.
Early Life and Formative Years
Bash came by his love of pop music at an early age. Born in Poughkeepsie NY on September 2, 1958, Bash grew up listening to 1970s top 40 radio on stations like WABC AM and 99X FM. He made the transition to album oriented radio in 1975, with stations like WPLJ FM and WNEW FM. By the time of his graduation from New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1981, with a BA in journalism, Bash had amassed a collection of 4000 LPs and 1000 45s. In 1982, Bash moved to Los Angeles CA. The following year, he returned to college at The University of CA Irvine; in 1984, he received a BA in psychology. He remained at UCI for graduate school, entering a PhD program in cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
, but in 1990 decided to leave with his masters degree, and embark on a teaching career. From 1990 through 1998, Bash taught psychology at various community colleges, including Cerritos College
Cerritos College
Cerritos College is a public comprehensive community college founded in 1955 located in Norwalk, California. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a ranch that served prominently in the region in the 19th century...
, Cuyamaca College
Cuyamaca College
Cuyamaca Community College is a community college in the San Diego County community of Rancho San Diego, near El Cajon, California. Along with Grossmont College it serves the eastern suburbs in the San Diego area. Cuyamaca opened in 1978 and now offers 59 associate's degree programs and almost 66...
, Palomar College
Palomar College
Palomar College is a community college with one campus and six education sites in San Diego County, California. The main campus is located in San Marcos, while the six education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. The largest of these is the education center located in...
and Camp Pendelton.
Pop Music Journalism and The International Pop Overthrow Festival
Throughout this time, Bash maintained his strong interest in music. By the early 90s his record and CD collection had grown to almost 8000 items, and included many obscurities from international artists not generally known in the US. By the mid-90s, Bash had discovered pop music fanzines, such as Yellow Pills and Audities, and started writing music reviews and articles for both publications in 1995. Over the next few years, he also wrote for Discoveries, GoldmineGoldmine (magazine)
Goldmine, established in 1974, is an American magazine that focuses on the collectors' market for records, tapes, CDs, and music-related memorabilia. Each issue features news articles, interviews, discographies, histories, current reviews on recording stars of the past and present. Discographies...
, Amplifier, and PopSided magazines, and penned the liner notes for various re-issue CDs, such as The Toms (on Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings was a Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States based independent record label specializing in power pop releases. The company was started by Bruce Brodeen in November 1994 but it shut down per November 24, 2010. The reasons Brodeen mentioned were a career switch combined with...
), Wanna Meet The Scruffs?, Nino Tempo & April Stevens All Strung Out (Varese Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
), and the 3 disc set Magic Time: The Millennium/Ballroom Recordings (Sundazed
Sundazed Records
Sundazed Records is a record label based in Coxsackie, in the Catskills of New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s.Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989...
).
From his writing of CD reviews, Bash got to know unsigned bands from all over the world. Many of these bands expressed a strong desire to play in Bash's home town of Los Angeles, so in December 1997, Bash decided to create The International Pop Overthrow Music Festival. The name was chosen to pay tribute to Jim Ellison, singer songwriter of Material Issue
Material Issue
Material Issue was a 1980-1990s power pop trio from Chicago. The band's trademark was pop songs with themes of love and heartbreak, where a number of song titles using girls' first names.-History:...
, a beloved powerpop band from Chicago, whose 1991 debut album was entitled "International Pop Overthrow." The name was also chosen to communicate Bash's desire to overthrow, with the kind of classic pop music being featured at the festival, what had become decidedly "unpop" mainstream radio sounds. In August 1998, the first International Pop Overthrow festival was held in Los Angeles, featuring 120 pop and rock bands from Los Angeles, several other US cities, and 10 bands from 5 foreign countries, including Canada, Australia, Sweden, France, and The Netherlands. The festival was a tremendous success, and over the next three years, its roster grew to include bands from countries such as Japan, Norway, Austria, Israel, and The United Kingdom. At the 2001 festival, during a panel discussion, it was suggested by several bands that Bash take International Pop Overthrow on the road.
The first city outside Los Angeles in which The International Pop Overthrow festival (or IPO, as it had affectionately become known) was held was New York, in December 2001, followed by Chicago in April 2002. Each new city that followed added both a cache of strong local talent, and provided opportunities for bands from other cities in which IPO was already established to play in front of an appreciative public. The festival truly became international in 2003, when Bash was approached by Beatles historian, Jean Catharell, to hold the festival in Liverpool UK. The festival has since become a highly anticipated yearly event at The Cavern Club, drawing some of the best unsigned pop and rock talent from around the world. The festival is now held annually in 16 different cities, and Bash continues to explore opportunities to share his love of pop music with both avid fans and the as yet unconverted masses by taking the festival to additional locales, with Sweden, Spain, Japan, and Australia high on the list of possible future International Pop Overthrow locations.
The International Pop Overthrow festival has been held in several world-renowned venues, such as The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a rock and roll club in Liverpool, England. Opened on Wednesday 16 January 1957, the club had their first performance by The Beatles on 9 February 1961, and where Brian Epstein first saw The Beatles performing on 9 November 1961....
(Liverpool UK), The Troubadour
The Troubadour
The Troubadour is a nightclub located in West Hollywood, California, USA, at 9081 Santa Monica Boulevard just east of Doheny Drive and the border of Beverly Hills.The club was founded in 1957 by Doug Weston...
(Los Angeles), The El Rey (Los Angeles), Spaceland
Spaceland
Spaceland was an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a gay disco called Dreams...
(Los Angeles), The Abbey (Chicago), Schubas (Chicago), Bottom of The Hill (San Francisco), The Rivoli
The Rivoli
The Rivoli is a bar, restaurant and performance space, established in 1982, on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario. The club originally earned a reputation as one of Canada's hippest music clubs, and many major Canadian comedy and musical performers have played on its stage, including The Kids in...
(Toronto), The Khyber (Philadelphia), Arlene's Grocery
Arlene's Grocery
Arlene's Grocery is a bar and music venue in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. It is located at 95 Stanton Street, and has been a bar/venue since 1996....
(New York), Kenny's Castaways (New York), The Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
(Los Angeles and New York), The Middle East (Boston), The Railway (Vancouver BC), City Hall (Denver), and The Orange County Fair (Orange County CA).
Artists who have played The International Pop Overthrow festival include luminaries such as Walter Egan
Walter Egan
Walter Egan is an American rock musician, best known for his 1978 gold status hit single "Magnet and Steel" from his album Not Shy, produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut of Fleetwood Mac fame...
, Harmony Grass
Harmony Grass
Harmony Grass was a British pop group active briefly in the late 1960s.The group was formed in Essex by previous members of Tony Rivers & the Castaways, including Tony Rivers himself. They signed to RCA Records about a year after they formed, and their single "Move in a Little Closer" hit #24 on...
, Shoes
Shoes (band)
Shoes are an American power pop band, formed in Zion, Illinois, in 1974 by brothers John and Jeff Murphy, and Gary Klebe and incorporating several different drummers over the years including Skip Meyer, Barry Shumaker, Ric Menck, John Richardson, and Jeff Hunter. The Murphy brothers and Klebe were...
, Off Broadway
Off Broadway (band)
Off Broadway is an American rock band formed in 1977 in Oak Park, Illinois. The band is currently made up of Cliff Johnson , Rob Harding , Ken Harck , Mike Gorman , and Mike Redmond .Off Broadway released its debut album, On, on Atlantic Records in 1979...
, John Wicks & The Records, The Rubinoos
The Rubinoos
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" , "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" , and for the theme song to the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds...
, The Cowsills
The Cowsills
The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island. They specialized in harmonies and the ability to sing and play music at an early age. The band was formed in the spring of 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry, then shortly thereafter added John...
, and Enuff Z'Nuff
Enuff Z'nuff
Enuff Z'Nuff, pronounced "enough's enough," is an American glam rock band from Blue Island, Illinois. Founded by singer Donnie Vie and bassist Chip Z'Nuff, this Chicago area band is best known for their charting singles "Fly High Michelle" and "New Thing." Enuff Z'Nuff has continually recorded and...
, as well as recent and current stars, such as Kara's Flowers (now known as Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
), Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
, The Click Five, Jason Falkner
Jason Falkner
Jason Falkner is an American pop and rock musician. Active since the late 1980s, he has performed with several bands. In addition to releasing several albums as a solo artist, he is a prolific session musician and producer who has contributed to dozens of other recordings by other bands and...
, Seth Swirsky
Seth Swirsky
Seth Swirsky is an American pop music songwriter , author, recording artist, filmmaker, political writer and baseball memorabilia collector -- a self-described "Manic Expressive."- Songwriter :In 1980, at the age of 20, Seth Swirsky wrote the national jingle for Thomas' English...
and The 88
The 88
The 88 is a four-piece indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. They have released five full length albums as of 2010, and are the backing band for the Ray Davies Fall 2011 US Tour.- Members :Members of the band are:...
.
The International Pop Overthrow festival has been covered in numerous publications, including The Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, The Chicago Sun Times, The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, New York Magazine, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The Liverpool Echo, BBC Liverpool, SPIN!
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, Goldmine, Amplifier, and Billboard. In addition, noted Liverpool historian and BBC radio personality, Spencer Leigh, devoted several pages to the festival in his recent book, The Cavern: The Most Famous Club in the World.
Personal
As of 2011, Bash has lived in Sherman Oaks, CA for the past 11 years. In 2001, he met his girlfriend, Rina Bardfield, at an International Pop Overthrow show, and they have been together ever since. Bardfield helps with the selection and scheduling of artists for the festival, and writes many of the artist descriptions for the festival's various programs.Bash currently writes music reviews and the occasional article for Bucketfull of Brains and Shindig! magazines.
Bash intends to continue to run The International Pop Overthrow Festival until he is unable to do so, or until IPO's brand of pop music once and for all gets into the hearts and minds of the mainstream music listener...whichever comes first.
External links
- http://www.internationalpopoverthrow.com
- http://www.notlame.com/