Geekfest
Encyclopedia
Geekfest is the name of a series of free, all-ages concerts
organized by California
indie label S.P.A.M. Records during the 1990s. The first Geekfest was held in June 1996 on the shoreline at Point Molate in Richmond, California
. This site, a former Navy
fuel depot at the foot of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
, became the default location for dozens of Geekfests, though other locations were eventually used.
bands whose members were under 21. Several bars and nightclubs were driven out by the bustling dot-com economy. Others, fearful of losing their liquor licenses, stopped allowing minors to attend or perform on their stages. By 1996, there was only one all-ages music venue in the East Bay - 924 Gilman Street
.
With the rise of Green Day
, Rancid
, and other former underground bands making punk rock
a commodity, Gilman had become an insular community, rejecting those who did not fit an increasingly narrow definition of punk. Though Gilman was not by design exclusively punk rock (they were and are explicitly devoted to independent music and arts), a combination of internal politics and aesthetic tastes of the Gilman staff kept other types of music off the stage. S.P.A.M. Records grew out of the efforts of underage musicians and artists from Pinole, California
frustrated with this situation. The fringe Gilman band The Hope Bombs
encouraged the S.P.A.M. crew, most notably by letting them jump on stage at Hope Bombs shows to play as "The Bob Weirdos" (whose shows consisted of crazed songs like "Help I'm On Fire" which actually involved setting singer John Mink on fire). But this support was the exception and the bands were generally deprived of any meaningful access to the Gilman audience.
S.P.A.M. Co-founder John "Geek" Mink (now vocalist for punk band Fleshies
) alluded to this in an interview:
"Along with Dan and Corbett of Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits (and joined soon by Robert Eggplant
and Dylan McPuke), I started the S.P.A.M. Records Collective in 1995 because no one else would put out our shit or let us play."
Select work from the S.P.A.M. Records Catalog circa 1996-2002:
The S.P.A.M. bands, most notably Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits, had been rejected by the punk scene for what, to their minds, were superficial differences in dress and musical style. Label co-founder Corbett Redford (singer for Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits) said "We were all living in Pinole and we couldn't play Gilman because they said we weren't punk. We couldn't take out an ad in MRR
because they said we weren't punk. ... We were thrashfunk and silly folk I suppose." They decided, in a DIY spirit, to create their own venue, one where nobody would be rejected for having the wrong fashion sense.
The name "Geekfest" was chosen partly because the S.P.A.M. collective saw themselves as geeks; they realized their idiosyncrasies
made them unpopular at parties, but made no effort to change. Their rejection by the punk scene was viewed as just another chapter in a long history of being uncool; but, as John "Geek" Mink says, "Our pride in maladjustment ran too damn deep."
s to live music. Photocopied handbills
listed a telephone number, but not the location of the event, to try to prevent the shows being shut down by law enforcement.
Most production, planning, stage management, cooking and facilitation was done by a core group of people from Pinole. Events were also stage managed and cooked for by the same crew. Planning for most events was eventually held at 924 Gilman as more people joined in as the show became larger.
Point Molate was selected as a location partly because it was already in use one Sunday a month for free outdoor "Sunset raves". It was far from any residential area, beneath a large bridge, and under confused jurisdiction as a Navy Superfund
site. Technically, it was in Richmond, which had one of the nation's highest murder rates at the time. Local law enforcement, it seemed, was otherwise occupied.
Politically, the concept of Geekfest took an anarchist bent. It addressed issues of public land use, the role of the audience in art (since much of the time, the audience consisted of the other bands playing that day), and issues of hierarchy in a supposedly egalitarian
punk scene.
Approximately 12 bands played the first show, most of who were made up of minors and bands who shared S.P.A.M.'s sense of humor and disenfranchisement. S.P.A.M. members rented a gas-powered generator, and hired a local sound engineer to work the jury-rigged
P.A.
. In an illegal and ill-advised attempt to recoup their losses, S.P.A.M. sold cheese-filled hot dogs and cans of beer to the approximately 30 attendees. The concert lasted from about 1 p.m. until sunset (most proceeds were later spent on burritos).
The locations and the bands varied widely (though many bands had repeat performances), but the shows were always free and all-ages.
This concept of inclusion was central to the Geekfest concept, and extended to the booking policy. As word spread about the festivals, bands began calling to ask for shows, and sending promotional packages to the label's P.O. box. S.P.A.M. avoided listening to demo tapes they received, booking bands on a "first-come, first-served
" basis. This was done to remove the bias of musical taste that S.P.A.M. blamed for their own exclusion from Gilman. As a result, the bands were often unskilled, untalented, or conversely, so polished and professional that they seemed wildly inappropriate at a no-frills, guerrilla concert. Geekfest organizers observed the conflicts that arose between different musical subcultures with a bemused detachment.
The length of the concerts (sometimes 8 hours or more) and the inconsistent quality of the acts made Geekfest less like a traditional concert and more like a weird carnival. Since the schedule was never listed, it was difficult for people to show up to see one band in particular. People tended to stay for most of the day and began to come as much for the playful atmosphere as for the bands.
Several Geekfest organizers, including Dan Abbott, Shawn Martin, and Dylan McPuke, were affiliated with the Amtgard
live action role-playing game
(Who coincidentally brought amtgard to Berekely, Ca), and brought homemade foam-padded swords for attendees to battle with during concerts. From then on, random foam sword battles were an integral part of Geekfest. Between bands, organizers held costume contests, raffle
s, and trivia games, and videogame tournaments: usually with a nod to traditionally geeky themes like Dungeons & Dragons
, "Weird Al" Yankovic
, or Atari
games.
Gradually, Geekfest attracted a community of disparate individuals, and become something of a scene itself. Several bands made inroads in to the Gilman scene, and several Geekfests were eventually held within the Gilman club itself.
Geekfest's esoteric aesthetic also became popular among organizers within the Cannabis Action Network (CAN), which allowed S.P.A.M. Records to book second-stage performances at their annual 420 festivals, including at least one at the Maritime Hall
in San Francisco on April 20, 2001(video).
. After a frenzied search for an appropriate site, the Geeks found Lake Ladoga
, part of East Park Reservoir near Maxwell, California. It was hot, dusty, and inhospitable land under jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), and the lake was a man-made body used for irrigation of nearby farms. The water was noticeably filthy, but the 107 °F heat made it a welcome respite regardless. Organizers arranged the stage so that attendees could watch the bands from the relative comfort of the lake. The attendance was estimated at around 150-200 people. Drug use was rampant, mostly psychedelics
, with ubiquitous drinking during the daytime. Organizers, using kitchen equipment borrowed from Food Not Bombs
, fed everyone two free meals a day: gruel in the morning, spaghetti at night.
BLM supervisor Bill Bird objected to the concert, but was overruled by the Sheriff
and local merchants, who were happy for the increased business. According to the Official Program and Event Schedule, the bands were: The Mac Swanky Trio, Stark Raving Brad, Defile, Subincision, Harbinger, Visitor 42, The Blue Sky Smokers, Blah,Blah,Blah, Adjective Noun, Skitzo, 976, Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits, Lapis Lazuli, NME, Impact, Stinky Puffs, The Keeners, Ubzub, Soda Pop F*ck You, Pork and the Spork, Magic Pinecone Band, Shatousky, Banana Hammock, Hungry Hungry Hippeaux, My Sunny Disposition, The Enemies, Orka Pickles, Soundcurrent, White Trash Debutantes, Supernovice, The Frught Lupes Human Ass Orkestra, The Human Beans, Astrolloyd, Glamazon, Moxie, Erik Core, Sixence, Tone Def, Suckerfish, Wet Nap, The pilgrims, Inslight Weights and Fetish. In the end, nearly 40 bands performed at the Geekfest Anniversary, and the Geeks immediately began planning the next year's festival.
In the intervening year, S.P.A.M. organizers had found a kindred spirit, show promoter and artist Marcus Da Anarchist, who organized "Pyrate Punx Picnics" out of San Francisco
's Mission District
. S.P.A.M. and the Pyrate Punx collaborated on the next campout, dubbing it "Pirates vs. Geeks". John Mink (by this time known as John Geek) and Marcus each booked half the bands.
For the third anniversary, the Pirates and Geeks resumed an uneasy alliance, organizing a week-long Libertatia
, after the anarchist pirate utopia on Madagascar
founded by Captain Mission during the 18th century. It was also referred to as the "Week of Geek". As it had been before, it was free and all-ages, and organizers fed the roughly 400 attendees two meals a day. Although 100 bands were booked, only 82 showed up to perform. Still, each day of entertainment lasted from approximately noon until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. Several Bay Area journalists also attended, and the event received coverage in local press Subsequent Libertatia festivals were noted enthusiastically by local weeklies
The demise of S.P.A.M. Records in 2003 (closely linked to the breakup of flagship band Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits in 2001) spelled the end of Geekfests, though the Pyrate Punx continue to organize Libertatia annually.
Free party
A free party is a party "free" from the restrictions of the legal club scene, similar to the free festival movement. It typically involves a sound system playing electronic dance music from late at night until the time when the organisers decide to go home. A free party can be composed of just one...
organized by California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
indie label S.P.A.M. Records during the 1990s. The first Geekfest was held in June 1996 on the shoreline at Point Molate in Richmond, California
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
. This site, a former Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
fuel depot at the foot of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end...
, became the default location for dozens of Geekfests, though other locations were eventually used.
Background
In the mid-1990s, local ordinances and economic considerations led to difficult times for San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
bands whose members were under 21. Several bars and nightclubs were driven out by the bustling dot-com economy. Others, fearful of losing their liquor licenses, stopped allowing minors to attend or perform on their stages. By 1996, there was only one all-ages music venue in the East Bay - 924 Gilman Street
924 Gilman Street
924 Gilman Street is an all-ages, not for profit, collectively organized music club usually referred to by its fans simply as "The Gilman." It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California about a mile and a half west of the North Berkeley BART station and a quarter-mile west of San...
.
With the rise of Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, Rancid
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
, and other former underground bands making punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
a commodity, Gilman had become an insular community, rejecting those who did not fit an increasingly narrow definition of punk. Though Gilman was not by design exclusively punk rock (they were and are explicitly devoted to independent music and arts), a combination of internal politics and aesthetic tastes of the Gilman staff kept other types of music off the stage. S.P.A.M. Records grew out of the efforts of underage musicians and artists from Pinole, California
Pinole, California
Pinole is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 18,390 at the 2010 census. It is one of many small “bedroom communities” along the I-80 corridor in Western Contra Costa County. It is located about northeast of San Francisco, and approximately a half-hour...
frustrated with this situation. The fringe Gilman band The Hope Bombs
The Hope Bombs
The Hope Bombs were a self-proclaimed "geekcore" band, existing from 1994 to 1997. They helped pioneer the development of alternative punk scenes in the San Francisco East Bay.-History:...
encouraged the S.P.A.M. crew, most notably by letting them jump on stage at Hope Bombs shows to play as "The Bob Weirdos" (whose shows consisted of crazed songs like "Help I'm On Fire" which actually involved setting singer John Mink on fire). But this support was the exception and the bands were generally deprived of any meaningful access to the Gilman audience.
S.P.A.M. Co-founder John "Geek" Mink (now vocalist for punk band Fleshies
Fleshies
Fleshies are a band from Oakland, California signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles. They are known for their outlandish stage presence, their left-wing politics and their non-stop world touring schedule...
) alluded to this in an interview:
"Along with Dan and Corbett of Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits (and joined soon by Robert Eggplant
Robert Eggplant
Robert Burnett, better known as Robert Eggplant, is a writer, publisher, musician and activist from California.- background :Born in 1973, Robert Eggplant has been the editor and publisher of Absolutely Zippo fanzine since 1987. The zine has documented the East Bay punk subculture from a...
and Dylan McPuke), I started the S.P.A.M. Records Collective in 1995 because no one else would put out our shit or let us play."
Select work from the S.P.A.M. Records Catalog circa 1996-2002:
| Catalog # | Band(s) | Title | Year Released | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUG-001 | Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits | The Two Cats Running EP | 1996 | CD |
| PUG-002 | Various Artists | If You Can't Laugh At Yourself, We'll Do It For You - A S.P.A.M. Records Compilation | 1997 | CD |
| PUG-003 | Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits | At One With The Dumb | 1997 | CD |
| PUG-004 | Astrolloyd | Astrolloyd | 1997 | 7" |
| PUG-005 | Astrolloyd | Live on KXLU | 1997 | Cassette |
| PUG-006 | Enemies / Second Hand Spit | Conquered/Concord Split | 1998 | 7" |
| PUG-007 | Your Mother / Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits | Advice For Young Lovers Split | 1998 | 7" |
| PUG-008 | The Pilgrims | Songs About the Letter W | 1998 | CD |
| PUG-009 | Various Artists | Later, That Same Year... An Absolutely Zippo Absolutely Zippo Absolutely Zippo is a punk rock fanzine created by Robert Eggplant to document the happenings of the East Bay Berkeley punk scene during its heyday in the late 1980s/early 1990s... Compilation |
1999 | CD |
| PUG-010 | Los Rabbis | The Bible Part 2: Jesus Goes West | 1999 | CD/LP |
| PUG-011 | Dory Tourette and the Skirtheads | Rock Immortal | 1999 | CD |
| PUG-012 | Every Dog Has His Blues | A Collection Of Songs From The Bands Of Lucky Dog | 1999 | Cassette |
| PUG-013 | Harbinger Harbinger (band) Harbinger is a band formed in 1997 in Berkeley, California featuring three prominent members from the East Bay punk scene:* Robert Eggplant , formerly of Blatz, The Hope Bombs, and editor of the zine Absolutely Zippo.... |
Eartraining For Corporates | 1999 | Cassette |
| PUG-014 | Flobby Tthomuse | New Home Videos From Planet X | 1999 | CD |
| PUG-015 | Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits | ¡Carmelita Sings!: Visions of a Rock Apocalypse | 2000 | CD |
| PUG-016 | Evolution | Spoken Word Compilation | 2000 | CD |
| PUG-017 | Finky Binks | Monkey Business EP | 2000 | Cassette |
| PUG-018 | Scrilla Stoic Heroic Nuggahs | The 8 Nuggah Master Race | 2000 | Cassette |
| PUG-019 | Clan Of The Bleeding Eye | Kill The Humans | 2000 | Cassette |
| PUG-021 | Steven Schultz | I Forgot To Get A Rap Name | 2000 | CD |
| PUG-022 | Fleshies Fleshies Fleshies are a band from Oakland, California signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles. They are known for their outlandish stage presence, their left-wing politics and their non-stop world touring schedule... / The Jocks |
Playdough Split | 2000 | 7" |
| PUG-023 | Stalin Claus Superstar | A Suplex Prune Hittite Fantasy | 2000 | 4-CD Box Set |
| PUG-024 | Uberkunst | Making Fun Difficult | 2000 | CD |
| PUG-026 | Beckett and Friends | Weed Crazy b/w Losing in the Drug Game | 2000 | 7" |
| PUG-027 | Fleshies | Self-Titled - commonly known as "The Baby" | 2000 | CD |
| PUG-028 | The Pilgrims | Plymouth Rock | 2000 | CD |
| PUG-029 | The Blast Rocks!!! | You're Fired | 2000 | CD |
| PUG-030 | Fleshies | Kill The Dreamer's Dream - Authorized cassette version of Alternative Tentacles release | 2001 | Cassette |
| PUG-031 | Fleshies / The Phantom Limbs The Phantom Limbs The Phantom Limbs formed in Oakland, California in 1999. They combined no wave, horror punk, deathrock, and goth to create a unique synthpunk sound.-History:... |
Split | 2001 | 7" |
| PUG-032 | The Blottos | I Can't Take My Alcohol | 2001 | 7" |
| PUG-033 | Dory Tourette and the Skirtheads | Versions | 2001 | 7" |
| PUG-034 | Panty Raid / The Blast Rocks!!! | Split | 2001 | 7" |
| PUG-035 | Finky Binks | Charlie Buckett: Cosmonaut | 2001 | CD |
| PUG-036 | Iron Ass | Backwards | 2001 | CD |
| PUG-037 | Various Artists | The S.P.A.M.pler: Your Guide to the Rock Apocalypse | 2001 | CD |
| PUG-040 | Finky Binks | Takin' Back My Samich | 2001 | CD |
| PUG-041 | P.A.W.N.S. | Rabble On The Move | 2001 | CD |
| PUG-042 | Lo Budge | Self-Titled | 2002 | CD |
| PUG-043 | Tommy Lasorda | Tommy Lasorda | 2002 | 7" |
| PUG-044 | Hate Mail Express | 12x4 | 2002 | CD |
| PUG-045 | Gravy Train!!!! | The "Menz" EP | 2002 | CD |
| PUG-047 | Hickey Hickey (band) Hickey was a "melodic" punk band from San Francisco's Mission District, the band recorded, released and distributed their own music. Elaborate and very personal artwork was the style used for the band's records.-Founding members:... |
Various States of Disrepair Complete Works 1994-'96 | 2002 | CD |
| PUG-050 | Rock N Roll Adventure Kids | Live on Berzerkley Radio - Split release with Soul Not Style Records | 2002 | 12" |
| PUG-051 | Sharp Knife | Sharp Knife | 2002 | CD/LP |
| PUG-053 | Clan Of The Bleeding Eye | Self-Titled | 2002 | CD |
| PUG-054 | The Blottos | The Blottos | 2002 | CD |
| PUG-068 | Zero Tolerance Task Force | Z.T.T.F. Mania | 2003 | CD |
| PUG-069 | Nebulus | Interactive | 2003 | CD |
| PUG-076 | The Clarendon Hills | All Day All Night All Right | 2003 | CD |
The S.P.A.M. bands, most notably Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits, had been rejected by the punk scene for what, to their minds, were superficial differences in dress and musical style. Label co-founder Corbett Redford (singer for Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits) said "We were all living in Pinole and we couldn't play Gilman because they said we weren't punk. We couldn't take out an ad in MRR
Maximum RocknRoll
Maximum rocknroll is a widely distributed, monthly not-for-profit fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. It features interviews, columns, and reviews from international contributors...
because they said we weren't punk. ... We were thrashfunk and silly folk I suppose." They decided, in a DIY spirit, to create their own venue, one where nobody would be rejected for having the wrong fashion sense.
The name "Geekfest" was chosen partly because the S.P.A.M. collective saw themselves as geeks; they realized their idiosyncrasies
Idiosyncrasy
An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person . The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be .-Etymology:...
made them unpopular at parties, but made no effort to change. Their rejection by the punk scene was viewed as just another chapter in a long history of being uncool; but, as John "Geek" Mink says, "Our pride in maladjustment ran too damn deep."
First Geekfest
First, S.P.A.M. founder John Mink set up a hotline, (510) BAD-SMUT, to disseminate information. In many ways, Geekfest applied the guerrilla tactics of raveRave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
s to live music. Photocopied handbills
Flyer (pamphlet)
__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....
listed a telephone number, but not the location of the event, to try to prevent the shows being shut down by law enforcement.
Most production, planning, stage management, cooking and facilitation was done by a core group of people from Pinole. Events were also stage managed and cooked for by the same crew. Planning for most events was eventually held at 924 Gilman as more people joined in as the show became larger.
Point Molate was selected as a location partly because it was already in use one Sunday a month for free outdoor "Sunset raves". It was far from any residential area, beneath a large bridge, and under confused jurisdiction as a Navy Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
site. Technically, it was in Richmond, which had one of the nation's highest murder rates at the time. Local law enforcement, it seemed, was otherwise occupied.
Politically, the concept of Geekfest took an anarchist bent. It addressed issues of public land use, the role of the audience in art (since much of the time, the audience consisted of the other bands playing that day), and issues of hierarchy in a supposedly egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
punk scene.
Approximately 12 bands played the first show, most of who were made up of minors and bands who shared S.P.A.M.'s sense of humor and disenfranchisement. S.P.A.M. members rented a gas-powered generator, and hired a local sound engineer to work the jury-rigged
Jury rig
Jury rigging refers to makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances, made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on hand. Originally a nautical term, on sailing ships a jury rig is a replacement mast and yards improvised in case of damage or loss of the original mast.-Etymology:The...
P.A.
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
. In an illegal and ill-advised attempt to recoup their losses, S.P.A.M. sold cheese-filled hot dogs and cans of beer to the approximately 30 attendees. The concert lasted from about 1 p.m. until sunset (most proceeds were later spent on burritos).
Successive Geekfests
S.P.A.M. continued putting on Geekfests, usually about one per month during the summer months and occasionally during the winter, when they could find a suitable indoor location.The locations and the bands varied widely (though many bands had repeat performances), but the shows were always free and all-ages.
This concept of inclusion was central to the Geekfest concept, and extended to the booking policy. As word spread about the festivals, bands began calling to ask for shows, and sending promotional packages to the label's P.O. box. S.P.A.M. avoided listening to demo tapes they received, booking bands on a "first-come, first-served
First-come, first-served
First-come, first-served – sometimes first-in, first-served and first-come, first choice – is a service policy whereby the requests of customers or clients are attended to in the order that they arrived, without other biases or preferences. The policy can be employed when processing sales orders,...
" basis. This was done to remove the bias of musical taste that S.P.A.M. blamed for their own exclusion from Gilman. As a result, the bands were often unskilled, untalented, or conversely, so polished and professional that they seemed wildly inappropriate at a no-frills, guerrilla concert. Geekfest organizers observed the conflicts that arose between different musical subcultures with a bemused detachment.
The length of the concerts (sometimes 8 hours or more) and the inconsistent quality of the acts made Geekfest less like a traditional concert and more like a weird carnival. Since the schedule was never listed, it was difficult for people to show up to see one band in particular. People tended to stay for most of the day and began to come as much for the playful atmosphere as for the bands.
Several Geekfest organizers, including Dan Abbott, Shawn Martin, and Dylan McPuke, were affiliated with the Amtgard
Amtgard
Amtgard is a battle gaming and live-action fantasy roleplaying and boffer combat game primarily based in the United States as well as other countries .- History :...
live action role-playing game
Live action role-playing game
A live action role-playing game is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters' actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may...
(Who coincidentally brought amtgard to Berekely, Ca), and brought homemade foam-padded swords for attendees to battle with during concerts. From then on, random foam sword battles were an integral part of Geekfest. Between bands, organizers held costume contests, raffle
Raffle
A raffle is a competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each ticket having the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn from a container holding a copy of every number...
s, and trivia games, and videogame tournaments: usually with a nod to traditionally geeky themes like Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
, or Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
games.
Gradually, Geekfest attracted a community of disparate individuals, and become something of a scene itself. Several bands made inroads in to the Gilman scene, and several Geekfests were eventually held within the Gilman club itself.
Geekfest's esoteric aesthetic also became popular among organizers within the Cannabis Action Network (CAN), which allowed S.P.A.M. Records to book second-stage performances at their annual 420 festivals, including at least one at the Maritime Hall
Maritime Hall
The Maritime Hall is a historic 3,000 capacity concert hall in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood that operated from 1995 through 2001 as a popular music venue and nightclub...
in San Francisco on April 20, 2001(video).
Geekfest and Libertatia
In 1997, the Geeks (as S.P.A.M./Geekfest organizers had come to be known) decided to celebrate the first anniversary of Geekfest by having a three-day campoutCamping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
. After a frenzied search for an appropriate site, the Geeks found Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...
, part of East Park Reservoir near Maxwell, California. It was hot, dusty, and inhospitable land under jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
(BLM), and the lake was a man-made body used for irrigation of nearby farms. The water was noticeably filthy, but the 107 °F heat made it a welcome respite regardless. Organizers arranged the stage so that attendees could watch the bands from the relative comfort of the lake. The attendance was estimated at around 150-200 people. Drug use was rampant, mostly psychedelics
Psychedelic drug
A psychedelic substance is a psychoactive drug whose primary action is to alter cognition and perception. Psychedelics are part of a wider class of psychoactive drugs known as hallucinogens, a class that also includes related substances such as dissociatives and deliriants...
, with ubiquitous drinking during the daytime. Organizers, using kitchen equipment borrowed from Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance...
, fed everyone two free meals a day: gruel in the morning, spaghetti at night.
BLM supervisor Bill Bird objected to the concert, but was overruled by the Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
and local merchants, who were happy for the increased business. According to the Official Program and Event Schedule, the bands were: The Mac Swanky Trio, Stark Raving Brad, Defile, Subincision, Harbinger, Visitor 42, The Blue Sky Smokers, Blah,Blah,Blah, Adjective Noun, Skitzo, 976, Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits, Lapis Lazuli, NME, Impact, Stinky Puffs, The Keeners, Ubzub, Soda Pop F*ck You, Pork and the Spork, Magic Pinecone Band, Shatousky, Banana Hammock, Hungry Hungry Hippeaux, My Sunny Disposition, The Enemies, Orka Pickles, Soundcurrent, White Trash Debutantes, Supernovice, The Frught Lupes Human Ass Orkestra, The Human Beans, Astrolloyd, Glamazon, Moxie, Erik Core, Sixence, Tone Def, Suckerfish, Wet Nap, The pilgrims, Inslight Weights and Fetish. In the end, nearly 40 bands performed at the Geekfest Anniversary, and the Geeks immediately began planning the next year's festival.
In the intervening year, S.P.A.M. organizers had found a kindred spirit, show promoter and artist Marcus Da Anarchist, who organized "Pyrate Punx Picnics" out of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
's Mission District
Mission District, San Francisco, California
The Mission District, also commonly called "The Mission", is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA, originally known as "the Mission lands" meaning the lands belonging to the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis...
. S.P.A.M. and the Pyrate Punx collaborated on the next campout, dubbing it "Pirates vs. Geeks". John Mink (by this time known as John Geek) and Marcus each booked half the bands.
For the third anniversary, the Pirates and Geeks resumed an uneasy alliance, organizing a week-long Libertatia
Libertatia
Libertatia is said to have been a libertarian communalist colony founded in the late 17th century in Madagascar by pirates under the leadership of Captain James Misson. Whether or not Libertatia actually existed is disputed...
, after the anarchist pirate utopia on Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
founded by Captain Mission during the 18th century. It was also referred to as the "Week of Geek". As it had been before, it was free and all-ages, and organizers fed the roughly 400 attendees two meals a day. Although 100 bands were booked, only 82 showed up to perform. Still, each day of entertainment lasted from approximately noon until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. Several Bay Area journalists also attended, and the event received coverage in local press Subsequent Libertatia festivals were noted enthusiastically by local weeklies
The demise of S.P.A.M. Records in 2003 (closely linked to the breakup of flagship band Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits in 2001) spelled the end of Geekfests, though the Pyrate Punx continue to organize Libertatia annually.
Geekfest bands
- The BananasThe BananasThe Bananas are an underground punk rock band from Sacramento, California. They have albums on Secret Center, Plan It X Records, and Recess Records. The Bananas were on the cover of Razorcake Magazine as the feature interview of issue 32 in 2006...
- The Blottos
- Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits
- The Bob Weirdos
- Captured! by Robots
- Cope
- Corpse Fuck Corpse
- The Devil Is ElectricThe Devil Is ElectricThe Devil Is Electric were a DIY political pop-punk band from Bloomington, Indiana, and were formed when Operation: Cliff Clavin, the former pop-punk band of Chris Clavin and Hannah Jones broke up, following the release of their EP Last Words....
- Dory Tourette and the Skirtheads
- Eggs Erroneous
- FleshiesFleshiesFleshies are a band from Oakland, California signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles. They are known for their outlandish stage presence, their left-wing politics and their non-stop world touring schedule...
- Fuckgodintheface
- Gravy Train!!!!
- HarbingerHarbinger (band)Harbinger is a band formed in 1997 in Berkeley, California featuring three prominent members from the East Bay punk scene:* Robert Eggplant , formerly of Blatz, The Hope Bombs, and editor of the zine Absolutely Zippo....
- HickeyHickey (band)Hickey was a "melodic" punk band from San Francisco's Mission District, the band recorded, released and distributed their own music. Elaborate and very personal artwork was the style used for the band's records.-Founding members:...
- The Hope BombsThe Hope BombsThe Hope Bombs were a self-proclaimed "geekcore" band, existing from 1994 to 1997. They helped pioneer the development of alternative punk scenes in the San Francisco East Bay.-History:...
- Hungry Hungry Hippos
- Los Rabbis
- Morphin' Time
- Nigel Pepper Cock
- Phantom Dogs
- Phantom Limbs
- Pitch BlackPitch Black (band)Pitch Black is a New Zealand electronica band that was formed in 1997.-Discography:* 1999: Futureproof* 2000: Electronomicon* 2001: Electric Earth and Other Elements - Remixes* 2003: Flex* 2004: Ape to Angel...
- Schlong
- This Bike is a Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe Bomb was a folk-punk band from Pensacola, Florida, USA. Their first recording was released in 1997 on Ghostmeat Records. Their later releases have been on Plan It X Records and No Idea Records, but now appear on their own label Plan-It X South. This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb...
- Uberkunst
- Visitor 42
- Your Mother
- Mauricio Acevedo of Richmond, California was the main live audio engineer for all Geekfests
External links
- John Geek writes about "Geekfest" in Maximum Rock'N'Roll
- Silke Tudor and Jack Boulware's chapter on the Pyrates and Geeks in their 2009 Bay Area punk oral history book Gimme Something Better
- Archive of 'The List' compiled by Steve Koepke detailing scheduled acts for Libertatia 2000 (June 22-25)
- Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits discuss "Geekfest" on Music Life Radio podcast