Los Angeles Plays Itself

FYeahFest Productions & Incase Present “Save Our State Parks” Outdoor Music Festival
Saturday, Sept. 5th, 2009
LA Historic Park, Los Angeles, CA

Despite the ominous cloud of smoke and ash rising out of the Angeles National Forest just seven miles north; despite the sun’s punishing rays and dust bowl winds; despite the long waits at the ticket window and food court; despite an extremely limited advertising budget and few sponsors; and despite the naysayers and the haters, the FYF production duo of Sean Carlson and Phil Hoelting ONCE AGAIN pulled off the seemingly impossible. This past Saturday, Sept. 5th, our friends produced arguably one of the best independent music festivals of the summer. From 1PM to 1AM, with performances by more than 30 acts spread across three stages, FYF’s Save Our State Parks outdoor concert at LA Historic Park quickly turned into the event of the city’s Labor Day Weekend.

Though they’d long crossed their fingers and hoped for 6,000 attendees, by the end of the night the box office had doled out more than 10,000 tickets. Think about that for a second and then think about how much loot goes into advertising other music festivals and sub-cultural gatherings. 10,000 people at a homegrown, independent punk fest supporting state parks? Seriously. Given that most people learned of it via word of mouth, (and Sean wearing a sandwich board at local shows, I am not kidding) this was a major and most unexpected coup. From the bands to the fans to the stage crews to the bartenders and production volunteers, Save Our State Parks came together through true community effort. As a principle sponsor of FYF, we are very proud of our friends and our community. Thanks to everyone who volunteered, attended and spread the word. And thanks most of all to the California State Parks Department for having faith in FYF’s vision for the event. A day spent inside LA’s Chinatown to Downtown corridor never felt so good. See you next year.

Posted by arlie · Sep 09, 2009 · Tags: , , , · No comments yet

The Future Goes Better With State Parks

We’ve got a real doozy of an announcement to make today. Being late summer, if you live in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and…

  1. love punk rock
  2. enjoy stand-up comedy
  3. just like lurking around community-based independent music festivals
  4. or all of the above

…you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Hey, isn’t F Yeah Fest # 6 supposed to be happening soon?” Yes, you’d be right.

Indeed, if you’re in one of hundreds of bands from around the world that has played FYFest over the years, you’re probably wondering, “What has that wily Sean Carlson conjured up this time? And, will I be roped into playing it?” Yes, you probably will be.

At 23 years old, to already have six festivals under his belt is either a testament to Carlson’s vague genius and gargantuan will power or its an ode to our collective powers of mass amnesia. Every year he manages to add more bands, more venues, more comedians, more contests and more mayhem… and yet, he always pulls it off. Everyone goes away having had a great time and at least one transcendent musical moment— if not five—if not fifty.

So, after many months of planning, Incase Music & Events is very excited to announce we’ve come aboard as the main sponsor of this year’s F Yeah Fest. However, things are waaaay different this time around. Instead of simply throwing an indie music fest here in the hood, Sean and his cohort Phil Hoelting (tour manager/Crystal Antlers) have decided to make F Yeah Fest a celebration with a purpose. Namely, drawing attention to Govenor Schwarzenegger’s multi-million-dollar budget cut to the California State Parks Department. In a show of solidarity, FYFest is gonna spend the day outside!

Renamed Save Our State Parks, the fest happens Sept. 5th at the beautiful Los Angeles State Historic Park situated between Chinatown and Downtown LA. This all-day concert will feature more than 25 independent bands on two massive stages, loads of stand-up comedians, endless trailers of taco carts & other food vendors, and thousands of indie rockers & hipster lurk-logz all coming out to enjoy music and celebrate California’s beloved State Parks.

Bands not to miss: F*cked Up, Black Lips, Lightning Bolt, No Age, Glass Candy, and Cold Cave. More to be announced in coming days! Guaranteed to be a good time for a great cause. *And we haven’t even mentioned FYF’s upcoming Walk-a-thon for Charity (Sept 19th), the Annual LA Scavenger Hunt (Sept 26th!) or the Fall ‘09 FYF Tour across North America and Iceland. So much music & events, our heads are caving in.

FYF Fest

FYF & Incase Present:
‘SAVE OUR STATE PARKS’
Outdoor Concert & FunFest
Los Angeles State Historic Park
Sept 5th, 2009

Posted by arlie · Sep 01, 2009 · Tags: , , , · No comments yet