Samapalooza is a big deal to those of us that put it on. It’s like Christmas to a child for us, our magical time of year. This makes it all to easy for us to spend the months waiting, looking forward. This doesn’t happen, however. The months leading to the show have become, for us, as important as the event itself. What transpires on the transforming landscape of 575 Atherton inspires me to reevaluate my life. A camp (or commune if you choose) sprouts in the basin. Makeshift in nature, it all makes sense. We have grass, lounges, food pantries, tents, bathrooms, a kitchen, running water and pretty much anything else we need to basically live out there. It’s a simple existence and that simplicity is beautiful.

The period of time before Samapalooza has begun to define our summers, calling back stowed memories of the last school-bell. We work, no doubt, but it’s work we believe in and at the end of each day we can sit back with a beer and enjoy what we have created, relishing the effects of the fading light. We are together, we are tired and we are likely a little buzzed but more than anything else we are locked into that moment. We are not waiting.

With stage shade under control, we can develop a new strategy for protecting the crowd. We have struggled the last few years to get people up to the stage and we know that it’s because it’s hot. We can now use the parachute to try to fix this and we will call on everyone to get up there and give back some of the energy that our musicians will be putting out. Live music, and especially a community-based event like Samapalooza is a give and take relationship. We need you.

So when you all come out this year, take a few moments to check out what pure heart and soul can put together and what a handful of dedicated people can create.

This will be my third trip to this barn in Iowa, known as Codfish Hollow and I will be heading out with Dave Kluger and Andrew Keating. We have formed ourselves into a crew that has become an integral part of Daytrotter’s Barnstormer tours, a relationship we highly value and hope to expand upon. These tours pair incredible indie bands with some of the midwest’s most impressive and historic barns, a seemingly unlikely relationship that, in reality, is anything but. It can feel as though the two were made for each other. Our role is to light the shows as well as film them and capture audio. Beyond that we shoot B-roll and acoustic performances of each band. Throughout these tours we have developed strong relationships with many people that will benefit not only our souls but our art.

Before we were even invited on these tours we have talked about and dreamed of involving ourselves with great bands. Andrew has been recording since we were in 8th grade and both his studio and his skills have grown exponentially since. Both Dave and I have honed our video prowess both independently and occasionally together. It seems that our development has been leading us here, but I don’t believe in fate. Right?

Then there is Samapalooza, the property and the barn. I played my first show in that barn, a kind of barnstorming of my own. I was 14 then. While we no longer use the barn for parties or performances, we have developed the upper flat of the property into a far superior venue where we host what we hope will be a staple of the local scene. This years lineup is amazing and our stock is clearly on the rise. It’s all fitting into place. By no means are Andrew, Dave and I alone here. Our cast is fully diversified to a scale that is truly remarkable. Merideth Aleandri, Dave’s lady friend, books and manages bands for a living, Ryan Reyfeld is a handyman and electrician, we have a civil engineer, a few lawyers, amazing artists, a web developer and just about every other profession and skill in our toolbag, all willing and eager to help.

I can’t wait to see what happens next and I’m even more excited for the eventual further amalgamation of all these skills, talents, events and groups. My life rules.

Twenty-five miles to the north the land beckons. There is so much work to be done, weeds to mow, wood-chips to spread and I am stuck here. I’m not complaining, I earn a decent wage and am thankful to have this job but that does not stop my mind from drifting. Like so many others in the corporate world, my job is not my passion and I show up merely for a paycheck. My passion is up there, transforming the land into my future.

Hundreds of olive saplings struggle to survive the seasons, fighting off the nature of the place. This is the time of year when white flowers bud on the branches, eventually giving way to the green fruit. I swivel in my chair and dream of the day we press this fruit and bring its oil to the market.

Right now, the stage, sound booth and bar are empty. They stand above the weeds and grass as monuments to our vision. In two months the weeds will be cleared out, the stage piled high with musical equipment and the bar will be stocked. We will be ready for the Fourth Samapalooza, guaranteed to be the biggest and best to date.

This is my passion and I am fortunate enough to share it with a dedicated and talented group of people. We live for this. We look at the land and see possibility, we see improvements to be made and ideas to be fulfilled. We are steadily marching towards what we all know this place can be. We believe that this land is an extension of ourselves and in it is unlimited value and potential. It starts with Samapalooza, it starts with planting an olive tree, it starts with pulling a weed.

I am interrupted by a telephone call. I have forgotten to enter the tracking number of the package I sent to the corporate office in Atlanta into our database. I am a patient man.

We tapped into a tradition as old as civilization itself, the traveling musician. Throughout nine beautiful spring days, Andrew Keating, Dave Kluger and I caravanned with the Daytrotter crew on the 3rd Barnstormer Tour. For those of you that aren’t aware, Daytrotter (daytrotter.com) is a leading site for Indie Music, recording hundreds of bands a year as they pass through Rock Island, IL -Daytrotter’s home- on tour. Barnstormer is a tour, organized my Sean Mueller (Daytrotter’s #1 man), that travels through the Midwest occupying traditionally non-venue locations and transforming them into hot spots of Indie Music. Most of the spots are barns, some as old as the 1880’s, and all unique. Mainly focusing on tiny towns, this tour is often the only show in town… possibly ever. Our job on this tour was twofold.  First, we were there to document the shows and try to film unique ‘acoustic’ performances with the bands along the way. That was our primary focus.

Dave and I have worked together on shoots many times and we quickly slipped back into the zone. Andrew captured audio with a couple of mics attached to our homemade camera crane that we used to get a wide camera angle high over the crowd. In order to do this duty properly, however, we needed lighting as many of these spots were lit solely for the functions of a barn. That is where Andrew stepped it up. The newest addition to our crew, he took the reigns and with a largely homemade lighting kit, lit the shows with amazing results.

This was the 3rd installment of this ephemeral tour, the first two being held in July and October of 2009. With each incarnation, Barnstormer has grown in popularity and sophistication, the latter of which we are proud to lay claim to some responsibility. There have been amazing acts each show:

BSI: Local Natives, Catfish Haven, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltzin, Mac Lethal, Snowblink, Paleo, Dri, Caleb Engstrom and Stranger Waves

BSII:  Dawes, Chris Denny and the Natives, The Suckers, Maritime, Snowblink, Paleo and Brooks Strausse

This years lineup was clearly the strongest yet. Headlining the bill was Delta Spirit, a blow-you-away live show and the darlings of last year’s South by Southwest. Supporting and occasionally stealing the show were: Ra Ra Riot, Nathaniel Rateliff, Free Energy and Pearly Gate Music. The vibe was amazing; culminating in a finale that featured so many cross-band appearances that, at times, it could be hard to determine which band was on.

It’s hard to deny that this is what music is supposed to be. These musicians played for basically no money and almost every one of them said it was one of the best times they had ever had on tour. We were all proud at the end of each night, accomplishing something that crews of hundreds or even thousands couldn’t, we put on a grassroots show in a matter of a few hours. We sweat, we bled, we scrambled and every night we were in pain. Still delirious from the night before we woke up every morning and did it again. Every night was packed with people and every one of them satisfied beyond their expectations. Thanks to the bands, to Daytrotter and especially to two members of OUR crew, Dave and Andrew. Bring on Samapalooza!

Last year we had the luxury (for the most part) of having a highly unemployed crew. We were able to get out there just about everyday for months beforehand to get the property Samapalooza-ready. This year is going to be a bit more of a challenge. Many of us now have jobs and will have to work double-shifts to pull this off. Not that that’s a problem, getting out to the property after work and on the weekends is hardly a burden. We will be scheduling workdays throughout the summer and chances are if you find yourself looking for something to do on the weekends, someone will be up there.

The Samapalooza crew is so passionate about throwing this event that as it draws nearer we begin to become rather obsessive. Every year we want to build this show and we have almost unlimited ideas of how to do it. Each year we work to bring as many of these ideas to fruition as possible. I am consistently impressed by what we have been able to do and even more impressed with how we’ve found ways to do it. Last year’s parachute was nothing less than a great adventure and as some of you may know we dropped and recycled our beloved treehouse into the bar and food station. I have no doubt that I will be equally impressed when I review this coming year.

You all owe it to yourselves to come out and not only support all the hard work that the crew puts in but see for yourself what the next innovations will be.

Pretty sure we’ve set this up to keep you all informed with what’s going on with Samapalooza. So that’s what I will do. This year we have started early. We realized that last year we were pretty lucky to have a large contingent of unemployed crew members and we were able to get an amazing amount of work done during the summer. Barring another round of layoffs, we won’t be so lucky this year. This means a few things; we need to make slower, steadier progress and we need to have a bunch of concentrated workdays. For those of you who have never been to one, our workdays are really fun. We don’t ask anything of anyone, you do as little or as much work as you like. We always BBQ and often camp out. We will keep everyone updated with workday dates so be sure to check back in.  

We have also begun the band selection process early this year and we have been very pleased with all of the submissions we have received so far. I know most people out there are either in a band or know someone that may be interested in performing this year. We are looking for diverse acts so anything goes. We  will announce the final lineup May 24th so get those submissions in. You can send links or questions to submissions@samapalooza.com .

More to come…