KENTUCKY FRIED PUNK
F YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO KENTUCKY THEN
YOU KNOW THAT THERE ISN'T A WHOLE
LOT THERE. It's not like I can talk; I'm from
Cincinnati. If there is one thing people from Ohio
don't like, it's Kentucky. My girlfriend is from
Kentucky and it just tears me apart. Phillip
Sheridan said, "If I owned Texas and Hell, I would
rent out Texas and live in Hell." Apparently he'd
never been to Kentucky. But all grudges aside,
Kentucky does have its redeeming qualities, i.e.
Louisville. Louisville is home to Initial Records,
one of the only hardcore labels that's not just a kid
in a garage with a phone and a desk. Last year was
the first for an event called Krazy Fest, a three-day
show of prominent hardcore and indie rock bands
with a total attendance of over 4,300 people, so
this year had to be even bigger. Krazy Fest Too was
held at the Belvedere Riverfront Plaza,
One
Kill Your Idols
Krazy Fest Too 1999
Saves The Day, Braid, Silent
Majority, Fastbreak, Buried.
Alive, Cave In, Elliot,
Metroshifter, Jazz June, Ink
& Dagger, and Le Shok.
When the smoke cleared,
Cave In, Ink & Dagger, and
Le Shok were unable to
attend. This is where my
part of the story starts.
Words and Photos by:
"Anybody here like METAL?..
two people? That's statisically impossible."
-Mark Brickey, The Enkindels
a downtown Louisville park that
overlooks the Ohio River and is home to the
Thunder Over Louisville fireworks display and
the annual Bluegrass Festival.
Now for the good part. Twenty-eight bands.
were scheduled, including Sick Of It All, Snapcase,
H20, Jimmy Eat World, Get Up Kids, Enkindels,
Thursday
TYLER BORICH
Saves the Day
No, there were no bands on Thursday. My plan was to show
up Thursday night and get a nice, scenic picture of down-
town Louisville and a good night's sleep so I would be ready to take photos the
next day. Neither of these things happened. I'm not sure how, but I got lost, so
I didn't get to Louisville until long after dark, and ended up sitting at Initial until
almost 3:00 AM. Just my luck.
Friday
Let the festivities begin. The show started at 6:00 PM, and I was
on my way to screwing up the entire article. The first band was
Out, from Louisville, and I spent the majority of their set drinking Cokes and
looking at CDs in the merchandise tent. Kill Your Idols was up next, rockin'
like a bunch of straight-edge hooligans. The show continued, with youngsters
Saves The Day sporting shirts with their names on 'em and making little girls
scream. The Enkindels went on just before dark and blasted out a ton of great
songs, including "1 AM Forever," "Who Here Wants To Fight?," and
"Monsters." Here is where it gets a little weird. Karaoke is a Krazy Fest must;
on between almost every band. I don't know what it is, but people are
drawn to the karaoke. You rarely get to see something this goofy. People were doing "Ice Ice Baby," "Doctor
Feelgood," "Free Bird"-you name it. In a way it was sad to see the stupidity end, but the Get Up Kids were
next and there were two more days of karaoke-filled excitement yet to come. With the addition of a key-
board player, the Get Up Kids rocked the KY with a ton of kids crowding for a peek. If you haven't seen or
heard the Get Up Kids, then you're missing out, so run to your local record store and pick up their full length
Four Minute Mile and listen to "Don't Hate Me" and you can be sad that you didn't see them play it live. The
day rounded out with H2O doing a bunch of their crowd-pleasers along with a rendition of U2's "With or
Without You" and the heavy metal classic "Black Sabbath." The kids cleared out and the first day of Krazy
it goes
Fest came to an end. After some general silliness from
Hot Rod Todd of Le Shok, I was off to bed at an early
1:30 AM to rest up for day two.
Saturday Being the responsible journalist that
I am, I didn't wake up until almost
11:00 AM or something like that, and since I can't live
without a shower I was a little late. I missed Burn It
Down and the first and second songs of Buried Alive, but
I'm going to be honest and say that a lot of the
weekend got mixed up in my head, so somewhere
in here I left for a while and called my girlfriend and
went to use the bathroom. I know I heard My Own
Victim, Shai Halud, and Zao, but I have no proof so
you'll just have to take my word for it. Somewhere
in here I also had my fifth Coke of the day and I ate
a funnel cake. That's right, funnel cakes. I s
I spoke to
Andy Rich from Initial and I asked him why funnel
Snapcase
cakes, and he said that Mark
Brickey wanted there to be
carnival food and after a while
he got obsessed with the idea
of funnel cakes, so they
checked into it.
I have trouble with things
like funnel cakes and dough-
nuts; I don't know what it is
about them that makes me
lose my mind. Maybe it's the
fried batter or the powdered
sugar; but I always end up eat-
ing too many of them. I know
that I saw Jejune because I
have photos of them, but I
must have been in some sort
of deep-fried coma, because
I don't remember a thing. I
do remember Snapcase and
Sick
Of It All
totally
being
amazing and watching the
crowd go wild. s great to
see these bands outside with-
out people smacking all the
fans around; you'd be sur-
prised how rowdy things
don't get when there is no
one to act like a huge ass-
hole and try to "lay down the
law" on everybody. Before
"I hate
you could say
Louisville and I want to go
home," day two was coming
to a close. I headed off to
find food and entertainment
for the night.
"there was NOTHING you
except GRIN and
could put up with the most crap. The contest
included sitting in a fountain, eating funnel
cakes covered in ketchup and relish, and my
favorite: eating mouthfuls of mustard. Ladies,
I think these guys might still be single, but
you're going to have to hurry. The day ended
with Elliot and Jimmy Eat World both giving
110% even though it was raining and ugly out.
The whole fiasco was over and it was time to
say good-bye. There was nothing you could do
except grin and bear it and hope you didn't
cry... or puke.
All in all, it was a nice trip and I know I'll go
back next year (if I'm invited). Keep your eyes
peeled for news about Krazy Fest Three and
upcoming Initial Records events.
What to expect
if YOU show up
next year.
There will be a bunch of bands, including, of
course, most of the Initial lineup. I heard that
the Dillinger Escape Plan might be there, and
who knows who else might show up.
To make sure you fit in, bring a marker so you
can draw big X's on your hands to impress girls
and let everyone know that you are fifteen and
proud of it.
Girls, tank tops will probably still be in next
year, so be sure to pack one for each day.
Nothing is more embarrassing then hearing. "I
think you're right; she was wearing that yes-
terday. Let's go get some veggie burgers. My
mom loaned me the credit card."
Hopefully it will be another three-day.
marathon event, so don't be a jerk. Find a hotel.
•There were tons of great records for sale, so
don't forget to hit up mom and dad for plenty
of spending money.
could do
bear it
and hope you didn't cry... or PUKE.
I got pictures so I could have just lied and no one would
have been the wiser. Buried Alive is in part ex-members
of New York's Despair, a hardcore favorite. Third for the
day was Fastbreak, and I swear to God there were girls
all over 'em. It was unreal; you would think they were the
New Kids. Fastbreak rocked, and they have a new record
on Revelation called Whenever You're Ready that will hit
streets August 24. Next up was Silent Majority; they've
got a new record on Initial, but I'm out of the loop so I
don't know when that's coming out. I had never seen
Silent Majority before and I was totally blown away.
Later Tommy and Rich (of Silent Majority) did a fabulous
karaoke duet of "Love Shack" that should have earned
them a medal or something. Better luck next year.
Sunday
The majority of Sunday was a
blur. I know that I saw Jazz June
and the Metroshifter (both of these bands put on an
amazing show; they are not to be missed), but I
spent the better part of the day eating more funnel
cakes and trying to find a real bathroom. I don't.
know how many of you reading this have had to use
a three-day-old Port-O-Let, but let me tell you that
it is no picnic. I wandered around downtown
Louisville on a Sunday afternoon looking for a bath-
room for a while, and finally I found one in the mall.
I made my way back to the show in time to see the
Mr Krazy Fest contest, which was basically who
Keep your eyes peeled for those cute Canadian
girls who will cross the border at the drop of a hat
(or mention of a bunch of "tough guy" music).
And finally, if you see a kid with powdered
sugar all over his face turning a little green,
that's me. Run, because I'm about to puke.
You can contact Initial Records on the stupid
Internet at www.initialrecords.com, or call 'em
on the phone: it's 502-499-PUNK. And if
you're like me and you still don't have either
one of those newfangled devices, you can write
'em at Initial Records, PO Box 17131,
Louisville, KY 40217. Ohio rules.
120 THRASHER
121