Pieced Arrows/Biga/Hausfrau!

Pierced Arrows at Total Fest VII! Hausfrau and Biga Benefits!

Wylde Tymes at the Total HQ this week: The first order of business is that Bob Marshall from Volumen/Bacon and Egg is throwing a Total Fest fundraiser at his excellent Biga Pizza on W. Main St. in Missoula. The magic happens at 5PM on Sunday, July 20. $10 all-you-can-eat brick oven Biga Pizza + salad! Beer will be on sale via the Badlander people and Flathead Lake Brewery and we'll have a raffle as well. Next up, and not exactly sequential is: Hausfrau, a great clothing shop at Broadway and Pattee St. in Missoula, is holding a Denim Sale fundraiser for Total Fest. Ida wants to clear out some jeans, so stop by and help out Total Fest in the process. Date: Friday, July 18, 5PM.

Finally: Pierced Arrows, the new Fred/Toody Cole + Kelly from Resist/Detestation group, has confirmed for Total Fest! Dead Moon were a major inspiration to many of us who put TF together, so it's a particularly special treat to have these Oregonian blasters out to rock us. See you there! Just about 5 weeks to go!

Federation X: Western American Loud Heavy Power Trio Nonpareil
The roots of Federation X have much to do with a high school age fixation with, and exposure to one of the best bands to emerge from the U.S. scene ever, Karp. The members of Karp were probably about four years older than the average member of Federation X, two of who grew up in suburban Olympia and one of whom was from Yakima, Washington. Karp started up in 1990, and wrapped things up in 1998. Federation X started practicing and playing together right around 1998/1999.

Karp combined all things heavy, loud and thuggish, and not only stripped away the bullshit machismo that comes with so much heavy music but actively, comfortably participated in a punk scene that featured much more diversity than the average punk scene. Karp grew up in Tumwater, Washington, a former brewery town that borders Olympia, Washington's capitol. Tumwater is to Olympia as New Jersey is to New York, the often unwelcome neighbor whose resident jocks ensured that everybody who's different got the beating that was coming to them. As result, Karp (whose name started as an acronym for "Kill All Redneck Pricks") made music that was simultaneously louder than shit, heavy as a storm cloud, and focused on small town stupidity, state fairs and that sort of thing.

Ben Wildenhaus and Beau Boyd (Fed X guitarist and drummer) began their musical careers in the Teamsters with my brother Ian, and a guy named Ken Baird who played trumpet. The Teamsters came up in a time when Olympia was experiencing an awesome musical renaissance, with groups like Bikini Kill, Unwound, the Long Hind Legs, The Rickets, the Mukilteo Fairies, Kicking Giant, godheadSilo, Fitz of Depression and, especially, Karp playing very regular shows at the Capitol Theater backstage. Karp, of all the above, were the Teamsters' favorites, and they collectively attended just about every show that Karp played in or around Olympia between 1994 and 1996. The Karp guys reciprocated by being cool to the younger dudes, and even offered a touring spot down the West Coast one summer.

After high school, Ben and Beau moved up to Bellingham for college, and met and started to hang out with Bill Badgley, who'd had a similar fixation with Karp, and who'd spent several summer weeks camping out in our family's basement during fests like Yo Yo A Go Go. Somewhere around there, in 1998 Ben, Beau and Bill started practicing, and soon thereafter, Federation X was born. Their first recorded output was a cassette. A self-released/self-titled LP soon followed. I remember hearing the LP for the first time when my friend Frank Milliron was out in Montana for a visit. It was flooringly heavy, but also melodic in the same way Mudhoney were, but more soulful than smarmy. I was blown away.

Fed X soon began to tour regularly, often with co-Whatcom grungers, the Narrows and North Carolina friends the Cherry Valence. They recorded with Tim Green, Steve Albini, and then back at home in Bellingham with Ryan from 76 Charger. Legendary Bellingham garage label Estrus agreed to release their records. Each release got more focused and incredible. They went to Europe a couple times, built strong a following across the country, and then two members moved from Bellingham to pursue other things. They never officially broke up, but their days of actively touring have unfortunately passed.

Total Fest VII (August 14-16, 2008) marks the sole 2008 appearance of Federation X, and it wouldn't have been possible without the generous help of Missoula's best radio station, KBGA 89.9 FM.

Total Fest VII LINE-UP August 14-16, 2008

The Bandlander and Palace Lounge, Missoula, MT
Tickets Available from Ear Candy Music (Missoula) and via wantageusa.com

Below is the collective work of the TF volunteer organizers. We have musical tastes from all over the map but luckily, we think this lineup represents most, if not all of the different types of music we dig, and the out and out best examples of underground music and culture around. We are excited that this is as strong and diverse a roster this year as we've ever had. Additionally, we have a couple of awesome re-union/un-retirements happening. The big news is that with travel underwriting support from KBGA we are able to bring Federation X out of their distance-caused semi-retirement, for their only show in 2008! We're figuring out how we can swing all-access (everywhere in the building, not just downstairs), all-ages from 8PM-11PM each night. At this point this is the line-up, and we still have an awesome waiting list for when changes happen, and changes always do. If you're a band on this list, please link up to Total Fest, and list the show on your websites! Keep an eye on our Total Blog for more details, and we'll see you in August!

Oh, before we forget: because Wantage is the official "umbrella" under which Total Fest happens, we have a special pool of bands whose music Wantage USA has released, those bands are:
Federation X (Bellingham/Brooklyn)
the Lights (Seattle)
The Narrows (Bellingham)
Squalora (Portland)
Volumen (Missoula)

The rest!
Akimbo (Seattle)
Bad Dudes (Los Angeles)
Bar Feeders (San Francisco)
Birthday Suits (Minneapolis)
Black Elk (Portland)
Black Eyes & Neckties (Bellingham)
Black Ladies (Chicago)
Black Velvet Elvis (Missoula)
Bridgebuilder (Missoula)
Casy & Brian (San Francisco)
Disgruntled Nation (Missoula/Kalispell)
Ex-Cocaine (Minneapolis/Missoula)
Goddammitboyhowdy (Browning)
JackTop Town (Missoula)
The Juveniles (Missoula) -ex Humpy/Disgruntled Nation/Nazgul!
Kingdom of Magic (Denver)
Lana Rebel (Portland)
the Limbs (Denver)
Lopez (Portland)
McDougall (Portland)
Noise Noise Noise (Billings)
Nudity (Olympia)
Part Man Part Horse (Seattle)
The Pasties (Olympia)
Pierced Arrows (Portland/Clackamas)
Pure Country Gold (Portland)
Rad Touch (Seattle)
Razz M'Tazz (Olympia)
Saviours (Oakland)
Secret Powers (Missoula)
the Sherlocks (Missoula)
Shotgun Moses (Missoula)
Damage Done (Seattle)
The Reddmen (Rapid City)
The Trucks (Bellingham)
This Runs On Blood (Flagstaff)
Titan (Brooklyn)
Triclops! (Oakland)
Vera (Missoula) (ex-Sasshole, Saved for this Dark Dawn)
Why I Must Be Careful

In 2008 we received a record one hundred twenty applicants for the forty available slots. Honestly, nearly all of what we got was pretty good, so it's not easy to filter things out! If your band didn't make it in, it's not because we didn't like you. Rather, we just have pick the stuff we're most stoked about, and nobody does this to be exclusionary. Please come out and check out the shows, submit again, and keep in touch.

Total Fest VII: Planning Underway, Hup.

Total Fest VII: August 14-16, 2008

We meet in January or February every year and monthly from then out, generally with a potluck or barbecue as the other reason. This year (2008) we met as an organizer committee to figure out our plans for the upcoming year back in February. Every year there are around 15 of us who work together to pull it together. Lou and Wendy Beard, Dennis Lynch and Mandy Weaver, Jen Sasshole, Dan Weitzel, Niki Payton, Abbie and Carrie Painted Cupcakes, Martin Hill, Timmy Arrowtop, Forrest Knorby, Jim Anderson, Anna Henry, Julie Tompkins, Ross Riddilin and Erin Lambert.

We're all music fans, and some of us are actual musicians. I run a small label called Wantage, and originally started Total Fest as a convenient title to a lucky convergence of my favorite bands back in 2002 (Volumen, Japanther, Mahamawaldi, the Fucking Champs, Drunk Horse, Federation X and the Cherrry Valence). From there, it was too much fun, and well-supported to not consider doing again. Somewhere in the process of thinking it through, we sort of collectively noticed that while our home town, Missoula, had all sorts of festivals dedicated to things like hemp and antique cars, there was nothing that really focused on what we cared about, like an underground/independent/punk music festival. Sure, there'd been botched attempts back in the 90's like North By Northwest, held out at the Lumberjack saloon complex west of Lolo, which was sort of cool, but lacked much focus and didn't stick around long enough to turn into something. Similarly, lots of bands I talked to had a bad taste left in their mouth from the thing, because of its bizarre tiered system of paying groups different amounts, if at all.

Our vision was originally to have a two-day music fest at Jay's Upstairs. Jay's was just big enough to hold the sweaty mass of people who crammed together. We used the upstairs and downstairs, and alternated between the two, so there'd be a huge movement of people up the stairs, or down, depending on where the band was playing.

We've always been lucky enough to get really positive responses both from bands who love Missoula, and Missoulians, who have a huge appetite for this kind of stuff. In around 2004 we started incorporating a saturday record swap, barbecues and some river floating/swimming in with everything else, so it wasn't just an indoor-only event.