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.