I know, how weird is it to interview a ‘fest’? However, I don’t think of Caterwaul as a fest as much as I consider it a yearly community gathering of some of my favorite people and bands in one place. In it’s fourth official year the organizers of this event continue to fine tune things to make for a big weekend that is more than just the sum of its parts. The three primary organizers all have their bona fides in the music world, with Rainer Fronz running the most excellent Learning Curve Records and a history of helping operate the back end in different venues in Minneapolis, Melanie Thomas in band management from out in Portland, and Conan Neutron being a full-on touring musician and popular podcast host amongst other efforts out in Milwaukee. They all bring their knowledge, experience, and a bit of flying by the seat of their pants to ensure this thing happens each year. I’ve personally had an awesome time attending Caterwaul as the lineups are always stellar (this year featuring the likes of Young Widows, Pissed Jeans, Kowloon Walled City, FACS, Uniform, and Deaf Club among many other wonderful bands) and the atmosphere is cool. It’s not the type of event where thousands of people crowd in some field in the middle of nowhere and pay $10 for a bottle of water. It’s the epitome of an intimate show where everyone (bands and attendees) are just hanging out and by the end of the weekend you’re on a first name basis with basically everyone there. That’s the type of ‘fest’ I can get behind.
This is my first attempt at presenting interview content in the form of a video as opposed to transcription so let’s see how it goes. Special thanks to Conan for setting up the 4-way video as well.
Oh, and go to Caterwaul- caterwaul.org
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