by D Workman
The Fest in Gainesville Florida is considered by many to be the best punk festival in the United States if not the world. Folks from everywhere make the yearly trek to partake in 3 days of music, community and comraderie. I thought it might be fun to interview some of my and your favorite attendees, their bands, their brands, and see what makes this such a special event in the hearts and minds of so many. I'll try to get as many in as i can and hopefully convey a little of the joy it evokes!
Without further ado:
Who are you, what do you do, and where do you do it?
Hi I’m Tommy Colliton! I’m from Silver Spring, MD which is just outside of Washington DC. I sing and play guitar in the band Curse Words.
Sweet! I interviewed your label head earlier and she told me to see you guys play!
How many times have you been to FEST?
It’s my first time festing! I’ve been trying to get down for years but the stars finally aligned for me, I’m happy to not have to live vicariously through my friends photos and stories for once.
Kindred spirit! Same!
Are you touring down or flying in?
Being a first time experience, I’m happy it’s just a one-off show for us so I can take it all in and enjoy it.
Nice! Any Buccee's favorites on the way there?
Give me all the gummies! Also some hot fries and either a fierce grape or riptide rush Gatorade
Speaking on Gatorade, what's your beverage selection for FEST look like?
Hot coffee in the morning, iced coffee in the afternoon, espresso in the evening and definitely plenty of water throughout.
Who are you most excited to see this year?
Streetlight Manifesto is one of my favorite bands and I’ve seen them countless times. Restorations is one that I’m excited to finally see live. I’m not for following schedules so I’m pretty pumped to see what bands I’ve been sleeping on that end up blowing me away.
Every year I look at friends posts about who they saw and loved and immediately go listen, I'm pretty psyched to do that live this year. Probably will see you at some sets!
FEST seems to stir a lot of emotions up. What are you most grateful for?
All the people out there making their local scene a positive and welcoming experience, the friends I’ve made from across the country over a shared love of the music, my bandmates for always keeping things fun and getting my antisocial ass out of the house, and to all the family and friends who don’t care for the music but are supportive as fuck anyways.
How do you want to wake up in Gainesville?
Refreshed, unsore and unhungover… but I’ll settle for alive.
Nice!
Ok, if you have been reading any of these, or any other interviews i've ever done you know that when times running low we get into the fun stuff. Ready for that? Because here we go!
If you were part of the donner party, what sauce would you be disappointed to run out of when eating fellow travelers?
I’m assuming human meat is pretty porkish so give me a nice tangy vinegary Carolina BBQ sauce
My favorite barbecue as well! Lots in common!
If you had to pick, would you be stabbed to death by a unicorn or a narwhal? and why?
Unicorn. I imagine being pierced by their horn would cause my body to explode in a great big glittery mess. That’s how I’d like to go out.
Great answer!
Alright, we have time for just a couple quick ones.
Are there any rumors about yourself you'd like us to get started for you? We can spread it around the internet!
I can identify where any pizza is from with a single bite! (Don’t believe me? Bring me mystery pizza and prepare to be amazed!)
Anything you want to tell folks before I let you get back to packing?
We made a bunch of Curse Word themed friendship bracelets for anyone at our set!
Oh that's fun! There you have it! Get your Curse Words friendship bracelet at Vecinos on Sunday at 8pm sharp!
Tell your friends I'm a great writer and that they should follow our blog page (we'll keep the joke between us!)
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