It all started in 2005, when, with Club Congress’ 20th anniversary
approaching, entertainment director David Slutes had an idea: Why not
throw a big ol’ weekend-long birthday party.
About 50 local bands—half of which reunited specifically for
the event—performed over three nights that Labor Day weekend. For
those who attended the festival, there seemed to be an inescapable
mantra: “This is so fun that we should do it every year.” And they
have.
“It was based on all the bands that had played (at Congress over the
years), and getting these reunions together,” says Slutes. “It was
hugely successful, so we decided to continue doing a festival during
Labor Day weekend. And we tried to tinker with it each year, and make
it grow in different ways.
“The mission kept growing and refining itself to now, when it’s this
thing that tries to celebrate everything … that Tucson offers the
best: great music, solar energy. … It’s like, what does Tucson have
to offer the world? And why isn’t the Chamber of Commerce focusing on
these things instead of (spring training) baseball? Why aren’t we
talking about this great arts community we have, and the fact that we
should be the center of solar energy? So we’re just combining these
things into a pretty cool festival.”
This year’s event is the most ambitious one yet. Yes, there is a
weekend packed full of live performances by national and local acts,
but take a gander at the full event schedule at hocofest.com, and just try to keep your head
from spinning.
The events kick off on Thursday night (Sept. 3), when the Tucson
Weekly‘s Tucson Area Music Awards (TAMMIES) become part of the
festivities for the first time. Since both the TAMMIES (free admission)
and HocoFest honor the tradition of local music, it seemed to be a
perfect fit, says Slutes.
“I always thought Austin had a really nice template for it: What
they do is kick off South by Southwest with the Austin Music Awards
each year; everyone’s in town, and it leads right into the festival.
That’s perfect for us as well.”
On Friday and Saturday, the Potluck Audio Con, a streamlined version
of the former TapeOpCon, organized by Wavelab Studio owner Craig
Schumacher, will provide a series of panels and workshops for
audio-recording enthusiasts of all skill levels. (Admission to the
Potluck events is not included in the price of a HocoFest ticket.)
Throughout the hotel and club, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday,
record dealers including Zia, Bookmans, Toxic Ranch, Twist and Shout,
and Stinkweeds will convene for a record fair.
On Saturday and Sunday, across Toole Avenue at Maynards, a series of
free, family-oriented events will be held during the day from 2 to 8
p.m. The Family Fair on Saturday will feature such intriguingly named
activities as ZooWinkles, hosted by Mrs. Tiggy Winkles and the Reid
Park Zoo; and Mama-Baby-Dada Children’s Interactive Performance
Art.
At 6 p.m., things get a bit more grown-up-oriented, as four
indie-rock bands from China—New Pants, Rebuilding The Rights of
Statues, P.K. 14, and Hedgehog—will perform. On Sunday, the same
space will be the site of the second annual Eco-Fest, which will
include “local eco- and fair-trade-friendly vendors, artisans and
entertainers.”
“These are two fairs we’re doing during the day to make it more of a
community event,” says Slutes. “Those events are free, with vendors and
all kinds of things.”
In addition to the satellite events scattered at other venues, there
is, of course, the primary raison d’être for the festival:
the music.
Taking advantage of the newly expanded Hotel Congress Plaza,
Friday’s events include a pair of outdoor, solar powered stages that
will host HocoFest’s first-ever Latin music showcase, featuring
performances by Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta, Camilo Lara of the Mexican
Institute of Sound, 10-piece salsa band La Unica, Los Gallegos, Grupo
Sonido, and José “Pepo” Saavedra. Meanwhile, on the indoor Club
Congress stage, it’s the Arizona Punk Rock Reunion, featuring three
reunited Tucson punk bands of yore—Feast Upon Cactus Thorns,
Bloodspasm and Cosmic Jackhammer—as well as Phoenix skate punk
granddaddies J.F.A. and onetime SST band Painted Willie, from Los
Angeles. (There is also the possibility of a special performance by a
“surprise act.”)
Saturday’s musical lineup begins at 5 p.m. with an outdoor barbecue
hosted by Nick Luca that will include performances from the Tim Lee 3
(ex-Windbreakers), Luca and others, which will lead into performances
that night by Phoenix’s Meat Puppets; X’s John Doe and Exene Cervenka;
Kirkwood Dellinger, which includes Elmo Kirkwood, son of the Meat
Puppets’ Curt Kirkwood; and Tucson’s Golden Boots. Events on the indoor
club stage include the Recycled Fashion Show sponsored by Preen and
Buffalo Exchange, a performance by Alana Sweetwater, and the
traditional Bang! Bang! dance party.
Musical events at the hotel on Sunday begin at 5 p.m. with another
barbecue, this one hosted by Al Perry. Other performers include Silos
frontman Walter Salas-Humara, whose visual art will be on display the
hotel lobby throughout the weekend, and Phoenix chanteuse Lonna Kelley.
Later that night, Calexico will headline the outdoor main stage, which
will also see a performance by Sleepercar, the latest band from Jim
Ward (At the Drive-In, Sparta). The Club Congress stage will feature
sets from Cracker and Australia’s Matt Ellis, and once things have
wrapped up in the Hotel Congress Plaza, a late-night after party
featuring funnyman Neil Hamburger and super sexy R&B jams courtesy
of Har Mar Superstar takes over the club.
“It’s the biggest one we’ve ever done,” says Slutes, “and it was the
first year I saw the future of the event come together.
“The first year was the most special year, and nothing will ever be
able to touch that—although we hope the 25th (anniversary next
year) will approach that, as far as that family reunion feel, a lot of
hugs and warm fuzzies. But this year is the first year that we feel
like we found the real identity and mission of the event. It’s all
about Tucson … a boutique festival that focuses on what we do best
here.”
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.
