Randall RobertsIt's been a crazy past few months for F Yeah Fest principals Sean Carlson, Keith Morris and Phil Hoelting. The annual summer music festival, which changed its name from the Fuck Yeah Fest two years ago for obvious reasons, has been the sturdy little engine of the punk/electronic/indie rock since the first one in 2004. It's always been a D.I.Y. operation, has followed a path laid down by first-wave LA punks like Morris (he formerly of Black Flag and Circle Jerks): get a bunch of bands together, charge just enough money to make everybody happy, and then play the rock to the fans.
Keith Morris signed on to co-curate in 2006, and for the past few years the weekend-long renegade punk rock party has taken over the Echo and Echoplex (whose owners, Spaceland Productions, co-produced it) compound.
This year Carlson and company decided to go bigger, and booked the L.A. Historic State Park on the northern edge of downtown; it's a site that can hold thousands of people, and Carlson, Morris and Hoelting, after parting ways with Spaceland to produce it themselves, have committed to delivering a party in the wide open.
Then the budget crunch hit, and the park landed on the list of 100 parks and beaches to be shuttered. The F Yeah Fest was looking to be an F No. But the promoters, in discussions with state and city parks officials, were able to work out a deal that would allow the festival to continue regardless of whether the park gates are locked or not.
But there was the matter of the festival's name, which officials apparently found a little bit difficult to get behind. So now, in an effort to calm concerns, the former Fuck Yeah Fest, former F Yeah Fest, is now the FYF Fest (which, if you follow the acronym's history, would make it The Fuck Yeah Fest Fest).
The F Yeah organization has a charitable mission, as well, and this year it's setting its gaze on saving the California state parks by donating to the California State Park Foundation.
Tickets are $20. They're taking the charity goal one step further by setting up a volunteer program for fans and attendees: those who donate twenty-hours of time to one of the participating organizations will receive two tickets to the festival and an “exclusive care package.” (no telling what'll be in that, but probably a hipster gift bag of some sort). Participating non-profits include 826LA, The Union Rescue Mission, Common Ground LA, F.O.L.A.R and more.
FYF Fest 6
Saturday, September 5, 2009
L.A. Historic State Park
Wavves
Dios
Har Mar Superstar
Avi Buffalo
Grabass Charlestons
Ninjasonik
That's the initial line-up. New names will be added — including the comedy line-up (past stand-up gigs have included Zach Galifianakis, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk and others) as the date approaches, promises Carlson, with two new names arriving next week.
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