Wednesday, 5/7/97 Rock convention provides opportunity for big
break Festival discusses ABCs of industry, gives unsigned bands a
chance
By Vanessa VanderZanden Daily Bruin Contributor Two hundred
bands, 50 trade booths, 18 music panels with 100 industry
professionals and only three days to fit in the entire rock orgy.
For most areas across the world, such an event might prove worthy
of a holiday. But for media-saturated Los Angelenos, the Foundation
Forum Musicfest convention may elicit little more than a lunch
break. "It helps because everyone’s there," says Bob Chiappardi,
head of the Foundation Forum’s Musicfest. "It hurts because
everyone’s so jaded that they need the second coming of Christ for
anyone to get excited, so it’s a challenge." This Thursday through
Saturday, the Foundation Forum Musicfest will attempt to lure the
public, as well as members of the music industry, into their
three-day rock convention. Daytime activities at the Burbank Hotel
include panels discussing everything from how to read a record
contract to the quality of demo tapes, while the night fare
features performances by everyone from L7 to Ozzy Osbourne as well
as unsigned bands at clubs throughout the Hollywood vicinity. The
Musicfest caters to fresh managers just learning the ropes, young
people looking for industry jobs, bands that hope to get signed and
seasoned professionals pushing a new musician’s album. Thus, the
music world will comprise roughly 50 percent of the Musicfest’s
audience, which is less than in previous years. "In the past, it
was more of an insider type of thing," Chiappardi explains of the
annual 10-year-old event." Now, with the nighttime shows (new as of
last year), it’s more public. But still, a lot of deals get made. A
lot of bands get signed, things like that." With such a vast array
of industry bigwigs in attendance, it seems no difficult task to
acquire a label contract by weekend’s end. For this reason,
independent musicians such as Brent Fraser appreciate the
opportunity to have a part in the festivities. Appearing Thursday
night at Jack’s Sugar Shack, Fraser’s folksy one-man show will be
heard possibly by some of the top movers and shakers in the music
world. "I’ve had people come talk to me from a smaller label,"
Fraser recalls. "They want to do an album, but people who know me
say, ‘Wait, don’t do anything till you do the F Musicfest.’" In the
mean time, his house painting job will have to pay the bills. The
Foundation Forum Musicfest’s reputation for bringing about dramatic
change in a musician’s life does not go undocumented. Gregg Wazley,
booking agent for Billboard Live on Sunset Boulevard, recalls his
club’s participation in the event last year. "We had the Verve Pipe
play. They were already signed, but it was right before they blew
up," he claims. "If you see that album, it’s still on the charts
now. The fest helped them gain exposure." For this reason, even
bands already involved in a record deal benefit from the festival.
With buses roving between the 18 clubs every 15 minutes to
accommodate the whims of festival participants, the chances for a
band to reach more people increases considerably. Yet, such a
schedule fails to please all the Musicfest artists. "We can’t stand
it. There’s a million bands, a million people, in a million clubs,"
Tia Sprocket of the band Sex Pod says. Her group would prefer to
stay on their small label, Slab, rather than look to larger
companies for support. "But whatever opportunity you have to play,
you take. So, since we happen to be in L.A. anyway, we’ll play it."
With such a gracious response from musicians, the Foundation Forum
Musicfest founders have had a frustrating six months attempting to
put the whole festival together. Coordinating not only the panels,
evening concerts and booths full of free giveaways from clothing
and record companies, the Musicfest requires more work than the
three-day event would at first appear. And, while Bob Chiappardi
attempts to create a sense of a musical community within th L.A.
area through his and his associates’ efforts, other contributors
have their own reasons for participating. "Why is the Whisky part
of the Musicfest?" asks the Whisky a Go-Go’s booking agent, Mike
Giangreco. "Well, let’s think about this together. What’s the
oldest rock club in Los Angeles? The Whisky? Okay, what is the most
historically famous rock club around the world from L.A.? Would it
be the Whisky? I think it would! There you have it, we’re rock
history right here." Presenting Anthrax and Silver Jet to name just
a couple, the Whisky will continue in their historical tradition by
showcasing 15 bands over the three nights. The festival allows
larger names to headline, to not only celebrate music which the
convention reveres, but also to draw audiences for those
lesser-known bands. Still, the tactics used to procure some of
these more accomplished artists calls into question the morality of
the event coordinators. "I wasn’t gonna do the Musicfest," says
Jason Faulkner, formerly of Jellyfish. "But then I saw my picture
in the paper listings saying that I was gonna be playing, so I was
like, ‘OK, I guess I’m doing it.’" "I sound like a total asshole,
sitting on my mountain, saying ‘The F Musicfest is so beneath me.
I’m too good to play in it,’" he jokes. Yet, such a view only
reiterates the need for a tighter musical community within Los
Angeles. Helping to aid in creating this free-speech paradise, Mike
Myers of "Saturday Night Live" will moderate a question and answer
panel between bands and audience members. Beyond these steps,
Chiappardi and crew may have just as difficult a time next year
organizing the event once again. "It must be like having a baby,"
Chiappardi speculates. "Having all this anticipation, then the
blessed event happens and then it’s funny, everyone, the whole crew
gets bummed out. It’s a postnatal depression." MUSIC: For more info
on the Foundation Forum Musicfest, call (888) FCHANNEL. Elektra
Records Jason Faulkner will perform at the Foundation Forum
Musicfest.