Voodoo and Sagebrush
Ripplefest Texas was about to commence. My partners in crime were suffering from the effects of the sun, combined with the Voodoo Ranger IPAs. My common sense made a few rare adult decisions earlier: put on a shirt in the pool so you don’t get too crispy, cool out on the consumption because you’ll be miserable AND you need to drive the foreigners to the Pre-Party. Check.
The Sagebrush was buzzing, as were quite a few of the attendees. Enthusiastic Ripplefesters, particularly the veterans of previous fests, were quickly reunited with their tribes. The Pre-Party at the Sagebrush was a means for those of us lucky enough to take an extra day off work for the sake of an extra night of live heavy underground music and camaraderie.
Make no mistake: The fact that tonight is called the Ripplefest Texas “Pre-Party” and not taking place at the “official” fest site at the Far Out Lounge, should not, in any way, lessen the importance of the evening, the bands, or the venue. This is a LEGIT Ripplefest Texas evening, with amazing bands at a spectacular Texas bar.
Ryan Garney’s cape must have been at the cleaners, but that did not stop him from flying around the joint. He had just been on tour for weeks fronting High Desert Queen up until the night before and touched down in Austin that day. The Ripplefest merch table was manned, er, womanned by his lovely bride, Brittany and Ryan’s brother, Shay (aka; the bad guy in all the High Desert Queen videos… a fact I never let him forget all weekend!).
I can’t shout it from the mountaintops loud enough: Ryan Garney is a superhero. If you ever want to learn how to juggle a successful band, a production company, a world-class heavy music festival, teach school, and be happily married, do your best to shadow him for a while. He’s the most genuinely compassionate, great vibe giving person that I’ve ever experienced in my nearly 55 years around the sun. He made sure that the bands were attended to, he thanked, hugged, and fist bumped everyone in his path, he’d check on the merch booth, he’d film all the bands performing. It was exhausting to watch. It’s even more exhausting writing about it.
Meeting John Gist
My information overload was off the damn charts from the moment I stepped inside the Sagebrush. Familiar faces, friends, band folk, and one guy I was really looking forward to shaking hands with: John Gist.
If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt familiar with John. A staple of the heavy underground for a considerable amount of time, John Gist promotes the hell out of heavy music and bands; so much so that his Planet Desert Rock Weekend festival in Las Vegas every January grows bigger and bigger each year. He has a Facebook page that concentrates on the community under the Vegas Rock Revolution name, AND he has a podcast called Rock is Dead? The Gist List. He is, undoubtedly, one of the reasons I was there. He put my band in the ears of like-minded folk and for that, I am forever grateful.
I caught up with John, and what an amazing human being he is in person as well. Incredibly knowledgeable of the industry, and quick to point out that the opener for tonight, Vermillion Whiskey, has a new singer in tow. Not just any singer, but Earl Walker Lundy from Shadow Witch. I’m a fan of Vermillion Whiskey and can proudly say that I purchased their vinyl when it was first released. I’m looking very forward to their set and chatting with guitarist, Ross Brown afterward. Time for some Whiskey…
Vermilion Whiskey
Hailing from southern Louisiana, Vermillion Whiskey kicked off the night with a crushing set. Earl’s voice is amazing and elevates the Vermillion Whiskey songs so much that I’m only minutes into the musical portion of the night and I’m losing my damn mind over how good this guy is singing! Ross’ guitar tones were absolutely punishing! They killed it! Here I am in Texas, listening to a VERY heavy Southern Stoner Rock band and sweating my ass off!
After the set, I introduce myself to Earl and absolutely gush all over his vocal prowess. We really hit it off, and for the next few days, took time out for a quick chat, and a hug whenever we ran into each other, which was often. Please do yourselves a favor and check him and his music out! I finally caught up with guitarist, Ross Brown, who was incredible to talk to. A truly magnificent way to kick off Ripplefest Texas!
That was, no doubt, the best whiskey ever served at The Sagebrush.
Hudu Akil
Hudu Akil followed with a splendid performance. In an effort of complete transparency, I was not familiar with them or their music. With so much new music hitting, it’s incredibly and increasingly difficult to keep up with everything happening in our community. What I can honestly offer here is, these cats from Phoenix played a solid set of what I thought was amazing, blues-influenced heavy stoner rock. My cup of tea. They earned the right to be on that stage and did not disappoint one bit. If things ever slow down for me a bit, I’d love to dive down the rabbit hole of their repertoire. They were great people off stage as well.
Fostermother
On the heels of their new release, Echo Manor, Houston’s Fostermother is a band that I’m VERY familiar with and whose live set I’m incredibly excited to see. I had a very brief chat with them at their merch booth before their set and can confirm that these gents are as kind as they are talented. Before I continue, I must offer up a spoiler for this whole Ripplefest series: There was not one single band that I didn’t care for. Not a one. Everybody brought their A game to Austin and Fostermother was one of the first (actually, the 3rd) to really get this fest going. Pre-Party my ass. The night is not even half over, the festival hasn’t “officially” begun and Fostermother is taking no prisoners. This kicks ass! This is THE party!
Mr. Plow
My friend and world-renown Stoner/Doom/Desert Festival veteran, Joshua Hunter “warned” me about Mr. Plow. He threatened, “if there is one band you absolutely CAN NOT miss, it is Mr. Plow!”4z
I’m center stage as they begin to set up. Their aluminum guitars (both guitars and the bass) trigger a guy next to me to quip, “too bad they don’t have aluminum drums!” which gets a chuckle out of me. Once the first sound check notes hit, I know I’m in for trouble. By all appearances, Jeremy Stone and Paul Waggoner don’t appear to be heavy music peeps. Looks can, however, be deceiving. A quick soundcheck reveals that the studs and rafters of the Sagebrush better be VERY secure! For the love of all things holy! Mr. Plow absolutely destroyed! This is a wonderfully heavy band that has a really cool vibe about them. Their set demonstrated exactly how skilled they are at their craft, and I couldn’t love them any more than I do now. Jeremy and Paul became fast friends throughout the fest, and I cannot implore you enough to take a ride with Mr. Plow!
Temple of the Fuzz Witch
Detroit’s Temple of the Fuzz Witch toured their way down to Ripplefest with fellow fest performers, Hashtronaut. TOTFW hit the stage like an A-10 Warthog! Their music is heavy. Their delivery is heavy. Their performance was ferocious. I’ve been a fan of theirs for more than a minute. When I’m in the mood for the heavy, they usually get a spin. What I witnessed live was a full-on onslaught of pure evil manifest. It was brilliant! They appear to be on the younger side of the spectrum of our more ‘veteran’ looking bands which gives me some relief that the future of our genre is in very good hands.
Kal-El
My Viking blood began to boil in anticipation of Norway’s Kal-El. What really got me excited about this year’s Ripplefest Texas is that it was host to a veritable Viking Invasion. With the likes of Truckfighters, Dozer, and Domkraft from Sweden, and Kal-El from neighboring Norway, I couldn’t help but yell, “SKAL!” when this year’s lineup was announced!
I had some brief and friendly exchanges with some of the Kal-El camp throughout the evening leading up to their performance. I’ve been a fan for quite some time and beyond stoked to get a rare opportunity to catch them live in the US. By the time they hit the stage, my body was protesting and kindly guiding me to my seat in the back with a very sun-poisoned Jamie. Fellow Scot, Iain and our resident Canadian, Darren were back and forth throughout the night… we were having an absolute blast and incredibly thankful for a table and chairs which enabled us to recharge our batteries in order to stay in the fight… Kal-El had begun and had my full attention. They had EVERYONE’S full attention.
As their set progressed, I felt like I’d never felt in a very long time, or possibly ever. I wasn’t on drugs, and I was not drunk. What Kal-El had done was enveloped me in an incredibly amazing aura or universe of sorts. It was the most beautiful and musically induced spiritual experience that I’ve ever had, that my eyes welled up and tears began to fall down my cheeks. I distinctly remember removing my glasses, wiping my eyes, and looking around to see if anyone noticed. I also remember saying under my breath, “oh… wow, man. This is incredible.”
When amazing musical movements are accompanied by just magnificent vocal delivery, the universe is happy which makes me happy. The Captain (Stale Rodvelt,) along with his crew, piloted the Kal-El spacecraft perfectly through their set, pleasing the old gods, the universe and me. The light show accompanying this set (see below) was perfection. Revisiting this moment for this article has me there again. I guarantee there will be a story of its own as part of this series. It gets better. I think you get the point; Kal-El was out of this world amazing.
In addition to all the wonderful music of the night, the liquid light show throughout the night provided by Mad Alchemy, was the greatest liquid light show I’ve EVER seen! As a side note, I can assure you that my many Grateful Dead and Allman Bros. concert experiences give me some cred on this. The rafters of the Sagebrush ceiling provided the most unique canvas for the Mad Alchemist to work his visual alchemy.
I had granted the members of Kal-El what I thought was a respectable amount of time after their set before I approached them and shared my spiritual experience. I think I was able to convey my message without sounding too much like a lunatic. They were amazing to reciprocate the love and respect, it was a magical snapshot in time. As stated above, more on this later.
20 Watt Tombstone
Two-piece heavy blues band, 20 Watt Tombstone did not kill my Kal-El vibe AT ALL. Mercy! These legends just tore the roof off this Texas joint from the get-go! This Wisconsin duo plays HEAVY blues based Stoner Rock. They deliver it like no other outfit can. It’s shortly after 11pm and the joint is off the rails, jumpin’ and the drums are just driving Tom Jordan’s fuzzy/Orange amp infused slide guitar over the sonic boundaries. What a helluva set these guys performed! Before their last note was struck, I made my way to their merch booth and picked up an amazing 20WTS shirt.
The Absurd
Closing the night is Nashville’s, The Absurd. In Part I, I mentioned running into them briefly at my/our hotel. I was telling myself that there was no possible way in hell that I’d be sticking around for any band starting at midnight. I know myself all too well and I am THE guy who leaves before encores no matter who is playing. Turns out that I was VERY wrong and fortunately so.
I can tell you that at no point that night was I ready to go home. I can assure you that there have been and will be countless instances where my old midwestern self will suddenly exclaim, “OPE! Well, it’s time for me to go, I’ve got an early morning… blah, blah, blah”
I was able to sit when I wanted to, I was able to politely meander my way up to the front of the stage and headbang when I wanted to. This is a perfect balance that will keep me hanging around.
Now, back to the music. The Absurd are incredibly fun. Seriously. What’s amazing about The Absurd is that they create AMAZING grooves and weave brilliant melodies between some great ethereal movements. Just pure brilliance in songwriting. You must experience it for yourselves.
Vocalist/Guitarist Ben Foerg and bassist, Josh Loney create addictive punk-infused stoner rock that really gets you moving. Joining them on stunt guitar this evening is Karma Vulture’s Will Hammond, whose stage presence is magnificent. An absolute thrill to watch.
Josh not only crushed on stage during The Absurd’s set, but he was also the video guy for the night (and for the rest of the fest). He was everywhere, setting up cameras, taking pictures, taking video of all the performances and then had to perform. He did so flawlessly. The Absurd put on a spectacular and incredibly entertaining performance. I’m really thrilled that I managed my sitting and standing time in order to get my old bones and joints through a proper first night of Ripplefest. This was no Pre-Party. This was the first round, and everyone came out swingin’ hard!
I cannot conclude this article without stating how absolutely amazing it was between sets and hanging outside. Experiencing all our brothers and sisters in attendance, whether it was just a, “Hey! How’s it going? This is great, isn’t it?” or a deeper side conversation with other amazing attendees and band folk. It was also a treat and pleasure to finally meet author, Sunil Singh, whose book, Sonic Seducer was officially released that evening!
By the way, my ‘crew’ and I finally got those tacos we needed in Part I. The taco and burger trucks right outside the venue were amazing!
To be continued…
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