I grew up at the Loaf. Actually, it was still Weekly Planet when I started my internship back in the summer of ’03 uploading concert listings into the paper’s online database, sorting mail, and writing the occasional record review until I was offered a part-time listings gig. The editorial staff was twice the size it is now, but still small enough that openings were few and far between. Still, I lingered, worked my day job while patiently biding my time until Events Editor Cooper Cruz — who’d originally brought me on as an intern — announced he was leaving.
I don’t remember much about the job interview, ’cept it was nerve-wracking and I couldn’t get a read on then-Associate/Operations Editor Kelly K. Though she’d been the one to encourage me to apply for the position, she gave nothing away during the interview with her serene stoicism, probing questions and intense soul-seeking stare. But apparently I wasn’t found lacking since I was welcomed into the fold without much delay.
Those first few days proved enlightening. The edit staff was wrapping up content for the ’04 Summer Guide and despite having entered the picture too late to actually contribute, I got the chance to “judge” a frozen drinks competition between the writers and editors for a column that would appear in the issue. It was held in the office during normal operating hours, the drinks recipes were lackadaisical at best, mixed with plenty of ice and heavy-handed liquor in a loud-buzzing blender, and ingested flippantly amid lots of casual banter, teasing and generally wry merriment. I sipped each one, attempting to feign the same blasé attitude and easy-going confidence they all seemed to possess, while inwardly, I felt awkward, socially inept and relentlessly intimidated, not sure I could ever be as cool and unflappable as this group of folks seemed to be.
Looking back, I have to smile a little at myself, because I was merely suffering from a lack of experience. In the nine years since, I’ve written a ridiculous amount of words, had the chance to work with a number of truly bright individuals who’ve pushed me to evolve and hone my craft and strive harder for excellence, some purposefully, others by simply being around and having so much talent that it motivated me to be better.
And I’ve seen CL go through many changes in the time I’ve been here — staff and budget cuts, multiple moves, a bankruptcy and shifts in ownership, overhauls of the website, re-designs of the logo, re-organizations of the printed product. I became the Music Editor during a particularly tumultuous era, shouldered duties once split between two people, learned how to edit and manage a full stable of freelance writers and photographers, became immersed and invested in the local music scene, and I’m pleased about what I’ve achieved in the nearly five years I’ve held the position and excited about where it’s taking me next … to the Creative Loafing Festival, a celebration of the paper’s 25th anniversary with five days worth of events.
What began as me putting together a list of acts I’d like to see perform at the fest (Best of the Bay award winners, noteworthy up-and-comers, staples and relevant vets of the scene, musicians whose names have appeared in the paper time and time again) turned into me curating the music portion of the Warehouse Arts District Block Party with a whole lot of help from local musician/Best of the Bay MVP award winner Mark Etherington. In fact, he gets mucho props for all the work he put into making this happen, from reaching out to bands that were on my wish list along with several great ones I hadn’t even thought of, to working out budgetary concerns, securing a sponsor (thank you Florida Beer Company), getting venues on board, and dealing with any issues that arose.
The WAD Block Party takes place in St. Petersburg and launches with a trolley tour of WAD area galleries hosted by Art Critic Megan Voeller at 7 p.m. The music portion kicks off at 8 p.m. and carries on well after the tour’s 9:30 p.m. conclusion, with 18 fine-quality genre-spanning Tampa Bay and Sarasota area indie acts (including RedFeather, Auto!Automatic!!, Jun, The Send Off’s, The Mother Machine, Jensen Serf Co. and Alexander & the Grapes) performing on four stages spread over three WAD venues — Dan’s Place (formerly known as Inside the Gates), Zen Glass Studio and U562.
Saturday is the main shebang and official climax of the festival — Creative Loafing’s 25th Birthday Bash at The Ritz Ybor. It’s a balls-to-the-wall CL throwdown as we mark 25 years here with all manner of sensory delights. The highlight is three stages worth of live music by 20 acts as headlined by Juliet Simms, the sexy rasping frontwoman of Tampa-based pop-punk outfit Automatic Loveletter. She’s graced our pages many times over the years and most recently used her impressive run on NBC’s The Voice Season 2 to enjoy some time in the solo spotlight as managed by former coach Cee Lo Green. The Birthday Bash lineup also features Indiana’s deep country-blues three-piece, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, reunions by indie rock outfit Win Win Winter and jazzy worldish pop-rock ensemble The Gita (featuring CL’s own Joran Oppelt and joined by special guest emcee Infinite Skillz), and Best of the Bay-winning performers like electro psych-space rock trio Sons of Hippies, Jeremy Gloff, Dynasty, and Florida Night Heat, to name a few.
The fest comes to an unofficial close at the eighth annual edition of Alchemy Fest at First Unity in St. Pete. The all-ages event is presented by Oppelt, and in addition to various family-friendly amusements and diversions (arts and crafts, games, children’s activities, vendors), the event delivers encore performances by bands that appeared at other fest events this weekend (The Gita, RedFeather, Sons of Hippies) along with sets by a few other CL favorites, prog-hop-funk ensemble Rise of Saturn and haunting alt-folk songstress Geri X.
Yeah, I’ve turned a rather thoughtful and reflective column into a shameless plug for the paper’s 25th anniversary festival. Sue me. I’ve been here long enough that I can own it. So are you going, or what?
This article appears in Apr 18-24, 2013.
