This weekend local promoter Hangar 18 Concerts will host the first annual Skadoom Fest at Yellow Cab Tavern on both Friday, Aug 8 and Saturday Aug 9. This two day festival will feature multiple genres and vibes, but will mostly revolve around punk and ska. Ben Parker stopped by the WYSO studios to chat on Kaleidoscope with music director Juliet Fromholt.
"I've been dwelling on it for a couple of years, just trying to do the numbers and figure out if it's actually something I wanted to do, if it was something I thought the city would be accepting of. I originally started with punk and ska. That was kind of my roots, so I wanted to do that. Finally I was like,'You know what, let's do it.' I'm getting older, so if anything, I would like to have a yearly festival that I knew was like a stamp on this city." said Parker.
Parker's music tastes are all over place, including ska, doom, punk, metal, or even dark folk. That taste is represented in the diverse lineup of bands for Skadoom Fest.
"Just like there's all kinds the metal and folk and everything. So I wanted a collective of all those flavors just so people can get a taste of all the stuff. Hopefully this goes good and I'll continue every year and I will just keep adding stuff to the recipe and see what flavors Dayton can come up with." said Parker
While all the bands may belong to different genres, it's the collective spirit of the night that makes it so special. Friday night, legendary New York ska band Mephiskapheles will headline the evening that also features Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, the Operators, Caught Dead, Whiskey Brisket, Mr. Science and more. On Saturday The Strains, Viceroy Kings and Marijuana Johnson are among the bands starting off a night that will be headlined by The Goddamn Gallows, whose sound spans psychobilly, gutter punk and metal. All these bands have very different sounds but it's the vibe that carries through it all.
"It's more than going up there, being a technician and doing your solos. There's gotta be a soul and feel to the band, so you can feel it, not only do you hear it, but you feel it. And that's more what I want people to do. I want them to be entertained. I want to make sure they can get rid of all the dumb stuff that's happening in the world right now, and just focus on having a good time for a few hours. If I can do that for them, then I've done my job." said Parker.
Catch a vibe at Skadoom Fest this weekend, Aug 8-9, starting each day at 6PM at Yellow Cab Tavern. You can check out Hangar 18's Facebook event for Skadoom Fest, buy tickets online, or you can also go to either Yellow Cab Tavern or Blind Rage Records in the Oregon District for physical tickets.
