The Action Committee and Grundale Records are pleased to announce the Athens Experimental Music Festival, taking place May 15th and 16th, 2009. This festival is an eclectic mix of noise, metal, electronica and hardcore based in Athens, Ohio, one hour southeast of Columbus. The Athens Experimental Music Festival is donation-based, non-profit and will hopefully establish Athens as an up-and-coming hotbed for experimental music.
Keep reading for the full press release.
The Lineup:
Friday, May 15th, 2009
– The Crystal Castle (28 Central Avenue)
– 7 p.m.
– Donations go directly to out-of-town bands
– Sword Heaven (heavy noise rock from Columbus, releases on Load Records)
– Do Chimps Battle? (Sludge metal from Columbus, members of 333)
– Brad Griggs (Columbus harsh noise)
– Donner Party Dinner Party (noise and dubstep from Athens)
– Weedghost (low-frequency drone duo from Athens / Dayton)
– Bobb Hatt Attack (free jazz / harsh noise / performance art from Athens)
– Submarine Spaceship (crusty lo-fi punk from Athens)
– Nyodene D (power electronics from Athens)
– Interstates (Etc.) (droning noise from Mansfield, Ohio)
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
– The (Bruce) Manor (221 West Union St.)
– 7 p.m.
– Donations go directly to out-of-town bands
– Ryan Jewell + Wasteland Jazz Unit (electroacoustic improvisation from Columbus / Cincinnatti)
– Howland – Russell Duo (Cleveland / Chicago harsh noise, Wyatt Howland of Skin Graft and David Russell of Tanked)
– Robert Turman (Industrial ambient from Oberlin, Ohio, original member of NON)
– Andrew Kirschner (power electronics from Cleveland)
– Kid Panda Hands (psychedelic noise from Athens)
– Teeth Mountain (electro-acoustic improv from Dayton)
– H.x.B.x. (noise/powerviolence from Zanesville, Ohio, pronounced “Hollow Bones”)
– programs. (drone / harsh noise from Athens)
– Vivi C. Diem (gabber / noise from Loveland, Ohio, ex-Realicide Youth)
AEMfest Barbecue
– Saturday, May 16th, 2009
– The (Bruce) Manor (221 West Union Street)
– 4:30 PM
– We will provide hot dogs / not dogs, buns, fresh vegetables (whatever we can find at the Farmers’ Market) and a grill. Please bring donations (for the entree) or a side (vegan or non-vegan) such as salads, pastas, chips, soda, potato salads, cookies or whatever, really. Also, we need stuff like utensils, plates and napkins. The potluck, as well as both nights of the festival, are B.Y.O.B.
Lodging / Food / Parking
– There are several hotels in the Athens area (we DO NOT reccommend the Sunset Motel), but you are more than welcome to stay all weekend at both venues, as they are both houses with several couches. Preference will be given to travelling bands, but there should be plenty of room for everyone. Bobb Hatt and his roommates are willing to let out-of-towners stay at their house, The Beaver Ranch (40 Smith St.) located 2 blocks from The (Bruce) Manor and four blocks from The Crystal Castle)
– There are also plenty of bars and restaurants for any taste/diet located a short walk from both venues.
– There is limited parking at the venues themselves (for bands only, please), but there is plenty of on-street parking near the Crystal Castle (along Central Avenue) and in parking lots and along streets a short walk from The (Bruce) Manor.
Merchandise
– All bands / labels are encouraged to bring merchandise for sale/trade at the shows. There will be plenty of people who will buy and trade merchandise. We will try and have tables set aside for merchandise. Remember to bring extra cash (there are ATM machines uptown).
Directions
– The Crystal Castle is located at 28 Central Avenue, Athens, Ohio, 45701.
– The (Bruce) Manor is located at 221 West Union Street, Athens, Ohio, 45701.
– The Beaver Ranch is located at 40 Smith Street, Athens, Ohio, 45701
we thnk this will be fun! just wanted to clarify that do chimps battle? is rob and nic formerly of 333 not members of 333 as 333 don’t exzist no mo.
yeh we got a fukkin myspace page…bc its free!
and uh chrys too from salavage bloobers. Salvage at summit apr 15th maybe bring the noize bass for yor face
Thank you for posting this. All are welcome to attend!
two corrections:
Teeth COLLECTION are playing, not Teeth Mountain
Realicide (gabber/punk from from Cincinnatti) are playing between Turman and Wyatt Howland / David Russell on Saturday
Thank you!
Why do this the same weekend as Nelsonville Fest?
We did this on the same weekend as the Nelsonville fest because
a) There were no other free weekends where this would work due to other events planned that we didn’t want to directly conflict with.
b) The Nelsonville fest is $35 for a two-day pass. While it’s drawing a great deal of people (for Willie Nelson, Mudhoney and others) most of the people who would show up for AEMfest cannot drop a $35 door charge.
We think the Nelsonville fest is rad, but here’s an alternate event. It’s not like the Nelsonville fest is going to suffer. I think they’ve already sold 5000 tickets…
If you’re worried about missing one fest for another, I suggest going to the Nelsonville fest. The soundboard bootlegs of the entire weekend will be made available soon afterwards for free download (with the bands’ permission, which is rarely an issue).
Bootlegs of AEMfest, that is.
Very, very disappointed that you would do this the same weekend as Nelsonville. If I hadn’t already bought my ticket to that, I would have loved to have come. I actually saw weedghost last year at Nelsonville and loved them.
You aren’t suffering the Nelsonville Music Festival, you are suffering music lovers.
I’m sorry that music lovers have to suffer, even though we’ve organized a less-expensive festival with an entirely different audience in mind which benefits the bands more directly through giving them donations directly and not making any money whatsoever off of this event.
I don’t see how that makes music lovers “suffer”, nor do I see any reason that you should be disappointed other than simple buyers remorse, which is not my fault, though I could understand why.
It was either this weekend (where there really isn’t anything going on in Athens, per se) or another where we would be conflicting directly with other shows in our booking organization.
Again, keep your eye out for the soundboard recordings from AEMfest. They will be available for free. It will most likely be a different weekend next year.
just as a side note…this is also the same weekend as NO FUN FEST in NYC, one of the most hyped experimental music festivals in the country. so, moral is, killer shit happens at the same time, all the time. no one is to blame, you just gotta make your personal best bet!
Exactly. We saw that No Fun was sold out and wanted to do our own thing down here. What Carlos Giffoni does in NYC, like what the guys do in Nelsonville, is not competition, it’s simply an alternative event.
Not blaming. Just bummed.
I’d like to attend next year if it isn’t the same weekend as Festival Kinetik in Montreal(a HUGE industrial music festival).