Syracuse Ska Forum

Actually, you'd be surprised how many Syracuse ska fans have yet to see RazSum or at least the 2005 version of them. They're pretty much unknowns on the Syracuse University campus, for example.

Well then. I guess I have another project for this summer then, don't I? Note to self: Make RazSum HUGE.

Hey Danny- Got your message the other night, so I figured I'd sign up on the board and contribute to the Big Orange discussion representing Albany.
It looks like unless Kicking Sicily is bringing a ton of kids, or I get a huge rush for tickets over the next week, the Albany contigent will probably be pretty slim at this show. Its hard enough getting Albany kids out to local shows, let alone having them drive 2 hours.. I guess you never know though.

To 8ball... you have the privelege of seeing two of the worst shows I can remember us playing. I believe the last Streetlight show was the one where we had a saxophone completely fall apart mid-set. So come check our set out at Big Orange if you'll be there, I think we are playing around 3:30. And you may very well still not like us, but at least then you'll know for sure.

The Big Orange Bonanza

Sat, June 19th from noon-9pm. 20 bands on 2 stages. $10 advance, $15 at the gates.

Just got off the phone with Gabe again and he explained how things have changed. Ticket sales are going well, but another person is involved in running the show now and he's basically taken it over. And he's booted some bands off. The UPDATED band list is below:

The Code
Flaming Tsunamis
Naked Citizens
Razbari Sumthing
Daly's Gone Wrong (tentative)
Endive
Kicking Sicily
Public Access
The Cohorts
No Name Charlies
The Flamingos
The Degenerates
The Smashup
Armed Suspects
Zombie Pit Crew
Patent Pending (tentative)
IBT
Three Card Monte
Bad Larry
Life Before This
Armed Alite Rifles

At least the bands that dropped off were pretty much all locals none of us cared about anyway ...

ouch! thats harsh. but i guess sometimes the truth does hurt, eh?

i cant wait for saturday though. this show is gonna be the bomb diggity! yo!

Correction, the show is Saturday June 18th not 19th. That was just a little typo. Wouldn't want anyone showing up on Fathers day expecting a show.

I can't wait for this show. There are so many bands that I'm really anxious to see.

And, ( just because I'm a promotion whore ) everyone should stop by and check out my boys in Endive. It's been a while since they've been exposed to new crowds.. so, I'm hoping everyone is impressed by their new ( sort of ) sound.

Cheers!

Ooops!

Now I'm really glad that I didn't decide to bail on SM for this. The three bands I was most excited about on this were Daly's Gone Wrong, Patent Pending, and The Fad. (they're MY locals from home, so I was psyched to see them elsewhere). Why would they kick bands off less than a week before the event? That's really pretty lame.

Okay, I'm the first one here back from the Big Orange Bonanza to report back about it ...

First off, I had a blast and it looked like everyone there pretty much did. There were 20 bands on 2 stages. Several of the bands were last minute additions to make up for last minute cancellations. But I really liked some of these last minute bands, so no worries there.

It really should have been called the Big Orange Campout, because that's how it felt. This is a large, heavily wooded park with a lake in the middle of it (we were expressly forbidden to go into the lake from the festival). Lots of picnic tables and whatnot that looked like a campground. The main stage was at the end of a big grassy field, which was a bit damp, but not wet. But I learned skanking on heavy grass is much harder than a regular floor.

The 2nd stage area ended up being cooler all around. That was an open-sided pavilion with a concrete floor in the center of the festival. So, it was convenient to everything, the sound system was better, we were in shade there (we all got sunburned from the sun around the main stage area) and it was more intimate. The Cohorts played the 2nd stage and they are AMAZING. A number of us from Syracuse made it and we're all very excited about tomorrow.

Aiyana took a bunch of photos, so I'm sure we'll see those soon. The guy who basically yanked this event away from Gabe was a major league dickhead. Ask anyone who dealt with him. And he ran the main stage area totally, so it was screwed up all day. That's where RazSum played -- over an hour behind schedule and opposite the very popular Public Access (who has played in that area a lot), but they made the best of it and they seemed to make a lot of new friends. In fact, I think everyone of us did.

The town clearly expected 1000+ plus kids, because of the large number of cops, 2 ambulances, numerous vending areas (the merch area was laughably waaaaaaaay back in a corner), lots of staff (wearing bright orange t-shirts), and goofy rules (no carrying in of food or drink). I have no idea of the official turnout, but I'd guess about 250 maybe? That's why the 2nd stage area worked out better -- it was full more often than not, while the main stage area never looked full.

RazSum did a really fun set with some nice unexpected twists. Still very proud to say they represent Syracuse.

The Cohorts were easily the biggest surprise for everyone there. They have a great mix of old school and faster 3rd wavish stuff. The lead singer is a dead ringer for Steven Parker, no lie!!

Kicking Sicily was a blast, as were The Flamingos. Jackie's (formerly Outside IN) acoustic set was sweet (like the mohawk too). The 2nd to last band on the 2nd stage (forget the name) was really good too. More of the details will come back to me later, I'm sure ...

Haha. Yeah, I'll be home and have those pictures up on Monday hopefully. And I'm gonna see if I can borrow the pop's camera tomorrow for pictures of the show tomorrow.

I had a blast. Honestly guys, it was friggin' awesome. Yep, got a slightly sunburn on the face. I completely forgot that I didn't put sunblock on my face. Oh well, at least my tan will darken further.

Hanging out with Danny and Jill and the guys of RazSum all day was AWESOME. The crowd really got into RazSum, and that made me really happy. Sadly, my camera decided to poop out on my right after the first song, so there are few crowd shots from it. Tear. Sorry guys.

But I'll totally post up the most embarassing pictures I have of everyone. That ought to amuse everyone, at least for a little while. Hehe, I have some great pictures of Rory and Chris.

Anyway, it's time for bed. Got some unhappy news when I got home and now I'm stressing out. It's time to unwind and just sleep.

G'night y'all.