Steamstock: A Music Festival From Another Time - A Kickstarter Project

(Read this opening line with the sound of a distorted ship's public address system in mind)

May I have your attention! May I have your attention! Steampunks, goths, swing dancers and those who love music on the West Coast or those adventurous and willing to travel! There is an event, nay it is more than an event, dare I say a steam-powered shindig which you simply must be a part of! Steamstock - A Music Festival From Another Time, is planned to take place this October, in the port town of San Francisco. And you can help make it a reality! If you've never backed a Kickstarter project before, roll up, roll up to see this show!

Let's begin at the beginning and give credit where it is due. The Steamstock event came to my attention this week via social media and brand strategist guru Mike Prasad on Twitter. To say I was excited at the possibility of a music event wholly dedicated to the Steampunk scene would be an understatement.

Brian Gardner, CEO of Swing Goth, is one of the organizers behind Steamstock and was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed about the event. This interview trended into far more areas than just talking about the Steamstock project. Gardner shares stories and raises excellent points about partner dancing, the importantance of music in people's lives and gives one of the best answers to the question "What exactly is Steampunk?" that I've personally encountered.

1. Give us the short, two line description of what Steamstock intends to be. 

Brian Gardner: We're still in the process of defining that, but the general idea is to create something as symbolic of Steampunk as Woodstock was for the hippies. There, one sentence - oh wait, now I'm in the second... shoot!

2. Now, go into mad detail about it. Spill as many of the gears that you can about Steamstock.

Gardner: The detail is still in flux. You could say the temporal variation is currently at high amplitude... or you could say, we just don't know how much room we have to play with financially. What I know for certain is, the better we're funded, the better it's going to be!

To give an example of some of the things this group is capable of, a bunch of us just hosted Clockwork Alchemy, a weekend-long Steampunk convention. Some of the many highlights included dirigible races, where the participants actually FLEW the dirigibles, and laser tag fox hunts with Steampunked hobby horses and a laser equipped fox (so he could fire back... it's only sporting, after all). (ed. note: it is at this point LinerNotes is really put out he didn't attend this!)

If I get my way with it, I hope to have a fleet of ships descending on the docks of Craneway Pavilion (the location of the event) from all over The Bay; and ideally, each ship carries a band. Then, the band leads people into the festival... one ship after the next... Now, is that possible? Who knows. Are we gonna figure it out? Heck yeah!

3. What artists have you confirmed for the event already?

Gardner: Abney Park, for one. Isn't that enough? Seriously though, this is another instance where we're leaving room to see how much funding we get. We'd love to pull in another national-level act and we've left room for them in the bill. We have, however filled out the line-up with some local darlings, namely:

Abney Park performing @ Queen Bee's, San Diego, July '11

Vernian Process
Lee Presson and the Nails
Blue Rabbit
5 Cent Coffee
Hobo Gobbelins
Vagabondage











4. Tell us about the group behind this event, Swing Goth.

Gardner: Well, to be fair, it's both Swing Goth and The Steam Federation, but I can speak more to the history of Swing Goth. I guess it started in 1997—the 90's swing revival was in full tilt and I was over in Pittsburgh, PA. A bunch of goths and I who went to the swing clubs started swing dancing in the goth clubs; because, well, why not? Then, when I came over here and did the same thing, a bunch of people came up to me and said, "We want to do that! Will you teach us?" And thus Swing Goth was born...

It slowly evolved and by the time our 2nd Anniversary rolled around, I decided it was time to do a big show. We attracted several hundred people, so I figured maybe I should keep doing it. Our first big event was "The Bowie Ball". It was at Great American Music Hall, and technically it happened twice. You see, on the day we were supposed to launch, the city erupted in a huge pillar of flames. It took out the electricity on the whole block! But thankfully the venue rescheduled, so I put out a flyer with a picture of the fire and the caption, "Bowie Ball 1.5 - Putting out Flames with Gasoline!"

Then, I got the idea for "Wonderland: A Tim Burton Ball", and thus the collaboration with Abney Park was born. The show in San Francisco had 720 people, so we took it to New York, because, well, we could. Unfortunately the New York show happened on the night of the fifth worst snowstorm in New York history, but we still got 300 people and they all LOVED it. They've asked me to come back a number of times, but I can't risk the financial loss (hence this Kickstarter). Anyway, a bunch more events down the line (see the Kickstarter for a partial list and links to YouTube) and here we are, Steamstock!

An example of Swing Goth dancing featuring Gerard McMann's "Cry Little Sister" from The Lost Boys soundtrack

5. What has the reception been like so far from the Swing Goth supporters and community? 

Gardner: 150% positive! They love it.

6. What is your ultimate goal in putting on this event? 

Gardner: I'm hoping to start a non-profit focused on sponsoring and supporting social gatherings for all ages, focused around music and dance in the modern world. That's a heavy sentence. Let me break it down for you:

a. Too much of the partner dancing world is focused on the past. I want to bring partner dancing into today, and beyond that into the future. Dancing with a partner is a wonderful form of communication and reciprocity that isn't present anywhere else in our society.

b. I LOVE music and I think it provides an important aspect to people's lives. It saddens me that so many places are 18+ or 21+ because of alcohol laws. Music was a part of my childhood and I want to provide opportunities for it to be a part of others’.

c. Further regarding the all ages point, I think it's important to give people a place to hang out with those younger and older than them. We all have something to learn from each other, especially in a respectful environment.

7. What was the decision behind going with Kickstarter for the event? 

Gardner: We needed seed funding. Kickstarter provides seed funding. It's that simple.

8. This is the most localized Kickstarter project I've seen (and supported). Has this made it a challenge to get people to kick in? 

Gardner: Well, it helps that we have a very large, very supportive community. I think most Kickstarters are more local than people realize. A band's Kickstarter for funding an album? Some of those are national level bands, but for the most part it's local bands, which means it's a local Kickstarter campaign. (ed. note: an excellent point!) That said, we have a cause that is far-reaching and well beyond local. Our cause is to get people dancing with each other again. Also, the better we get this funded, the more national of a thing it will become. People come from all over the world for music festivals. Imagine if this becomes one of them... Imagine a weekend of Steampunk music and dancing. Maybe even a film festival and an art exhibition... and an exhibition of contraptions... and a bunch of Steampunked art cars... and installation pieces... and.... look, you've got me started.

That's the beauty of something that never was. As soon as you say it wasn't, you open the possibility to the idea that it might have been... and once you start thinking what might have been you slip into how it could be, and then suddenly your mind is full of possibilities. Imagine a crowd of thousands of people whose minds are full of possibilities! Now have them dancing with each other and socializing, children and adults all talking as equals, the children's enthusiasm inspiring the adults and the adults’ knowledge empowering the children!!!

We live in a time that needs that very much.

9. Ideally this won't happen, but what if you don't make your minimum Kickstarter goal?

Gardner: I don't live in a world of what might not be. It either:

a. is
b. isn't
or c. might be

10. Let's engage and rewind the way back machine a minute. For the uninitiated and the mildly curious, give the readers your thoughts on what exactly is Steampunk and why might they be interested in this event. 

Gardner: Steampunk is a subculture that defies definition.  That said, there are a few commonalities that tie the community together:

The first is use of a neo-Victorian, post-apocalyptic aesthetic. The visual look of a Steampunk tends to be an expression of that person’s personality or the character that person portrays. But that can span far flung reaches of fashion, both demure and risqué, functional and impractical, generally incorporating earth tones and metal accents.

The second is rise of the maker. Steampunks are makers and modders. We see the ugliness in the modern world and strive to make it beautiful using inspirations from the past and imaginations of alternate futures. Whether that is music, clothes, art, etc., a Steampunk looks at the world and sees what it could be, not what it is.

The third is the joy of imagination.  Steampunks are hope and history.  We look to the past and take the beautiful parts, adding them to our vision of what our world could have been. Then we make that world a reality around us, usually subtly, but sometimes all-immersively (like at Clockwork Alchemy).

And lastly, Steampunks are community-builders. The subculture is highly inclusive. If you hear the phrase, “You aren’t doing it right,” then you know you aren’t talking to a real Steampunk. There is no wrong way to be a Steampunk; there is only your way.

Though they include airship pirates, mad scientists, and other ne’er-do-wells, as a community, Steampunks tend to be respectful and kind. They are supporters of science, engineering, and the arts, with a great sense of fun and a taste for absinthe. A Steampunk event isn’t never complete without music and dancing. Fashion and music tie the greater Steampunk communities together across state and national boundaries.

A Steampunk music concert is a sight to behold and is unusual in that the entire audience is part of the show. Most members of the community are dressed in their Steampunk’d finest, dancing and singing along to the music. But no one should worry about not having Steampunk attire. Steampunks love introducing new people to the fashion, culture, and music, which constantly evolve as new minds contribute their ideas.

You can learn more about the Steampunk music community at Sepiachord or Behind The Steam.

11. Here's your chance to sell everyone on this event. Also, did I not ask you anything you want to include?

Gardner: The Steampunk community is full of creative people. When creative people get excited about something, amazing things are bound to happen. Even in the early planning stages, Steamstock has generated an incredible amount of, “hey, let’s make this really cool!” Steampunks constantly strive to create the best, most interesting of realities, and we’re confident that this event will be no exception.

The creativity that is being poured into this event can be evidenced in the variety of Kickstarter rewards we’re offering. Steampunks have been eager to contribute their creations that we can barely keep up with adding the rewards. We’re confident that the event itself will be an even greater outpouring of creativity, and we couldn’t be more excited to see how it develops.

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As of press time, the Steamstock Kickstarter had surpassed $2000 of its $3000 minimum goal with ten days to go. If you are in the Northern California area or are willing to travel to event, or perhaps even better, wish to be a patron of the arts, I encourage you to join myself and kick in to support the Steamstock project.

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