This past weekend Kevin and I hit up PJ20 at Alpine Valley. The festival was fantastic. It was so great to see a band that has accomplished so much celebrate their 20th Birthday with dedicated fans and close friends. If you listened and watched closely you could tell that the backstage was a scene.
Taken from Eddie's Ukulele Tour -
There wasn’t one set I caught that didn’t involve some other band member getting on stage and sharing music of another bands catalogue. Members of Pearl Jam make appearances throughout the day in other bands sets and throughout both nights Pearl Jam had guests up and down all night. Witnessing Eddie sing with Glen Hansard again was amazing. My favorite part was seeing dozens of performers join Pearl Jam for “Rockin In the Free World” at the end of the night. The energy was so positive and it is a night I will never forget.
The experience was a very pleasant reminder about the power of collaboration and community within different scenes. It was great to feel it on such a big level and witness some bands I had already been a fan of get to experience such a special night with a much bigger and more accomplished band like Pearl Jam. If seeing Pearl Jam play for 3 hours two nights consecutively wasn’t enough, they sure made it a special occasion! As much as it was about them, it was about sharing music and doing what they love and being grateful for that.
Naturally it got me thinking about all of the friends we have made over the years since we started performing. Some of the best friends I have made in my life have been from the sharing music and putting on shows together.
Seeing 30 musicians jumping around on stage together reminded me so much of the Chicago Noise Machine and how much fun we used to have making appearances on stage with each other. Looking back at that now I am very happy we all took the time to work together and invite each other on stage. Thankfully a lot of those friendships and collaborations/guest appearances have extended past that organization and even after most of those bands dissolved and even more than that.. the I AM Fest continues as a staple for Chicago Independent music as well and so it goes...
I guess what I am trying to say is that I am very grateful today that I have been able to play music and meet so many great people in the process. I just wanted to take a minute and honour that.
This weekend Vincent and I will be performing acoustic (sans Kevin) at the Double Door with one of those great people from our friends in a Bullet Called Life. Last week when I was asked if we would like to do an acoustic show and knew Kevin couldn't perform I thought I should ask Aaron if he wanted to join us. Aaron will be playing some guitar and singing with us. He is just a lovely human and he is a hell of a musician... one of those many great people.
Thanks for reading.
Stephen Francis
Taken from Eddie's Ukulele Tour -
There wasn’t one set I caught that didn’t involve some other band member getting on stage and sharing music of another bands catalogue. Members of Pearl Jam make appearances throughout the day in other bands sets and throughout both nights Pearl Jam had guests up and down all night. Witnessing Eddie sing with Glen Hansard again was amazing. My favorite part was seeing dozens of performers join Pearl Jam for “Rockin In the Free World” at the end of the night. The energy was so positive and it is a night I will never forget.
The experience was a very pleasant reminder about the power of collaboration and community within different scenes. It was great to feel it on such a big level and witness some bands I had already been a fan of get to experience such a special night with a much bigger and more accomplished band like Pearl Jam. If seeing Pearl Jam play for 3 hours two nights consecutively wasn’t enough, they sure made it a special occasion! As much as it was about them, it was about sharing music and doing what they love and being grateful for that.
Naturally it got me thinking about all of the friends we have made over the years since we started performing. Some of the best friends I have made in my life have been from the sharing music and putting on shows together.
Seeing 30 musicians jumping around on stage together reminded me so much of the Chicago Noise Machine and how much fun we used to have making appearances on stage with each other. Looking back at that now I am very happy we all took the time to work together and invite each other on stage. Thankfully a lot of those friendships and collaborations/guest appearances have extended past that organization and even after most of those bands dissolved and even more than that.. the I AM Fest continues as a staple for Chicago Independent music as well and so it goes...
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| I AM Fest 2009 - Chicago Noise Machine and Friends |
I guess what I am trying to say is that I am very grateful today that I have been able to play music and meet so many great people in the process. I just wanted to take a minute and honour that.
This weekend Vincent and I will be performing acoustic (sans Kevin) at the Double Door with one of those great people from our friends in a Bullet Called Life. Last week when I was asked if we would like to do an acoustic show and knew Kevin couldn't perform I thought I should ask Aaron if he wanted to join us. Aaron will be playing some guitar and singing with us. He is just a lovely human and he is a hell of a musician... one of those many great people.
Thanks for reading.
Stephen Francis
