head medicine: Reflections of Austin Psych Fest 2013: Part One

Welcome to part one of HEAD MEDICINE's long overdue/months in the making Austin Psych Fest 2013 review. In addition to our comprehensive overview of this years festivities, we have compiled testimonials from a number of bands who performed that weekend, provided links to the music of those on the bill, and have shared a collection of fantastic photos by Tom Gilmore at Foundwaves.

Part Two of Reflections of Austin Psych Fest 2013 includes exclusive interviews with three important APF figures: Christian Bland, guitarist for the Black Angels and Psych Fest co-founder, discusses the past, present, and future of Austin Psych Fest... Oswald James, co-curator and head filmographer, gives his insight to the festival from behind the camera lens... and an intriguing interview with psychedelic San Francisco dj Al Lover, the man anonymously behind all of the utterly fucking amazing between band muzak that strung a thread throughout the weekend's festivities.

do not miss out. follow HEAD MEDICINE on Fakebook for any further updates. thank you for stopping by, i hope you enjoy it all.

~kojak

REFLECTIONS OF AUSTIN PSYCH FEST

Carson Creek Ranch, Austin, Texas

April 26-28, 2013

Since its inception in 2008, the Austin Psych Fest has earned its reputation as one of the most extraordinary music festivals in the world. It was originally conceived by members of The Black Angels as a more specialized psychedelic counterpoint to the corporate behemoth South By Southwest and has grown into the premier destination for consciousness-expanding musical astronauts and fans alike. This past April was the festival's breakthrough year with nearly 70 bands from every corner of the globe producing an astonishing variety of sounds across three stages. The festival found a new home in 2013 and for the foreseeable future at the Carson Creek Ranch, 58-acres of nature overlooking the Colorado River mere minutes from downtown Austin. While not as well-known as other major music festivals in the United States, Austin Psych Fest is easily the most interesting and should be on every music lover's radar.

Organized and curated by The Reverberation Appreciation Society, a group consisting of The Black Angels' Christian Bland and Alex Maas with Rob Fitzpatrick and Oswald James, Psych Fest aims to bring in only the finest musicians in the broad world of psych music. There are bands delivering tranced out hypnotic rhythms, blistering garage rock, waves of dreamy psychedelic pop, heavy art-metal, and tripped out electronica to name just a few styles. The roster is filled with new emerging talent, established international acts, and towering legends. The Reverberation Appreciation Society casts a global net in their search for these innovative bands; in addition to finding the best American and European acts, groups from as far as Mali, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Sweden and Iceland among others are invited. As a result, the Austin Psych Fest has placed itself at the center point for a new global world music movement, where styles and genres are blurred and blended together, and creative, cultural, and geographic boundaries are wiped away.

One of the first things i noticed and felt about Psych Fest 2013, its sixth year and my first in attendance, was the aura around the place. It was just beautiful, like stepping into some fresh version of the utopian 60's. Everything in our society that causes heartache or anxiety or keeps us all divided and fighting was left outside the entrance gate. All of this was by design, courtesy of the Reverberation Appreciation Society. Unlike most festivals, every detail of the Austin Psych Fest was planned to allow the attendees to have the very best experience possible rather than feeding some capitalistic cash grab. The decisions to keep prices on admission, parking, merchandise, food, and drinks fair and reasonable obviously cut deep into the organizers' profits. I hope it was, for the most part, a worthy sacrifice. I can guarantee everyone in attendance was appreciative. Free water refilling stations were offered as a goodwill gesture where most concert organizers pilfer their audience of every last drop in their bank account by charging six bucks per bottle. When attempting to put on a great show, keeping the crowd hydrated goes a long way to achieve that goal. Another thing worth mentioning: the food and drinks. Usually festival-goers have to grudgingly force down a depressing, withered corn dog or a pile of stale tortilla chips with a mound of Sam's Club nacho cheese sauce splattered on top while chugging down a plastic cup of flat beer water. At Austin Psych Fest, it was nothing but top quality eats from Austin's finest local food trucks. Frank's legendary hot dogs. Gordough's decadent Big. Fat. Donuts. Authentic Spanish dishes from Tapas Bravas. greek food. vegan food. Whole Foods. You get the point. All of it was lovingly made, and priced very reasonably, as were the refreshments provided by Dos Equis and Austin's own Tito's Handmade Vodka. By the way, my mixed vodka drink was crazy stiff. No watered down shit here, folks. The Carson Creek site itself offered a perfect setting for the festivities. There was plenty of room to wander with several areas set up for chilling and relaxing, and with the site so close to the Austin airport, the stream of airliners buzzing overhead never got old. It was a perfect balance of man and nature. And the people in the audience... everyone was just great. Nothing but smiles all around, and everyone radiated from their own unique personality. There was also a notable international presence in the crowd, with a fascinating web of various languages buzzing in all directions.

With all of those amenities in place, the Carson Creek Ranch location itself, and everyone in attendance ready to have a great time, the festival really couldn't fail. The music and the performances were the candy on top. There were so many fantastic performances over those three days, it would be too difficult to recount them all, but there are a few that stand out amongst the others... The Lumerians on Friday evening in the Levitation Tent, playing what i can only describe as a massive tuning fork tone that i could physically feel passing through me, reverberating through the cells in my bone marrow. With a bit of, um, chemical augmentation, from that moment on my psychic tether was stretched out to it's full length and i was ready to soak up every sight, sound, smell, and vibration for the entire weekend... Tinariwen, a legendary group of Malian Tuareg nomads, bringing their unique style of traditional African rhythms to the stage. Moments after beginning their set, the grey, lifeless sky broke open and the sun shone down on the crowd. The Nature Gods were certainly smiling... An epic moonrise over the Colorado River, it's reflection shimmering on the river's surface during Om's performance.... Black Rebel Motorcycle Club turning in arguably the most kick ass performance of the festival... the cough medicine-soaked club beats of Young Magic to start Saturday afternoon off right... the beautiful, mystical rainfall during Black Mountain's set... eventually the rain turned into a torrential downpour, forcing everyone to seek refuge in the Levitation Tent just as Man or Astroman? began to tear through their full blast space surf rock performance, complete with a flaming theramin. The crowd went absolutely fucking bananas... the jaw-dropping one-two punch of The Dead Skeletons and Goat to close out Sunday night at the Elevation Amphitheatre... and the Moving Sidewalks, elder statesmen of the historical Austin psychedelic scene from the mid-60's with Billy Gibbons in his pre-ZZ Top days, reformed after nearly 45 years... It was an astonishing weekend, to say the very least. My mind still reels thinking about it.

It will be interesting to see how the festival blooms to its full potential over the coming years. As damn near perfect as it was in 2013, it's almost crazy to think there is still room for the Psych Fest to grow and evolve. i hope the Reverberation Appreciation Society is able to continue walking that fine line of finding capitalistic success while offering a fresh and non-intrusive environment where the attendees can enjoy themselves to the fullest. It's a delicate balance. Either way, I will be there, eagerly stretching out to the edge of consciousness, soaking in the sights, sounds, and vibrations with a bunch of like minded souls from around the world. Sounds like fun.

note: The date has been set for Austin Psych Fest 7: May 2-4, 2014 at the Carson Creek Ranch and weekend passes are already for sale. the first round of bands on the line up will be announced in the fall. there is on site camping as well as discounts at area lodgings. all the info you will need is HERE. see ya there

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HEAD MEDICINE'S top 12 APF recommendations

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HEAD MEDICINE asked the bands who played that weekend,

"What were your strongest memories about Austin Psych Fest 2013?"

"Years and years of waiting, i don't think there's a festival that we've all genuinely wanted to play at for so long, yet it was always impossible because we were always either in the studio recording or touring on the other side of the world somewhere. It was kind of nerve racking to keep missing the window like that, but then this year i guess we finally found the right key that fit in the lock. And now my memory of Psych Fest is simply that we finally fit, we had the right grooves for what was needed, and we opened the door for everyone else to join us on the other side. I'm afraid that Psych Fest is a necessary evil in times like these.

It's also the only festival that i would allow mother to take drugs at."

- Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

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"i think we all were happy with the show and how it went. we had a good sound, and we felt a good vibe from the audience. it was a beautiful location, with the river to your back. and it was beautiful to see the Dead Skeletons there before us. it was great to play there, we had a very nice show."

- Goat

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"psych fest was the original , though much copied , and is STILL the most enjoyable festival to play , hang & watch bands in beautiful stage settings -including one on a river bank , eagles soaring overhead."

- SONIC BOOM 2011 & 2013

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"i was really glad to see Simeon of Silver Apples again.
i met him in LA on spring 2009 for recording of our collaboration.
in this time, i could see Silver Apples again @ Austin Psych Fest,
and he joined with us for our encore!
it was really great happening for me! also for the audience too."

- Makoto Kawabata of Acid Mothers Temple

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"Every year I attend/perform at APF I always come down with my wife and kids. I find the community/camaraderie of the festival a perfect way to introduce my kids to good music. While it's a great learning experience for them, having them there means I don't actually get to see that many bands... So, I guess my best memory of this year was seeing my daughter and son running around the whole festival freaking out over the mirror maze, swings and trippy projections."

- Rishi Dhir of Elephant Stone

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"Strongest memory?

Waking up on an ant hill
 In the rain
 Wearing a dress 
With a mystery tattoo" 

-Tarek of the Night Beats

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"We were honored to have played the "Apocalypse Now" Stage at Austin Psych Fest 2013. We hope to be back for it every year, regardless if we play or not."

- Tjutjuna

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"Even though it's getting bigger by the year, you still see so many amazing musicians walking around the fest. Sonic Boom tried to buy a record from me last year! I just gave it to him because he's fucking Sonic Boom!"

-Dustin of Holy Wave

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"Strongest memories from Austin Psych Fest...

Showing up a day early and building the Moon Block Party geodesic dome in the campgrounds until 6am and then meeting all the characters it would attract all weekend, like Joey Hot Sauce... and Clinic, who did a photo shoot in the dome. Playing in front of the river on Saturday afternoon was unforgettable - my friend Andrew, the drummer of JJUUJJUU had a last minute emergency and couldn't make the festival. Like a serious emergency. So, my friend Julian from the band, Mystic Braves, who doesn't even play drums for that band, filled in and killed it! That and camping out with the Moon Block crew at the ranch was fucking awesome. Oh, that and Clinic's set. They were my highlight."

- Phil Pirrone of JJUUJJUU

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"strongest memory from Austin Psych Fest?

answer: TINARIWEN."

- Wall of Death

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Amazing visuals, amazing bands, huge party vibe. It was one of the funnest, well organized festivals with an amazing lineup.

- Suuns

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"Wow! Where to start? Let me just start by saying Austin Psych- Fest was just an incredible and positive experience for us as a band. There is such a community spirit that flows through the festival. It was really amazing all round. We got to hangout with our friends and made a ton of new ones. I guess the high light for me was getting to hang with Pete Kember. I mean I almost had another fan-boy moment, but I think I kept my cool. I could barely contain myself when we got an email from him when he mastered our song for Sonic Cathedral’s - Psych For Sore Eyes 7” compilation. Well I guess the cat is out of the bag for that one. Spectrum was amazing and that is about as close as you get to actually seeing Spacemen 3. Huge highlight! We also got to meet the Acid Mother guys and got to see them jam with The Silver Apples! Where else you gonna see something of that caliber? I could go on and on, but those are the two that stick out in my head."

- Brian Miles of Ttotals

"A big moment for me was when this fan from England came up to our merch table. He bought one of our earlier releases, a "10 called Silver on Black, and wanted us to sign it. I asked him if he wanted to get the new Twin Lakes "7 and he said he'd already ordered it two days before flying to Austin. As he was walking away, I asked Michael(who runs Twin Lakes) if he'd gotten an order from England. He said, "yeah, like two days ago. I'm gonna ship it when I get home," so we grabbed a copy of the record and ran after him. As we gave him the record I realized I had just made a transcontinental delivery by running across a dusty Texas field. That's the magic of Psych Fest."

-Marty Linville of Ttotals

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My strongest memories from Austin Psych Fest are... The bands, they were so inspiring, and we learn't so much from watching them. That festival is by far the greatest in the world from my point of view. It isn't just a normal festival, it has feeling, soul and love entwined within it's creation. When leaving the festival to go on tour was sad because it's a moment you never want to end. Everybody comes together, everybody was enchanted by the music, that's a special thing man!

Stay well,

-Ant of Ride Into the Sun

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Austin Psych Fest 2013 photography courtesy of Tom Gilmore @ Foundwaves

please visit Foundwaves for even more of Tom's great APF photos