What originally attracted you to Summer Camp specifically, and music or festivals in general? C: I’ve always been a lover of live music. Undeniably, I was dragged to my first concert: Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken (he at least song some Prince songs). I was an indie-punker-reggae-rocker-funkadeeliac, a genre dabbler and scene scamper. To this day, I can say that my passion for music is the only thing that has stayed constant in my life. It soothes the soul and creates common ground, community if you will. It is a social glue and I’m grateful for that. I have met some of the most amazing people through live music and festivals. My first Summer Camp was the best music festival I’ve ever been to and I hope that there’s never a reason I can’t come back. S: Back in 2004, my friends and classmates were all gearing up for our senior prom. For some reason, renting a tux, paying for a limo, going to a chain restaurant, smuggling gin and juice into the gym and dancing to music I hated just wasn’t appealing. I managed to convince three friends to ditch the lame scene and head to our first Summer Camp instead. The prospect of four nights of camping, playing frisbee, and rocking out to bands like Umphrey’s and moe. was too good to pass up. Needless to say, we were all in for a surprise when a tornado ripped through the area and forced the park to evacuate. Despite the inclement weather, we returned for a mud-soaked final day. Our lives were changed forever that weekend, and festivals would become an integral part of mine and my crew’s life moving forward. So much so that I met my now wife a few years later at Rothbury. Which five artists are you most excited to see at Summer Camp 2017, and why? C: White Denim-a little rock ‘n roll & blues, what more could you ask for? and they have really creative music videos. Lil Smokies- Their pretty little pickin’s get me dancin’ and honestly, *swoon*. Family Groove-always get the crowd moving! A Scamp favorite. I was lucky enough to hear cover Young MC’s “Bust a Move,” which is hilarious and weird to dance to. Run the Jewels: El P and Mike are straight to the point. Their dark honesty is going to get some Scampers get thinkin’. RxRxE–’nuff said. S: 1. The Claypool Lennon Delirium – Sadly, we missed them by a few hours when traveling in Portland, so we need to finally catch these guys! 2- Pretty Lights Live – Not gonna lie, I always rag on the EDM scene, but Derek puts on a hell of a show, especially with a live band. 3 – TAB – I’m a Phish kid, of course I’m gonna nerd out about Trey! 4 – tDB – My hat is always sideways! Also never seen them play at SCamp. 5 – UM – Yes these will be #s 109-111 for me, but a rawk show never gets old \mm/ Why would you make an ideal Summer Camp Counselor? C: My experience having been to a lot of different kinds of festivals and musical events has given me a well-rounded view of a variety in musical genres and people. Music is the most precious glue (the glittery Elmer’s glue that you *hopefully* used in the 90’s) that brings us together. Music is like food: we want it, need it, are comforted by it in times of trouble and nourished best by it when it’s diverse. Ani DiFranco was my heroine on stage last summer. Her set didn’t have the hugest audience, but she certainly made an impact on the people who were there to support her. As an activist for women’s rights, she uses her art to leverage herself a platform in an industry compiled of mostly men, to effectively and powerfully communicate about things that matter most of her (not mentioning that she’s an amazing musician and writer). I want to embody Ani DiFranco as a strong female, to act as a cog in the music industry wheel, a positive leader working to encourage people to be stand up human beings to one another and the world around us. I already adore Summer Camp’s fabulous lineup, vendors, beautiful people, and warm sunshine (sometimes pouring rain), but Summer Camp’s effort in creating community within the festival scene is the icing on top of the cupcake! There is a drive in Summer Camp through art, sustainability, yoga, gardening, partnering with nonprofits, exposing the importance of voter registration, the food drive for conscious alliance Art That Feeds posters…. I could go on but you all already know how amazing Summer Camp is. I want to be involved in something I’m so passionate about and I’m ready to join a team of other S’Camp Counselors who feel just as inspired by the music and the community created every Memorial Day weekend. S: Ever since high school, I’ve been the one to wrangle friends up and get everyone to festivals. It’s like herding cats, but someone’s gotta do it! I’m that guy hanging up posters at the local coffee shops, hitting the pavement before and after shows with flyers, sending out Facebook event notices, and harping on everyone to buy their tickets or sign up to volunteer. Live music is my life, and it has been for quite some time. Some people dream about vacationing on a private island. My paradise is a festival with all my friends. These days, going to festies is even more special. That’s because I moved to China many years ago and have continued to live abroad – in Indonesia and now Mexico. Every summer, we return to the motherland to dance and let loose for a weekend or two. Being in a crowd of like-minded, peaceful people always refreshes my mind, body, and spirit, and sends me back out in the world ready to continue on this journey we call life. There’s nothing like a music festival, and I’m happy to use my vacation days and fly thousands of miles to get to them. Since moving abroad, I’ve moved my work online. I currently run a handful of blogs for a major language company, producing articles, videos, and managing social media pages with audiences of 100,000+. In addition, my wife and I started our own website – Grateful Gypsies – to share tips and information about living abroad, traveling extensively, and of course – live music. You can even read about our experience working at SCamp last year, as well as our time volunteering in Bali at the Spirit Festival. Through our site, we aim to inspire and encourage people to step out of their comfort zones, take a chance, and live a life of adventure and purpose. You can also see a review I wrote of Lockn’ for our friends at Festy Go Nuts last year. It would be an honor to represent the festival as a camp counselor and share the beauty and joy that is SCamp with our audience. What elements of Summer Camp, festival culture, and the music scene would you focus on covering as a Summer Camp Counselor? C: Three Sisters Park is an amazing space and we should take care of it like it’s the most pristine of landscapes! We should try to get all S’Campers to practice gratitude from the ground up, day 1: starting with the… wait for it, PARKING LOT! I am always astounded by the amount of trash that is on the ground at Scamp at the very beginning of the weekend. Our Green Team is amazing and so are all S’Campers, and I believe that we can set the intention for the weekend as soon as it starts! If there was a way we could get the Green Team or Soulshine Team to rev up the S’Campers with an incentive like rewarding the person who picks up the most trash/recyclable in an hour a ticket to a late night set, or a line jump, I think people would be way willing to help out. I wish for an easy way to get people excited about being grateful for the space and picking up after themselves as grown adults, but know it’s not always that easy. We should pack out what we pack in every step of the magical our Summer Camp adventure! S: After returning to Summer Camp last year, I remembered why I fell in love with the festival in the first place. This happened immediately, as we were welcomed in as volunteers and allowed to check in well before the massive crowd. We got a prime spot in the woods and were surrounded by fellow volunteers. Over the weekend, we worked alongside tons of amazing people and made more new friends than we could count. Back at the campsite, the camaraderie continued – everyone looks out for each other here. Need some duct tape? It’s cool, we’ve got some. You look a little sunburnt – use some of our aloe. Want a beer? The cooler’s over there. Everyone is family here, and that’s something that’s harder and harder to find in this day in age. I would love to cover the volunteer program and write more extensively/possibly make a video about the experience. People who think music festivals are too expensive and write them off as impossible need to realize what an incredible experience they can have working as part of the festival. In addition, I’d love to cover the campsite element – setting up, making friends, and living in your new awesome community for a weekend. The time spent at the campsite is always half the fun of a festival, but it’s overlooked in reviews and blog posts in favor of just covering the big acts. Let’s shine some light on just how wonderful the whole mini-city is and all the fabulous people who inhabit it! Through years of dedication to this festival and the scene in general, my extensive knowledge of producing knockout online content, and my passion for live music – you can count on me to deliver as a camp counselor. Summer Camp started me down this path, and it would be a lifetime achievement for me to represent the festival that changed everything for me. ]]>
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