The
funds are being raised, the red tape has been torn, the stage is being
built, the line-up keeps growing... the music scene we all know and
love will break down the bar walls and electrify the masses on Friday,
July 25th and Saturday the 26th for Safe to Swim Weekend on the Danbury
Green.
[Dan Bishop]
STS is the
creation and outdoor celebration of Tony Yacobellis’ Sub Rosa Party, an
independent music showcase that has been bringing local, national and
international bands to Cousin Larry’s for almost three years. “Safe to
Swim” is Yacobellis’ respective badge; he offers Sub Rosa artists a
degree of hospitality lacking in many venues. Bands are guaranteed
payment, promotion and most importantly gratitude, and they always come
back to play again.
Inspiration
for STS is rooted in the Gasball, a music festival that rocked the
Green from 1994 to 2005. In the Gasball’s early days, music would
pulse through the wee hours, volunteers brimmed with energy and
sponsors were excited, but after a decade the resources were tapped,
the iconic hortonsphere on the horizon came down, a parking garage went
up and the Gasball came to its end.
Pictured on this page: Sarianna and Swell, Jinn Abide, Joe Roberto. All black and white photos were provided courtesy of MarqueePhoto.com
There
is much music to celebrate in these parts, and the opportunity to bring
it outside has presented itself once again. All ages venues such as
the Heirloom Arts Theatre and Billy Baloney’s have made music more
accessible, gears have shifted at City Center and Yacobellis has
recruited hundreds of great artists to the Sub Rosa army. After years
of scheming and a few months of super-concentrated organization, permit
wielding and chats with the Chief of Police, STS is just around the
corner, both on the street map and on the calendar.
“It’ll all be worth it in the end,” Yacobellis enthused. “The politic[al] end isn’t fun, but it all kind of goes with it.”
“I am very f-ing excited,” said Al Levesque, who will be racing around
town to take care of the sound for the STS second stage along with the
system at Cousin Larry’s for one half of the after-party, the other
half taking place down the road at The City Alehouse, where the
soundman has yet to be named. Levesque is swooning over the spec sheet
of ACE & Son, the sound company handling the main stage, and he
attests he will be using the crème de la crème of his own equipment for
the second stage.
“There are some killer acts,” Levesque continued, “I cannot believe the talent. This will be the Gas Ball on steroids.”
On
June 20th, Levesque, who works turntables as well as sound systems,
opened the second STS fundraiser as DJ al ok duh at the City Ale House
with a dynamic set of Sub Rosa artist tunes, featuring the likes of
G’nuFuz, Aloke, Outclassed, Kitty Little, A Voice Like Rhetoric, Chow
Nasty, the Gay Blades and Monotonix, all from his ever-growing vinyl
collection. Planeside, Morningside and The Way Up stirred the crowd
for the rest of the night, and the evening culminated into a
high-energy fundraising success.
The
first STS fundraiser took place at Cousin Larry’s on May 24th,
featuring Sean Spada on the keys with his sultry Morrissey-esque voice,
Joe Roberto’s hat-tossing foot-stomping country rock soul fusion, and
Crooked Looks’ quaking rib-shaking funky electronic rock. Drummer Pete
Powers was deemed the knight of the night when he won the $100 raffle
and placed it directly back into Yacobellis’ hand and the STS fund.
Powers
accompanied Yacobellis at Larry’s for a Sneakthief reunion on June 28
for a tempestuous third fundraiser, sharing the bill with Millsted, One
Frequency, Workforce and Rahlo. The fourth and final STS fundraiser
will take place at Brooklyn’s Trash Bar on Saturday, July 12 with
Sarianna and the Swell, Willpilot, Crooked Looks, Chewing Pics, Idiot
and Shoot the Messenger, who is reuniting just for STS. All of the
bands are performing for free, and Trash Bar was kind enough to lower
the overhead for the night of the 12th, allowing for more revenue to
end up with the festival.
“A lot of the bands that play at Larry’s also play at Trash Bar,” said Yacobellis. “Usually one venue precedes the other.”
Trash Bar, located in Williamsburg at 256 Grand Street, is one of the
generous sponsors of STS. Other sponsors are City Center Danbury,
Cousin Larry’s, Sub Rosa Party, City Ale House, Performer Magazine, and
Plaid. 91.7 WXCI is the sponsor of the main stage, and your very own
Hat City Entertainment is underwriting the second stage.
The
second stage is being built by Jim and Joe Roberto, whose craftsmanship
can be viewed at Cousin Larry’s. The brothers recently transformed the
Larry’s stage from an elevated chessboard to a homey blacktop you might
find just outside the neighborhood playground. The HCE stage will don
the yellow and orange STS colors and face opposite the main stage,
providing an opportunity for continuous music throughout the weekend.
Remember
that you support STS every time you attend a Sub Rosa show, and you can
always drop a dollar or two in the Sub Rosa gumball machine at Larry’s
or donate online to the STS fund through MySpace.com/SafetoSwim. We
all know free events are actually quite expensive.
So
be sure to take the last weekend of July off from work and invite
everyone you can think of to this amazing outdoor free music
extravaganza. Bring Grandma, bring your younger siblings, bring your
dentist! It’s time to get proud and bring the underground heartbeat of
Danbury onto the Green, into the open air and back into the community.
“...the
music scene so many of us have grown to know and love will break down
the bar walls and electrify the masses on Friday, July 25th and
Saturday the 26th for Safe to Swim Weekend on the Danbury Green.”
