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What Happened???
When SSHH first came to Tune Town three years ago, there was complaints about a "Pot Festival" happening in in NW Pa. Local residents armed with ignorance didn't want hippies in their neighborhood. We had a turnout from 17 states, only a handful of Pennsylvanians attended, local residents boycotted the show. We had fun with out incident.
The second year the show got bigger less states, more people, still no locals
attended.
Excuses included that they did not know the bands. There are a 100,000
bands playing in this country on any given week. If you want to hear local bands,
go to your local bar, if you want to hear the brightest and best bands on the east
coast come to Tune Town. Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they
are not good. I see hundreds of bands each year, only the best get to play my shows.
If you are waiting to see the Rolling Stones or the Eagles at Tune Town plan on shelling
out $200 a ticket and plan on waiting a long time, because they don't play for a
crowd of 500.
This year was entirely different. Locals who didn't come out when we charged
$22 and $30 came out just to let us know that $45 was too much money. Well, all the
other festivals are charging $60-$120 per weekend and they don't have free parking,
free camping or free firewood. Tune Town is still the best value in entertainment.
That is why most of our crowd this year drove in from central Pa., Ohio and New Jersey...
Someone
pointed out that those other shows advertise three stages and 50 bands. Do you really
get anymore? In order to get that many bands across a stage they cut sets to 30 or
40 minutes and half the time you get to see set up and tear downs. Multiple Stages?
How many stages can you watch at once? At SSHH and any other quality show you get
90+ minute sets from every band.
An over view of the 2001 Summer Solstice
Hemp Happening:
On Friday night around 10pm, I looked out at a sea of festival
goers. I estimated the crowd to be around 250 or so. When I checked the gate receipts
I discovered less than 120 had paid to get in, the rest were gate crashers. A sweep
checking wrist bands proved my suspicions as around 150 were ejected for not having
wrist bands. These gate crashers were all local teenagers, most of which claimed
their parents had dropped them off. I was informed it was tradition for the local
teens to sneak in and that there was nothing I could do about it. Home turf rules
and all.
On Saturday we had another nice day, as the evening progressed, the crowd swelled above 300, unfortunately only 22 additional people paid to get in. The teenagers assaulted the grounds like ants at a picnic. At 9pm we ran out of money to pay the bands and they refused to play for a crowd who was unwilling to pay to see them and I don't blame them. We announced that the show was being shut down and played CD's for the remainder of the evening. By midnight we had over 400 in attendance. Around 2am when the bars closed we had a 100 or more show up. I stopped one group of three very drunk individuals who were loading firewood in the back of a pick-up truck. They responded that it was free firewood. I explained it was free firewood for those who paid to get in and since they had no wrist bands they were not entitled to any wood. Around 20 minutes later the wood pile was doused with gasoline and set on fire. According to witnesses by the same trio of men who were stealing firewood. At 4am picnic tables were set on fire. I announced that the police were being called in to deal with the situation some 200 fled into the familiar woods.
On sunday morning it was reported that several ice chests containing beer had disappeared during the night, also missing one purse and a coat. Various acts of vandalism were also reported. Now I know that you are sure that your kids would never participate in such activities. Well I can tell you for sure that if your kids came out to or were dropped off at Tune Town they did not pay to get in. I am sure of this because not a single person walked in through the front gate, all that paid arrived in cars. Tune Town and SSHH Freedom Festivals has been striving to provide adult entertainment in a family atmosphere for several years now. If we wanted a house full of teenagers we would be featuring Rap and Techno music. The sad truth is that if everyone who came to Tune Town last weekend had paid, the show would have gone on, and I would have broken even instead of losing $8000. I have been hearing a lot of talk about representing your best, if the people who came out last weekend represent the best of the local citizens, then we don't don't want you...
Your brats said there is nothing we can do to stop them, well they are wrong...
The
following rules will be put in effect at the next SSHH festival (July 27 + 28)
All
SSHH shows will be 18 and over unless accompanied by a parent.
Anyone caught without
a wrist band, will not be ejected, but detained and turned over to the police, charged
with trespass and theft of services.
Any one seen dropping off people near the
venue with be charged with aiding in the commission of above crimes.
Gates will
be locked at 11pm * No late comers at any price
Cars parked on nearby back roads
will be towed.
In conclusion;Tune Town is has of the finest stages and venues in the N.E.
United States. The locals don't support the venue, and don't know what they are missing.
Tune Town is not a Day care Center. I am not a babysitter, if you send your kids
out to Tune Town, have bail money ready, because we are fighting back.
If you
dropped off your kid on June 15 or 16th you owe me $45
Send Payments to
SSHH
Freedom Festivals
Box 214
Julian Pa 16844
Signed one pissed off Promoter
John Galt jr.