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All Tomorrow's Parties, USA
January 22, 2001

British promoter Barry Hogan and Sonic Youth give american underground-music fans a chance to attend All Tomorrow's Parties by Jason Pettigrew (Alternative Press)

In 1999, Britsh Promoter Barry Hogan put together the Bowlie Weekender, a three-day festival of underground-rock bands located at a holiday camp in Camber Sands, England...

The event was rechristened All Tomorrow's Parties last year, when Hogan and magnamious Glasweginans Mogwai enlisted the services of Sonic Youth, Shellac, and Stereolab to the Camber Sands Program. Forward-thinking Chicago problem with the facility, the festival was pushed ahead, conflicting with the band's schedule. Hogan asked the band for their input booking the Camber Sands 2001 event, which takes place April 6-8.

"Barry made the proposal to us around a year ago," says Tortoise's John McEntire. "We had known him about five or six years and wer were around when he was putting together last year's program. We're co-currating with him because there are certain things we have to bear in mind with regrets to budgets. " At presstime, Hogan & Tortoise had recived confirmations from the Ex, Sun Ra Arkestra, Calexico, The Sea and Cake, Cannibal Ox, Femi Kuti, electronica auteurs Boards of Canada and Salvath & Savalas, as well as a reunion of legendary art-punks Television.

Hogan is now taking his concept to America where he and co-curators Sonic Youth will be overseeing the first U.S. ATP event, to be held in California's UCLA campus mid- October.

"The idea of these festivals is about the music and general vibe," says Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo. "I tend to think there's more open-mindedness here in America to support an event like this. We're going to choose stuff that we think is interesting and put it out there."

At presstime, the dates and line-up for the L.A. event have yet to be confirmed (you can safely ascertain that Korn and Third Eye Blind won't be booked), but there's an optimistic feeling that an event of this maginitude could galvanize and inspire underground music fans, past and present.

"Well, it's always possible," opines Ranaldo. "You might get 7,000 diehard believers and not convinced anybody, or you might get a bunch of people to take a chance and end up having them going back to their Britney Spears records or throwing them away."

Sonicblast @ SLSY Forum

Jani

Sonic Youth, initially comprising of guitarist / vocalists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, guitarist / bassist / vocalist Kim Gordon and drummer Richard Edson, were formed in New York City in 1981. A product of the No-Wave music scene of the late 1970s, the group had their roots in abrasive, experimental music, with Moore and Ranaldo having previously worked with the experimental composer Glenn Branca. The band were joined in 1985 by drummer Steve Shelley, and have now recorded 14 albums together, as well as many side and solo projects. Their work has been consistently challenging and innovative, and they are widely regarded as one of the most intriguing and influential bands of their time.