In its 2nd
year, The Friki Fest was held at the Rialto Theater in the heart of Tucson’s
historic downtown, included Scooters, Skate Ramps, Belly dancers, Fire Spinning
dancers and some of the most amazing and most fitting bands that played both on
the inside and out door stages.
In my ventures of
this event I had the opportunity to interview and get to know a few of the
artists, sit and talk to one of the merchants and enjoy all that was going on
around me. One of the artists that I
had an opportunity to sit down and talk with, Vicky & The Vengents,
California locals with a sound closely related to that of the Ramones as their
followers have told them. Before Vicky joined the band it was Matt and Vinnie
as the Vengents, then Vicky came along shortly after and the name changed, as
Vicky is the only female in the band and the lead voice having her name in the
band name made the name stand out.
Ruben, the drummer and new to the band has only played 2 shows, the
Friki Fest being his 2nd.
Vicky & The
Vengents did a small West Coast mini tour last year covering just a few
states. Matt plays the guitar and sings
back up along with Vicky, lead vocalist, writes the songs for the band, Vinnie,
the bass player and a very down to earth individual and to his band mates
always takes his playing and the music be played from an 8 to a 10 as he is
considered the back bone of the band.
Vicky and The Vengents have mastered a CD, called Cry Now/Smile Later,
recorded last Wednesday, September 17, 2011 to be out November 5, 2011,
available online for purchase and shortly after will also be available in
stores
Tucson Zombie
Walk, LLC (non profit organization that raises funds and collects
non-perishable food items for the Southern Arizona Community Bank that feeds
nearly 250,000 people), also a vendor at the Friki Fest and important part of
the Zombie Walk that takes place in October started 6 years ago when Natalia
Lopez was doing a search on Zombie Walks and came across a zombie walk forum,
Natalia asked the forum if there was such an organization in Tucson, the forum
responded with “No, would you like one?” and that was the beginning to Tucson
Zombie walk.
The first year
was a zombie prom. By the second year a
bunch of zombies gathered in the parking lot of the Rialto where they had a
costume contest and in that contest were several categories, and donations were made to give the winners as prizes. By the 3rd year Natalia was left
to handle the Zombie walk on her own and so like any new business she started
looking for people to help out. One
individual (Rosie Zwaduk) in particular responded with her resume, she
mentioned she had no experience with zombies but had the experience with
coordination and expressed her enthusiasm on wanting to be apart for this new
venture and has continued to help even up till now.
Natalia Lopez,
Rosie Zwaduk, Patrick Reed are on the board of directors for Zombie Walk, LLC
as are others, their jobs do not consist of one primary function and all
functions tend to overlap one another.
Zombie Walk, LLC is more than just a walk, there is merchandise
available (buttons, stickers, t-shirts, etc…) for purchase too by Tucson Zombie
Walk, LLCs’ own Natalia Lopez.
Zombie Walk is a
flash mob with a purpose, there is a set path the zombies follow and at the end
of the walk a performance by Mission Creeps takes place.
Misson Creeps
have been together since 2006 and consist of James Arrr - Vocals, Guitar, and
Theremin
Miss Frankie Stein – Bass and Rikki Styxx – Drums. James and Frankie are also husband and wife and the minds behind The Friki Fest, Frankie was the one that coordinated most of the bands for this event. Mission Creeps have toured the entire US once, the west coast twice and do one offs from time to time in California. The name Mission Creeps is derived from a Military Term, mission creep that means a mission headed for disaster, as James put it, “I always wanted a band named Mission Creeps and all my past bands were heading for disaster.”
Miss Frankie Stein – Bass and Rikki Styxx – Drums. James and Frankie are also husband and wife and the minds behind The Friki Fest, Frankie was the one that coordinated most of the bands for this event. Mission Creeps have toured the entire US once, the west coast twice and do one offs from time to time in California. The name Mission Creeps is derived from a Military Term, mission creep that means a mission headed for disaster, as James put it, “I always wanted a band named Mission Creeps and all my past bands were heading for disaster.”
Due to all the
shows Missions Creeps have played along the way they have made friends with
many other musicians and bands, those that they agree to be “The Best” are
those that have been asked to be part of the Friki Fest. These bands are similar to The Mission
Creeps but have their own unique sound.
As this being my first Friki Fest I was amazed at how well the show was
put together and how it turned out. I
definitely will be at the next one dressed Friki to blend in.
Information on
any of the information mentioned in this article can be found at the following
websites:
