Vegoose – Halloween in Sin City

Vegas is always crazy. A Halloween weekend in Sin City just makes things even more insane. But how about Halloween weekend in Vegas with a massive two-day music festival? Well that’s just a recipe for a serious bender. Throw in 35 different acts with a dozen late-night shows from one end of the strip to the other, and you might as well check-in under the name “Dr. Gonzo.” Yeah, Vegoose might be a “festival,” but it’s much more than that. It’s like the greatest bachelor party you could ever imagine, and you don’t even have to get married…well unless you want to, it is Vegas.

Clearly with all the gambling, hotel room parties and a Denny’s “Moons Over My Hammy” at 5am, you won’t be able to keep track of who’s playing when and where. But rather than giving you the standard bio to fill you in on all the acts, we figured a few factoids would give you an idea of what you’ve got to look forward to down there. It’ll either entice you to check out a new band or provide some useless trivia about an artist you can’t wait to hear. Or at the very least, you’ll have some drunken cab debate material for your ride over to the Spearmint Rhino.

Fiona Apple holds the world record for the longest album title: When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight And He’ll Win The Whole Thing Fore He Enters The Ring There’s No Body To Batter When Your Mind is Your Might So When You Go Solo. You Hold Your Own Hand And Remember That Depth Is The Greatest Of Heights And If You Know Where You Stand. Then You’ll Know Where To Land And If You Fall It Won’t Matter, Cuz You Know That You’re Right.” Released on Nov. 9, 1999, the title is a poem Apple wrote after reading a bad review of her work.

Despite his piano prowess, Ben Folds played drums as a session musician in Nashville and later relocated to New York City to become an actor, before eventually forming Ben Folds Five.

The members of Jurassic 5 were in a near fatal bus accident during a Warped Tour stop in 2000, when their driver fell asleep at the wheel and landed the vehicle in a 6 foot ditch. Chali 2na sustained the gravest injuries and later stated that survival of this near-death experience made him more conscious of his religion.

During a summer 2006 gig, members of The Mars Volta were pelted with a bottle filled with urine by a member of the crowd. As he walked off stage, lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala responded that if an audience member exposed who was throwing piss, they would get free lifetime tickets and merchandise for the band.

Built to Spill lead singer Doug Martsch once told Spin that he intended to change his band’s lineup for every album.

The Raconteurs recently had to rename themselves as the “Saboteurs” for the Australian market when it was discovered that a Queensland band was already using their name.

Guster has opened for themselves in costume as a “jam band” called “Trippin’ Balls.”

With the continuous progression and the inevitable regression over the past 15 years, The Black Crowes have said goodbye to Jeff Cease, Johnny Colt, Marc Ford, Audley Freed, Greg Rzab, Andy Hess, Bill Dobrow, Eddie Harsch and Marc Ford (again).

In 1982 Tom Petty recorded Hard Promises with the Heartbreakers, only to find that his then-record company had plans to use his name to initiate a new, higher $9.98 list price for albums. Petty withheld the tapes and threatened to retitle his record $8.98 in protest.

Following the recent tragic death of lighting designer Dino Derose, Widespread Panic is now lit up by former Grateful Dead LD Candace Brightman.

The Killers originally turned down an offer to headline the Glastonbury 2005 Festival stating that they didn’t think they had enough songs to fill a headline slot.

Damian “Junior Gong” Marley has the highest placed reggae album in the USA Billboard album charts with Welcome to Jamrock, and the highest placed reggae song in the UK Top 40 with his single of the same name.

Maceo Parker was originally accepted into James Brown’s band only as part of a deal, as Brown originally wanted Maceo’s brother Melvin in the band.

Gomez won the 1998 Mercury Prize for the best British album of the year, beating out favorites that include – Massive Attack’s Mezzanine and the Verve’s Urban Hymns.

Yonder Mountain String Band’s Jeff Austin learned to play the mandolin only a few years before he formed the band.

Dr. Octagon (Kook Keith)’s style is characterized by self described “pornocore” that includes anal, fecal and genital references.

The Zutons’ lead singer David McCabe counts amongst his influences – Talking Heads, Devo, Sly & the Family Stone, Dexys Midnight Runners and Madness.

My Morning Jacket has been invited to the Bonnaroo Festival four years in a row, earning Jim James the title of mayor of Bonnaroo

Jenny Lewis not only fronts Rilo Kiley and the Watson Twins, but her more notable screen credits include Troop Beverly Hills, The Wizard, and Pleasantville.

Galactic’s guitarist Jeff Raines has wisdom in his blood, as his father Howell Raines was once the Executive Editor of the New York Times, before resigning over a plagiarism controversy in 2003.

Before sobering up, Cat Power’s Charlyn “Chan” Marshall’s mornings began with a minibar worth of Jack Daniel’s, Glenlivet and Crown Royal. She would later would nurse a bottle of Scotch over the course of the day and on nights she performed, she took the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

Bill Laswell of Praxis counts Buckethead, Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins as his most frequent collaborators.

The Yard Dogs Road Show started out as a three piece jug band performing in road houses and dance halls. Most notably in Oregon where they partook in modern day acid tests with the likes of Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters.

Until recently, Keller Williams was hosting his own online radio show, recorded at Wally Cleaver’s, his hometown studio in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

After just one year and one acclaimed album, Band Of Horses’ co-founder Mat Brooke recently walked away from the band, apparently for good.

At a gig in Brussels, Jamie Lidell sampled the audience clapping and made an instant rhythm track with it.

Trey Anastasio’s recording studio, The Barn, has not only seen the recording of Phish albums, but Béla Fleck, John Patitucci, DJ Logic, Toots & the Maytals, Tony Levin, Umphrey’s McGee, The Slip, John Medeski, Jerry Douglas, Patty LaBelle, Leo Kottke and Addison Groove Project have all recorded or performed there.

Mickey Hart heads the sub-committee on the digitization and preservation of the American Folklife Center’s vast audio collection at the Library of Congress.

Medeski, Martin & Wood was initially an acoustic jazz trio, but pianist John Medeski added a Hammond organ when touring with a piano became too difficult.

Phil Lesh began his music career as a trumpet player with an interest in avant-garde classical music and free jazz. While studying under the Italian modernist Luciano Berio, his classmate was none other than composer Steve Reich.

?uestlove’s father was Lee Andrews of Lee Andrews & the Hearts, a 50s doo-wop group. His parents didn’t want to leave him with babysitters, so they took him on tour with them. He grew up in backstages of doo-wop shows, and began drumming at the age of two.

When they first got together in 1993, G Love, drummer Jeffrey “The Houseman” Clemens and bassist Jim “Jimi Jazz” Prescott were the house band on Mondays at The Plough and Stars in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Visit Vegoose.com for more info on this year’s Vegoose Festival

 

Wikipedia was an essential resource in collecting these facts

“Main Page.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 12 Oct 2006, 14:21 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 13 Oct 2006

 

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