The Disco Biscuits: Packed For Camp

Camp Bisco is back. This year's fifth installment of trance-rock pioneers the Disco Biscuits outdoor, end of summer electronica party contends to be better than ever with a highly eclectic line-up that boasts such prolific acts as The Roots, Younger Brother and Thievery Corporation. As in years past, Camp Bisco V focuses both on the homegrown live electronic jam scene as well as some of the mainstream electronic world's heaviest hitters. Brothers Past, Pnuma Trio, Lotus and Future Rock will all be there, right alongside RJD2, Brazilian Girls and The Juan Maclean. But most importantly, the newly revamped Disco Biscuits will perform four sets of their own distinctive, genre-bending blend of classically infused, electro-jam rock.

This year, Camp Bisco will be held at the beautiful Catskills ski resort on Hunter Mountain, August 25th and 26th. After recently adding three late night shows on the preceding Thursday (Quagmire Swim Team, Lake Trout side project - Big in Japan, and the return of Moshi Moshi), the festival hits full swing Friday afternoon, with three stages offering festival-goers ample opportunities to catch all the music they can. Throw in both on and off-site camping as well as a half dozen hotels and motels in the area (plus on-site flush toilets separated into Men's and Women's, and a cafe style food court), and Camp Bisco V will be the most accommodating and well equipped version yet.

It's a busy time for the band as they finalize last minute details, but Glide caught up with Biscuits' virtuoso guitarist Jon Gutwillig

and head-bobbing bassist Marc Brownstein while practicing in their Philadelphia studio. We talked of Camps past, the present state of the band and just what it takes to put on such an innovative and gem-packed festival.

"Where do you begin?" starts the Disco Biscuits' well-spoken and articulate Brownstein. "The idea behind the festival has always been there. We're staying true to the concepts of the festival. There’s also this sort of increased mainstream feel to the line-up, which we decided early on. For one, we wanted there to be a very large representation from the homegrown electronic scene that's grown in the jamband world. [But we] also wanted electronic bands from the more mainstream electronic scene."

Mainstream is a key component to Camp Bisco V's line-up. Unlike year's past, which focused primarily on the more jamband friendly acts, this year - while still emphasizing the key players in the ever-burgeoning genre - the Biscuits vied to get some of those top acts that have been on their priority list for quite some time. There's fellow Philadelphian hip-hop group The Roots (who will be releasing a new album shortly after Camp), a DJ set from acclaimed Washington DC-based tag team producers Thievery Corporation, Simon Posford with both Sphongle and Younger Brother, and even producer extraordinaire RJD2.

"We played a very active role [in organizing the festival]. A lot of the bands are on the bill because we know them personally." says Gutwillig. "I'm really psyched to see Sphongle and Younger Brother."

"With The Roots, it was kind of a no-brainer. If you can get a band like The Roots, you get them," adds Brownstein, almost as a verbal pat on the back. "There's going to be a lot of hype around them. They were playing the clubs [in Philly] when we were playing the clubs."

After enlisting two of the top acts on the band's go-to list, they approached several Camp Bisco veterans and new musical friends to join 2006's festivities. The resurgent Canadian techno trio The New Deal, the upstart tenacious youngsters, Pnuma Trio, Future Rock performing the music of Aphex Twin, the Philly indie rock-meets-electronic overtones of Brothers Past and yet another Philadelphia live electronic product, Lotus are all on the bill. Add John Medeski and new band Itch, the Biscuit side-project Moshi Moshi (performing together for the first time in quite a while), the red-hot Benevento-Russo Duo, Georgian-bred Perpetual Groove, and the high-flying funk of the Adam Deitch Project, it gets even better. And that’s not even taking into consideration four fiery sets by the generous hosts. "This year we're putting on the most interesting festival we could put on" says a notably proud Brownstein.

There couldn't be a more fitting stage to show the music world the band's newfound vigor and amplified sound than at their own festival. Discussing the Biscuits’ continually progressing nature, Gutwillig confesses, "the band's never sounded tighter than this. Well, maybe we have." And as for the future, "I think we're going to continue to put descriptive music within a trance sound. It's going to go to an impressionistic world with a techno world backdrop” he notes, before adding, “I'm definitely still writing with a classical flavor."

On the whole, Camp Bisco is a reflection and extension of that innovative and original spirit and sound the band has cultivated over the past ten years. It’s always a memorable weekend for the audience, but that distinct experience is inevitably shared by the band. "A lot of times I think of the people I hung out with at Camp Bisco," says Gutwillig. "Musically we really wanted to make the family cry last year. We really wanted to make people cry."

Cry they did. The band's inspiring performances, a farewell of sorts to founding drummer Sammy Altman offered a fitting conclusion to a decade long rock n' roll rollercoaster. But it wasn’t the only year that reached such a pinnacle.

"It's almost too cliché to say that Camp Bisco IV was the best moment with Sammy leaving the band. I would say Camp Bisco III was pretty memorable. The set at Camp Bisco III when we played "Basis." I have such a vivid memory of individual moments at that rock concert. When we were up on stage, there was nothing else like it. I don't know what it was. Last year, "Younger Brother" was the crème de la crème, " remembers Brownstein. There are always the moments of elation, that specific jam 15 minutes into a techno driven "I Man," where the tension and release comes to a thunderous peak. The collaborations and guest appearances by the most unlikely of teams. The late-night dance parties that last until the wee hours of the morning. Camp Bisco enjoys an almost cult-like status in today's rather underground electronic scene, and by combining such mainstream talent as The Roots, RJD2 and Thievery Corporation with more familiar friends, Camp Bisco V is ready to launch. And it might just never come down.

"At this point we're putting on this dance, hip-hop, indie rock festival that's just absurd when you take a step back," says Brownstein, and the band intends to make their mark among this year’s eventual highlight reel. “Ultimately, everybody who's involved wants to concentrate on the Disco Biscuits for this festival. I want to put all my energy into the Disco Biscuits right now," he concludes.

For more info see: campbiscov.com

live photos by Richard Clarke