Grab your s’mores, your bug spray and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media is about to take over Northeast Pennsylvania with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing local acts like The Suicide Machines, War On Women and A Wilhelm Scream, will take place from 1 September until 3 September, tickets are available here. Before his solo set at Camp, the legendary Jon Snodgrass (Armchair Martian, Drag The River, Scorpios) joined TGEFM to discuss his upcoming appearance at Camp Punksylvania for the latest installment of our Camp-centric Roll Of The Dice interview series. Check it out below and I’ll see you at the campfire!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! You are gearing up for Camp Punksylvania in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists like yourself?
I don’t play many festivals but I have fun when I do. There’s ALLways friends playing & new friends to be made.
You have been part of such influential acts that mean so much to so many of us. Does the high bar you’ve set for yourselves in the past help, hinder or affect your creativity today and to what extent?
No. I’ve been doing the same stuff since 7th grade. It’s pretty much the same life. This time I’m coming solo. That’s what the FEST suggested. I like playing a band and alone & with anybody who wants to join. It’s never boring, to me.
You’ve been a staple of this scene for a while, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
I’m bummed I had to pass on a gig w/ THE REPLACEMENTS. I couldn’t in good conscience, cancel on my previous plans. I was only bummed when I told the folks involved and they were like, “you shoulda told us!”
Still, what I was doing was a gift as well. I got to play in Australia & New Zealand w/ Frank Turner.
What pieces of advice do you have for the up and coming acts performing at Camp Punksylvania?
ALLways be on time. and that means, be a little early.
What’s the state of the live scene from your point of view? We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked. What impact, if any, do the current cultural and political landscapes have on you and your music?
I’m just doing what I can to make folks comfortable.
Any summer camp worth its salt knows there needs to be a lot of different activities to participate in. What activity would you be in charge of if Camp Punksylvania was an actual sleepaway camp?
I’d help clean things up. I like it when things are nice. So does everyone else, I think. Or I’d run the karaoke machine.
End of the season Campfire; What song are you performing?
“Liver Let Die” by TONY SLY
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?
I ALLways like seeing Scott Reynolds! there’s a bunch of bands I wanna see though. Too many to name.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Is there a swimming pool near by? If so, I’ll be in it at some point.
and thx for wanting to talk me! See ya soon! I’m stoked.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
