High-energy live music blared from the sound system as people stood shoulder-to-shoulder adorned in costumes and wacky attire vying for a better position to view the entertainment; and all while traveling 35 miles per hour in a 40-foot purple bus.
The LaZoom bus was just one of the many facets of this year's POPAsheville festival that made it such a huge success, according to Stephanie Morgan, event director and lead singer of stephaniesîd.
"I'm happy that so many people were able to take advantage of (the event)," Morgan said. "We had tons of video, tons of photography and people from all kinds of disciplines were around to exchange ideas, exchange information and make these connections that I think needed to be stirred up a little bit."
The weekend festival finished its second year under the banner POPAsheville Jan. 15-18 and featured 30 local and regional bands at three venues, with discussions, workshops, parties and the LaZoom bus, all included in the $15 admission to the event.
The festival, originally called Idfest, is intended as a massive gig swap for local and regionally touring acts that gives bands an opportunity to network with industry professionals, while providing fans a chance to see a lot of music for an affordable price, according to Morgan.
"This year was the first time the event penetrated more deeply," Morgan said. "More people knew about it and more people took advantage of what there was to offer, like the workshops and the keynote and all the collaborations from the different artists."
Molly Kummerle, lead singer of Asheville band Ruby Slippers, participating organizer of the event and member of the band selection committee, says POPAsheville is not genre specific, but they do look for like-minded acts to benefit from the exposure and interactions provided.
"We look for bands with a strong Internet presence, a Myspace with songs that actually play," said Kummerle, a native of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. "And we look for bands who are gigging regionally, who can really bring something to the gig-swapping concept."
The gig-swapping concept generated the idea for the initial event three years ago.
"The original reason for the festival is basically so stephaniesîd can pay back other bands," Morgan said of the giant gig swap. "We put every band in front of a crowd and show them a good time, and we hope that they will do the same for us when we come to their city."
Local Asheville band Jar-E performed at the Rocket Club in West Asheville on Friday night with Stephanie Morgan accompanying on vocals.
Jon Reid is lead singer and frontman of Jar-E, currently on tour with Toubab Krewe, and plays regularly with stephaniesîd.
"I thought (POPAsheville) was great," said Reid, a graduate of Warren Wilson College said. "This was the second year we've done it, and it just keeps getting better."
In addition to a multitude of new musical talent, the fest featured tours of recording studios in Asheville. Industry professionals led various workshops at Echo Mountain Recording Studios' new building space on Patton Avenue, according to Morgan.
The workshops ranged from how to write pop song charts to music law for the indie musician to a speech by Wayne Robins, copy editor of Billboard magazine and author of "A Brief History of Rock."
Getting Robins to speak was somewhat of a fluke, said Morgan.
"Jessica (Tomasin) of Echo Mountain was trying to get Wayne Robins from the Hellsayers to do a panel, and somehow she contacted the copy editor of Billboard without really knowing it was him," Morgan said. "The Wayne Robins she talked to happened to love Asheville and she lured him down here to speak at the event."
This story is just one of many that combine to make this grassroots, community-driven event a bigger success every year, according to Kummerle.
"Being involved with the creation and evolution of this festival is extremely fulfilling to me because it also really allows me to connect myself with all the aspects that I love about the music world like performance, industry, organization, behind the scenes stuff and of course the stage," Kummerle said.
Whether you are a starving musician looking for the connections and exposure to spread your craft, an industry professional looking to spread your voice, or simply a fan looking for a crazy time on a purple bus, POPAsheville is an event that brings it all to the table.
"It's all about the bus, man," Reid said laughing. "We love the bus."
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