My Summer Work Experience Week by Rob Piper, Aged 30 - Part 1

Head Honcho, Rob, shares the story of the Lockjaw Crew’s summer holiday, taking in London, Brakrock Ecofest and Punk Rock Holiday. Part 1 features a calamitous journey, This Is A Standoff and the first day of Brakrock.

August 2nd had come around again; it was the time for 6,000 punk rockers from all over the globe to make the pilgrimage into the mountains of Tolmin, Slovenia to enjoy the crystal cold rivers, baking sun and furious music. This would be my fourth Punk Rock Holiday and I had a grand new cabin crew and some exciting stop-offs on the way. The first trip I made to PRH was in 2015, on tour with marginally-known rock band DARKO, which we performed as our penultimate show. For the second trip we toured again to the mountains but just attended the festival as a holiday. Last year DARKO performed for the second time, closing the beach stage on the Friday. That was also the first time we had a presence with Lockjaw Records as part of the PNKRCKR Collective; an initiative we started to share some beautiful space and unforgettable experiences at festivals with our friends from other punk rock enterprises, to spread the word about the DIY labels and bands in the scene. #DIT [ux_image id="5527" height="56.25%" margin="0px 0px 20px 0px" lightbox="true" caption="true"] This year DARKO were to perform for the first time at Brakrock Ecofest in Belgium, then myself and Borg of Darko would be joined by #lockjawcrew, Lesley, Joëlle, Cedric and Sarah, to return to Tolmin to run the stall at PRH, play frisbee and catch up with the plethora of friends we have met over the years of touring. Having only just been able to tie down a Slovenian tax code to officially run our stall 3 days prior to leaving, we were feeling the pressure. I began my Thursday sat amongst a sea of t-shirts and vinyl, floating around documenting the stock I needed to transport to the festivals. Amidst the excitement of the next few weeks, I was also adamant that we would make it across to the New Cross Inn to see Sombulance, Eat Defeat and This Is A Standoff. We’d need to shoehorn this in between picking up da crew in London and getting the 4am ferry from Dover to Dunkirk (the ferry-floor now feeling like my second home, after clocking 14 crossings last year). Frantically on-and-off the phone to Lesley making last minute arrangements, I got myself together and finally got the tip off that Sarah had beaten the traffic from Manchester to Staines-Upon-Thames. I hastily got the new team added to the van insurance, emptied my lounge and hallway of the mass of vinyl, cd and frisbee boxes, and finally set off. 5pm Thursday: traffic was...marginal. I arrived at Borg’s in Staines to find that he and Sarah had gone debt collecting, despite us running late for the TIAS gig. It was hot and I surprised Borg’s mother, Gill, by turning up with no shoes on. I proceeded to suspiciously loiter in the street until the others arrived. When they finally pulled round the corner, we packed the van and Sarah and I jumped to action, leaving Borg behind to sell a car. We were off! To the gig? Nope, to Lesley’s in Kingston (no time for a cigarette, may I add). Traffic wasn’t too bad, which was a nice surprise, considering we were already running late. We turned up at Lesley’s - she needed a shower and we needed to wait for Borg. I wasn’t going to miss this show! We squeezed everything into the van, reflecting on the reality that a repack would be needed on Sunday, when we’d be collecting more passengers in Germany. This could be sautéed later. Borg turned up and we were finally off to the New Cross Inn, hurrah! Sitting in South London traffic meant turning up at 9pm - we had just missed Eat Defeat and Sombulance were long over. At least I’d seen Sombulance earlier that week with Mute, so I managed to withhold the pain and upset. Just in the nick of time (no bassist pun intended) I got to see This Is A Standoff for the first time in years. Last time was in Guildford with Carpenter, Darko and Drones at Backline Guildford in August 2011. Back then, they had Italian legend Simo Perini not Graham Churchill on drums. TIAS smashed through the set, fresh from traveling a meagre distance from all the corners of Canada. It was refreshing to see the guys play again and when the opening beat from ‘We're Really Doing It’ came in, the hairs on the back off my neck stood up on end. I suddenly realised how important that tune was to me and what a fantastic fanatical week was just about to slap me in the chops. High on the feeling of the inspirational music that fuelled me to be involved in the scene, I was faced with a slightly urgent looking Lesley. “We’ve forgotten the tickets!” Doh. Being the legend that she is, she jumped to action and back on a train to Kingston. Jo Smith, of Bad Juju Yoga, would pick her up and we would all meet on the ferry happily ever after. Hurrah! After the show had finished we met Graham Churchill for the first time and had a memorable chat, then a quick catch up with Dave, Steve, John and Nick before jumping back in the ‘sweaty tin can’ (cit. Shout Louder, 2018). [ux_image id="5531" height="56.25%" margin="0px 0px 20px 0px" lightbox="true" caption="true"] Making it to the ferry in plenty of time, we successfully met Jo and Lesley, and embarked onto the vessel for cold chips, rubbery peas, overpriced sauces, a beer and a much needed 20 minute nap. It was good to be home. Back in the van again (for more detail on the van ride itself check out Shout Louder - Sarah’s written a piece about the journey between the ferry and Punk Rock Holiday, it’s a good read), we set off too Oostkamp in Belgium to meet Cedric(4prez) and Valerie. Having been awake all night, we acquainted ourselves with their welcoming floor for a few hours. Waking up three hours late, it was back to the spreadsheets, and time to find the 100 Lockjaw t-shirts that had apparently been delivered and signed for. A few phone calls and a spicy hot sauce-fuelled luncheon later, we had the merch, the banner, a slightly better-rested team and an almost complete spreadsheet. It was time for Brakrock. Helpfully reminded by a restless Borgy that time had indeed passed and we were already missing the bands, we jumped in the van, filled up with fuel and… sat in traffic. We slowly edged towards Duffel, snacking on rather good hummus chips. We finally made it and pulled up to the picturesque Central Park of Duffel, complete with castle ruin, a duck-filled moat and luscious green grass and trees. First mission: transporting the merch to the castle - that’s epic! Actually, it was an epic mission... my bright idea of fitting ninety 12’’ vinyl into multiple plastic boxes now seemed flawed, and carrying them past the pond to the ruin was quite a workout. The highlight of this mission was arriving to the jolly smiles of Joëlle, Judy, Bjorn, Hanne and Hans of Less Talk, More Records and Bearded Punk Records. My fellow PNKRCKR indie label bosses, momagers and drinking buddies. After setting up the merch and catching up with the team, I went for a beer via The Ruins Stage, to experience Mute for the second time this week. And what an experience! It was enjoyable seeing them at the Edge Of The Wedge in Portsmouth, as I love seeing ripping bands in small venues, but this was something special. Dust was being spun off the ground in a fury from the pits, people were flying all over the shop, surfing on the friendly yet raucous crowd. Mute were clearly having the time of their lives. I stood at the back with a big smile on my face, reserving myself and my limbs for the DARKO set tomorrow. Back to the merch tent and a chat or two later, I finally met Gert-Jan from Shield Recordings. We had co-released a couple of records in the past and was a pleasure to finally meet. Then it was time for Mad Caddies. I met up with the KNRD crew I had a fantastic boogie along to one of my oldest ska-punk crushes. Playing a mix of old and new, it was a great set. After some more beverages, I found myself stumbling to the van and having a much needed classic back-seat bench kip. Keep your eyes peeled for the second installment of Rob’s summer adventure, featuring the main day of Brakrock and an insight into what makes Punk Rock Holiday so special. 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