My Summer Work Experience Week by Rob Piper, Aged 30 - Part 2

Head Honcho, Rob, shares the story of the Lockjaw Crew’s summer holiday, taking in London, Brakrock Ecofest and Punk Rock Holiday. Part 2 features the main day of Brakrock Ecofest, all the highlights of Punk Rock Holiday and maybe - just maybe! - a beer or two.

Waking up like a fresh morning piece of toast, crisping in the sun, it was time to scoot the van over to the back of The Wood Stage to start unloading the Darko backline. Karl and Dan arrived after taking a ferry the day later and we all had a peppy breakfast, coffee and a beer ready for the festivities. Our stage time was 13:20, after a good old stretch with my one of my bestest of buds, Jo of Bad Juju Yoga. After the punker yogis stretched out the previous evening’s aches, we took to the stage. The midday sun beat down into the glade and gradually the crowd gathered, taking safety under the shade of the sideline trees, with a few heroes not afraid of the baking heat right in front of the stage. The set flew past like a frisbee… as did literal frisbees, shot from the hands of Lesley-Anne, who threw some of the new Lockjaw ‘Catchy Tunes for Fetching People’ compilation frisbees to lucky members of the crowd. [ux_image id="5410" height="75%" margin="0px 0px 20px 0px"] This Is A Standoff turned up side-of-stage, and seeing the legends with my buddy Dave Boothroyd pop their heads up gave me the last bit of energy to finish the set. It was a really fun gig and a pleasure to play The Wood Stage at my first Brakrock. After a quick pack down, we sped to The River Stage to see the incredible Adrenalized. With the sun beating down, I stood next to an enthused looking Steve Rawles, who was also in awe of the prowess of the Basque Country shredders. Next stop, back to The Wood Stage for This Is A Standoff. I enjoyed the set so much that I didn’t notice a wasp that was in my beer and proceeded to swig it until it was close to my oesophagus. Realising my beer had legs, I spat it onto the ground and hoped it would dry off and fly away! The Lawrence Arms, The Menzingers, Satanic Surfers and The Vandals all happened between hangs with mates, name dropping Willem, Tone, and Roos and awesome hill chats. I may have also had a beer. Maybe. At the end of the evening, I was in a jolly state and unloaded all the merch to the wrong exit. The others seemed cool about it, so we packed the van up said our goodbyes. At 2:30am we set off for the next adventure. Next stop Cologne, to pick up our two German passengers, then a stop off in Salzburg to pick up a ticket off Philip and precious Petter from Rebuke and 15 hours later we were entering the beautiful Slovenia, starting the mountainous ascent to Tolmin. Even after many visits to Slovenia, this being the fourth trip to Tolmin, the views and landscapes still leave me amazed. Cranking the Spice Girls with arms in the air, we turned up at Punk Rock Holiday 1.8. It was Sunday evening and we were preparing our minds for the five days of brilliant music, sun, swimming and unlimited hangs with a diverse group of new and old friends from all over the globe. At 30 years old, I have been lucky enough to have some fantastic times in my life. This may not always translate to my blank moustache or dead eyes that get captured in photos, but the feeling of Punk Rock Holiday, even on the 4th attempt, is still like being a 10 year old going to Disneyland for the first time, or Christmas when you still believe in a fat sweaty bearded man squeezing down your chimney. It’s a playground for punks that exists for five days, that you can share with loads of awesome people around you. [ux_image id="5524" height="56.25%" margin="0px 0px 20px 0px" lightbox="true" caption="true"] That said, I am going to stop working in chronological order and summarise the five days into a selection of highlights/flashbacks: Setting up the PNKRCKR gazebo for the second year with the best new team was an exciting time. We had rebranded label merch and a bunch of the best records for people to get their hands on. Hanging with Almeida and Portsmouth crew and rocking out to the Baz finale was always going to be a treat. I had seen Barry’s final UK show the week before and you can tell by the pure emotion on my face that it was a special one. Playing frisbee (Catchy Tunes For Fetching People) with my pals Lenn, and Nils and see them continue their legacy of best crowd surfing and best Barry t-shirts. [ux_image id="5584" height="56.25%" margin="0px 0px 20px 0px"] Catching up with Brendan again was a treat, one of the Kruddy 12 (Darko, Almeida and crew on the Beards and Bellends tour) it had been a while since we had hung loose and, not only did he bring his fun vibes, he also supplied face paint, which was a hit at the stall. Another seminal Kruddy 12 member, Big D (sans Kids Table) was also in this rich tapestry of memory. Davorin is one of the Beach Stage team as well as previously touring as Darko’s sound tech and running Slovenia’s finest Giljotina Records, and being a massive stand up guy. He is also in the matrix when the sun is out. Not forgetting Beach Stage boss man Dario. Guitarist of InxSane, an incredible Slovenian three-piece powerhouse, Dario is the master of sound, allowing every single Beach Stage band sound like the best thing that’s happened to you. Frankie Bates and the Motels really mashed my aubergine. It had been a while since playing with them in Madrid with Darko and Laughing In The Face Of and, as most bands do, they stepped it up for the beach. One Hidden Frame weren't going to let us Finnish it there. It was Friday, we were fragile, but they woke me up enough to grab a cocktail and tap my feet to the rock prowess of melodic Pekka and the riff gang. Seeing my dearest friends and tour buddies Rebuke tearing the main stage a new one was incredible. I have known them for many years and it was an absolute dick jerker to see them high up on stage rather than just high on… life. All the Beach Stage bands were a pleasure to watch but a great discovery for me was Maribor’s Trash Candy playing solid and tight punk rock. It’s great to see some new talent from a local area. Another beech stage highlight had to be Adrenalized with a huge stage invasion still managing to shred the gnar surrounded by rabid fans and of course TIAS for the 3rd time. Shout out also to Bogdan from Dankeschatz for being a solid dude to hangout with. Bartman from Straightline came down for a day and forgot to pick up his iPod from me, which I was keeping super safe for him. He played an acoustic set to a super busy pathway at The American Socks stage. It was ‘different’. Comeback Kid were radical, Mute shredded but didn’t say much, Adhesive were sticky, Satanic Surfers were fucking intense. Thanks to Rossella and Daggi for encouraging me to elegantly face plant into the Lagwagon crowd, leaving me with a split lip, one flip flop and a emotive heart shaped bruise. I’ll leave surfing to the professionals. Bad Religion was an epic ending, and the team packed down the merch stall straight after, as our good friend Sara tonin was quickly leaving our company. I clutched my orange juice and strolled back to the tent for my last woodland nap before moving on. Once again Punk Rock Holiday was a treat to be a part of. One cannot explain in words how good this festival is and how brutal it can leave you feeling after the amount of fun you have. Infinite thanks to Lesley, Sarah, Joëlle, Judy, Cedric, Bjorn, Hanne, Jochen, Lara and Matija for holding it all together. Most importantly thanks to all you visitors/readers/friends/punk fans who continually support independent labels and bands. #lockawcrew #pnkrckr [ux_gallery ids="5533,5532,5528,5526,5525,5523" style="none" col_spacing="xsmall" columns="2" image_height="56.25%"] P.S.: Special shoutout to Italian stallions PierP from Disordine and Alex of Thousand Oaks for helping me get my sorry state across to Florence the following day! If you missed it, you can read the first chapter of Rob’s summer adventure here. [divider] [title text="Music from this article" tag_name="h2"] [ux_products type="row" ids="1376,977,1130,1386,5588,1263"]