Tales From The Fest: The Track House, OPP and Our City Shows

On Sunday morning, I woke up on Paul’s recliner, phone in hand, with a Genny-Ice tall-boy in arms reach. Twitter was still open on my phone, and it seemed like the entire internet (or at least our little slice of it), was abuzz with news, announcements and absurd pictures all stemming from the Capital City Punk & Core Fest, held on 5/17 at the Track House in Olympia.

The bands who turned out played with an intensity and fervor that I have rarely seen at shows in the PNW. Ranging from the absurd to the socially conscious, the diversity in bands at the Fest kept everything fresh. I expected Pogo Punk and some 80’s style hardcore. What I got was a cornucopia of amazing rock and roll played by people who wanted nothing more than to make the crowd move. Shot on Site, Johnny Hoffman and the Residents, The Further, Cody Foster Army (CFA), Balance, 13 Scars, Crooks To Kings, The Deceptives, Thistopia, and The Assassinators all left everything they had inside the Track House, a huge black monolith in downtown Olympia next to the train tracks on 7th and Jefferson. 

The Olympia Pyrate Punx and Our City Shows collaborated to make the fest happen, and through their combined efforts, the space was beyond welcoming. Alena, described by one of the folks at the show as “The House Mistress”, got the barbecue going before Shot On Site kicked off the Fest and spoke to me about the Track House and the Olympia Scene.

The house was originally built in 1891 for Union Pacific as a work crew house. At some point between 1992 and 1997, it became a show space for the Olympia Grunge scene, and in 2002 it was given a thick coat of black paint. Alena has been running the Track House since 2011 and has thrown over 200 shows. We spoke as she cleaned off the grill and got it ready to feed the proverbial 5000. When I asked how it was working with the Pyrate Punx, her eyes beamed “I love em! I want them to use my venue, I think they’re amazing human beings, and I love being a part of a community that treats itself like a community, not just a scene.” She mentioned that the house had had some difficulties in the past with violence and party roaches, people looking only to get drunk and cause chaos. Since she has started working with OPP, things have changed. “That’s what happens when you invite 300 people to your house, it’s always going to be crazy! But are we stewarding a consciousness of benefiting the community, or are we doing something constructive? What are we doing? Well today, we’re grillin.” Alena’s infectiously positive attitude would continue to shine throughout the night as she got the coals burning and the burgers sizzling.

Inside I caught up with Brandy Rage, Captain of the Olympia Pyrate Punx. OPP was founded in January of 2014, and since then Brandy and her motley crew of misfits have been working to get the Fest organized, while also throwing numerous other shows and growing their ranks. The Pyrate Punx are an International organization started by Chief Blackdawg in Oakland. Since their inception, they have swelled to 44 chapters worldwide, from the US to the UK to Indonesia. The OPP are all about bringing in awesome bands and throwing shows. “We wanna put Olympia back on the map. It was big in the 90’s but then what happened after that?” By bringing in bands like the Secretions and 13 Scars, Captain Brandy seems hell-bent on making Oly a destination again.

Back outside on the porch, watching bands move in equipment, I was lucky enough to meet Joey Cristina, the man behind Our City Shows. I asked him how Our City got started. “We started officially in May of last year after I got in a car accident. I think something got fucked in my head. I got in a car wreck and was like ‘I gotta be a fuckin promoter now!’” Joey wants to promote all age shows more than focus on a genre or style of music. His hope is keep the scene alive by keeping the elitism out. “There’s a lot of bands trying to book in Olympia, there just needs to be more people booking shows!”

Joey’s passion for bringing music to Olympia was evident in his voice. He spoke earnestly and passionately, as did all the promoters, as well as the bands and the crowd. It was clear that everyone involved wanted nothing more than to create a strong and welcoming community. It’s that kind of unity that is sometimes so rare to find in local scenes.

With the exception of one insane individual who broke his arm in the pit, made a splint out of duct tape and drum sticks then went back in, the whole show went off without a hitch and people left smiling and covered in sweat. Exactly the way any good fest should end. Keep your eyes open for interviews from the bands in the next coming weeks, and as always, refer to the Calendar for updates on the bands that played the Fest!

Written by: Pete GK
Peter “Rottentail” GK was born in a suburb of Philadelphia and spent much of his youth begrudgingly surrounded by Dave Matthews Band super fans. He has written music as “Peter Rottentail”, with 1 split CD released by the House of Filth Collective in Indiana PA, and has had 3 poems published. A punk, a poet, and a college graduate, Pete now resides with his girlfriend and roommate in Seattle. He spends his free time writing, petting his roommate’s cat, and softly banging his head while listening to Light Bearer.