Lolipalooza
Last Saturday Lolipop Records took over the Echo for an entire day of non-stop music madness during the second annual Lolipalooza festival. Right when I walked under the arched Lolipalooza balloons into the festival, I knew I had stepped into the electric Lolipop world, a planet all its own.
When Echo Park natives Iggy Gonzales, Dan Quintanilla , Wyatt Blair and Tomas Dolas created Lolipop Records in 2010, this is exactly what they had envisioned: a full-billed line-up with bands on their very own label and a sold out crowd of eager young supporters and friends. Lolipop Records started as an independent recording studio and quickly turned into a record label that thrives off finding, recording and representing some of the most talented young artists of our generation, all booming from the heart of Echo Park. The label started from a simple vision: creating an outlet for local bands to thrive off of, and has since escalated to a full-blown scene all its own, creating and molding culture with each newly emerging band.
Cultures collided with a multitude of genres spanning all across the board with sounds for each attendee to vibe with. Bands and festival goers alike roamed casually between the Echo/Echoplex, enjoying the various stages which played everything from thrasher punk by newcomers Useless Eaters to modern-day Neu! influenced shoegaze by Froth all the way down to heavy psych classics like White Fence. Bands bridged the gap between artist and audience as they humbly worked their own merch tables alongside several vintage/art booths, most notably Sunday, which displayed a fresh take on tons of unique knickknacks created by young local artists. Beer was drank and snacks were munched on from the Canter's food truck as mega babes handed out free lollipops to everyone in sight. If you missed this year, don’t stress. The Lolipop take over isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The boys are already prepping for next year’s fest, which shows promise to be even bigger and better (which seems impossible, but these guys aim high). So get stoked, get ready, and get familiar with Lolipop Records. You won’t regret it.
We caught up with a few of the bands to hear about their dream festival lineup, how they met, and how it all started. Here’s what they had to say:
Name of your fest: Starlight Fest
Bands on the bill: Shannon and the Clams and Ty Segall
How the band came together: Kim has played with 65 people over the past 2 years, but met her most concrete band mate yet, Alex Gatez, one hazy night at the Cha Cha Lounge when they decided to start shredding together.
Name of your fest: “Austin Psych Fest.” They laugh.
Bands on the bill: 13th Floor Elevators, A Place To Bury Strangers and Soft Moon
How the band came together: Sade and Ellie met in high school at a house party where they were both drunk in the bathroom. Since there weren’t that many chicks in the local music scene, they decided to start jamming.
Name of your fest: Ethereality
Bands on the bill: My Bloody Valentine, The Strokes and Catherine Wheel
How the band came together: Coming from Boston, MA, where each member studied different degrees at different locations, they finally met in Los Angeles where their first full-band release was created in 2013. The band came to full fruition when the stars collided and perfect timing was on their side.
Name of your fest: Chips ‘N Salsa Fest
Bands on the bill: The Rich Hands, La Luz, The Shivas, Shannon and the Clams, Psycho Magic, Adult Books and Dagger Beach
How the band came together: Back in November, Paul opened a show with "Letter to G" by The Nerves. After the show, the rest of the ‘then fans turned band mates’ went up to him and expressed how hyped they were that he played The Nerves. Right then and there he knew they were rad dudes with the right music taste and asked if they wanted to play as his band on the next tour. The rest is 70’s pop-punk revival history.
Story by Courtney Melahn
Photos by Robiee Ziegler
