Electro-Music Fest at Greenkill: Not Dead Yet!

laura woodswalker

Everyone is mourning the "end" of the E-M festival at Greenkill...so here's some encouragement. Don't write the E-M festival off yet! We assembled a list of about 30 names of folks in the Northeastern area (New York, PA etc) and others who want to keep in touch, for the purposes of 1) Organizing other events in the northeastern area (New York, PA) , and 2) Keeping the festival at Greenkill going.

Apparently the Greenkill YMCA camp people love us and are willing to keep having us there for a very reasonable price. And SO many people love this event and want to keep coming. So why shut the whole thing down? Toward the end of this festival we had lots of conversations about how the festival is run. There's lots of folks who are willing to volunteer and pick up responsibilities to keep it running. No specifics yet, but keep watching this space and the electro-music festival Facebook page.

We can use this forum to trade ideas if you like. All input welcome!

Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 2:14 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Laura! Yours is a very encouraging post. Very Happy

djfoxyfox · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 3:52 pm Post subject: I'll Be Following This Thread

I'll be following this thread. Unfortunately, life will require me to limit my participation to merely attending events as a performer. But should that change, I'll let you know.

At any rate, be sure to send me official announcements so I can add your events to the Galactic Travels events page.
http://galactic travels.info --> click on Events

rinserepeat · Joined: May 18, 2011 Posts: 15 Location: pine barrens

Great news! I think that greenkill is great. This was our first year at that venue. Thanks Laura. You have our details.

DES · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 8:11 pm Post subject:

That's great! This was the first time I was able to make it and was sad to find out once I got there that it was slated to be the last one. This is very welcome news indeed!

dslocum · Joined: Jul 20, 2013 Posts: 19 Location: Toms River NJ

+1 !!!

Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 2:42 pm Post subject:

Greenkill has always been a problem for me because of the timing at the start of a semester. That's OK, Greenkill is a great location. I missed it a lot, not attending for the first time this past weekend.

However, I can muster running another ZIM workshop on a Saturday morning, with an ensemble performance that evening, when the time comes. I can't handle three days early in the semester, but a one-dayer on Saturday is doable. I could do sound board or visuals for one session that day.

Also, there will be another Kutztown planetarium event like the two-dayer we had in June 2015. Probably not 2017, since I have two major summer trips in the planning stages. But, by the next time, we hope to have the raster projector saturate the colors better (still have not had time to work on that), have a new sound system (I am writing a grant proposal), and have visualization software to drive the new (August of 2015) laser projector. Since it will be in the summer, I have to make sure there is no conflict with IN or KC events, or any event popping up in the northeast. Hopefully, summer 2018. I could possibly go 3 days.

That is all for now. Long live electro-music!

MusicMan11712 · Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 3:37 pm Post subject:

Just to fill in a little--there were a great many little conversations over the weekend, some announcements, some lists/notes, information-sharing, etc. Lots of people chimed in and offered to contribute their efforts (including some people that don't post here but who are active in other online forums). The veteran organizers are very open to contributing ideas from the wisdom they have built over the years. In various discussions their knowledge came out as ideas were floated, suggestions made, possible options added to lists, etc.

I left the event feeling that the people who stepped forward to help steer the event to make it a regional event and all the people that chimed in to offer their time and talents will be able to make it happen for the continued benefit of veterans and new-comers to the electro-music community.

Thanks should go to the organizers and participants who have built an excellent track record to serve as a springboard.

Steve

PS: I didn't see much mourning. At the event itself I saw lots of optimism, encouragement, and willingness to try to make it happen. I did see one pronouncement in the forum about the demise after the event, but I thought that was pre-mature. So, thanks to Laura for starting this thread!!! As you know, there is much cause for optimism!!

laura woodswalker · Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 7:10 am Post subject:

You didn't see much mourning, but the news sure did hit me like a ton of bricks!! My nerves & emotions were shot for about a day afterwards.
The E-M fest is the highlight of the year! It is like "new Years."

This website was my 'gateway' into electronic music back in 2007 when I discovered Trance and Ambient music and realized there was nowhere to find jamming partners. Local jams consisted of a bunch of beer-drinking rockstar wanna-be's and I did not fit into their age-and-gender demographic.

I'll always remember my first E-m at Star Lake. I went up with a little Alesis Micron hoping to jam on some trance music. Instead people were playing this weeeiiiird stuff, like "what????"

E-M greenkill is the ONLY event I go to. I don't know of any others where I would be welcome to get up & play. This is the only reason I was inspired to get Ableton and a MIDI controller and learn to write music, etc. If there are any other venues, I don't feel that I'm in the "club". Plus...being out in the woods, walking around the lake...is all part of an experience which is the highlight I look forward to all year. I start composing in like February, intense practice starts in June, etc. My other creative pursuits (writing) get put on hold till "after E-M".

Somebody in another thread mentioned other festivals & venues and I would like to hear about them, but if they are based on electronic rockstars and fans, they probably wouldn't be my thing.

So yeah, there was definitely some mourning.

PanOrpheus · Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 4:38 pm Post subject:

LAURA>>>I'm IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very Happy

EdisonRex · Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 12:47 pm Post subject:

Greenkill is by far the most difficult place for me to get to, and that's not counting folks like Jez who take the train up from Newark airport. But over the past 7 years it has been pretty much the same experience for me as it's been for the majority of commenters.

And my sentiments about the place is about the same, we aren't there for the comfort or the food. I do wish I had managed to get out into the woods but I never was dressed for it, or there was always some excuse.

I can choose at best 2 USA trips a year. I was exceptionally lucky to manage both this year.

I am happy to advise on streaming/radio - ironically this was the first year almost everything went right (we missed one shift's recording) but we actually had the radio working before the Friday start which only took 7 years to do.

But I can't guarantee I will make it next year.

JEM · Joined: Feb 05, 2003 Posts: 84 Location: Dover Plains, NY

Thank you all for your contributions and enthusiasm.

I'm with Laura. EM is the highlight of my year. A mini vacation in the middle of the woods, away from the hustle and bustle of city life and the cares of daily living. It doesn't get better than that.

DES, it was good to see you after all these years. I hope you can make it back in 2017. Steve, likewise, your participation always keeps us rooted in the classic sounds that originated Electro-Music.

Rinse, Repeat, your timing was excellent. It was great to have you back. I look forward to having you next year as well.

Mr. Bill, our connection to the outside world of EM in the Philly area. I'm always happy to see you even if it's just for one day. Seasoned performers are the backbone of this event and an inspiration to those who aspire to pursue Electro-Music as a matter of course.

Also, I'm very proud of our U.K. contingent. Paul and Jez, I know it's a huge sacrifice to come out here but we're always happy to have you. If you can coax more fish to swim across the pond with you, that would be great. The more, the merrier.

Dale, ZIM Orchestra rocks. It's a vital element of EM. It must continue in 2017 and beyond. I eagerly await the next Grim Planetarium extravaganza.

I'm confident that there's enough people interested in keeping the EM flame burning. Although there may be some visible changes next year, I believe we can pull it off. Many thanks to Andrew for choosing to take the lead.

JEM

modulator_esp · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:54 am Post subject:

I was already thinking of only attending every other year, even before the announcement, due to other commitments

I may end up deciding to cycle through the different EM events as I want to try out the Ashville and Indy ones and can't really justify flying over twice in one year

Hopefully the Greenkill one will keep going and I'll make it back, maybe not next year, but the year after

djfoxyfox · Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 12:02 pm Post subject:

djfoxyfox

During the past few years, we were able to have breakfast together and spend the morning saying our goodbyes. I thought that I'd totally miss out on that but as I was about to pull out of the gas station, Jeremy DePrisco pulled in so I had an extra goodbye. I thought that would be that. But as I was finishing breakfast, Jose Murcia walked in, giving me breakfast and conversation with a festival participant. A nice though unexpected ending to this year's festivities.

See you all next year... if not sooner.

P.S. Since there are some of our people who do not use Facebook, I propose that we use this forum for our main conversations especially concerning planning. The inclusive ethos of electro-music means that we ought to do this sort of activity here where all of our members may be included. IMO, we ought to leave Facebook for the public face of promotions to people who aren't members of the forum. FB is a tool to attract the public but not where our nuts and bolts are assembled.

Acoustic Interloper