Yoyo A Go Go, usually abbreviated to Yoyo and often typeset in various ways, was an
independent music
Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.
European ...
, first held in 1994 and followed by successor festivals in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Five- and six-day concert marathons featured dozens of
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
acts stacked back to back, as well as a variety of associated entertainment and small-scale local retail. The concerts took place at the historic
Capitol Theater and showcased performers from the local
Olympia music scene
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
, while also including national and international artists.
Background
The first Yoyo enterprise was a
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
built inside Olympia's
Capitol Theater by audio engineer Pat Maley. By 1992, Maley had formed the Yoyo record label and released the compilation ''
Throw
Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensil ...
'' (reissued on CD in 2001) which included tracks by
area musicians. Maley eventually decided to initiate an
independent music
Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...
al event, inspired by Olympia's earlier
International Pop Underground Convention
The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, ...
(IPU),
a highly regarded 1991 festival that has been deemed "a watershed moment in indie rock".
After the unexpected international success of area favorites
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
and their album ''
Nevermind
''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, ''Neve ...
'' just months later, there was a widespread feeling in the scene that "homespun events" like the IPU simply could not take place anymore.
A musician himself, Maley organized the Yoyo festival with help from drummer Kent Oiwa, graphic designer Pat Castaldo, and local disc jockey Michelle Noel.
The guiding principle was the
DIY ethic
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...
central to punk rock. In a press release for the festival, Maley declared: "Long ago, punk rock stopped being simply a noun that was young, loud, and proud. Now it's also a descriptive term that tries to explain the difference between the buy in/sell out culture that wakes us up every morning for work, and the culture so many of us make every day with our own hands".
The Yoyo festivals ran concurrently with another citywide event, the annual
Lakefair
Capital Lakefair is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's mos ...
festival. Yoyo organizers felt little sense of competition, and were inclined to believe Lakefair, with its more traditional style of fireworks and parade, would be a complementary affair and "add to the overall sense of fun".
From the first festival, audience members and performers marched together as a contingent ("The Throw Team") in the Lakefair Parade.
Themes and styles
The crush of performances squeezed into five- or six-day festivals meant most shows were limited to about thirty minutes. For this reason, some observers criticized Yoyo for a lack of focus: "The breadth of musical styles – and musical abilities – works against appreciating any one band".
Candice Pedersen
Candice Pedersen co-owned of the Olympia, Washington-based independent record label K Records from 1986 to 1999, along with Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. In 1999, she sold her half of the label to Johnson.
Career
Pedersen was initially hire ...
, co-owner of
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music ...
and another key Yoyo organizer, explained that the point of the festival was not to maximize publicity or sales, but to share and enjoy a communal endeavor: "
e all the bands, have a good time, meet a lot of people, and treat each other well".
The mutual support among artists and audience was seen by many as a hallmark of the
Olympia music scene
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
and one of the keys to its growth and endurance.
Continuing the IPU's efforts at
scene
Scene (from Ancient Greek, Greek σκηνή ''skēnḗ'') may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Scene (subculture), a youth subculture from the early 2000s characterized by a distinct music and style. Groups and performers
* The S ...
-building, Yoyo attracted participants for whom stage-sharing was acceptable and professional competition was virtually unknown.
For its polite performers – and the rapt audiences who lavished attention on them – Yoyo has been called "the friendliest punk fest",
a trait which earned it one magazine's gentle chiding as a "punk rock slumber party".
Another emblematic feature of Yoyo was the ubiquity of female musicians.
All-female band An all-female band is a musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed. While ...
s (or female-led ones) were commonplace, even more so than at the IPU in 1991. The IPU had heralded the advent of the
riot grrrl
Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...
movement with opening night festivities billed as
"Girl Night", but Yoyo festivals cemented this as a feature of the Olympia scene: female bands were "a given, not a special attraction".
Though its musical styles were far-flung, the Olympia community that populated Yoyo was most often linked to
twee pop
Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation ''C86''. Characterised by its simplicity and perceived innocence, some of its defining features are boy–girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love ...
and
cuddlecore
Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 '' NME'' compilation '' C86''. Characterised by its simplicity and perceived innocence, some of its defining features are boy–girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about lo ...
.
Yoyo 1994
As described in ''
SPIN
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'', "the first Yoyo blossomed in the damp heat that followed
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
's
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
explosion."
The Olympia scene was riding a wave of interest from major media who were giving close scrutiny to the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
in the wake of
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
's international success.
The first Yoyo festival was a five-day affair, July 12–16, 1994.
Dozens of independent bands played at Yoyo 1994 including
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
,
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the ...
,
Heavens to Betsy
Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band be ...
,
Mary Lou Lord
Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965) is an indie folk musician who started performing as a busker in Boston.
Life and career
Mary Lou Lord first gained attention playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations, particu ...
,
Team Dresch
Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington. The band made a significant impression on the DIY punk movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and concerns of LGBT p ...
,
Lois
Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...
,
Go Sailor,
the Spinanes
The Spinanes were an American indie rock Musical ensemble#Rock and pop bands, band, primarily active during the 1990s. The band was founded by and consisted only of singer-songwriter/guitarist Rebecca Gates and drummer Scott Plouf. They released ...
,
Mecca Normal
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valle ...
,
Some Velvet Sidewalk
Some Velvet Sidewalk was an experimental lo-fi rock band from Olympia, WA on the independent label K Records.
History
Some Velvet Sidewalk was formed in Eugene, Oregon in 1987 by Al Larsen (vocals/guitar) and Robert Christie (drums). Their fir ...
,
the Halo Benders
The Halo Benders was a band formed in 1994 as a side project by Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. They released their first album, '' God Don't Make No Junk'', in 1994. They followed up in 1996 with '' Don't ...
,
Cub,
Slant 6
Slant 6 was an American punk rock trio based in Washington, D.C. affiliated with early riot grrrl.
Slant 6 consisted of Christina Billotte (electric guitar and vocals), Myra Power (electric bass guitar and vocals), and Marge Marshall (drum s ...
,
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie roc ...
,
Unwound
Unwound is an American post-hardcore band. The band was formed in 1988 in Tumwater, Washington, Tumwater and Olympia, Washington by vocalist/guitartist Justin Trosper, bassist Vern Rumsey and drummer Brandt Sandeno, and was largely based in Olym ...
, and
Tattle Tale.
Avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
rockers
Deerhoof
Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...
played one of their first shows at the festival, and were quickly signed to record a single for
Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally know ...
.
Several visiting Japanese bands were also part of the bill, including
Bloodthirsty Butchers
Bloodthirsty Butchers was a long-running indie rock and punk rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Although little-known in the West, they have contributed to two compilations on the Olympia, Washington based Yoyo label. The band has also re ...
.
The roster was publicized as a mixture of bands from "around the corner and around the world."
Making an unscheduled appearance were
Krist Novoselic
Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana.
Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...
and
Dave Grohl
David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
, in their first public performance together since
the death of
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
in April.
The pair played a set with
the Stinky Puffs
The Stinky Puffs were an early 1990s rock band composed of seven-year-old Simon Fair Timony, then-stepson of Jad Fair, and Cody Linn Ranaldo, son of Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo. After a 7" single an LP followed in 1995 titled '' A Littl ...
, led by ten-year-old Simon Timony, and joined by
Ira Kaplan
Ira Kaplan (born January 7, 1957) is a co-founder, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter in the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. He is married to the band's co-founder Georgia Hubley.
A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Kaplan formed Yo La T ...
(of
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...
) and
Jad Fair
Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.
Biography
Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...
. A solemn moment for the festival came when Timony offered a memorial song he wrote for Cobain: "'You rode off into the sun / but I love you anyway,' he sang in a preteen falsetto, while Novoselic towered behind him, playing stone-faced."
A double album containing almost two hours of live performances, ''Yo-Yo A Go-Go'', was released by Yoyo on August 20, 1996.
Yoyo 1997
"The continued presence of kitty-cat iconography and strummy guitar lullabies at Yoyo 1997 suggests a wistful nostalgia for Olympia's original love-rock days".
Over fifty bands played, including once again several visiting Japanese bands such as Copass Grinders and Kirihito.
Headliners included
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member ...
,
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...
,
Karp
Karp may refer to:
Places
* Karp, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-east Poland
* Karp, Lublin Voivodeship, in east Poland
People
* Karp (surname)
* Karp Khachvankyan (1923–1998), Armenian actor and director
Other uses
* KARP-FM, a radio s ...
,
Unwound
Unwound is an American post-hardcore band. The band was formed in 1988 in Tumwater, Washington, Tumwater and Olympia, Washington by vocalist/guitartist Justin Trosper, bassist Vern Rumsey and drummer Brandt Sandeno, and was largely based in Olym ...
,
Mirah
Mirah (born Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on K ...
,
Cold Cold Hearts
Cold Cold Hearts was a punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1995. Comprising singer and songwriter Allison Wolfe, guitarist and back-up vocalist Erin Smith, bass player Nattles, and drummer Katherine Brown, the band released one 7" sin ...
,
Murder City Devils
The Murder City Devils is an American garage rock band formed in 1996.
History
The band's original lineup, consisting of Spencer Moody, Dann Gallucci, Derek Fudesco, Coady Willis, and Nate Manny, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1996. Gabe Ker ...
,
The Softies
The Softies were a musical duo consisting of Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia, who are known for their minimal approach to pop music.
History
Beginning in 1994, the band was intended to be a side project for both artists. Along with an eventual ...
,
The Crabs
The Crabs were a Portland, Oregon-based indie-rock band. Originally formed as a duo with Jonn Lunsford (vocals, guitar) and Lisa Jackson (vocals, drums), the pair later added keyboardist Sarah Dougher following their 1997 release ''What Were Flam ...
,
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...
and
Built to Spill.
Among the varied entertainment was an ''a cappella'' performance piece by artist
Nikki McClure
Nikki McClure is a papercut artist based in Olympia, Washington. She is the author and illustrator of a number of children's books and produces an annual calendar.
Biography
McClure grew up in Kirkland, Washington. She moved to Olympia in 198 ...
;
a puppeteers' rendition of ''
The Gong Show
''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...
'';
a string quartet conducted by composer
Timothy Brock
Timothy Brock (born 1963) is an American-born conductor and composer specializing in concert works of the early 20th-century, orchestral performance practices of the 1920s and 1930s, and live performances to accompany silent film.
Silent film sc ...
;
a ukulele recital by
Khaela Maricich
The Blow is an American electro pop band, comprising Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne. Maricich and Dyne write, compose, produce and perform all the music. It was formed as a solo project by Maricich in 2002, and she was joined by Jona Bechtolt ...
;
and an outdoor
nature walk designed specifically for punks.
Festival attendees were also treated to special movie screenings offered by the
Olympia Film Society
Olympia Film Society (OFS) is a nonprofit arts organization in Olympia, Washington that shows independent, international and classic film year-round, offers special live performances, and produces the Olympia Film Festival. OFS welcomes its memb ...
and an afternoon show by the campy, all-female troupe Cha Cha Cabaret, led by riot grrrl activist
Jen Smith (under the stage name "Lady Hand Grenade").
A compilation of live recordings from the 1997 festival was released on Yoyo Recordings in 1999 under the title ''Yoyo A Go Go – Another Live Compilation – July 15–20, 1997''.
Yoyo 1999
The 1999 festival was held July 13–18, and featured musical performances by
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member ...
and
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...
.
Negativland
Negativland is an American experimental music band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! track, while their record label (Seeland Records) is named after another Neu! track. The co ...
appeared at the festival and played their first live set in six years, while
Bratmobile
Bratmobile was an American punk band from Olympia, Washington, active from 1991 to 2003, and known for being one of the first-generation "riot grrrl" bands. The band was influenced by several eclectic musical styles, including elements of pop, ...
arrived as part of a reunion tour, having broken up several years earlier.
In total, over fifty bands played over the six-day event, including
Make-Up,
Dub Narcotic Sound System
Dub Narcotic Sound System (D.N.S.S.) is an Olympia, Washington based Indie (music), indie-funk musical group founded by Calvin Johnson (musician), Calvin Johnson, signed to K Records.
Origins
The band was named after Calvin Johnson (musician), C ...
,
The Donnas
The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drum ...
,
Quasi
Quasi (phonetics 'kwa - zee') is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by former spouses Sam Coomes ( vocals, guitar, rocksichord, various keyboards, bass) and Janet Weiss (vocals and drums). Joanna Bolme performe ...
,
Tullycraft
Tullycraft is an American indie pop band from Seattle, Washington, that formed in 1995. They have been associated with the genre of twee pop; in fact, they are considered to be one of the true pioneers of the American twee pop movement. They are ...
,
Dead Moon
Dead Moon was an American punk rock band active from 1987 to 2006, formed in Portland, Oregon.
History
Fronted by the singer/guitarist Fred Cole, the band also included the bass guitarist Toody Cole and the drummer Andrew Loomis. Veterans ...
,
Marine Research
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
,
Thrones A throne is a seat of state for a potentate or dignitary.
Throne or Thrones may also mean: People
* Throne (surname)
Arts and entertainment
*The Throne (group), collaboration pseudonym for rappers Jay Z and Kanye West (as on Drake's "Pop Style")
* ...
,
Bonfire Madigan
Madigan Shive, also known as Bonfire Madigan Shive, is an American songwriter, performing artist, community organizer, and musician.
Shive is a cellist, singer and guitarist, formerly of the band Tattle Tale and now fronting her own ensemble, ...
, and
Mecca Normal
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valle ...
.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
singer
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
made a guest appearance with
C Average
C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''.
History
"C" ...
and took part in their costumed tribute set to
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
.
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...
played the festival's final set, and his celebrated performance was released on DVD in 2004.
The live album, ''Yoyo A GoGo 1999'', was released in 2001. The album features twenty live tracks by festival performers, followed by a zestful five-minute recording of Negativland leading the crowd in a recitation of
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...
's notorious and profanity-streaked diatribe: "This all means diddly-shit! Who gives a shit . . . diddly-shit! This is American Top 40 bullshit!".
The CD's communal finale has been described as the "collective Yoyo a Go Go 'fuck-you' to the mainstream recording industry and corporate radio".
Yoyo 2001
The fourth Yoyo festival was held July 17–22, 2001, and once again included over fifty musical acts, as well as spoken word performances, art shows and seminars.
Headlining participants included Bratmobile,
The Need
The Need is an American queercore band formed by singer/drummer Rachel Carns and guitarist Radio Sloan in Portland, Oregon in the mid-1990s.
After issuing a series of seven-inches on labels including Kill Rock Stars and Outpunk, The Need re ...
,
The Gossip
Gossip (or The Gossip) was an American indie rock band formed in Searcy, Arkansas, originally active from 1999 until 2016. For most of their career, the band consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Brace Paine, and drummer Hanna ...
, C Average, Dead Moon, and
Sarah Dougher
Sarah Dougher (born September 15, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, author, and teacher. Dougher began her musical career playing the Farfisa organ in the Portland, Oregon based band The Crabs, and later joined Cadallaca with Sleater-Ki ...
.
Also appearing were
Erase Errata
Erase Errata was a band from San Francisco, California. The group favored improvisation as a compositional tool and each of their performances were a unique manifestation of established songs.
History
Erase Errata formed in Oakland, California ...
,
the Evaporators
The Evaporators is a Canadian garage rock band formed in 1986 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Nardwuar, its founding member, is also known for interviewing musicians and celebrities. As of 2007, the band consists of vocalist/keyboardist Nardwuar ...
,
Mark Robinson,
the Microphones
The Microphones are an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020. Across every it ...
,
the Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...
,
The Cannanes,
Tracy and the Plastics
Tracy + the Plastics is an American electropop and video project group from Olympia, Washington, United States. The members include Nikki Romanos on keyboard, Cola on drums, and Tracy as the lead vocals. Although the name implied the group was m ...
,
Mecca Normal
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valle ...
, and the
Selby Tigers
Selby Tigers was an American punk band, formed in 1998. The band's name was chosen as a combination of Selby Avenue, a main thoroughfare in Saint Paul (Minnesota), and a radio broadcast about the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan military force. The ...
.
Legacy
Yoyo festivals were always inclusive of the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
community, and since the original 1994 event always proudly sported a "solid queer presence".
In its tradition, a later series of annual festivals dedicated to
queercore
Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...
began in Olympia in 2002 under the name
Homo-A-Go-Go'.
Filmmakers Elina Shatkin, Cris Dupont, and Thomas Logoreci collaborated on a documentary about the 1999 and 2001 festivals, ''Try This At Home'', which was released in 2015. Yoyo and its participating artists are prominent features of ''A Revolution You Can Dance To: Indie Music in the Northwest'', an exhibition (2016–2017) at the
Washington State History Museum
The Washington State History Museum is a history museum located in downtown Tacoma, Washington, United States. It is operated by the Washington State Historical Society under the official approval of the Washington State Legislature. The muse ...
.
Notes
See also
*
List of punk rock festivals
References
External links
{{Rock festival
Rock festivals in the United States
Punk rock festivals
Indie rock festivals
Music of Olympia, Washington
Riot grrrl
DIY culture
Music festivals in Washington (state)