The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Local art, music, and more at KillJoy Fest

 

News correspondent photos/Alexa Fay & Meredith Balkus

By Madelyn Stone and Emily Huizenga, News Correspondents

A festival started by junior music industry major Jacob Rosati brought together bands, artists and singer-songwriters as well as a beekeeper, an author, a composter, a filmmaker, and tea tasters last Saturday in and around Central Square.

The dozen-plus performers and innovators were part of KillJoy Festival, which lasted 12 hours and moved between four different locations – a bookstore, a café, a music venue and a game store – all along Massachusetts Avenue.

Rosati initiated the festivities with the help of junior music industry major Tom Ponsart and Simmons College senior Marie Ledger.

“All the artists we had either seen before live or knew of, so we knew people were going to get something they would really like,” Rosati said.

In addition to live entertainment, the purchase of a $15 all-access KillJoy wristband came with discounts at several local Cambridge businesses including 10 percent off at Rodney’s Bookstore and a free seven-inch record a Weirdo Records.

Ponsart said the organizers were looking to achieve a greater sense of community among Boston and Cambridge area artists through the festival.

“Most of the people in the bands were our friends,” he said. “We were trying to build that sense of community at least amongst our friends.”

On the second floor of Rodney’s Bookstore, attendees gathered to hear various artists and creators. Northeastern English professor and novelist Gary Goshgarian – also known by his pen name, Gary Braver – started the day off with a reading from his latest work, “Tunnel Vision,” and a lively explanation of his creative process.

Local artist Sean Boyce unveiled a new painting of Central Square and provided the audience with an insight into his work, which he described as “arbitrary realism.” With several of his pieces commissioned for display in Boloco stores across Boston, Boyce said he feels he has the ability to make an impact with a college-aged audience that might more closely identify with his artistic perspective.

Local musician Caleb Groh, previously known by his stage name Happiest Lion, also played several original songs at Rodney’s. After his performance, Caleb attended the rest of KillJoy’s events, remarking on the variety and friendliness of the other participants.

“Everyone is very relaxed and informed,” he said. “You can literally walk right up to people afterwards and shake their hand … It’s like you’re talking to friends.”

Events centered on environmental lectures and information were held at organic and vegan café Life Alive. Somerville-based company MEM Tea Imports led a tea tasting and Jamaica Plain’s Andy Brooks introduced Bootstrap Compost, a company he started in greater Boston. Bootstrap collects and repurposes biodegradable waste as soil, returns it to the subscribers who would like it and donates the rest to urban gardeners in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.

“The service is for city folks, who don’t have the space and time for their own compost bins,” Brooks said.

Musician Jonathan Rizzo of the musical act Cauzamos performed next, playing original songs with guitar, banjo and harmonica.

Keeping with the environmental theme, beekeeper Angela Roell followed, detailing her efforts to help sustain the insects’ populations. Roell, a kindergarten teacher, seeks to educate others about the destructive implications of colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon in which honey bees leave their hives abruptly, as well as the ease and benefits of keeping your own colonies in your backyard.

KillJoy also reached four blocks down Massachusetts Avenue to T.T. The Bear’s Place where Al Polk, lead singer of self-proclaimed “neon punk band” Streight Angular, performed an acoustic set. Clothed in a fuchsia snap-back and coral fanny pack, Polk praised KillJoy’s fusion of artistry and music.

“I think it’s brilliant. Boston has such a rich history of supporting all different aspects of the arts,” Polk said. “[KillJoy] really shows the power of community – the power of the people to come together and really make something great.”

Northeastern middlers John Lesh, Ben Hughes and Matt Rhodes, all of the band Sand Reckoner, followed with an acoustic set, performing both originals and covers like Simon and Garfunkel’s “Kathy’s Song.” The band, which later played an electric set, said they had been friendly with Rosati for a couple of years and has played alongside Jon Palmer & The New Complainers, the band Rosati plays drums for, often.

“Usually anything with musicians is pretty disorganized – pretty hectic,” Coesh said. “But this is great.”

After a brief intermission following the acoustic sessions, bands Jon Palmer & The New Complainers, Streight Angular, Pajama People and Sand Reckoner performed short electric sets.

The event then moved to the basement of book and game store Pandemonium, where Rosati’s brother Peter screened “Bad Kids,” the short film he co-authored, co-directed and co-produced this summer. Starring the Rosatis’ real life younger brother Shebl and his friends, the film depicted the adventure of seven boys.

Comedian Colin Pugh followed, giving the KillJoy audience a humorous perspective on arcade gaming and Scooby Doo villains. Pugh said his first stand-up routine one month ago at afterHOURS encouraged him to try it a second time.

Sam Ueda of local band Felix and Volcano! performed next, followed by bands Camp Hope and Birthdays. Kevin Kenkel, Birthdays’ drummer, remarked on the originality of Rosati’s event.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before for this sort of small-scale music scene,” Kenkel said.

The audience was composed of students and fans from all over the greater Boston area. Though primarily Northeastern students set up the festival, students from other universities also attended.

“It’s a chance for everyone to get out there, for Northeastern and Emerson and BU people to get out and connect,” Emerson sophomore and KillJoy attendee Tess Fletcher said.

Yet throughout the entire day, the audience was noticeably scarce. Rosati said in hindsight he should have started planning KillJoy anywhere from three weeks to a month earlier in order to increase attendance.

“I got so bogged down in logistics it was tough to make time for marketing,” Rosati said.

Ledger, who coordinated the wristbands, said she too would have shifted her focus from securing sponsorships to advertising the event itself.

Ponsart said the event might have attracted a larger audience if they spent more time promoting it.

“Getting all these contacts and just reaching out to them was really the bulk of our time,” he said. “The main issue is we dove head first into this and we didn’t really know how much time we were going to need.”

Rosati said he was pleased overall with KillJoy and could see himself organizing it a second time.

“My goal with it was really to have it not be so bad that I would never want to do it again,” he said. “People came out, we didn’t lose any money, and I think it could work out again next year.”

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