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“Sneak Peek of LOCOBAZOOKA! A Look Back on the FUTURE OF ROCK”

Remember being a kid at your first rock concert? The feeling was pure exhilaration. Think back to how thrilled you were about it. I bet you couldn’t think about anything else during your day. You probably either listened to that record, 8-track, or CD repeatedly or maybe you and your friends just sang every tune you knew by heart all day.

Today when you are driving home in your car after a long day at work, when a song by that artist comes on the radio, I’m willing to bet you crank up the volume. You can feel it vibrate through your body filling the heart and soul of you. You can feel the beat pulsating in the steering wheel as your drumming along. Maybe you prefer to bob your head or to simply tap your fingers to the beat. Next thing you know, you are singing along. Then you let yourself go and you are jamming to your own private concert in the car.

What are you thinking about? You’re there aren’t you?

In the audience you’re freaking out, jumping around, yelling, banging your head, tapping your feet, laughing with your friends, singing as loud as you can, maybe you have a lighter going for that power ballad. Go ahead and admit it. I know it’s true. To this day when my friends and I hear certain songs we look at each other sometimes let out that ear piercing girl squeal and scream, “Oh My God! Eeeeeee!” and immediately start with the “Remember when…”s. I am sure it is positively nauseating to those around us, but it just feels good and we don’t care that the squeal just broke all the windows in the building.

Music is one of those things that whether it brings a tear to your eye or gets you pumped feels good. Now imagine that you are one of those who feel music so deeply that you can’t just listen to it on the radio, you need to create it, sing it, play it, to be it. It breathes life into you like water to a flower. It may not be music that makes you personally feel this way but I’m sure something brings that type of all consuming joy into your life.

Most of us have had those daydreams about being a rock star. When my siblings and I were kids we’d put on little concerts for our family when they’d come over for coffee or a birthday. When it was over we’d take our bows and they’d be full of laughter, smiles and applause. It was a fun treat for them. Today, I can still pretend I’m on a stage singing my heart out when I am alone in my car, but being a rock star isn’t my destiny.

Some of us don’t out grow the dream and instead realize we have the blessed gift of musical talent. It is a dream that we decide to pursue wholeheartedly and devote hours to practicing in a band. In the band, we find an extension of our family. Together we perform at smoke filled clubs for pennies or nothing at all. We endure countless rejections from less than cordial music scouts, record labels, and agents. Our families either support our every move or tell us to “get a hair cut and get a real job.” They encourage us to have a Plan B, “just in case.”

Yet through all the heartache, we find nothing more invigorating than those brief fleeting moments when we are in the spotlight on that stage. While we are on that stage playing for a handful of people, we dream of playing for thousands of screaming fans and for those that just “get it.” We perform for those who have the same dream and for those who have gone before us. We do it for our families that gave us unrelenting support and kicked us in the pants when we were drained and didn’t believe in ourselves. We keep going so someday we can share the stage with our idol.

Then we hear about this festival, Locobazooka and can’t believe it could be true. “We could have a chance to play in front of 20 thousand people or more. Someone from a record company could actually here us play. We could play with Disturbed, Limp Bizkit, Zack Wylde, Godsmack or who knows each year the list seems to get even better! This could be the first big step!”

In a matter of moments, a dream comes true for approximately fifty bands each year. Instead of playing for fifty people, they get to play for fifteen thousand fans. They get to share the stage with national acts that they listen to on the radio. They are given the opportunity to have five minutes of fame that could lead to a lifetime of fortune.

The beauty of it is simple. No matter where the opportunity may lead, they had a chance to live the dream if only for a moment. Those brief moments could define a lifetime. It is the difference between going for the gusto and sitting on the sidelines watching someone else live for the moment.

This book is written for them. It is written to commemorate the moment they made a choice to dictate their path. It is written for those who didn’t, but still have the desire. It is written to inspire those children in music class that can’t wait to get their first drum kit.

Most importantly, it is written for the fans. The fans, whether they are fourteen or forty, they love the experience. They love to go and experience all the sights, the unique people, the different styles of music, the games, and other attractions. They want to dance, mosh, hang out and have a picnic in the sun. It is an all-encompassing event for all ages.

Someday, when all the fourteen year olds have grown up and they are like us jamming while we’re on our way home to our families, they will be able to remember. We hope that the stories we share with you here about the festival and the bands will evoke within you the emotion that we have when we hear our favorite songs come on the radio.

Everyone takes something away from this festival. There is so much to cover that it is surely impossible. Locobazooka is for you and about you, The Fan and The Rock Star. Come on, be a part of Locobazooka History! That’s right. We want to share more of your memories and experiences with the world! Send us your stories and watch for them in Locobazooka: A Look Back on the Future of Rock! We’re hungry for more Locobazooka…Keep sending us more dish. You could find yourself a guest in Volume 2.

ALL MATERIAL ON THIS PAGE IS COPY RIGHTED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2007