Kollapse Fest, a local gathering of punk rock bands which has occurred annually since 2008, is set to happen this year on April 8th, 9th and 10th. While continuing to focus on the best of the raw, harsh, and abrasive bands that various subgenres of punk spit out, this year’s fest also features an emphasis on older bands who have weathered the test of time (White Cross, Unseen Force, and the State – all of whom started in the early half of the 1980s) and also of international bands (Riistetyt is coming all the way from Finland to kick off their American tour in our fair city).
Kollapse Fest, a local gathering of punk rock bands which has occurred annually since 2008, is set to happen this year on April 8th, 9th and 10th. While continuing to focus on the best of the raw, harsh, and abrasive bands that various subgenres of punk spit out, this year’s fest also features an emphasis on older bands who have weathered the test of time (White Cross, Unseen Force, and the State – all of whom started in the early half of the 1980s) and also of international bands (Riistetyt is coming all the way from Finland to kick off their American tour in our fair city).
I sat down for a few questions with Shravan Deolalikar, who has coordinated Kollapse Fest for the past three years, in addition to playing guitar in bands like Aghast and SSR and running Desolate Legacy Records.
RVA: You’ve been booking Kollapse Fest for a few years now…
Shravan: This is the third year.
RVA: Has it gotten any easier as time has gone on? Has the fest’s reputation opened any doors for you that might not have been available initially?
Shravan: Definitely, since this is the third year we’ve built up a base of attendees and the name has been getting out there more. It’s easier to make it bigger each year because we can expect more people.
RVA: If somebody was unfamiliar with some of the genres of music presented by the fest, are there any particular bands that you would point to as a good starting point?
Shravan: Sure. Probably, I’d say a lot of ’80s-style hardcore, not necessarily a lot of the US stuff, but stuff like Discharge, Varukers. Definitely some bands that are more on the metal side, more metal influenced like Bathory, Venom, even Slayer. But it’s definitely a hardcore punk festival.
RVA: Is there anybody playing the fest you’d point to as a good introduction for somebody less familiar?
Shravan: I don’t know, there are a lot of great bands playing. Riistetyt is pretty much the headliner, I think they’re a good band for people to look to. They’ve been playing since the early ’80s. They’re coming from Finland, so we’re really excited about having them. They’ve released seven or eight full-length albums now.
RVA: I noticed a lot of older bands on the bill. Was it difficult to track down any of them? Some of the older bands, like United Mutation, are relatively obscure.
Shravan: I’ve been involved with the hardcore and punk scene in this city for the past seven years or so. There are a lot of people in the older scene that are still involved. I’m not going to name any names, but there are definitely people still involved. United Mutation, for example, had played a reunion gig in Northern Virginia, I don’t remember how long ago. I didn’t attend, but some of my friends went up there and saw them and got their contact information. So I think there’s a general revival of interest, even in the older crowd, for this type of music.
RVA: It seems like a lot of musical genres look down on artists as they age, as evidenced by ideas like the “washed-up rock star” stereotype. It seems like punk is experiencing a reversal of that with a lot more regard for older bands and people who can still do it for thirty years. It’s not like some rock and roll fan making fun of the Rolling Stones. Do you think that’s something inherent to punk?
Shravan: Definitely. Punk is all about self-empowerment. Music aside, punk has always been a method to assert who you are. Living your life the way you want to live it without infringing on other people. Seeing people who are well over thirty, well over forty in some cases, still rocking out like they used to in the ’80s is pretty inspiring.
RVA: Do you feel like the emphasis on older bands ever turns into a sort of documentary or archival approach, for younger people or people who might not have been exposed to them already?
Shravan: Sure, a little bit. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.
RVA: Yeah, I didn’t mean that that sort of approach just turns it into some retro thing.
Shravan: I wouldn’t say it’s just a rehashing of older artists. A lot of the bands that may claim that they play in the style of older stuff add their own elements and take things to the next level, from a purely musical perspective.
RVA: It seems like Richmond has a lot of fests (No Way, Heart of Winter, United Blood, etc.). Do you see a lot of crossover or does Kollapse occupy it’s own niche?
Shravan: I think there’s some crossover. I can’t really say to what extent. Especially some of the older people in each of the crowds that each of those fests appeal to. I think they have a mutual appreciation for some of it. I can’t really say to what extent, but I think there is some crossover for sure.
RVA: Is there anyone you’ve really wanted to book for Kollapse that you haven’t been able to?
Shravan: Oh yeah, there are a bunch of bands that I’d love to get.
RVA: I don’t want you to jinx anything.
Shravan: Next year I want to take it to the next level with even more foreign bands. I’ve been looking into getting a Japanese band over here. I think that would be really cool, but I’m not going to start dropping names. I don’t want to be premature with that.
RVA: Any final thoughts?
Shravan: I encourage everyone to come, I think it’s a good mix of bands. It’ll be a pretty entertaining and engaging weekend.
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The fest schedule is as follows:
APRIL 8th @ WONDERLAND PRE-FEST PARTY SHOW
NIGHTFALL 10:30 – 11:00 pm
DETONIZE 9:50 – 10:20 pm
STATE OF DECLINE 9:10 – 9:40 pm
OCCULTIST 8:30 – 9:00 pm
APRIL 9th @ ALLEY KATZ
RIISTETYT 12:35 pm – 1:05 pm
DEATHCHARGE 11:50 pm – 12:20 am
DETONIZE 11:05 – 11:35 pm
AGHAST 10:20 – 10:50 pm
SSR 9:45 – 10:15 pm
PERDITION 9:00 – 9:30 pm
LOTUS FUCKER 8:30 – 9:00 pm
APRIL 10th @ ALLEY kATZ
RIISTETYT 12:15 – 12:45 pm
PARASYTIC 11:30 – 12:00 pm
STATE 10:50 – 11:15 pm
ANGUISH 10:10 – 10:40 pm
APPALACIAN TERROR UNIT 9:25 – 9:55 pm
WHITE CROSS 8:50 – 9:15 pm
SHITFUCKER 8:10 – 8:35 pm
SYNDROME 7:30 – 7:55 pm
NO TOMORROW 7:00 – 7:20 pm
Ticket information, venue locations, and links to individual bands’ websites can be found at:
http://www.myspace.com/kollapsefest
