Last year’s Total Punk Fuck Off II Fest had LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS as well as the ACHTUNGS from Finland and ended in total chaos. This year is the third and final year of the Total Punk Fuck Off — two days only, this weekend June 3rd and 4th in hospitable Orlando, Florida. Go catch TIMMY’S ORGANISM and GG KING in the sweltering heat that is Florida in June and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. This year’s fest will go out with a bang, for sure!
Did you ever think you’d make it to a third year?
That was the plan. Movies, deaths, and festivals are best in threes.
The “Final Fuck Off” means this is the last year, right?
The train stops here. There may be more fucking off in the future but it won’t be on my dime.
Orlando in June sounds hotter than hell. Should I still bring my leather jacket?
Hell’s got nothing on a Florida summer. Still bring your leathers though. Got to look cool to feel cool.
I see it’s an all-American line-up this year.
All American Punk. No Foreign Junk. KBD OOP RAR.
Tell us about the Florida bands that are playing.
The MOLD are our buddies from Jacksonville. Bass, drums, and keys. Punk à la SCREAMERS. GINO & THE GOONS are from St. Pete and are party starting budget rock. AUTARX and MANIC & THE DEPRESSIVES are both from Orlando, share a singer, and are two of my favorite bands to come out of Orlando in a long time. AUTUARX has got a deathrock kind of Agnew thing going on. MANIC & THE DEPRESSIVES are bass-driven minimal punk with alternating male and female vocals. We’re also having a pre-party on Thursday night with my band GOLDEN PELICANS and another local called SECRET TRACERS. Three guitar stoner punk.
Who knew Florida was kicking? What’s the scene like in Orlando right now?
Orlando has a really cool scene. There isn’t some cohesive sound like a city like Atlanta, but there are a bunch of good bands all doing their own thing, and a bunch of wild enthusiastic kids going bat shit. Plus pretty much everything happens within two blocks of each other, so most everyone lives in this one neighborhood. You never have to drive anywhere to go see a show, or eat a good meal, or go to the bar. It’s really the best thing about Orlando.
Florida in general?
There are pockets here and there, and it seems like more bands are popping up from around the state. St. Augustine and Jacksonville are always really fun to play.
What local hotels are dreading this fest?
Downtown Travelodge gets destroyed every year, but they keep allowing us back. It’s the cheapest room in town, not too far from the club and they have a exquisite collection of bed bugs.
What bands are headlining this year?
TIMMY’S ORGANISM headlines Friday night and COUNTER INTUITS, Ron House’s newest project, closes out the weekend.
Are the shows all ages? Tell us about the venues.
The Thursday night pre-party is 21 and up but the rest of the weekend is 18+ (sorry kiddos). Here’s a breakdown of the venues, which by the way are all within a quarter mile radius of each other:
Wally’s: Orlando institution. Stiffest cheapest drinks in town. Small, smoky bar with all kinds of interesting characters. Really excited that one of the shows is going to be here.
St. Matt’s (Joe’s NYC Bar): This place is something else. It’s a bar with a stripper pole that also serves as a church on Sunday mornings. They are also “Orlando’s only steam punk bar”, and it’s the only bar with an alter ego. Sometimes it’s St. Matt’s and sometimes it’s Joe’s NYC Bar. The inside is a strange combination of small English Chapel with gears painted on the ground (I think this is where the “steam punk” comes into play). The outside of the building always looks different. They will paint it like an American Flag for Fourth of July, then paint jack-o’-lantern faces on the exterior for Halloween, followed by snowflakes in December, but the best part is they just paint over whatever was there before so you can still see what is painted over. It doesn’t get much more Orlando than this place.
Uncle Lou’s: Pretty much the center of the Orlando punk universe. Small bar run by a big Jamaican man named Lou. He’s the entire city of Orlando’s Uncle and if he ran for mayor, he’d probably win.
Will’s: Best venue in town, and run by a great supporter of the local music community. It’s where both night shows will be and have been every year for the Fuck Off. I honestly would never think about doing it anywhere else.
It’s nice that Orlando is so hospitable to punks and it sounds like a hospitable place for weirdos. How long have you been preparing for this year’s fest?
I started working on this back in late September. It’s two weeks out and I’m still not done. Whoever thought it would take so much effort to Fuck Off.
Is this a fest?
No, that happens in Gainesville.
Zing! What is a fest?
A bunch of people standing in a parking lot while a band plays inside.
I hate fests, do you?
I don’t hate fests but I due tend to get burnt out if they go to long. Two days is key. Sweet and short.
Any good stories from last year’s fest?
Lumpy knocked me upside the head with a heavy raw sausage that I paid for last year. ACTION SWINGERS absolutely killed it and none of his band members killed each other, which in and of itself is a miracle. Three bands had their first practice with their current line-up hours before their respective shows.
How’s your label?
Best thing going.
What was your last release?
Put out two new singles last week: SICK THOUGHTS – “18 & Free” and GINO & THE GOONS – “Love & Hate.” Next up is the debut single from New Orleans’ LSDOGS and a 12” by Oakland’s VIOLENCE CREEPS.
How many releases have you done so far?
Total Punk is getting ready to release it’s 48th. Floridas Dead now has two under it’s belt, and Floridas Dying (R.I.P.) had 42 releases.
Is your mother proud?
Who wouldn’t be proud of a 38-year-old who spends half of his year putting together an event called “The Fuck Off”?
Any last words?
I’m innocent.
What other DIY labels are there in Spain right now?
Have you been doing this a long time?
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