If you aren’t familiar with Louisville’s Cropped Out music festival, well, that’s kind of the point. “It is our intention to turn heads toward the talents of those often omitted, overlooked, or cropped out of ‘the big picture,’” reads the festival website.
The eclectic event was started in 2010 and, at just $35 for a Friday and Saturday pass, promises both autumnal tomfoolery and some of the best damn music you’ve never heard of. With the event’s September 28 return to American Turners Club almost upon us, the man behind Cropped Out’s curtain, Ryan Davis, took some time to chat with me about throwing a punk rock festival at a Kentucky country club, booking the impossible-to-book Jandek, and why this year’s festivities might just be the best yet.
Can you tell us a little bit about the festival and how it got started back in 2010?
Cropped Out was a concept that came about back in 2010 as a means to broaden the spectrum of musicians and bands booked in Louisville. Admittedly, as important as it was for the event to have an emphasis on the community element of a festival (which it now does), I do think I might have felt a little removed from that at the very beginning. Not so much an outsider as an observer, I wanted people to hear the bands I had met and learned about during my time away from home, whether while at college or on tour with my band. So I contacted one of my best friends from growing up, James Ardery, who was (and still is) living in Brooklyn, working as a concert promoter. I said, “Hey man, what if we booked our own music festival – in Louisville?” I knew that we might actually be capable of making something sort of special happen. And against all odds and obstacles (of which there were many), I think we did.
So why Louisville? Why not Brooklyn or Chicago?
People would enjoy this same batch of bands in Brooklyn or Chicago or any other place of cultural relevance. But we do it in Louisville because that’s where we grew up. That’s where I live. People spend their weekends mowing their lawns, planting flowers, installing fixtures, hanging paintings above their televisions. You invest time and effort and love in improving your home because it’s a reflection of you as a person. That’s something to be proud of.
You’ve thrown shows in some pretty unconventional venues, like the Bill Callahan cave show or last year’s festival in the warehouse in Butchertown. With all of your shows, what do you look for in a venue?
The context of any specific performance can make or break that experience for the audience. People could have seen Callahan in a 600-capacity room with experienced sound engineers, professional lighting, and sexy bartenders, but sometimes a performance is cheapened by such luxuries. Our goal is to take musicians who are special to us, establish what it is about them that is special, perhaps how to highlight it, and, when possible, place them in an environment that makes the most of their songs, awarding the audience a unique and enjoyable change of pace.
And how does the festival’s return to American Turners this year fit into that mentality?
One of the many things we loved about Turners back in 2010 was their willingness to really just embrace the whole thing, without the presumable level of judgment and/or skepticism that working with an organization like Cropped Out might warrant. They’re just nice folks with a rad slab of land right on the river. Our decision to move the festival elsewhere last year had way more to do with that same desire for “change of pace” than it did any sort of issue with Turners. We thought that doing the festival in a warehouse downtown made it a little more accessible, at least geographically speaking. I think people had a lot of fun. And I’m super proud of how much work we put into making that space feel like our own. But, from a promoter’s standpoint, the whole thing was just a logistical nightmare. This year we were just like, “You know what, let’s go with our gut again on Turners.” It’s a workingman’s country club. There are horseshoe pits, basketball courts, balconies, picnic tables, a tavern with cheap drinks, and a killer view. It’s for people who know how to kick back and enjoy themselves. It exists specifically for that purpose. And the more people we can cram in there, the more fun it’s going to be.
A lot of people are pretty thrilled that you were able to book Jandek. Can you tell us a little bit about how that happened?
I looked up Jandek’s personal record label in the Houston Yellow Pages. I called the number. It rang twice and went straight to an automated voicemail. I left kind of a long, flustered message, saying who I was and what I wanted, not knowing if it was even a real number or if it was going to end up on some random soccer mom’s machine. But, a couple of minutes later, my phone rang. I picked it up and we talked for a while. He asked what I considered to be a somewhat strange series of questions – nothing about what other bands were playing, what kind of budget we had, anything like that. There’s been a lot of back-and-forth between us. It’s all been sort of a slow, delicate, unconventional booking process. I almost feel like maybe I shouldn’t go into much more detail about it.
So how about the other acts? Are there any that you’re particularly proud to bring to Louisville, or that you’re just excited to see?
I could go on and on about what excites me. Just off the top of my head, I’ve been wanting to see both Lantern and Merchandise for a while now. I’ve been emailing back and forth with those guys, trying to get them to town for what feels like a long time, so it’s exciting to finally have them en route. Really looking forward to seeing Eugene Chadbourne for the first time. Somewhat rare performances from locals like Kark and Raw Thug. PC Worship and Guerilla Toss are going to totally blow people away. Two of the best bands I’ve had the pleasure of seeing lately. Stoked to have them on board.
Any favorite memories of the last two festivals?
Pissed Jeans playing in the little bar room of Turners during our first year is the first highlight that comes to mind. Somehow, a giant encased meat of some sort was thrown into the “stage” area. Not sure what that was about, but they killed it.
-Ryan Crist
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