LISKFEST 2008 & 2009
For several years this was the official site for LiskFest.
Content is from the site's 2008-2009 archived pages as well as from other sources.
MAIN STAGE A
8:20 – Winds Of Plague |
MAIN STAGE B
9:00 - As I Lay Dying |
SIDE STAGE A
8:15 - Cro Mags |
LOCAL STAGE B
8:45 - Insted |
2009 Lisk Fest
RULES
All attendees will be searched. This is a clean, safe, family-oriented, concert. Be sensible, all of you have been to a Concert, so you know what to expect. Sheriffs Department will be present and enforcing rules so everyone can enjoy themselves.
The answer is NO
NO Instruments / NO Knives / Weapons Etc. NO Chains / Chain Wallets NO Gang Related Colors or Patches NO Outside Alcohol NO Blankets NOOutside Food & Bev NO Camelpacks NO Tents NO Flags NO Refunds Or Exchanges NO Chairs NO Video Cameras NO Audio Recording DevicesNO Bota Bags NO Professional Cameras NO Stuffed Animals NO Pets NO Drugs & Drug Paraphernalia.
The answer is YES
OK Backpacks (medium) OK Hats OK Sun Block OK Lighters OK Cell Phones OK Sunglasses OK Cigarettes OK Small Beach Towel OK All Ages Welcome OK Ages 5 & Under Free OK Fanny Packs OK Digital Cameras (Non-Pro) OK Disposable Cameras OK Film Cameras (Non-Pro)
This is an ALL AGES show. A child under 5 will be admitted free of charge with an accompanying paid adult ticket. When it comes to your children, take an active role. There MAY be subject matter that you deem inappropriate for your child, you MAY deem the Music to be to loud for your child…
2009 LiskFest UpDates
Attention VIP Ticket Holders
[September 4th, 2009]
Due to some unforeseen circumstances the VIP private show has been cancelled, which was originally scheduled for Sunday at Chain Reaction. Instead, VIP tickets holders are invited to a private Liskfest pool party being held on Sunday. Details to come…
LISKFEST 2009 Official Schedule is LIVE!!
[September 2nd, 2009]
We have just released the 2009 Stage Schedule. You can view the Set List of when your favorite bands are playing. To view the schedule CLICK HERE
Liskfest in the O.C. Register
[September 1st, 2009]
Check it out!
Winds of Plague Joins Liskfest!
[August 21st, 2009]
Liskfest just got alot more brutal. Winds of Plague will be playing this years Liskfest 2.0.
Go GREEN w/ Liskfest this year!
[August 20th, 2009]
We are offering you a chance to GO GREEN!! For a discounted ticket price join BIKEFEST and ride a certain route to Liskfest this year. For more information click on the “Bikefest to Liskfest” green button above.
CRO-MAGS @ liskfest this year!
[July 28th, 2009]
The wait is finally over!. Cro-Mags will be playing this years Liskfest.
BOLD joins Liskfest.
[July 14th, 2009]
Eleven Thirty-Four joins Liskfest!
[July 13th, 2009]
Thats right! We said it, Eleven Thirty-Four joins this years Liskfest lineup.. Word around town is they might play some old “Function” songs
Sleeping Giant joins Liskfest 2.0
[July 10th, 2009]
Liskfest just got a little more complete. We have confirmed the band will be performing. Thanks guys!
H20 Joins Liskfest 2.0
[July 7th, 2009
Our good friend Toby confirms H2O will be performing this year! Super Syked!! Thanks Toby!!
Bands are up!!
[July 6th, 2009]We just posted the list of bands. We are still adding many more to the list. Some huge acts that we cant mention yet.. Stay tuned!! Man is this years Liskfest going to be insane.
Liskfest 2009!
Liskfest 2.0 is coming! Can you guess who we’ve got lined-up for this year?
Orange Pop: Liskfest returns to Irvine
By KELLI SKYE FADROSKI | kfadroski@scng.com | Orange County Register
September 2, 2009
Last year’s Liskfest didn’t exactly go as planned.
What started off as a good idea for a hardcore punk and metal festival turned out to be something of a money pit for Orange County promoter Chris Lisk. His promotional partner, L.A. concert giant Goldenvoice, pulling out of the venture – and then his headlining act Pennywise cancelling – should have spelled doom for the new event. Instead, Lisk pulled together every available resource and put on the show himself last October at Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine.
Lisk lost money, big time – “but, you know, it was just worth it,” he says. “I thought it was so much fun, and everyone had a really good time, and I survived it.
“My dad always told me that you can always make more money. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I (learned) not be fearful of big purchases, because you can fix them eventually.”
Nevertheless, last year’s event drew 3,500 people – enough to encourage Lisk to try it again this Saturday with Liskfest 2.0, with As I Lay Dying topping the bill along with Insted, Cro-Mags, H2O and Ignite.
This time around, however, Lisk has opted to cut out all the big dogs; he and partner Rob Dubar have handled all details themselves. The duo started planning for round two back in January, when they hit up Oak Canyon Ranch to set up a date – and discovered there was already only one date in 2009 left available, Sept. 5.
“I was like, ‘Book it!'” Lisk says. “I don’t think we even had a band on board yet. But after we set the date we went to a bunch of them with, like, ‘Hey, this is the date we have - who can play?’
“We lost a few bands. We lost Bad Brains because of it; they could have done it the following weekend. But it’s the best we could do.”
The bill features more than 30 acts, including roughly a dozen local bands that Lisk has met and befriended over the years. (He’s also guitarist in Huntington Beach punk band 7 Year Sophomore.) The lineup, he says, is essentially solidified, but he’s still working on a few unannounced guests.
“I’m going to keep that under wraps, though, because when it happens, whoever it is, I want it to be a complete surprise to the audience,” he says. “Last year we had the Cro-Mags come out as the surprise guest, and this year they’re actually on the bill. You never know who could end up coming out.”
With last year’s problems still hanging over his head, Lisk says he had to cut out some bigger ideas he had in mind for the second installment, and instead plan realistically. Better to have a slowly growing festival than none at all.
“We were thinking like, ‘Oh man, it should be two days and we could have camping and a motorcycle show,'” he says. “But then we were like, ‘No, let’s just go with the one day – so I don’t lose half of the things I own to pay it off.”
If he can just break even, “I’ll be the happiest guy in the world.” His enthusiasm for both the music and those who are passionate about it are driving him more than a desire to profit. “At one time I was like those kids (who come to festivals), and if I had something like this to go to I would be so happy. So I want to keep it going.”
Lisk, 32, was born and raised in a house off 19th Street and Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa. Ever since, he has never lived more than two or three streets away from that location.
“I’ve got Detroit Bar across the street, and the Avalon next door, and a Wahoo’s and an In-N-Out, everything I need is here. I’ve traveled the world looking for something better, and I can’t find it.”
In 1997 Lisk became a roadie for local hardcore punk band Ignite, and in 1998 he joined an appropriately named O.C. band called Speak 714. He went on to play in a couple other smaller groups, but none of them really took off. So instead he worked as marketing director for fashion retailer Paul Frank for 10 years. In January he took the same position at Affliction clothing.
The idea to do his own local music festival started brewing in 2004 while hanging out with the band Bleeding Through on its tour bus during Ozzfest.
“I was talking to a couple of guys about doing a show called West Fest,” he recalls. “In my core group of friends I’m the guy who jumps on something like, ‘Let’s do it, now.’ When I’m excited about something like that I actually do it. I talked to a lot of people and asked a lot of questions � talked to friends at Goldenvoice and Live Nation about how we could set it up and what venue we could use � and after a couple years of me talking about it, and it not happening, it turned from this great idea into, like, folklore, as my friends called it: the Chris Lisk folklore.”
But as the years passed Lisk only got grief from band buddies, who made fun of him, redubbing his West Fest as “Lisk Fest.” When the idea finally became a reality – and Lisk approached these same acts to play the festival – they agreed on one condition: that Lisk actually call it Liskfest.
“It’s an internal joke that came to fruition – and I look like a total jackass egomaniac. And as the bands are playing, they’re laughing at me. But whatever!”
As the countdown to the fest grows shorter, Lisk says he’s extremely busy tying up loose ends – yet he doesn’t feel as much pressure this year. The dollar risk is still there, but at least this time he knows what his losses could be, and doesn’t have to worry about anyone backing out on him.
“Right now I’m a complete stress case. My hands are clammy and I’m sweating. Once it’s over and it’s a good show, and no one gets hurt and everyone has a good time, whether we make money or not, it will all be worth it.”
Liskfest 2.0 – at Oak Canyon Ranch – Irvine, CA
Ditch- Big Wheel Asst. Editor | www.bigwheelmagazine.com
September 2, 2009
Last year’s Lisk Fest was a great event with highlights being performances by Gorilla Biscuits, Cro-Mags, Ignite, and H20. The fest, which is put on by Chris Lisk of Speak 714, is turning out to be an annual get together of old guard Orange County Hardcore types with big name acts from all around the country. This year The Cro-Mags returned along with Ignite and H20, but were also joined by late 80′s straight edge hardcore bands, Insted and Bold.
I got to the show pretty early in the day so I could check out my friends in Terezodu play on the local stage. There were some minor complications including a ten dollar parking charge (which I managed to avoid). Also many people seemed pretty unhappy with the ten dollar charge for buying tickets at the event (this made tickets forty dollars all together as they were thirty dollars in advance). This wouldn’t have been so problematic if they had disclosed ahead of time that tickets would cost an extra ten dollars if they weren’t bought in advance. Hopefully this will not affect the attendance of next year’s Lisk Fest as otherwise it was a great event. Anyway Terezodu played a cool set and made the best out if a situation where only a hand full of people were watching them.
A few hours later Ignite played on the main stage. Most of the songs that they played were from "Our Darkest Days," but they did throw in "Embrace" for the more seasoned fans and a cover of U2′s "Bloody Sunday." Ignite were followed by H20, who put on a great show, playing songs from all of their records. Vocalist, Toby Morse was accompanied on stage by his six year old son, Max who jumped around on stage and even sang with his father a bit. H20′s classic New York Hardcore sound showed through in songs like "Family Tree," Thicker Than Water," "Still Here," "Guilty By Association" (Freddy Madball’s lines were delivered by Scott Vogel of Terror), "Nothing to Prove," "I See It Us," "Five Year Plan," and "One Life, One Chance." H20 have always been a crowd favorite because they play catchy songs that are easy to sing along and dance to and they have always had enough wisdom to mix in their most current material with their older songs.
Connecticut’s Bold opened their set with "Talk Is Cheap" and although vocalist, Matt Warnke’s voice had some wear and tear from the band’s recent European tour, it was fun to see them play some old hardcore classics. While Bold didn’t have as many peole watching them as some of the other bands there were a few people who were clearly very stoked to see them. After Bold played I watched bits and pieces of Strife’s set, which was a bit of a weird trip down memory lane. Strife were never a favorite band of mine in the 1990′s but they did give a high caliber performance of heavy hardcore which reflects some Southern California influences.
Whenever the Cro-Mags play it is an event and they are never a band to be missed. Since it was a John Joseph/Mackie version of the band and not a Harley Flanagan version all of the original material played was from the seminal "Age of Quarrel" album. "Seekers of Truth" and "We Gotta Know" sounded heavy as fuck alongside other great tunes like "Hard Times," and "Life on My Own." As always they also played some Bad Brains covers- tonight they were "Attitude" and "Banned in D.C."
With all of the great band playing at Lisk Fest, Insted were still the highlight of the whole event. They brought the most energy out of any band playing and since it’s such a rare occasion for them to play it made their performance pretty special. Vocalist, KevInsted moved some monitors on stage, commenting that he didn’t like how they created a barrier between the band and audience and made stage dives more difficult. "We’ll Make the Difference" and a cover of "Young Til I Die" were huge crowd pleasers and hopefully some younger kids who weren’t familiar with Insted were turned on to their music by this performance. It’s not easy for any band to follow the Cro-Mags, but Insted did the job well.
Comment: We made it to this years LiskFest after friends insisted we should come. It was weird driving into Irvine having just spent two weeks hiking in Yellowstone National Park where the weather was so chilly we were thankful that we had our North Face jackets. I am a big fan of all their products, but I believe that the warmest ski jackets are from North Face. When you are on a serious winter expedition in Alaska or Canada, you sure better be prepared. Anyway, by the time we hit Irvin CA we had shed all our cold weather jackets, vest, gloves, pants, and shoes and were dressed for sunny, balmy southern California. However- no surf boards! We met up with our friends and had a blast. We hoped this would be an annual event, but it never panned out. Glad we at least caught it this year.
2008 LiskFest
After briefly being cancelled last week, California's Liskfest is back on. The promoters made the announcement over the weekend:
We have new promotors and new investors and the show will go on! We have a ton of new things that will be added to the show as well.
The event will take place this year on October 11th at Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine, California. The event would have hosted bands like Pennywise, Gorilla Biscuits, the Aquabats, Strung Out, the Vandals, Ignite, Death By Stereo, Strife, Every Time I Die, Rival Schools, H20, Bleeding Through, Revolution Mother, Set Your Goals, Dear Hearts, Ill Patriot and Dead Sara.
New Video & Photos from Liskfest 2008!
Check out all the new videos and photos from Liskfest 2008 we’ve just posted…
Another Great Review from OC Weekly!
Last Night: LiskFest @ Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine
Posted by Andrew Youssef in Last Night reviews
October 12, 2008 10:13 AM
Last Night: Liskfest at Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine on October 11,2008
Better Than: seeing a festival in the middle of summer.
Download: "Oi, To The World!" by the Vandals from their Myspace page
Hope, change, and unity were used as themes in hardcore music long before the current political candidates incorporated these ideas into their campaigns. A sense of community united the Liskfest as it was snatched from the jaws of cancellation by some last minutes investors. It was a picture perfect weather for a day of hardcore and punk.
Walter Schreifels (Vocals/Guitar) pulled double duty at Liskfest when he played in the afternoon with Rival Schools and would later play guitar for Gorilla Biscuits. Rival Schools ripped through their set by incorporating some new tracks such as "A Parts for B Actors".
Christian death metal may seem like an oxymoron but not according to Living Sacrifice. I will admit that "Local Vengeance Killing" did slay. Their fusion of metal and thrash stuck out on a day dominated by hardcore.
Orange County was well represented throughout the festival as Death By Stereo took the stage. Efrem Schulz (Vocals) was on the prowl verbally attacking the audience as well as the stage. I found their song "Emo Holocaust" to be particularly hilarious as they openly ridiculed Emo music.
New York took the stage in the form of H2O. "Nothing To Prove" is their latest album that took seven years in the making. Toby Morse (Vocals) proudly introduced his small son Max as a "Straight edge vegetarian not by his choice".
Local favorites Ignite mentioned a few causes such as Doctors without Borders in between their rapid-fire hardcore punk songs. "Let It Burn" started one of the many circle pits that would frequently reappear throughout the day. Metalcore reared its head in the form of Every Time I Die. "Ebolarama" was a kick to the face with its furious assault of guitars and drums. Most of the audience seemed to be more in tune with regular hardcore instead of the metal tinged fare.
Bleeding Through touched upon all genres including metal, hardcore, industrial and goth. Marta Peterson (Keyboards) gets the dual distinction of being the only keyboard player of the day along with being the only female artist on the main stage. I was able to decipher most of Brandan Schieppati's vocals on "Declaration" and "Orange County Blonde and Blue" but the task wasn't easy.
Strung Out and its astrolux-tattooed fans really ignited the Liskfest. "Reason To Believe" was fast and furious as Jason Cruz spat out the lyrics behind the blazing fretwork of Rob Ramos and Jake Kiley. Their thirty-minute time slot was criminally short.
You can't not help but laugh when the Vandals start up their antics. "Oi To The World!" was only the tip of the iceberg to their wild set. They were boasting mid-set that they sounded great despite not rehearsing. I would have to agree. Their cover of the Team America theme "America Fuck Yeah" seamlessly blended into their set. I don't think anyone will forget Warren Fitzgerald's guitar solo with a Hello Kitty guitar.
The barricades in front of the stage were wisely removed prior to Gorilla Biscuits. A parade of stage divers leapt into the crowd as Gorilla Biscuits worked through a twenty plus setlist covering most of their tunes from the classic album "Start Today". Anthony Civarelli (Vocals) proudly wore his Obama "Hope" shirt as he was frequently assisted on vocals by various stage invaders. It was a true hardcore show in that everyone was having a good time and watching out for each other.
With the Pennywise rumors shot down earlier this week, the Cro-Mags filled in and continued to wave the flag of New York hardcore. I only needed to hear "Malfunction" to exceed my maximum amount of hardcore music in one day. It was mentioned that Liskfest would be returning next year so they better get working on that Minor Threat reunion.
Critic's Notebook:
Personal Bias: I checked out the Rival Schools warm up show at the Echo in Los Angeles a few days ago.
Random Detail: Apparently Josh Freese from The Vandals had just flown in to play the show as he was on tour with Nine Inch Nails.
By The Way: It was mentioned they would get Uniform Choice to reform for next year's Liskfest.
Great Review from TeamGoon.com
THANK YOU!
So the first Liskfest went off without a hitch thanks to all of the bands the security the staff and the venue for providing a very enjoyable day. Thank you to all the fans who believed in this music all along. I am already working on next year and hopefully we will see UNIFORM CHOICE, DAG NASTY, INSTED, 1134, QUICKSAND AND MANY MANY MORE! Let me know who you want and i will do my best to get that band. thank you all.
chris lisk
liskrocks@gmail.com
2nd STAGE TIMES – LF 2008
[October 9th, 2008]1130 1200 – The Hoax
1210 1240 – When Heroes Become Legends
1250 120 – Night of Broken Glass
130 200 – The Logan
210 240 – 8th Day Mistake
250 320 – The 3rd Degree
330 400 – Sic Waiting
410 440 – Against Giants
450 520 – Media Control
530 600 – Chaser
610 640 – The Heart Closure
Stage Times – LF 2008
[October 5th, 2008]11:30 FALSE ALLIANCE
12 INNAWAY
1230 DEAD SARA
1 DEAR HEARTS
1:30 REVOLUTION MOTHER
2 SET YOUR GOALS
2:30 RIVAL SCHOOLS
3 LIVING SACRIFICE
3:30 DEATH BY STEREO
4 H20
4:30 IGNITE
5 EVERY TIME I DIE
5:30 BLEEDING THROUGH
6 STRUNG OUT
6:30 THE VANDALS
7:15 GORILLA BISCUITS
8:15 SPECIAL GUEST
Strung Out!! The Best Lisk Fest Video Ever....Sick Primal Death Scream By Jason Cruz
More 2008 LiskFest UpDates
LIVING SACRIFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[August 19th, 2008]
Living Sacrifice added to the wide range of bands on the Liskfest lineup. I am extremely excited to see this band. Tickets available now.
The Vandals, Every Time I Die & Revolution Mother Added to Liskfest!
[August 18th, 2008]
With Warped Tour finally over, we can announce that The Vandals, Every Time I Die, and Revolution Mother are now playing Liskfest! Spread the word…
Strung Out Added to Liskfest!
[August 11th, 2008]
Strung Out have officially joined the Liskfest lineup.
More band to be announced after Warped Tour. Can you guess which ones?
H20 GO!!!!!!!!!!!!
[August 11th, 2008]
H2O now added to the LISKFEST line up!
TICKETS ON SALE TODAY!
[August 2nd, 2008]
Tickets are NOW available on Sale @ ticketmaster.com!
Win Tickets to Liskfest!
[August 1st, 2008]
Be sure to listen to KROQ 106.7 during the “Fearious Five @ 9. Nicole Alvarez will be giving away a pair of tickets to LISKFEST.
3 New Bands Added!
[July 28th, 2008]
We have just confirmed 3 new bands: Rival Schools (ex: Quicksand members), Set Your Goals and Ill Patriot.