Bear Creek Music Festival
Nov. 14-17
Artist Spotlight on:
Greenhouse Lounge
written by Elise Olmstead
Bear Creek Music Festival is taking place November 14-17, 2013 at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida. The festival “is steeped in the tradition of funk music and the exceptional lineup reflects the eclectic nature of the scene.” Besides funk greats like Bootsy Collins, Lettuce, and more, Bear Creek hosts a variety of musical sounds including the genre-bending electronic music trio Greenhouse Lounge. Bass player Dave McSweeney took some time while on the road to answer a few questions while we wait in anticipation for the festival next week!
How did you all meet each other and form the band?
Originally I moved back to Jax from college at UCF and my best friend Jason Hunnicutt invited me to come and jam with some guys in the back of their Hydroponics Store. Zach and I were introduced by a mutual friend when the original guitarist left. Before 2009 it was a much different band, we didn’t really start going in our current direction until the trio of Zach, Myself and Jason Hunnicutt really started getting down.
What kind of music inspired you growing up?
I’ve always been moved by dance music and good ole american rock n roll, so it’s easy to see that in our music. I have always loved classical and jazz too, so really ALL music was inspirational to me growing up. Some of my earliest memories are music-filled, like dancing in circles when I was merely three, to Billy Joel, or my first concert seeing The Beach Boys way back in 1987.
Can you pinpoint a moment or musician that made you decide you wanted to be making electronic-infused music?
Not really one moment in particular but really just the feeling that “why not???”, I mean if that’s what you wanna play then play it I guess.
How has your music evolved since the band’s inception in 2009?
Over the past two years we’ve really got our formula down and pushed hard with the styles we enjoy playing. Zach and I have gone through multiple different drummers since 2011 and had some other players involved until late 2010 and early 2011. Having multiple drummers would be the death of some bands but for us it’s really been a blessing in disguise. We’ve had the opportunity to work with a multitude of different amazing drummers some including Allen Aucion aka DrFameus and The Disco Biscuits, Jon Wilkes, who is playing with us this weekend and Scotty Zwang who is currently on tour with Dopapod. Every drummer is different so that means the shows have all been a little different and its been amazing play with such talented drummers its really just made the band tighter and tighter all year.
What do you think sets GL apart from other “live-tronica” acts on the scene?
We come with a little bit more of a rock energy these days while still getting funky and keeping it real with pulsing dance rhythms. It’s started to become somewhat of a hard-rock electronica this past fall. We’ve been playing Live EDM with focuses on House Drum&Bass and Trap but all fused together with a Hard Rock energy.
Who is another artist in the jam/electronic scene that you might like to work with, that you haven’t yet?
It’d be cool to do some shows with Lotus. I’ve always enjoyed them as a fan and they’re all cool guys so that would be fun. Who knows 2014 could have some Lotus/Greenhouse throwdowns, ya never know.
What do you like to do for fun when you aren’t touring?
We like to do all kinds of fun stuff, living in Florida means a lot of beach time and general outdoor activities. I love vacationing and hiking in the mountains in NC and love the cities up north too. Even when we aren’t touring we’re still usually pretty heavily involved with some sort of music project whether it be production based or just a fun jam thing. Music is involved in someway on every level.
Bear Creek won’t be your first time at Suwannee. We heard that you played an incredible set AURA Music Festival last year and that you’ve played Purple Hatter’s Ball several times. For fans that haven’t been so SOSMP, what should they look forward to? Any insider tips?
The park is an all around amazing place to spend the weekend without music, but add music in and BAM! you’ve got heaven on earth. The oak trees and moss are beautiful and the lake is always a chill spot to take in the scenery. Don’t miss out on the bat house in the back field or river behind the cabins.
What is your favorite venue you’ve played to date?
That is a really hard call… Probably The Georgia Theater in Athens GA or Terminal West at King Plow in ATL… The GATH is legendary and Champions run TWest so that is a really hard call to make. We’ll just go with both.
buy your Bear Creek tickets here:
http://www.bearcreekmusicfestival.com/
