DIXIE DANGER FEST 2016

I recently interviewed Chad and Ruthie, the good folks behind the upcoming Dixie Danger Fest in Huntsville, Alabama. This looks to be a terrific event with some of this publication's absolute favorite bands performing. Add a pin-up contest and a raffle (proceeds going to the zine!) and how can you not wanna go? This interview also appears in issue 11 of the GAD! zine. -Adam Harmless

GAD! - Who are ya?
Chad - Name is Chad Zolynsky, vocalist/bassist for the Huntsville-based Punk Rock act Jonny & the Black Frames. When I'm not doing the standard band activities of staying up late and rocking the masses, I handle planning for the annual Dixie Danger Fest event and running my own DJ business ZMC Event Productions. I'm proud to be part of a thriving Huntsville music scene and strive to grow our community through avenues just like GAD!punk.

Ruthie - My name is Ruthie Lay, aka Miss Ivana Cupcake. I have won multiple area tattoo/pinup beauty pageants, and have had my photos published in print and online. I am a hairdresser at one of Huntsville's oldest beauty shops (5pts. Beauty Salon), mother to an amazing little boy and a big fan of pop culture and kitsch. If I had to describe my personal style I would say I'm a riot grrl version of Miss Yvonne from Pee-wee's Playhouse. In my spare time I like to visit thrift stores, binge eat junk food, and daydream about Captain America.
GAD! - What is Dixie Danger?
Chad - Dixie Danger Fest is really two events in one, with the first being a Regional Music Showcase of local underground musical acts and the second being a Retro-Styled Pinup Girl Pageant with cash prizes and boutique gifts for the winners. At each festival, we have 5-7 bands play and between each band set, we host a pageant with bios, questions, and catwalks. This is the second Dixie Danger Fest and this year we are hosting our event at the Straight to Ale Brewery in South Huntsville. Our goal is to put on this fest annually so that we can show off the musical and pageant talent this great city has to offer.
Ruthie - The Miss Dixie Danger pageant is not your typical Southern beauty pageant. We are looking at the entire package and have designed our pageant accordingly. Pinup subculture is incredibly welcoming to all women regardless of size, shape, race, age, tattooed or not, all styles and types of pinups are welcome. Our diversity is one of the things that set us apart. This is a pageant run by women designed to empower women with a sense of community and confidence. I enjoyed competing in pinup pageants so much regardless of whether I won or not because the experience itself was a win. Everyone deserves to have a reason to get all dolled up and be celebrated.
GAD! - When did it start?
Chad - The idea for Dixie Danger Fest came from various members of Jonny & the Black Frames, including me, that wanted to host an annual music festival in Huntsville. Our first Dixie Danger Fest was in June 2015 and was scheduled to only be a musical event up until a month or two prior to the show date. That was until I shared a handbill flyer with my hairdresser/amateur psychologist Ruthie Lay and she immediately thought we should add a pageant based upon the cowgirl in the flyer graphics. It took us only a few months to add this feature to the event, but it went off without a hitch at Lowe Mill. The event has now become a staple of the Huntsville music scene and something we look forward to every summer. We are the only Musical Fest and Pinup Pageant in the greater Huntsville-Madison-Decatur area and hope to continue our little event for years to come.
Come out and see the best talent the land of Dixie and neighboring states can offer on June 4th! 

FEATURING:
The Go-Go Killers (Huntsville)
V8 Death Car (Montgomery)
Jonny & The Black Frames (Huntsville)
Skeptic? (Birmingham)
Cadillac Junkies (Atlanta)

6-11:30PM, Saturday, June 4th at Straight to Ale Brewery Huntsville, AL
All Ages welcome. 12 and Under Free, 13 and Older $10
DIXIE DANGER FEST 2016 partners in crime: Straight to Ale, Depth Charge Sound Studio, The Invisible City, ZMC Event Productions, & Know Huntsville


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nathan Baugh 1/15/83 - 12/24/15

Image
    Earlier this year, Guntersville, AL band The Devil's Got A Hold On Me played a show at the Glass Onion in Gadsden. I'd seen them play several times and was excited to see them tear up my local vinyl fix. Though the crowd was minimal (welcome to Gadsden!), the trio gave us their all. At least the cool people showed up. Per usual, Keith's guitar was loud and nasty and dirty and effortless. Brad killed on drums, pounding the beat with a sufficient prowess and an excess of violence. I've never heard anyone ask, "Where's the bass guitar?". The duo was, as always, tight and unhinged at the same time. And then there was Nathan...       Nate yelled into the microphone. He was always angry, hurt, determined. He mostly sang looking down. Or maybe inward. I never once saw the man sing to an audience. Never. He refused to face us beyond a passing glimpse. We were a corner into which he had backed. In reality, he was a nice guy who loved his family and frien
Read more

Chris Lee 6/29/80 - 7/23/16

Image
    Chris Lee has passed away. Unless you knew him, I don't know if I can stress just how significant he was. If you did know him, you're heartbroken like me and you don't need anyone to tell you. But I have to write this.     Chris was the most recent singer of the long-running Huntsville Alabama metal band Envain and even before that had done his share of kicking ass with other bands for years. He was a thoughtful, intelligent man who threw all boundaries away the second he took the stage or barroom floor. He embodied the D.I.Y. punk rock aesthetic. He would sport patches and even tattoos of his favorite local bands. He loved them. When the singer of The Devil's Got A Hold On Me, Nate Baugh, passed away, and the band made the hard decision to turn an already-booked show into a tribute, Chris didn't hesitate to step up and sing. He made no attempt to copy his fallen friend, he just did everything he could to entertain. Blood, sweat, and tears literally followe
Read more

We Care A Lot about Chuck Mosley

Image
  My musical endeavors, the GAD! Zine, and this blog can all be traced back to one inspiring cassette that I purchased when I was a kid: Faith No More's debut album, We Care A Lot. Early FNM introduced me to the sounds of punk, post-punk, metal, even a touch of rap that I could stand. The vocals were truly unique, with lyrics that could be abstract and enigmatic one moment and so utterly relateable and down-to-earth the next. The music that would accompany this new poetry was dark and menacing and catchy and unencumbered by any preconceived notions of a particular blueprint or specific style. This album completely opened my mind to not just a whole new world, but to an entire universe of creative possibilities. I've often said that if it weren't for punk rock, then I'd have been a lot more successful, but I would've killed myself. So, in a way, Faith No More saved my life.     Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when Kolbey and I were given the opportunit
Read more