Rambling to Spring Scream 2013

The Ramblers consider themselves one of the older bands in Taiwan, not just because our average age is well above that of many groups, and much of our music is from the early years of the last century (or just sounds like it); it is to our longevity that the term older most accurately applies.

We got our start in 2003 when Dave brought us all together to jam to some of the nuggets of delta blues and jug band music, but our upcoming gig is at Kenting’s Spring Scream, which has been around twice that long. Founded by Jimi Moe and Wade Davis, Spring Scream has been a fixture in Kengting since 1995.

According to Rambler legend, Conor of the Harp attended the first one at Magic Studios, a pub on Kenting’s main drag (and next to a vacant lot where camping and stalls were permitted). Thumper claims to be at the next one, also at Magic Studio, although he couldn’t remember the name of the pub and had to rely on Spring Scream’s Wikipedia entry for that factoid.

Many of us, okay, five of us, have been to the Scream at least once, usually as attendees, but also as performers, and one of us operated a food stall there one year. The lone holdout would be Top Cat, who claims, nay, boasts, that he has never suffered the ignominy of frolicking with the unwashed at Taiwan’s premiere music festival. Sorry Formoz and Hohaiyan, you’re johnnies-come-lately on the scene.

According to an uncharacteristically long email from Conor, he played the “third or fourth or fifth one with the famousPsycho Xiaojie (still got pictures of that somewhere), the band that coined a term still in currency on the same island today.” Certainly, few of you are familiar with that band, and if don’t know what the term means today, well, ask around. You won’t find it on wiki. Conor also shared one of the miracles that sometimes occur at the Scream. “Another time we both lost our boots, then found them again out in the field, and that made us feel blessed and grateful all the way on the bus back to Taipei, celebrating with Taiwan Beer.”

Dave, on the other hand, was somewhat reticent to share his experiences of attending or performing at the Scream, with symptoms that seem to suggest PTSD from his time with band The Pocket Monkeys.  He did, however, write about the event while a scribe for one of the beautiful island’s English language broadsheets. A cursory goggle on the Internet reveals numerous articles introducing Spring Scream’s many attractions and penned by the Mucha Bard, but I couldn’t bear to read any of them. If you’ve been at least once, you’ll know that no introduction of Spring Scream does the event justice.

See, it’s not about the music as much as the experience of taking part. Just ask Sandman.

With probably the most posts of any Forumosa member (tell me I’m wrong), the Scottish mannequin pulled this nugget from his memory, “All-night drive suffering from the flu -- with both of the Fxxxx brothers in the back.” Half of that story is terrible, the other calamitous. You figure out which is which. Thumper remembers that show, but he wasn’t performing; he was prowling the already crowded stage to film the band. If memory serves, the quality of the mix coming out of the PA was atrocious, and the soundman should probably count himself lucky for not tangling with either of the twins. ‘Nuff said.

Sometimes the music is the last thing people talk about after spending a Scream at the southern tip of the island.

Loquacious Slim, veteran of many a Spring idyll in Kenting, the other tip town, wondered which of his many stories were suitable to share. Thumper was quick to jog his memory of time they spent at the Lioufu Farm, the home of Spring Scream from 1999 to 2006. The one event both remembered fondly was speaking with a Hari Krishna just before leaving Kenting for a relaxing week at the Sanyuan Campground, now illegally occupied by the Miramar Hotel, in Taidong.

For Thumper, the stand out Scream was 2001 (or maybe 2000), when he operated a food stand serving what he claimed was Mexican food with his wife and two friends. That was a particularly wet and muddy Scream, and with three 18-hour days of work, the crew only covered its expenses, but what a gas. The food was slow-cooked, delicious, reasonably priced, and available from noon to 2 AM. Truth be told, there wasn’t much Mexican about the food, but it was hot, spicy, and wrapped in a tortilla from Costco. With the Jaegermeister stall right next door, Screamers could sate their appetites in a fine fashion, and step under the canopy to escape the rain.

Just had a look through my keepsakes from long ago, and lo and behold, there is the fired clay medallion that served as the all-access pass for the Scream that year!

An earlier Scream memory for Thumper was showing films on the projector set up after the bands had knocked off for the night.  One was a short film about his neighbor that won an award in a Taipei District Court (long story, ask me later), and the other was a collection of scenes from one of the pan-blue demonstrations at the intersection of Zhongshan South Road and Ketagalan Ave. Had the good fortune of meeting Stan (of Si Bang-ah) at that one.

Thumper also attended one of the years when the Scream was held on a patch of land just off the beach (now a private beach – shakes fist at developers!) in Kenting. That year, he and his wife ventured south with friends of theirs from the Xindian community that had recently moved to.  He stayed at the newly opened Kenting Howard Plaza, or whatever it was called then, and remembers letting a (now departed) friend into his room to use the shower, and to replace the bathroom slippers he had lost somewhere on his journey.

Is it surprising that with all of these stories, the music plays such a small role? With a handful of bands at first, and now hundreds of groups, Spring Scream is required listening (anyone still have those compilation CDs with music from the previous year that they used to give away?) for any fan of indy music in Taiwan.  Thumper’s favorites from way back include Q (a comedic bluegrass band), Miracle Saru (from Japan), Mimi Chan (also Japanese), Milk (expats from Taichung, some still around, though the band has gone)  and the then unknowns MC Hot Dog and Dog G (from Taiwan).

According to journalista Alita Rickards, her top picks for Spring Scream 2013, Year of the Snake, include the following ten groups. “Post-rock soundscape masters Collider top my agenda, with the rest in no particular order: rock and rollers 88 Guava Seeds 八十八顆芭樂籽), pop-punk-garage group White Eyes (白目), rocker boys Liger Attack, who have a whole new roster of original songs I'm excited to hear, fun bouncy poprock grrrls No Money No Honey, Dr. Reniculous Lipz and the Skallyunz live hip-hop and funk, old-style jug band The Muddy Basin Ramblers, rock-funk-rap from Coach, psychedelic rockers Blind Acid Date, and live electro-dance act Kid Millionaire.” I doubt I’ll get a chance to see most of these groups, but I’ll definitely make one.

If you’re coming down for this year’s Scream, the Ramblers will be performing at 5 PM on Saturday, April 6, on the Green Leaf stage. Here’s a link to the map of Spring Scream. You can find all the pertinent information about this year’s event on the SpringScream site.

We'd love to see you in Eluanbi (near the lighthouse at the southern tip of Taiwan) for Spring Scream Double Snake. If you can't make it to this show, we'll be at the Green Expo in Ilan on May 1 and back in Taipei on May 11, opening for Bob Log III at Taipei Artist Village. Check back for details.

That's right. No photographs to accompany this post. After reading 1350 words, give your eyes a rest. Or, head over to YouTube to see what videos of performances at past years have been posted.