Ha Ha Tonka: almost famous at Lollapalooza

Springfield, Mo., rockers Ha Ha Tonka share their Lollapalooza experience through the words of drummer Lennon Bone.

By Lennon Bone, Ha Ha Tonka
Sept. 2, 2008

Courtesy of Jamina Bone

We found out a few months ago that we had been chosen to play the BMI Stage at this year's Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago. If you can imagine four small-town fellers about as excited as four small-town fellers could get, that was us. Of course, coming from such a small town makes it difficult to share our excitement, as 90 percent of the people there have no idea what Lollapalooza is. With that in mind, it was a no-brainer when MOVE asked us to share our experiences.

Day One:

Awoke, packed up some T-shirts to take to the merch tent and headed in to pick up our credentials. We had left at different times, so finding each other was a task beyond what we could have ever imagined. It reminded me of my high school days, searching through the lunch line to find my best friend who had saved me a spot so I could get the first pick of the grilled cheese sandwiches, except this lunch line was 5,000 strong. We spent 20 minutes on a cell phone telling each other to "look left ... no ... right ... a little more left ..." and the deed was done. With passes in hand, a bit later than anticipated, we had to hold on to the shirts and head to the Hard Rock Hotel for some interviews.

Being a band that's in the position we are as far as popularity is concerned, we were not really prepared for what was about to happen. Amid interviews, we were offered way more free stuff than we knew what to do with. Keep in mind, we're still lugging around T-shirts and CDs, and now they're handing us (literally) book bags full of junk. There were free drinks, free jeans, free microphones, free manicures, free tattoos and massages. The free stuff we're used to getting when doing a show is a PBR and a pack of baby carrots (aka a "veggie tray") after the performance. Not quite the same thing. So without hesitation, we hung out in the artists' lounge all day. Cool bands versus air conditioning and a bunch of free junk? No contest. At one point I looked up from my massage chair to see Luke (Long, bass) getting a manicure while sipping a complimentary brewski. Ah, to be a rock star. We're still working on it.

It wasn't easy, but we did manage to make it out of the artist lounge in time to finally get rid of the merch, catch some of The Raconteurs from backstage and then trek it over to Radiohead. We waded through a crowd more than 10 times the population of our hometown to try and get the same backstage seating as we had for The Raconteurs. Not happening. All-access badges mean nothing when Radiohead is on. Even Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips had a hard time making it to the restricted backstage area. While we were waiting in line, Brett (Anderson, keyboard/guitar/vocals) chatted Wayne up for five minutes or so and he was extremely gracious and expressed his giddy excitement to see Radiohead as well. Alas, even he didn't have any backstage pull. Still, the show was amazing. I noticed that there was a woman signing for the deaf during their performance. Kudos to that woman. If you can decipher Thom Yorke's lyrics that well on the spot, you've got to be on some different wavelength.

Day Two:

A little sleepy from day one, we rolled into the festival about noon-ish. Lots of interviews to do. We split them up so that everyone would have a chance to catch some of their big picks for the day. Luke and I took the first shift while Brian (Roberts, lead vocals) and Brett caught Dr. Dog. If you can imagine doing an interview with a puppet, that pretty much sums up our afternoon. There was a woman holding the young fabric gentleman while the cameraman did the puppet's voice, so Luke and I had quite a time trying to figure out where to look. It eventually ended up with us laughing uncontrollably. I'm sure it's on YouTube somewhere. A classic moment, and a first for us. Anyway, it was a lot of fun getting to chat and hang out with some really nice folks.

After the switch, we split up and I went to check out Broken Social Scene, a band I've heard a lot about for quite some time from artists who are in their seemingly steady rotation (Feist and Jason Collett) but I had never really given them a chance. I was into it. I got to check them out from the backstage catwalk, and they were a blast to watch. Their drummer (my obvious interest) has such a smooth and relaxed style. Easily the surprise band of the festival for me.

I also caught a little bit of Steel Train and Okkervil River, and then on to the main event: Wilco.

My wife Jamie, Brett, my brother Chance and I stood in line for over an hour to ensure our position as "backstage betties" during their performance. We were nearly first in line, and I was dying to catch Glenn Kotche from the side. During the wait, I was able to meet and become fairly chummy with the production director for a project that Kyle Gass of Tenacious D was doing. I guess they were there in a tour bus and would invite random artists to improv songs with Kyle. Very cool guy with a very cool family. Almost show time and we're waiting with anticipation. Busted. Wilco badges galore paraded past us as we watched in horror and disbelief. Again, not happening. We headed out to the front. Jamie propped her big ol' camera up to her face just in time to get caught up in the passing press photographers. She got some really sweet shots and an up close experience for the first three tunes. I was of course jealous, but completely excited that we walked away with some personal souvenirs. In lieu of our slight disappointment, we were still able to find some decent places to stand, and the show was incredible. My personal favorite of the festival.

Day Three:

Now we're getting tired. Load-in was at 8:30 a.m., not an easy task after two long days of free junk and tons of music. But we made it on time. It was a bit of a "hurry up and wait" scenario, as we were scheduled to be the first band to play on the third day of the festival. We've been around long enough to know two things. One: It's a pretty big deal to play Lollapalooza. Two: First band + third day = lots of hungover and worn-out people and the possibility of a slim crowd, so we were prepared. We figured if we had 100 people there, we would be totally happy. We snagged some coffee, loaded on stage, sound checked, etc. Game on. Gates opened at 11 a.m., and we were to begin at 11:15.

It's probably safe to say we had about 100 people there when we began the set: not bad, but by the third or fourth tune it was packed all the way back 400 to 500 strong, and we couldn't help but be ecstatic. Definitely not what we expected, but for sure a fantastic surprise. There were lots of people singing along, some familiar faces in the crowd. It was awesome. To bring us back down to earth, we did an impromptu signing at the CD tent, to which all of a handful of people showed up, most of whom we knew as promoters or fellow musicians from shows we've done in Chicago. We like to keep ourselves in check.

Brett had to load out on his own, as the crew members apparently bailed from their respective duties. Again, we don't want any big egos to creep up. No roadies for us. The rest of us continued on with more interviews throughout the afternoon and finished up just in time to see The National.

Here's a band that we've all gotten into as a group, and I can safely say that we all love them. Their live performance was stellar. So good in fact, that I decided to end the festival there. The lead singer had a few moments where you couldn't tell if he was really into it or literally going crazy. It was amazing. When I was watching their set, I started to think about the whole weekend and what it means to everyone involved. Does Lollapalooza mean the same to a band like The National, or even Wilco, as it does to us? Probably not. But I do think that when you throw that many great bands into the mix it's hard not to find some moment where you're a little giddy because you're so involved in what someone else is doing. So, I can't help but be fairly certain that most every member of every band there has somebody they look up to. In that aspect we all share the same bond - a love and passion for music, and an admiration for those who are good at their craft. I guess in part that's why we're here. As I soaked it all in, I imagined somebody like Jeff Tweedy doing the same with his favorite band.

I hope people think the same about us as I do when I watch a band like The National. I hope they realize how much we love what we're doing, and how grateful we are to be a small part of such a big industry that is every day growing into something more and more open-ended, and into something that is more available. It's an industry where people have the opportunity to listen to bands they would have never heard of 20 years ago without the Internet. It's influencing music in a whole new way. Bands are listening the same as everyone else, and it's giving them a whole new set of influences. Had Lollapalooza been a festival 20 years ago, a band like us probably would have never even played it. But fortunately, we did, and we feel extremely lucky to have been a part of such an event.

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Ha Ha Tonka: almost famous at Lollapalooza

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