Interview with SHWIZZ from Catskill Chill 2012
*** This was a live interview with Shwizz during Catskill Chill 2012, completed while they were setting up for a late night open cabin jam. Great bunch of guys in it for the right reason. It’s a quick one, so give them a moment of your time. You may just find yourself a new favorite act!***
G- Ok what’s going on everybody? Once again, this is Greg Allis with Live High Five. Excuse me… That’s cherry. Anyways, it’s a fresh Saturday morning, and again we are at The Catskill Chill here in Hancock, NY, and we stumbled upon a little cabin or whatever the hell this is, and i’m told it’s going to turn into mayhem later. Better yet, apparently, and I’m here with a couple members of Shwizz, and they’re going to introduce themselves right now.
F- Hey what’s happening… I’m Frankie.
J- Hey I’m Jay.
G- Right on, Frankie and Jay, and thank you for taking the time to speak with Live High Five! This is the first time I’ve been to Catskill Chill and this is awesome! What’s going on here?
F- This is our third year being here since its inception. We were here the first year and remember standing on a hill, looking over the B-stage saying ‘Holy Shit… This is going to be amazing,’ and we were invited to play last year. And, uh… We’re blown away by everything, it’s a huge family here. It’s not a movement… It’s a family here at Catskill Chill.
And this year, it’s the most packed we’ve ever seen it! The Chill has grown so much since we first saw it. We can’t explain it to you what it is… You have to experience it for yourselves!
G- Yea man, I’m really diggin’ it! And you guys said you played last year… Are you playing on one of the stages, or are you just doing this mayhem, ruckus, late night shit?
J- Shwizz is playing on the stage tomorrow at 4:30.
F- Yea club Chill stage at 4:30. Beautiful stage! Club Chill last year was actually behind this cabin…
G- Yea it’s awesome! It looks great!
F- It’s beautiful!
G- Didn’t Dopapod just play there like 10 minutes ago?
F- They’re getting ready to play onstage right now. They’re about to take it over after Lettuce.
G- Fair enough (laughing). That shows you I’m a newbie! And when is all this action going to start here at the cabin?
F- The cabin is going to start pretty much within the hour. Right now, you’ve caught us setting up. We’re putting up lights, we’ve got LED panels, we’ve got an entire backline, and were just going to keep setting up. Shwizz is going to be hosting the Friday night jams tonight, and tomorrow night, FiKus is going to be doing exactly what we’re doing… Backlining and throwing down!
Hopefully around 2:30, we’ll open up and it’s an open jam… Any artist, anybody down, bring your shit, come down to the cabin, and let’s have the biggest fuckin’ late night cabin jam!
J- The music never stops at the Chill!
F- Yea the music never stops! If you want to sleep, do NOT fuckin’ camp near our cabin!
G- (laughing) I guess not. I’m parked somewhere, on some road, that I could never find right now if I tried.
So you guys are from Nyack, NY, and you’ve been playing for a little while. Are you guys frequently on the road? Are you touring at all?
F- We’re not really touring too much around the Northeast. We are keeping pretty local. We have a residency in NYC in the (East) Village…
G- What’s the club?
F- The Bitter End. We’re there once a month.
G- Nice!
F- We’re there late night, and we love our late night slot there! I mean, we’re just breaking into the markets right now. We’re breaking into the Connecticut and New England scene.
We love our hometown and this is what I’m most proud of about our group and our whole crew… We come from a really… A place of nourishment and flourishment together. We come from a small town on the other side of the Tappen Zee Bridge called Nyack, and if it wasn’t for this fucking town, every last person here hanging out with us, at least this weekend…
J- This is everybody that makes this a priority every year!
F- Nyack is a scene that lets you grow, and everyone right now is coming into their own. And if it wasn’t for the town we come from, we would not be as proud of what we’re doing. It feels like there is a lot of family here, and that’s what Catskill Chill is about. We have a lot of family here, and it’s the family that is going to make the Chill what it is for us! It’s really going to be all those little moments and funny things for us that we’ll laugh about later on down the road.
A lot of people traveled… We got here at the gates this morning. Shwizz and FiKus like to donate their time and volunteer and be part of the cause, because what’s going on here is beautiful. So we were at the gates this morning giving everyone their bracelets, and the smiles on their faces and the radiation coming off the PURGATORY LOT was out of control! The party began the second everyone lost their cell phone service coming up here. It’s too magical to explain in any interview!
G- Yea I’ve got no FB status updates either, because I am amongst the rest… It’s a complete blackout, but that’s ok because we’re our own little city, our own little community, and everyone here is having a good time! I’ve seen nothing but smiles the whole time I’ve been here!
I just have one more question I’d like to ask you… I know you’re still on the come up, and you’re working hard, playing shows, and practicing all the time, and there are a lot of kids out here who want to be in the same situation you are in up here playing at Catskill Chill. What advice could you give to some of these kids out here who want to make it in music, on the road, live, and as a touring musician?
F- You’ve got to love what you do, love what you see, and love what you hear. If you’re gonna put your all behind it, and really go for the gusto, be on time. Always be on time, and be on time. And be happy with what you’re doing! If you’re not happy, this is NOT the job for you.
G- How about you, Jay?
J – I would say just look at Chillfest, something as pure as it was in its first year. It’s all about the heart… You gotta keep centered. If you can bring something unique and if you can bring something that people can feel, people will come and feel it, and then even more will come. You’ve just gotta keep spreading that love and keep pouring everything you’ve got into what you’re doing. Know that you’re doing it for a cause and doing it for a reason… Because you love it!
G- Nice! Well, I’ve only been here for about 2 hours and I should’ve been here earlier. We’re gonna have some fun tonight, and I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’ll keep you updated! Catskill Chill 2012… it’s no joke, folks!
LIVE HIGH FIVE 