Festival Family sits down with the man behind such wonderful music festivals such as, Some Kind of Jam, Meeting of the Minds and Boogie in the Bungalow.

               Festival Family:  What inspired you to become a festival promoter?

               Jibberjazz:  Many of my friends were talented but struggling musicians.  They had a hard time finding good venues, getting worthwhile gigs, and reaching a new audience.  So I guess the basis of the idea came from wanting to help my friends succeed in any way possible.

In the fall of 2004, I decided to throw a birthday party for my girlfriend on my parents land outside Shamokin, PA.  We booked a soundman who brought in a portable stage on the back of a flatbed truck.  Anyway, the party kicked ass and set the wheels in motion.  We thought to ourselves, "We should try a festival and see what happens?"

So we found a small campground in Elysburg, PA that was willing to work with us and Jibberjazz Productions was born.

                FF:  Tell us about the evolution of this particular festival, and where did the name 'Some Kind Of Jam' come from?

                JJ:  The name came from a good friend was gonna throw a party at his house with some bands. He made up these flyers that said come to "SOME SORT OF JAM."  So we took out the "sort of" and inserted "Kind."  We imagined people saying "Man...that was SOME KIND OF JAM."

                The evolution of SKOJ?  Looking back I can see how it really came a long way.  Kempton is actually our third venue for the fest.  The first SKOJ was at Mossy Point Campground in Elysburg, PA. We had only around 200 people and we lost most of our investment.

The second SKOJ was on private land outside Bloomsburg, PA where I went to college. Things really started to take off here. I think this fest drew around 500-600 people, but we also outgrew the site and were forced to find a new venue.

 We landed in Kempton for SKOJ 3 and this is when the fest really started to blossom.  That fest attracted around 1200 people, and we had zero problems throughout the weekend. It was really a beautiful, and was our first taste of real success and accomplishment.  I felt like a proud parent.

After this year, I guess the sky is the limit.  Our estimated attendance was around 2000 people which was really mind-blowing for us.  Especially considering we only booked two national acts and the rest of the line-up was composed of regional talent.  Those numbers are unbelievable to us, and it just goes to show that we have slowly built-up a loyal fan base of Jibberjazzers who love our events no matter who is on the bill.  I guess we have branded ourselves as THE northeast gateway to festival season. We're doing everything we can to make the festival better each and every year.  We're doing everything we can to give our events that unique Jibberjazz signature.

FF:  What things, in your eyes, are crucial in order to present a proper and successful festival?

JJ:  Where do I begin?

Musical Discovery: I want everybody to find something new; a new band, a new love...something they can go home and tell their friends about. There is nothing in this world more exiting than musical discovery.

                Variety in Music: I really want our fests to represent a wide array of musical styles from but not limited to jam, bluegrass, funk, folk, rock, gypsy, jazz etc I want the audience to be able [to be] exposed to many different musical styles.  Maybe someone will come to a fest as someone who is just into heavy metal, and by the time the fest is over they become a bluegrass lover and learn to play the mandolin.

               Choices, choices, choices: I know many people are against overlapping music, but I for one am a champion of it.  As someone who attended numerous High Sierra Music Festivals in California, I love to be able to follow my mood to the music.  It's nice to have a choice of what you want to see at that particular moment in time.  Two stages simultaneously works for me.  If we continue to draw more people I will add a third stage in the campground.  These choices, these decisions make me feel like a kid again.  Someone can sit around their camp, paging through the program and wondering "what kind of music do I want to hear right now?"

               Good People: For the most part, I believe we attract the right kind of festival people.  People who all share a common love of live music.  Those are the people we want at our events. We just want people who are there for the music, to fall in love, and make friends.  No Scumbags, thugs, or thieves please.  There are many other fests that cater to this kind of trash...but we do not.

              Order among disorder: "Behave" is the mantra printed on the back of our security shirts, and I think MOST people get the idea.  Have a good time but don't cross the unspoken line.

              Awesome Staff: Good people are hard to find, but it finally seems like the staff is starting to function like a well-oiled machine.  We've been perfecting our staff since 2005 and we're not done yet, but I feel pretty confident in saying our volunteers kick ass!

             Confidence in our Audience: Our goal is that our audience is confident in the bands we book, so much so that they would be willing to attend an event even if they haven't heard of a single band!  Because we are very, very picky in what we book and I think we have good taste in music overall.

              FF:  The festival scene is changing, as our once under-the-radar festivals have attracted more attention (not always a good thing).  Have you noticed this and is it of much concern to you?

            JJ:  Sure it's a major concern, but at the same time we want and continue to grow.  So I guess we just kind of have to roll with the punches on this one because we can't have both success and anonymity.

            I'm sure the future of Jibberjazz will present more challenges, but I'm confident we have the right crew together to deal with these obstacles.

            FF:  Kempton County Fairgrounds has been home to SKOJ for two years now.  We noticed you are presenting 'Meeting of the Minds' at a new venue.  Is this a sign of things to come?

           JJ:  Well MEETING OF THE MINDS is a whole different festival which demands a whole different atmosphere.  It's kind of like going back to the beginning for us.  We stumbled upon a beautiful site in Wind Gap, PA which is more woodsy then Kempton.  The site features a permanent stage, a natural amphitheatre and plenty of woodsy camping.  I think MOTM will be a more intimate festival experience and that is the goal.

Interview by: Bruce Berman