Backstage at the Ojai Global Groove Fest
While the rain and a little competition from the Joshua Tree Festival made for a smaller audience than the 1,200 in attendance at the last RageJax/Freiberg festival, there were still plenty of revelers who stayed on to hear the last act of the Ojai Global Groove Fest, Particle.
Make-shift tents covered the lawn area, keeping attendees dry, while the Corn Man sold the last of his barbecued cobs and the tie die and coconut jewelry vendors started to pack-up.
I caught up with Eric Gould, Particle’s bassist, backstage before the show.
Yes, this was my first backstage interview, so when I was sent down the hall behind the bowl, I had no idea what I was in for. I imagined the stench of beer, loud music, naked people and drug paraphernalia strewn about. So when I rounded the corner and found myself face-to-face with a welcoming smile and a clean dressing room, I was pleasantly surprised (or was I disappointed?).
Eric and the rest of the LA-based quintet had just rolled into Ojai from Joshua Tree about an hour before our interview. They were the closing act the night before and played to an audience of 4,000. Yet, they all looked amazingly refreshed. I guess they are used to it. This is, afterall, their life and they seem to just love it.
Eric said the Joshua Tree Festival was great. The big crowd-pleaser of the night was when they were joined on-stage by Robby Krieger, formerly of The Doors and Rolling Stone’s pick for top 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Together they closed the show with Riders on the Storm.
When I asked Eric about the rain, he was undeterred. Besides, they’ve been in worse conditions before, but their audiences, known as Particle People, usually don’t mind anyway. “It’s a vibe.”
I told Eric I was just going to snap a quick photo and be on my way, and before I really knew what was happening, he had someone take a picture of us together. This instantly transformed me from aspiring Rolling Stone journalist, to ga-ga giddy groupie. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the picture makes it look as though I was waiting for him outside the men’s room.
I asked Eric what they had in store for their audience, and as is usually the case he promised an extra-long set. “Everyone’s gonna have a lot of fun, including us!”
When Particle took the stage and started their show with several electronica-funk licks, the crowd instantly seemed to double in size, with most of them flocking to the dancefloor.
As for me, staring at my watch and knowing the alarm clock would be jolting me to consciousness at 4:50 a.m., I decided it was time to retire the press pass and be on my way, 
but not before picking out a souvenir from the Button Man. Click here and here for previous coverage and more information.
| Permalink | author bio | 
Back to The Ojai Post home