Back from Fire Fest NW 2024, and this is your debrief, just to reflect on the time we had, for those that could not be there, as well as for those who remember the times, and wish to ruminate with us. The following are the reflections of lead singer, and guitar player, Sean Lewis, giving a breakdown of the weekend:
We wanted to get there Thursday night just to make the most of our time with the people we were looking forward to seeing, but because I was filling in for another band, The Tuesday Theory, I used that night to rehearse with them in order to make sure we could make it a tight performance. I thought I would be able to get things staged to pack the night before to get there on time for a drum off I was scheduled to play at 3:00 pm, but I thought I was scheduled for a later time, at 3:30pm. So I thought I could get away with leaving by 1:00pm since it usually doesn’t take more than 2 hours to get to Stevenson, WA for Fire Fest NW.
We managed to get on the road at 20 minutes after one, so we were a little behind as it was. After getting gas at our favorite station en route, it was not long on the freeway before I realized the inevitable: I wasn’t going to make it on time. Rush hour had already set in by 2pm as we passed through SE Portland. It was bumper to bumper the whole way through to I84, and on passed Gresham.
Eamon, my son, and the rest of our family, i.e. my wife and daughter, left our home with a quarter of a tank in the 92 Ford Ranger, and a half a tank in our 2007 Toyota Prius. I’d managed to secure only $54 in cash and $27 in Venmo which was owed me by guitar students. So I was able to get $25 in gas at the tank when I got to the station, and a couple of dollars for band aids my daughter said she needed for her booboo.
We managed to get across the Bridge of the Gods with the petty cash I had on hand to cover the $3 toll for each vehicle, but we were a full hour later than I intended to arrive, adding up the total travel time to three hours. While I wasn’t able to make it on time for the drum off, we were on time for dinner, and some Messianic Jewish dancing and music. My wife, Teal, jumped right in. I had plenty of time to set up the tent and get our camp staked out. We found a spot on the Southeast side of the county fairgrounds plot along the walking trail that follows around the lake.
Once the tent was set up, I headed over to the pavilion to watch Teal dance for a minute, and then I realized that since there were no other artists on the outside stage before my performance, I could set up the drums, and my amp rig. It never takes more than about 20 minutes to get everything set, which gave me just enough time to get to dinner which was teriyaki chicken fry. The food this weekend was incredibly delicious and satisfying all weekend long. This teriyaki chicken was the best for sure. It was served with rice, some stir fry veggies, and a salad bowl, and food is all served buffet style. The Good God Father set was at 7:30, so I had to be sure to head to the stage as soon as I was finished eating, and get in a thorough soundcheck, which went pretty smoothly, and made me feel pretty confident that things were going to sound ok.
I had almost forgotten to change in to my wardrobe for the night but I did in fact remember that. However, I wasn’t able to set up a proper merch table, as I no longer had one, and the pop up tent I had used in the past was destroyed. So I set up my merch on the bed of the truck. It was stocked with the last two t-shirts I have, some prayer ropes, keychains, stickers, lyrics scrolls, and the email sign-up book. The usual details. With five minutes left to start, I lit the coal for the censor, and got the frankincense burning. It always smells so amazing to me, but it gives Teal a headache.
With that, we started with the first track being Entrance, then Some People’s Children, Baptismal Fount, The Reprobate, Prince of the Air, and ending with Wedding Supper of the Lamb, unplugged. The first four songs were played to tracks that I had arranged as a background, with the mix relying on drum beats panned to the left, while synth and bass parts were panned to the right stereo outputs of the mp3 files I had synced to my iPhone 13 Pro, which was plugged in to a Universal Audio Volt which had balanced 1/4" to XLR male cables going to the snake that was feeding the main PA system. I was really concerned that the mix wasn’t going to communicate well, that is, until I heard the mix through the cameras as I was editing the video. That made me feel much better about the sound, something that serves as paramount importance to me when it comes to performing live.
Prince of the Air was played without any assisted backup tracks, as was Wedding Supper of the Lamb, which was performed with me on an acoustic guitar, Eamon on cajon, and my wife Teal joining us on the stage to sing. Our time on stage lasted exactly forty five minutes. Playing along to tracks is really hard to do right, because you have to have near perfect monitoring in order to hear the exact timing of the parts. It wasn’t exactly the perfect mix we needed, so there were moments where we were off by a bit on the timing, but over all, we got through it alright. On stage, under pressure, every single slight deviation really stands out in your head, but over all, in hindsight, after getting to review the camera material.
The rest of the weekend was filled with lots more great fun. Old friends, new friends, horseback rides, more bands, games, prayer and hairdos. Tuesday Theory set was the next day in the afternoon, on the outside stage. I played the drums with them, and David Marston as Redeem the Ruins. Then threw in a worship time with the Becker couple of Filthy Rags on Sunday night after the baptismal services. We stayed through to Monday and helped get things cleaned up, and went out to lunch with the festival team before heading home. We all left with that bitter feeling that the good vibes were coming to an end. That is the surest tell that we all had such a great time that no one wanted to leave when the time had come.
I packed up the tent right as a wind storm was brewing. The gusts were so heavy that it bent the joints of the rods. I was particularly frustrated with this, as I was hoping not to have to return it to Costco for the refund, since now I’ll have to buy another one in time for next year. I’ll be keeping my eye out for stronger wind resistance options. I didn’t manage to move any product merch, so I went home with the $40 I’d had left, which was enough to cover the bridge toll, plus $9 in the tank of the Prius, and $25 for the Ranger. Both rigs made it home with about a quarter of a tank left in each. We had exactly every thing we needed with just enough to spare to get us on with the week.
There ends the saga of Fire Fest NW 2024. It was a beautiful time, with beautiful weather, and plenty of precious moments to treasure. We so much look forward to next year. Until then, we’ve got a lot of work to do here at home, finishing the production on the songs we have loaded in our release queue for the next year, plus a number of potential other live performances in Oregon. Keep the Good God Father News page bookmarked to be the first to learn of any new dates, and be sure to follow our Bandsintown page:
Watch the full performance on Odysee for just 5 LBRY by going to:
