Thanks To The Crew

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then I’d probably need to write a few books about all of the photos I just flipped through from last December’s  COAST Is Clear Fest to even start to do it justice.

But the beauty is, it’s not just a weekend to look back on — it’s an ongoing project that’s evolved over the past five years. What started as daydream after a storm in 2017, has grown into a pretty mighty little festival, mostly because a bunch of other people — who I’m stoked to call my friends — started believing in that very same dream.

And really, that’s the only way I’d want to do it.

There’s no promise of money or fame — only the goal of having one hell of a weekend with old buddies, while listening to our favorite music with folks from around the island and across the country who probably also happen to like a lot of the same things we do.

And so the next year, we’ll maybe have a few more friends and fans and on it goes. Sure, it’s a different approach than most would take, but we aren’t all the way down here at the end of the road to be like everyone else.

Honestly, folks, this year’s lineup speaks for itself. Those bands on the poster — whether you know all of them or just one, or even none — are world-class acts who have devoted their lives to making music and sharing it with fans around the world. Many of them I know already and they also happen to be pretty rad people, too. So the fact that they are all descending upon a tiny island we call home for a single weekend is something altogether special for my crew and me — and maybe you, too.

So rather than explain why you shouldn’t miss this, I’d rather say thanks to those who’ve helped make this coming weekend a time that we’ll all look back on with nothing but big smiles and unforgettable stories.

Michael Gieda from Key West Art & Historical Society and Nathan Linegar are at the top of the list because they both took a big gamble on the festival — offering expertise, resources, and constructive input, but also plenty of patience with regards to my often quirky creative demands and thought process.

Together we’re co-directors, each specializing in a different aspect of why the festival has come so far. Michael handles paperwork — and people — better than anyone I’ve ever seen. Nate is a technical production master who’s been touring with bands half his life and uses his music industry experience to translate my creative vision into reality. They both came into the picture just after the festival in 2019 which was — to put it mildly — the least successful festival since we started in 2017. We had fun that year — and the music was great — but that’s about all I can really remember. So the fact that even after a borderline disastrous year they still could imagine what I had in mind says something about their own way of thinking about things. So thanks Michael and Nate — your friendship and leadership means a lot more than I probably ever say out loud.

That same year, my good friend Micaela also came aboard to help out. She knows all of my quirks and can somehow manage to laugh at — and simultaneously ignore — them while she goes down the to-do list checking things off while I’m at a standstill, hung up on a meaningless detail that no one will notice. She also makes sure I eat and sends me memes throughout the day to keep me focused on the important things. Thanks Micaela — I couldn’t do it without you.

Austin and Banger, you fellas are next. These guys have been with me from day one, and while they spend most of the year on the road, doing their own radical projects around the country, they both make the annual pilgrimage back to the end of the road in mid-November to help out with whatever needs fixing or moving or building while keeping me greased up with laughs, one-liners and trips to the beach.

Austin just hauled a trailer from Santa Cruz, CA — coast to coast — stopping in Miami after four straight days of driving to pick up some screenprinting supplies that I couldn’t get shipped in time. No complaining — just laughed and said, “send me the link, I’ll be at your door in five hours.” And Banger, after I complained about a broken water pump in the truck last week, picked one up without me asking because he knew I didn’t have time and couldn’t prioritize it.

Thanks fellas, the weeks in the lead-up to the festival are stressful, but there’s nothing I appreciate more than when you guys roll back into town to make it feel like everything’s going to be alright.

There are loads of sponsors to thank but my friends at Green Parrot, Blue Heaven and General Horseplay have really helped make the festival feel the way I want it to feel. There are plenty of local spots that could host our smaller events but none better than these classic Key West haunts. Special shout out to John and Jim, Ricky and Richard and Chris for helping us spread the talent out to reach local folks who can’t make it to the big events.

To the bands who keep coming down even though it’s a big pay cut and a pain in the ass to get to — your music is like magic. It keeps me up at night typing when I’m foggy and should be saving a few spare hours of sleep for the weekend, and it’ll bring us all together for a few days this weekend when the coast is clear. Special shout out to Rayland and Slim for logging the most trips south, believing in this thing, and sharing it with your own friends and fans. We’ll see you both in a couple of days.

To my friends who chip in in the lead up to the weekend to distribute posters, to help with the kids, to grab coffees and lunch, who send text from all corners of the country to say good luck, who share posts, and who buy tickets even if you don’t know a single band on the lineup, you know who you are — and thanks for all of that. I hope you find a new favorite song, and I hope you know the effort doesn’t go unnoticed.

To my mom, who’s come down the past two years to spend the weekend with the kids in a hotel, so that I can transform the house into the festival headquarters and crew bunkhouse. I know you don’t understand how I think, but I appreciate that you always believe in me.

And finally to Kristian and Naia — whose mom passed away two years ago on December 4, 2020 — thanks for staying strong, singing along in the truck, getting excited because I’m excited, and lighting up my night when I see you wandering around backstage collecting signatures and polaroid photos. I know I don’t always give you the calm presence and safety that mom offered, but I hope you know that the festival is also a way to remember the sacrifice she made while she was here — allowing me to act on my crazy dreams years ago which has made this all possible now. Even if we don’t see her this weekend, she’ll be out there dancing and up there singing.

It’s late now.

But yeah, the festival is more than a job, more than a date on the calendar, and more than a lineup of bands. It’s a group of friends and a place I call home. I hope that one day it’ll be everything we all think it can be. And I hope that this weekend I see a bunch of you out there in the crowd.

Until then, I’m just enjoying the ride.

Thanks again,

Billy

PS — If you can’t make it because money’s tight, just shoot me a message or stop by the shop, and if we aren’t sold out, we can find a way to make it work. That’s just how Austin joined the crew ten years ago.