All photographs © 2007 Jason Kaczorowski
Wednesday arrived a bit earlier than my internal snooze alarm would've preferred, though based on the gorgeous weather waiting just outside our crisply air conditioned R.V., it was bound to be a perfect day.
Thankfully I banked the R.V. into a prime backstage location conveniently located within a short walk from a 24 hour coffee stand, the VIP showers/restrooms and comfortably stationed directly across from the "Fest Taxi" stand. Ever heard of a Fest Taxi before? Me neither until this week but their necessity clearly made for a successful business. Though their insurance must be immense, essentially the job of the fest taxi driver was to uniquely decorate their 6 person golf cart and transport tired or drunken festival goers from their campgrounds (often up to 3/4 of a mile away) to the main concert bowl for a mere $2 per passenger. Some carts could be heard blasting music as they tromped through the woods to pick up campers in need, while others would parade down main thoroughfares adorned in feathered boas, relaxed, fluffy pillows and candy baskets of Pixie Stixs and Smarties. Though you won't find a listing on Google for these transportation Gods yet, look for them at many nationwide festivals including the All Good Festival, Bonnoroo and more. Mercifully the festival grounds were opportunely designed to accommodate pedestrian traffic with clearly designated paths wide enough to fit four-wheel ATV vehicles, golf carts and concert goers in harmony. Systems of pedestrian tunnels led patrons under main arteries of roads where vehicle traffic coming in and out of the campgrounds was routed.
Cars, trucks and buses could be seen streaming into the main festival gate off in the distance. After enjoying a coffee break, Donovan – the General Merchandising Manager of the Lake Sallie General Store and Lake Sallie Shakedown Street Coordinator – arrived in a golf cart to transport us and our supplies from one end of the facility to the other. Just before departing Pollock struck up a conversation with a passing individual who turned out to be “The Wizard” - the principal Master of Ceremonies for the Main Stage performances.
Upon arriving at the PollockPrints booth around 9am we took quick note of the crowd of collectors gathered in the adjacent acoustic performance shade tent who were patiently waiting for Pollock’s on-site printed poster to go on sale. Allegedly some of these folks had gotten in line to purchase these pieces at 6:30am. Unbeknownst to many, the posters didn’t go on sale until 6:30pm. Organization was immediately implemented and poster enthusiasts began receiving numbers written on their hands in permanent marker corresponding with the time they had arrived in line to purchase the limited edition pieces. There was a strict rule of one purchase per person, though many held the line with friends or significant others who were obviously encouraged by their poster purchasing peers to snatch up every remaining possible piece.
person in line to buy his posters.
I quickly began setting up the booth as swells of individuals crowded around to catch a glimpse of the artist utilizing his antiquated printing technique. The archaic process was only paused when collectors would ask for an autograph or photo with the artist but for the most part, Pollock printed nonstop under the mid 80 degree temperatures as the sun beat down on the tent and a thankfully blessed cross-breeze off Lake Sallie swept through a rear tent flap, helping gently dry the hanging prints.
the Sallie Stage Tent to purchase posters.
Pollock was greeted with a birthday cake from Grandma James as an anxiously waiting crowd of collectors joined together in harmony to sing Happy Birthday to Jim before proceeding forth, controlled, one-at-a-time to purchase their prized posters.
Pollock continued pressing on (literally) until the late hours of Wednesday evening only pausing to eat and stroll over to Connor & Charity Hopkins' SlapHappy Drums booth to participate in a spontaneous drum circle. Drums pounding, flutes benevolently whistling in the air, dancers twirled around the bonfire while weary revelers returned to their campsites, unknowingly witnessing a notable artist connecting with an impromptu group of musicians, all coming together around the embers glow at Lake Sallie that early morning. Incidentally, Pollock became so engrossed in Connor & Charity’s skilled, hand-crafted drum creations that he not only doodled on a drum head that was also signed by Keller Williams and later raffled in a charity auction, he also agreed to experiment this summer with dyeing one of their drum skins that will later comprise one of their namesake instruments.
We made our way via golf cart back to the R.V. to stash stock and set off immediately to catch the remaining set of Minnesota’s own, Wookiefoot on the Field Stage. Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen concluded the evening on the Barn Stage until 1:30am. So much good music was happening all around us the entire week yet unfortunately we were working at the booth the majority of the time. Another act performing adjacent to the Barn Stage that evening, Unity out of Appleton, Wisconsin, thankfully also performed a spontaneous set at the Sallie Stage, next to the PollockPrints booth, Friday afternoon. Their reggae, folk, funk blend helped propel Pollock to groove through the final 50 pressings of blue.
