Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo in 2013!!
And without further ado, your November Board Member of the Month is one of Inforoo's coolest dads, toml30!
Thanks, glennron!
How annoyed were you when the Bullets changed their names to the Wizards?
I was pretty annoyed. I understood the reasoning, but to change it from a word that connotes violence to a word that connotes a leadership position in the KKK didn't seem particularly smart to me. I'm not as affected by words as some, but the name, the logo and the colors are all horrible. It is better than the other choices that were offered though - Sea Dogs, Express, and Stallions.
Mrs. toml30 has a wicked recipe for some kind of teriyaki wings with pineapple juice, beer, brown sugar, and a bunch of other stuff. Me and the boys can eat dozens of them, hot or cold.
If you were to have your own festival, what would you call it? Who would play? What cool things would you add?
These are all good questions. Hard, but good. I would call my festival Inclusive. It would have all types of music with a lot of crossover. There would be a dedicated jazz tent and a hardcore/metal stage as well as the world music tent and others like at Bonnaroo. I would avoid a lot of what we consider "headliner" material and really focus on comebacks, reunions, and weird combinations of artists. I would add a giant people mover that encircled the whole festival area with quick stops at each tent or stage area. Imagine the savings on feet if you just had that little bit of time to stop walking while going to the next show. And it would also make more space in the center of the festival, for anyone who didn't want/need to use the people mover.
If you had a vendor tent at Bonnaroo, it was free of charge as was anything you wanted to give away, what would you give to other Rooers?
I'd have the "Cooler Tent" and I'd give away CamelBak water bottles, water packs and all of these things:
The greatest threat to a good festival experience (except maybe blisters), is staying cool and hydrated. Those Frogg Togg towels were amazing for us last Bonnaroo.
Favorite festival? Favorite show at a festival?
This is really hard, but I'd have to say Bonnaroo '11. It wasn't my favorite top to bottom lineup, but it was the first one where we took all three boys, and all five of us got to see acts we liked - it's one of our favorite family adventures.
If I had to pick one, I'd say Pearl Jam at Lollapalooza '92. I've seen others since then that were probably more awesome (Wilco at VirginFest '08, MMJ at various), but I was young and impressionable, it was my first festival and I was a PJ freak.
I'll answer the other two in a separate post to break up everyone's boredom and monotony...
Well I don't get embarrassed very often, but I have three minor embarrassments all surrounding the same event. A few years ago I was on Jeopardy. I had a friend come out with me and some friends from LA and San Diego also came to the taping. When my name was called to take the stage, I was put in the middle position between two women. They were both taller than me, and they literally had to get a stepstool for me to stand on behind the podium so we'd all look the same height. So before it even started, I could hear my buddies roaring in the audience when this happened.
Then, what luck! a music category in the first round. I was rocking through the whole category and then an answer came up about an REM song about Andy Kaufman. And I froze - all I could think of was Moon Man, and I knew that wasn't right. So I definitely got embarrassed and my friends could not stop joking about Mr. Music Man not knowing an REM song and I think they called me Moon Man for about a year.
Finally, when the show finally aired my wife, a bunch of friends, family, and workmates threw a viewing party at a restaurant. I forgot until it finally came on, that my "story" for talking to Alex was about how I won a beauty contest in drag as an alter ego who sang "Natural Woman" for my talent portion. My friends and family already knew the story but my workmates never quite looked at me the same after that.
I can think of two - a couple of years ago, my oldest boy and I were at a Nationals game with pretty good seats. At one point, Aramis Ramirez hit a screaming foul shot. It was right on track with my son's face and I stuck my hand right in front of his face and snared it. It hurt like heck, but I held on. It was one of those where everyone cheers and the crowd was going crazy. A few rows up, a man with binoculars turned to my son, handed him the binoculars and said "Hey kid, the president of the United States is cheering for your dad." Sure enough I looked over and there was W. in his suite standing and clapping in my direction. The look of awe that my son gave me for the rest of the game was so special and I would pay a shiz-ton of money to get that look all the time.
The second happened when we took the boys to China. On our fourth night in Beijing, the phone rang in the middle of the night. Some guy was screaming at me in Chinese - I assumed it was a wrong number and hung up. Couple minutes later, the phone rang again. Same Chinese voice, same screaming. I hung up again. But this time, I noticed a weird smell. I got up and saw smoke pouring into our room from under the door, jumped up grabbed the boys, went back to get my wife, and opened the door. Smoke started pouring in the room and had already filled the hallway. The kids started panicking as we were looking for the exit. Two of them ran right past the stairway for the elevators, so I pushed my wife and the littlest one into the stairwell, ran down the other two, grabbed them, back to the stairwell. Finally a fireman came and was yelling at us to do something, but we couldn't understand anything - he handed us two wet rags which we kept alternating over the boys faces. I kept pushing the two older boys down the stairs and then running back up and dragging my wife, who was carrying the little guy. Back and forth for 12 flights and all I kept thinking was "this is China, if the fire door at the bottom of these stairs is locked, we're finished." Thankfully, the door opened out into an alley and we poured out puking and falling into the street. After about 15 minutes, we were all sitting on the curb trying to get our shiz together and figure out what to do next, and a paramedic came over and spoke a little English. He asked what we needed, and my middle boy said, "we don't need anything - daddy saved us." I think I peaked early on proud moments with that one.
I don't always appear on Jeopardy, but when I do, I casually talk about winning a beauty pageant in drag.
Okay, that made me laugh out loud. In the interest of full disclosure, it was all for charity. Which I was trying to impress upon Alex, but he was genuinely interested in what kind of dress I wore and whether or not I shaved my legs.
I can think of two - a couple of years ago, my oldest boy and I were at a Nationals game with pretty good seats. At one point, Aramis Ramirez hit a screaming foul shot. It was right on track with my son's face and I stuck my hand right in front of his face and snared it. It hurt like heck, but I held on. It was one of those where everyone cheers and the crowd was going crazy. A few rows up, a man with binoculars turned to my son, handed him the binoculars and said "Hey kid, the president of the United States is cheering for your dad." Sure enough I looked over and there was W. in his suite standing and clapping in my direction. The look of awe that my son gave me for the rest of the game was so special and I would pay a shiz-ton of money to get that look all the time.
The second happened when we took the boys to China. On our fourth night in Beijing, the phone rang in the middle of the night. Some guy was screaming at me in Chinese - I assumed it was a wrong number and hung up. Couple minutes later, the phone rang again. Same Chinese voice, same screaming. I hung up again. But this time, I noticed a weird smell. I got up and saw smoke pouring into our room from under the door, jumped up grabbed the boys, went back to get my wife, and opened the door. Smoke started pouring in the room and had already filled the hallway. The kids started panicking as we were looking for the exit. Two of them ran right past the stairway for the elevators, so I pushed my wife and the littlest one into the stairwell, ran down the other two, grabbed them, back to the stairwell. Finally a fireman came and was yelling at us to do something, but we couldn't understand anything - he handed us two wet rags which we kept alternating over the boys faces. I kept pushing the two older boys down the stairs and then running back up and dragging my wife, who was carrying the little guy. Back and forth for 12 flights and all I kept thinking was "this is China, if the fire door at the bottom of these stairs is locked, we're finished." Thankfully, the door opened out into an alley and we poured out puking and falling into the street. After about 15 minutes, we were all sitting on the curb trying to get our shiz together and figure out what to do next, and a paramedic came over and spoke a little English. He asked what we needed, and my middle boy said, "we don't need anything - daddy saved us." I think I peaked early on proud moments with that one.
If you could spend the day with 5 people, dead or alive, famous or not, who would they be? Why them?
This is tough. Okay:
5/William Shakespeare - I'd love to know if he really wrote everything attributed to him - and get the scoop on where he learned some of the things he wrote about. 4/Louis CK - Just because I think he'd make me laugh all day, but in a way that kinda depresses me at the same time and makes me think about stuff. 3/My dad's dad - never really got to know him and he seemed like an interesting guy. He was really into music and instruments, but I wasn't old enough to appreciate it before he died. 2/Galileo - most of the stuff would be over my head, but I'd love to hear him talk about his inventions and troubles with the church and other leading thinkers of the time. 1/Jimi Hendrix - he just seems like an interesting cat, and I have no idea what he was really like.
What do you think the greatest invention has been?
If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be?
What really happened on those thee days around Easter time, 2,000 years ago?
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Easy - play guitar or piano really well.
What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?
Quit my job. Seriously, I know everyone likes to say they'll keep working for a while blah blah blah. Not this guy, definitely quit the job first.
If you were immortal for a day, what would you do?
Lots of bungee jumping and skydiving. Things involving falling from great heights.
I can think of two - a couple of years ago, my oldest boy and I were at a Nationals game with pretty good seats. At one point, Aramis Ramirez hit a screaming foul shot. It was right on track with my son's face and I stuck my hand right in front of his face and snared it. It hurt like heck, but I held on. It was one of those where everyone cheers and the crowd was going crazy. A few rows up, a man with binoculars turned to my son, handed him the binoculars and said "Hey kid, the president of the United States is cheering for your dad." Sure enough I looked over and there was W. in his suite standing and clapping in my direction. The look of awe that my son gave me for the rest of the game was so special and I would pay a shiz-ton of money to get that look all the time.
The second happened when we took the boys to China. On our fourth night in Beijing, the phone rang in the middle of the night. Some guy was screaming at me in Chinese - I assumed it was a wrong number and hung up. Couple minutes later, the phone rang again. Same Chinese voice, same screaming. I hung up again. But this time, I noticed a weird smell. I got up and saw smoke pouring into our room from under the door, jumped up grabbed the boys, went back to get my wife, and opened the door. Smoke started pouring in the room and had already filled the hallway. The kids started panicking as we were looking for the exit. Two of them ran right past the stairway for the elevators, so I pushed my wife and the littlest one into the stairwell, ran down the other two, grabbed them, back to the stairwell. Finally a fireman came and was yelling at us to do something, but we couldn't understand anything - he handed us two wet rags which we kept alternating over the boys faces. I kept pushing the two older boys down the stairs and then running back up and dragging my wife, who was carrying the little guy. Back and forth for 12 flights and all I kept thinking was "this is China, if the fire door at the bottom of these stairs is locked, we're finished." Thankfully, the door opened out into an alley and we poured out puking and falling into the street. After about 15 minutes, we were all sitting on the curb trying to get our shiz together and figure out what to do next, and a paramedic came over and spoke a little English. He asked what we needed, and my middle boy said, "we don't need anything - daddy saved us." I think I peaked early on proud moments with that one.
Just refer to your sig. You might want to bold the whole thing or something for emphasis.
I know, sorry. But she did ask for a moment of pride!
To be honest, the first one was mostly luck and with the hotel fire, my wife did as much or more in keeping her head straight and getting the kids out of there. But that is what the kid said.
I go through beer and wine phases. Not much of a liquor drinker. Right this second, I'd have to say my favorite is:
Snack food?
And the rest of my family don't like them at all - which makes it the perfect snack food.
Sweets?
I don't eat a lot of sweets and I don't generally care for chocolate, but I really like German chocolate cake for some reason.
Muppet?
Easy. This guy.
Book?
It's cliche, but To Kill A Mockingbird. I get something out of every rereading. My wife bought me a beautiful 40th anniversary edition that I was reading the night my first son was born, and to this day I still call him "Boo."
Movie?
If I have to pick one, I guess I'm going with This is Spinal Tap. I love the classics and Godfather and Shawshank etc., but this one just makes me laugh and laugh every time I watch it.
Song?
Hoo boy. I've always refused to answer this in the past because it literally gives me a stomachache deciding. But for you, I'll answer - Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone. Some songs hit you a certain way, in a certain time or place and become immovable from the pantheon no matter what may come later.
Actor?
Daniel Day Lewis
Actress?
Katharine Hepburn (you can lock this one up)
TV show?
Comedy - Seinfeld. Drama - Homicide: Like on the Street.
My TV watching is way, way down from the 90s. This is the point in time where I become persona non grata on Inforoo - I have only seen three episodes of the Sopranos, and I've never seen a single episode of The Wire, Family Guy, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Homeland, Mad Men or Boardwalk Empire {ducks head}
Radio show? (if applicable )
Well back in the late 80s, there was an awesome underground college radio show called Tom's Turntable that ROCKED the 200 yard radius in which it was broadcast. It was on Thursday nights from 8-11 and did not gain much of an audience due to it being up against the killer NBC lineup of Cosby, Different World, and Cheers.
Today, I still listen to your hometown 91X Resurrection show - thanks to the app, but my favorite is a Norfolk-based NPR show called Out of the Box that plays new music in all sorts of genres every night before the albums are released.
Childhood toy?
Does an Atari 2600 count as a toy?
Childhood memory?
When we brought home my favorite dog, Black Magic, for the first time.
Did you enjoy dressing up in drag? Was that your first time in women's clothing? Did you wear heels and hose?
Yes I did actually. It was interesting to put myself in someone else’s place so to speak. Sadly, no it was not my first time. I did it first for Halloween of my sophomore year in college and I really got into it, creating this whole persona named Victoria LeChapeau who was a perfume model and former women’s professional gymnast before a thyroid condition cut her career short. Someone asked me to resurrect her on a dare to raise money for a group in Mexico and so I did it a few times. Then a couple more. The school then decided to have a full-fledged drag beauty contest to raise more money for charity. This was the first time I went all out – shaved legs, hose, heels, plucked eyebrows etc. What the guys making fun of me didn’t realize was a/I didn't care what they thought or said, but more importantly, b/that the girls loved it! I got to sit in their bathrooms and bedrooms while they did my hair and makeup – they almost forgot I was a dude while we all got ready together. Alas, Victoria LeChapeau died in a freak hair spray aerosol/cigarette lighter fire in 1991.
What charities are close to your heart?
There are several, but the one closest to my heart, by far, is the March of Dimes. My oldest was born two months early and weighed only 2 pounds. His heart completely stopped beating twice his first day. He needed tons of different surgeries and procedures those first few months before we were even allowed to bring him home. We were scared, clueless, and soon we were broke too. I don’t know what would have happened if it weren’t for some of the technologies, the NICU, and the support groups. So many of these things were either paid for out of MoD grants, or sponsored/advertised via the MoD – they were amazing for our family. We decided to help however we could to help keep other parents from not having to go through what we did that first year of Will’s life.
Who are you voting for tomorrow (or last week if you are an early voter) and why?
I really want to vote third party as I have issues with both major parties, but I’m going to vote for Obama. I’ve been upset with some of the things he promised before this term that he didn’t do or didn’t do the way he said he would (Guantanamo closure, cap and trade, among others). But I’m not naïve – I realize that these aren’t all his fault (cough Congress cough), and I can’t stomach the thought of Romney in office for many reasons.
How did you meet your wife?
I used to go to this sports bar for Redskins games on Sunday and she used to go to the same bar – it was the only one that showed her hometown Chargers games. So usually I’d leave around 4 and she’d arrive around 4. There was a hard core group of folks (read: drunks) who would stay for the whole day of football – they kept trying to get me to stay late to meet this cute single girl and get her to come early to meet this not-so-cute, but kind and funny single guy. Never happened. Then one night in a different bar, we both happened to be there and met and started talking and ended up talking at the bar all night – the same group of drunks came into the bar toward closing time and couldn’t believe it when they saw us hitting it off without any help from them.
What are your biggest parenting mistakes?
Oh man, so many. I make so many mistakes. I can be inconsistent and that's a terrible thing to be as a parent. Something that might make me sigh one day might make me really mad another day, depending on my mood. It's something I'm really working on. Another one I’m really working on correcting right now is I’ve realized that Mrs. toml30 and I are both guilty of asking for our 6-year old to be capable of things or behaviors that we never expected our 12-year-old to be capable of when he was that age. I need to keep telling myself to take a step back and remember he’s only 6, and that just because the 9 and 12 year old can do it or get it together, it took them time and much repetition and reminding before they got it, and be more patient with the little guy.
One piece of advice to give to other parents?
Well I have two - one I follow, and one I don't always follow. The first is to make sure that mom and dad have time together. For one, I think it's important for our boys to see us happy together - but the boys have friends whose parents got divorced and it causes them to question their own security. By us going on dates and showing affection and staying connected and disagreeing with each other privately as much as possible, I think helps them feel more stable.
The second is a piece of advice I give to myself all the time but don’t always follow – everything is always new – we’ve never been parents before and a lot of this is figuring it out as we go along. So stop beating yourself up because you screwed up. But be strong enough to apologize to them when you do screw up. I have every intention of starting every conversation with my kids, whatever the topic, as Atticus Finch. More often than not, I end up more Homer Simpson than Atticus, but guess what, Atticus is fictional – if my kids know they’re loved and that I’m not even remotely close to perfect but I’m really trying, maybe, just maybe, they will end up okay.
Have completely flip flopped on any beliefs you had as a young adult? What was it and how did you come to change your mind?
I gave this a lot of thought but the answer is not really. I constantly challenge myself on what I believe but the changes in belief have all been more incremental than flip flop. At least I think so. I was a total bleeding heart liberal in college and I’m still pretty liberal in most things – but I tend to understand the other side more. Not agree with, just better understand.
How did you find Inforoo and what is your favorite thread?
When we were planning to go to Bonnaroo in 2010, Inforoo came up in a web search. At first, I just used it for the survival type posts. Then after we went in 2011, I started reading the posts to see what folks thought - if they agreed with me on best sets, conflicts, etc. I stopped being a guest in January, but didn't really start posting regularly until like April or May, I think.
Favorite thread is Now Playing. I actually write down every album that gets posted there if I've never heard of the band or heard the album yet. I listen to at least a little bit of every one and then either cross it off, stream it, or download it.
Who's posts make you LOL?
Good question. There are lots of people who make me laugh, smile or at least entertain me. It's one of the reasons I became a more regular member - the amount of witty people here is quite staggering. But specifically:
iamthehorn and Ned both make me laugh - when I first joined, they would post on top of each other so often, I thought they were the same person.
Dave Maynar, Flanzo, and FASITA all entertain me with their wit and ways with words - although they each have very different styles, obvs.
ITM always has the perfect .gif and Druid has some of the best zingers.
Even whoreshack and phi have posted bizarro things that have made me laugh.
If you could only reply with gifs or music lyrics, which would you pick?
Music lyrics. I stink at finding or making gifs, and my whole life seems composed of events that are either a lyric from a song or a scene from Seinfeld.
How much of the election coverage are you going to watch? Did you really bring all three kids with you to Roo? Are you tired of being BMOTM?
I wasn't going to watch any until later - but I took the kids out of school early to come vote with me and they really got into it more than I thought, so we're watching it together right now. They're grasping the intricacies of the electoral college surprisingly well. Once they go to bed, I'll probably watch a DVR'd Revolution and Walking Dead, then go back to coverage to watch Obama and Tim Kaine's victory speeches.
We really did bring them to Roo - best family trip ever. They're amazing little guys - great travelers who can really roll with change and kookiness. They LOVED the ladies at the big ass water slide with the painted boobies - they all hung out together for a while (Holy Christ I'm a shizzy parent). They're festival and concert pros now - oldest is begging to go back to Bonnaroo this year if they get Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar - he might get his wish.
As to being tired of being the BMOTM - not at all. It's only been two days.
Do you ever find yourself daydreaming in random places what you would do in that moment if the zombie apocalypse finally happened, and if so, where would you want to be when it started? Where in the world do you think would be the most exciting/interesting place to battle it out in said apocalypse?
If you could punch/bodyslam/slap in the back of head any one person in your real life, who would it be? What about which celebrity? Which fictional character?
If you could be a fictional character for a week, who would it be?
Well growing up it was the Redskins. They were always good when I was younger - 4 Super Bowls in 10 years. Plus I didn't have a baseball team so I rooted for the Orioles by default. But with the Nationals here now and the Redskins so mired in so much crap with a terrible owner, the Nationals are currently #1 in my heart. Capitals and Redskins tied for #2. Terrapin basketball #4, SD Chargers #5, Barcelona #6, Chelsea #7, and Wizards #8.
Favorite fanhood moment?
When the Redskins won the Super Bowl on my birthday. I was in college and the rule was I had to either shotgun a beer or down a huge shot every time the Redskins scored (and extra points counted as separate scoring events). At the start of the second quarter, it was 10-0 Broncos, but then the Redskins scored 35 points in just the 2nd quarter - so it got ugly. I woke up outside of some random dorm room with a partially shaved head, cuddling a huge stuffed Christmas polar bear.
Runner Up - the day it was announced that Washington DC was getting another baseball team.
Worst fanhood moment?
When Danny-boy Snyder bought the Redskins.
What are your top 5 games/events you've been in attendance?
#5 - Seeing four Orioles pitchers combine for a no-hitter against the A's - with one of the four being my favorite southpaw when I was a kid - Mike Flanagan. #4 - The game after the Nats clinched the AL East. It was a day game, so M and I skipped work and watched Teddy win the President's race for the first time ever.
#3 - The Capitals/Senators game that sent the Caps to the Eastern Conference Finals en route to their only Stanley Cup Finals (1998). Darned Red Wings. #2 - First Redskins/Cowboys game with my oldest son. Okay, he was 1 year old, but still, it was magical. #1 - Stephen Strasburg's debut. Incredible night - real fan energy for the first time in that stadium, and the party in the beer garden outside the stadium went on all night.
Robert Griffin III and Stephen Strasburg are both hanging off the side of a cliff as you walk by. Both are slipping very quickly, and you only have time to save one. Who do you choose to save?
What all festivals have you been to? Are there ones you haven't attended that you plan on going to one day?
I've been to Bonnaroo, ACL, Lollapalooza, New Orleans JazzFest, Firefly, Virgin MobileFest (and Freefest), Red Cross Waterfront Music Fest (think that one's dead), Farm Aid and back before they had all these multi-day festivals (before many of you were born) I used to go to the HFSTIVAL and the Xmas Festival Ball every year. I've been to a bunch of reggae and jazz festivals too.
I have a bucket list of festivals and still need Glastonbury, Newport Folk, Coachella, Moog and Sasquatch off the top of my head.
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
Well my two favorite jobs were working in a record store and owning a comic book/baseball card store. I would do either one of those again in a heartbeat if money were not an issue. But most likely something with music - whether as a writer, a promoter or a DJ or something.
Best gift you have ever given?
Probably taking my wife to Paris for her 40th - that was an amazing trip and it was such a tough year for us that it was perfect timing. If you mean like a tangible "thing", I'd have to say this African wood-carved sculpture of a mother holding a son that I gave my mom. It's sort of abstract, but it's beautiful and she still talks about it all the time.
Best gift you have ever received?
Right after I got my first record player, my uncle knew I was getting into all kinds of "weird" music already and gave me the albums Mott the Hoople's Greatest Hits, Pink Floyd's The Wall, and Black Sabbath's Master of Reality. Changed my life.
Worst gift you have ever received?
That same birthday, one of my mom's friends knew I was getting into music, but not, apparently, that I was getting into "weird" music because she gave me Barry Manilow's Even Now.
Favorite fast food restaurant?
We don't do a ton of fast food, but I am a sucker for a Five Guys burger every once in a while. If I still worked out West, it'd probably be In-N-Out burgers.
Quick, someone has offered to keep the kids for the weekend. If you're like me that's a rare surprise. What would you & Mrs. Tom do with yourselves?
If there were no music festivals that weekend? Hmm, we like to go to the ocean, even when it's cold, and just walk a lot and read a lot and listen to music and drink wine. Oh, and sleep past 6:40am. Man that sounds good right now.
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