[OutVoice] Lightning Strikes 3rd & Lindsley, but Bearapalooza goes on !!

[freddy@freddyfreeman.com]

Hi Y'all

People have been asking me how Bearapalooza went, so I wanted to share the story with everyone. 
Upon arriving for load in and set up Saturday morning, we were greeted by yellow police lines and NES trucks. 
we found out soon that a transformer had been struck by lightning, causing it to start on fire, and the wind storm had pushed an electrical pole into the venue. There was a small fire on the roof, PCB's on the ground and power was out for many blocks.
The story does have a happy ending though. I am still amazed at what happened. I wrote an article about it for the Church Street Freedom Press, heres what happened: 

 Lightning Strikes and the Bears Unite  
by Freddy Freeman   Founder of Bearapalooza 
 Freddy at freddyfreeman.com       This past weekend, I was reminded of what the word community really means. 
Since starting in a little dive bar in NYC in 2002, I have been organizing   Bearapalooza, a music festival of Bear identified artists who travel from around the country to perform, usually at their own expense. I am now based in Nashville, and a proud member of the Music City Bears. Bearapalooza has become an integral part of our annual Bear Jam. I was excited that this year we were going to be at 3rd & Lindsley. After 6 months of working out every detail including housing artists, decorations, advertising, and more, you can imagine my horror when we arrived to set up and realized the venue would not be opening due to a power outage. My heart sank. What was I going to tell these performers who flew in from California, Minneapolis, New York? What were we going to tell the people waiting at the hotel for a limo service to take them to the festival they had been promised? I was ready to give up.  Well, what happened next is an example of what community is all about. Phone calls were made, drums were rented, friends pulled together, microphones and mixers were loaned, and within two hours, the festival was miraculously pulled off.   I am so grateful to Geno of Blue Gene's. We called him at 11 am to ask if he would host the event, and we had a full rock concert up and running by 1:30 pm. He opened his doors and helped in any way he could. His establishment deserves all of our patronage. My friend David Helms of Rough Diamond Studios brought in a lot of his gear and got the sound going for us in record time. Mathew Temple donated the drum rental and the equipment for rehearsals, Sam DeGeorge, Bryant Keith and Phil Proctor got the stage set up, and then rocked out as our house band "Ursa Major". Michael West coordinated all the artists, and made sure everyone knew about the change of venue. Daniel Lee set up the CD table and decor. Eric Nance filmed the entire event. Robert & Anthony made up signs at the original venue, to direct people to the new venue. Kris Hansen donated a PA, Adric & his partner & Phil McCullough were awesome roadies, helping us transport equipment. Robert Smith, Bob Davidson, and everyone on the Bear Jam Committee pulled together to make the change go smoothly for the run participants. My partner Jay was driving people all over and helping me with whatever I needed. Sister Right Sarong and Sister Soami of the Missionary Order of Perpetual Indulgence worked the door, spread love and joy and helped us do some fundraising.   All of the artists were so professional and flexible, and the music was amazing. I felt like a superstar with everyone clapping along to my songs. It was my first time performing with a band since moving to Nashville, and it felt really good to be a front man again. I have never seen my good friend Michael West rock so hard as he did with that band. Max Christopher opened with a strong acoustic set, and I got teary-eyed listening to Shannon Grady sing about coming out to his brothers. Matthew Temple touched us all with his heartfelt folk songs, Elijah Black was a like a force of nature with his 12 string guitar, Ron Morris offered fresh insight wrapped in a warm inviting voice, and Mr. Tim Toonen blew the crowd away with his powerhouse voice. Kendall's multimedia performance included characters, costumes, rap, singing, dancing, and some pretty risqué props. It was something I don't think anyone will ever forget. I was so proud when all the guys got together for a finale' backed by the band. I thought "This is what community is about".  The entire Bear Jam weekend was magical and included so many more people's efforts to pull off. If I tried to mention everyone,  I am sure I would forget someone. Everyone who worked on Bear Jam did a fantastic job, from the bar nights, and the walking tours, to the banquet and great performances by Bobaloo and Sideshow Bennie, our Country Carnival weekend was something magical.  Thanks to all of us pulling together; instead of crying over a cancelled event, we really did something special. It was truly awe-inspiring to me.        

Freddy Freeman 
Singer Songwriter 
Founder of Bearapalooza
BREAK THE SILENCE - FALL 06 
www.freddyfreeman.com