Managing a Green Apple
I love getting mail. It is so fun to get mail that you’re excited about. Yesterday, amidst the bills, advertisements, multiple catalogs that are just a waste of paper, and more bills, I received a package from our friends at Iclips with the footage of our set at the Green Apple Festival in Washington, DC. I watched this set on Iclips when it was streamed, and was so excited to get to watch it again – with the backdrop of our nation’s capitol building the background. It looks so amazing that it looks fake. Watching the footage got me to thinking about Green Apple and what was accomplished this year by the festival, as it expanded into five more cities, making that eight cities total, the largest Earth Day celebration in the country indeed.
Many folks ask me why I don’t manage other bands other than Umphrey’s. My answer is that I can’t imagine managing another band – Umphrey’s is my family, my brothers. I would feel like I was cheating on them with another band! However, when Pete Shapiro came to me in 2006, after the inaugural Green Apple festival in New York (which Umphrey’s McGee played) and asked me if I were interested in producing the event in Chicago for 2007 – I finally felt like I had an opportunity to step outside the box for a minute (or a few months) and try my hand at a new challenge. During my senior year at Notre Dame, I took a wonderful class called Ethics and the Environment – I learned quite a bit and it really made an impression on me and how I live my life. In fact, I signed a contract at the end of the class to make every attempt in my life after college to be environmentally responsible. So this was an honor and a blessing to be asked to do an event of this nature. In April of 2007, at the Lincoln Park Zoo, with a line up of Ella Jenkins, The Blisters (Jeff Tweedy’s eight-year old son’s band), Paul Green’s School of Rock, Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd, Mad Professor, The Disco Biscuits, and Umphrey’s McGee, we broke an all time zoo record for attendance – 40,000 plus. This year’s festival included Lori Holton Nash, The Gwalla Gwallas, Chicago Afrobeat Project, Meshell Ndegeocello, Bassnectar, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Three (Bill Kreutzman, Oteil Burbridge, and Scott Murawski). As some of you know Derek Trucks Band was supposed to be our headliner this year. Derek was on tour with Santana, playing Chicago on the 19th at All State Arena, and had the 20th off before heading to Minneapolis. However, the Minnesota Wild hockey team made it to the playoffs – and they have dibs on the stadium over anyone – so the Santana/Derek show got bumped from April 21st to April 20th – the same day as our Green Apple show. This forced Derek to have to cancel eight days before the event. I scrambled and called/emailed everyone I knew. The response was tremendous, and when I found out Bill Kreutzman wanted to come in from Hawaii to do this event – an event that every band plays FOR FREE, I was blown away. (Thanks for bailing me out Bill!) This year matched last year’s attendance, about 40,000 folks joined us in Chicago. We had a wide array of displays and tables all throughout the zoo, and a line up of great speakers including our emcees Kyle Orton of the Chicago Bears (who is a huge environmentalist and even drives a Prius!) and Jodi Murphy, and speakers that included Senator Durbin, Bill Daley of JPMorgan Chase, Suzanne Malec-McKenna of the Department of the Environment, and Commissioner Mike Quigley. Not to mention we actually had spring-like weather in spring, what a novelty! And all the while, Umphrey’s McGee was in Washington, DC playing right before a full on thunderstorm would soon descend. We were lucky enough to be one band that could play with no tarp on the back of the stage blocking the view of the Capitol.
Below are a few photos from Green Apple. We’ll be posting some video from both Green Apple and Bonnaroo very soon, so stay tuned. Make sure to check out Green Apple next year (www.greenapplefestival.com) as we’ll be expanding to some new markets and growing even more. In the meantime, green your life in some way – your grandkids will thank you.
- Vince
Green Apple Chicago, 2008: Kyle Orton, Senator Durbin, Jodi Murphy,
Suzanne Malec McKenna,
and Bill Daley (left to right)
Green Apple Chicago Stage
Me with Three: Scott Murawski, Billy Kreutzmann, and Oteil Burbridge
Umphrey's in front of the US Capital
Brendan, Chevy Chase, and Jake
