It’s been almost a month now and I’m still recovering from The Fest 7. The infamous “Fest aids” have hit me with full force, so that’s why there has been a bit of a delay in my coverage of the weekend’s festivities. Until I finally write that up, here are two videos from the weekend; one of Bridge and Tunnel’s show in a hotel room, and another from their Tampa pre-Fest show, which was shot by our friends at National Underground. Check them both after the jump.

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It’s Fest 7 time everybody! Who’s ready to party? Be on the lookout for the ginger kid with the Phillies hat on and say hi.

Photo by Bill Shouldis

For this installment of Tales From The Fest, The Riot Before’s guitar/vocalist Brett talks about breaking his Fest cherry last year and how the festivities have a deeper meaning than just getting silly drunk for three days. The Riot Before released their fantastic album Fists Buried In Pockets recently via Say-10 Records and you should check it out. Onward!

Last year was my first time at The Fest and I didn’t really know what to expect beyond the stories of inebriated fun I had recounted to me by those who’d been before. And while inebriated fun was completely, unsurprisingly, and happily represented over the weekend I attended, I was caught off guard by another aspect of The Fest that I had never expected. The Fest is not just a weekend of the best type of liver punishment, it’s also a family reunion.

Read more after the jump.

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It’s hard to believe but The Fest 7 is only a few days away. The fine folks at No Idea have posted a 34-track compilation online, the official soundtrack of the weekend’s festivities. Bands like The Measure (SA), Stressface, Bridge & Tunnel, Young Livers, Tiltwheel, among many more, are all on it, so download it here.

I think it goes without saying that Leatherface is going to be one of the biggest highlights at The Fest 7. I had a chance recently to catch up with band members Dickie Hammond and Graeme Philliskirk to talk about the show and the possibility of new material from the band in the not-too-distant future.

You are finally playing The Fest. I don’t know about your feelings on the matter but it feels like a union that should have happened long ago. Regardless, we are all stoked. How did The Fest’s Tony Weinbender approach you about playing Fest 7?
Dickie Hammond: He approached us in Austin, TX. It sounded like a good idea so we agreed to play.
Graeme Philliskirk: Yeah, we had played at the Chaos In Texas Fest earlier this year and Tony spoke to Timmy Hefner [promoter] there. Timmy told Tony to deal with me to sort it. We had a beer, talked, e-mails were swapped, we all said “yes” and we booked the show. It does feel like a union that should have happened long ago and I think that was why we knew we had to come over.

Was it ever discussed before?
Dickie Hammond: Not while I’ve been back in the band in the past three years. Has it?
Graeme Philliskirk: Actually, it had been mentioned before as we knew a lot about the Fest. It has a great reputation. It’s like a family and you have to experience it and become a part of it. However, it was never discussed as a band. It was more e-mails flying about and then we would go off and do other things so it was never confirmed and carried out.

Read more after the jump.

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