Tool & Die
page 34
Joe Sweet
, the Main Man
on the Utica Music Front
So Joe, what have you been working
on since the Utica Music Festival this
past September?
Well...I've been working on a few
things. First and foremost I've been
working on being a daddy. We have
two beautiful children at the ages of
7 months and 23 months. Both require
a lot of love and attention and it's
my responsibility to give it to them. I
am also back together with Nine Ball.
We're been rehearsing quite a bit get-
ting ready for our fi rst show back in 14
years. And of course, the 2010 UMAF.
There's always a lot to do to get ready
for the event.
There has been a Nine Ball show
booked for 2010, how did this come
about?
Ken (Drummer) called me up one day
out of the blue and said he has been
itching to play. He asked if I would do
it if he can get Scott (Bass
Player) to agree. And
so the story goes...we all
agreed and are very ex-
cited to play out again.
For those readers that
may not know of Nine
Ball, can you talk about
the band a bit?
Nine Ball was formed
during the days of the
old Seattle scene when
Pearl Jam, Soundgarden
and bands of that nature
were popular and grow-
ing. We're a mix of Alterna-
tive and Rock...nothing too
heavy but heavy enough.
Kinda like the Doors meets
Tool. There's a ton of energy
and emotion behind Nine
Ball. I think that played a
huge part in our success at
the time.
Is this something that may carry on, or
is it a onetime reunion?
Yes, we will continue to perform after
the Electric Company show. We al-
ready started writing new tunes and
polishing up all the old ones.
You have a home studio. Have you
done any studio projects or recording
lately?
We are in the process of moving the
studio to a beautiful place in the Ce-
dar Lake area with 6 acres of land;
a great place to go for some peace
and quiet. Really helps with the re-
cording process.
Have you been gigging solo lately?
Yes, I have been playing a lot lately. It
helps keep me focused on my goals
and defi nitely relieves a lot of stress.
What's on the horizon for the next
UMF? The second one expanded in
size from the fi rst. Is there anything in
the works to make the third different
from the fi rst two?
The UMAF is working on bringing big-
ger acts to the city and doing an "all
inclusive" ticket price where you can
see the bigger acts and get into the
fest for all 3 days. We want people to
come to the fest for the entire weekend
and take advantage of the hun-
dreds of
great inde-
pendent acts we have playing. We
also would like to introduce our artist
development program and get some
smaller acts seen in front of a larger
audience. That will come with the
bigger headliners.
What do you personally want bands
to take out of playing at the UMF?
Personally, I would like to see them
make some great connections and
network with the venue owners to
come back and make Utica a regu-
lar visit. And of course...they always
should capitalize and meet the peo-
ple that go to the fest. It's a great op-
portunity to make a lot of new friends
and fans that will listen and attend
some of their shows. I want them to
have a good time in Utica so they walk
away feeling like it was a success and
that they want to come back again.
It's all about building bridges...espe-
cially in the music business.
How can artists/musicians/bands get
involved with the 2010's UMF?
Artists can get involved by visiting our
site www.uticamusicandartsfest.com.
There's a lot of info on how to submit
your music as well
as other ideas we are
working on.
Since many of my T&D interviews end
with me asking you to talk about your
machine (car, bike, ATV) can you tell
us a bit about your short bus? I know
you have some conversion plans for
its motor.
As far as the bus goes...I want to paint
it black and put a big I love U logo on
the sides. It's a great way to advertise
the fest. All in good time.
By
Chuck