RAW JOURNALISM w/ Zakari Helms

    “and red lights flash and flicker.

            John Wayne and the Pain ain't no crew sicker!”

          The following writing is a raw, unedited, uncensored and uncut look into a fraction of what Prairie Pothole Music Festival has to offer. Please take the things I say with a grain of salt and enjoy. Some of my favorite things about this festival were: the nature, the community-feel, the lack of belligerently intoxicated people, and the freedom to roam around and not wait in line like some festivals!  I had a great time getting to know the 150 or so people that treated everyone as if they were family at this small, Organic music paradise…

A nice piece of land by Da Pothole

      The lead guitarist has his hair up with dreadlocks waggin’. The soulful stew this band stirs; reminds me of Super-educational reggae, with Little Mermaid playing in the background while hearing the classic 808 of hip-hop drums on the street with harmonies and vibrato heavily evident in the music.

            In the last two hours the crowd has grown to include flamethrowers, soccer players, hand clappers, smoke exhalers, while most of the crowd is groovfully dancing.

            The band member, I was most astonished by was Weston Schick (sic) of Bismarck (maybe?). I was attracted to his style because of the way his saxophone took a major role in the music. There are so many times when Guitarists or vocalists hog the show and it was amazing to see another great band incorporate brass into their set. Not only was his saxophone accented freshly French with vibrato, but he also busted out an electronic flute. The band’s set included many different sounds from jam band to reggae to electronic to hip-hop to theatrical sampling. JWP killed it as a headliner, not to take away from the greatness of other musicians such as: Northern Light, Boreal Gardens, and COLD SWEAT!

            Lights continue to flicker, sweats flying, people are grooving, talking, shouting, having some brewskis, inhaling cigars. RED, WHITE, GREEN---

Bass wobbles fade in, John Wayne & The Pain—

That shit that keeps your head grooving/

Some people hate a writer, some love it.

I’m undercover, feelin’ like Hunter S. Thompson.

I sobered up to study up on these great acts, and stay humble, but I guess I don’t really know maybe I had a few brewskis as well, a couple drags of a cigarette, and some SWISH (a local hooch variety freshly brewed in Anamoose).

**TIDBIT (FUN FACT ZAC)- Anamoose comes from the Chippewa word for “female dog” “uhnemoosh , which was given to the settlement by Romanians from Saskatchewan, Canada.

The Band "Clashic" played some classic
covers as sunset was nearing, but I was trying
to get a picture of that nice cooler!

Anywho, I hear people chanting, “Hit Him Up” in the background, had a cig but I ashed it-

 I’m not really trying to start that addiction again. The fire twirlers have multiplied from 1-5 and the stunts were getting extreme. I mean I’m a skateboarder, but the real thrill seekers twirl flames. I would gladly jump down a stair set, than have my head burned off via 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit MAGMA. So, one of the members says, “We’re gonna play some heavy songs and some light ones too.”

People began chanting, “ROCK THE HOUSE!!” and others encouraging phrases to get the crowd and JWP hyped.

          On the way over I ran into my friend "Floor" who was curious about what music inspires me and What I like to listen to. He’s a great dude even if that isn’t his name. Furthermore, after discussing classic golden age conscious hip-hop, I 'frolicked' back to the show and jumped around a bit! If you're ever at a show and unsure what to do, just JUMP AROUND! Hip-hop is a universal language and eventually you will catch the flow of the crowd.

Word on the street is there is a surprise performance by Johnny Spud, who has gained a cult following known for their DEEP DE-VO covers, cataclysmic light shows, theatrical sound, and 80’s attire. The first time I saw them I thought I was dreaming of the good ol’ 8--- Nevermind haha.

The band is composed of Roger Nordquist, Gus Lindgren, Andrew Larivee, and Dave Martel filling in! (There might be one more I'm sorry!)

After a full day of music, socialization, grilled food, SHOUT OUT to Mike from Bismarck who was killin' the burger game…SERIOUSLY THOUGH!

A person may go for a paddleboat ride, nature walk, kayak excursion, or have a contained fire. Due to dry conditions, there was limited fires at the Second annual Prairie Pothole Festival.

From the lake you can see the V.I.P. lodge, which also provided some services such as: a community grill, and place to chop wood for Semi-important people (S.I.P.).

AND—Two hand built stages, surrounded by potholes in the distance, Tree rows, a sunburnt sky, constellations in the sky, and non-denominational Christmas lights scattered throughout camp.

The pothole, or small lake that camp rests near is shaped like a gooseneck and grasslands, ticks, and mosquitos keep things wild!

And then the electronic flute hit with dubstep wobbles.

Hip-hop/Rap Beatz.

Dry Ice.

“GET DOWN” is heard over the speakers,

an optimistic sampling of “Compton” is sampled.

Coldsweat is out giving hugs and pounds with that ND sound!

Like the Pugent, no confusion

Refuse the Prove-its,

The System use it, 
Mic Influence, The Truest.

Get down you knew it!

At this point the dance party came and I had to say TIME OUT and get my boogie on myself.

There were plenty of cross genre-collaborations at this festival including: Cold Sweat collabing with Wild Hands, and Northern Light. The last performer to ignite the stage at PPF was New Reign and Lucas Conlon on drums. For a solid three hours, New Reign laced the mixes with crunchy, trappy, jazzy, prolific, dancy beats, while Conlon blasted the drums 10X harder than Travis Barker.

Moral of the story: Don’t attend Prairie Pothole Festival.

Its way too cool for you. There’s too much to do. Most of it is free. With the best GDP being love, which is what has been felt by every soul that sets foot at this fantastic gathering of art, music, and nature. I went in knowing a few faces, and left with a family of Blacksheep with too many names to remember, but plenty of stories and memories to cherish. Even if you have to take a nap or sleep in through the first set, the camp is small enough to hear bands. Day 2 I spent snoozing til noon hearing the band Dóse’s members harmonize beautifully through raw male vocals and blissful feminine vocals for covers like “Take Your Mama Out” and “She Likes Me for Me”. It was a perfect alarm clock!

Pezo was the nicest dude, opening up his land and lodgings to guests and I really hope this festival will grow in the years to come. There’s already talk of a third stage for the third year, and who knows maybe this will become a three day festival. Keep your Eyes Open!

-Zakari Helms

Check out The Official Prairie Pothole next year for the official lineup! http://prairiepotholemusicfestival.com/