The Interview: Pitchfork Media's Ryan Schreiber
By Sarah Dahnke in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 10, 2006 7:24PM
There may still be chunks of unmelted snow around the city, but fear not, Chicago, summertime is on its way. We at Chicagoist were reminded of the approaching season this week when breaking news was announced about two summer music festivals. Lollapalooza presale tickets came and went with no warning, and not to be outdone, indie music site Pitchfork announced a partial lineup and ticket sales for their new venture, Pitchfork Music Festival.
The folks at Pitchfork split with Jon Singer and Mike Simmons, who promoted the highly successful Intonation Music Fest last summer, and are using their namesake to promote a similar show under a different name this summer. (Late breaking note: Intonation has announced its summer lineup.) Pitchfork’s festival will once again take place at Union Park, the same location as Intonation last year. Chicagoist bets a case of PBR that the park still contains at least one sweaty, beer-soaked blazer that has been lying in the grass since last year when some overdressed hipster hastily discarded it in attempt to blend in with the shirtless masses and/or not die of heat stroke in the deadly Chicago summer heat.
Chicagoist recently sat down with Pitchfork founder and Editor-in-Chief Ryan Schreiber to probe him about the upcoming lineup, his thoughts on competition among summer music festivals in Chicago and if he is planning on attending Lollapalooza himself.
Chicagoist: I know your lineup isn't complete, so how many acts are you looking to book?
RS: Looks like it's going to be 36.
Chicagoist: Anyone notable you can talk about yet?
RS: Yeah, we actually just put up another update. So far, we've announced Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Mountain Goats, The National, Jens Lekman, Tapes 'n Tapes and Hot Machines. There'll be another announcement on Monday.
Chicagoist: Why did you decide to announce part of the lineup now and part on Monday rather than announce all of the bands at once?
RS: Well, it basically comes down to scheduling concerns on the part of the bands. We don't want to step on any toes, so we're basically announcing them as we can. We want to make sure that the bands are ready to say they're playing, basically.
Chicagoist: So why not confirm them all and then announce a full lineup and ticket sales?
RS: Well, we're excited. We're eager to announce what we can, as soon as we can. I mean, it was the same thing last year; there were bands who weren't confirmed right up until the last couple of weeks. I think we're doing a bit better this year, in terms of a timeline… having things ready so that we aren't two weeks from the festival and waiting to hear back.
Chicagoist: How have ticket sales been so far?
RS: Ticket sales have been great. We sold over 100 within the first minute!
Chicagoist: And what is your capacity for the park?
RS: Well, we sold out last year at 15,000 per day. The park can technically hold up to 30,000 people, but we actually turned people away and announced it as sold out because we want to make sure that there's plenty of room for people to be comfortable. That's a huge concern for us. So many music festivals are such negative experiences for the fans because basic necessities aren't accommodated or are overpriced.
Chicagoist: So by "hold" 30,000 people, it means there's a square of grass for everyone?
RS: I think, yeah, that's the idea. But again, we're going to cap it well below 30,000 people, because we want everyone to be comfortable.
Chicagoist: You guys split with Jon and Mike, who promoted Intonation last year, but Intonation is still allegedly happening this year. Do you worry that that festival will take away from Pitchfork Fest attendance?
RS: Nah, I think there's enough room for everyone to do what they want to do. Until last year, there weren't that many music festivals happening in Chicago. I think people are hungry for all this great music. Of course, it doesn't hurt that our ticket prices are the most affordable, either. But I also think the lineup will speak for itself.
Chicagoist: Do you have similar sentiments about Lollapaloza, which is happening the weekend after your festival?
RS: Yeah, I do. I mean, I've lived here since 1999, and personally, I’ll be going to all three festivals. It's just great that there's so much happening here now. I think it's going to be really great for the city.
Chicagoist: Really? You're going to Lollapaloza?
RS: Well, it depends on who's confirmed. I don't know anything about their lineup that hasn't already been announced, but I'm a sucker for festivals. I mean, if there's no one there that I'm interested in, I probably won't go, but if there are like five bands I'd like to see, yeah, I'll be there. I'm just assuming I’ll end up going to all of them though. I mean, if you have access to all these festivals basically in your backyard, why wouldn't you?
Chicagoist: It doesn't help that you're affiliated with a major music source and can go for free, eh?
RS: Well, I mean, we'll see about that. I’m probably going to go as a music fan, not as a member of the press.
Chicagoist: Our readers have been wondering if the timing of your announcement of the Pitchfork Festival had anything to do with the Lollapaloza presale sell-out. Were you originally planning on announcing the lineup and dates when you did?
RS: It actually didn't. This is going to seem weird, maybe, but I didn't even know Lolla's presale tickets had sold out! I haven't been paying a lot of attention to Lollapalooza's ticket sales. Again, I think they're going to be a huge success, and I think ours will be a success as well.
Chicagoist: Do you think there are many people that will be attending your festival and Lollapalooza, or are you going for different markets?
RS: I recognize that, from one standpoint, these festivals are all in competition on some level, but I think we all seem to have different goals and different things we want to achieve. So I think there really is room for everyone. Again, I think it depends on their lineup, but I'm sure there will be some crossover. There might be a lot of crossover.
Chicagoist: What do you mean by "different goals"?
RS: Well, I obviously can't speak to what the goals of the other festivals are, but I feel like we're the only ones who are putting together an event where the only real goal is to present great music. For us, it's not about who's going to be a huge draw or who's going to bring out different types of people. Ideally, anyone can come to our festival and expect to want to see every band on the bill, not just the bands they already know they love, but also the bands we love.