How did Tromapalooza start… a chance meeting… or perhaps it was fate. In 2003 I was working as a computer programmer for a large video distributor when I got word that the one, the only, 1999 NAMBLA “Man of The Year” Lloyd Kaufman was going to be paying us a call for a circle jerk… uh… sales meeting. Like any red blooded, art loving American I’d been a Troma Entertainment fan for years. I knew I there was no way I could pass up a chance to meet one of the great auteurs of the 20th century, but since none of them showed up, I decided to settle for Lloyd, and arranged to be lingering near the men’s room after his meeting was over.
We struck up a conversation and it soon turned to Lloyd’s bad knees. Old lacrosse injury from his days Yale, bad slip from atop a toilet seat while trying to peek into the adjoining stall, no, they were just worn out from years of begging and groveling in front of anybody he could find with more than $1.36 in his pocket. Lloyd informed me that Troma helped sponsor the only free film festival in Park City, Utah (Tromadance), and that it happened every year at the same time as that other corporate sponsored, Hollywood establishment festival run by Joanne Woodward’s husband. “Wow” I said, “I play in a band, and we do benefit shows for every animal shelter and volunteer fire department around here. Would $500.00 or $1000.00 help?” I picked Lloyd up from the floor (any talk of amounts larger than the yearly salary of the typical Troma employee tends to make him swoon), and we exchanged email addresses. This was the birth of Tromapalooza Tennessee, and we’ve held it every year since in the small town of Murfreesboro about 30 minutes outside Nashville.
2005 was our third annual Tromapalooza, and it was by far the biggest. We had over 250 in paid attendance, and by the time you throw in the Tromettes, the security guys, the bands, and some random bums who snuck in through the sewer system there were probably close to 400 excited Troma fans packed into a bar designed for 150. I knew it was going to be a good night when over 100 people were there by 8:00 PM. In a lot of towns that might not mean much, but in these here parts, bar crowds don’t get going until very, very late. I feel pretty confident you could have Jesus Christ open for Coldplay and you’d be hard pressed to get anybody in the bar before 10:00 PM. Local geriatric punk icons Doctor Gonzo hit the stage first and I knew the madness had begun.
To be perfectly honest I didn’t get to see much of the band performances, but they were all SUPER cooperative and left their egos at the door. I have no complaints about any of these guys and gals and I’d love to work with all of them again. Being a show promoter is stressful. Being a show promoter for the biggest thing to hit a small town all year is REALLY stressful. Being the show promoter when you’re going to try to run eight bands, a bloody t-shirt contest (more on that later), and an appearance by Lloyd Kaufman on one stage in 6 hours, well, I’m pretty sure I took a decade off my life that night. The original plan was to have two stages running, one outside and one inside. Unfortunately, cold drizzling rain soon put an end to that stroke of genius, and we were forced to move the entire extravaganza inside. If I wasn’t getting booze for the volunteers, I was mixing up fake blood, getting felt up by a Tromette, or screaming “Last Song!” at some band from the side of the stage. All I remember is a blur of blood, bare tits and ear splitting rock and roll. In other words, heaven on earth!
The highlight of Tromapalooza III (as always) was our bloody t-shirt contest. I don’t know if I invented it, but I think I perfected it. It works something like this. Pack a large group of attractive women into a confined area with loud rock and roll music and alcohol. Let them percolate in that hormonal stew for a few hours, then offer a prize (we use $100.00 and a Troma DVD collection) to the girl who gets the best audience response for putting on a tight white t-shirt and being doused in ice cold fake blood. Small tits, big tits, tag team entries with hot girl on girl action, pierced tits, you name it. The best part is that I don’t think there was a SINGLE competitor who didn’t rip off her t-shirt or pull it up to give the crowd the money shot. This year’s contest was made extra interesting by the fact that the entire spectacle was being watched by the local cops. This is a town with no topless bars. I’m not a lawyer, nor am I intimately familiar with all the local ordinances, but I’m 99.9% sure that as soon as the first bare set of titties was put on display, we became criminals. Luckily, it turned out Officer Friendly was only concerned with getting to see the blood drenched melons without paying a cover charge. As soon as the contest was over (with our champion from last year repeating) he was never seen again. Lloyd took the stage and delivered a few words of inspiration to the adoring crowd before the contest, and they loved it. He must have signed a hundred autographs. We always try to time Tromapalooza Tennessee with a yearly horror convention that Lloyd attends in the Nashville area. That allows him to be at Tromapalooza Tennessee without incurring a lot of expenses that would cut into our proceeds (excellent hint for you aspiring Tromapalooza organizers).
I have to say I’ll be back next year. As much work, stress, money, and blood as I put into Tromapalooza, I look forward to it all year. Tromadance is the closest thing to a completely independent film festival we’ve got, but it won’t be 100% independent until it gets to the point where it doesn’t need to rely on any outside sponsorship. It should be completely funded by the fans. That’s what Tromapalooza is about. Maybe you can’t make your own damn movie, maybe you can’t put on a film festival, but what you CAN do is organize an event in your town (like Tromapalooza), and contribute the money to the Tromadance fund. Keep fighting the good fight to give art BACK TO THE PEOPLE! If you want any help organizing a Tromapalooza in your town, feel free to contact me at Tromapalooza@yahoo.com
Nathan Fisher
A special thanks to the bands!
Doctor Gonzo
Some Awful Bridge
The Hellbillies
Skullkin
Fall With Me
Butcherpriest
Trauma Team
Atomic Blonde
