LRS Fest 2002

Text & Photos By Jason Koerner

Sunday, September 29 marked the 2002 LRS Fest held at Waterfront Park. The bands included Default, Tonic, Stone Sour, Flaw, SR-71 and Trust Company. The concert was a success and most in attendance that day agreed it had lived up to the hype it received on the air. Many of the fans purchased their tickets in advance at ear X-Tacy, who was just one of the many sponsors of the show. Also seen that day in the Meet-and-Greet tent were members of LMIA, offering a strong presence to raise awareness of local music, as well as services available to musicians in town through Xstreme Media.

Corey Taylor of Stone Sour

I had a few moments to speak with Jason Singleton of Trust Company, despite the fact that there seemed to be a lack of communication somewhere down the line between the label and the band about my scheduled interview. Starting the day off with bang, I thought...

I learned early on in the interview that Jason has a friend in Kentucky and had actually heard of LRS Fest before they were signed on to play. The band was also excited to play the show, since they had never played in Kentucky before.

Corey Taylor

LMN - Tell me a little about the new album... What are your favorite tracks to play? How are sales going?

TC - I have two... it is going to be "Falling Apart" and "Finally." I really dig those tracks... as far as sales go, I am not really sure at this point. I think it is approaching 300,000. I try not to worry about it that much, I just concentrate on coming out here and playing and meeting the fans.

Taylor gets dramatic

LMN. - A portion of the proceeds from today is going to help fund the new phase of our skate park. Does that make you feel good or what?

TC - Absolutely man, where we come from, there is not a lot of stuff for kids to do. If there was something like that where we live, I would be glad to support that. I think that anything that keeps the kids busy and is something positive is great, and I am glad that we can help. I never got into skating myself, because I tried it and I suck. Now I am a little older and I am scared I'm going to break something.

The crowd at the WLRS Fest

LMN - Where are you guys headed next, and what is coming up for the band?

TC - We actually have two shows today. We have one here, and as soon as we are done, we have to go to Indianapolis to play another radio show. After that, we have another week of headlining shows, and then we pick up with Korn until December 10. We'll be off for the holidays to see our families and in January we go to Europe for 10-15 days. There's some talk about possibly touring with Linkin Park or the Deftones next year. Either one of those bands would be amazing.

LMN - You guys are opening today, what are some of the tactics that you use to make it a good show?

Taylor screaming

TC - We try to have as much conversation with them over the mike, eye contact, and things just to let them feel connected to the show and us, instead of just going up there and playing. You want to make them feel like part of the show. They're there to see you, but they're also part of the show. You couldn't have the show without them. It's important to do that, and just be as energetic as you possibly can. Let them know who is coming up next... it winds them up.

I also got a chance to speak with Jim Root of Stone Sour. As many of you know, Jim is also a guitarist of Slipknot as well.

LMN - You just came off stage, what could you tell me about the show today?

SS - It was a really good show; I wasn't expecting to get this kind of response. We've never been here before, not even with Slipknot, so I was really surprised... and there were lots of boobs, it was a bonus!

LMN - You're in Kentucky... you should get used to that. What are some of the benefits you have found with Stone Sour? (Besides boobs)

SS - With Stone Sour, we are kind of on trial. (Jim explained that doing radio shows brings the extra component that not everyone is there to see you. He further stated that it may turn new people on to you, but he much prefers doing smaller, more intimate, club shows with Stone Sour.)

LMN - You guys are headed to Cincinnati next to do Bogart's... what is your itinerary coming up?

SS - Honestly, I don't know, I am really bad about that. We get a tour book at the beginning of the tour and I will glance at the tour dates but I never remember where we are headed. This tour will probably go until January. We're going to try to take Stone Sour to Europe, Japan, and Australia before Corey and I go back to Slipknot.

LMN - What do you see in the future of Stone Sour and Slipknot?

SS - It's hard to say. Right now, we are just going to focus on Stone Sour until we go back to meet up with the rest of the guys from Slipknot. We'll (Slipknot) do the third record, we'll most likely tour for the third record, and whenever we get a chance, we'll come back to Stone Sour. Whenever there is downtime. With Slipknot, it is so physically and mentally exhausting... I don't want to sit at home and not do anything, but I do need a break from Slipknot. That is why it is such a great thing that we can do this. We are really lucky to be able to do this. If I am sitting at home doing nothing, I'm out of my mind, I get all loopy, and I just get stuck in the house and I get very reclusive. I need to be out here doing this. If I don't stop (from Slipknot) my back hurts, my neck hurts... you have to regroup and recuperate from that.

LMN - On the lighter side of things, (according to most people who I talked to in the crowd) you guys were who band that everyone came to see. Stone Sour has been the buzz of this show.

SS - Hopefully we lived up to that buzz. That doesn't suck!

LMN - That sums up the show - "It doesn't suck."

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The highlight of the day for many fans was seeing Louisville natives, Flaw; share the stage with such big names. To show even more hometown love, Van Avery from Incursion502 joined Flaw onstage to perform "Payback" and did a great job.