‘Fall Fall Fall,’ SA’s low-budget answer to Austin

Courtesy photo

Egshan, one of the bands performing at Fall Fall Fall Fest.

The relationship between local musicians and music lovers with our city is a complicated one. And with Austin so close by, most of us are guilty of cheating on San Anto at least a few times a year. But musician Arturo Garcia (Artie, for short), operating under the moniker of "Partie Productions," has something up his sleeve to help us be true to our city, at least for a weekend.

Fall Fall Fall Fest promises to bring dozens of local bands together for a showcase of San Antonio sound to Nightrocker Live on November 19 and 20. "Fun Fun Fun Fest used to be low key," Garcia says of that other city's annual good time. "But it's turning into an Austin City Limits; we need to have our own thing here for the locals."

He started organizing in August for a show at the Pedicab, but after that venue burned in September (RIP), Garcia hit up the guys at Nightrocker Live, home to a Garcia-approved sound system. Both the indoor and outdoor areas will be used for performances, and each band's set will be around 30 minutes.

"It's like I'm putting a mix tape together, but in live music," said Garcia, who hand-picked most of the bands. "A majority of the bands fall into one of two categories — punk and thrash — while a few experimental bands will punctuate the fest, providing a break from the harder sounds." However, the roughly 45 bands share a common thread — Garcia targeted bands that haven't had a lot of exposure in the music scene, stating that he "wanted to do something for bands that don't really get out there too much." Also, there will be a handful of acts from Austin and one band from Las Vegas.

Many of the bands have been promoting Fall Fall Fall Fest on their Facebook pages and seem to be more excited about the other bands they're playing with that weekend than their own set. "I'm excited for Sans Faith and Say Revenge! but [there are] so many awesome bands, too many to name!" said Eghan's Nick Pacheo, who will perform on Saturday. "There are so many hard, hard working bands here in SA that I feel [our] city music scene is the next to be discovered."

Garcia plans to be barbequing at the fest, while Rocker Dogz will be serving food as well. Rocking the weekend before Thanksgiving, Fall Fest may be a great opportunity to relax and hear both new and well-established San Antonio rock outfits before that obligatory family time.

"Some bands don't get any recognition," said Garcia, "so I wanted everyone to get together and just have a good weekend." •