On the third floor of a 1920s shoe factory in the midst of the Los Angeles fabric district lives a group of people dripping with cutting-edge creativity. This shoe factory turned modern-art-gallery-community-living-space is known as “Think Tank” and is home to Evan Hagen, the creator of upcoming local music festival Psycho De Mayo.
Hagan’s one-day psychedelic rock music festival will be held on May 11 at The Observatory in Santa Ana, which has recently welcomed bigger music festivals, such as Burgerama in March, that allowed the higher volume of attendees to flood outside and around the front and back of the mid-sized venue.
“Psycho [De Mayo] is the forefront of the biggest thing we have ever worked on,” said Vince Jacob, Hagen’s right hand man on the project.
Curating the festival is Thief Presents, Hagen’s production company that is well known for using colored oil and glass slides projected on a large scale to create psychedelic bubble art that brings back the vibe of the late ‘60s.
Back for the second year, this festival draws in a melting pot of psych-rock lovers, part of a radical subculture that is forever emerging.
Now that the festival is less than a week away, anticipation for this year’s line-up surges through music lovers.
“There’s definitely an array of bands from different sides of the spectrum,” said Joseph Baca, a Fullerton music enthusiast.
Baca explained the hype of this year’s headliner, ‘70s heavy metal band Pentagram. He said that the legendary Black Sabbath was quoted saying that Pentagram is what they listened to and drew a lot of influence from.
Baca said these bands have been “keepin it real for decades” as they tend to stray from emerging into mainstream music. The uniqueness of the music culture is that the artists have always remained true to the smooth drone beats and hard metal riffs they have been creating since day one.
In addition to Pentagram, Baca said that Fullerton-based Dahga Bloom and Capt. Slookie and The Rogue Squadron are at the top of the must-see list at Sunday’s fest.
Other bands include Canadian psyche band Suuns, D.C.’s original indie rockers Dead Meadow and German progressive psychedelic stoner band Kadavar.
In addition to the two stages featuring the medley of artists, Pyscho De Mayo is collaborating with skate companies Obey, Active Ride Shop and Baker Skate to bring a skate ramp open to professional riders to the festival, Jacob said. Baker and Active’s pro skate teams will also be hosting demos throughout the day.
Jacob has also added a new element to this year’s festivity, a ticket giveaway that’s out of this world, or at least the county — geocaching.
Jacob said that on Thursday at 10 a.m., music blog Rabbits Black along with Thief Presents will be announcing a set of coordinates leading to a time capsule buried out in the desert. In the figurative pot at the end of this psychedelic rainbow sits two all access passes to the festival, a Celestron Cosmos series wifi telescope, Obey skate deck signed by artists Shepard Fairy and Lance Mountain, limited edition skate deck designed by Active Ride Shop and Dead Meadow, assorted vinyl collection from Riding Easy Records, one Bio-Lite wood burning camp stove, apparel, and more.
While the free tickets to Psycho De Mayo may be six feet under, the culture in which they lead to is far from underground.
“Smaller DIY festivals like these are the heart beat of this culture,” said festival attendee Victoria Craven, “It’s a place for real music lovers who appreciate the art, not just the hipster [scene].”
The contest rules and information can be found the Thief Presents Facebook page and Rabbits Black blog.
Doors open at 12 p.m., and tickets are $36. The event is open to attendees of all ages.