It’s almost that time of year again, where thousands upon thousands of black t-shirt and jorts wearing music fans will descend upon Gainesville, FL in hopes of seeing their favorite bands and drinking just enough to not remember seeing anything all. While there are hundreds of well-known names on the Fest schedule this year, we wanted to showcase a handful of the bands who are heading down to Florida and playing for the very first time. So keep reading, check out all the bands in this series, and get to know some really great under the radar talent!
Next on the roster is Austin, TX’s Dropped Out. The band released a brand new LP, entitled Get Lost!, earlier this year. Make sure to check them out on Friday, October 28th at Vecinos at 5:40PM.
Stream Get Lost! in full below so you can learn all the words for when you see Dropped Out at Fest!
Interview
How long has Dropped Out been a band?
Dropped Out formed in summer/fall of 2013. Although, we have had a few breaks and hiatuses and multiple member changes, we are still going strong; probably stronger than we’ve ever been. The current line-up is: Tron (drums/vocals), Ryan (bass), and Dave (guitar/vocals). Next year we will be turning 10!
Have you attended Fest before?
Both Ryan and I (Dave) have never attended FEST. Tron has been to the past 5 FESTs but this will be the first being in a band playing. I have always wanted to go but have had a difficult time getting over my social anxiety in large crowds. Getting to play is a great way to force me to overcome those fears. I am really excited to finally go and be a part of something so incredible.
What are you stoked for during Fest weekend?
Tron has mentioned his excitement to see The Methadones and Cobra Skulls, while Ryan has expressed his excitement for Suicide Machines. I think there are almost too many bands I’m excited to see. My top 5 (if I had to wittle it down) might be Heart & Lung, Odd Robot, Tightwire, Tiny Stills, and maybe You Vandal. I am also really excited to see F.Y.P. They were actually the first Punk Rock band I went to go see when I was a teen in ‘97. The first ‘real’ band I was ever in’s first show ended up actually being with F.Y.P. as well in ‘00.
We also have a handful of friends’ bands who are playing as well that we are excited to see; Breaklights (who Tron used to drum for), The Butts, Bad Cop / Bad Cop, Boss’ Daughter, and our label mates Nothing Lost. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see Nothing Lost though because they are playing at the same time we do on Friday. But it will be nice to see them around afterward.
I also heard Florida has Del Taco… so if that’s true, I’m excited for that too.
What’s your best Fest story?
One of Tron’s favorite memories of FEST is getting to meet The Smoking Popes after their set. He bought a hoodie from them and got to meet the band. He also got to meet KJ from Chixdiggit as well as Kepi Ghoulie (who we have since gotten to play with and have him come up and sing Groovie Ghoulies songs with us the past two times he’s come through Austin… he is the nicest ever!)
Let’s say you’re booking the lineup of a festival that represents you as a band. What would the top 5 headliners be?
This is a tough question and one that I think you’d get 3 different answers from depending on which member you asked. We are all influenced by a lot of similar things but a lot of different things as well. But, from what I know of both of their tastes, I think they’d both have Descendents and Bad Religion on their bill. Tron might put Smoking Popes in there and Ryan might have a Mike Watt band on his… but, since I (Dave) am answering this, the official Dropped Out Fest line-up would be (sorry guys!):
Green Day (Dookie/Insomniac era)
Osker
I think that kinda sums up our sound, not necessarily who I’m most influenced by, that might be a weird line up that would confuse people, haha.
What does the band have coming up? What can we all look forward to from ya’ll?
Right after FEST we are headed to Houston, TX to play Houston Punkfest, who is having a benefit for Hot Mess Pooches. We have a handful of shows throughout November and December, including a trip down to Corpus Christi for Otitis Fest.
We plan to hit the studio in January to record a handful of new tracks in which we are talking about doing a split record w/ our friends band from CCTX. If all goes according to plan, we should also have enough songs left over to then release our own EP later in the year.
Nothing concrete but, hopeful for 2023. No solid plans for a tour, but if there are any big bands who want to take us on the road with them, we wouldn’t mind going with them…
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