Riot Fest is a four-year-old Chicago punk rock festival that’s happening this year on Oct. 10-12 at the Congress Theater. The full lineup has yet to be announced, but we do know that a reunited ALL will be performing with Scott Reynolds, the band’s singer on their early ’90s records. Previous Riot Fests have seen Chicago stalwarts like Naked Raygun and The Blue Meanies reuniting, and we expect this year’s lineup to include other high profile reunions. We sat down with Mike Riot, the man behind Riot Fest, to get the scoop on the festival, the challenges of booking it, and the current state of punk rock.

Can you give us a brief history of Riot Fest?
Well, Riot Fest started in 2005 when I was bored one day at work and thought it would be a great idea to start a punk festival in Chicago with some of my favorite bands. I didn’t really know what I was getting into at the time, and didn’t come close to getting any of the bands I really wanted. I had to settle for several bands that I didn’t care for, but 2006 was far different. Naked Raygun, Blue Meanies and The Bollweevils reunions were huge for Chicago and made us a mainstay in the community. Not only that, we had 7Seconds play, which made me smile for about a week. Then bands started to come to us. Stiff Little Fingers said they wanted to play. How cool is that? Fucking SLF wanted to play my fest! We’re in our fourth year now, and this year’s lineup is gearing up to be the best one yet.

How did the ALL reunion come about for this year’s show?
I grew up in Buffalo, NY and when I was really immersed in that scene, there was a band called The Pavers, which Scott Reynolds fronted. I instantly became a fan of the band. They were unbelievable. Because of that, I became friends with the band — who are also doing a reunion at Riot Fest 2008. Regardless, fast forward to a decade later, I emailed Scott, who’s now living in Austin, TX, and told him that I thought it would be great if ALL played a reunion show with him on vocals. He was totally into the idea and brought it up to the band. Within 48 hours the band confirmed. Really, it was the easiest booking I’ve ever had.

Is reuniting bands something you hope to make a part of every year’s festival?
It’s definitely nice a thing, but, with the exception of ALL, it’s a very difficult thing to do, namely because many “retired” or “hiatus” bands are not in playing mode, live in other parts of the country with normal jobs and the general logistics of things can make it messy. But with that said, we always try to get reunions — it’s the fun part of the job. The Naked Raygun reunion in 2006 was amazing. It had to be one of the greatest moments of my life to see that band play my stage.

Is there a criterion for the kinds of bands you book at the festival? What defines a Riot Fest band?
That’s a good question. I don’t know if I really have an answer. I grew up in a really tight but small scene that was filled with punks, hardcore kids, rudeboys/girls and indie kids. We went to all different types of shows together from the Descendents to Hepcat to Snapcase, and we all got along extremely well. The scene in larger cities like Chicago is pretty segregated musically, and I find that to be quite dumb. So if nothing else, we like to merge bands that normally wouldn’t play together on the same stage. Where else could you see 7Seconds, Stiff Little Fingers and the Nekormantix play a show together?

What are the challenges of booking so many bands onto a single bill?
It’s getting everyone on the same page and getting timely confirmations. When you have so many bands, all with different personalities, you have issues with logistics, egos, and of course laziness. The day I have all of the bands on the same page will probably be the day I stop doing this because I somehow can’t live without unneeded stress.

What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome in the festival’s first few years?
Getting talent. But I think that’s the case with any festival organizer whether it’s Lollapalooza or a punk fest like us. I’m sure most organizers have their dream lineup every year and work to attain that, and if it doesn’t pan out, they move to plan B, plan C, etc. And the thing is, it never gets easier. I’m in pretty competitive market in Chicago, so I have to start early with contacting bands and getting them confirmed. This pisses off several local promoters who view me as competition, but I view it differently. I think having all of these bands play together, if nothing else, opens fans minds to other bands that they normally wouldn’t see.

Do you have to deal with Ticketmaster to sell tickets or can you get around them somehow?
Yes and no. When we first announce the show we have tickets on sale through IndieTickets.com and we push people to buy tickets through them. They have low service fees, so it’s added value to go through them. However, we eventually have to bite the bullet and go through Ticketmaster for the rest of the sales because of their contracts with the venues we use for Riot Fest.

How would you assess the current state of punk rock in 2008?
I think you need to look at it in two ways. There are very few new bands that have the same mainstream popularity as some of the older bands like Rancid, NOFX and Bad Religion, and kids surely aren’t buying albums like they used to. It’s like the torch really hasn’t been passed, or audiences aren’t as receptive as they were in the 1990s. The days of punk bands selling 200,000 copies of an album are over. However, and I mean a big however, is that there is something brewing that is pretty damn special. The basement scene is more popular than ever, bands are working together like I haven’t seen in over a decade, and bands like Jay Reatard, Gaslight Anthem and Fucked Up are, at least in my opinion, writing a new chapter in punk’s history.

Speaking of punk’s history, Chicago has a storied history of punk rock -– do you have a favorite Chicago band?
Naked Raygun. Hands down. No one even comes close. And I’m not just saying that because I manage the band and they’re on my label. No one writes music like Raygun. No one.

Can one be both a yuppie and a punk?
Depends on what series BMW they drive and how long their hair is.

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