Woodstock + T-Dub = Westock. Westock + Rachel Lococo, Dylan Jenkins, Aaron Blazich, and Steve Watson = the Westock Revival. This year, Wauwatosa West hosted a band showcase commonly referred to as “Westock” by students, teachers, and T-Dub alumni. Only for this year’s Westock, the regular show was tweaked to fit a new generation of Trojans, making Westock 2.0 or “The Revival.” With all of the bands and a certain beat boxer by the name of DJ Adlib met by a screaming crowd of fans at the front of the stage, it definitely seems to fit Woodstock’s reputation in a town of roughly 45,000. Hands were moving to the beat, pounding on the stage, the sparkling backdrop from the performances glittered in the eyes of many. Overall, the show seemed enjoyable for all.
But what is the Revival? Rachel Lococo said, “Last year’s show was good but there wasn’t a huge turnout, so our theme this year was the revival because we really just wanted to bring it back, and bring the energy back up. I think we really did that.” Due to Westock’s slight downfall in the previous year, the organizers—Lococo, Jenkins, Blazich, and Watson—worked to make this year’s show more polished and better than ever. Jenkins, when asked if the show successfully “revived” as it was meant to, said, “I think so. Last year sucked. The music wasn’t that great. I thought this year was way better.” Blazich also said, “We wanted to spice it up a little bit and make it better, and I think we did make it a lot better.”
The Westock show itself consisted of ten acts with five minute intervals of DJ Adlib, aka Sebastian Casper, tossed in the loop. The bands involved were Nerf Gun Army, Rachel & Tony, 99 Rubies, Green, Ben Folds 7 Minus 5, Double Trouble, Aaron and Nick, Lost County, the StuHls, and Jarppi’s Thumb, with Double Trouble as the only representing freshmen of the group.
And the show was full of backstage memories and experiences, said Blazich, Jenkins, and Lococo. “It’s just a really awesome opportunity for Tosa West to show some talent,” Lococo said when asked what Westock meant to her. As for their favorite part of the process, Jenkins and Blazich respectively said: “[My favorite part is] Just playing music and playing in front of people. I like performing, so it’s just an opportunity to play,” and “Just learning all of the songs—just going to band practice. I went to my partner Nick’s house like five times and we were just chilling, playing the guitar, messing around, and learning the songs. It was fun.”
Last year Jenkins and Lococo performed, as well. For Jenkins, last year was his first year: “We were the Ducks, and the first time we played was the day of the show.”
Speaking of last minute entries, the band “Lost County,” had two add-ons the day of the performance. Chris Hampel appeared in the second half of their time slot, while Matt Zanton played the tambourine in the first half. “We taught him [Hampel] the second guitar part right before he went on stage,” said Richard Dennik, one of the band’s members. Hampel said in response, “I really wanted to break out into a . . . solo, but they wouldn’t let me.” In reference to Zanton’s addition, Paul Matthews said, “We have been trying . . . to get Matt Zanton . . . to play the tambourine for us for four months, and he initially told us no. And then we asked 40 million more times and he still said no, and then today he was like, ‘Ok, we’re going to play,’ but then we already got Chris to come down. So then instead of . . . sending him [Hampel] away we decided to let him play the second half . . . .” All Zanton had to say was: “I enjoyed playing the tambourine.”
It’s apparent that Westock is now back in the minds of West-goers, band members, and maybe even future performers. The newspaper staff is currently editing a tape from the show which will be on sale soon, so if anyone missed it or wanted to have a copy at home to share with family and friends, they could buy it in the near future when more information is available as to when, where, and how. All proceeds go to West Side Stories.
As a shout out from the audience at Saturday’s show, stellar job, everyone! We hope to see you next year.
