“The beauty of the term [Filthfest] was that it stayed faithful to the concept, which was about bringing the filthiest, nastiest and most experimental music we can think of including grindcore, hardcore, doom and the whole big sludge sound,” says Jacka. “There’s a real community in these genres and I think there’s a tendency for bands to go into a mode and get a bit cliquey, peeling off and having groups form. I’m a bit old for it all myself so I’m coming at it with a new perspective – which is to simply get a big fucking party going. As Bøg, we’ve planted ourselves in the middle of the lineup and feel quite honoured to be playing with these cool bands from around Australia.
“The rest was a bit of a challenge really. We asked people what they wanted to hear. We took a lot of suggestions, asked a lot of bands who might or might not have been available for whatever reason, and we came up with the lineup which was an interesting challenge since I haven’t put on a festival like this before.”
Heavy music cliques tend to form out of a stylistic affinity between bands. These cliques grow in size after similar acts perform enough shows together. Jacka’s approach could potentially shatter the scene’s tight bonds, stretching and reworking them into something bigger and more inclusive.
“There’s a really good feeling when people want to get on board,” he says. “The compliments start rolling, people saying, ‘Fucking grouse. Band “a” is on board, or band “b” is on board’ and the like. I think if my role is of any significance whatsoever, it has to do with creating a feeling of inclusion and party.
“With events like this at the Tote, the booze flows, the bands play and it unfolds into mayhem. Before you know it, you’re in another world, meeting people and it feels like brotherhood. At 2am you’re on a high. Maintaining that feeling is really important – just have to get messages across that we don’t want people getting bashed in the mosh pit whilst spreading good feelings around.”
One hurdle that Jacka faces in his quest for an all-inclusive event is a perceived gender gap in the heavy scene. A recent public announcement posted online by Jacka along with co-organiser Eric Prestonbury celebrated female involvement in the scene while also denouncing all forms of violence against women.
“That post was addressing some of the factors that could put people off attending the festival,” says Jacka. “Bands like Cloud Rat, Diploid – bands that do such a great job of pushing boundaries with music. It brings something new, something different. It’s because of that variety you get better music happening. A lot of these bands I’ve heard, I’ve sat back and thought, ‘Shit that’s good, I love it. Why do I love it so much?’ and you realise later there’s a female vocalist or guitarist that gives it that special thing.
“Part of the importance of extreme metal, rock, and music in general is that it has a very powerful transformative effect and it has the capacity to break with routine and conventional thinking whilst promoting massively good feelings of inclusion. It’s a community.”
BY THOMAS BRAND
