An ark is being built, ready to bring all self-declared weirdos and certified nonconformists to safety from the standard summer corporate music festivals that have their thumbs on the scale. For those who don’t want to feel like they’re being locked in an abandoned cement plant and chainlink fence car-tow lot for 12 hours to see a few bands a half-mile back, the great John Waters comes in to wrap his arms around the many misfit boys and girls—and all in between—to put smiles on their faces, show them their self worth and then drop them on a grassy tree-shaded knoll at Oakland’s Mosswood Park for a summer Christmas morning that lasts an entire weekend.
“They are definitely my tribe—my kinda people,” Waters said of Mosswood Meltdown festivalgoers and staff.
Waters and Mosswood Meltdown have created a safe, unique utopia for those of us who’ve received head shakes from a fellow BART rider or a suspicious “Can I help you?” from an eyebrow-raised clerk at Walgreens. Mosswood Meltdown is a place where one can hear groovy sounds from some of the best in the biz, with locals like Twompax to visiting legends like DEVO. A mini sordid sermon from Waters himself is included to introduce each band. Sure it’s a bit cultish, but only in the best ways.
But how did Mosswood Meltdown even come into play? What birthed this anomaly of anarchy?
“Marc [Ribak, the festival’s organizer] called me and asked me to do it,” Waters said. “He knew I was a punk-rock fan. I was asked to do it; I did it—it worked and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Ribak remembers the beginning process as a dream seeded from meeting Waters at an art show—running from a tornado in Kansas and seeking refuge on a freight train where Waters was introducing bands and hosting a music festival.
“A few weeks later I was able to get in touch with John’s people,” Ribak said, “and the next thing you know, we were working on a production together.”
The Express caught up with Waters by phone when he was in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He said he’d just finished the Mosswood Meltdown intros, which takes him about two weeks to complete.
“I do all the research, listen to the music, read about them and write,” said Waters, who was excited about this year’s lineup. “It’s going to be good! We’ve got some greatest hits, some back in a different order. I’m always happy to see Shannon [Shaw, of Oakland’s Shannon & the Clams]. I’m always excited to see the ones that are new, that I haven’t seen before.”
And what cult leader—I mean icon—would not have his festival rituals?
“Shannon always picks me up. She’s my angel through the whole thing,” Waters said. “I know everyone that works the festival. I have a friend every year that gives me a great present. I get to see the same people every time. It’s like a punk Christmas. I like being backstage with all the artists and crew.”
Some standout memories for Waters include meeting the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Damned. “Every year I’m impressed,” he said. He expressed his hopes for the future with a shoutout to Amyl and the Sniffers. “We need new blood! We need more young punks! We need to get a blood transfusion from Iggy Pop for all the young punks coming up!”
Waters said one of his favorite Mosswood moments involved admiring the raw power and professionalism of Iggy Pop from the stage sideline during a performance that included a stage dive.
“Iggy comes around the stage a few minutes before he goes on and gets out right after. I love it,” Waters said. “I want to keep Iggy Pop alive until he’s in his 100s.”
Water’s dream Mosswood finale? “I always wanted to end the festival with Nancy Sinatra playing, ‘These Boots are Made for Walking.’ I think that would have been a great Mosswood moment,” he said.
This Ruler of Rubbish may wear many crowns, as a filmmaker, book author, cultural icon, someone to make one sick to their stomach and feel cool about it … the list goes on. However, 100% of the time he is a writer.
“I write every day, Monday to Friday, 8am to 11pm,” Waters said. “I think fucked-up things in the afternoon, write them down and I sell them. That’s my life. Most everything I do is about writing. That’s what I do. And no matter how I try, there’s no shortcut to writing. I’ve been writing for 50 years and I still haven’t found a shortcut.”
For those who haven’t already put it together, music is a huge inspiration for the Baron of Bad Taste. He and Martin Scorsese share a similar film-score method in using songs, or parts of songs, rather than having a film score created—in most cases—for their movies. One would gather that Waters’ music collection is likely as extensive as his book library. An early Judy Garland performance he witnessed in 1964 reminded him of a gay Beatles concert. He also described seeing James Brown live in Baltimore.
“I met him years later at a Bloomingdales of all places,” Waters said. “I told him about getting to see him live, and that I got beat up after his show—but it was worth it. He laughed about that. He was actually lovely in person.”
The Overlord of the Unsavory is really all about uplifting his loyal fan base. He really can make a person feel “normal,” whatever that means, and capable. He expressed that he is “very flattered” when one of his fans or admirers compliments his work.
“People sometimes cry or tell me I’ve saved their life,” Waters said. “I feel like a fucked-up Mother Theresa. I’m just happy my films and books have that effect on people. I even wrote a book called Role Models, about people that have done the same for me. People that let me realize I could be who I wanted to be.”
While Waters may be quite the humble spirit, generous and exceptionally polite, he was and is a cult icon before such a title was coined, when “late-night cinema” was beautiful exploitation schlock from yesteryear. Waters cut out the middleman and avoided the wait by making ready-to-serve midnight movies. And he was light years ahead of the curve for giving a platform to the body-positive, and to those with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.
No alleged “independent” or “alternative” films or directors existed before Waters came along. He built a kingdom for the underclassed. He’s not the King of Trash by chance or by default; he earned the title. And His Majesty has built a fortress of foul where the disenfranchised, unseen and underprivileged come to feel somehow conventional and protected. So on the weekend of July 19-20, we salute the Colonel of Non-Conformity and join his revolution of ruin against the boring and mundane … while also seeing some cool bands and maybe eating some pizza.
Mosswood Meltdown, Saturday-Sunday, July 19-20 at Mosswood Park, Oakland. Visit mosswoodmeltdown.com for more!
Read our overview of this year’s festival here.
