Age, money, experience not required at Shellshocked 4

Saturday's alternative music festival at the Jackson bandshell is the fourth -- and possibly last -- year of the concert.

For the last four years, Josh Tomlin and Joe and Will Ettling have spent their own time and money putting together a free music festival at the Jackson Bandshell.

The experience hasn't been rich in tangible rewards for the organizers or the bands -- everyone plays for free, food is served free of charge and no admission is charged.

But that's the way it goes when you're trying to promote an alternative music scene in Jackson, especially when some of the musicians in the bands aren't even old enough to play in bars and may never have had a real gig under their belt.

"We've never believed in having to charge people for having a good time," said Tomlin, a Jackson native who is now a student in Columbia, Mo. "People help out, and that's the main reason why Shellshocked continues."

"We lose some money, but that's the price you pay for having a good time."

Even though Tomlin has been going to college in Columbia for the past few years, he and the Ettlings have kept their commitment to producing the Shellshocked festival. This Saturday the festival will see its fourth, and possibly last, year when it kicks off at 3 p.m. at the Jackson Bandshell.

The Ettling brothers came up with the idea of the festival, which started out as a small-time affair.

"We were sitting around and just thought it would be a cool thing to do," said Tomlin. "We were just going to have a concert in the park and invite a few friends."

They decided to make a festival with free admission, free food and free drinks to serve an underserved population -- young people who wanted to see live music.

That first year the festival was modest at best. In total about 50 people showed up including the band members, Tomlin said. Those who weren't band members were friends of the band members.

"It wasn't hard getting it organized, but it was hard getting people to come to an unheard-of event with bands no one knew outside of 50 people," said Tomlin. "We didn't know a whole lot about how to advertise, and we didn't do things like talk to radio stations and have a Web site. All we did was put up a few flyers up in downtown Cape."

Each year the attendance has grown, until last year Tomlin said about 175 people showed up for the festival.

Now the festival serves a larger audience and is still helping to nurture what is a growing music movement in the Cape Girardeau area -- young bands playing musical styles that are commonly grouped under the label "alternative."

Shellshocked features punk, screamo, metal, grasscore and other names that typically only younger music fans of modern rock genres are familiar with.

"It seems like in the last couple of years there's been more bands, more younger bands especially," said Tomlin of the local scene. "For a long time a lot of the bands around Cape were playing rock or blues rock or jam or Top 40 kind of stuff. The area's just not really conducive to younger bands, but there are kids who love that music."

This year Shellshocked will continue to cater to those youthful tastes. The show will feature River City Riot, a punk-screamo band; Doubting Thomas, an acoustic folk-pop duo; Sidehill*Sigh, a band that compares itself to an eclectic mix of The Shins, Dispatch, Coldplay and Weezer; The Sweet and Lowdowns, a bluegrass/folk band that covers nonbluegrass tunes in which Tomlin is a member; Those Yellow Bastards, a punk cover band; and MIG, a metal band that features the Ettling brothers.

Tomlin said it's a great lineup for what could be the end of the festival's short run. It's likely that Tomlin and the Ettling brothers won't be around to organize the festival next year, and it never would have been possible in the first place without the trio's do-it-yourself approach.

"You just kind of do what you have to do, and we did it ourselves. There's no sponsorship."

Maybe someone else will step in and carry on the tradition. Tomlin said there could be some potential candidates.

"I think they're probably not real aware of how to get it done, but we'll be willing to show them how."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182