LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 7.15 71
Y
Z
X
x marks the spot
yesteryear
Zanzabar
Last year, festivalgoers
gave us a few tips
about making the
perfect totem, aka a
"people fnder."
The frst Forecastle was in 2002 at Tyler Park (before
fnding its permanent home at Waterfront Park, the
festival also called Cherokee Park, the Mellwood Arts
Center, and the Belvedere home). McKnight estimates
40 people showed up in year one. That number includes
the bands. "Everybody who comes up to me and says they
were there? I doubt it," McKnight says.
"It has to be shiny."
"It's gotta catch
your eye."
"Glow-in-the-
dark paint."
"It can't be heavy."
"You have to make it;
you can't just buy it."
Z-bar owners/brothers Antz and Jon Wettig
have close ties with Forecastle's beginnings.
For starters, Antz used to be one of the
festival's offcial photographers. And up-
and-coming artists often play Zanzabar
(2100 S. Preston St.) before becoming more
established and playing Forecastle. "Each
year when the lineup comes out, we go down
the list and say, 'That band's played here, that
band's played here,'" Jon says.
"When Sleigh Bells played Z-bar in 2010,
they had just blown up. There were people
out front with signs saying 'We need tickets'
like it was the Yum! Center. Sleigh Bells
played Forecastle a few years later and gave
us a shout-out from the stage. I had like 25
missed calls from people telling me, 'Man,
Sleigh Bells just said Zanzabar. Twice!"
Though Zanzabar has never hosted an
"offcial" Forecastle after-party, the place has
been known to draw a post-festival crowd.
"When My Morning Jacket headlines, they'll
make an appearance," Antz says. "That's
always cool for people coming in from out of
town who're not used to it."
Photo
Courtesy
of
JK
McKnight