The first Yoyo A Go Go festival was held July 12-17, 1994 at the Capitol Theater and adjacent downtown locations including the Midnight Sun and Studio 321.
The festival was scheduled to coincide with Lakefair and end with the fireworks display on Capitol Lake. The first Yoyo was planned by Michelle Noel, Pat Maley, and Kento Oiwa with assistance from many others. Over 50 bands performed, including Unwound, Mukilteo Fairies, the Rickets, Girl Trouble, KARP, Kicking Giant, Lync, Excuse 17, Lois, Some Velvet Sidewalk, Team Dresch, Mecca Normal, Fitz of Depression, and Heavens to Betsy. Additional activities included a Nature Punk Walk, a Word Circus Spoken at the Midnight Sun, movies at the Capitol Theater, and a break so people could attend the Lakefair Parade. This was the first of four Yoyo A Go Go festivals.
The second Yoyo A Go Go festival was held July 15-20, 1997 at the Capitol Theater and adjacent downtown locations. The festival once again happened during Lakefair and took a musical break during the Lakefair parade. Bands that performed included Elliott Smith, Love as Laughter, Bloodthirsty Butchers from Japan, Mecca Normal, C Average, Behead the Prophet N.L.S.L; the Need, Karp, Unwound, and Sleater Kinney. Nikki McClure conceptualized and organized the creation of the GO Olympia! zine, timed to be released during Yoyo A GoGo. The pocket-sized zine included a map of highlighted locations, a cassette with 32 original songs by many members of the Olympia music community, and instructions to procure a portable tape player and start the four-hour walking tour at the Capitol Theater. Each page was written by a different person and featured a different Olympia location, including the Capitol Theater, Thekla, the Artesian Well, the State Library, and Lakefair. The zine was sold at the festival, and funds raised were donated to SafePlace. Excerpt from the zine’s intro page: “... Stories are told and songs sung; myths are made from only sidewalk meeting. Places become spaces where words, ideas, and futures are exchanged and turned into community dreams. It is these shared secrets that make Olympia home. Participation is membership.”
The third Yoyo A Go Go festival was held July 13-18, 1999. Over fifty bands performed, including Bonfire Madigan, the Cannanes, Dead Moon, the Donnas, Dub Narcotic Sound System, Marine Research, the Make-up, Mecca Normal, the Microphones, Mirah, the Need, Old Time Relijun, Quasi, Rebecca Pearcy, Sleater-Kinney, Super Duo, Jason Traeger, Tullycraft, and the Tight Bros from Way Back When. C Average played a Who tribute set with a special guest appearance by Eddie Vedder. Bratmobile played a reunion show and Negativland played their first show in 6 years. The show closed with a poignant performance by Elliott Smith. Pat Maley later released a “Yoyo A Go Go 1999” anthology on his Yoyo Recordings label with 21 tracks recorded at the festival.
The fourth and final YoYo a GoGo festival was held July 17-22 at the Capitol Theater, Thekla, Le Voyeur, Arrowspace, and the Midnight Sun. The final festival was organized by Pat Castaldo, Pat Maley, Michelle Noel, Kento Oiwa, and Ed Varga. Over 50 bands played, including the Gossip, Space Ballerinas, Gene Defcon, Unwound, the Lords of Lightspeed, the Tight Bros from Way Back When, Mecca Normal, Steve Fisk, COCO, Thrones, Dead Moon, and the Serum Greys. 10 DJs, including many KAOS DJs, played music between bands. The YoYo program guide opened with these words: “So much of what happens here in Olympia has to do with the size of our town. It’s been said a thousand times before: small-town cost of living means people can work less, or for themselves, freeing up their time for other projects. Not to mention the very real possibility of small-town boredom forcing people to create their own diversions, thus birthing a thousand great, creative projects.” The 2001 festival included a fashion show coordinated by “the brave and fashionable leadership” of Aura Perrica and Clarity Miller, with live musical accompaniment by the “40% Techno Welcome to the Doll Club Paper Doll Shadow Shadow Doll Club Where Everything is Easy and Futuristic Hot Club Band” (aka, Anna Jordan, Kitty Jensen, and Kelly Chambers). The fashion show closed with everyone heading outside to join the Lakefair Parade. There was also a 2.5-hour “Friendship Trail” tour, with each stop on the tour being lead by a different person. The Friendship Trail brochure states, “The Friendship Trail is about pulling rock-n-roll inside out… Can’t we surf the free space between capitalism and its waste? I mean, we have voices, dreams and pocket change, isn’t that enough? Indeed.”
View a panel discussion and slide show about Yoyo A Go Go, with panelists include Pat Castaldo, Pat Maley, Michelle Noel, Kento Oiwa and Ed Varga. Moderated and hosted by Kelsey Smith and Markly Morrison. Following the panel, Pat Castaldo presents a slide show with commentary from the participants, and the event closes with an audience Q&A.
Recorded at The Evergreen State College on 4/18/2025.
Transcript available upon request, email hello@olympiamusichistory.org
