Summer Scum is the second annual Buffalo, NY noise fest focused on Harsh Noise and Power Electronics. This years fest will take place at The Flesh Tunnel (1245 Niagra st) on July 18th,19th, and 20th. The lineup features over 50 acts from all over the country such as: Ferveur Noire, John Mannion, Ahlzagailzehguh, Deterge, Skin Graft, Envenomist, Gnawed, Xiphoid Dementia, Hostage Pageant, and many many more.

Summer Scum was conceptualized in early 2012 when curators Justin Lakes and Matt Goodrich decided to start doing a fest shortly after Lakes had moved Buffalo for his 6 month stay. They had talked about Buffalo being a really good location for east coast people to meet up with midwesterners. The Buffalo scene is small, but very dedicated. Almost everyone in the scene has helped in one way or another with the a shared goal of getting as many of their friends who rip hard in the HN/PE circles together to hangout and see some acts they probably haven’t witnessed before.

After a successful execution in 2012 (thanks in part to Peter J Woods for running sound and just generally helping a ton), Lakes & Goodrich were very pleased with how well the fest worked out last year. A lot of people were telling them they had a really great time. They started to see people who weren’t interacting before start to do some bonding and that was exactly what they wanted. When they put out the feelers to get a lineup together for this year the response was so overwhelming that they decided to do three days as opposed to only two, to which last year was limited.

Lakes and Goodrich don’t have a complex process for curating, they strictly go by who they see killing it right now in the harsher side of things (with a few exceptions). Recently, they have noticed a ton of younger acts popping up that are just crushing; so they are focusing on a lot of new blood, as well as veterans who have established themselves. A more simple factor for possible performers is that they also try and get people who are fun to hangout with and won’t be divas.

One of the best things about the festival is just seeing people meet new friends and experiencing performances that tear the house down. Its a stressful weekend for Lakes and Goodrich, but they manage to find time to catch sets and hang with people. Lakes adds “It’s just crucial to get all the crew in one place for a nice summer weekend.”

Last year saw many amazing sets. When pressed, Lakes admits the highlights were seeing Custodian play the longest and best set that he had ever seen from him. Also surviving the xALLxFORxTHISx set as they pumped up all the edge kids and experiencing the A Snake In The Garden for the first time as well as witnessing Swallowing Bile (who was 18 at the time) play his first set ever and CRUSH were moments that solidified his resolve to do it all again next year. The crowd last year was small, but a decent chunk of change was collected for the bands and everyone had a blast.

Although the weekend was not without it’s challenges: “Last year was pretty easy with the exception of having the Buffalo Police Station across the street stress me out” says Lakes. This year has been more challenging as Lakes doesn’t live in Buffalo anymore and the venue they had lined up shut down unexpectedly. That’s the reason Andy Czuba (of Oxygen Starvation) has been an additional partner this year. He found a cool new space to use and is supplying some P.A. gear. His help has proved invaluable.

Expectations were set high in 2012 and the fest delivered. So the hope is that there is going to be a lot more of the same this year. Tons and tons of amazing acts slaying and partying together. It’s going to be a little different with the venue change; (the new space doesn’t allow drinking inside/around the space), and the extra day (Thursday), but Lakes and Goodrich are confident it will be even more fun than last time.

The artists featured this year promise to be an intense experience. Lakes admits that his personal highlight is Ferveur Noire. “I have admired his material for a few years now and It will be great to see him jam” he explains. It is one of the artist’s rare sets in 4-5 years which means major freak outs are expected. Other heavy hitters include Heavy Breathing, Ahlzagailzehguh, Magia Nuda, and Sharptooth all of which Lakes personally will be experiencing live for the first time. He continues “Honestly there are so many sets I’m excited for that it’s kind of a hard to pick favorites.” Lakes is sure there will be all types of intense surprises and shit too.

Lakes and Goodrich are convinced the show can only go in one direction: further into the toilet. If all goes well this year there are definitely a couple over seas acts in contention for future events which could seriously up the ante of the festival. Whatever the future holds, the second year is bound to be a rager that will be an essential experience for any noise fanatic.

The facebook event for the festival can be found here. Justin Lakes is a noise artist based out of Ohio and creates sounds under the names Pusdrainer, Breached Hull, Friends With Corpses and Muck. Matt Goodrich is a noise artist based out of Buffalo and creates sounds under the names Breached Hull, Inerds, and Water Torture.