FuMPFest

The Early Years

For years comedy-rapper Devo Spice had grand visions of creating a comedy-music convention—an entire weekend devoted to comedy-music. Similar events had taken place occasionally, such as the AlCon conventions in Chicago in 1998, 2000, and 2002, and The BORED Tour shows which were produced by Grant Baciocco of Throwing Toasters. Devo did produce two shows called The Oddfest, one in 2003 and one in 2006, that did not go well. The second one, in fact, went so poorly that Devo uses it as a standard example in his running gag of "God hates comedy musicians."

The FuMP

In 2007 The Funny Music Project, or The FuMP, launched and quickly became the go-to place for funny music on the internet. Early on the Core members of The FuMP talked about producing a convention or even a tour, but those talks were quickly squashed by reality and the guys realized they didn't have the resources to pull one off without going bankrupt.

Then in 2012 the great Luke Ski ran a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a stage rig to use at his live shows. After the initial round of funing Luke created a stretch goal to get him some additional perks with the promise that if the stretch goal was met he would hold an event called LukeSkiCon exclusively for his backers. It was, and he did.

LukeSkiCon

In June of 2013 roughly 75 hardcore comedy-music fans descended on a small hotel in Chicago for LukeSkiCon, a convention by and about Luke. There were performances, memorabilia, and even surprises as Luke's friends presented him with a tribute album at the con.

Devo Spice was one of the attendees and performers of this event, and leading up to it he realized that this was effectively a FuMP convention. After discussing it with Luke and the other Core members of the FuMP he decided to go ahead with his plan for a full-blown FuMP convention. So at LukeSkiCon Devo announced that the first FuMPFest would take place in 2014.

Doing the Impossible

The first FuMPFest took place June 20-22, 2014 at the Westin Northshore in Wheeling, IL, just outside Chicago. Our guest of honor was legendary radio personality Dr. Demento, along with special guests Meep Morp Studios, and a dozen performing artists. We had karaoke, a dealer room, and a full weekend of amazing performances.

Devo Spice, and a team of volunteers including co-chair Luke Ski, volunteer wrangler Jean "Jayekitty" Prior, hotel liason Theodora Sparks, and karaoke guru "Blasted" Bill Putt planned out an event that went so smoothly they all kept waiting for something to go horrifically wrong. Thankfully nothing ever did. The worst thing that happened was Sunday's events ran about 20 minutes late because the FuMP Showcase/Open Mic was just too awesome to be contained in its allotted time slot.

The event was a huge success and we quickly started planning a follow-up event for 2015.

Guest of Honor

Dr. Demento - Legendary radio personality Dr. Demento was on hand to present his Festival of Dementia, host the Logan Awards ceremony, sign autographs, and talk about his upcoming documentary film Under the Smogberry Trees.

Special Guest

Meep Morp Studios - The producers of the Dr. Demento documentary were on hand to discuss their upcoming film as well as get some new footage of Dr. Demento, the fans, and the performances.

Performing Artists

Carrie Dahlby - The Carol Cleveland of the FuMP performed with some help from Luke Ski, her husband Josh, and their adorable toddler Alex.

Devo Spice - The red-headed stepson of Weird Al Yankovic and Eminem, and also the Chair of FuMPFest, took the stage for an hour of comedy-rap.

Garden Fresh - The other comedy-rappers on the bill, this duo came out from Rochester to perform their family friendly and very funny rhymes.

the great Luke Ski - Dr. Demento's #1 artist of the 21st century was on hand with his geeky/pop culture comedy songs.

Dan Hart, with special guest Barry Rabin - Former psychotherapist and current comedian Dan Hart came all the way from Boston to perform and brought his friend comedian Barry Rabin with him.

Insane Ian - Besides performing at the event Ian was also the emcee for the weekend. It was this concert that made us realize if the emcee is going to perform he really shouldn't be last after a weekend of talking. Ian's voice was shot, but he still put on a great show.

Phil Johnson - Guitar-comic Phil Johnson of Phil Johnson and Roadside Attraction added FuMPFest to his ever-impressive list of tour dates.

Tony Goldmark - California based comedian and host of Some Jerk With A Camera was on hand to share his wit.

Matt Griffo - Chicago's own Matt Griffo was the only piano player at the event this weekend, but left the audience in stitches with his wit.

Possible Oscar - The FuMP's nerdy rock trio rocked out with a guitar, bass, and a set of Rock Band drums programmed to make all kinds of nerdy noises.

Power Salad - Chris Mezzolesta of Power Salad not only performed his own brand of comedy but he ran the sound for the weekend.

Raymond and Scum - The comedy-rock duo from California came out and performed a rocking, but surprisingly short set.

Seamonkey - Coming up from Texas Seamonkey and his wife Seamonkette put on a show that I'm sure the hotel will never forget.

Tom Smith - The World's Fastest Filker joined us for an afternoon of comedy and filk.

Worm Quartet - The one-man synth-punk comedy band that is Worm Quartet closed out our Friday night festivities as only he can.

Other Events

Opening Ceremonies - Welcome to the con! Dr. Demento gave a welcome speach and several of the guests performed.

Dr. Demento's Festival of Dementia - A 2-hour walk down dementia memory lane as Dr. Demento played the biggest hits from his show and talked about the show's history.

The Future of the FuMP - A peak inside the inner workings of The FuMP with several of the Core members and some talk about what the future holds.

Doctor of Dementia - A Q&A with Dr. Demento!

Under the Smogberry Trees - A Q&A with the producers of the upcoming Dr. Demento documentary film, including a new clip from the movie.

The 4th Annual Logan Whitehurst Memorial Awards for Excellence in Comedy Music - The first comedy-music award ceremony celebrated its 4th year at FuMPFest in an event hosted by Dr. Demento.

Dementia Smackdown Wrestling - Comedy-music superfan Jered "Mr. Tuesday" Perez produces these wrestling videos staring the guests of FuMPFest with the help of his X-Box console.

FuMP Showcase/Open Mic - A chance for any other artists in attendance to take the stage. This year we had performances by Karl Brown, Buzz Brooks, Jeff Reuben, Soggy Potato Chips, Erin Sherlock, Bill Shipper, Robert Lund, and Tim Cavanaugh.

Live Podcasts - Live recordings of Manic Mondays with Devo Spice featuring a performance by The Gothsicles, Luke and Carrie's Bad Rapport with Luke Ski and Carrie Dahlby, and The Pod of Destiny with "Blasted" Bill Putt and Moonbeam.

Closing Ceremonies - All good things must come to an end. We closed out the con with a rousing redition of "We Are The FuMP."

Click here to download the 2014 program book. (pdf)