Every September in deepest darkest Kent, GocStock plays host to a mix of folk acts, acoustic artists and a plethora of DJs spinning tracks through the forest till dawn. With a few hits of laughing gas and a fine selection of friends, it's the best cocktail to end the summer.
The three year old festival is the brainchild of Goc, a 25 year old party animal who works year round to bring this fledging festival into fruition. She is utilising her bluebell forest in Kemsing to give friends a place to entertain and be entertained.
What was your inspiration for starting the festival?
The inspiration for GocStock came from growing up in a little wooden house on the land that the festival is now held on. There was no central heating in the house so during the summer months my family and family friends would log up fallen trees and put them into storage for the winter so that we could heat the house burning them on a woodstove. These weekends were known as working parties. The Friday evening would be a meal and a few glasses of wine and then the Saturday was working followed by an evening of BBQs, plenty of booze, camp fires, and acoustic guitars with the non-musical members of the group grabbing whatever was at hand to make noise (shaking biscuit barrels, empty wine bottles of which there were many, wooden spoons on peoples arses...anything!) The partying would continue until the early hours of Sunday.
Working parties were a huge influence on me as a child, and I encouraged my friends to come and spend the night camping out in the forest under the stars, around a fire and with a few drinks and guitars. This continued for several years and one drunken evening I mentioned to all my university mates in Bournemouth.
Word of this spread like wild-fire and I had DJs, Bands, Artists all offering their services. Before I knew it I had a three day festival on my hands and no previous event organisation experience! This was the birth of GocStock!
How has it grown in the past three years?
GocStock was so successful in the first year that the second year was in the planning stages only a few months later. In terms of its growth the number of attendees has remained the same but it has transitioned from a lot of drunken people in a forest watching bands to a more festival vibe. The quality of the performers has increased ten fold and the professionalism of the event is evident (and without that restricting the fun!)
Is it all you or do you have an army of Gocstockians helping behind the scenes?
GocStock was initially run by me single handily but from it has grown my (little) company Kit Kaboodle Ltd. which currently consists of three person strong work force who run GocStock:
Myself, Sasha and Wolf Alexander. Without them GocStock would not be up and running as smoothly as it was this year.
Sasha is the man behind the website (check it out at www.gocstock.com), the performance organisation, the ideas guru, the GocStock oracle if you will - without him there would be no GocStock
Wolf Alexander is the braun of the Stock (effortlessy hauling fallen trees around as though they were match sticks), the sound engineer and all round entertainment (hilariously written songs, anecdotal comic genius and an all round good egg!)
Brilliant guys the two of them.
How much planning goes into Gocstock each year?
This years GocStock took nine months planning, but that includes everything from the sketching of the website characters through to running around like a blue arse fly seconds before the gates open.
What are your visions for your festival in 10 years time?
GocStock will always be about friends entertaining friends, regardless of it's scale. My aspiration is that regardless of how large the festival gets, the performers, workers, DJs etc. will all come from friends and their recommendation or friends. Should GocStock outgrow the current site, I will make sure there is an event similar to what we are currently throwing for all those involved in that years festival, like a backstage area of the festival as it were! GocStock will still be here in ten years time...GocStock IV is already in preparation so keep your eyes peeled for details!!!
What would be your ultimate dream line-up of entertainment?
To be honest topping this years performance is going to be quite a challenge, with the likes of Ian M. Hale, Pepe Belmone, Charlene Soraia, May Fly Trio and Their Hearts Were Full of Spring we certainly have a challenge on our hands.
Ultimate dream line up? That's a really tricky one! I'd like to it be a mix of fantastic undiscovered talent with some key influences from the days of the working parties, but mainly anyone who is up for getting stuck into the GocStock vibe, playing their part in the festival and most importantly have a laugh in a beautiful location.
Would you consider a burlesque show next year with our girls from PunkGrl.com?
Burlesque of a boutique variety, yes. Something a little bit 'kitch' it could fit very nicely with the theme for next year!
