And Here’s An Ancient Jeff Mach Interview With The Caffeine Crew (September 2014)
Rob: First off, I have to say thank you! Not just for sitting down with me to do this interview, but for all the work that has gone in to each of the events you have created. Without question, some of the most memorable moments over the last few years for me have been at Jeff Mach events. Every time is a unique experience, and I always feel like they are one place where you can really open up and be yourself without question. When you get to do that it’s incredibly freeing, and it’s amazing to see how many people you connect with just from doing so.
So what gave you the idea to create these massive gatherings in the first place? Was it just for the love of the culture, or was it something more?
Jeff Mach:
In the beginning, it was absolutely just about pure love of the culture. In the late 1990s, I found myself working a fairly normal job, and living a fairly “normal” life, whatever that might mean, and I realized I felt empty. I didn’t have a home. I didn’t have a place where I could be with other people like me. So I wanted to create one.
Rob: To anyone who has attended one of these events, it’s pretty clear that there is a heavy geek slant present at all times. So I have to ask, where does your geekdom stem from? Did you have a group growing up that totally got you and helped you embrace this, if not when did you find that connection?
Jeff Mach:
My family assuredly isn’t social enough to have associated with, really, anyone when I was growing up. I gained a love of science fiction from my father, and I simply read it for years and years. When every other geeky thing began to surface – home computers, BBSes, gaming – I realized that I was fascinated at how they connected to that first love, scifi, and I pretty much fell for all of them. Hard.
Rob: I know personally for me was going back to the around ’96 when I found Rocky Horror at a local cinema. It didn’t take too long for me to get hooked, and before you know it I was buying my first pair of fishnets and diving in headfirst to a really amazing culture. It’s a hard feeling to replicate, and I have to say the first time I went to a Wicked Faire it was like seeing those huge red lips on the screen for the first time.
Jeff Mach: I once did an interview with Amy from the Indigo Girls, and I asked her what she thought of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. She instantly replied, “It’s revolutionary.”
Rocky Horror changed everything for me. I was a solo geek. All I knew was that normal social rules applied to me differently because I had different interests from most of my classmates and peers. I never knew you could CHANGE the rules until I went to Rocky for the first time.
Rob: Now The Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire has been running since 2006, did you ever expect it would continue for 12 years and that it would continue to grow as much as it has?
Jeff Mach: Ten years, actually!
Expected? Heck no. Wanted? Oh, with all of my hairy heart.
Rob: It actually grown so large you have had to change venues heading in to the 2015 event. Has it been stressful moving the event, as it has been rooted at the same location for such a long time?
Jeff Mach: Absolutely! But that’s okay. You need to do stressful things if you’re going to make big huge improvements in something. Almost nothing gets better without lots of hard work, rethinking, planning, and did I mention lots of work?
Rob: Wicked is also just one of the many of your events. You also run not one but two “Geeky Kink Events”, Voltaire’s Necrocomicon, and Steampunk Worlds Fair. I know there are more shows in between all of them, but it seems like every time I go through my Facebook feed there is a new show starting up. It’s getting hard to keep track of them all. Can you give us a little information to what is right around the corner, and what guests can expect?
Jeff Mach: The Steampunk World’s Fair is coming right up! The world’s largest, most unique Steampunk event! It’s a gigantic joy ride for geeks! It’s so amazing!
Voltaire’s Wicked NecroComiCon seeks to be the first event which is not just about spooky ideas and discussions, but about creating a place where people who love Halloween will feel like they’ve come home.
Rob: I will most definitely provide links for our readers, so they can look it to each of these on their own as well.
Rob: I have to imagine that each one of these shows brings with it a very different challenge. What has been the hardest show for you to create, and then ultimately deliver? Did any not meet your expectations, or did any just absolutely blow your expectations out of the water?
Jeff Mach:
The hardest show to create is pretty much always the next one. We always try to top ourselves. So to some extent, it doesn’t matter if it’s a new event or one we’ve never done before, in terms of challenge. They’re all a challenge. Of course, when you have a runaway hit like The Geeky Kink Event, or a tremendous flop like The Psychotic Music Festival, you have very different challenges.
Rob: I’ve met and become friends with numerous performers from the shows over the years, and I have to say one of the best things I have ever heard was from my interview with Azkadelia. She went on to say that it was you who pushed her to get involved with the community, and now she is vending with The Madinarium, has an Aerial Silk Show, and is a performer at the NY Renaissance Faire. How does it feel to know you helped impact someone as greatly as you have?
Jeff Mach:
I guess that’s what we’re all looking to do, isn’t it? Help other unusual people feel like their dreams have a shot? I know it’s what got me to where I am – all the people who helped me, have given me advice, have in some way been kind or there for me when I needed it.
Rob: Now not only are you responsible for creating these fantastic shows, but you are also a performer as well. How long have you been playing music now? Who were your inspirations, or more specifically what album do you find is your constant go to?
Jeff Mach:
Rob: If I recall, you also recently released your rock opera Absinthe Heroes. What was that process like? I know you studied at Rutgers as a playwright, but I have to imagine that it has to be quite maddening to not only have to script out a compelling story, but then carefully select the right musical accompaniment.
Jeff Mach:
Actually, I write songs in a whirlwind. I was writing both plays and songs long before I ever thought I might be a good performer myself – so I pretty much always figured that I would create the words and someone else would do the rest. Something like Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Of course, if you’re Bernie Taupin, it makes a world of difference to have an Elton John. My Elton John was Psyche Corporation, and she’s spectacular.
Rob: Are there any plans on bringing the show out to a wider audience at this point in time and when is the next planned performance scheduled for?
Jeff Mach:
Ah! Force me to dig into my dark secrets, eh? Very well…
There aren’t plans for an Absinthe Heroes production right now. But I DO plan to write a series of short songs and scenes and then try to offer them to some of the great performers I know and see if they’ll do some quick live videos. But…. that’s a dream which needs to wait until the other side of Faire happens.
Rob: Before we finish up here today, I have to say that looking over your list of accomplishments over the past 10 years is frankly quite staggering. Over that time is there a moment that you reflect on more than others, or are you more the type that prefers to look more toward the future? What are your goals for the next chapters of your life as your company Widdershins continues to evolve?
Jeff Mach:
Create great events with my partners. Walk on Mars unaided. Co-own a Unicorn factory. And drink a lot of coffee.
…heck, I don’t know. I have a lot of hopes and aspirations, but I’m taking everything one day at a time right now. I don’t want to whisper my dreams aloud, lest they not come to pass.
Rob: Thank you so much for your time today and it has been a great pleasure getting the chance to talk with you. I still can’t even find the right words to again thank you for all of your hard work in helping to create such a fantastic environment that has become such a wonderful part of my life. I greatly look forward to seeing you at 2015’s Wicked Faire, and I wish you all the luck in the world as you continue in all of your works on the horizon!
Jeff Mach: <3 !
____
