Brad Frost

Frostapalooza: one epic night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDMDqUiobNo Frostapalooza was a one-of-a-kind concert and an unabashed celebration of love, joy, fun, music, creativity, and positivity. It was an excuse to celebrate our talents and collective human potential. It was a reminder to myself, my friends, my family, and everyone that life can offer real moments of transcendence, communion, fun, and joy. The concert took place on August 17th, 2024 at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Pittsburgh. All these months later, I finally have a window of time to write about it. A 40th birthday over a year in the making I dreamed up this idea in May 2023, before I even turned 39. Many of the people around me were turning 40, which sparked the question in my brain: "what do I want to do for my 40th birthday?" I knew a nice meal wouldn't suffice, and I knew this milestone was an opportunity to do something big. I also had this palpable-yet-ineffable desire to counter all of the negativity that seemed to be plaguing my family — and society writ large — for years. I've endured some awful and traumatic things, and the question on loop in my head was "What's the exact opposite of those awful things?" As COVID began to subside, I started attending concerts again and had a chance to see some pretty amazing shows like alt-J, Portugal the Man, Khruangbin, Spoon & Interpol, and Rubblebucket. I didn't realize just how badly I needed the catharsis and shared experience that can only come from live music; these shows were like a tall cold glass of water after suffering in the desert for years. I was alive again. Then the thought struck me: "Oh yeah, I know how to do that. Not only do I know how to do it, I know a bunch of people who know how to do that." Through my journey through life, I've gotten to know many musicians. The world of web design and development is chock full of musicians: some current & former professionals as well as some extremely talented amateurs. Between those pals, my college bandmates/friends, and my very musical family, I know a lot of talented musicians! But the vast majority of us were not actively playing music in any formal capacity; we're all busy putting roofs over our families' heads, shuttling kids around, and doing all of the other requisite adult things. As for me, I hadn't played a proper concert in over 15 years. So it was through attending these concerts that lightning struck and I dreamed up the audacious idea throwing a big, unique, one-night-only concert featuring all of my musical family and friends. We'd take all of our latent musical potential energy and for one night convert it into musical kinetic energy. Rounding up the musicians I made a website painting a picture of the vision and spirit of the show and shared it with my musical family and friends:

We’ve all just been through some rough years, and my family has endured some serious shit. We’ve emerged on the other side with a profound sense of gratitude and love and purpose. Wielding this new perspective, I want an unabashed celebration of life, of joy, of fun, of friendship, of family, of music, of creativity, of expression. I want an excuse to get all my loved ones together and have a blast. I want an excuse for people to dress to the nines and let it all hang out. I want an excuse to play music with the people I love. I want an excuse to rock people’s faces off. I’ve also come to the realization that we can do whatever the fuck we want to do with our lives. There’s no rule against throwing a giant one-night-only concert/party/happening featuring an amorphous super group of talented friends and family who have never played music together before. You can think of an idea like this and then just, like, do it. So that’s what I’m doing!

The site contained a very subtle invitation: Animated gif of a flashing text that reads I thought for sure that the response would be laughter, or at least "Nice crazy idea, Brad. That would be fun but that's not gonna happen." To my surprise and delight, many people responded with "FUCK YEAH." I knew asking people to commit to something 14 months in advance was a double-edged sword. Thankfully, people don't usually have hard plans that far out, which meant that people could agree to the show and plan around it. But also of course life gets in the way, situations change, etc. No worries though; I could build all of those considerations into the master plan. Securing a venue, date, and beneficiaries I needed the show to be on a Saturday night around my birthday on July 30th. I knew that it needed to be at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Pittsburgh. The venue perfectly fit the vision I had for the show; I've seen so many great concerts at this beautiful converted church, and I even had an unpaid internship there back in college. It was extremely difficult to secure the venue. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing again?" I feel like a had to pitch the idea over and over again. I had just wanted to rent out the venue (which they do for weddings, dances, and stuff), but they wouldn't go for that. After a lot of pleading, we locked in August 17th, 2024 for a proper concert and began the real work of putting the show together. I knew right from the start this would be a benefit concert. If all of these musicians were going to volunteer their time and we were going to put some positivity into the world, then any money should go to positive causes. I ended up choosing two beneficiaries that are near and dear to me. From the website:

Project Healthy Minds is a non-profit working to confront the world's mental health crisis by getting people access to mental health resources, destigmatizing mental health, and advocating for mental health policy reform. NextStep Pittsburgh is a spinal injury rehabilitation center opening in Pittsburgh. My cousin Claire Senita has been tirelessly working to help people suffering spinal cord injuries, and this event will support her mission of opening the rehabilitation center.

Figuring out what to play Like a good designer, I wanted to double-diamond some shit. I wanted to sculpt the show collaboratively with these amazing musicians whose musical sensibilities I so greatly admire. I wanted to integrate original songs from everyone's respective bands, but I knew that we'd rely heavily on covers because they'd be crowd pleasers and would be easier to learn. I created a shared Spotify playlist with a really simple instruction: add literally any song you think would be fun to cover. After a few months, we had accumulated over 24 hours (!!!) of potential music to play that we needed to winnow down to a 3-hour show. I organized a dot-voting exercise in Figma where each musician got 10 votes and one Super Vote to determine what they wanted to play. It was a ton of fun to witness each person's interests/enthusiasms/vibes and to see a heat map emerge. Screenshot of a FigJam with title During this process, I talked to each of the musicians to get a sense of their musical history, sensibilities, and desired level of involvement with the show. If people wanted to be on a bunch of songs, I'd do my best to make it happen. If people were content with just being on a song or two, that was fine too. We had a lot of creative firepower to work with! Determining the setlist With everyone's votes in, I took on the extremely hard task of determining the a final setlist. I obsessively listened to the potential songs, swapped and stole, argued with myself, and devised a ton of medleys to squeeze in as many amazing songs as possible. I knew medleys would add to the complexity, but I also knew we'd nail them. I created a video brief to introduce each song in the setlist, painting a picture of the rationale, the goals, the vibe and main musical moments to hit. https://youtu.be/bGRkt_wWvQc?si=3Xum0nKAOOtxZAcj With the setlist in place, we did another round of voting with to give people the opportunity to call dibs on songs they felt most excited about. Screenshot of a Figjam with the Frostapalooza setlist with people voting using stickers I assigned people to the songs as thoughtfully as I possibly could, which involved creating a bunch of Notion databases with rollups and sophisticated relationships. My Notion and spreadsheet game definitely got strong through this process! Screenshot of a Notion database featuring Frostapalooza musicians and info We even created a sequencing subcommittee to put the setlist order together. It was a ton of fun collaborating with my friends to dive into the gory details of the flow, musical energy, and logistics of the night. We each created a proposed setlist, and then hashed it out together. It helped that Seth Casana also happens to be a badass wedding DJ, so knows a thing or two about sequencing a fun night of music! Poster, Website, and Announcement As soon as I had the venue and date lined up, I put together a website and made an announcement blog post exactly one year ahead of the show. Separately, I reached out to my friend Trent — whose design work I absolutely love — about the possibility of helping me design a poster for the concert. He responded with:

I’m going to probably bring in a buddy to help me with this but i have a fucking crazy idea

A few weeks later he came back with an email with the subject line "Lol this is nuts" and divulged that he roped in illustrator extraordinaire Roberlan to make "the most absolute bonkers poster possible." The result was absolutely amazing: Frostapalooza poster featuring a psychedelic design of Brad's smiling face, a bunch of musicians, and the concert info The design fit the spirit of the show perfectly: over the top, maximalist, fun, and yes bonkers. I was so jazzed with the poster I updated the website to match the design, and ended up incorporating the elements into social media assets and stickers. Thanks so much, Roberlan and Trent! Practice, or lack thereof It was hilarious talking to people in the year leading up to the show. The conversation would go something like this:

Me: "Yeah we're throwing a big-ass concert with 40 musicians operating as a single band."

Them:"Oh wow that sounds wild! How are you all going to practice?"

Me: "We're not."

Them: "..."

And it was the truth! We knew right out of the gate that it would be impossible to gather everyone for a proper practice ahead of the actual show, so I had to bring all of my designer and project manager skills (ha!) to the party to coordinate everyone asynchronously. The idea was to put a core band in place that would serve as the foundation and help manage the madness. The core band consisted of my brother, my wife, and most of my college band:

These players were on all or at least most of the songs. Everyone else would float on and off the stage for their respective parts. Monthly Pittsburgh practices Will's based in Nashville and Aaron is in Charlottesville, which meant regular core band practices weren't possible. What we were able to do was have regular monthly practices for the Pittsburgh-based musicians. I blocked off one Saturday night per month for band practice. If people could make it, great! If not, no worries. I really worked hard to not stress anyone out; I trusted that everyone would ultimately be prepared. And I was right about that! Monthly band practice became such a fun ritual. Family, friends, and neighbors would show up to our house, we'd have food and drinks, and head to the basement to practice. We'd usually start with some jamming to get attuned, and eventually turn our attention to the Frostapalooza setlist. Musicians in Brad's lit-up basement So many of the Pittsburgh-based musicians — especially Josh Sager and my cousin Taylor — ended up learning nearly all of the setlist, even the songs they weren't even on! I'm so grateful for their commitment; it gave us a real opportunity to suss ideas out and tighten things up. We also got a special import from California because Rebecca Garza-Bortman and Bryan Garza flew from LA to Pittsburgh to visit family. We used that opportunity to get as many people together for a big practice. Everyone showed up prepared, and playing through Bryan and Rebecca's songs got me SO EXCITED as it was the first real validation that this crazy process would work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snBUM2QuFJM Core band practice The regular local practices were really important, fun, and welcome, but we also knew we needed to have a practice with the core band in order to really feel confident. Will and Aaron drove up to Pittsburgh in April to work through the show over a super intensive weekend. Aaron, Melissa smiling and holding Bootsy the dog, Will, and Ian in our basement We workshopped the entire setlist, and then that Saturday night we had a practice with the core band plus as many of the Pittsburgh-based musicians that could make it. This was as full of a sound as we were going to get aside from the weekend of the show. Musicians in Brad's basement gearing up to practice We ended up playing 17 hours of music over the course of 48 hours , which was absolutely nuts! But it was totally worth it; not only did I get to have a ton of fun with some of my closest friends, this marathon weekend really established a lot of the musical foundation and gave us a lot of confidence. Any remaining musical tasks were super detail oriented. We were in great shape considering we still had almost 4 months to dial things in further. Studio Recordings We made do with whatever practices we could manage, but again we weren't able to get everyone together. And I certainly wasn't going to leave things up to chance. So what did I do? I'll tell you what I did: I applied my goddamn college education. I was able to put my music industry minor (which started as my university major!) to work in order to create recordings with everyone for each of the songs in the setlist. Screenshot of Logic Pro showing a multi-track recording of a Frostapalooza song Ian and I recorded the foundational drums and bass for each song, and then everyone else would record and send over their isolated part. I'd add the part to the mix and then I'd update the recording page with the latest and greatest. Everyone had ~7 months to deliver their parts. Screenshot of Frostapalooza's recordings website These recordings accomplished a good many things:

As expected, everyone was living life so recordings were slow going initially. But the pieces really started coming together as the show got closer. Each new recording from someone sent me had me cackling to myself in my basement as I layered the part into the mix. Because holy shit everyone is so goddamn talented , and holy shit this all sounded so good together. Zoom calls, Slack, texts, and more In addition to the more structured practices, I was also more than happy to talk about the show whenever wherever with whoever. There were so many phone calls, Zoom calls, text threads, Slack conversations, voice memos, and messages shared along the way. It was so much fun to hack time and space to geek out with my friends about music. For example, here's me and Seth of Elby Brass doing some very serious work talking about the horns on The National Anthem by Radiohead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbLukPJ0_YE Logistics both on and off stage I was already sweating the details of the stage setup, gear, and logistics as soon as I devised the idea. Not in a stressful way; more in a "ooo this would be cool!" kinda way. I've been acquiring music gear for close to 30 years and already had a pretty comprehensive setup. But there were some gaps that I happily had to fill. "Oh we're definitely going to need congas" I said to myself, and then set out to acquire some. I am now the proud owner of congas, and let me tell you, life is better with congas. I wanted the show to go as smoothly as possible and for there to be no confusion about where anyone was supposed to be at any given time. Rebecca and Bryan WROTE AND PERFORMED A GODDAMN ROCK OPERA FOR THEIR WEDDING, and they divulged that they created a stage plot for their fandango. That was a great idea, so I followed suit and brought a lot of the puzzle pieces together in a stage plot video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqFPtwIqJNg There were also all of the non-musical logistics around the show. An event planner friend of a friend, Erika Baker, helped me get a block of hotel rooms, rent party buses, secure tent rentals for the pre-party, line up food, and handle other non-musical logistics. It was great having a pro around to handle those types of tasks so that I could primarily focus on the show. The pieces were coming together and the date was getting closer and closer. All of these ideas, abstract thoughts, databases, and spreadsheets were soon about to become honest-to-goodness reality. I celebrated my actual 40th birthday at the Outer Banks with my family like I do every year, and then came back home and suddenly it was show time. Thursday, August 15th: Rehearsal Will was in New York for a wedding the prior weekend, so he ended up staying with us for the whole week ahead of the show. It was great to have some relatively chill time to hash through the musical details before everyone got to town. A fair number of musicians got into Pittsburgh on Thursday, so I extended an optional invitation for a casual get-together and practice at our house. It was so much fun to welcome my friends — many of whom I've only shared adventures with at web conferences — to our home. We ate food, got in a great practice, and had a nice little campfire acoustic session. It was absolutely fantastic. Jeremy Keith, Chris Coyier, and Melissa Frost playing music in Brad's basement Jeremy Keith, Brad Frost, Melissa Frost and other musicians practicing for Frostapalooza in Brad's basement A bunch of Frostapalooza musicians sitting around a camp fire Chris Coyier, Brad Frost, Jeremy Keith playing music while Ian Frost and Josh Sager look on around a camp fire. Friday, August 16th: Symmetry, Rehearsal, & Pre-party When I hatched up the idea for the concert, I thought it would be a great idea to hold an adjacent web/design/design systems conference around the show as it would give people a professional excuse to come to Pittsburgh and stay for the show. I tried a few different avenues to make it happen over the course of a year, and unfortunately nothing materialized. But just when I gave up hope and put the idea out of my head, the incredible Ben Callahan swooped in and moved heaven and earth to put together an intimate design systems event called Symmetry. We had so many design system leaders already coming to town for the show, so it was fantastic to be able to do something productive with everyone there. I wasn't able to stay, but everyone said it was super valuable, friendly, and aligned perfectly with the spirit of Frostapalooza. Ben Callahan addressing the attendees at Symmetry I showed up in the morning and felt like a politician making a quick appearance at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, but I had to rush back home to prepare for band practice! More people were getting into town and were coming up to our house to squeeze in a band practice ahead of the pre-party later that night. One by one, musicians began descending into my 1974-time-capsule basement. Seeing everyone bust out their gear — which including a dizzying array of synthesizers, a musical saw, a talk box, mandolin, banjo, and an arsenal of guitar pedals — got us all super excited. This was actually happening! Daniel Hall, Dave Rupert, Melissa Frost, Will Schneider, Josh Sager, and Ian Frost practicing for Frostapalooza in Brad's basement Frostapalooza musicians hanging out in Brad's basement We got to practicing and sounded great! We squeezed in as much practice as we could, and before we knew it we had to wrap it up because guests were arriving for the party! When I first hatched up the idea for the concert, I knew people would be coming in from all over and that we'd be too busy rocking to be able to catch up with everyone socially at the actual concert. So we planned a pre-party the night before the show so that everyone could get together and party. A group of web nerds at the Frostapalooza pre party at Brad's house Chris Coyier and Jessica Spengler playing music outside at the Frostapalooza pre party Scott Jenson wearing a disco ball helmet and a tshirt that features an illustration of the same helmet An ice cream truck at the end of Brad's driveway. People and a party tent Ian Frost, Dave Olsen, And Brian Muenzenmeyer smiling at the Frostapalooza pre-partyThe Pattern Lab team reunited! Ian Frost, Dave Olsen, and Brian Muenzenmeyer Anna Santiago, Brad Frost, and Jessi Hall smiling Krystle, Kate, Eva, Art, Eric holding baby Noel, and Nik Kids painting a mural at the Frostapalooza pre-party Frostapalooza pre-party on Brad's deck with colorful string lights I knew it would be incredible to have so many people from so many different areas of my life come together in one place, but I wasn't prepared for how emotional it would be. I just kept running into important person after important person from all chapters of my life. It was surreal. And it wasn't lost on me that people took time off of work to come in for the show. People drove for hours across state lines. Some people even crossed an ocean to be there. It's truly difficult to put into words how much that means to me and how grateful I am for everyone. If I could control time and space, I'd certainly extend that night for as long as I possibly could. Alas, that's not how this life works, and all great things must come to an end. In fact, we had to shut the party down on the earlier side because we had a huge-ass rock and roll concert to prepare for. Saturday, August 17th: Show time Load in and sound check was at 1PM, and I made it clear to everyone months in advance that it was mandatory. I worked it out with the venue and our amazing front-of-house engineer, Luke, to capitalize on our sound check and turn it into a full-on band practice. After all, this was the only time we'd get to actually be able to play together ahead of the show. Many hands made light work to empty my rented Uhaul trailer; we got set up and got to practicing. Brad posing in front of Mr Smalls Theatre with marquee that reads Frostapalooza musicians setting up on stage at Mr Smalls Frostapalooza musicians setting up on stage at Mr Smalls Frostapalooza musicians posing on stage at Mr Smalls for sound check Frostapalooza musicians setting up on stage at Mr Smalls Frostapalooza musicians sound checking on stage at Mr Smalls We made sure every musician had a chance to get on stage, get a monitor mix in place, and get comfortable. For months we deliberated back and forth about whether we were going to try to do a full run-through of the show or play just enough for people to feel comfortable. It ended up being the latter, which I think really worked out. We needed to conserve our energy but also there was just a LOT to prepare and do. Besides, these people are freaking pros. We left the venue, scrambled back across the river to the hotel to get dressed, and then crossed the river once again to get settled in. The doors opened, people started arriving, and Chris aka Rave Mustaine set the mood with some pulsing house music. Meanwhile, all of the musicians were hanging out in the green room (the old church's rectory!) and were getting pumped. Jessi and Daniel Hall in the green room at Mr Smalls Frostapalooza musicians in the green room at Mr Smalls Frostapalooza musicians in the green room at Mr Smalls Seth Casana and Brad Frost Melissa Frost and Brad Frost Brad talking to the Frostapalooza musicians At 8PM sharp, we walked out on stage and for the next 3 hours I had the time of my fucking life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDMDqUiobNo Jeremy said it well:

I wasn’t playing on the first few songs so I got to watch the audience’s reaction as they realised what was in store. Maybe they thought this would be a cute gathering of Brad and his buddies jamming through some stuff. What they got was an incredibly tight powerhouse of energy from a seriously awesome collection of musicians.

That was the joke I'd repeatedly crack myself up with throughout the whole arc of putting this show together. Nobody — including the musicians — expected what we delivered. I was really the only one who really knew everyone and had the context of just how goddamn talented everyone was. All of the musicians were operating on trust, and all of the audience showed up because they either knew me personally or apparently wanted to see some web nerds play music. Nobody was showing up expecting a freaking barnburner of a concert, and for whatever reason I found that hilarious. I wanted to confuse and delight. I wanted people to show up expecting a "cute gathering" and then proceed to blow their eyebrows to the back of their heads. And that's exactly what we did. Song after song, we kept the hits and the energy coming. We'd hit the last note of a song, the musicians would quickly shuffle off the stage, and then suddenly a whole new cast of players would be out on stage to start the next number. The novelty never had a chance to wear off; just when the audience thought they had the formula figured out, all of a sudden there's a musical saw, a bouncing tuba, 7 vocalists, a guy dressed up as David Bowie, or a silver-masked guitarist playing Daft Punk, or marching band quads. The players and the crowd created a virtuous cycle of energy that elevated us all into the stratosphere. For months I racked my brain about what song to close the show with, and I kept coming back to one song: Bohemian Rhapsody. It perfectly encapsulated the nature of the event: over-the-top, ridiculous, intricate, multi-faceted, shouldn't-be-good-but-it-is, and musically fantastic. When we committed to it, disciplined-music-major Aaron Spring got straight to work nailing down the incredibly involved piano parts, and Will overcame his initial skepticism to embrace his inner Brian May. The Elby Brass crew provided a gong. The result was everything I hoped for and more: a truly collective experience where the line between performers and audience eroded. https://youtu.be/VdN9FQ7bvKM?si=fwYALRf3j2fCzTlw It's difficult to articulate what it was like to be there, but these amazing photos by Will Browar do a fantastic job capturing the energy and spirit of the night. I rounded up some other photos and videos here, and I'm hoping to put together a full edit of the show's video. After the last gong hit, the house lights turned on, people ventured outside and into a party bus that was waiting to shuttle them to the after party. The After Party As soon as I secured a venue for the show, I immediately set out to find a venue for the after party. That task turned out to be surprisingly difficult, but thankfully The Government Center came through in a big way. The setup is great: there's a bar area where people can hang out and have a drink and a separate-but-connected space with a stage. My good (and very old) friend John Mullin came in from New York City to DJ the afterparty. He's an absolute beast, and everyone had a blast keeping the energy going and dancing the night away. DJ John Mullin djing and Brad Frost dancing beside him A crowd of people dancing at the Frostapalooza afterparty A crowd of people dancing at the Frostapalooza afterparty with DJ John Mullin Elaine, Pia, and Melissa Animated GIF of Frostapalooza afterparty people on the party bus headed back to the hotel After the plug was literally pulled on John's DJ station, the party bus shuttled us back to the hotel. Some of us hung out in the dark hotel lobby until it was finally time to call an end a truly epic night. The Afterglow With Frostapalooza, I wanted to deliver a healthy dose of collective effervescence to everyone present. I wanted people to leave the venue with a grin on their face, and to head back to their normal lives with a reminder that life can offer truly elevated, joyful experiences. Based on peoples' reactions, I think we succeeded in that mission.

I got home and told the folks it honestly was one of the best shows I had ever been to. I could definitely feel the connected vibe of everyone there. The joy was palpable. You all were on fire! Frostapalooza was such an amazingly fun time! I keep replaying the evening in my mind and am in awe of all the talent that was on that stage. I'm so glad you ran with your vision. It was a huge success and job well done. Frostapaloooza was hands-down one of the best things I've ever seen anyone create! I'm in awe! I had an absolutely magical time. I’ve been in the music business for 35 years and this is easily one of the best shows I’ve ever witnessed. What you put together is truly something special. Ya done good! Great concert, we loved it. In my day, we would have said: "Far out”. I had an absolutely amazing time dancing and playing at Frostapalooza — it was pure joy! Days later I’m still buzzing from it all. I’m so, so grateful to Brad and Melissa for pulling off this incredible feat, and for allowing me to be a part of it. The show itself was an unbelievable outpouring of energy and love. I couldn’t help but imagine if anyone in the audience had decided to go on a lark, not knowing anything about it, they would have been pretty damn impressed. This wasn’t just a couple of nerds poking around at instruments, these were some serious musicians giving it their all. “I was this many years old when I learned a tuba could be so sexy” Ya know as i think about the weekend what's amazing to is that with all those people there was not 1 dbag in the group!!!! Everyone I interacted with was kind, positive, encouraging and engaging- that my friends is blessing tamped down and given in good measure!! (I'd give you bible chapter and verse but I forget) thanks again!!! Suffice to say that last night will go down as one of those once in a lifetime things- such a gift to make music and share the stage with so many wonderful folks. THANK YOU for bringing us all together Brad and Melissa! My heart is so full! EPIC. That's the only word I can use to explain the weekend, my friend. So happy I got to be part of it!! I will remember this night forever!!! My personal and professional lives EXPLODED into a sensational evening rocking out with some of greatest and most talented humans I have ever met!!! I'm still glowing from it all. Thank you for inviting us all into your awesome world! It was beautiful and wonderful and most of all, so much fun! I’m so happy for you and your big wonderful life full of love Brad. It was OUTSTANDING…… and a huge hooray to you for making it happen…. Over the top awesome!! Fitting that the venue was a beautiful old church as music and the Spiritual are so closely connected! Brad was like a sci-fi monster, where the more you shoot it the bigger it grows. Except with each passing song his energy and happiness kept growing. It was an absolute joy to be part of this wild social experiment. You and Melissa are such fun, genuine people that fill the world with love. Total treasures. I will forever remember this amazing experience. Brad and Melissa pulled off the most ambitious weekend of fun ever with a band of lovely musicians and industry folks. We don't blend our passions with our work lives because it's so hard to! I'm not great at parties, but even for me, this was the "worth it" kind of exhausting. So, if anything, cheers to humans being humans and more of that, please! I really needed that. After losing my job, I needed to be around people I love and care about. I would go to another one of those in a second; it was so much better than any web design conference. The best part was your little girl dancing her face off. Frostapalooza was so cool. I had such an incredible time and I was so glad to bring my daughter. It was cool that a lot of people who know you got to see you feeling a great deal of joy. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that much vicarious happiness for another person. That was so fucking good! We were not expecting that at all!

I debated sharing those quotes because it feels weird being all Braggy McBraggerpants. But ya know what? Fuck it. This whole thing was deliberately designed to achieve this exact reaction, and I'm so happy it had the desired effect. What we did was really amazing, I'm incredibly proud of what we all accomplished, and I'm proud of myself for dreaming up this audacious thing and actually executing it. Greetings from the top of Maslow's pyramid I've said this throughout this entire experience: Frostapalooza is simultaneously the most and least selfish thing I've ever done. On one hand, I threw myself a ridiculously grandiose birthday party and demanded to command the spotlight. Total Ego Fest. On the other hand, I know for a fact that my ego was not what was driving this. Not in the slightest. I've seen so many people struggling and suffering, constantly contending with anxiety, guilt, dread, stress, and overwhelm. I feel an urgent mission to emind them of the wonder, joy, fun, love, and transcendence we're capable of experiencing in our finite time on earth. I want to help people (re)discover their potential as human beings. I want to connect people and lift them up. I want people to feel the boundless love and positive energy that is always there even though it's often elusive in our day-to-day lives. I want to do creative things and help people. Say, that sounds like some pretty good meaning-of-life shit. I learned a lot about myself through the course of this adventure. I learned I'm capable of doing amazing things in this life and in this world. I learned that I can bring amazing people together to do unique and creative things. I learned to finally and fully trust myself, my intuition, my energy, and my abilities. I learned that I don't need to compromise my instincts or my vision. I learned that my passions and enthusiasms are too big for any defined box. I learned that not only can I realize what really matters in life for myself, I can help others see it as well. These lessons now influence everything I do. How I move through the world. How I spend my time and energy. How I earn money. How I show up for people. There's much more to say here, but for now just know that I'm brimming with ideas and excited for what lies ahead. Thank you thank you thank you I will forever be indebted to all of the amazing people that made this epic experience possible. Thank you to all of the absolutely incredible musicians who committed to this crazy experiment, practiced, recorded, rehearsed, and gave it their all on stage. I'd have to write a book if I expounded on each one of you, so I'm sorry you have to settle for a simple list for now:

Thanks to Melissa for not only being a part of the show, but for enduring this entire 15-month process. This show was undoubtedly an obsession for me, and the entire thing involved an energy expenditure orders of magnitude greater than her introverted threshold. It was — and I was — a lot to put up with. I'm happy to return the favor: Melissa turns 40 this year and I fully support whatever she wants even if her idea of a 40th birthday bash entails silently meditating on a mountain somewhere. I'd also love to thank my mom for all of her help, love, and support: babysitting kids, shuttling people and things around, making countless meals and pretzel salad, and most of all for being such a positive force in the world. She's taught me all I know about facilitating fun, creative, collaborative, and positive experiences for those around her. And on and on and on and on and onwards Frostapalooza cannot happen again. I knew from the start this was a one-time-only affair, and I know that attempting to reproduce it would miss the mark. That's not to say that I can't do some other ambitious event or throw another big concert, it's just that it can't be Frostapalooza 2. Any other thing would have no choice but to be another thing. I've got no shortage of ideas, but it's probably a good idea to wait for my "Will Melissa Murder Me?" meter to go down for a while. This whole process was SO MUCH WORK but it was SO MUCH FUN. Literally at no point in the 15 months of planning this thing did I feel annoyed, overwhelmed, doubtful, or stressed out. It was so incredibly fun to hack time and space to connect and collaborate with my friends and family over our shared passion of music. I hope to find ways and excuses to keep it going. Frostapalooza is easily one of the best experiences of my life. This magical once-in-a-lifetime concert truly was a dream come true. And while my brain has no choice but to remember the entire weekend as a joyful blur, my soul will forever carry the spirit of 40 musicians rocking out together.