In episode 32 of Hooked on Creek, I talk about my incredible experience at Camp Creek on September 10-12, 2021, and what it was like seeing Max Creek for the first time at Odetah Camping Resort in Bozrah, Connecticut.
This episode also features a series of audio clips I recorded on site at Camp Creek that will give you a raw and unfiltered perspective on my feelings as the weekend progressed.
In addition, this episode features the song Gypsy Blue performed live by Max Creek on Sunday, September 12, at Camp Creek.
Transcript of episode 32
You’re listening to Hooked on Creek, a podcast celebrating the music, history and fans of the legendary jam band Max Creek. I am your host, Korre Johnson, and you are listening to episode 32.
Thank you for joining me on episode 32 of Hooked on Creek. In this episode, I am going to talk about my amazing experience at Camp Creek and what it was like seeing Max Creek for the very first time. This episode also features a series of audio clips I recorded on site at Camp Creek that will give you a raw and unfiltered perspective on my feelings in the moment as the weekend progressed.
As I record this, it was just over a week ago that my friend Nate and I flew in from Milwaukee to attend Camp Creek at Odetah Camping Resort in Bozrah, Connecticut. And even today, the sweet taste of Camp Creek still lingers in the back of my mouth. And when I close my eyes and let go of the here and now, I find enormous pleasure reliving my Camp Creek memories in exaggerated glory. Simply put, it amounts to one of the most significant and beautiful experiences of my life.
When I created this podcast back in early 2019, I had no idea a trajectory was initiated at that time that would ultimately put me at Camp Creek in 2021. In fact, I initially thought I would probably never get to see Max Creek. I mean, how many more years would Max Creek still perform? How would I ever get from Milwaukee to Connecticut to see the band? But honestly, that feeling of potentially never seeing Max Creek is what drove me to create this podcast in the first place. Hooked on Creek is my way of connecting with the music of Max Creek from a distance, and it’s my way of connecting with the fans that support this band that I love so much.
Regretfully, I know the memories of Camp Creek will ultimately fade. The names of each of the beautiful people I met will eventually slip away, their faces will blur and the sequence of events that unfolded over that magical weekend will lose their distinct positions in time and begin to melt together. But I can rest assured that the feelings I experienced at Camp Creek will never be forgotten. They cut too deep to be erased by time.
And while my experience at Camp Creek was certainly framed around the music, it was defined in many ways by the people I met. I lost count of the number of people that approached me over the weekend to tell me about their personal connections to the podcast and how important it was for them to meet me. That blew my mind. But more importantly, I was shocked by all the people that welcomed me like family into the Max Creek scene, introducing me to their friends, giving me gifts and making sure I had the time of my life. I have never experienced anything like that before. It was truly special.
Alright, I am going to transition now and begin to share with you some more specific Camp Creek memories and a few audio journal entries I recorded over the weekend.
My friend Nate and I flew into Hartford from Milwaukee on Thursday and spent the night in a cheap hotel near the airport. The next morning we picked up some camping supplies and headed to Odetah Camping Resort and got in line for Camp Creek at about 1 pm. As we approached the campground in our rental car, I was surprised to see such a long line of cars already formed to get in. But it was a beautiful thing for me to see because it meant this was really happening. I was going to see Max Creek. Here is what I recorded right after we got in line.
Korre: Alright. It’s 1 o’clock. Just made it in line for Camp Creek. Here with my friend Nate. We flew in last night from Hartford. We got about an hour’s wait in line and I’m pretty excited. Nate, are you excited to see Max Creek for the first time?
Nate: Pretty excited. Really excited.
Korre: He’s pretty fucking excited. It’s going to be a blast. I met this guy behind me named Chris. He said he’s never been to Camp Creek before, but he’s seen Max Creek a few times. So, this should be pretty cool. Hopefully we get in pretty soon.
Korre: So, I am waiting in line for Camp Creek to start and I met somebody behind me named Chris. Chris, have you seen Max Creek before?
Chris: I have.
Korre: This is your first Camp Creek, though, right?
Chris: Yeah. Seen them many times but never made it to Camp Creek.
Korre: This is a big deal for me to see Max Creek and to come to Camp Creek. Have you been looking forward to this?
Chris: Yeah. Especially this year.
Korre: 50 years.
Chris: 50 years. And I am 58 today.
Korre: It’s your birthday?
Chris: It’s my birthday.
Korre: Happy birthday, Chris! Did you come here by yourself or do you have some friends with you?
Chris: My wife was supposed to come, but she wasn’t up to it. She had an injury. So I got a fun pass and it’s all good.
Korre: Well Chris, I see your passing time and you brought your guitar. So you’re just hanging out on the side of the road playing guitar?
Chris: No better way to pass the time
Korre: Do you want to play a little bit for me?
Chris: Sure.
Once the line started moving, we got into the campground pretty quickly. And after a little bit of poking around, we found a nice campsite to settle into. But while I was driving through the twisting gravel roads up and down the hill looking for an open site, I carried the widest smile you could possibly imagine and I made sure to say hi or wave to everybody I passed. At this point, I had my Hooked on Creek hat proudly fastened around my head. I made that hat earlier in the summer somewhat as a joke to myself, but also to get me pumped up for Camp Creek. And, I figured the hat could serve as an ice breaker to get conversations started. And I thought, who knows, maybe somebody will recognize me simply by wearing the hat. As it turns out, creating that Hooked on Creek hat was one of the best decisions I made to prepare for this weekend.
Nate and I set up our tents in a campsite that already had two other groups in it. Huge thanks to Meri and Dan and to Heather, Linda and Jim for being the first ones to welcome us into Camp Creek and for sharing their campsite with us. Here are some thoughts I recorded that afternoon once we got set up at our campsite.
So it’s 4 pm and I just finished putting my tent up. And, I think we are going to start exploring this campground. I met the neighbors. We are in a campsite and we are sharing with two other groups. A bit of a tight fit, but I think we made it work. They were really nice. Welcomed us. So that is great. This is going to be awesome. This camp is pretty cool. A little more rustic than I imagined. I thought I would be a little bit more in the open. But, it’s really nice. I think we are going to walk down and check out this campground and maybe grab a bite to eat, get some ice and settle in for a little bit. So this will be a lot of fun.
It’s 5:30 pm on Friday night at the campground and I am getting excited for the first show to start in about a half hour. Settled into our campground and met our neighbors. They’ve been super nice to us, welcoming us, and very interested in our backstory, where we are from, why we are here and everything. So it’s been great to talk to them. Got a chance to say hi and talk briefly with Jay while he was setting up for his show. That will be starting pretty soon. And I got a chance to talk with Toni Fishman which was great. Of course I did an interview with him in one of my podcast episodes. So this has been a lot of fun. Everyone here has been really nice. Really looking forward to tonight.
I just finished watching Jay’s set and that was fricking incredible. I think the one thing that stands out to me is just Jay’s smile. The entire set, I mean he would pound on his drum, lean back with a huge smile on his face. The joy that came out of his expression filled me up. Incredible. Simply incredible. I am just getting started at Camp Creek 2021. This is amazing.
Later on Friday, I got a chance to briefly say hi to Mark as he was setting up on stage for his performance in The Marks Brothers. Up until that time, I had limited exposure to The Marks Brothers music, only watching a handful of songs posted on YouTube. So when the band started to play, I made my way up to the stage, Mark side, and enjoyed every note. After that, I got to see Scott for the first time when Rolling Thunder Revival took the stage. It was cool to see him up there, along with Jeff Bowen, who I also was looking forward to seeing.
It’s 1 in the morning, and I am getting ready to go to sleep after my first night at Camp Creek. It was really an incredible experience. I was able to connect with a lot of people who were so generous to reach out me the last couple years in social media and I finally got the meet them in person. So it was really cool. I had a great time. I saw some incredible musical performances. Met some great people. I am just exhausted. I really am. I am looking forward to tomorrow and Sunday. Everybody here as been so great to me.
And, one thing that was said to me a couple times was this phrase “welcome home.” A couple different people when they saw me after we chatted for a little bit, we ended our conversation and they just said “welcome home.” And I really do get a feeling of being home here. It’s really amazing what Max Creek has done and what Camp Creek. I am just lucky to be here. I really am. Alright, it’s after 1 o’clock. I got a big day tomorrow so I’m going to get some sleep.
Alright it’s Saturday at about quarter to 11. Last night, I am not going to lie, it was tough getting to sleep. Partly because of the excitement of the night, anticipation for what was to come over the weekend and largely because of the music and partying that was going on around us, but that’s to be expected, I think. So not really upset about anything, it was just hard to get to sleep. I don’t think I actually feel asleep until almost 4:30. Woke up around 9 am, took a shower, ate a little breakfast here at the campsite and opened up my phone, checked my messages and I was really happy to see that Mark sent me a message on Facebook wanting to meet up today. So now I am hanging out and waiting for Mark to stroll over in a golf cart. And we will see what happens. This has been just an incredible day so far. Incredible weekend and I am really looking forward to tonight.
Alright, it’s about 12:45 pm on Saturday. And just a few minutes ago I got back from a little tour around the Camp Creek campsite and campground with Mark Mercier. It was incredibly fun to hang out with Mark. We got in his golf cart. We went around the campground. He introduced me to a bunch of people. Some old fans. Some old friends. And he took me down to the main stage area. I got to meet John Rider, Sally and a handful of people who support this incredible production that’s going on this weekend. And to top it all off, Mark even bought me pancakes. So I got to sit down and eat with Mark for a while. Mark is such a nice, generous person to do that. He is just so nice. Word can’t really describe what it was like to get to spend that time with Mark. So this weekend is turning out to be very, very special for me and I really appreciate everybody who has been reaching out to me and welcoming me here at Camp Creek.
On Saturday afternoon, Nate and I enjoyed more music and meeting new friends and interesting people. I also got a chance to talk with Scott Allshouse and John Spignesi, who both were featured in earlier episodes of the podcast, so it was nice to meet them in real life. And I got a chance to chat briefly with Bill and Jay as they were walking through the campground. Then as the evening progressed, Nate and I settled in for the main dish — Max Creek.
I brought a GoPro camera with me that records 360 degree videos because I wanted to record a video during the Max Creek show that I could watch with my virtual reality headset on back home in Milwaukee. I own an Oculus Quest VR headset, so I thought it would be pretty cool if I could pull it off. Originally, I was considering asking somebody if I could put the GoPro up on stage somewhere out of the way, but I had no idea who to ask and I figured it was kind of an odd request, so instead I just held the GoPro in my hand and recorded Creek’s performance of Willow Tree in 360 degrees. The video turned out great and I posted it on YouTube, so be sure to check it out, especially if you have a VR headset. Now here is a recording I made of my thoughts after the first set of Max Creek.
Korre: So we are waiting for set 2 to start. First set was fucking incredible.
Nate: Bucks in 6
Korre: That’s right, Nate. Bucks in 6. Standing right in the center. Right in front of Scott. This has been an incredible day. The first set was amazing. I feel like I am riding a wave and this wave is going to keep going. Really looking forward to the second set and what the rest of the night has to offer.
And, the second set was amazing, too. In a way, I felt like my new friends up front near the stage were unknowingly cushioning me from the intense blows I was receiving from the band — because the music was so heavy, or maybe it was just the weight of the experience building up on me. Either way, I was among friends and I knew it. Incredibly, there was a young girl, probably 6 or 7 years old, sleeping in a little wagon next to me the entire night as I stood up front. At times I would turn around and soak in all the faces throughout the crowd, some had jaw-dropping expressions, others seemed hypnotized by the music and others were marked by gigantic smiles. And every once in a while, I would look up above the crowd behind me and enjoy the light show reflecting off the trees that lined the back of the beach area. It was a beautiful night.
After the Max Creek show ended on Saturday night, Nate and I sat in some chairs toward the back overlooking the beach and stage. We watched the crowd disperse into the darkness and the stage being diligently cared for in preparation for the night and another day of music. After a few minutes Dave Bonan sat down and joined us. We talked for a long time about what we experienced from Max Creek that night and how incredible their performance was. I mean, I pretty much had an out-of-body experience during the second set, and to this day I am not sure if I am back to normal yet. What a special night. And I just want to take a quick moment now to thank Dave for everything he has done to essentially be my ambassador to world of Max Creek. I am really grateful he stayed connected with me through social media after he recorded an interview for the podcast earlier last year. And he certainly made sure Nate and I had a good time throughout our stay at Camp Creek.
Later that night, we headed up to the social hall. I only caught a little bit of the The Kings before making my way back to my tent to rest for the night. But I should say, I have really enjoyed watching Jeff and Noëlle’s live streams on Facebook over the past few months, so I feel a little bad that I didn’t catch more of them on Saturday night. But this was already a huge night and my mind was full. It was time to rest. The next morning I woke up and recorded this.
It’s 9 o’clock in the morning on Sunday of Camp Creek and I just want to record a few reflections on last night’s Max Creek show. I really thought I had some sense of what I was going to get myself into. I have been to enough concerts, enough jam bands over the years, to feel prepared, I guess, but I really could not have been prepared for last night’s show. That was so incredible. It was literally a dream come true to see Max Creek. I was standing right up front. I mean, right in front of Scott. It is so selfish to do it, but I just stood right there and just stared at him pretty much the whole time. But it was a great crowd up there. Everybody was really supportive of me. I think I got to see a really magical night of music. I still can’t process the experience I had last night. It was really, really out of this world, and I am just so grateful that I get to see them again today. So this is going to be another fun day at Camp Creek.
As Sunday afternoon approached, I was again getting extremely excited to see Max Creek. Earlier in the day I ran into Moriah Ramos, who was also a guest on my podcast, so it was nice catching up with her and meeting her in real life. On Friday for The Marks Brothers and Rolling Thunder Revival shows, I was snuggled up on Mark’s side of the stage. On Saturday for Max Creek, I planted myself pretty much in the middle. So now on Sunday for Max Creek, I positioned myself toward the right of the stage closer to John.
And like the night before, the music hit me pretty hard. And once again, Mark went out of his way to make my Camp Creek experience extra special. After the show, Mark gave me a poster signed by all the band members from their 50th Anniversary Family Reunion show at Rosedale Farms. What a gift. What an incredible gift. That poster is now among my very small collection of treasured Max Creek memorabilia. And before we left Odetah Camping Resort on Sunday, Mark made sure to wish me and Nate well on our return travels to Milwaukee. Here are some thoughts I recorded that evening as I began to reflect on my Camp Creek experience:
It’s 6:30 pm on Sunday. Now I am sitting in my rental car outside the Hampton Inn in Norwhich, Connecticut. Just got here a little bit ago. And the weekend was simply incredible. Today I got to experience my second Max Creek show. And it was just another really, really special time with a very special group of people that have come around me and welcomed me into their family. And I had a pretty emotional experience in today’s show when Mark took an opportunity to call me out and to let the audience know about my trip here to Camp Creek and about the podcast. After that, the band starting playing Gypsy Blue and I think all those emotions just hit me and I just cried as they played Gypsy Blue.
Not afraid to admit it. It was a very emotional experience as it all sort of hit me — the last few years of this podcast, imagining what it would be like to ever to see Max Creek and never knowing if it would ever come true. But I made it happen. Huge thanks to everybody who welcomed me this weekend. And obviously huge thanks to my family for letting me skip away for a while. Huge thanks to my friend Nate for coming with me, to the band, to all the fans, especially Mark Mercier. He really took time out of his weekend to show me around and introduce me to people. He is an incredible person. I really had no idea, honestly, what this would be like. I mean, I guess I thought I knew, but what I experienced this weekend was just out of this world.
It’s going to take me a while to process my thoughts and reflect on this, but for now I am just really grateful for the chance to be here, grateful that this band has been together for this long and is still putting out this music, grateful for the fans, grateful for this amazing venue that they were at this weekend and the weather and grateful for all of you who might be listening to this podcast right now. Because when I record this podcast, honestly, I don’t even know how listens to it. And what I learned this weekend is there are a lot people who listen to this podcast and they told me about it and it meant a lot to me to hear that feedback. So thank you. Thank you so much.
That concludes episode 32 of Hooked on Creek. If you are curious, during the introduction to this episode I played a portion of Season of the Witch performed by Max Creek at Camp Creek on Saturday, September 11, and I ended the show by playing Max Creek’s full performance of Gypsy Blue performed at Camp Creek on Sunday, September 12.
As always, let me know if you have suggestions for future episodes or recommendations on people to interview for this podcast. You can get in touch with me via the contact link on the Hooked on Creek website at hookedoncreek.com or via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Just search for Hooked on Creek to get connected. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for tuning in.