This weekend marks the 14th Annual Olympia Experimental Music Festival. While it’s a festival with considerable history, and a festival we’ve covered many, many times here in the Weekly Volcano, this makes only the second time Bobble Tiki has had the pleasure of covering the event. After taking last week off to let Mrs. Tiki share her godforsaken Bret Michaels fantasy with the entire Weekly Volcano reading world (damn you Bret Michaels!), Bobble Tiki is back this week and chomping at the bit to give his loyal readers the lowdown on this year’s Experimental Music Festival.

As you may remember from last year’s Experimental Music Festival, and perhaps even from the column Bobble Tiki wrote about it, 2007 marked curator Domenica Clark’s first time behind the wheel. For seemingly as long as Bobble Tiki can remember prior to ’07, Arrington de Dionyso had been the man in charge. Though, in reality Dionyso is just one of many people who’ve run the Oly Experimental Music Festival show (and Bobble Tiki’s contradicting memories are likely a result of drinking his own weight in boxed wine every month for the last 15 years), the Festival took on Dionyso’s character while he was the force behind it.  Dionyso embodied what the Experimental Music Festival was, and the Festival came to reflect everything Dionyso is about.

But times have changed.

Last year, if you attended the Olympia Experimental Music Festival, you may have noticed (or felt) the difference. While Dionyso was known for bringing in experimental music from all over the world, under Clark’s guidance the festival reflected a picture much closer to home — with a lineup heavy with Portland based acts. While some within Olympia’s tight night music scene grumbled about the relative lack of Olympia based bands, in the end (at least in Bobble Tiki’s humble opinion) last year’s festival was one of the most inclusive and un-intimidating he can remember. Not that the Olympia Experimental Music Festival was exclusive under the direction of Dionyso, it’s just that it takes a special sort of leadership to make the world of experimental music seem open to anyone and everyone. While a bit shyer in the role of curator than Dionyso, Clark’s accomplishment’s last year were significant.

It seems, judging by the lineup at least, this year’s festival — which stretches from Thursday, June 26 through Sunday, June 29 and utilizes downtown Olympia venues the Eagles Hall Basement, the Capitol Theater and the Midnight Sun — will be just as intriguing. Perhaps looking to quell last year’s cries from Olympia’s music scene, many bands and artists from the 360 will be represented. Highlights will likely include: Foque Mopus, Hobby Hobby, Departed Dog, KnotPineBox, and Beat Box Fred — who’s known around Oly for his remarkable beat boxing skills. Tacoma band L.A. Lungs is also scheduled to perform.

“I’m very excited to be part of the Olympia Experimental Music Festival,” explains Beat Box Fred, who’s also known for his KAOS radio show — Free Jazz with Fred. “I’m going to experiment a little, since it is the Experimental Music Festival. I’m going to do a little more free jazz than normal. My set will be more spontaneous and non metric.”

“The simplest thing for me to do is plop down in the chair, put on my headphones, and do what I do,” continues Beat Box Fred. “I think my real calling as an artist and musician is doing beat box. The best way to impress people is try not to impress people. I’m just doing what I want to do. I take my art seriously, but I also am aware it’s a little strange. It’s definitely my calling.”

According to Clark, one of the reasons this year’s festival is especially important is Michael Griffen, who performed at many Experimental Music Festivals in the past as a part of the loved and renowned Noggin. Sadly, Griffen passed away in January. This year’s festival is dedicated to his memory.

“Personally, seeing Noggin play the Festival in 2003 was one of the pivotal moments in my life, because that was the moment I realized I loved experimental/noise/avant-garde music, and that it just wasn’t this curious thing that I sometimes liked, but this amazing thing that had been missing from my life up until then. I liked the rest of the festival a lot, but nothing moved me the way Noggin did,” says Clark.

“(Organizing) the festival has been really stressful. I’m still not completely comfortable with it. It’s worth it, though. I love this festival.”

And so does Bobble Tiki. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll check out the 14th Annual Experimental Music Festival this weekend in Olympia.

As usual, Bobble Tiki doesn’t care what you do this week because he doesn’t even know you. Sorry about that. Unless you can tell Bobble Tiki how to save considerable money on his car insurance (which will be pretty hard to do considering Bobble Tiki doesn’t have car insurance) than Bobble Tiki is pretty sure he doesn’t want to meet you. Check out www.weeklyvolcanospew.com for all your South Sound blogosphere needs – including a complete lineup of this weekend’s Olympia Experimental Music Festival and more with both curator Domenica Clark and Beat Box Fred, and consider that good enough. For now, at least, it will have to do. It’s all Bobble Tiki has to offer.

[Eagles Hall Basement, June 26-29, Full Festival Passes $20, Day Passes $7, 805 4th AVE, Olympia, www.myspace.com/olystrangemusic]

[The Midnight Sun, Friday, June 27, 7 p.m., 113 N Columbia ST, Olympia]

[Capitol Theater, Sunday, June 29, 1 p.m., 206 5th AVE SE Olympia]