Woodshock, the annual two-day hard rock festival tucked in the hills of the historic Native American site Zane Shawnee Caverns, is the creation of Bellefontaine resident Tim Buchenroth. He has brung the festival to its seventh year when it opened the second weekend of August.
"The first year, I had 11 bands, no security except myself and a few friends, and I helped all 11 bands on and off stage because I was so concerned about the show running as scheduled", Buchenroth said. "I spent about nine months organizing it and I cut all the tickets out of construction paper. After the first night, I was dehydrated and exhausted, and the second night I was beat. We had somewhere around 600 people there for the whole weekend advertising by just word of mouth and flyers."
After the exhausting pace of the first Woodshock, Buchenroth was not going to have the event again. After some prodding from some supportive friends, family and bands, Buchenroth began the daunting task of organizing Woodshock a second time.
"The second year, once again, I cut all the tickets myself and worked like a mad dog. I had put every penny I had into the show-but I was happy." Tim said. "By the third year, I had felt the potential of what I had made happen and saw the future more clearly.
Woodshock was originally supposed to be a single event to celebrate Buchenroth's birthday, but has since morphed into a two-stage, 70,000-watt, 28-band production, requiring Buchenroth to take on a partner and co-producer Adam Montemarano.
The agreement with the American Indians that own the land has grown as well, with a simple handshake six years ago, turning into a five-page contract that allows Woodshock to keep returning to its home at the Caverns.
"The contract has been built straight from our experience working togeather," Buchenroth said. "Fair and not greedy, stiff but reasonable. Cheif Hawk is a very smart and fair individual. At any time, we all feel that any problems that arise, we can handle togeather. Its a relationship thats six years strong."