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Riot Fest: Riot Mike shows off tattoo dedicated to John Stamos
Riot Fest founder Riot Mike finally caved to John Stamos’ demand that he get a tattoo in the actor’s honor. On Stamos’ birthday, Mike went to Great Lakes Tattoo in Chicago and received a custom "Butter Stamos" design, blending it with his 20-year-old Black Flag ink.
CHICAGO - Riot Fest is marking its 20th anniversary this year with a star-studded lineup, a new "Riotland" attraction and finally, the arrival of John Stamos.
The backstory:
Festival founder "Riot Mike" Petryshyn said the decades-long back-and-forth with the "Full House" actor began in 2013 when the festival jokingly tried to recruit Stamos’ fictional band, Jesse and the Rippers.
Instead of a performance, organizers unveiled a butter sculpture of the actor – a gag that has now evolved into Stamos’ real-life appearance at the punk and alternative music festival this fall.
Dig deeper:
Petryshyn even got a tattoo of the butter sculpture to cross off one of Stamos’ many playful demands for attending. Other conditions included creating an official Chicago pizza in his honor, banning eye contact with his famous hair, hosting a lookalike contest and stocking his dressing room with a body pillow of himself. "He thinks it's absolutely stupid," Petryshyn said, laughing. "But we’re doing them all."
Big picture view:
The festival has more than Stamos to celebrate. Petryshyn said Riot Fest will showcase its strongest lineup yet, featuring Green Day, Blink-182, Weezer, Jack White, the Beach Boys and "Weird Al" Yankovic among 80 bands.
Courtesy of Riot Fest
What we know:
This year’s festival will expand beyond the music with "Riotland", a park section filled with installations such as a wedding chapel, where more than 30 couples are set to be married and a pop-up museum of memorabilia from the festival’s history.
Food collaborations are also on deck. Chicago pizzerias are rolling out "Stamos-inspired" pies, and the festival will highlight local restaurant partners during its "Riot Feast" week.
"I can’t believe we made it to 20 years," Petryshyn said. "I think everybody’s down to celebrate with us this year."
Visit riotfest.org for ticket prices and complete lineup.
The Source: This story features information from ChicagoNOW on FOX 32.