And the Sweet Leaf Tea SG Guitar Winner Is…
By Charla on Aug 19 Filed In Events, Lollapalooza, Sweet Consumers, Uncategorized 2 Comments
Granny Rockin' Out at Lollapalooza
During Lollapalooza we had a huge Granny head parading around the park from time to time. It’s our little way of introducing her to the crowds, letting you know that she’s there to quench your thirst, and from time to time she’ll even offer up some sweet prizes (hint for ACL Music Fest attendees). Well, this year at Lolla she was most often seen saying, “Rock Out with Your Cell Out” followed by a text to win promotion. All phone equipped individuals who saw her had the opportunity to text in a special code for a chance to win prizes including the grand prize which was a brand spankin’ new SG Gibson Guitar. Although many sweet, sweet fans entered, there was only one fan that struck gold.
And the winner is…
Zachary Rothstein rockin' out his new SG Guitar.
Zachary! Congratulations on your winnings! We can see from the pictures you sent us that you are a rock star in the making. We only have one bit of advice for you, it might be time to consider some lessons. That guitar is extra sweet when it’s played my friend.
Lollapalooza in a Nut Shell
By Vieve on Aug 18 Filed In Chicago, Live Music, Lollapalooza 1 Comment
Well, this was my first time at Lollapalooza and I can honestly say when I wasn’t slinging 30 pound bags of ice or cases of tea, I enjoyed myself! I wish I would have been able to see more music but it didn’t work out that way. We were way too busy slingin’ Sweet Leaf! Sweet Leaf Tea, that is. But I was lucky enough to get a VIP wristband on Saturday evening after my shift was over! (Thanks again to those stars that look out for me in the macro cosmic universe …& thank you Craig & Adi too!! )
Friday….It rained all day….boo.
Saturday….Sweet Saturday.
After my day shift of slingin’ tea, my friend SweetLeafCraig and I, we headed to the VIP area to get my savage hands on a few ice cold beers and to get a better view of Animal Collective. I enjoyed kicking back a few with double fists after a LONG day! Sitting there looking out at the Chicago skyline, it was blazing something sweet and undeniable!! Once we caught a decent buzz, we headed to the Bud stage to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!!! Watched them from the VIP area, brews in hand and the consensus was, “YEAH YEAH!!” To the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!!! Indeed. They were really good! I was impressed and tickled I was able to catch this show.
After the night was over, we took a detour back to the hotel and walked through Millennium Park….this is where it gets really exceptional…we came upon 2 huge stone pillars facing each other. They were both projecting a woman’s face and spewing water from the tops as little people danced about under the stream of water flowing towards the ground… YOU saw this too!?! After we joined them and washed away some of the days sweat, we walked further up the hill and came upon a giant, metallic bean. It looked like something that came in from the ether. Craig told me I was in for a treat, but this was otherworldly. I dug it.
So ends one of the most emotionally contrasting days I’ve experienced in a long time. Such is life…. filled with adversity and then there’s Light.
Sunday…the day of, rest?
Sunday I was only able to see Lou Reed whom I really wanted to see thanks to Alexandra who watched my booth for me!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Lou looked handsome. I was proud to see all these kids pour in to see him! He opened with “Sweet Jane”…
“Some people, they like to go out dancing
And other peoples, they have to work, just watch me now!”
Amen Lou, Amen. He struggled with the sound, but don’t we all. I purchased a Lou Reed shirt and will wear it proudly.
Fast forward to late Sunday night, I’m in my hotel room ready & willing to be anti-social, but I couldn’t not see Craig and the rest of my Sweet Leaf family and say, “Au revoir my friends”…… until next time.
Lollapalooza 2009 (or “How To Lose Ten Pounds in One Week”)
By Happy on Aug 17 Filed In Chicago, Events, Live Music, Lollapalooza 1 Comment
Wow.
I’m finally back in Austin and feeling grounded again, but it’s hard to believe that it’s all over — thousands upon thousands of tea bottles, a hundred or so giant balloons, hundreds of bags of ice, and a few battle scars later. I feel like it’s taken me almost a whole week to fully recover from the madness. Lolla is always an exhausting experience for me, but it’s worth every drop of sweat.
The Sweet Re-Leaf Tea'm
Danny (fellow Pro. Tea Slinger and counterpart in Austin/San Antonio) and I were in Chicago for a short, action-packed 7 days. We spent all day Wednesday and Thursday getting all our product and mountains of stuff unloaded from our two 18-wheeler trucks and set up around the park. This wasn’t my first rodeo, but for some reason it always astounds me how sore you can get from pallet-jacking skids in and out of a truck. We’re talking a couple 53′ trucks filled to the brim with product, barrel coolers, umbrellas, and other ‘stuff’. Two full truck loads! Thank goodness for the magic of fork lifts.
Unloading our trucks. That's a lotta hooch!
More interesting is to see a temporary city get built in a week. Grant Park is completely transformed for Lollapalooza, and it all gets constructed a few short days before ‘show time’. Really kinda crazy, if you ask me.
Throughout the fest, we were swamped (or “in the weeds” for those of you service industry folks). Friday was interesting as a long and heavy rain plagued the afternoon, causing several logistical nightmares. Mud and moving things don’t mix. Not well, anyway. Sigh.
Fans at our South Food Court Booth
Otherwise, Saturday and Sunday were great days to sling tea — hot and sunny through and through. A big part of my job on-site at these festivals is to make sure that our presence looks swell and that Granny is represented in the best way possible. Every hour there’s a new metaphorical fire to put out — I like to consider myself a ‘firefighter’ with tea as ammunition.
Sweet Leaf in the Artist Lounge
As for the “How to Lose Ten Pounds in One Week” part of this post? It’s simple, really. Work 15+ hour days slinging tea at a festival in a park that’s almost a mile from one end to the other. Eat when you can, but don’t overeat because the food coma is just gonna slow you down. Having a mountain bike rental was nice too (helps reduce the possibility of chaffing).
Side note on chaffing: Gold Bond is a divine substance.
However, through all the stress (and trekking from one end of the park to another), I did manage to catch a few songs from some of my favorite bands: Andrew Bird, Portugal. The Man., Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Band of Horses.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Portugal. The Man.
Andrew Bird
Band of Horses
It was during the Band of Horses set, just after we launched 20 or so giant balloons filled with confetti into the crowd at the Playstation stage, that it all finally set in for me. Too bad that was essentially the last show (of few) for me to actually go enjoy, but I definitely had a moment in which all the hard work seemed to really pay off. See below for a video of the balloon launch we found on YouTube:
For more photos, check out my album on Facebook.
Grand Poobah of Sweet Leaf Tea At Lollapalooza
By Adi on Aug 14 Filed In Chicago, Events, Live Music, Lollapalooza, Uncategorized Add a Comment
Let me first clarify the headline. Clayton and David are the REAL grand poobah’s of Sweet Leaf Tea, but at Lollapalooza their responsibilities were to party with the big wigs of industry and get us some high level connections. So, I was the most senior person in-charge that had to stay, for the most part, sober. I have no issue with that since I’ve done my share of partying working for a beer company from age 19-32. My liver reminds me of that every so often.
Observations & Lessons Learned @ Lolla
1. It is a VERY LONG way between the North Stage and the South Stage. Over a mile from each back stage. Of course anytime I was at the North, I was needed at the South and vice-versa. By the end of the first day, I had been on my feet for 14 hours straight walked about 42 miles and was soaking wet from the rain. To add insult to injury, our hotel was far away enough to be annoying, and too close to justify a cab.
LESSON: Next year, I’m getting myself some kind of transportation. Golf cart, Gator, Segway, something.
2. C3- Something to be said about the producers of the event. They do things first class and always have the fans best interest in mind. Sunday when it got very hot and humid, they started giving away bottles of water instead of selling them for $2. People would have bought them for $5 but instead they just made a little less money by giving them away. Trust me C3 makes plenty of money so don’t feel bad for them, but they didn’t have to do that and in my mind, they did the right thing.
LESSSON: C3 is pretty cool
3. S3 Security (No relation to C3)- At most shows I’ve been to, the security personnel at the front of the stage usually has an attitude and can’t wait to kick people out. I noticed that the S3 people had a more friendly attitude. Even when there were 50,000 in front of them, they seem to want to make sure the crowd had a good time rather than feel almighty and powerful. At the peak heat of the day, they were giving water to the people at the front. When a lady passed out, they helped her off to the side stage but then they let her come back and sit in the front since she’d been waiting for Ben Harper for a couple of hours.
LESSON: S3 you rock and I recommend them.
4. Ben Harper and Relentless 7 Rock- I went backstage to say hello to Jason Mozersky who I went to college with and he introduced me to the band including Ben. They were really welcoming before their set. Cool to see.
LESSON: Buy Ben Harper and Relentless 7 albums.
5. VIP Food- It really wasn’t that good to be honest. Food vendors were much better.
LESSON: Be less picky because VIP food is free and other vendors are costly.
6. Kids Stage- Loved the kids stage. They had some great acts and even Perry played a set for the kids.
LESSON: Bring my kids next year.
Overall, it was a fun weekend. It wasn’t fun getting up at 3:45am for a 6am flight on Monday but hey no pain, no gain….
Top 10 Ways to Beat the Heat in Austin TX
By April on Aug 14 Filed In Austin, Texas, Food & Beverage 1 Comment
When you live or visit a place that averages 105 degrees in the shade, you need to be creative on how you spend your time outside. Here’s hoping that our list will help you enjoy being in Austin during the summer months (from May-November) without having to watch another episode of Beverly Hills 90201 on the boob tube.
Top 10 Ways to Keep Cool in Austin TX
1. Swimming Pools/Holes: Barton Springs Pool (Free Swim every morning from 5am-9am and again 9pm-10pm), Deep Eddy Pool, Krause Springs, Hamilton Pool and of course, Austin-area lakes.
2. Whole Foods Market 6th & Lamar: Where else can you go and eat great-tasting food for free (samples in EVERY department-want to try something not set out? Just ask a Team Member!), grab a cold bottle of Sweet Leaf Tea and do some of the best people watching available on this side of the airport?!?
(Note: hit the gelato bar for dessert!)
3. Movie Time: Be sure to hit up Alamo Draft House so you can watch a movie in the air conditioning, while sipping on an ice, cold beer and chowing on some darn-near fancy pub-grub, or if you want to blow your own mind, order a $5 milkshake. Yes, it WILL rock your world. (I suggest going for the cookies and cream and DO keep the candy-coated sunflower seeds on top; they take the shake over the edge and you’ll love it!)
4. Local(ish) Caverns: Longhorn Caverns, Inner Space Cavern, (random fact: My grandpa was a part of the team of folks that discovered Inner Space!) and Natural Bridge Caverns.
5. Bowling: Dartbowl is the place to go for awesome, cheesy enchiladas, White Russians, eclectic crowds and a great time!
6. Roller Skate: Playland Skatecenter actually has ADULT nights on Tuesdays until 10:30 pm. Grab your skates and get a move-on! I’ll meet you out on a Tuesday night sometime!
7. Indoor Art Exhibits: Art on 5th, Mexic-Arte Museum, Blanton Museum, and my personal favorite, The Museum of Ephemerata just to name a few!
8. Frozen Treats: Please do yourself a flavor and try Mambo Berry, Bananarchy, or tried and true, Amy’s Ice Cream.
9. Cocktails: Elizabeth, our Finance Manager insists that chilling out after work at the Key Bar on their patio w/misting fans. Be sure to add a raspberry lemonade popsicle to any drink for just a buck!
10. Anywhere: Sip on an ice-cold Sweet Leaf Tea!
Ben Gooding keeping cool with a Sweet Leaf Tea in Austin TX.
