You don’t have to wait for elections to join the Green Party, or, more accurately, The Green’s party. The local quartet The Green, made up of graduates from North Ridgeville High School, is putting on the first Green Festival, a two-day lineup of local bands, this weekend at No Excuses in North Olmsted.

It’s been in the planning stages since April, said Rick Hallman, lead guitarist. “We have played a few shows of this nature at Peabodys, the Agora, and the Phantasy and were rather disappointed with the way bands were treated, compensated,” Hallman said. Typically, the sponsor for any of these events will give each band tickets to sell, and when the show comes around you give both the money and leftover tickets to them.

“Some of these shows require the band to sell a set amount of tickets before they see any money from the ticket sales, and others will let the band keep roughly 10 percent,” he said. “All the money collected at the door is kept by the sponsors for the show. Time slots for each of these shows are usually short and determined by the amount of tickets sold.”

In other words, it’s all about the green. So Hallman and bandmates — Tony Shultz (vocals, rhythm guitar, bass), Jon Wysochanski (bass, vocals) and Mike Keyes (drums) — decided to do a homegrown music marathon that would treat the talent more equitably.

“We wanted to put together a show with good local bands and give each an opportunity to make some money for their hard work and effort,” Hallman said. “We also wanted to work out a time slot for each band before they even started selling tickets so they had a better idea of what to expect, and hopefully keep The Green Fest organized to run smoothly.

“Each time slot is at least an hour long, giving everyone a true taste of what each act is about.”

The Green plays both nights, doing a mix of classic and modern rock, plus originals.

“One of the things I really love with this band is the ability to follow up classic songs with modern songs,” Hallman said. “For instance, following Bob Seger’s ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ with something like Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya.’ It’s awesome to watch everybody stay on the dance floor, sing along, and have a great time with it.”

Friday’s events begin at 7:30 p.m. with the music and comedy of Brandon Oliver.

“Brandon grabbed our attention at an open-mic night ... with his brutal honesty in his lyrics and storytelling while plunking out chords,” Hallman said. “The following act, J. Blues and the Rockits, is a band rooted deep in the blues, playing all around the Cleveland area, incorporating Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix-style guitar work with some of the greats like B.B. King, Elmore James, and Lightnin’ Hopkins.

“Right before The Green for Friday night’s show is Joe Buescher and the Jellycart Jackasses. Joe Buescher’s all-original, acoustic-driven music is very hard to put a finger on. It ranges from comedic folk to raunchy rock, from upbeat country to dirty blues; and from sweet love songs to jamming rockabilly. Joe has been a longtime friend of ours and has shared the stage with us many times in the past two years.

Saturday’s lineup: “The Ventilators will open with an early time slot starting at 6 p.m.,” Hallman said. “This band contacted me through Cleveland’s section of Backpage.com, right after I posted something about the show. They are a jam-based blues band, playing only five to six songs filled with extended solos and improvised jams in an hour. The second band on the bill for Saturday is a North Olmsted-based band called Allegory. Allegory plays progressive-style rock in clubs such as the Hi-Fi in Lakewood.”

Playing before The Green on Saturday night will be The Lake Effects. This local modern-rock band contains a longtime fan of The Green, and former schoolmate, Patrick Brennan. Their music can be heard on 92.3 Xtreme Radio, and they have built up a nice local following.

Tickets are $5 per night at the door, 27330 Lorain Road, and if you go on Friday night, advance admission for Saturday is just $2, an unbeatable buck a band. 

“It’s definitely become a much bigger project than we had anticipated,” Hallman said. “We have been fortunate, though, to have found sponsors like Joe Buescher’s Guitar Repair, Quiznos in North Ridgeville, and Angelina’s Pizza to help.”

The Green is looking forward to mounting another big show this winter But this kick-off Green Fest is important for another reason. To paraphrase “Of Mice and Men,” tell us about the rabbit, Rick.

“Ah yes, the bunny,” Hallman said. “The bunny is a cardboard cutout that I found on the curb with the neighbor’s trash after we had been abusing the ears of the community with band practice in my garage in 1998. It was originally an advertisement for an early Easter, but with a few minor adjustments it became our mascot. After eight years of being lugged around to each show, it is really falling apart on us. So we have decided to retire it for good while its still in sort of one piece. I still wonder who originally made it, and we often laugh at how much this advertisement has become a staple for the band and for our fans.

“After The Green Fest is over, I will try and clean it up the best I can and it will hang on my wall until the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame asks for it. Until that time, we have made a replica of the bunny on a vinyl banner to display at each show to keep the presence of the bunny there in some way. As far as who really keeps the bunny, let’s say that everyone who has had fun with us gets to keep a little bit of the bunny with them in their hearts.”

For more information on The Green Fest — and more rabbit imagery — go to www.the-green.net.