Sticker Guy and Slovenly Recordings have been serving the Reno music scene for decades.
Sticker Guy, since 1993, has been offering high-quality, affordable sticker printing for bands, brands and more. Slovenly Recordings, since 2002, has been a label for Reno bands and beyond. Pete Menchetti is the man behind both of these endeavors, and every few years, he hosts a big festival in Reno, both celebrating the local scene and bringing in touring acts that have been a part of his companies.
Debauch-a-Reno returns in 2023 with two events. Cypress Reno and the Wingfield Park Amphitheater will host the main weekend, happening Friday, June 16, through Sunday, June 18. Then on Friday, July 14, the fun moves to Virginia City, specifically Piper’s Opera House. On the June weekend, bands including the Mummies and the Zeros will team up with local bands like Pussy Velour for a weekend filled with punk, garage, rock ’n’ roll and more.
“The first time I did a festival in Reno was to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Sticker Guy, the sticker-printing company we started back in 1993,” Menchetti said during a recent Zoom interview. “We had a really good time doing that; that was in 2008. Just six months later, I did it again, and it was the first Debauch-a-Reno. Five years later, I realized the 20th anniversary was coming up, so we did another Debauch-A-Reno.“
Menchetti has kept himself busy in between Debauch-a-Reno events. He also runs the We’re Loud Fest, which takes place all over the world.
“We’ve done it in a bunch of different countries, from Vietnam, to Istanbul, to Italy, to Greece, to Puerto Rico, to Mexico—and right now, we’re in The Gambia, Africa, sort of exploring for a possible late-2024 edition down here on this continent,” Menchetti said. “It was actually kind of nice to have 2020 completely off, and then we were back in 2021 with an edition in Mexico, in Puerto Escondido. We definitely waited; we didn’t rush back into it, and we definitely gave the pandemic the time that it needed.
A lot has changed in Reno since the last Debauch-a-Reno four years ago.
“Hotels cost twice what they did in 2019, which is insane for us, but we’re dealing with it the best we can,” Menchetti said. “Luckily, we have a really great crop of local bands to pick from right now—more local bands that I remember liking in a really long time. We have seven local bands on the bill, and some of those bands are going to be hosting some of the out-of-town bands. The inflated cost of hotels isn’t going to hurt us too badly; it just hurts the people who are coming from other cities, but we might be setting something up for them as well, and connecting them with locals who have couches to crash on and stuff like that.”
In 2018, Debauch-a-Reno brought legendary music act The Mummies to Reno for the first time. The Mummies are returning this year, alongside other punk bands who may never make it to the area otherwise.
“The local crowd in Reno has seen all the local bands before, multiple times, so bringing them something new that they’re excited to see is important,” Menchetti said. “It’s also important to bring people from other cities to Reno. For the last 25 years or whatever, I’ve been basically on the road. I’ve hardly lived in Reno since 2000, so it’s sort of a big reunion of friends from all over the place in Reno, which makes it more fun. Some of them are customers of the sticker company, and some of them are bands from the record label.”
Menchetti said bands on tour often skip Reno due to the prospect of wintry weather.
“I got into music really young and just always wanted to be involved in it. I played in a couple of bands, but I realized that I wasn’t really that good at it.”
Pete Menchetti
“It’s pretty risky to plan a stop in Reno anywhere outside of the months of June through August, because you never know when there’s going to be a lot of snow in the mountains,” he said. “If you’re on tour in a big old van, you don’t want to get stuck having to drive through that stuff. After our 2018 event, a band from France who had played our event, which was in April, was leaving and got in an accident in the snow on the way out.”
Sticker Guy has been a huge help for bands trying to get merchandise without breaking the bank; even today, bands can get 250 stickers for around $20.
“I basically dreamt up the sticker company while working at a car wash,” Menchetti said. “I worked at pizza places, and at a car wash when I was a teenager, and I didn’t really want to keep working for other people the rest of my life. I think I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit since I was pretty young. Even in elementary school, I was selling candy bars. I got into music really young and just always wanted to be involved in it. I played in a couple of bands, but I realized that I wasn’t really that good at it. I had a lot of fun doing it, and that’s what is most important, but I think my strengths are more in organizing and other stuff like that, so I just decided to devote myself to that, to help out bands that I like.
“Right now, there are really a lot of great Reno bands. I don’t know if the festival had something to do with that, but I’d be happy if it did.”
Debauch-a-Reno takes place starting at 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, June 17 and 18, at the Wingfield Park Amphitheater, 2 S. Arlington Ave., in Reno. The opening-night party takes place at 8 p.m., Friday, June 16, at Cypress Reno, 761 S. Virginia St. The Virginia City portion takes place at 8 p.m., Friday, July 14, at Piper’s Opera House, 12 B St. Tickets start at $72.45. For tickets or more information, visit sloven.ly/reno.
Story was updated on May 25 to correct the quote regarding the start of Debauch-a-Reno. We apologize for the error.