FEST MADNESS!

I am sure that most of you know that right now all the bands we've spoke about so highly and so lowly are now gearing up much like a scene from the Two Towers (#2 in the Lord Of The Rings saga epic trilogy). The drums of TOUR (NOT WAR) are beating steadily and we find our favorite bands on fests in every state it seems this year and a continent or two. For me its time to get real and decide what to do with This Is Hardcore Fest. The bands I worked with 3 years ago are onto bigger things, out touring 14 months a year or broken up already. I can't keep repeating what I've done. I'm happy to see fests like United Blood, Rain City and As One Fest stack the calendar year. Hardcore shouldn't rely solely on the summer months though our demographic shelters those months as high tide due to everyone being out on break from school and what not. I've watched the fests come and go and I can't say I disagree with anything this year anymore then I ever have. I can remember as far back as the Wilkes Barre fests in 95/96 where they were having bands like Grade and Overcast play. Those were pretty cool. A few years later a couple of my friends played this club in Syracuse and later that fest turned into the best msg board joke ever- "HELLFEST 2K6 GOT CANCELLED?". I think its great to have so many areas with strong hardcore scenes putting on shows. I should also point out that even weaker scenes tend to put on a decent to great festival now and again. I would like to make them all one year. One year of fucking off and just checking out the shit like Punk and Disorderly in Berlin in February. Or End Of Summer Jam in Orlando. It would be cool and a great sociological study of our subculture indeed. I am far from bereaved over the message boards and the idea that there is competition amongst the fests. In fact I look forward to Sound And Fury doing well. Sound and Fury doing well means that kids are still coming and bands are still touring and that makes This Is Hardcore that much more of a relief. We're all going to have our differences and preferences and that is what makes it great. I think that I need to bring some zest back into my own personal hardcore world. Its getting bland now. All these suckers looking the same now, the mosh is beyond weak and more choreographed then water ballet. I think a band like Vision or Fahrenheit 451 can shake them up a bit and change their outlook on things. Stuff like 100 Demons and Madball has always been my bread and butter and with Madball resting high as one of the only bands left that I honestly feel from a promoters point of view earns their daily bread, its going to be awesome to start the This Is Hardcore weekend off right. I think if I can get the right mix of the young new hungry bands, with some of these veteran bands that still got it in them with a dose of the big boys who still rock the world, that is the best I can offer a crowd. I tried to reason myself out of doing This Is Hardcore in December. I remember it well. I was laying in bed, laid off from work thinking about all the stuff I am going to do differently in 2008. I want to be like a snake and shed some fuckin skin. No more baggage. I wish I didn't need all this shit around, I would have the ultimate yardsale and be done with most of it. I feel weighed down by these surroundings. Where this goes is off to the things that I spent ALOT of time on. I love the SCA and its keeping the other 3 letters like Flowers By Irene from kicking down my door amidst an amazing scandal that would put me in jail for the rest of my natural life. Ok, so the swords stay. How about the promoting.. Well with a void where we should have smaller shows and needing a new venue, that would take up time I don't have right now and I really know that it was going to hurt us, and to a degree it has. Ok, less shows this year. Got it.. But if bands I love and like working with want a show.. I'm in. OK. How about the Fest? We don't need to do it again.. Hardcore is BACK, didn't you see that national geographic shit on sxe .Didn't you see some of these bands getting bigger? That other fest can do what we did. And then I got selfish. Is there something I can do this year to make it better, different and yet fun for everyone that I didn't last year. The light bulb went on and I couldn't sleep. Now fast forward to 2008, April and we're three weeks til presales go up and I'm biting nails waiting on agents to get back at me and laughing at my list of heroes who want a down payment on a house to play the fest growing by the month. The Superbowl Of Hardcore was this weekend, but my own personal superbowl was going down and I know where I needed to be. Rivalry fest was a blast from what I've heard and everyone loved United Blood. As One fest is next month and its sure to be something and that Metal fest they do in worcester might be worth traveling for. I've got a list of bands ready to be the mortar amongst the bricks in the lineup but I can't get some headway. I've got this awesome intern from Cookieland (read Amsterdam,Holland) and I feel like she's not getting work because there isn't much to do since the videos from last year came in and we're still not at the full promo stage. I hate this. It feels like the part of the Two Towers where everyone is doubting if they'll be able to hold off the Keep from the horde of Orcs come crashing in. Its not quite Big speech before the big fight time, but its that doubtful time where you don't know if the decisions you've made will hold and if the people will come. I can only say that this year will not have bands that I could do without seeing, each will be something special and if it all works well.. I might retire after this one just so I don't have to "outdo" myself next year. I've got alot more rants to make but an update was neccesary and good to get the mind rolling again and the fingers sore from typing....www.myspace.com/thisishardcorefest