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In November 2008 i was at home recovering from a few heart scares i had previously and doing absolutely nothing. A mate came and dragged me out to watch a local band play. He also brought a promoter from his town (20 miles away). We watched the show and it was great, we called at a bar and had a chat. The promoter seemed happy to want to put on a show in my town but obviously didn't know the area so i said i would help find a venue. I wrote to various sized bars, a cinema and ex-bingo hall with little help, then the local horse racing track obliged, wanting to know details of numbers involved, etc, etc.
Hey, i hadn't a clue, so i rang my mate with contact details of the racecourse and the racecourse to say that we were honoured and the promoter would ring like yesterday. This is where the penny began to drop as he rang me to say he 'hadn't got the time to do a music festival', that was the first piece of bull.
I was like a dog at a bone and decided to carry it on if at all possible. I went to the course and said i was no promoter, i had no money at all, i would have to learn as i went along if only i could have the chance. They gave it to me, the general manager said they would sell tickets for me and retain their charges, giving me the remainder. I could push sales to generate cash to pay for PA hire and Stage/Lighting and look for bands.
The bands came and came and kept coming. It was amazing to see how many bands were of a good/better standard were just in limbo, running around trying to get a break, the same for even the local 'top bands', they never were given that opportunity.
Remember that i have no money at all and i have had the 'rip off' thrown at me with the expletives, until you see what i have done. I sort help from top pr people in the uk and usa. I explained the situation with no replies AT ALL. I contacted record companies, uk and usa and plugged my cause. One replied to say they were coming along, 3 were sending representatives, i am at the stage now where i believe it when i see it.
What i have got is proffessional photography, a film company wishing to attend, a cameraman already in attendance too. Sit down, 40+ bands when they all confirm, making this the biggest 2 Day Totally Unsigned Festival of the midlands, maybe uk in 2009. With no money passing hands yet and from bands who will give their all for the big break.
Last week, with only 13 weeks to go to the festival, I moved the whole shebang 6 miles to an outside arena that even gave me a shiver up my spine. I've got a tented village, i have the rolling countryside, i have a couple of top pr after me, i have a couple of mags want this story
, i'd rather give it you.So this slightly fat bloke from the uk seems to have become a promoter.
, no, not really. I just want to give youngsters a hand to realise a dream, play to a crowd, make a cd then dvd from the festival, if i can do that and make enough to do it again, wow, wont that be great.The big dream is based on just that, dreams are once in a lifetime opportunities enacted in your mind when you are asleep and are about as achieveable to most as winning the lottery, not because the band is rubbish but because you are 'too far away', 'dont fit an image', 'never been scouted', some A & R put your cd in the bin or played it whilst on the phone or couldn't be bothered. Trust me, there are a million ways that fate deals a bum hand. I deal out 2 aces and run the game to see where we come.
In july we find out. No bull.
www.freewebs.com/staffsfox
