Hey Slash,
Thanks for your concerns regarding cost per day of the fest. But I do have to respectfully disagree with your assessments of the fest being "too steep." And that cost per day are well below the cost associated with putting on the fest. So from a consumer stand point fest goers are getting a deal at every corner.
I will break everything down so you can have a better understanding of pricing. So please excuse the length of this in advance.
Presently there are 7-9 bands per day. Aside from the 8 locals listed and a few more locals to be decided at your show at Lenny's Friday. 17 bands listed playing the fest you would pay at least $7.00 to see them by themselves at just about any other venue in the country . Other bands like total fucking destruction, Phobia, Wormrot, Man Will Destroy Himself, Maruta you would most likely pay upwards of $10-12 by themselves at the gate.
In fact since Ive been booking the Phobia and Wormrot tours I know for fact that the average walk-up price for Wormrot and Phobia together in most cases is in fact $12.00 that is basically half the cost of Day 2s show without total fucking destruction, Maruta, The Cooters and A Warm Gun thrown in.
The locals even at a DIY venue you would pay between $3-5 at a regular venue you would pay up to $7.00
At the end of the day. Bands have to paid. Most of the bands coming in have guarantees to travel not a lot but 27+ bands does add up.
Also, it must be noted that some bands joined the fest after the original pricing had been set such as WORMROT and PISTOFFICER. In fact we've had to cease talks with other killer bands whom have gotten in touch with us about playing because of a lack of pre-sales ( such as Magrudergrind, MDC, and Outlaw Order whom we were trying to move from a separate show on the 28th and lump it in with the fest because it was felt most people would be pretty strapped to attend it separately.)
Then there's the cost of renting the venue. That has to be taken into consideration of renting out a hall for 3 consecutive days.
Then there's the cost of a sound system and a sound person who's going to be there for about 12-13 hours per day so the bands can sound good and not like crap. I'm sure you wouldn't even want to pay $5.00 to hear one of your favorite bands sound like crap. And you wouldn't want anyone to come to see your band and it sound like crap.
Then besides the band there will be other activities thrown in like the carnival so that when and if your bored with one band you didn't really come to see anyway you can go to another part of the fest and do something else. Even a small sized carnival has a lot of mouths to feed.
Plus other misc. cost in putting on a show or festival have to be included in the cost of the show. And still as promoter I won't break even.
Even if by some miracle Eyedrum sold out and we all know that''s not going to happen. And that's not crying that is just stating fact. Promoters rarely make money off the door. And most festivals end up on the minus side of the account ledger. Even MDF and Chaos were in the red.
Right now where we stand the total cost of putting on this fest is upwards of $7,500 and we haven't even gotten into catering for bands which the price of admission will not even begin to cover and is not included in it.
I hope I have clearly shown the cost you are paying per day is a very very small fraction of the cost of the fest and well below the median line that should be charged for the fest. We have as well given everyone the opportunity to lower their cost by purchasing Single Day Advance tickets up to and until Midnight September 23rd for only $17.50 per day. Fans can now opt for a 3 Day Pass for only $25.00 that's $8.33 a day. Or if they only came 2 days that's still $12.50 per day. So it's hard for me to comprehend how one can argue it being "too steep." Because if some one has decided to come to the fest and just want to wait until they walk up that is still a choice they made with their money.
Folks whom it is truly too steep for because they are actually really broke because they have no job or just won't have any extra funds might want to think about volunteering their time if they truly want to go. Won't be able to accept everybody but sometimes just ask if some one can use some help for once instead of thinking of your self first.
We're not even breaking even. But we're not discouraged because as planners and organizers we see the vision more clearly of the long term effects FORWARD TO THE APOCALYPSE will have on the Atlanta Punk/Metal scene.
Next year plans are already well under way for turning FORWARD TO THE APOCALYPSE into a touring festival. Promoters from across the Southeast are coming on board as well as major-independent labels to help sponsor the tour. Now image 3-5 Atlanta Punk/Metal bands per year on this tour.
Imagine DEATH OF KINGS on a scene sponsored tour with quality national and international bands where they will not lose money to go on but actually make money.
Now image where local promoters
know they have the local support to bring in those killer shows that always seem to pass Atlanta by.
Now imagine all the dope ass artists, illustrators, graphic designers also getting noticed because of the work they're doing for local Punk/Metal bands.
In recent days I've heard some kids talk about putting together a zine
imagine what a really decent music scene would do for that zine. I will tell you; years ago I put out a zine called BLAST the punk hardcore scene was pretty decent so as a result our zine was able to thrive very well because of it. Because that zine thrived kids who worked on it doing photography, writing, reviewing material, doing layout and design were able to use it as a reference to get very boss jobs with Decibel, UTV, CMJ, Creative Loafing-Tampa, Folio Weekly (the Jax version of CL) Washington Post and other media sources. I personally got a book deal because of it. One kid was able to get a publisher to print his comic book. That's the reward we got for helping our scene and not harping on it.
Locally venues and other bars where we hang out will do better business therefore "scenesters" who have jobs bartending, serving etc. will have extra money for shows and other shit they pursue to reach their dreams.
As a result of building this awesome music scene record stores, clothing boutiques, tattoo parlors etc. would also thrive.
As for the FORWARD TO THE APOCALYPSE touring fest it will create up to 10 full-time jobs and up to 100 temporary jobs per year. That is something that people whom want to volunteer because they lack funds should think about.
FTTA in the long run will be a win/win for everybody involved in the Punk/Metal scene the bands, the fans and every one that caters to our lifestyle. Slash that is the long term vision of FORWARD TO THE APOCALYPSE and I hope that as some one in an Atlanta area Punk/Metal band that has the opportunity to benefit greatly from what's about to go down that you can and will support the long term vision of FORWARD TO THE APOCALYPSE.
Floyd Lionel
Social Conspiracy Records & Tour Booking
social_conspiracy00@hotmail.com
