Bear said:
Think of Powerfest as the little brother to Prog Power. Most of the attendees met at Prog Power and its a great chance to meet up more than just once a year for some of us that live far away from our PPUSA freinds.
Bear
Personally, I prefer to think of our fest as being the cousin of PPUSA.
Remember, Chicago Powerfest came before PP back in 2000...although, it did only have domestic bands, but still. And even the first PPUSA was held at the same venue as Powerfest, but it definitely out-grew it right away...which is what we're hoping for by next year's fest.
We're definitely all friends too...basically, we all met through the Perpetual Motion board back in the late 90s. And after the now defunct PowerMad fest, Glenn picked up the ball and was the first to run with it in a more major way...introducing bigger-named European acts. Damn...I'll never forget seeing Pain of Salvation at PPUSA 1...blew my fucking mind, and talk about being up close & personal...that rawked!!
Also, like was already said...we're all doing this to help out the underground metal scene here in the states. As soon as we start working against each other, then we'll be defeating the purpose. Plus, trust me, in order to put on a good fest and not rake the attendees over the coals by charging inflated prices for tix, there truly isn't any real money to be made here. Then again, I guess if we were one of those asshole metal fest promoters (not naming any names...cough***Jack Koshick***cough...hehe) that ONLY care about money and who CHARGE some of the lesser-known bands a shitload of money to play their "fest", then maybe we could make a little money. Instead, our philosophy is to keep the lineup smaller, but make sure each band gets some money...share the wealth. Well, at least all the bands except for Twelfth Gate & Ion Vein.

Our payment is the luxury of having our own bands in the lineup of our own fest each year.
