PP USA VII: Annual Behind the Scenes booking thread

[J-Dubya 777]

Thanks for the insight Glenn! Wow, what do get, a month or 2 off before you have to start "preparing" for the next festival?

Helloween would have been huge, and Dragonforce probably would have helped sell out the rest of the tickets, not completely my cup of tea, but I would have enjoyed their set regardless. ANd like you said, who would have known/thought they'd blow up as big as they are now.

I'm REALLY glad you made that post way back regarding never hearing a lick of Freak Kitchen. I was ready to send you whatever you needed (turned out to be a 19 track compilation) to get familiar with them, and I knew from previous correspondence with IA going back to 2001-2, they WANTED to play the fest, and figured if YOU liked them, they might be able to fill that "oddball" slot. I'm glad the PP legion of fans has been vocal about them, and seemed to get stronger every year. Kudos to the sponsors as well! I think this will be one the best oddball bands to go over with the crowd. As I've stated a thousand times, THANK YOU! for booking them....It's going to be a great year again this year.....

J-Dubya

 

[booB]

As for Dragonforce, who the fuck knew they would blow up like they did? Not me.

There's a lot of truth to that... and they MIGHT have caused the festival to be sold out by now... but given that they're playing OzzFest and every other fucking thing in America this year, they wouldn't be nearly as special or exclusive.

The hardest thing I had to do was exclude Redemption this year. They released one of the best discs of the year last year and they fit the criteria perfectly. The problem was that when you book too many repeats, people start to bitch and I did fear a backlash. Also, I had a problem with the slotting. This was their first disc with Ray so they deserved to be bumped up. However, it’s hard to bump a band up to a slot like the third slot without a larger discography. The competition is too tough. Let me say that Redemption is on my want list for next year provided the new disc doesn’t suck.

I have to say I agree with you 100% here. Considering they still only have two albums under their belt, they're still an "up-and-coming" band. It would be nice to let them get another done before giving them a return trip.

I offered {Nevermore} more money if they did a special “Dreaming Neon Black” set. I’m not talking about doing the song, but the entire album ala Mindcrime. I even went ahead and confirmed Simone for the female vocals on the title track if they would do it. This was never confirmed by Nevermore before they pulled out. I can’t help but wonder how huge that would have went over.

I personally would have erected (ha!) an idol in your likeness. There's no other show where this performance could ever happen.

That leads me to Epica. I wanted a female vocalist band. I had three personal choices after getting the cold shoulder from Within Temptation: After Forever, Epica, and Delight.

Have you ever considered going after a female-fronted band with non-opera-singer vocals, such as the Sinergies, Lacuna Coils, Chastains, Dismal Euphonies, or even Ram-Zets of the world? It seems like the Nightwish and Within Temptation clones are a dime a dozen these days... and I don't like any of 'em.

 

[Jasonic]

I don't think Nevermore (regardless of the set they would have played) would have been any more or less special than having DragonForce would have been. It isn't difficult to catch Nevermore live.

 

[Harvester]

I don't think Nevermore (regardless of the set they would have played) would have been any more or less special than having DragonForce would have been. It isn't difficult to catch Nevermore live.

Dragonforce would obviously been special prior to the U.S. tour, Ozzfest, fall tour being announced, especially in hindsight after the mega-PR push Roadrunner gave/giving them. However, Dragonforce could not have headlined this festival as I know my core audience at the time of the booking, while Nevermore easily could have.

I will agree that it is easy to catch Nevermore live. However, the point of selling the product would have been based on an extended set length with a special setlist. That had a huge impact over on the Nevermore forum and people from there were planning on flying in for that alone. It worked perfectly until they bailed.

Once again, invidivudual perception of band popularity and your willingness to pay for a ticket based on them alone is wildly variable.

 

[Jasonic]

Very true Glenn.
It would have been "meh" to casual Nevermore fans such as myself.

I guess when I think of festivals such as yours and others is how cool it is that certain bands are making their US debuts.

So when I read that you are considering a band like Nevermore, I think "Well what about band (fill in the blank) who could really benefit from the exposure of the fest"??? Know what I mean?

 

[Harvester]

Know what I mean?

I do and the problem becomes balancing things financially, especially selling tickets based on name alone. You have to keep the busines side of things even with the artistic side.

Glenn H.

 

[FataMorgana]

Have you ever considered going after a female-fronted band with non-opera-singer vocals, such as the Sinergies, Lacuna Coils, Chastains, Dismal Euphonies, or even Ram-Zets of the world? It seems like the Nightwish and Within Temptation clones are a dime a dozen these days... and I don't like any of 'em.

Great ideas, Bob. Add Doro to the list!

Glenn, thanks for sharing your thoughts! You should write a book.

Stacy

 

[Jasonic]

I do and the problem becomes balancing things financially, especially selling tickets based on name alone. You have to keep the busines side of things even with the artistic side.

Glenn H.

I know. I think the fans (myself included) sometimes forget this.
It is easy to say, "Why didn't you fly over band XXXX? Who cares that only me and my friend like them?? They rool!!!!"

 

[the rhythm]

What was the problem with Devin? I remember when I saw SYL at the Masquerade in '02 that Devin said that at PP he was in "a bitch of a mood."

 

[Harvester]

Devin was great! However, he went into the show with a chip on his shoulder thinking everone was going to hate him because the feedback had not been that great prior to the show.

The audience was not used to his SYL persona and didn't like being told to stick it in their c*nt.

 

[BenMech]

thnx as always for the business scoop wrap up Glenn.

One question: Once you finally get all the big names on your eternal wishlists booked (it'll happen), do you then look for next-gen names within the boundaries, or would you check out different genres?

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

Glenn, your shows rule regardless of circumstances!

 

[the rhythm]

Yeah, his persona is not for everyone. Are there any hard feelings towards Dan Swano? I vaguely recall some negative posts about him, but I don't remember what they said.

 

[Dark One]

An intriguing and enlightening read. Thanks so much for sharing Glenn.

Jason

 

[Dark One]

Yeah, his persona is not for everyone. Are there any hard feelings towards Dan Swano? I vaguely recall some negative posts about him, but I don't remember what they said.

Musically? No. Professionally? Let's say the majority did not take him sitting on a stool reading his lyrics from a prompter too well.

 

[TwizstedJesus]

It seems that every year you pull off an amazing feat with your choices and slottings,and us progdog fanboys pout about what we wanted but didn't get,then take a good look at the roster and buy our tickets like good little tobies since the roster was as kickass as anything we could come up with(hows that for terribly long,improper sentences?)
What I'm trying to say is...Is it September yet???

 

[raiderdeath1]

In an earlier post you "mentioned" Dio. What were the circumstances and the story behind that?

My favorite post each year is the behind the scenes post by Glenn...Thanks

 

[DarkOne]

Glenn, you have proved yet again why you are the best in the festival business. These insights are great, and I love the way you balance professionalism and business acumen with being a fan. Thanks again, and be sure to keep posting these things in the future.

Oh, and Nighwish58 - I'm holding out hope for Virgin Steele one day!

Steve in Philly

 

[Greykiller]

I will agree that it is easy to catch Nevermore live. However, the point of selling the product would have been based on an extended set length with a special setlist. That had a huge impact over on the Nevermore forum and people from there were planning on flying in for that alone. It worked perfectly until they bailed.

Once again, invidivudual perception of band popularity and your willingness to pay for a ticket based on them alone is wildly variable.

If only 50 tickets are left at this point, one must believe that Neveragain bailing did not affect sales all that much...Unless you counted on the band only bringing in 50 people...

(Pssst--if you want a female led band NEXT year, would you consider Nightwish?)

 

[Angrafan]

Thanks Glenn! That was a great read, as always!