In the two short days since Glenn announced the PPIV line-up, I've discovered 3 bands that I had not known of (Secret Sphere, Redemption, and Mercenary). I'm a Sava fan, so I was already familiar with the formation of C2C. I've downloaded tunes from all 4 bands and I'm sold on each and will be picking up their discs soon. Yes, Glenn knows what we like. We just gotta try to trust him and not let our first impressions get in the way.
"Big Name" acts are cool too, but as of now, the EarthLink venue only holds about 1,500 people. Big bands draw at least that much and more every evening on their headlining tours and rake in most all of the profits from those shows. Now imagine that same band having to make the trip to Atlanta and only getting paid roughly 1/5 of what they could have made it they headlined on their own tour elsewhere that night.
This certainly doesn't mean that the big bands don't support Glenn's efforts. Quite the contrary is true. When PP expands to a larger venue that allows for more ticket sales (i.e. more money to pay for the higher price tag of better-konwn bands), perhaps more of the successful veteran acts will appear on the roster. That said though, last year was pretty incredible with Blind Guardian, Angra, and Gamma Ray all on the same bill.
Praise to the European bands who make the trip to play PP USA to build their US fanbase. It's a lot of trouble for them and they probably don't make a mint with their contract. But they believe in Glann's vision and they believe that we the fans will give them a chance to show their worth. Let's hold off on the rants until after PPIV is over. If then you still feel like you do know, then you can let Glenn know. I haven't heard anything bad about any of the prior PP USA events and I don't expect it's great track record to change this year.
but good for the vendors.
. Any suggestions on another band from this year's roster, and on which of their albums to begin? Thanks.
