Thank you for your interest in being a part of Minnesota
MetalFest 2009!
I apologize for the form letter but this is the best way to
get everyone the most accurate information possible.
As you can imagine, we have had huge interest from many
local bands expressing a desire to be on this show. In order to be fair to everyone that has
asked, we will be holding a series of battles to determine who gets to play on
Minnesota MetalFest.
I apologize for the length of this message but if you read
it very carefully, you will have 100% of the information you need to be a part
of Minnesota MetalFest. I have set this
up like a Q&A, so please read each one:
1. How do I get a
spot on Minnesota MetalFest 2009?
All spots for local support will be determined by a series
of battle of the bands. There will be
four rounds of competition. The winners
of each round will compete against each other in one final round of
competition. The winners of this final
round will go on to play Minnesota MetalFest!
2. How many local
spots will be available?
Since we have not finalized the bill yet, we do not know how
many spots we will be giving away. If it
is more than one, the “placing” of the bands at the finals will determine who
plays. Example: We have two spots to give away – the 1st
and 2nd place winner of the finals will take the two spots.
Is
there a charge to compete in the battles?
No. Your
participation in the battles and in the finals is completely free of charge.
4. If we win, do we
get paid to be on the festival?
No. Currently all pay
is being directed towards national acts.
5. What are the
dates/times of the battles?
The four rounds of competition will be: July 7, July 28, Aug 12 & Aug 28. The final will be on Sept 3rd.
ALL battles will have a 5:00pm load-in.
ALL battles will have a 6:00pm door time.
ALL battles will be 16+.
COST for patrons attending battles will be $5 for 16-20 and
$3 for 21+.
6. What are the
requirements to participate in the battles?
You must post the Minnesota MetalFest banner on your MySpace
pages/websites! It must be displayed by
the time you formally submit your entry and it must remain there through the
date of the festival. This must be done
regardless of whether or not you actually win at your round of
competition. If this rule is not
followed, your band may not be invited back for future festivals or shows.
To formally submit your request to participate, you must
EMAIL ME at PLAZAGUY6FT5[AT]AOL[DOT]COM.
Attached to this email must be the following:
The name of your band spelled out
The full names of your band members and their position (vocalist,
drummer, etc.)
The genre of metal you feel you fall into (black, death,
power, etc.)
A brief 3-4 sentence band bio
A HIGH RESOLUTION band logo, jpeg format only
Omission of any of these items may result in your band not
being properly advertised.
You are confirmed ONLY when you receive a confirmation email
from me. Your battle date will be chosen
at random.
7. What happens if my
band cannot make the date we are assigned?
You will need to email me and I will do my best to reassign
you. But please understand that there
are many bands interested and it simply may not be possible to reassign you.
8. What order will
the bands be in on the day of the battle?
A completely random order will be chosen for your band at
load-in. This will be done by a random
drawing. It will do you well to instruct
your fans to be there AT DOORS in order to make sure you have full support.
9. How will the
voting be done?
Each patron attending the battles will receive two (2)
voting tickets upon paying their admission.
They will then vote for each band by placing their ticket in the voting
box which will be available AFTER the band has left the stage. Each patron can either vote “twice” for the
same band or vote “once” for two different bands.
If a patron decides they want to vote for a band later in
the evening after that band has left the stage, this is still possible. However, no “early voting” will be
allowed. People who vote must stay
through the entire set of the band they are voting for.
10. How
long of a set will each band receive?
Each band will receive a 20 minute set. For the finals, each band will receive 30
minutes. I know 20 minutes isn’t much
but there is a lot of interest and we want to give as many bands as possible
the opportunity to compete.
11. May bands sell
merch at the show?
Absolutely. We
encourage it! All sales are 100% yours
to keep (no house percentage).
12. Do we have a
guest-list to the battles and/or the festival if we win?
Each band will have one free guest per member for the battle
but only PAYING patrons will be allowed to vote! No free guest will be given voting tickets.
For the festival, the winning band(s) will be given one free
guest per member. Additional fans of the
winning band(s) will be admitted for a discount.
13. How do we win?
GET PEOPLE TO THE BATTLE! Bands that are hungry enough to be on this
festival will figure out a way to get every single person that they know to
come out. Contact people by every method
possible – direct email, phone calling, texting, flyering, etc. If you just post the info on your MySpace
page and think that’s the way it’s done, don’t be surprised if you only get 5
people to show up.
Don’t forget that getting people to your battle date is only
half the battle!!! If you win, you will
need to motivate them all over again to attend the Final.
It’s going to be a lot of work but it will be worth it to
share the stage with the incredible acts we have lined up for this year’s
festival!
I hope to hear from your band soon! We look forward to your participation!
The code for the banner is:
Kind regards,
Nathan “The SwordLord” Block
CEO, SwordLord Productions, Inc.
Founder, Minnesota
MetalFest 2009