Page 10 - ION Indie Magazine JulyAugust 2018 Issue

Mark Myers: Hi Gary, thank you for taking time out of your crazy schedule to talk to ION Indie Magazine!
My first question is one of the big things I was wondering personally, and that is, what's the process of
band selection for your festivals?

Gary Spivack: Well, we start at the top. It is a domino effect. If you start in the mid or the bottom, you're
gonna blow through your budget and then you'll look at your budget and, "Wait, where are the top line
bands?" And all of a sudden, you're forced to raise ticket prices and you're going to gouge the customer and
our audience, which as rock promoters we never -- capital N-E-V-E-R -- want to do. We want to have
competitive ticket prices. As you look at our festivals compared to other destinations and festivals, our prices
are lower -- much, in some cases -- than other festivals. So, we start at the top and work our way down. And
then when it comes to finding, which is probably the core of your question, of younger bands, and I say this
kind of half-heartedly, half-jokingly, but not -- if you don't suck, it's gonna find our way to us. So, if it's a band
like THE FEVER 333 that we caught on very early…we saw a live performance of them, we caught a video
clip, we saw some early numbers, some streaming numbers from them…and we're like, "We're in." They're
compelling, they're sincere, they're authentic, they rock, and they have great songs. So, we wish there were
nine more FEVER 333's that we could help champion.

MM: Yeah, they're a huge hit.

GS: And they're buzzing, rightfully so, because I think it's real and authentic and we just happened as rock
promoters to catch that one very early…very much like Greta Van Fleet. A year ago, we booked that band at
a couple of our festivals, including Louder Than Life, for a very low number. And now they have become
worth every penny because they're legitimate. And unfortunately, for every great FEVER 333 there are out
of 10, there are eight other bands that we try that with and don't pan out. But we're going to continue to
try. An old mentor of mine once said, "You should be a combination of super-serving and then educating."
And we like to think that we do that. We super-serve by getting a Five Finger Death Punch, a Godsmack, and
Shinedown, and we want to educate by getting a Code Orange, a The Power Trip, FEVER 333, and so on.
Even a hip-hop act like Jelly Roll.

MM: Well, that leads me to one of my other questions. Last year, I was down there (at Carolina Rebellion)
and you had Machine Gun Kelly and this year, you had Jelly Roll. Placing a rap act in the middle of the
festival, is this by design?

GS: Well, I think it's by the fact that at our core, we are a rock festival. But, what does that mean? For us,
rock does not just mean four guys with guitars and Marshall stacks. It means do they have the right attitude?
Do they have the right energy? Are they making good music? And do they have a great live performance?
So, with an act like Jelly Roll, that rule applies the same as it does to a Code Orange or a FEVER 333. So, our
net, for us at least and maybe other concert promoters or people who like rock and roll maybe feel
different…for us, our net is wider. We can go Cypress Hill and we can go Lamb of God. Maybe their lifestyles
differ, but their attitude and energy fits together.

MM: Now, back to a follow-up of my first question. How does an up-and-coming band, an independent
act, get a spot on one of your festivals?

GS: We don't really look at like, "Oh, they're on a major label" or "Oh, they have a huge manager." That
doesn't apply for us. And I think we, again, using THE FEVER 333 as an example, when we booked them, they
didn't have an agent. We just fell for them. And, again, if you're really good, you're going to find your way to
us. So just, you know, for anybody who asks like, "How do I go on your festival?" You know what? Just be
great!