Possibly my last blog before I get swamped by the rest of this week...
posted on June 8th 2009 at 09:02 by Maverick
OK...this is possibly my last blog before I get swamped by the rest of this week. I am super excited and have just heard Corey Taylor on Radio 1 going on about how excited he is about playing at Download and I thought...yeah, I'm excited too. I've seen some footage of The Prodigy and Limp Bizkit at Rock am Ring and they look and sound amazing. This week-end is going to be ridiculous and so full of great great moments and memories.
We've been sorting out the passes and arranging the guests as well as fulfilling all the bands requirements for the week-end and with over 125 bands over the week-end, it's been a thankless task. I hope you guys are looking forward to the week-end as much as me. This Download is for me the biggest and most proudest moment of my life and having been in this business for many years to get the buzz I'm getting now makes me realise why it's all so worthwhile. I have a feeling that this is going to be the year that people remember for a long long time.
I've got a show with SKIN tomorrow at the 100 Club on Oxford Street...it's their first show as a band in over 10 years and they are really happy to be back together again. On Wednesday, it's FAITH NO MORE at Brixton Academy which I know will be off the scale! Can you imagine what that is going to be like?? The band are so nervous about Download that doing a warm-up at Brixton was essential for them...they really want to make sure that they are up to speed for their big day on Friday. On Thursday, I have ANVIL at the Camden Underworld but I'm going to have to miss that because I am going to my first Boardies Barbeque on site! I've never had the chance of going to previous BBQ's because I've always been tied up with other pre-festival nonsense but this year I thought nope, nothing is going to get in the way and I am definitely going this year!!
I will be wearing my lucky white stetson cowboy hat again this year, so if any of you see me walking about over the week-end please come up and introduce yourselves and say hello but please be nice!
In the meantime, I want to take the opportunity (again) to say a big thank you for all your support but I want you all to arrive, stay and leave the festival in one piece so please take care and make sure you look after one another over the week-end. That said, don't forget to PARTY HARD and just have the time of your lives!! God Bless You!!!
Andy (Maverick)
Dispelling FNM concerns and Slipknot rumours
posted on May 5th 2009 at 13:18 by Maverick
OK I'm back sooner than I thought! I just wanted to clear up the questions regarding exclusives, as some of you seem to be upset that Faith No More are playing a warm up show at Brixton! Basically, the band wanted to do a warm up show prior to Download, so that they could iron out any rough edges before they play at Donington. Most bands do this prior to big tours etc and considering that Download was/is the first show back as a band, they wanted to be sure everything was right...the Download show is too important to them for it not to be perfect. Not only will the UK press be at Download but the World's media will be there, as it is such a big occasion having the band back together after all these years. I apologise if a small minority of you are put out by this but I hope that you understand. We are giving Download ticket buyers the opportunity to buy tickets for the Brixton show ahead of everyone else.
By the way, Slipknot will not be playing at Sonisphere and the mere suggestion is laughable, so don't worry about that!
On a much lighter note...try and catch a glimpse of Steel Panther at Download, they will not disappoint! There will be more news about them soon...watch this space! Andy (Maverick)
April Fools Day
posted on April 1st 2009 at 11:23:14 AM by Maverick
April Fools Day it may be but things are still going strong at Download Towers. Obviously, the Reading/Leeds announcement was this week and has created a bit of a stir because there's no real 'rock' day this year. You should know that John and I have spent a long time communicating with the Reading/Leeds camp to make sure that between the two festivals we can both offer the best for the fans. I think the line-up for Reading/Lees this year is very very strong and is much in keeping with Reading/Leeds festivals of yesteryear. I think what it also does is highlight just how strong we are with our line-up at Download. I guess anyone who was holding back buying a ticket for Download because they were waiting to see what was on the Readig/Leeds bill will now commit to us! The amount of emails and calls I've received over the last few weeks has been immense and all of them have been offering messages of support and people trying to blag free tickets! Guess what? If you like the festival that much then buy a bleeding ticket but be quick, they're going fast!!
With the weather getting even better now I am totally getting into Download Festival mode...the fever is hitting me hard! I want to be at the festival site now and soaking up the atmosphere...sad really isn't it, I need to pull myself together. I've done a few more radio and press interviews regarding Download over the last ten days and the enthusiasm amongst the media hasn't been anywhere near as strong as it is now. What about the old pensioner guy from Hereford who's been on BBC News with his record collection...a true rock fan, we hail you Sir. We want to get him to Download and make him a guest of honour and bow at his feet. He's in his 80's and still flying the rock flag!
By the way, I've been lucky enough to see the Iron Maiden movie Flight666. I have to say it is one of the best documentary films I've ever seen and I believe that if it was shown on mainstream TV people would be amazed and totally converted to all things MAIDEN. It made me proud to be British and proud to be a rock fan...please go and see it, even if you're not a fan of Iron Maiden (or rock for that matter) and I promise you that you will be in awe...some of the footage is unbelievable.
Once again, thanks for all the support regarding the festival, it keeps me very motivated! Andy (Maverick)
Talk about sarnies - the way to a man's heart...
posted on February 17th 2009 at 18:20 by Maverick
Having recovered from the last fan forum, which you guys treated me really graciously, I have to ask the question "Did we really have a twenty minute discussion about toasted sandwiches being available at Download?" I have to say that was a real shocker to me! If it really means that much to you, I'm going to bring my own Breville Sandwich Maker to Download in case of emergencies! Jesus, come on, surely we can find better subject matter than that. The news that Domino's Pizzas are likely to be available on site seemed to go down well too. I guess it shows how important it is that your stomachs are taken care of over the Download week-end.
I'm glad you approved of the new site lay-out, as I think it will really make a big difference this year. John and his team have really thought it through long and hard and delivered a great site with easy access between the stages etc.
It was good to see that we had a really good attendance at the fan forum and it would be great if we could see a few more new faces (and questions!) at future forums. I love the opportunity to talk to you, some of you individually, as well as standing up at the front and fielding your questions. We're about to go up with a few more bands next week, nothing too major but hopefully there'll be one or two chestnuts in there that you'll like. Also, there are a couple of other 'announcements' which I think will get you all thinking, so watch out for those.
Day tickets went on sale on Friday and it looks as though that's gone down well with the people that can't make the whole week-end. Week-end sales are still going really strong and it looks as though we might just have the biggest Download ever! Not only will there be more bands than we've ever had before but more people too...I honestly can't wait.
Over the last few weeks, I've been working on tours for GALLOWS, CANNIBAL CORPSE, BRING ME THE HORIZON and KASABIAN (yes, I don't just look after rock bands...I also work with KELLY CLARKSON, LENNY KRAVITZ, CHRISTINA AGUILERA, STEELY DAN, NKOTB, AVRIL LAVIGNE, SEAL as well as other 'non-rock' acts)...I've got one or two other tours lined up for later in the year that we will announce at Download, which will be interesting, so watch out for those. It's a busy time at the moment (obviously!) but I love it and wouldn't want to do anything else.
Thanks for listening and I'll aim to get a new blog in sooner next time! Andy (Maverick)