|
|
||
|
|
DIRT FEST 2004
By Robert E. Martin But as the 'main-man' behind Dirt Fest 2004, Dalton is doing exactly what he always dreamed - presenting an ambitious one day festival that will showcase original talent throughout the mid-Michigan area at the Birch Run Expo Parking Lot on Saturday, August 7th. The idea for Dirt Fest began when Matt's friend Kurt Gust started it back in 1999. Matt hopped on board during the second year of the festival, but when Kurt decided to move to Louisiana, Matt asked if he could keep the festival rolling. This year's Dirt Fest is larger than anything Matt could imagine. " It started when Kurt wanted to do a show for his band, Grass, at the time. The idea has always been to focus on original bands and at first it drew people mainly from the Birch Run, Saginaw, and Flint area. But now we're drawing bands from Chicago and Ohio. The first show featured one band, the next show featured seven or eight bands, and it kept growing to the point where this year we're featuring 35 bands on 5 stages." Similarly, Dirt Fest started in Kurt's backyard, one mile from Birch Run Park. "It was cool until the township discovered we were charging admission. They weren't okay with that, so we moved it inside to the Birch Run Expo Center for 2002. Last year we used a venue in Flint, and this year we've moved to the parking lot of the Expo Center so it's outdoors again." Explains Matt. The
five stages will dot the parking lot and Matt is anticipating record crowds.
"Each year the festival has grown," he reflects. "The first year we had 100
people, then 250, then 500, and in 2001 we drew 1,400 people. The two times we
held it indoors it didn't work out as well." "There's a new generation of bands being presented this year," he continues. "My band Arizing is performing and Downpoint has played a few times. We're also featuring Killshot, DVS, and Silverspork, but mainly the focus is on a new generation of bands that have come out within the last year or two." When
asked who stands out from the 'new crop', Matt points to Celldweller.
"They're based out of the Flint area and have video synced up to music. Jetta
Red also has a really good show. Mainly, the groups are hard rock &
alternative, but we have a hip-hop group performing and another band that
incorporates strange electronica and horn arrangements, but it's primarily Alt
rock." Grilled burgers and chicken and food will be available and this year Miller/Miller Lite is also a co-sponsor. So what does it feel like presenting a 'local Lollapalooza' during the summer that the national Lollapalooza was cancelled? "A lot of people drive from Detroit and different cities to make the trek, so I'd like to make plans to start moving Dirt Fest to different cities. Maybe next summer we'll do a little circuit of it, but first I'd like to get it really known here. This is my biggest promotion to date, without a doubt. I think a lot of major national shows have problems with high-ticket prices, which is why we wanted to make sure Dirt Fest was affordable. $8.00 for advance tickets to see 35 bands is very reasonable and quite incredible."
Tickets for Dirt Fest 2004 can be found at all Mid Michigan Music locations in Saginaw, Bay City & Midland, as well as the Drunken Monkey Tattoo shop on Hamilton, The Turntable on Bay Road, and from the webiste at dirtfest.com. Tickets are $10.00 the day of the event with free parking.
Here's a brief 'spotlight' on two of the more noteworthy groups performing: Since
1998 Arizing has been independently cultivating a dedicated fan base by a
strict routine of performing and promoting. March of 2002 marked their debut
full length CD release on Medea Records entitled Womb. Their
August 2003 release, Advance, was mastered by Tom Baker (Stone Temple
Pilots, Marilyn Manson, Taproot) and sets a new standard for the sound of
Arizing by clearly portraying their truest capabilities and new direction of
their music. Their
live show is designed to be a fusion of modern technology, performance art and
theatrics, combined with key elements of electronic music, rave culture and the
raw energy of a rock show. Audio/visual segments, percussive performance pieces
and music that is unique to the live show, augment this non-traditional
performance.
|
|
|
|
Enable frames | |
|
home | out/about | events | personal | store | classified | real estate | forums | archives | contact |
||
