Firefest 3 - Oct 28th 2006

[Steve Price]

Winger - Not since 1993 has Winger been in the UK and then it was only Kip and Reb doing a TV promotional appearance to promote the Pull album. We are delighted that Winger, the full band, will be joining us on October 28th. Kip will be joined by long standing and also current Whitesnake guitarist Reb Beach as well as world renowned drummer Rod Morgenstein and guitarist Jon Roth who played on the Pull album. Expect to hear all the classics Madeline, Heading for a Heartbreak, Seventeen, Easy Come Easy Go, Down Incognito as well as tracks from their forthcoming album due in October through Frontiers Records.

Gotthard - What can you say about Gothard? Well, to be honest the band have had every possible superlative used to describe them over the past three years. Gotthard are a massive band currently riding high with their Made in Switzerland live album and DVD. For those who saw them in January on their all too brief UK tour you can expect more of the same. To those who are as yet unfamiliar with the band, this is your chance to see one of the biggest selling acts from mainland Europe who rock like demons. Gotthard are a Swiss institution. Platinum albums and singles adorn their walls and each one highly deserved. Firefest are absolutely delighted to have the band agree to come back and play and you are in for one hell of a show!!

Bonfire - The legends are back.The band that inspired the name of Fireworks Magazine are coming back to the UK....finally!! Klaus and Hans are delighted to once again have the chance to rock in the UK after a five year gap. Double X has been hailed by the worldwide rock media as a huge album dripping with classic Bonfire riffs and melodies and they would be correct. Bonfire are one of the best festival bands in the world and with a wealth of material to chose from picking a set list will be a difficult task. You can expect to hear songs such as American Nights, Ready 4 Reaction, Sweet Obsession, Hard on Me and a whole lot more. Definitely not to be missed.

Fair Warning - Yet another German band and somewhat of an unknown quantity for British fans. Rising from the ashes of Zeno, Fair Warning hit the ground running with their self titled album in 1993 selling massive quantities in Germany and Japan where they quickly became superstars. Albums such as Rainmaker, Go and Four cemented their position as one of the finest melodic rock bands in the world. Now after a six year gap the band have reunited to record a new album Brother's Keeper in August and we are absolutely stoked that the band have agreed to come along and finally play in the UK. To whet your appetite the Fair Warning and Rainmaker albums along with a fantastic live DVD Call of the East are just about to be reissued in Europe, so check them out for a sneak peek of what's in store on Oct 28.

Wig Wam - Yes, at last the Norwegian party animals are coming to the UK! Having released two great albums and represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest (seen by 100 million people live on TV) Wig Wam are bringing their brand of stomping melodic rock to the UK for a rock and roll party. Go on, admit it, In My Dreams is still kicking about in your brain now. Armed with a new album Wig Wamania, which is chock full of rousing stadium anthems, Wig Wam will no doubt be one of the main attractions of the day and definitely not to be missed. If you like your rock and roll to be FUN.........then these guys are just what the doctor ordered.

Treat - One of the most highly respected and revered Scandi melodic rock acts, Treat have aptly been described as Europe.....but with more balls. Albums such as the Pleasure Principle, Organised Crime and Dreamhunter are all serious contenders for the best Swedish rock albums of all time and having laid waste to Sweden Rock earlier his month melodic rock fans are in for a huge Treat (if you'll excuse the pun) when the band finally take to a British stage for the first time in their career. The long wait will be over at Firefest on October 28.

NEXX - British fans of Nexx have a very special relationship with this band. Led by the diminutive Patricia, Nexx are a powerful yet melodic combination who can rock with the best or belt out classic power ballads effortlessly. Nexx played the Firefest 2 pre-show party in Nov 2005 and will now open the main show at Firefest 3 on October 28. One of the most genuinely talented bands in the genre we are delighted that they will be airing tracks from their stunning debut album Colours as well as tracks from their forthcoming album Another Dawn due out shortly.


These are the only UK shows for all acts appearing!

Running order still to be confirmed. Full details for tickets and venue will be announced in coming weeks.

We hope you will agree that this is yet again a stunning array of melodic hard rock acts and possibly one of the strongest bills to be seen in the UK. This is very much YOUR show and we would hope that you will continue to support us as we endeavour to bring you a great festival bill of entertainment.

We will be announcing the venue later this week as soon as we have the remaining details in place and we will also be bring you news of the Pre-Show PARTY on Friday October 27 which will feature three of four more great bands in from the melodic rock genre.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support at the previous Firefest shows and we hope you will continue to support us at Firefest 3.
Questions, queries, comments and abuse can be directed to [e-mail] and WE WILL answer each and every mail.
See you in October!

Kieran and Bruce.

[metalhead]

What an awesome line up. Kieran and Bruce have really pulled the stops out for this one. They've just taken Firefest up a notch or 2 in the eyes of the melodic rock world.

Don't think you'll see a better line up anywhere else this year.

Well done lads........see you there ;D

[Paul SACRED HEART]

Looks mighty fine to me!

Winger & Bonfire are 2 of my favourite bands and "World Of Promises" by Treat is superb.

[shaggy]

Sure I saw a statement on melodicrock.com news page a while back stating that Winger was not one of the acts that were going to be approached. Oh well, guess they threw us a red herring on that one. Looks a good one though. Need to book that Friday off then. As soon as we get confirmation of the venue I think we should all get ourselves into the same hotel for a right old knees up. All those in favour raise your right hand, roll up your left trouser leg above the knee and swear a pledge to rock with abandon and say "aye aye skipper"

[Nick from Cheshire]

Is it just me, or is this lineup missing a proper headline band

[shaggy]

nick said:

Is it just me, or is this lineup missing a proper headline band

well Bruce did ask me if I'd reform my all star glam band but he wouldnt agree on the m&m's. And as any rock celeb worth his doner meat and smirnoff ice will tell ya, m&m's are in integral part of any back stage rider.... I know a song about back stage riders too and it has nothing to do with refreshments or motorbikes

I shall step away from that conversation now shall I? ;D

[metalhead]

nick said:

Is it just me, or is this lineup missing a proper headline band

It's just you mate ;D

[Liz from Cheshire]

Hmmmmm

pity there isnt a British band on the bill...

[Richard & Amanda In Cornwall]

Nick,we agree with you on that one,its strong but missing something for us!!!good call Liz too

[Janette]

Well I don't really know much about any of the bands on the bill! LOL

Winger - vaguely remember seeing them on Headbangers Ball in the early 90s but couldn't name you any of their songs! I think I recall thinking they were pretty good tho.

Gotthard - Haven't a clue about this lot, had never heard of them til I started visiting this board LOL

Bonfire - Never heard of them.

Fair Warning - Never heard of them.

Wig Wam - Have heard of 'em (only cos LJC goes on about 'em ROFL ;D). Never heard any of their stuff.

Treat - Never heard of them.

NEXX - Ah - yes these were on at the FFII pre-show, however I couldn't see them cos I was right at the back, and can't remember anything about them cos I was rather vodka'd out ;D Seem to remember thinking they were quite good tho!

So looks like I'm in for a bit of an education this time then ;D

[kieran]

Hello all, nice to see positive banter about FF3 , pity to see some slightly negtive vibes too, but you can't win them all.
First off, just to address the British band situation, there are no British bands out there currently selling anything like the quantites of albums that would warant a headline slot. We did try (as Mr Price will confirm ) to tempt three of the biggest British rock acts into playing but to no avail.If they don't want to what can we do about it??? Let me say it certainly was not due to a lack of a SERIOUS cash offer!!!!
Regarding the up and coming bands in the UK , we would love to have them on the bill , but it is difficult to strike a balance between bands that you personally like (Fatemaker, Crimes of Passion etc) and bands that will sell enough tickets to make the show break even. We have little or no industry support and that makes it all the harder to add lesser known bands as with all due respect to them , they simply will not sell enough tickets , that's not conjecture, that's fact. Ask any body involved in the Gods or ZRock if they ever made a penny , the answer will be NO. The difference is labels can write off losses against tax, we do not have that luxury, if we lose we lose with no comeback at all.
We struggle every show to try break even and all we can do is offer the best line up we can , regardless or not if we include British bands or not.
The newer bands such as Crimes, Fatemaker, Tara's, all deserve exposure. When I did the Tyketto tour I took out Deadline, Firehouse I took out Pride, and Danger Danger Danger I took out Double Cross and Deadline. We are all for helping get younger bands get exposure but when you put up £40,000 in guarantees you have to include who you think the fans want to see most irrespective of where they come from.
The pre show party will have three all British acts playing, and hopefully they will graduate to the main stage next year as Nexx have done this year.
Sometimes no matter what you do you can't do right for doing wrong.
I hope this line up appeals to most, it will not to some and that's fine , that is expected.Not everybody will like every act.I would be the same , but given the investment of time and money going into this we cannot add everybody to the bill, we must concentrate on the bands that we are asked about via e mail and through the fireworks forum and the forum on fire-fest.co .uk , they are the ones who generate most interest and whom fans are keen to see.
I truly feel for the younger British bands , perhaps if FF can get to a position that we establish the show and make it financially sound we can then take a few more risks and try and give more younger bands a break.Until then.........it's the usual sh1t ........people are only interested in established acts, sad , but true.
Cheers for now and if you do have any question or comments you can e mail me at [e-mail] and I will do my best to answer.
Kieran
FIREFEST

[metalhead]

Nice post Kieran, and from a purely personal point of view, I/we love the line up. Think it's by far the strongest yet, and hopefully you'll get the turnout it deserves.

All the best m8

[kieran]

Hi there, regarding the bands you have mentioned as your favourites :
Dare : played FF1
FM: Not played in ten years
Survivor : $25,000 and a tour rider to laugh at!!!!
Pride of Lions : Not available on the date (Oct 28th)

Agree, all bands are great, but sometimes you must understand that acts cannot be booked for a number of reasons, and even when asked are not interested for one reason or another. We have to work with acts that are
A) Available
B)Realistic
C)That are still a going concern

But if anybody wants to put together a bill with Firehouse, Slaughter, Warrant, Nightranger, Damn Yankees and Mark Free you can count me in................;LOL
Cheers
Kieran

[Richard & Amanda In Cornwall]

Too right Kieran any chance of House Of Shakira again know your wife likes them!!!!knew Survivor was a non starter and to be honest they are not that great live at the moment

[Janette]

Well as I've stated before on here (and various other places), I don't care who is on, I'm going anyway! ;D The previous two have been brilliant A great weekend away.

Hadn't really heard of a fair few of the bands on FF1 but came away a new House of Shakira and Pink Cream 69 convert! I'm sure I'll like those bands this time around that I don't know anything about - it's always fun to discover new music you hadn't previously heard of

Looking forward to it! ;D