The big meet

We had a big meet last night. Seven of us who are interested and keen.

We all went down to the site, the overall vibe was very positive, many had not seen the site before and were impressed and 'feeling it'.

Kate got a number of funding ideas and strategies out of it from a fella we know Andy, who is a curator and used to work at The Tate in St. Ives. I must admit that the funding side of things leaves me cold. I understand that it is very important for the arty stuff we want to do but it usually means jumping through somebody else's bureaucratic hoops, and it goes against the grain for me. This is why you need a team innit.

Much more exciting for me was some great ideas from the guys regarding site layout especially in regards to keeping the thing as weather proof as possible. We also had quite a heated discussion about music line up, with Kate and I verging on a public domestic.

We have a limited budget for music (of course.) We have a favour that we could pull in from a certain late 80's indie band, but the feeling round the table is that we shouldn't go down that route. We need to make this festival different. How often do you go to a festival and come back saying that Dreadzone (or whoever is headlining) was the best act. Never for me. You just have to look at the recent Glasto coverage on the BBC. Blur aside all the big old headlines were dull as, we know the songs and with the best will in the world they don't add much more on the night.

I like wandering about (like last time we were at Wickerman in Scotland) and happening cross bands in random tents, usually catching the last few songs of some ace outfit you've never heard of. The country is packed with brilliant acts that will never enjoy high billing or high festival fees but nevertheless will have people raving at work the next day after having parted with a tenner for a CD, and people like feeling like they've discovered them themselves.

This is decided as far as I'm concerned and it's a strong marketing angle too. Put your trust in us, dear punter, to lay on a great line up who you haven't heard of. It's what we do at our gigs in Thirsk, people come on trust now. It's that whole problem regarding how people spend their valuable leisure time. Going to see an unknown is a risk, going to the Showcase or to see a Madness tribute isn't. With an unknown the highs are higher and the lows are lower, it's a question of how you like to live your life, Dead Poets Society, carpe deim and all that...