 Photo provided by Tyson Travnik | Interviewer: Ingrid Newton Interview with Tyson Travnik Shredmonton Metal Festival and Conference Prairie Fire Events Ltd. Hyperprint 3D Printing Farmageddon Open Air Shredmonton updates via link here. |
1. When and why did the idea of Shredmonton pop up? How long has this huge western Canadian event been running?
This is the first year of the indoor festival. After feeling some financial growing pains from running Farmageddon Open Air for 3 years, we needed to find a way to run it biannually, with a second festival running every odd year. I decided to do a total 180 in regards to flavour vs the open air camping experience. The conference portion was something I've been looking forward to incorporating into a festival, being personally influenced by the late Noctis festival that used to run in Calgary.
2. Is the focus or theme of the event based on Canadian metal music industry leaders/bands?
Similar to how we select bands for Farmageddon, we look for bands we feel put 110% into supporting the underground scene. The larger international bands we book are geared to draw people to the festival that don't normally attend local shows. The ultimate goal is to reveal to them the top-shelf quality of local music that they're missing out on, and need to support.
3. Can you give us a short version of what ticket purchasers can expect at this event?
Purchasers of our Shredpass tickets are going to be thrust into a whirlwind of metal. Due to the concerts running simultaneously on two stages, and on two different floors, guests will be able to view a portion of every single band booked if they so choose. The conference is geared to be as informative as possible, tackling questions that are most commonly presented in the industry, as well as being entertaining.
4. Would you say that the western Canadian metal scene is thriving? How does the metal scene out west compare to other parts of Canada?
I've been a broken record for as long as I can remember, stating that western Canada has a very tight knit and strong, yet somewhat small scene compared to Europe and other parts of North America including eastern Canada. I'm convinced that our biggest shortfall is strictly our lower population. To be able to run large festivals that do not book more mainstream metal bands, yet be financially stable, we need to find the best way to attract people from other parts of the continent to attend the festivals that are in western Canada.
5. You have booked a diverse metal show at this years event. Any faves from the line up?
All the bands playing, I personally hand picked through an invitation process, mostly based on their level of professionalism. All the bands picked have been outstanding to work with, be it as a promoter, sound tech, or otherwise.
That said, being mostly a power and thrash metal fan, the bands I am most excited about seeing are The Spruce Moose, Thunderstone, The Tyler Dory Trio, and WMD. Dying Fetus will also be a highlight, as they are one of the very few death metal bands I am in to.
6. Finally, thanks for the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you would like to add?
I'd like to thank all our sponsors, the rest of the Prairie Fire Events Ltd staff for their dedication and hard work, all the killer bands who are playing, and most of all, the people who purchase tickets to our festivals year after year. We couldn't do it without you! Cheers!
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