Update: Friday, 25th May 2007: Sick Of It All in Singapore

Why?

Tickets are going very very slow! This is very worrying, even for those barely involved in the organizational respects of the show. Therefore everyone is urged to please buy tickets as soon as possible!

Thank you for the continued interest in the SICK OF IT ALL concert. The enthusiasm has been very encouraging and we hope to see all of you there at the show.

DUNAMIS Productions is simply a promoter that will host some major rock acts in the future, but they are not and were never a hardcore label, nor are they affiliated with any of the Christian rock organizations that you might know. They are solely independent, owned and run by one guy and a couple of associates, who are also part of the indie music scene.

So to reiterate; DUNAMIS Productions has nothing to do with Christian rock groups, the hardcore scene or anyone else. It organizes rock shows, nothing else.

But why do a hardcore show, especially if you’re not a hardcore label? Are you trying to earn a quick buck of the independent hardcore scene? That’s a sentiment often echoed as of late, but Jerome, as well as hundreds or even thousands of us reading this, love hardcore and SICK OF IT ALL is one of the many bands we all grew up with.

Thus it only makes sense for someone who appreciates and understands hardcore (along with its ethics) to be behind this, and DUNAMIS Productions has taken plenty of measures that it stays as independently ethical as possible and to keep it from straying into the arena-rock that many so called ‘hardcore’ bands are heading to these days.

However it must be noted that while SICK OF IT ALL is still independent after 20 years, there are now a full time band (yes, no agents and no bound-to-a-label contract), and members pay their bills and make a living through the band. Hence they will cost a lot, and cost a lot they did. Expenses incurred have come to about SG$50,000 which is inclusive of the band fee, flights, lodging, promotions, licensing, venue & equipment rental, security fees and other miscellaneous expenses.

No independent promoter is able to raise that amount of money on his/her own, so that is where the financial support comes in. As you can see, this event is sponsored/supported by DRUMS RESOURCES (a drum tech set up company) as well as BOTTOMS UP Pte Ltd (a privately owned pub/bar).

Yes this is not a solely independent project, but please try to have a realist view. Sponsorships are not very hardcore I know, but it would be hypocritical to call this project a farce in anyway because we have drummers and drunkards amongst us, no? Even then, these sponsors are just there to pump in money, they have no say whatsoever in the running of the show, at the end of the day DUNAMIS Productions still makes the decisions.

If it is a sponsored show, why are ticket prices so high? It must be noted that the show costs are not sponsored in full, and there is a risk (however unlikely) that the audience volume would not hit the expected 1,200 pax amount. So all possible costs must be recuperated. Anyone who has studied economics (or has borrowed money from a loanshark ?) will tell you that if anyone invests (note the key word invests) a sum of money, he/she will expect the full amount of money PLUS a supplement in return.

So not only are there basic expenses to be covered, but also investors expectations must be met.

There was an early misconception that tickets were to be sold for SG$30. This has to be attributed to hyped up excitement. Nothing wrong with that but at the same time, nothing was confirmed on the DUNAMIS side of things, but kids in their understandable excitement began to spread the word; online, at shows, on the street and everywhere else.

After a careful calculation of costs it is concluded that the only “safe but minimal” ticket price would be SG$50 (presale) and SG$60 (at the door). There are 1500 presale SG$50 up for grabs so there is practically no way anyone can miss out on it, in fact the promoters discourage people from buying from the door. It saves you ten bucks!

Of course we have not forgotten our friends from Malaysia, which is why we have prepared a special 300 presale tickets worth RM100 each. According to current economic exchange rates, the Malaysians are given a hell of a discount, but this is done with foresight that RM100 is still a hell of a lot to them. Understandably hundreds of Malaysian scenesters are expected to make the trip down to Singapore to catch SOIA, so this is pretty much a win-win situation.

Two official associates of DUNAMIS Productions will be making their way (albeit seperately) to Malaysia to handle distribution of the tickets.

Suhaimi Subandie of STOMPIN’ GROUND will be heading to Kuala Lumpur to sell 100 tickets to old friends. At the time of this statement it is not known when exactly he will be heading up.

Shaiful Risan (best known for writing the now-defunct ZEROX zine) will be heading to Malaysia on Saturday 28 April to sell 200 tickets. He will be there probably till Sunday but its possible he will stay till Tuesday.

Any tickets unsold will be passed on to Kid (Mass Saperation, Propamedia) for sale. Shaiful can be reached at (trashkore@yahoo.com) and for friends in Malaysia, Kid can be reached at 013 2497199 (conspirates@yahoo.com).

It is regretted that we are unable to have presale arrangements for our friends in Thailand, Indonesia or Philippines. It is just too much of a logistical effort, but what we can do is reserve tickets for friends from those countries. However there has to be solid proof that you are coming (just a scan of your air ticket will do) for us to actually reserve anything.

There was also the controversial decision of getting mainstream radio airplay to promote this show, which didn’t go down well with some members of the scene (including yours truly), but it has to be noted that it was the sole decision of DUNAMIS. On hindsight, it was nothing but a minor promotional effort which, like most things, will have its share of ‘I agree’ and ‘I disagree’ remarks.

Back to the issue of ‘organisational chaos’, (suddenly everyone assumes he/she will be part of this show without official confirmation by DUNAMIS) soon there will be a closed door meeting of all those involved to cement the fact of who is involved and who is not.

As of now this is how the organisational chart of the show looks like

Initiated by : DUNAMIS Productions
Sponsored by : Bottoms Up Pte Ltd + Drums Resources Music Place
Official Partners : Propaganda Machine, Straits Records, Rampage on the Airwaves, Reconstrux Records, The Rockstar Collective, Bluetail Studios, Prohibited Projects
Opening bands : Stompin’ Ground, Sky In Euphoria, Dead By Six
Presale tickets : RM100 (Malaysia), SG$50 At the door : $60

Hope to see you at the hardcore show

Shaiful Risan
(official partner of SICK OF IT ALL Live in Singapore)
trashkore@yahoo.com

on behalf of Jerome Simon Dunamis Productions
dunamisproductions@gmail.com

Footnotes:

Not from Singapore but planning to come over? If you are unable to crash at anyone’s place check here for a detailed comprehensive list of lodging options. They range from shabby guesthouses to five star hotels.