| 10 years of KALTENBACH – the festival at the Semmering celebrates an anniversary! This year the metal mountain will anew satisfy every fan with a high-class program and fair prices. Organizers Thomas Spiwak and Ronny Frohner allow look-outs to alterations and well-tried procedures…
Leo: Did KALTENBACH 2014 run like clockwork?
Ronny: After the break we looked forward to the event with tension, but we were not disappointed at all. We reached our goal and I think that every guest had a lot of fun and good music. In short: KALTENBACH OPEN AIR 2014 was a downright success.
Leo: I like the mix of this year’s line-up. How do you choose bands, are personal interests in the foreground or economics?
Thomas: Both aspects play an important role of course. A niche event like the KALTENBACH OPEN AIR only got limited possibilities concerning the budget, but we want to remain true to our principles. We mostly serve the Extreme Metal fraction and our bands are located in sub genres Thrash, Death or Black. Interim, some Grind Core, Pagan Metal or traditional Metal does no harm. We like to offer a potpourri reflecting our personal musical preferences for a bigger part. At last, economics got top priority and we know where our limits are.
Leo: Keyword economics: can you remember cranky, exceptional or weird wishes/demands by bands?
Thomas: We are confronted with such demands every now and then and we try to find a compromise then with willingness to communicate and sense for a possible solution. During the last years, the demands on salaries exploded, but this is another story and got diverse causes. Some procedures can be understood on the part of the organizer, but sometimes we have to draw the line to keep the balance.
Leo: I appreciate the trademark to offer a forum for local bands combined with international acts. Please name some highlights of this year’s edition!
Ronny: We try to offer a felicitous mixture of awesome international acts and Austrian hopefuls as well as evergreens. There are a lot of Austrian bands with nice potential and we want to support them. I like to mention Darkfall or Scarecrow N.W.A. in this context – both celebrate their 20 years jubilee on KALTENBACH OPEN AIR this time.
Leo: This year we will get the chance to collect some autographs at the KOA, right?
Ronny: That’s right, we offer a stand organized by Moremetal.org and some bands will be ready for signing sessions there. The exact schedule and details concerning activities will be announced right in time.
Leo: Every time I wonder about the fan-friendly prices. How do you manage to keep ticket fees that low? Where can we buy the convenient tickets?
Thomas: We simply try to calculate as good as possible to be in line with the budget. Nowadays, nobody gets anything for free; rather the opposite way is true. Apart from the KALTENBACH OPEN AIR, we all work in normal jobs and we know that it is hard to earn money. Consequently, we do not want to rip off anyone, but offer a felicitous festival with fair prices. Certainly, we`d like even our expenditures, but possible profits do not move to our accounts, but get invested totally to the infrastructure of next year’s edition. We want an event of fans for fans and try to keep prices low as long as possible. Pre-sale tickets can be ordered via our web shop or Ö-Ticket.
Leo: Are there any changes concerning camping, the festival area, food/drinks and the running order?
Thomas: Yep, nothing changes concerning these domains. The camp ground is located along the Kaltenbach and surrounding hillsides and the stage area like always on the well-known forest glade. We want to expand the offering regarding food, but the traditional schnitzel bun will be still available. The infrastructure will be improved this year in terms of the stage, which is bigger and higher; besides, the technical possibilities are enhanced. More toilets and cleanings are planned; everyone should be able to find a suitable rest room. In the meantime we published the running order, which can be found with other important information on our web site.
Leo: I am looking forward to the collaboration at KALTENBACH 2015!
Ronny: We are also excited about the jubilee. Many thanks for the possibility of this interview and the interest on KALTENBACH OPEN AIR. We‘ll meet at the mountain!!!
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