Glenn Harveston: “I Think I Have Reached An Elite Level With This Festival”
Posted by Bill on 22 Dec 2007 at 4:50 pm | Tagged as: From Glenn
ProgPower USA organizer Glenn Harveston needs no introduction. Prog and power metal aficionados around the world (bands as well as fans) know his name – not to mention his reputation for putting on the smoothest-run, most enjoyable metal festival on the planet. So I’ll just jump right in with our 90-minute interview, conducted mid-December, 2007.
By the way, Glenn told me he’s picked one of the two headliners for ProgPower USA IX. Who? Read on…
GH: Hello?
BM: Is this Glenn?
GH: It is.
BM: Hey, how are you doing?
GH: Good, man. Boy, you are punctual!
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs]
BM: That’s what all those ProgPower guys would tell me. They’d say, “You’re right on time.” I’d say, “Well, yeah.”
GH: Did they really? [laughs]
BM: Yeah. It’s gonna be fun, a real pleasure, to chat with you this evening.
GH: Thanks.
BM: It’s about time.
GH: It’ll be interesting. I’ve had some interviews, but they’ve only been skimming the top.
BM: Yep.
GH: Nothing really in-depth.
BM: Well, this ought to be in-depth. [laughs]
GH: [laughs] I just ask that you correct my grammar.
BM: No problem. I tend to do that. I go through and if things are kind of way off I tweak them a bit. Not too much, though. I like to keep it real. Plus, I doubt there’ll be as much trouble with you as, you know, somebody from Italy or Greece or some place like that. Even though you’re from the South, we can still understand you. [laughs]
GH: I was gonna say, mine’s even worse.
BM: [laughs] We just went through ProgPower VIII, and you’re already on to IX. Take me back to the first one, ProgPower I – just before that, in fact. What came into your mind that made you think, “Gee whiz, I ought to do this”?
GH: Well, it actually started with the Powermad festival up in Baltimore. It was a real small, basically underground—and I mean like WAY underground—show, that maybe 100 people attended at the most. And that included the bands. [laughs]
BM: [laughs]
GH: So it became an annual party for about two or three years, and it got to the point where we were going there just to socialize, more than actually see the bands because of the shitty conditions. And every year, it just got worse and worse. We were just sitting around drinking beer and eating crab, and I said, “You know, I could do this better than that.” And my friends simply said, “Well, do it. Go ahead.” So that’s kind of how the seed was planted. I was just tired of the shit.
BM: [laughs] What were you doing in Baltimore? You’re obviously from the South. What were you doing up there?
GH: Well, back then, there was nothing else. The only metal festival going on in the States on a regular basis was the Jack Kochik events, the Metal Fest series and that had increasingly catered to the death metal crowd. There was absolutely no progressive or power metal events everywhere. Keith Menser was the guy behind the Powermad stuff, he organized the festival, and it was basically word-of-mouth driven on the Internet. There was absolutely no advertisements up there anywhere to be found. It was basically one forum, the original Perpetual Motion board. We’d all go up there and we’d hunt up this little shit place and just see a few bands. That was actually the first place that I saw Evergrey play. No shit.
BM: Wow.
GH: [laughs] Believe it or not, it was in a VFW lodge.
BM: [laughs] No, I don’t believe that, actually. [laughs]
GH: It was a VFW lodge with a stage and the backdrop was like pictures of their members in frames and shit like that. [laughs]
BM: [laughs]
GH: We would get there at like 1:00 or 2:00, and they were still building a drum riser to put on top of it. It was just one big old acoustic hall. And you had some tables in the back, you had one person selling some hot dogs and stuff, and about four vendors or so, selling CDs, and they usually had more of a crowd in front of the vendor tables than you did in front of the stage.
BM: Were you participating in that as just a fan, or were you helping to organize it?
GH: Pure fan. I had just gone up there as a pure fan, just to see Evergrey, we saw Lethal, saw a band called Mayadome from Sweden, had them over. Just pure fan, man.
BM: What was your background? What do you do for a living? What is your day job, so to speak?
GH: Well, I’ve just made a transition. I have been a trauma nurse for approximately eight years.
BM: Oh really?
GH: Yeah, in an emergency room, for about eight years. And I’ve just now made the transition to something called nursing informatics, which basically combines the geek side of IT with the clinical experience of nursing.
BM: So that’s what you were doing back then?
GH: Back then, I was an ER nurse.
BM: Well, then here’s the question for you. How does an ER nurse go from being a fan of metal to thinking he can do it himself?
GH: Shit! One step at a time, to be honest with you.
BM: [laughs]
GH: I mean, when we first did this, man, I mean, I just did it by the seat of my pants. This was not some grand spectacle. One of the bands that played up there at Baltimore was Ion Vein. And I hit it off with them. And I told them, “You know, I could do this better.” And they had a club, their home club in Chicago, or near Chicago, it was J.J. Kelly’s, and they said, “We’ll hook you up with a club if you want to try to do something.” So I called him up, and he was like, “Yep, I’ll give you it you. You can have the place for a couple days.” Didn’t charge me anything. And all I had to pay for was just backline and that was it, really. He made a killing off the bar. I essentially built that show using all the bands that people would have wanted to see, as far as in America, on that forum realistically. It was just word-of-mouth going around. I just kind of built a roster from there. The big thing I knew back then was that I had to have some headliners, because that was always the big bitch, “There’s no headliners.” Well, I went out and got some headliners.
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs] And it was pretty good. Symphony X, at the time, they were playing in a bike shop in New Jersey in front of 75 people, yet they would fly over to Japan and play in front of 500 or 1000. And Evergrey and Pain of Salvation came along. So it worked out alright.
BM: Did it take any convincing? I mean, here you are, it’s your first gig, you’re an ER nurse from the South, you get on the phone. Did you have to do any arm-twisting with these people, or did they just immediately see the wisdom of your idea, or what? How did it work?
GH: Combination of both. I’m a pretty good bullshitter.
BM: [laughs]
GH: To be honest with you. You have to do some smooth taking. But you have to present them with a realistic plan. So what I did was, “Look, this is what the place is, this is what I have to offer. I’m not going to make any bones about it. It’s not going to be great, but it’s something, and something that you don’t currently have right now.” So the headliners told me they found it pretty refreshing that I was as brutally honest with them. And the other bands, they had gotten to know me as far as from my postings on the Internet so I wasn’t a completely unknown person to a lot of them.
BM: Here’s a question. I see you post some things on the ProgPower Board. You write a lot about Jimmy Buffet or the Eagles. You must have a very broad spectrum of music. How does a Southern boy with a penchant for the Eagles get into Powermad and Prog Fest?
GH: [laughs] Well, back in the day I started out like everybody else on ’70s rock. Growing up, it was what I heard along with Skynyrd. I was basically introduced to Buffett and the Eagles back then. But you know, the ’80s came around, and I got into what was played on the radio. I think my first metal album was Ozzy Osborne’s Bark at the Moon on vinyl. And that led to one thing, then another as far as listening to all the crappy glam bands and what was getting played on the radio. But somehow, an album called Operation:Mindcrime found its way into my hands, and I never looked back once I found that.
BM: [laughs] When you think about that album, does it still hold a soft spot in your heart?
GH: Absolutely, man! It’s one of my desert island discs. I listened to that thing probably a million times. [laughs]
BM: Definitely. Well, have you thought about, now you’re standing here looking at VIII in the rearview mirror, planning the 9th, have you ever thought to yourself, “Gee, what was I thinking?” Or, “Gosh, this is too big”? Or are you thinking, “Wow, it really paid off”?
GH: Well, I’ll tell you, the first, well the first couple of years, about the third year, it was more, “What the hell were you thinking?” Because I lost my ass on ProgPower II. The 9/11 attacks hit about two months before that show so nobody would fly in, and word of mouth hadn’t gotten out yet. I lost about 17 grand on that show.
BM: Wow.
GH: And that came out of my pocket. I had no sponsorship. I mean, I’m not rich by any means, I was in debt that much. But, I did the two shows, and it’s like crack. It was just a rush as far as hey, you’ve accomplished something. And I just thought, “Well, I’m gonna take one more crack at it, just to see if I can break even now that I know what I’m doing.” [laughs] And really, the stars just lined up right for me as far as ProgPower III. No bands had started touring over here yet, I had moved the show to Atlanta, I had videotaped it so I was able to send out presentations to the bands and say, “This is the kind of conditions you’re going to be playing under. This is exactly what I have to offer.” And I sold the bands on something different than they got in Europe. I said, “This is going to be a small, relaxed atmosphere. This is not going to be a rush, you’re going to be able to come in and enjoy yourselves.” You know, most festivals, they go, they play one night, they leave. I sold them on, come in for the whole ProgPower weekend, hang out with the fans. I had to go the used car salesman route.
BM: [laughs]
GH: But really, Blind Guardian was where it all started. Once I went after them, and promised them the moon, I was able to get them. Then, I gained some street cred in the eyes of all the other major bands over there. I wasn’t a nobody when I went to Gamma Ray, and I went to Angra, and I went to Edguy and all those bands. They were like, “Oh, well you got Blind Guardian, you must be doing something right.” So it kind of fell from there. Now I look at it and go, “Man, I’m pretty much a lucky bastard.”
BM: [laughs] Well, one of the things I like to do when I interview people, is to ask them about their albums over their history, their career.
GH: Uh-huh.
BM: If I mentioned the ProgPowers, could you tell me what was going on at the time, what you remember most about it? Starting with the first one?
GH: ProgPower I, you want to know what I thought while it was going on?
BM: Well, tell me what—
GH: Or while I was planning it, or biggest memory of each one?
BM: Yeah. What stands out the most in your mind—
GH: About each?
BM: Yeah. Tell me about ProgPower I, from the perspective of looking back at it now, what memory do you have that’s your fondest or your worst?
GH: ProgPower I, I was a one-man staff. I sold tickets. [laughs]
BM: [laughs]
GH: I did everything. I did it all myself, and it about killed me. I did have bands and a few stage guys helping me out. That was where I first hooked up with my stage manager. For those living under a rock it was Chris Roy from Reading Zero. He got me some gear from Guitar Center and helped me survive the technical shit I had no clue about. We drove all over Chicago looking for shit and I was stressed out to the max. But, when you’re actually standing over there in a packed room, on tables, right next to Ray Alder watching Russell Allen sing, it was worth it, man. It was worth it. [laughs]
BM: What was your standout memory, favorite band, favorite performance?
GH: Standout performance was Pain of Salvation, by far. It was almost a religious experience. They got there the night before, had problems over in the airport, actually slept in the airport in Baltimore, got there the morning of their performance, looked like absolute shit, and they got up there and played a two and a half hour show that was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen up until then.
BM: Really? Wow.
GH: Really. [laughs]
BM: Yeah. Have you thought about bringing them back?
GH: Well I have, obviously, but Daniel has his issues with the US. And so, that’s not gonna be resolved anytime soon.
BM: [laughs]
GH: He’s one to stick to his principles. I can respect that, even if he is a bit off.
BM: [laughs] Yeah. Well that sounds, that surprises me, actually. I would have thought Symphony X, or even Evergrey would have –
GH: Symphony X was fantastic, and it was great seeing them. And the thing with Symphony X was, that place was packed beyond belief. You couldn’t breathe, and I had watch it while standing in chairs next to Nick Van Dyk, and Ray from Fates. And we were having a great time. So it was really neat, but with Pain of Salvation, actually most of the crowd had emptied out when they started playing. So we’re going from 300 or so capacity to maybe, there was, when they got through playing, maybe 100 people there left. But they played like it was a 5000-person stadium. And it was the most intimate show, and they just poured every ounce into it.
BM: Oh, that’s great. I love it when bands do that.
GH: Oh, it was. And you know, Evergrey, bless their hearts, they had a pretty shitty show, to be honest with you. I remember Tom being very, very upset afterward, sitting in the kitchen, and he was cussing in Swedish. I could tell and I don’t even know Swedish.
BM: [laughs]
GH: But they had messed up, he’d missed some lyrics. And it was just an overall rough show for them. But most people didn’t care, we were just excited to see them. And one of the funniest things was that the ceiling was not but a foot taller than his head, that’s how small a place we were in. And so with his hair coming down past his waist, he started doing his whole swinging head-banging, and his hair actually got stuck in the ceiling panel.
BM: [laughs]
GH: So he performed half a song with his hair standing straight up, stuck in the ceiling. [laughs]
BM: [laughs] Oh man, priceless.
GH: It was great.
BM: [laughs] Priceless. Tell me about ProgPower II, then. You’ve got Symphony X back again, Kamelot, Evergrey again. Tell me what’s the standout performance that night?
GH: ProgPower II, that actually happened the same year as ProgPower I, and that’s called being overzealous. I sold out the first one at 300, and I thought, “Well hell, I can move it to a bigger stage, get some bigger bands, word of mouth is gonna get out, and I can do this, grow it.” It was too much, too soon. So I was already struggling as far as, to get to a break-even level, but then the 9/11 attacks hit. And, whew, it just killed me. I mean, I lost all momentum with that. I mean, everything from poor ticket sales to Vanden Plas canceling out because they were scared to fly over, and then just the big financial loss at the very end that really put a strain on my personal life.
BM: Was that the closest you’ve come to just pitching the whole idea?
GH: Yeah, absolutely. Well, the whole plan was to do three, break even, and then get the hell out.
BM: [laughs]
BM: Well, what kept you going at that point? You’re faced with all these losses, you looked like, you know, the Monopoly game guy with his pockets turned inside out, what’s going through your mind?
GH: The gut feeling that I can do this.
BM: Really?
GH: You know I had to keep—I kept telling myself, “You made the mistake, you tried to put too much in too soon, and then 9/11.” I do feel I lost over 100-200 ticket sales based on that. Because at the time, people weren’t buying tickets in advance that far, because I was still an unknown. And when you’re used to Metal Fest going on where bands cancel left and right at the last minute, a lot of people were just waiting to travel, but then, I lost that. I don’t know man, I just, sometimes you just know.
BM: What about the performances? Who was the stand-out?
GH: Oh, Angel Dust. Angel Dust tore the place apart. It wasn’t even close, to be honest. They brought energy and a crunch that I really had never experienced live before. That place went nuts when they started with “Bleed.” So much that Dirk, the singer, took the first ProgPower stage dive. Of course, it really didn’t help when he dove on this little girl that weighed about 100 pounds wet. She moved, and he went straight to the floor.
BM: [laughs] Just like the scene from the movie School of Rock.
GH: It was. [laughs] It was the parting of the Red Sea when he dove out through there. It was funny as hell. [laughs]
BM: [laughs]
GH: Oh man. But Evergrey came back and delivered the performance. They redeemed themselves then. It was fantastic. And obviously Kamelot and Symphony X, it was more of a, “Wow, this is kind of getting up there a little bit.” It was too bad that only about 450 people saw it, but it was a great show.
BM: Tell me about III. Was that the turning point for you?
GH: Yeah, that was it, man. Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Edguy. Angra.
BM: That was a good show. We were there.
GH: Right at the their pinnacles, right when they were busting out. I’ll never top that lineup.
BM: [laughs] Well, I don’t know, man, next year is looking pretty good. Nine looks great.
GH: Well, thank you, but as far as just the commercial appeal it won’t happen, and really it was more a product of the times, because nobody toured over here back then whereas now, you can hardly pull into a city without bumping into another tour.
BM: [laughs]
GH: So it’s just a different attitude now, as compared to back then.
BM: How would you choose a best out of all that? What was the standout in your mind?
GH: Easy. There’s no question, it was Edguy that night.
BM: Yeah. [laughs] Yeah, I remember that performance.
GH: They brought the energy to the stage, the guys had the David Lee Roth shtick going, it was just fun. They broke out with that show. Everybody else was so serious, other than Devin Townsend, who told the audience to stick it in their cunt, and everybody was like, “Huh, what?” [laughs]
BM: [laughs] I remember that guy.
GH: Oh, he was fantastic backstage, and his sound checks were the funniest thing ever. It was like a turrets syndrome up there on the mic. But in between, he was very polite, and “please” toward the sound engineers, and then he’d start singing like, “Fuck you.” And it was great. [laughs]
BM: Yeah, that Edguy performance was just over-the-top. The energy was huge.
GH: It was. And, obviously, if you remember, Blind Guardian followed them.
BM: Yeah.
GH: What a drop that was, huh?
BM: [laughs] Yeah, well, Hansi isn’t really known for an incredibly dynamic stage presence anyway.
GH: Well, that’s true, and he was sick that night. Half the band was sick, and then I don’t think they had really recovered from jet lag that much, to be honest with you. That was their first time overseas like this, in the States. I’m sure they’d been to South America, but first time where they had started touring only 24 hours after arriving. So I think it really took a toll on them, as far as that went.
BM: Well, tell me about, you’re cruising into ProgPower IV now. What do you remember about that one?
GH: Four selling out really fast and being one happy bastard.
BM: [laughs]
GH: I mean, I was ready to finally make some money after three years. And also I was a big fanboy of Nightwish at the time, so I was just extremely excited, just to be able to see them. And it was fantastic. And that was the year when we had the Make-a-Wish type situation with Mark Brulen, and that’s always going to be my number one memory, no matter how many festivals I do.
BM: Well, ProgPower IV is a heck of a lineup. You’ve got Symphony X back and Evergrey back, but you’ve got Nightwish added to it, and Pagan’s Mind. That’s quite a lineup. What’s the standout in your mind with that one?
GH: Well, Pagan’s Mind, you gotta remember, nobody knew who the hell they were when they played that one. So that was the first time the crowd has to really start trusting me on who I’m bringing over. I started to win people over. Remember when I announced Mercenary? I got a bunch of, “Eat shit and die” posts for booking them.
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs] I really did, man. Just look back. Circle II Circle was great, with Zak up there. I’m a big fanboy of his from back in the day. And Vanden Plas actually performing. That was a treat.
BM: [laughs]
GH: Doesn’t really happen much anymore, huh? [laughs]
BM: Yeah, yeah. So the standout for you was who for that night?
GH: Wow. That’s a—I gotta say, probably Nightwish, by far. I mean, they just, they command that stage. I mean, they take it to another level, and it was just fantastic. Evergrey was also amazing that night. They actually took it up another notch, so much that when Rage followed them, Tom decides to announce an impromptu signing session from up on stage. And he took half the damn crowd with him. So Rage played to a half-empty venue.
BM: Oh wow.
GH: They weren’t happy about that.
BM: How about ProgPower V, then? Was that a bit of a letdown, after IV’s highlight?
GH: Hell no! That was Jon Oliva!
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs] I had Weapons of Mass Destruction coming in, and it was essentially Savatage, I just couldn’t use the name because of the big boys in New York saying, “You can’t use it unless you pay us.” Fuck that. But [laughs] I was just hitting my peak stride, as far as I was concerned. Well, that’s my personal opinion, absolutely, just because of, as you know, my well-documented history with Jon. As far as the overall performance that year, there’s absolutely no doubt that Brainstorm took it home. And Tad Morose as well, they were both amazing, but Brainstorm just cemented their status that night.
BM: Getting into ProgPower VI now here, Stratovarius, Angra, Conception, Therion. You’ve got a hell of a lineup here. What’s the standout for you?
GH: Two, actually. Conception, number one, they were like the Holy Grail for me at the time. And I’d really been working behind the scenes, trying to pull that off for a couple of years, but it was almost impossible because Tory was doing his thing with Ark, and then obviously, Khan being really busy with Kamelot. And then it just kinda fell into place towards the end, and they agreed to do it. And it was just magic. And then of course, Circus Maximus was my other big, “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing” thing, because I booked them into a second slot, not even an opening slot, but a second slot, five months before their album was even released. People thought I was nuts.
BM: [laughs] Yeah, but now look at them.
GH: Yeah.
BM: I think I read somewhere that their album is outselling everything else out there right now?
GH: They are one of the hottest bands right now, especially as far as the prog scene goes, absolutely. So yeah, I was kind of glad to think that I was part of it. That was probably my favorite lineup out of all of them, overall.
BM: Number VI?
GH: Yeah. Overall.
BM: Then we come to ProgPower VII – Evergrey again, Jorn, Epica, Mercenary, that’s a heck of a bunch of people here. What do you remember most? And who was your standout?
GH: It was different. For the first time in three or four years, I was fighting the stigma of a not having a huge, all-star lineup like I’d had in the past. I’d lost Nevermore fucking again, and Jorn filled in at the last minute. So lots of second-guessing and whining all over the place. So it didn’t sell out, but it was only six tickets short. So that’s still a success in my eyes. It would have been nice to continue the sell-out streak, but any other promoter in the States, as far as our size goes, would kill for those kind of numbers.
BM: Oh yeah.
GH: It was still gratifying as far as I sold well, and it gave me room to branch out a little bit more, start taking some more chances because if you stay stagnant, you’re just going to die eventually. So you’ve got to start taking some chances and some risks.
BM: Who was the stand-out performance?
GH: Evergrey, just because of the nature of the show. It was a once-in-a-lifetime set for us in the States, because it was the DVD recreated. The string quartet came off flawlessly. Absolutely, for me, that was it. But then, a really close second was Freak Kitchen, because I’d never had stand-up comedy up there before.
BM: [laughs] Yeah, Mattias is something else, isn’t he?
GH: [laughs]
BM: He is great.
GH: The nicest guy!
BM: Oh yeah.
GH: I mean, by far.
BM: That’s gonna be one of my questions after I’m done asking you about VIII here. But tell me about this last one, what was the standout? Let’s say, your gonna say the all-star jam, right?
GH: The all-star jam was by far my favorite thing ever from what I remember of it! [laughs] It was the most fun I’ve ever had and the first time I really got hammered while on the job to where Chris had to save my ass up on stage at the end. I had no clue what I was saying. And the rest of it, we had a lot of technical issues this year, some of them beyond our control, some of them that we could have probably prevented given we had correct information. Of course it’s still all my damn fault if you ask my forum. But, good show. [laughs]
BM: How about aside from the all-star jam?
GH: Pagan’s Mind.
BM: Oh yeah.
GH: Pagan’s Mind, easily. They were just amazing. Now, Freak Kitchen was great, once again, on the showcase. But as far as the actual festival itself, it was Pagan’s Mind.
BM: Do these bands ever surprise you? Did you think Pagan’s Mind would blow everybody away that night?
GH: Yes and no. I knew they had the capabilities, but the question was how people were going to react without new material. Their new album had not come out yet, so how much momentum did they have going into the show? Their previous performance as the backing band for Jorn the year prior really helped them out as far as to keep the buzz going. But all it took was about one note out of Nils and it was back on.
BM: Yeah, they are phenomenal. Well, the question I was gonna follow up with this, do you keep in touch with any of these guys? Are you personal friends with anybody? Can you call up like, Michael Romeo and say, “Hey Mike, how you doin’?”
GH: [laughs] Yes and no. I’ll be honest with you, I try to maintain a professional relationship for the most part. Obviously, I’m good friends with a lot of the bands on there. However, the only true friend I have is Tom from Evergrey. I would consider him a close friend. I can call him up and cuss him out, talk to his wife and all that good stuff. Other than that, as far as the big names go other than, there’s nothing else more too it. Just a professional, good relationship.
BM: Let me ask you about ProgPower IX. It’s quite a diverse lineup. I’m excited about it. Probably more so than any I’ve seen so far. I’m not quite sure why. How did you come to put all these different people together? Volbeat? Wow. Elvenking? That’s an amazing, strange lineup.
GH: [laughs] Well, really it ebbs and flows as far as the kind of roster you put together. You’re gonna have your years with stacked, head-to-toe, and then other years, you’re going to have to take chances, because number one, you want to, and number two, you don’t have a choice. Some of the bands just aren’t available, as far as booking, or that would fit. This was one of those crazy years where a lot of times I just went with my gut on a few of them. A lot of them have been requested over the years from the hardcore fans. And I just felt that I had earned my stripes, and that I was able to put together a more diverse roster without a true commercial, big-name, head-to-toe roster. I still have my headliners to announce, so I think it’s probably going to be the best roster as far as diversity and strength overall since III and IV.
BM: Do you consider IX to be a risk you’re taking?
GH: I do, I do. Simply because this is the first time I have not announced the headliners before so much later than the rest of the roster. A lot of the bands are known as far as the hardcore fans, but there’s not as many know, as far as to the average fan who doesn’t visit my forum everyday, who only reads the articles in the magazines and stuff. And you still have to reach out to those fans, because they help sell your tickets. And those guys are gonna come based on the headliners more than anything, though.
BM: How you doin’ with those headliners? You have them nailed down yet?
GH: One down, one to go.
BM: Really? Are you going to surprise the heck out of everybody and announce Iced Earth as one of the headliners?
GH: [laughs] No comment.
BM: [laughs] You know, the posts on there make it sound like you have your hand in just about everything going on behind the scenes. Did you know that Matt was going to rejoin Iced Earth before it was announced?
GH: No, I did not. I do know a lot of insider info that I don’t share with the public, but I’m not privy to every single thing that goes on behind the scenes.
BM: [laughs]
GH: Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take advantage of it as soon as I find out something. I’ve done that in the past, many times. But I had nothing to do with Iced Earth, I was just as shocked as everybody else.
BM: They seem to be the major band that hasn’t appeared at ProgPower yet. Would you say it’s kind of getting close to their due?
GH: [laughs] I’ve got three white whales I’ve been chasing for years.
BM: Yeah, that’s the question I was gonna follow up with. Who are you chasing?
GH: Well, you gotta remember, Schaffer, Jon Schaffer was a special guest back at ProgPower III. So I brought him in back when I was nobody, and we went back to the hotel room, and I sat him down, we opened up a couple beers, and I told him flat out, “Jon, I’m here to kiss your ass so I can get your band in.”
BM: [laughs]
GH: And he looked at me and he said, “You know, I respect your honesty.” And he laughed. So Jon’s a no-bullshit kind of guy, as far as I’m concerned, when I’ve dealt with him. And I don’t know anything else as far as how other people perceive him, but I can only go with how he’s treated me.. The other bands, I’ve chased Fates Warning for about three or four years now, never can get any kind of scheduling done. And the other one’s Helloween.
BM: Yeah.
GH: And just different factors involved that keep it from happening.
BM: Well, that seems to be one of the names that gets bandied about. People would love to see Helloween, I think they’d love to see the return of Edguy. And Iced Earth, if I had to name the top three things I keep seeing on the board, those three would probably be among the very best.
GH: Well, I agree. Edguy I might not agree so much just because they’ve been here a couple of time. And their last album was a little bit controversial. Not for me, I loved it. But with them touring a little bit more, I’d love to have them back over here. Hell, I went after Avantasia, but just simply due to cost, it’s not possible.
BM: [laughs] Here’s a question that’s popped up on the forum: Jon Oliva. I mean, you really like this guy.
GH: Uh-huh.
BM: Is it because of his Savatage work? Or do you like him personally, as a human being?
GH: Both. He was my idol, as far as in the beginning as far as Savatage. I was a huge Savatage fanboy and he is just a legend. But after actually getting to meet with him at ProgPower IV when he was a special guest, it became different. He came up and just hung out for the weekend, he was one of the most humble, gracious, funniest guys I had ever met. And I honestly missed two or three sets because I sat up there in the loft and drank beer and listened to him tell me stories from the early days. It’s too bad he sounded like absolute ass up there with Circle II Circle.
BM: [laughs]
GH: Listening to him tell me stories about Lemmy from Motorhead and all, oh, it was just amazing.
BM: [laughs]
GH: So we got to be friends from there.
BM: You know, I wouldn’t guess that he has a sense of humor. He comes off on stage as kind of a scowling, hulking sort of guy that’s dead serious, you know?
GH: No way! He’s got the driest sense of humor. It’s funny to watch him to this day. As many shows as he’s done over the years, and cemented his status, he’s still real nervous before a show. I mean, really nervous. But once he gets after it, he’s just like a big old teddy bear. [laughs]
BM: [laughs] Well, of this lineup that we’re dealing with for IX, is there a band that you’re really looking forward to, or you think is going to blow the doors off more than any others?
GH: No question. Volbeat.
BM: Yeah.
GH: No question.
BM: You’re really excited about those guys, aren’t you? [laughs]
GH: I am pumped about seeing those guys.
BM: [laughs] I am too, actually. But I’m surprised. I think that will be a surprise to a lot of people, I think, to hear you say Volbeat’s going to be the one to blow the doors off.
GH: Well, they will. I mean it’s just, everybody you talk to that’s seen them over in Europe love them even if they didn’t know them beforehand. They appeal just a little bit of everybody, basically. Ok perhaps a few of the “true” army or prog snobs hate them. I mean, they’re just going to be fantastic. I remember the people second-guessing and bitching about Freak Kitchen when I announced them, even more so than Volbeat, and look what happened with that.
BM: [laughs]
GH: So sometimes the fans just gotta trust me. [laughs]
BM: [laughs] Well you know, that brings me to another question. You seem to be a guy who has a healthy amount of self-confidence. I mean you like—how shall I put that?—you seem to like to be in charge of something and take care of all the parts and pieces of it? Is that how you are, really? Or have you just fallen into it and you just happen to be good at it?
GH: Well, you gotta remember my background as an ER nurse. I thrive in chaos, I really do. So I’m good at it. I mean, I’m not trying to brag, but just, I’m good at it. But I can’t do anything without my crew. My crew’s become my second-hand family, and now I’m able to step back and let them do their thing. I don’t have to bark and yell, they take care of it. Chris and Wayne are my guys. And if there’s something that comes up they don’t feel comfortable with, then I step in. I enjoy it, it’s an adrenaline rush, especially when you get to go toe to toe with the big boys with big egos.
BM: Oh yeah.
GH: But you gotta have thick skin, because if you get the praise, you gotta be able to take the punches as well. And lord knows I get enough punches along the way.
BM: Well, that’s a good, I was gonna ask you something else, but you just lead into the question of that recent scathing review of ProgPower by that guy from the Metal Crypt thing.
GH: [laughs] Yeah.
BM: Does that affect you personally? Does that bother you, or do you just let it roll off?
GH: Here’s the deal. When somebody writes a scathing review, it really doesn’t affect me at all. I really don’t think much about it, because it’s just shit. But when somebody writes a well-thought, articulated review, and points out some very negative aspects of the show that they experienced, that bothers me. Because here’s a person who’s really paying attention, trying to enjoy the show, and they’re not able to because of something I’ve done, or I have control over, and should fix. So those bother me a lot. There’s a lot of criticism, as far as in the past, spotlight, the smoking issue, those things bother me. But when somebody says, “This show sucks. Glenn Harveston’s a scumbag capitalist pig.” You know, I just laugh at those and go about my business. Fuck ’em.
BM: [laughs] Well, that’s good to know. The ProgPower forum is one of the busiest and liveliest I’ve seen in the metal realm. I laughed when I read that post where you said, “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t read everything that goes across here.” But how often do you pop in? and what causes you to do so? Is it the subject line, or the amount of hits the thread gets, or what is it?
GH: Well, I do try to read everything. I still can’t read every single thread. And I’ll also lose interest in a thread, and I’ll quit reading it in the middle of things. Lots of times people will send me emails and say, “Hey, did you read this?” if they think it’s very controversial. Then I’ll pop back in. But yeah, it’s really just the subject matter that keeps me coming back, especially if it regards to the actual festival itself. Those, I pay attention to, I’ll read every single thing. If it’s in regards to the bands that are currently playing the next year, I will read every single thing. But you know, when it starts to get, dance around the edges, I just don’t have time to read everything. I’d rather live.
BM: [laughs] Yeah, I can imagine. There’s some of the people on there post a lot. I mean, I’m thinking of Fiddler, Zod. Do you feel like you get to know these people a lot? Do they become friends over time?
GH: Oh, absolutely. I mean, they’re like family after all these years. And just like a family, you have ups and downs with them. We all roll with the punches, and tastes change. You just get to know them, you get to know what they think. And it makes my job a little bit harder, to be honest with you, because when people’s tastes start changing, I can’t really change the festival to meet my old friends’ tastes. I have to stay with what’s successful. And I lose a few people along the way. That’s just the nature of the business.
BM: You and [Laser’s Edge guru] Ken Golden seem to have sort of a symbiotic relationship.
GH: [laughs]
BM: You share a lot of music with one another. Do you pretty much agree with everything he sends over? Or…?
GH: Hell no!
BM: …or are there times you just say, “This music sucks?”
GH: Hell no. I pretty much disagree with him probably 70% of the time, Bill.
BM: Really? [laughs]
GH: But we are such good friends, that I can tell him that he sucks, and then he can make fun of me, and then we go about our business. We’ve been friends since back in the Powermad days where I got to know him. So when all this music was first coming out, we were all just eating it up with a spoon, and we would pretty much take anything from him. He treated me like his bitch. But over time, I mean, you start to refine your taste, and you tell him it sucks even if it’s on his label. I don’t get into them as far as the lighter prog rock stuff, which he specializes in. And you know, he’s a lot more tolerant of a vocalist as far as accents go that I can’t handle.
BM: [laughs]
GH: But no, we butt heads every day.
BM: [laughs] How about that post on there recently that says, “It’s time for you to start a light to AOR rock festival?”
GH: [laughs] Hell no.
BM: I noticed you didn’t respond to that one. You didn’t jump in.
GH: I didn’t. No way. One, I would love to, but you know, it’s basically starting over because it’s a different fan base. And I just, I enjoy what I do. I have a successful thing going, I’m comfortable with what I do, and after struggling for so many years, I don’t want to have to do all of that again. People ask me, “Well, why don’t you go to a bigger venue? You sell out every year. You could make a lot more money.” I don’t want to. It’s not always about the money…ok it is now [laughs]. Don’t get me wrong, I want to get paid for what I do. I won’t do this without getting paid anymore. But I’m fine where I’m at. I’m happy. I’ve got a good product, it’s just comfortable. And so I don’t venture out. Let somebody else experience the pain and the glory of doing it. [laughs]
BM: Oh yeah. Does this ProgPower thing look like something you’d like to do indefinitely? Or do you have a cutoff point somewhere in your life?
GH: When I start losing money is when the festival stops.
BM: [laughs]
GH: That’s the honest answer.
BM: Yeah.
GH: I will not do this anymore at a loss. Period. So as long as the fans keep coming, I’ll keep doing it.
BM: That was one of the latest posts on there, something like, “How many ProgPowers does Glenn have left in him?” And you did answer that when you said, “Well, when the money runs out, you’re done.” But what, do you ever foresee a time—the other thing people are saying is, “Well, you gonna hand it off to somebody, you gonna sell it to somebody?” What would happen in the event you decide to stop?
GH: Well, I’d hand it off to somebody that’s been with me from the start. And I’m sure he would take care of me in a fair way from a financial perspective. But I’m not looking to sell the whole thing off, make a buck, and get out. If he wanted to continue along, then so be it.
BM: Are you at the point now where you can consider yourself a success? Have you “arrived”?
GH: I consider myself a success, but not truly successful. I’ve stagnated, if you want to know, that’s how the outside world looks at it. I don’t grow. I don’t want to. I’m a success in my eyes. But to be successful, you’re supposed to be ever growing, and that’s just not me, man.
BM: [laughs] Yeah, yeah. I have a question that I don’t know if I can ask without sounding weird. The tone of some of the posts on ProgPower. The fans. They really love this festival. They take it to heart. They’re rabid about it. Do you—how do I phrase this question—do you ever get the feeling that the fans think they own this and they can dictate how it should run?
GH: Well, they do.
BM: [laughs]
GH: They really do. They’re the ones that buy the tickets, so they do dictate how things are run. The thing is that I have to run it how it would please everyone overall, as opposed to a vocal minority. So on my forum, you might have 50 people yelling and it’s because something bothers them, but then another 800 people or so could care less. So who you gonna cater to?
BM: [laughs] Yeah, that’s true. Well, who’s your competition out there? Is ProgPower USA far and away the premier festival out there, or are there any competitors you kind of look at over your shoulder from time to time and worry about?
GH: Oh, you’re gonna make me sound like an ego maniac.
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs]
BM: Well, you should be very proud of this whole gig.
GH: I am proud of this. I think I have reached an elite level with this festival for what it is. As far as overall, there are much bigger festivals for underground bands. The New England hardcore metal thing that’s on MTV, it’s corporate sponsored, and it’s huge up there. Other than that, I mean, obviously I have some good buddies that do Chicago Fest, I wish them the best of luck with everything. At one point they were competition that I did worry about, but they’ve started to change their direction as far as the type of bands they book, so that doesn’t really bother me so much. The only other two festivals out there that really hit me would be Bay Area thing. It really doesn’t affect me as much, because there’s more of a concentration on the prog rock side of things which I rarely touch. And then there’s the MadFest show that John and Tammy did, and it was more of in the spirit of the first ProgPower. So I think they did a great job with that, and I wish them the best of luck. But it’s taken me eight years or so to get this where I’m at right now. I think it’s going to take somebody else another eight years to catch up.
BM: How about the bands today? Competition is just horrendous. A lot of people say the illegal downloads affect the business. It’s expensive to tour. What advice would you have for bands these days? How can they make it?
GH: How can a band make it? You gotta be willing to pay the price early on. You gotta get out and tour and invest in yourself. That’s the bottom line. And I know you’re gonna lose money doing touring, but that’s just the way it is here in the States. Everybody has to go through the pains. Opeth, Nevermore, Symphony X, all these, or even Sonata Arctica. They’ve played anywhere between 50 and 100 people at times over here. But look where they’re at now.
BM: Would you ever want this music business to be a full-time gig for you, where you’re not an ER nurse or an ER IT-type person?
GH: Yeah, I would absolutely love it. The question’s come up a couple of times about what if I did a second festival. I could quit my real job and just do music full time. I could. But it’s tough. You’ve got to start taking some risks and some gambles again. I’ve got a family to support. My wife’s currently going to school. I have a daughter in high school a few years from college and one in elementary school. I just can’t run those risks again. Does that make sense?
BM: Oh yeah. Definitely. Yeah, it’d be really risky right now.
GH: It would, and we need to keep everything stable as far as that goes. When the kids get older and my wife’s out of school, then I can roll the dice a bit more.
BM: You know, one of the things I liked about Lance, interviewing him, was his family involvement. I mean, his son was at the table selling CDs with him. Do you get that kind of enthusiasm from your family? Do your kids like this kind of stuff? Or do they roll their eyes and say, “Jeez, dad, go back to the Eagles”?
GH: [laughs] Well, I’ll tell you what. My wife enjoys quite a bit of it, especially the catchier, melodic stuff. And she’ll surprise me every now and then, “Hey, Raintime sounds pretty good” and I’ll be shocked. [laughs]
BM: [laughs]
GH: She really does enjoy it quite a bit. And as I expose her to more to it, she’s become a bigger fan along the way. She loves Nightwish now. My youngest hates 99% of it. As far as my daughter in high school, you have to be selective as far as what you expose her to because most of the time she could care less. It’s just not her thing and I can respect that. But if you find something that’s got that special little oomph to it, it does indeed appeal to her for a least a few minutes. She’s a fan of Freak Kitchen.
BM: Really?
GH: Yeah. “Speak When Spoken To” was a big, monster hit in this house. [laughs]
BM: [laughs]
GH: And she likes Volbeat quite a bit.
BM: Wow.
GH: The bizarre stuff every now and then will get her. Something like Diablo Swing Orchestra will. And Unexpect. And Epica.. But then if you play her something more along the mainstream lines like Symphony X or Kamelot, it’s like, “That sucks.” [laughs]
BM: Really? Wow, yeah.
GH: So, you never know.
BM: What is it about a band, Volbeat, all of these people. What does it have to have in your opinion, do you have to like it, or do you have to know that other people will like it?
GH: Honestly, a little bit of both. I am a sucker for a hook. Whether that be a riff, a soaring chorus, or just a beautiful piano interlude, just something that just really draws you in. That’s what catches me. And then, obviously build on that. You’ve got to have a good vocalist as well. I haven’t booked a band yet that I did not like beforehand. Now, some of the bands I don’t enjoy as much as the others, obviously. And I do have to book to appeal to the masses at times. But that’s just part of it.
BM: Well, the vocalist thing. I’ve seen your posts about the Eagles, you said they’re the best harmonizing band in the world, bar-none.
GH: Yep.
BM: [laughs] What is your favorite Eagles album?
GH: [laughs] Probably The Long Run.
BM: Is it really? That’s surprising.
GH: It is? Walsh on “In the City.” Timmy on “I Can’t Tell You Why.” Don on “The Sad Café.” Glenn on “Heartache Tonight.” It was just a total team album. BTW, Joe Walsh is one of the greatest guitar players ever.
BM: How about if you could get any vocalist—Well, let me rephrase that. Is there a vocalist out there, either part of one of these kinds of bands or not, that you’d just love to see live? Maybe you’d never invite them to ProgPower, but you’d go see them. Like a Johnny Mathis, or whatever. Is there a vocalist you’re just ga-ga over out there?
GH: In the metal genre, or all of them?
BM: Could be anything.
GH: Ok, how about radio metal. I go ga-ga over, David Draiman, from The Disturbed.
BM: Uh-huh.
GH: I think he is absolutely fantastic, monkey fuck calls and all. Russell Allen, I’ll follow him anywhere as well.
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs] Michael Erickson’s one of my new favorites. Just don’t tell him that.
BM: Oh gosh, yeah. What a voice.
GH: And the other two, I love them, but some people are just like, “Huh?” And that would be Tom Englund and Jon Oliva. Those are my other two favorites.
BM: Jon Oliva surprises me, because I never considered him as much of a singer as a composer of music.
GH: You know, it’s not about the singing sometimes. Sometimes it’s about the passion behind the vocals. And that’s where Jon and Tom succeed better than anyone. I feel their music instead of hearing their music.
BM: Ooh, that’s a great way to put that. Well, is this Intromental thing with Claus you’re working on, is this part of you taking steps toward making music sort of your full-time gig? or is this just another sideline, something else to occupy your time?
GH: [laughs] Lord no, not just that. It really is a step in the direction, as far as that goes. It’s not a full-time job, it’s something I can work on on the side with realistic expectations. But it exposes me to other sides of the industry that I haven’t seen, such as dealing directly with record labels regarding contracts, how distribution works, publicity. Really just getting an idea of where it’s at and the ultimate goal is to eventually start your own label. If I can pull this off for another ten years, I wouldn’t mind taking a shot at that.
BM: That would be tough, considering the threads we’ve had on the Forum about the music industry, bands coming and going like migrating birds.
GH: I don’t agree with a lot of the models out there right now. I mean, you just can’t do it that way. And I would be realistic in how I started this, as far as dealing with the online aspects. Some of it would work, some of it would fail, but the current model is crap.
BM: [laughs] Yeah. Given your huge disparate taste in music, which seems to run the gambit all over the place, does that mean you’ve got a warehouse full of CDs at home, or are you more selective in what you buy?
GH: I used to buy a lot. I’m probably sitting on about, I don’t know, 2000 CDs here. And I probably listen to 200 of them at most. [laughs]
BM: [laughs]
GH: I give a lot of them away now. It’s nice being in this position. I don’t have to buy much. Most of the time I get sent some nice packages from the labels or from the bands. Every now and then something will come along and I’ll buy it, but I am selective as far as my purchases go now because it will collect dust otherwise.
BM: Why did you name your festival ProgPower? Was it because of the European version of this?
GH: Absolutely it was. At the time, Rene’s the one that came up with the name. I had nothing to do with it. He came up with it, started his festival, and we were friends through the Internet, and we talked, and I suggested that I use the name as well, just so we could gain International exposure. That was the whole intention. Now once ProgPower III rolled around, the name itself took on a new meaning. His is more the power of progressive metal. He’s able to focus generally on progressive metal, because he’s in Europe, and he has just an easier time with it. Whereas I had to take the name and make it a hybrid, where it was prog and power. So that’s why when people say, “Well that don’t look like a prog lineup.” Well, it’s not meant to be. It’s meant to be 50/50, if at all possible.
BM: Do you play an instrument?
GH: Absolutely not. I have no musical talent whatsoever.
BM: [laughs] Really.
GH: Yeah, according to Ken and Claus I can’t even listen right.
BM: [laughs] Does that ever bother you? Like do you wish you could have done, you know, drums or guitar or vocals or something?
GH: I would. Piano. That would have been the one thing I would have loved to learn how to do. I don’t mean keyboards, I mean classical piano, blues-type piano, jazz. That’s the kind of stuff I would love to learn how to do. I could care less about learning how to play metal.
BM: [laughs] Yeah, there’s not always a lot of piano in metal anyway.
GH: [laughs] I mean, I could sit in a blues bar and listen to a guy play piano all night, and just have the time of my life. Whereas I go to a metal show, two or three hours, I’m ready to go.
BM: Let me ask you about working with Shane. How do you see your work with Shane, or the Showcase, how does that fit with ProgPower proper? Do they play off each other? Does it feature something different?
GH: Well, honestly, we take it on a year-to-year basis. He stepped up to the plate and took over the pre-party a couple years ago, and has obviously been able to improve it dramatically. He’s come a long way and does a damn good job. Over the past couple years, I’ve given him some pointers and laid down the law at times [laughs]. So now it is kind of unofficially the third night of ProgPower. And as long as he can maintain the quality, I see no reason to interfere with him at all because it gives me a night to just sit back and enjoy the show and not have to worry about anything.
BM: Definitely. Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to say?
GH: I guess the main thing I just want people to know that I do take posts seriously, when they post seriously. Does that make sense?
BM: Oh yeah, definitely.
GH: I do take criticism to heart. I do take recommendations to heart. I do listen to people bitch, moan, and whine as well.
BM: [laughs] Yeah. Does that bother you, all these people on here? I read a lot of them, and some of them just are pissing and moaning about this choice or that choice or couldn’t it be that. Don’t you ever just get the urge to say, “Man, would you shut the hell up?”
GH: Oh I do, to my screen all the time. I just can’t actually type that. Or I’ll type out a big 200-word reply calling them an asshole and then delete it right before I do anything else.
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs]
BM: Yeah.
GH: Sometimes, yeah, I do have thick skin, but some of that’s just very unwarranted. You’ve gotta be able to see the big picture, and from a fan’s standpoint, you can’t see that. You want instant gratification, and I understand that. But I’m dealing with a lot of issues, and just because I don’t book the band you want doesn’t make me a jerk or an idiot.
BM: [laughs] Yeah, that’s true. Well, what is the thing that would surprise fans the most, that they don’t know you do behind the scenes?
GH:, I work all year on this show. This is not something we all scratch together a couple of weeks beforehand.
BM: [laughs]
GH: [laughs] And I love the posts when people start adding up numbers and questioning my budget, and all that. So when I say I want to be compensated for my work, I want to be compensated for a year’s worth of work. So to the people who say I’m greedy, I say, “Fuck you.”
BM: [laughs] Yeah, that’s true. Well, you know, given this, this is something I want to ask you before I let you go—12 months of work on ProgPower, you’ve got a full-time gig with the nursing, what do you do in your spare time to unwind? Where do you go? What is your hobby away from your hobbies? How do you get away from all this?
GH: [laughs] Me and Mr. Buffett sit on the back porch by the pool and do nothing.
BM: [laughs] Yeah, I can picture that. That sounds like a good time.
GH: That’s my idea of a perfect afternoon. That and drinking beer with my bud Chicken Killer.
BM: [laughs] That’s very cool. Where are you from, by the way, originally down there?
GH: Originally from Dayton, Tennessee.
BM: Dayton, Tennessee. Where’s that in relation to Chattanooga, or Nashville?
GH: It is an hour north of Chattanooga. It’s where the Scopes Monkey Trial was about evolution.
BM: Well, Glenn, this has been a pleasure. It really has. I enjoyed chatting with you. You have a great sense of humor.
GM: Well thank you. Just make me look good. [laughs]
BM: I don’t know what it is, Glenn, but I’m excited like never before with that lineup for next year. I don’t know why, but it’s just thrilling me right now.
GH: Well, I’ll be excited once I sell a few tickets.
BM: [laughs] You’ve had a very complex sort of life, being an ER nurse, you must have been in positions where you’ve had to save lives, is that correct?
GH: Correct.
BM: When you look at your life, what are you most proud of – your work as an ER nurse and all that goes with it, or putting together one of the most successful music festivals in the world?
GH: [laughs] There’s no question. When you save a life, it’s just something totally different. It’s also hard on you as well, because you do see all the misery and the hurt and the pain when you lose one. So really, I’ve balanced out all of that with the joy that I got from the festival. And they’re almost to the point that the ER’s burned me out, I’ve had to step away from it now.
BM: Yeah. And that’s a great answer. I was suspecting you’d say that, but I just wanted to ask it anyway, because it reveals sides of you that most people might not hear or know about.
GH: Cool, well thanks, man.
BM: Have a good evening.
GH: Thanks, man, thank you.
BM: Bye.
