How To Get A Press Pass

Seeing as how most of you only know me through this here site you might not realize what a music freak I am. Love me some tunes, especially various forms of rock. Before MP3s I was the guy that made crazy mix tapes and totally understood what John Cusack was talking about in High Fidelity. And I love live shows, so I’m especially pumped about another opportunity I’ve worked myself into this week.

I grew up as a typical Gen Xer who watched hair metal rise then fall to grunge, but I also experienced adolescence before a lot of the faith-based scene merged with the mainstream about a decade and a half ago. Some of you might remember Christian artists like Amy Grant or DC Talk and how they “crossed over” to secular music. Sounds funny but that was such a big deal at the time.

Since I liked heavier stuff I had to go and find it myself. The artists on the radio were simple to track down, but what about the bands I really loved (who you’ve most likely never heard of)? Well, one way to see my faves was through summer festivals where thousands of people would camp in the middle of nowhere for days to see dozens of performers do their thang. I discovered a marvelous place called the fringe stage where my unknown heroes shredded and then hung out with eager kids like me after the show.

Turnin' tribal at a festival last year.

Dakoda Motor Co. became one of my fixations in the mid-90s. Meeting folks like bassist, professional surfer, and future MTV DJ Peter King kept me excited for a year straight. Many others took a few minutes with me and made my year.

I still have those guitar picks.

I’ve been to hundreds of shows in my life at just about any type of venue you can imagine. The scene described above occurred at a festival called Creation where tens of thousands of people show up annually. It’s been over 15 years since I was last there, so imagine my excitement when some friends told me they were going!

But times have changed. I’m savvier these days and all about creating opportunities as most of you know. That’s why I came up with the idea to get a press pass to this year’s festival. Why not, right? I’m a successful blogger and freelance writer with some media experience.

I contacted the organizers who politely informed me that they couldn’t give out press credentials to everyone who asked. I needed a legitimate media outlet backing me. So I said thanks and gave up because that’s how things get accomplished.

Yeah right! Most success happens during Plans B-Z, so I started brainstorming.