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The calm before the storm ...
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'Everybody thinks, 'Oh, these bands are partying.' Nope ... '
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Page 3
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'It never gets any less amazing.' ...
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Browse Bands by Name
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 Bands Main
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A gang of five stagehands is assembling a winged, red-eyed skull. It will hover above Avenged Sevenfold's drum kit tomorrow afternoon when they take the Ozzfest stage for the first time.
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Avenged Sevenfold's winged skull
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The main stage is bustling with activity.
The area behind it is littered with equipment — drum kits, amps, smoke machines — and boxes of merch. There are golf carts as far as the eye can see, and everyone — everyone — seems to be smoking feverishly. Longhaired men and women hoist, roll, pull, and push equipment to and fro like a colony of ants — they move fast, avoiding near-collisions left and right. It's organized chaos.
Back by the second stage, the Red Chord's Guy Kozowyk is using an Exacto knife to slice holes in his band's vinyl banner. He says the Chord paid $2,000 for it; apparently that price didn't include carving out holes to prevent the banner from flapping in the wind and creating a safety hazard.
Meanwhile, bands that have toured together are reunited and welcome one another with forceful hugs. A Life Once Lost frontman Bob Meadows rolls through the vacant parking lot — which will be crowded with thousands of metalheads by this time tomorrow — on a skateboard as Unearth's Ken Susi rides by on a bicycle.
All That Remains' Phil Labonte growls into his mic onstage during his band's soundcheck while the members of Between the Buried and Me apply sunscreen to their arms and necks. Crew members unravel stage banners and inflate two huge Black Label Society balloons, which will later soar above the stage.
"The amount of work that goes into this thing is ridiculous," says Labonte, surveying the work being done behind the scenes. "It's a massive production, and it's kind of amazing that it happens every day without a hitch. It almost has a life of its own."
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"When you buy a ticket and you're a kid, you don't realize how much goes into it."
—Full Blown Chaos frontman Ray Mazzola
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"When you buy a ticket and you're a kid, you don't realize how much goes into it," says Full Blown Chaos frontman Ray Mazzola. "Everybody thinks, 'Oh, these bands are partying.' Nope. The poker games, the barbecues, the wrestling in little tubs — that'll be later on in the night. The dump out, the dump in — everything's time-sensitive. You have to be on and off in five minutes, total. And you can't step on anyone's toes."
While Avenged Sevenfold run through their set on the main stage, their Suicide Girl-meets-Abercrombie & Fitch model girlfriends park themselves in the emptied seats in the barren venue, looking on lovingly. An outsider can't help but notice that, during rehearsal, most of the bands seem as though they couldn't care less about what they're doing — playing highly technical guitar riffs effortlessly. But tomorrow, when these same bands take the stage and play the same riffs, they'll be either manic — running around, jumping off speakers, revving up the crowd — or playing with a scientist-like concentration.
Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia, wearing a red workout shirt and black pants, is power-walking through the vacant rows of seats inside the amphitheater. The band spent 14 hours on a plane, flying in from Milan, Italy, and she needs to stay awake until at least 9 p.m. so she can adjust to Ozzfest time.
Meanwhile, Alicia Black, who handles production and wardrobe for Disturbed, is in their dressing room, preparing — she's setting up their wardrobe cases, which each contain various personal effects, like calendars, pictures of dogs and babies, artwork from their kids, small stereos, and even humidifiers. "I have to make sure there's beer and Jägermeister," she says. "If you've got that, the show goes on. I need to make sure all the stuff we advanced is here — soda, beer, water, deli trays. I'm setting it up to make it comfortable for the guys, with towels, shampoo, socks. It's not glamorous, but it is what it is: People ask me for stuff, and I get it."
After the band's rehearsal, Avenged drummer the Reverend lies down in the parking lot in front of his bus, exhausted, and stares up at the cloudless sky. M. Shadows nods toward him, as he mounts his tricked-out motorcycle before taking it for a spin down Auburn Enumclaw Road.
Needless to say, the Ozzfest organization is just as particular about who is on the tour aas it is about how it's run. Fenton, Ozzfest's associate producer, is involved with every aspect of the festival, including booking. A number of factors weigh into his decisions.
"If you're a second-stage, rotating band, having an album coming out in May or June is perfect," he explains. "It could be your first album coming out, because the decision's not based on history. But having a label that understands metal — and these bands — is key. The label, the agents, the managers: everyone has to be on top of things. And if everyone's on their game, and more importantly, the music's good, they're on."
He says he sees every band play a gig before inviting them to join Ozzfest.
"It's hugely important to see these bands live, to see the connection to their own fans, and having fans that will come out and see you, whether it be in your hometown or out on the road," he says. "These bands have to be up and working. This isn't anyone's first tour: You have to put some time out on the road before you get here."
He notes that the most successful bands on the tour also possess a certain savvy. "On Ozzfest, the amount of time they have onstage is not important," he says. "It's going to the signing booths, hanging out all day, being out there with the fans. Being here, being around everybody all day, and the opportunities that are presented to you are almost more important than the amount of time you're on the stage."
Fenton, who has been involved with planning Ozzfest since its humble beginnings, says that even after all these years, he's still deeply inspired by what is accomplished each time around.
"It never gets any less amazing," he says. "The amount of work that's put into these shows is incredible. People work from before the sun's up, all day long, to make sure everyone has a good day."
"It's really a great thing," says production manager Hernandez as he watches his worker bees sweating under the hot sun, working frantically to pull together the summer's biggest — and hardest-hitting — tour. "Everyone knows each other, so we have a great time in the summer, because we get to see friends. This is a great opportunity for these bands to get their careers going — it's almost like a farm system. After the first and second show, it's just a machine and we're screaming down the highway.
"After the last show, everyone splits," he concludes, "and we come back next year and do it all again."
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Photo: MTV News
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