INTERVIEW WITH BEN BARBAUD
Twinmusix:
Are you going to hold your festival internationally?
Ben:
For the moment no, we are in touch with some touch with some big promoters in different countries, but everyone is a little bit afraid because as you can guess because we have to move all the decor. And for the logistics it’s really difficult and it would cost a lot so we are waiting for to find a strong partner. So we are looking at different options but we have in America, in Europe as well and we will see in the future if we can’t find a good deal to make this happen than that to be honest I am not sure if this is realistic.
Twinmusix:
How did you gain an initial interest in starting a music festival?
Ben:
Hard to say, it was because when I was young approximately around 15 years I started to be a drummer, but it was not so good. I was a punk hard-core fan and I listened to bad brains, dead Kennedys for many hours. When I was a teenager I was looking to participate to the singer because the do it yourself attitude was very important in my eyes.
So when I started to be a musician, and I saw that I was a bad musician I decided to organise some club shows in a bars around Clission and then it was France year after year. I meet a lot of people, they asked me to participate with me and we built a strong crew here in Clisson.
Then we started a festival called fury fest in the past. And then we came back here to Clisson my city to start Hellfest year after year. I cannot explain why this festival is so big right now.
Twinmusix: because there are amazing acts.
Ben: yes, we are always working for the audience, year after year and so we invest a lot for them. You know in my eyes the first head liner on the festival in the audience, so we have to pay and invest massively to have an audience enjoying always enjoying the experience here and so it works, I think so.
Twinmusix:
Do you run any other festivals?
Ben:
No, Hellfest takes a lot of planning and dedication
Twinmusix:
what was your greatest set back?
Ben:
There are so many, so the best edition for me was maybe the second edition 1o years ago, because we had a lot of marginal, we did not have the same money to organise everything well. And so it’s the first year I saw every volunteers working here at Hellfest, you know. Big,strong with hover. So we saved the festival with this way of working. And it was a really impressive year.
Twinmusix:
where does the future lie for both you and Hellfest?
Ben:
For me, every year we have to be thinking about the year after you know, and on Monday or maybe next Tuesday we will have a, we will go to the Facebook everywhere to read all the comments to read all the reports and we will see what’s wrong on this year’s festival. And then we will maybe organise a meeting with the whole crew to decide what will be the priority for next year. And with this way of working we are going to.
I don’t know, we have no limits, so if the audience are still strong with us and if people love the festival year after year we will offer more and more and more and more.
Twinmusix:
In previous interviews you have mentioned your first festival was run with “passion, but little understanding to make a music festival successful, what advice would you give to the person looking to work in the management position for a music festival today?
Ben:
hahaha advice, believe in the project is the main priority for sure but I think the key to success is not looking for money, you know the success of the festival is not a goal, it’s just a consequence of meeting people, volunteers, technicians, friends and all this energy together. You can do the biggest thing.
You know when I was in my parents’ home I started the festival, 15 years ago, it was impossible for me to think that my festival became this thing and this festival is not only my festival it’s the festival of every volunteer, every technician, every person working for the festival for the past, right now, into the future.
It’s very important to be involved with them you know, every person. You know when you chanced to meet some good people, with energy you don’t need to say to him do this, do this. Listen to the guy and say ok, you have a good idea, do this project, I’ll give you my key, I trust you, you are going to do something really crazy for the for the festival and year after year when you are building a new VIP area or the shops, or the sculptures, I just meet one guy or crew and I said ok I trust with you, I’m sure you are going to do something spectacular, and that’s the case, I think so.
Twinmusix:
How did you decide the first big support act for this festival?
Ben:
we had a change in the festival because the first 8 years the festival was organised in another place. Did You visit the back stage?
Twinmusix: No unfortunately, we are not allowed back there
Ben:
so the place was too small, so we moved the festival here and just here it was only some vynards. There was no flat grounds only vineyards and so we decided to ground everything so we needed some money to do this.
Four years ago we organised the first festival with big headliners we did guns and roses, scorpion and kiss. It’s the reason why we found enough money to pay everything and then year after year we are going to improve everything, last year is the reason we have a new VIP area this year. It is because last year many fans said that they seemed too packed at the festival last year so we decided to move the backstage area to another place and the VIP area as well.