Emergenza
Encyclopedia
Emegenza is an international music festival for up-and-coming bands, with concerts in more than 150 cities around the world.
was held to 245 people. Five months later, the audience grew to 3,000. Likewise, the increase of participants yielded in the festival's first ever compilation album. From 1993 to 2003 Emergenza recorded 54 compilation albums, both live and studio works. In 1995 the Emergenza logo was created.
On January 7th, 1996, The Gibus Club in Paris hosted the first ever Emergenza concert outside of Italy. 113 bands enrolled, expanding the presumed 7 gigs to 23 gigs. The following year the festival expanded to England where 2,500 people attended the first Emergenza European Final at London Astoria
. In 1998, Emergenza was invited to take place at more exclusive clubs.
In 2001, the festival crossed over the Atlantic Ocean to Montreal
. The Canadian region of Quebec
becomes the first of many North American locations. In 2002 five cities host Emergenza and by 2003 over 700 bands play 190 gigs in the first ever U.S. season. The following year, 2,876 musicians take part in the U.S. to join 16,000 European and Canadian counterparts. In 2005, 70 North American cities take part in the festival, a huge jump from just four years before.
The Emergenza Festival spread to both Japan
and Australia
in 2006 with shows in Sydney
, Melbourne
, Adelaide
and Tokyo
. Later, Perth
and Brisbane
were included to Australia's list. Between 2008-2010, The Czech Republic
, Slovenia
, Russia
, and New Zealand
began participating in the festival. Emergenza’s next market priorities are China
and Korea
.
The audience selects all the bands going through the preliminary rounds. The vote is open to the crowd and they vote as many times as they like for as many bands as they like. All bands, musicians and fans alike will see the open vote. In the case of regional and final concerts, there is a professional panel of judges.
All national winners play at the international final in Rothenburg
, Germany at the Taubertal Open Air Festival. The trip, accommodations, and local transportation is fully paid by Emergenza festival. During the 3 days of the Taubertal Open air Festival, the finalist bands have the chance to share the bill and the stage with many successful and famous bands and play in front of 30,000 people.
The "Best Band in the World," as voted by the jury during the International Final, will then get a full production, a tour, music instruments, and other technical material. The finalist band members voted as "Best Drummer", "Best Singer", "Best Guitarist" and "Best Bassist" also get instruments and other technical material from the festival sponsors.
The controversy surrounding the Buffalo show is based on the notion that originally, there were to be three shows in a row, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Due to lack of communication on the venue part, the Thursday and Saturday shows were cancelled, with all bands performing Friday, which only totaled six. The required technical meetings were moved from the Wednesday before the show to the Thursday with no notification to many bands, some traveling nearly two hours to make the meetings, which didn't happen. They bands were then informed that instead of Emergenze taking the top 3 bands to participate in Buffalo at a later date, that night would be the local final with the winner going to New York City to perform in the national final. The controversy with this is that the local finals are supposed to be judged, with the first stage being fan voted. Now, the fan votes determine who went to the national final, a very unfair procedure with the last band of the night, who sold the most tickets to friends, winning.
In 2008, there was controversy surrounding the NY finals held at Webster Hall. The bands had been told that the finals for the NY portion of the festival would be held at Webster Hall in the main ballroom, and that the winner would move on to compete in Germany. However, when the bands arrived on the day of the show, they found that the concert had been moved into the basement which had a maximum capacity of 300 people. Also, there were exposed electrical wires, unfinished plumbing, no sheetrock on the ceiling (just exposed insulation), and a fire alarm pull station
that was unattached to the wall and dangling from the ceiling. After the bands complained, the show was eventually moved upstairs to a slightly larger room (not the main ballroom), with a maximum capacity of 400 people. This however was in the hands of the Webster Hall who after repeated complaints from the Emergenza staff they still allowed the concert to go on.
Another concern that is brought forth by 59 bands (51 American and eight Canadian) is the age limit for musicians in some cities - which limits their participation. In many US states and Canadian provinces there are restrictions on musicians, audience or both, who may enter a given venue, be it 18, 19 or 21 years of age. The organization does not deny this claim and justifies it by putting forth the fact that it cannot produce concerts which do not conform to the laws of the region where they are taking place.
Upon an analysis of venues which hosted the festival, 49 out of 327 are bound by a government restriction on age of both musicians and audiences and this is totally in control of the owners of the licenses. Furthermore, most "name" clubs in North America are 21+ venues. Most musicians aspire to play in a famous club therefore everybody is bound by alcohol laws and licences and Emergenza has nothing to do with this.
History
The first Emergenza Festival was the result of an idea of a group of musician friends in 1991. In 1992, the first ever Emergenza Festival in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
was held to 245 people. Five months later, the audience grew to 3,000. Likewise, the increase of participants yielded in the festival's first ever compilation album. From 1993 to 2003 Emergenza recorded 54 compilation albums, both live and studio works. In 1995 the Emergenza logo was created.
On January 7th, 1996, The Gibus Club in Paris hosted the first ever Emergenza concert outside of Italy. 113 bands enrolled, expanding the presumed 7 gigs to 23 gigs. The following year the festival expanded to England where 2,500 people attended the first Emergenza European Final at London Astoria
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished...
. In 1998, Emergenza was invited to take place at more exclusive clubs.
In 2001, the festival crossed over the Atlantic Ocean to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The Canadian region of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
becomes the first of many North American locations. In 2002 five cities host Emergenza and by 2003 over 700 bands play 190 gigs in the first ever U.S. season. The following year, 2,876 musicians take part in the U.S. to join 16,000 European and Canadian counterparts. In 2005, 70 North American cities take part in the festival, a huge jump from just four years before.
The Emergenza Festival spread to both Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 2006 with shows in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Later, Perth
Perth
Perth may refer to:* Perth, Scotland, the administrative centre of the Perth and Kinross council area * Perth, Western Australia, the capital of Western AustraliaPerth may also refer to:-Places:...
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
were included to Australia's list. Between 2008-2010, The Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
began participating in the festival. Emergenza’s next market priorities are China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
How It Works
After enrollment, bands begin to compete in shows organized in local venues. Every band has a 30-minute set. There are elimination rounds throughout the season, which provide bands the opportunity to advance and play in clubs with international reputation.The audience selects all the bands going through the preliminary rounds. The vote is open to the crowd and they vote as many times as they like for as many bands as they like. All bands, musicians and fans alike will see the open vote. In the case of regional and final concerts, there is a professional panel of judges.
All national winners play at the international final in Rothenburg
Rothenburg
-Places:*Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany*Rothenburg, Oberlausitz, Saxony, Germany*Rothenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany*Rothenburg, Switzerland, Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland*Rothenburg an der Oder, the German name of Czerwieńsk, Poland...
, Germany at the Taubertal Open Air Festival. The trip, accommodations, and local transportation is fully paid by Emergenza festival. During the 3 days of the Taubertal Open air Festival, the finalist bands have the chance to share the bill and the stage with many successful and famous bands and play in front of 30,000 people.
The "Best Band in the World," as voted by the jury during the International Final, will then get a full production, a tour, music instruments, and other technical material. The finalist band members voted as "Best Drummer", "Best Singer", "Best Guitarist" and "Best Bassist" also get instruments and other technical material from the festival sponsors.
International Finalists 2009
| Year | Finalist Band | City/Country | Place | Prize | Band Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | KID GALAHAD | Gothenburg, Sweden | 1 | WINNING BAND, BEST DRUMMER | |
| 2009 | WERNER KRAUSS | Leipzig, Germany | 2 | 2ND BAND | |
| 2009 | YASEEDEE | Ferrara, Italy | 3 | BEST BASS PLAYER | |
| 2009 | THE WALLPAPERS | Paris, France | 4 | ||
| 2009 | THE REEFS | Melbourne, Australia | 5 | 2ND BEST DRUMMER | |
| 2009 | GURU GURU | Tokyo, Japan | 6 | 2ND BEST GUITAR PLAYER | |
| 2009 | THE EXCESS | Munich, Germany | 7 | BEST GUITAR PLAYER | |
| 2009 | BACK POCKET MEMORY | Los Angeles, USA | 8 | ||
| 2009 | LILY SPARKS | New York, USA | 9 | BEST SINGER | |
| 2009 | YEAR OF THE DOG | Helsinki, Finland | 10 | ||
| 2009 | THE VLEGELS | Tilburg, Netherlands | 11 | ||
| 2009 | KAODIC | Montreal, Canada | 12 | 2ND BEST BASS PLAYER | |
| 2009 | LEET | Hamburg, Germany | 13 | ||
| 2009 | THE WINTER KICKS | London, UK | 14 | ||
| 2009 | GORODSKAYA KULTURA | Moscow, Russia | 15 | ||
| 2009 | TBA | Prague, Czech Republic | 16 | ||
| 2009 | CLOCK N' WORKS | Paris, France | 17 | ||
| 2009 | SUSAN'S RED NIPPLES | Barcelona, Spain | 18 |
International Finalists 2010
| Year | Finalist Band | City/Country | Place | Prize | Band Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | HANATOCHIRURAN | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | WINNING BAND, 2ND BEST BASS PLAYER | |
| 2010 | WALDO & MARSHA | Århus, Denmark | 2 | 2ND BAND | |
| 2010 | BARTON FINK | Montreal, Canada | 3 | 2ND BEST DRUMMER | |
| 2010 | MODERN ERROR | Sydney, Australia | 4 | ||
| 2010 | PHASES CACHÉES | Paris, France | 5 | BEST BASS PLAYER | |
| 2010 | FACTORY BRAINS | Stockholm, Sweden | 6 | BEST GUITAR PLAYER | |
| 2010 | WASTE | Bayreuth, Germany | 7 | BEST SINGER | |
| 2010 | POP-PORN | Prague, Czech Republic | 8 | BEST DRUMMER | |
| 2010 | SIR JAMES | Tilburg, Netherlands | 9 | 2ND BEST GUITAR PLAYER | |
| 2010 | MANOLO PANIC | Zurich, Switzerland | 10 | ||
| 2010 | C.A.N. | Paris, France | 11 | ||
| 2010 | STEPANOV'S STARLINGS | St. Petersburg, Russia | 12 | ||
| 2010 | BROTHORST | Oberursel, Germany | 13 | ||
| 2010 | STARDUST | Florence, Italy | 14 | ||
| 2010 | ENVY ASSURED | London, UK | 15 | ||
| 2010 | THE MELILLO BROTHERS | New York, USA | 16 | ||
| 2010 | WEDNESDAY FALL | Barcelona, Spain | 17 |
International Finalists 2011
| Year | Finalist Band | City/Country | Place | Prize | Band Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Envy | Oslo, Norway | 1 | Winning Band | |
| 2011 | LSD ON CIA | Copenhagen. Denmark | 2 | 2ND BAND, BEST BASS PLAYER | |
| 2011 | RUBY CUBE | Toulouse, France | 3 | BEST GUITAR PLAYER | |
| 2011 | S.H.E. | Tokyo, Japan | 4 | ||
| 2011 | LEBELLE | Melbourne, Australia | 5 | WOODBRASS PRIZE | |
| 2011 | EMMECOSTA | Gotenborg, Sweden | 6 | 2ND BEST DRUMMER | |
| 2011 | CAFE JAZZ | Dresden, Germany | 5 | BEST DRUMMER | |
| 2011 | COURS TOUJOURS | Montreal, Canada | 8 | BEST SINGER | |
| 2011 | RAG DOLLS | Basilea, Switzerland | 9 | ||
| 2011 | NO COMMENT BAND | Minsk, Belarus | 10 | 2ND BEST BASS PLAYER | |
| 2011 | DOWNHILL | Bratislava, Slovakia | 11 | ||
| 2011 | FILTHY WHISKY | London. UK | 12 | ||
| 2011 | MATHIEU NEIL | Paris, France | 13 | ||
| 2011 | KNUCKLES OF FRISCO | Tilburg, Netherlands | 14 | 2ND BEST GUITAR PLAYER | |
| 2011 | KEROUAC | Dublin, Ireland | 15 | ||
| 2011 | PROFESSOR GRABOWSKI | Munich, Germany | 16 | ||
| 2011 | CYRENE | Barcelona, Spain | 17 | ||
| 2011 | F.O.O.S. | Turin, Italy | 18 |
Showcase Tour
The Best of Emergenza Showcase Tour is a special series of shows featuring the top winners of the Emergenza Festival who are taken on tour around North America and Europe. The B.E.S.T. showcases are incorporated into the Emergenza shows and the selected bands play at the end of the each concert night. In 2007, the BEST Tour had slots of shows at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.Criticism
Emergenza is a for-profit company that sustains its operations through a revenue model. A $70 refundable fee is required to enter, however bands receive profit from ticket sales if they sell over 35 of their given tickets in the initial rounds, a task many bands have much trouble completing (though not obliged to do so), albeit it is the same format as most promoters apply in most venues around the world. Bands often cliam that in earlier rounds the voting system is more of a popularity contest than a true representation of talent but the audience do and can vote for all bands if they wished . Many bands who take part see a more sensible system in using judges throughout all stages, with judges of "higher importance" being used through further stages. A large amount of shows are in 21 and over establishments such as Arlene's grocery in NYC and The Double Door in Chicago.Details
Some people maintain that Emergenza is a 'pay to play' operation. Based on an analysis of various forums and interviews, a lack of quality in organization has been noted in eleven concerts (Out of 1200 concerts produced every year so 1%) over the last 18 years - five in the UK, three in the USA, and one in each Italy, France and Canada. During these shows the sound was not run well and some equipment was sub-par, including microphones cutting in and out and low quality PA systems in a Buffalo, NY show on February 8, 2008. This however is attributed to the clubs and the team working in it rather than the competition itself. It is arguable that sound is always and mostly in the hands of the venues and the people who work in it. it is also understandable that If an organization hires a venue and its sound, they would expect everything in perfect working order but in some cases it wasn't so.The controversy surrounding the Buffalo show is based on the notion that originally, there were to be three shows in a row, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Due to lack of communication on the venue part, the Thursday and Saturday shows were cancelled, with all bands performing Friday, which only totaled six. The required technical meetings were moved from the Wednesday before the show to the Thursday with no notification to many bands, some traveling nearly two hours to make the meetings, which didn't happen. They bands were then informed that instead of Emergenze taking the top 3 bands to participate in Buffalo at a later date, that night would be the local final with the winner going to New York City to perform in the national final. The controversy with this is that the local finals are supposed to be judged, with the first stage being fan voted. Now, the fan votes determine who went to the national final, a very unfair procedure with the last band of the night, who sold the most tickets to friends, winning.
In 2008, there was controversy surrounding the NY finals held at Webster Hall. The bands had been told that the finals for the NY portion of the festival would be held at Webster Hall in the main ballroom, and that the winner would move on to compete in Germany. However, when the bands arrived on the day of the show, they found that the concert had been moved into the basement which had a maximum capacity of 300 people. Also, there were exposed electrical wires, unfinished plumbing, no sheetrock on the ceiling (just exposed insulation), and a fire alarm pull station
Fire alarm pull station
Manual fire alarm activation is done by using a pull station or call point.- Fire alarm pull station :A fire alarm pull station is an active fire protection device, usually wall-mounted, that, when activated, initiates an alarm on a fire alarm system...
that was unattached to the wall and dangling from the ceiling. After the bands complained, the show was eventually moved upstairs to a slightly larger room (not the main ballroom), with a maximum capacity of 400 people. This however was in the hands of the Webster Hall who after repeated complaints from the Emergenza staff they still allowed the concert to go on.
Another concern that is brought forth by 59 bands (51 American and eight Canadian) is the age limit for musicians in some cities - which limits their participation. In many US states and Canadian provinces there are restrictions on musicians, audience or both, who may enter a given venue, be it 18, 19 or 21 years of age. The organization does not deny this claim and justifies it by putting forth the fact that it cannot produce concerts which do not conform to the laws of the region where they are taking place.
Upon an analysis of venues which hosted the festival, 49 out of 327 are bound by a government restriction on age of both musicians and audiences and this is totally in control of the owners of the licenses. Furthermore, most "name" clubs in North America are 21+ venues. Most musicians aspire to play in a famous club therefore everybody is bound by alcohol laws and licences and Emergenza has nothing to do with this.