Hi there. Who are we speaking to and what’s your involvement with Melodic Rock Fest at The Elephant & Wheelbarrow in St Kilda?
Andrew McNeice – I’m the owner of MelodicRock.com and MelodicRock Records as well as the MelodicRock Fest events.
Can you tell me a little bit about the bands on the bill and why you decided to get them involved?
Basically I wanted to present an event with the best melodic rock bands in the genre, both from the past and some of the newer bands that are carrying the torch for the style of music we all love. Headliners Eclipse are one of the hottest rock bands in Europe right now. They just competed in the Swedish final for Eurovision and have this year released their fifth album.
What made you decide to run the event at The Elephant & Wheelbarrow?
I checked out a few venues I knew of and the guys at The Elephant were simply the most enthusiastic about the event and I love the layout of the venue.
Could you fill us in on Melodic Rock Fest’s origins in the United States?
I’ve put together and run all four USA editions of MRF. I did it over there because of the bigger fanbase and of course the expense of getting bands to one place was affordable.
The events have always been very warm and friendly and a meeting of fans that share the same passion for this music.
