A Festival such as Emergenza could not exist without the great help from our partners and sponsors. Anyone well organized enough can pull off a few concerts, but only those backed by solid partnerships can create real opportunities for up and coming bands. Emergenza wants to thank all of its great partners and sponsors in Canada for the season that’s just ended. In Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, Emergenza is very proud to have received the full support of STEVE’S MUSIC STORES. STEVE’S is a very big reason why Emergenza has been so successful in Canada – their professional staff provided not only invaluable technical support to help Emergenza run the nights in the clubs, but most importantly, it’s the great attitude of all involved that made the difference. Dave, Gilles, Joel, Brian, Bill, Dan, Moeen, Buttaphly, Scott, Chris, Frank, Dan, Peter, Kevin, Heather, Doug, everyone, gave the bands the feeling of really being well taken care of, and helped build some great links between musicians and their stores. Thank you so much to all at STEVE’S for your time and involvement! Our first non-musical partner, CONVERSE ALL STAR CANADA, not only gave away great shoes to staff and to a lucky band in each city, but also made possible the creation and duplication of 5,000 CDs to help promote some of the best bands who took part in the Festival in Canada this year. The CDs, given out for free to the 4200 people who attended the Finals in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, have created incredible exposure for the talented up-and-coming bands featured on this high quality compilation. In Montreal, professional recording STUDIO LE QUID offered recording time to the Montreal Winner, Broken Pictures, and to the band of its choice, Voodoomonx – a fantastic opportunity for both bands, who will now be able to create their very first demos. COOL FM and THE BEAR FM were important partners who helped us promote the Festival and each of the bands involved. This year has also allowed us to build stronger links with our long-time backline partners. Michael Charles of St-Louis Music (supplier of CRATE and AMPEG amps for all of Canada and soon in the U.S.) says: “It’s a win-win situation for all that are involved. For the type of turnout they had for their first time in Toronto it was unbelievable. (…) Out of all the battle of the band competitions I’ve seen over the years, I have yet to see one so successful at such an early stage of the game. Simply put, this is one hell of an organization and I’m certainly happy St. Louis is supporting this instead of our competition.” SABIAN’s Senior Marketing Manager Wayne Blanchard also expressed his desire for his company to be even more involved with the Festival. He wants everyone – bands, music biz people, journalists, music teachers – to know about Emergenza and the good it can bring not only to bands but to the whole music industry. “We must go for a bang, make a major impact”, he says. We couldn’t agree more. Emergenza would like to thank Nick Mandilaras, Commercial Director – Music, and all the staff of SENNHEISER CANADA for their kindness and availability throughout the year. Thank you also to Beth Wreden and all at ERNIE BALL / MUSIC MAN for their generous supply of string sets, their wonderful custom-made instruments and their ongoing support. Same goes to REMO and REGAL TIP - you have made many a drummer happy with your drum sticks and Emergenza-emblazoned snare skins. Let’s not forget our great sponsor MAPEX, who supplied amazing drum kits for the concerts in each city, and made one drummer especially happy - Maxime of The Riddlers/Perkins is very proud to have taken home your amazing Pro-M kit! So everybody, rock on! Thank you for making Emergenza Festival such a success in Canada this year – we are looking forward to our next, even greater season, in 2004!