Much has been written about the Force Attack in recent weeks. More and more outrageous details came to light, which were summarized very thoroughly by Rilrec here. But now the master, the Godfather of Punk himself, speaks out and exposes all of this as pure lies. Along the way, he also clears up the eternal question of what punk really is.
According to Imre, all the terrible rumors were only spread by malicious people who wanted to ruin the Force Attack for all those eager to celebrate. Fortunately, there was still a small handful of upright champions for the true values of punk who, in the short time available, managed to put together a great party despite all the harassment from the authorities and PoKuKo e.V.
With such a motivated crew, plans are already underway for the Force Attack next year. With the reserves from the tickets sold for 2012, they'll see it through to the bitter end — no, sorry, they'll rock it. Owners of unused tickets should show solidarity and ask their tax advisor whether the costs can be deducted as a charitable donation. In any case, don't count on a refund. After all, the festival's terms and conditions clearly state that the organizer reserves the right to make changes and reschedule. You should simply overlook the trivial detail that what took place in Stavenhagen was officially declared a soli-party and not the actual festival. For that, you have the opportunity to participate again next year. This offer kindly also applies to the traitorous bands who, due to the uncertain circumstances, preferred to tuck their tails between their legs and barricade themselves at home this year. Because next year, everything will be like it used to be — no, even better. Promise!
So. The festival trash from the tank yard area and the campsite has been collected and taken to the dump on Friday. 2.5 tons in total. One day of rest and now it’s back to cleaning up. And that means cleaning up the liars, cowards, wimps, birdbrains, attention seekers, and other garden gnomes. Those who publicly emphasize their inferiority on Fakebook and other places for spreading intellectual diarrhea.
First and foremost, Dicker W, a board member of the former organizer of the Force Attack Festival. He prefers to hide behind his keyboard instead of having a direct man-to-man conversation, posting special waste in a mix of self-praise and whining.
When things go well, everyone wants to bask in your success. When the sun disappears and rain and storms come, the "good friends" also disappear and mutate into little yappers.
Now to the facts: Up to about 6 weeks before the festival started, PoKuKo e.V. was still the organizer. Until they got cold feet due to the poor financial situation caused by the 2011 flood, and their asses froze. Pre-sales weren't going as expected, and suddenly the money needed for a proper production of Klingendorf's scale wasn't there.
So I had to step in as a private individual, since dröönland production UG was also bankrupt by then, to save what could be saved. It was a tough struggle to find a location where costs were manageable to save the festival. Several attempts in Berlin failed, and I finally understood the visitors' questions: "Yes, where are we supposed to camp?" The campsite party was more important to people than the bands playing.
On finances: All pre-sale funds went to the association's account until the end, to which I had no access and from which I didn't receive a single cent, especially since I was never a member of the association. I have done all the work voluntarily so far and live off support from my family.
The only access to the association's account was bank statements so I could fulfill my task of shipping web shop orders, which included tickets, shirts, DVDs, CDs, etc. The revenue from merchandise belonged to dröönland production UG, but because having two separate shops would be nonsense, it also went to the association's account.
I won't be seeing that money again; I see it as a donation to the association, which helped me out in better times too.
Everyone who ordered tickets knows where their money went. And that's where the refund should come from. If it's even justified at all. Because the concert largely took place. And rescheduling is permissible under the terms and conditions. I have a better idea: Keep the tickets; they'll also be valid for 2013. Then there will be another Force Attack, and we'll keep you updated on where and how it will take place!
Many thanks to everyone who helped out with solidarity, heart, and intelligence to pull off this "Save the Force Attack" soli-action at the last minute! This especially includes the visitors who still showed up in large numbers despite threatened state violence, bureaucratic arbitrariness, and media lies. Those for whom solidarity still means something! Who fought their way through forests and fields to reach the festival grounds. Special thanks and respect to Anne and Billy (Super Büro!), Sandro (for everything!!), Enrico (campsite), Mecke (Facebook), Cris (website), Ronny (stage, sound, lights), Zaur and his AS Security, Micha (last PoKuKo action hero!) and all the left-wing ticks from Rostock, Stralsund, and Neubrandenburg who rocked the bar! And of course the AZ Dorftrottel Kitchen Collective. Because: No food, no fight!
Thanks to all these great bands who performed despite all the chaos, and did so on a soli basis with lower fees than agreed! But also to all the bands who considered the risk too high to travel hundreds of kilometers only to potentially stand in front of an empty field—the door remains open in the coming years to repeat the missed concert.
Stupidity and envy form an ugly coalition. See the text above. Content-wise, though, way down at the bottom. All types who weren't there. These users are losers. Embarrassing!!
What counts for us is a heart in the right place. Balls in the pants and a strong backbone. We've proven all that! "Force Attack takes place" was often doubted. And yet it took place. And will continue to take place! The visitors who fought their way to Stavenhagen were full of praise for the weekend! There were edges and corners due to the short notice, of course, but that was totally punk!
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. Only the brave change the world, not the cowards. So: Fuck off, you "extinct ones" (or something…)
Viva la Force Attack! Supa hupen! Up the Punks! Ahoi! Imre
Update: The PoKuKo e.V. has now also commented on the events. And here, things don't sound so positive anymore.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear precariat –
PoKuKo e.V. (hereinafter referred to as Po) hereby takes the following stance.We all go nicely to the beach, dig ourselves in, and wait for our dear Baltic Sea to finally produce a proper tsunami!!
No, but now that this feeling is slowly fading, we would like to present our position on the events surrounding Force Attack 2012 and Imre Sonnevend (hereinafter referred to as IS).First of all:
After critically reflecting on what happened, we must admit that we are partly to blame for the miserable situation that quite a few people found themselves in around the weekend of July 27–29, 2012. But more on that later.
We would like to formally apologize and deeply regret it!!
We are currently in the process of recognizing our mistakes, reviewing figures and facts, and looking for ways to limit or rectify the damage and for new forms of action, but again, more on that later.
Anyone expecting aggression or an attack from us against IS in this statement is mistaken and can go to the beach and wait…
We will neither comment on nor evaluate IS's behavior here, as it is not conducive to us or the current situation. We are trying to take a stance that is as factual and unemotional as possible.Brief outline of the background:
…we are in 2010, the Force Attack (FA) is not doing well, restructuring, moving from Behnkenhagen to Klingendorf, local residents are outraged, shocked… a dispute follows… mediation is not possible (e.g., donations to the fire department, kindergarten are rejected), the municipality decides on an entertainment tax (20% on admission fees), a partial agreement is reached in court (9% on admission fees), FA 2010 takes place but continues to wobble financially…
Meanwhile, FA 2011 is being planned. Po comes into play and decides to help, taking over the organization of the FA (background: Po doesn't have to pay entertainment tax). IS is commissioned to produce FA 2011. The municipality is bitter but opens up (punks aren't so bad after all) and is cooperative.
FA 2011 starts, but then the worst-case scenario… It pours rain for days on end, and everything and everyone on the festival grounds gets soaked. The crew is on constant duty and tries to save what can be saved. All bands play, but the fun is limited, and people leave or don't even show up. Understandably!
Conclusion: financial disaster. Crew, companies, suppliers, and bands become creditors to some extent.The year 2011/12:
IS handled most of the business for FA 2011 through his company "Dröönland Production," so the association remained relatively unscathed. Therefore, it was decided in 2011 to plan and host FA 2012 again, not least to limit the damage from 2011. This time, the weather cooperated—that was also decided!!
So IS was commissioned and he got started. Anyone who knows him knows he is a tireless activist and optimist and has rocked quite a few crises. We trusted him and his experience!Specifically, it looks like this:
We contractually and in writing agreed with IS that he would produce FA 2012 for the association and then send us an invoice for it.
At the end of 2011 came the first severe setback regarding festival preparation. IS returned seriously injured from Scotland (Note: And we believe that everyone who knows him is glad, even today, that Imre is still with us. Because things really didn't look good for him). His family and friends, especially Wattie (also known as Dicker W.), stood by him constantly so he could get back on his feet. And he did. By spring 2012, he seemed fit again.
But even so, festival planning stalled, fell behind schedule, and we noticed back then that we needed to do something, we had to intervene, somehow help (Note: Everyone at Po works, some have families and children, and we would never have been able to organize a festival of this magnitude on the side and alone). We offered IS help, suggested suitable people, and wanted to take on specific tasks ourselves. But IS refused and wanted to
