Having grown exponentially with each year, Soundwave is simply gargantuan in 2010. The national festival spans metal, punk, hardcore and straight-up rock, all rolled into one sweaty summer day. As part of FasterLouder’s Festival Awards series, we sit down with Soundwave ringleader A.J Maddah to talk shop.

Are you happy with the media attention and consumer interest that you’ve had so far for Soundwave 2010?
Yeah. We’ve never had so much media attention, but we’re very, very happy with the reaction of the fans to the line-up. It’s been great!

From humble beginnings, Soundwave has really exploded. Apart from hard work, what would you attribute this to?
Well, I think we’re still in the humble beginnings. We still have a long way to go before the festival is anything I would consider perfect. Whether we get there or not, all we can do is improve it year by year. It is a festival that has grown organically, a festival for the fans, by the fans. It’s not so long ago that, as a fan, I was lining up at Ticketek.

At this point I think I’ve just about been to every festival around the world at least a couple of times. Where Soundwave is now, we still have the appeal of the community as far as the fans and organisers are concerned. I’d see it as sad if it ever got to a point where there are barriers between the acts, the organisers and the fans. Even though it’s a festival for all types of music within rock, everybody seems to get on with each other and there is a great deal of respect amongst the fans.

You’ve secured an amazing line-up this year. Did you ever see the festival growing this big?
Look, I am already working on 2011 and 2012! It’s almost a gleeful scenario when you’re trying to put a line-up like this together and it’s really ecstatic when it all comes together. You know, you look at the line-up and say, ‘Wow! That looks good!’ There is a bit of hard work involved and on a year like this with so many big bands you have to walk around people’s egos a bit, but it’s definitely been very exciting putting this year’s line-up together.

There are so many elements that make up a good festival. What was your biggest challenge this year?
It’s a challenge every year. Australia as a market is not big enough to have a metal festival or a purely punk rock festival, which I tried with the Vans Warped Tour back in the late – œ90s and early 2000s. We just don’t have a big enough population to support it, so Soundwave tries to bring all these elements together: you know, punk, rock and what have you. It really is a festival for all the people that have been left out of all the other festivals. So you’ve got about five or six different markets that you’ve got to keep happy and that sometimes can be a bit tough.

It is interesting listening to people try to categorise Soundwave – whether it be a rock, metal or punk festival – but that is just a fact of life.
I’m still on the hunt for the metal band that will hold the key to everybody’s happiness!

Who would be your dream headliner for a Soundwave?
Well, every year it is a different year. You try to ‘live the dream’ for that year, but all in all I am very happy with all the headliners that we have had.

How difficult was it trying to get Faith No More to headline?
It wasn’t just me! It was a group of promoters around the world trying to convince the band to reform. This is a band that parted ways under very volatile circumstances, but it was hard work on behalf of everyone to try to get these guys to make up. The three or four shows that I’ve seen them play lately are better than any shows the band did on any other tour. They are definitely in the best form that I have ever seen.

Did you ever think in your job you’d actually be bringing bands back together?
Well, everybody wanted the band to reform, you know, even if it was just to have one last look for the kids that were too young to see them back in the day. For now, it’s mission accomplished! I’m not sure if the band is going to stick together but it remains to be seen.

Well your job is done for now and the natural evolution of the band will follow.
Correct!

Is Soundwave your favourite festival? VOTE NOW in the 2009 Festival Awards to show it your love.