MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Checks In With GIGANTOUR Update

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message in the "Forums" section of the group's official web site:

"I thought I would start to inform you of what you can expect from the Gigantour Festival this summer.

"First off the set times on the main stage will be approximately 90 minutes for MEGADETH and DREAM THEATER each, 45 minutes for FEAR FACTORY, and 30 minutes each for DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and NEVERMORE.

"We are hoping to have a second stage of talent and as of now there is a list of fourty bands that want to be part of this wonderful summer excursion. Each one of those bands would play approximately 20 minutes, excluding the headlining band for the second stage, which would be around 30 minutes.

"We are going to play in many cities that we may have missed last trek, and so far the dates total 32, but that may grow depending on the demand from you, the fans, and from the promoters who believe.

"We plan on doing everything that we can to give you a chance to be with us backstage; we are talking about preferred seating through the fan club, meet and greet passes, food drives as a possibility, contest to be roadies for a day, and drawings for our gear and whatnot. As well as the obvious guest lists for the five main stage bands and the five second stage bands.

"We also would love to have local bands compete to play in an after-hours tent that all of the bands and crew would be socializing in among the guests, winners, and fan club members each night. This would depend on how involved each station is going to get. I foresee I will have to reach out to these stations myself, because if the singles were any indication of my relationship with them, I will have to get involved personally. I think you get the picture.

"I am actually excited about reaching out to each of these stations and talking to them about what is hot in their area and who they would like to have do this if we can pull it off. I do have my favorites, and there are a lot of long time supporters, as well as my new home station KIOZ, but I love this kind of stuff where I can pay back the stations that have supported me over the years. I really am grateful for all of the support and I love all of my friends at radio. I promise to give you a fantastic time this summer ladies and gents.

"On another note, I can't believe that it has been over a year since we started doing the final tracks for 'The System Has Failed', and I wish that we had had a better start on this record than we did, but I know that you are all mostly happy with the direction of the band and music, and also how we are as a unit live. I really can't wait until we can record some music together. In fact, we may release some live stuff from this tour, or even break out some new music that I have written since we formed in October 2004.

"We are contacting Jeff Balding about doing an edit on the next single, which will be 'The Scorpion', but I am sad to inform you that Sanctuary will not make a video for this song.

"Lastly, I met with our awesome lighting director Richard 'Shaggy' Ehmcke, about our stage set-up for Gigantour and we both agreed that we wanted to stay away from the predictable Rock Star pig stuff that you see at most festivals or big rock shows anymore. We are going to go for a more 'old school' look and this will also be the first time that I use projection and pyro.

"I know that I have said some things about pyro in the past, regarding bands that overuse it, so we want to make sure that there is just enough to matter, but not too much to over do it. I will never forget touring with a band in the '80s that used pyro like it was going out of style, and how lame they looked when they couldn't get the license from the fire marshall in certain cities. The keyboardist hit his piano and it went 'BOOM!' I was totally convinced it was a real explosion! I think that the cognac had something to do with it.

"The projection is something that the old pros of DREAM THEATER are used to, but will be a first for us, so we are going to have to get used to it. I did see a quote form 'Keif Richards' that said, 'all you have to do is wink at the camera and people in the back row have made a connection.' Well, I hope to be doing more than winking at the lovely Droogs and Wolves.

"Keep the ideas coming for what you may want to see for summer merchandise, and I may ask for your help in picking the bands for the second stage. I will consider putting a list of the names of the bands up once we have finalized it down a bit. Remember, there is only going to be five bands a night on the second stage, and there are a few obvious bands that I can't consider.

"Lastly, I took James and Red (our drum tech) out for dinner tonight and we had a great talk about everything that is coming up this summer, fall, and winter. I really love my touring staff guys and can't wait to go into battle again with Gigantour. And if it works in North America, which it really looks like it is, I want to take it to South America, Europe/UK, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, and hopefully one day into the great continent of Africa.

"Please keep us informed of your fan club status; that is the only way you are going to be able to get meet and greet passes for now. And I want to invite your ideas on merchandise, collectibles, and other neat items that you would like to see for the fan club. We are going to do a chat there soon too, so stay tuned."