So it’s Wednesday morning and AKHQ is slowly maintaining a sense of decorum.
For any of the Kiddfectious events, the house, office and studio gets de-rigged and, well to put it simply …ripped apart! Decks, mixers, speakers, office tables, merchandise boxes, printer and anything else that could have a function is strategically placed in the back of a wagon and taken down to the site and that is where the fun and frolics begin. Last year’s Kiddstock was fresh territory for all of us, it was the first event I had staged and hosted and the location was a new site for the hard dance community. Needless to say it went off with more than a colossal bang and it gave me the idea of toying with a follow up…

Fast forward to August 13th 2008, I’m due to be on the site in the afternoon and out of confusion I have missed my morning flight home from Ibiza. I’m frantically on the phone to my manager to make alternative arrangements and by about midnight I’m back in AKHQ packing up my home contents into the back of Suni Feenix’s ‘death-mobile’. The car is such a liability and so un-road worthy that we jokingly make the joint decision to dump the car on site after the event. (Little did we know that in the aftermath, we had no choice but to abandon the vehicle, more on that later!)

So a couple of days of stressing in the lead up to the event whilst we are on site include the usual nightmare situations. What people have to remember is that this isn’t a commercial event or a franchised brand, this is me and my crew putting together a mini festival that is still in it’s infancy. Cock ups and mistakes behind the scenes were being dealt with there and then and the Kiddstock team were fully focused in getting everything ready in the correct manner and on time with the schedule. So on the Friday before, when my right hand man Joe informs me he has left the freshly made banners at the office, you can imagine my stress levels were running at a maximum!

But August 16th finally arrived, the ticket sales were on target and the site was set up and ready, everyone was in their battle stations and the queue was literally all the way down to the bottom of the track. One quick last check to make sure everything was as it should be and I gave the ok on the radio to open the gates to Ground Zero.
The location is arguably the best festival site I have played at in the UK, small yet perfectly formed, the unique character of Thimbleberry farm is the perfect setting for the Hard dance onslaught that was about to take place in this ‘area of outstanding natural beauty’.(check the road signs at the top of the Stanhope hills and that is how the area is officially referred to!) Kidd Kaos spent no time in messing around and got straight down to business with his staple sound of hard tech action, an ideal way to open proceedings in Ground Zero and he definitely set the mark for Kamui to take over and lead the anarchy in the arena...Then 2 o'clock came and it was time for me to make my way over to the Kiddfectious v Trackitdown arena. My protégé and I had been waiting a while to debut our first b2b set and although I was running slightly late, as soon as I stepped on to stage I knew this was going to be my favourite set of the event. I felt so much loving when I stepped into the crowds view. Because I had worked so hard and dedicated the last 6 months of my life to making this festival work, seeing it all come together from behind the DJ decks was an emotional moment for me which no other feeling will ever be able to top. Not only the feeling of self-achievement but it was more about the level I was on with the crowd. The fans, the clubbers, you who are reading this …you are what made Kiddstock and every other gig I play so worthwhile and for that I am eternally grateful. Any one who knows me will know I am as down to earth and as grounded as they come and I actually felt my eyes dwell up with tears. A bit dramatic and pansy sounding I know but all the same I was totally caught up in the moment and the vibe!

I finished my last track in a packed arena and skipped quickly to next door’s Ground Zero to see Yoji stepping up to the decks for his first track. A thank you to Kamui for a blinding set and an intro for ‘my idol’ Yoji as he steps up to take control. The arena was packed to the rafters for Yoji from start to finish and his Tech Dance set was certainly of headliner quality. A complete success and Yoji had set the pace for all other acts to follow. Only problem being the next act was Mark EG and he is notoriously late for his gigs. Apparently this time he was late because he was short of ‘Dax wax’ for his little hair-do he had been perfecting and he had to make a short stop off at the local Superdrug. Morgan filled in for 20 minutes and blew the Ground Zero arena to pieces further more as I sprinted to the artist liaison point to meet Mark and Chrissie. Mark was so excited to be there that he was jumping for joy across the field as we sprinted to the arena. I introduced him on to the decks as my inspiration and a hero and then stood back and watched Ground Zero hit eruption point.

I spent a lot of my day wandering around the site and checking everything was running ok, with over 2000 people on site there was plenty going on. I loved the Zorb balls and the inflatable spider tent, Sunni’s set in the barn and Jordan’s set in Detox proves how much new talent there is in our scene right now. The trippy hippy Pandora’s Box is an experience everyone should subject themselves to – at least once! Did anyone check out the Kiddstock caravan at the front of the site? It was supposed to be used for interviewing DJs after their sets but I think towards the end of the day people had their own ideas. Apparently a day glow and a pair of knickers were found in there at the end of the evening, Ewwww!

The weather held off all day and there were even some spells of sunshine, I distinctly remember standing backstage with Dr Willis and Kamui before my main arena set and marvelling at the concept of raving hard with such a picturesque backdrop as the setting. So I made my way up to the stage with my old dear, mummy Kidd seemed more up for it than me! ASYS was smashing the back end out of the Ground Zero arena and by the time I cued my first track the atmosphere was electric. The one thing that stood out throughout the whole day, no matter who was on and no matter in which room you were stood in. The atmosphere was second to none. As clichéd as it sounds, ‘there was just no beating it.”! Dropping my mashed up edit of ‘Wonder wall’ and hearing the crowd sing it back to me was a real tear jerker, not forgetting my big moment of watching the reaction of a tent full of nutters as the soaring melody of the Kiddstock theme tune crash landed the arena…. those sing-along vocals certainly made an impact too!

The Organ Donors carried on from where I left off and from the comments I have been reading they seem to have played the best set on the day so fair play to you lads, that’s the reason I chose them to follow on from me, because I knew they would smash it up in fine style. I’ve also heard on the grapevine that Kutski’s party set went down a treat and my good pal Gaz West did a sterling job of twisting everyone’s minds and taking no prisoners. I am gutted I didn’t get to witness it myself but I’m confident they did the business.

With all the chaos, anarchy, madness and mayhem that had taken hold over the Kiddstock site, it unfortunately got brought to my attention that we weren’t without a cock up or two along the way. ASYS and Tatanka had been scheduled the same driver and the plan was for ASYS to be picked up and dropped off and then Tatanka to be picked up and dropped off. We found out last minute that ASYS flight was delayed. No fault of our own but its something we had to deal with, or not as the case may be. We found a replacement driver to pick up Tat which wasn’t easy as many of you are aware, it was a remote location that really is in the middle of nowhere if you aren’t from that part of town. Finding a back up driver was a difficult task as most people had been partying all day or had too much to drink by that time of night. We found a driver who was willing to do the mission but then that bloody driver had mislaid the keys to his car. Schoolboy error that sounds pretty pathetic in the grand scheme of things, but nevertheless shit happens and this is the scenario I was presented with.

Emma (AKHQ) then stepped up to the task of braving the narrow winding roads in the pitch-black rain, setting off on a journey by herself that she had never done before. I ran back to the site office and got on the phone and explained to Tatanka of the cock up and warned him, that even though we had a driver on the way to him, it was doubtful he would make it back to the site in time and it was probably a wise decision for him to just stay put in his hotel and I would visit him after the gig to explain the cock up and accept full responsibility. Fair play to the guy, even though we worked out on the phone he would have played 15 minutes at best, he was adamant on getting picked up and attempted to make it down to the site. Unfortunately the roads were too dark and wet for Emma to do any supersonic driving and he didn’t make it in time.

Whilst this was going on, panic buttons started to be pressed and Beorn the stage manager suggested I finished off the evening with an exclusive b2b with the Donors. Raw and unplanned, this was in his eyes the next best option to resolve the situation we were in. It gave the Donors and me the perfect opportunity to drop in the tracks we have collaborated on; the Donors mash up of Boot It Up was a winner and our latest offering Let Me be Your Fantasy (featured on the boys forthcoming album) went down a treat.

There has been (and rightly so) plenty of views and opinions and versions of events with the whole Tatanka episode, so even though I cant help what has already been bantered about, ill try and clear up a few facts.
Tatanka was paid in full regardless of him playing or not, I’m not suggesting this means “everything is ok” as its not just about the money. But this certainly eliminates the preposterous notion that the Kiddstock team purposely messed him about, as its not as if we would gain anything from it. We still pay him, he still gets paid, we receive some bad press due to our cock up – its not something we want but human mistakes happen and although I accept full responsibility I will challenge anyone who says there was an underlying depth or ulterior motive behind the fiasco. I was stood next to Matt donor when he grabbed the mic. He was there to DJ, not to make excuses for the problems that the Kiddstock team had to deal with. But in true Matt fashion and in the spirit of keeping the party alive, he tried to make light of the situation and put smiles on faces and keep everyone happy. A bit short sighted of him to blame Tatanka for not turning up on the mic, god knows who fed him that line behind stage, but either way Matt was just bantering on the mic and this was never meant as an official statement or indeed a dig at Tatanka.

As I have stated before, although I was on the decks when all this driver cock up went on, I accept full responsibility and this isn’t the way I handle my affairs. I can only apologise to Tatanka and his management and offer a return booking and a dedicated driver. I would also like to apologise directly to all the people who turned up for his set or spent money just to see him play. Like it or not these cock-ups do happen all the time and as a full time DJ I know this first hand. But that isn’t an excuse and if it happened to me id be more than pissed off so I give you my word that this will never be the case at any future Kiddfectious events. Despite this downer, I think the day was a rip roaring success and like I said as my closing words on Ground Zero – WHOSE READY FOR KIDDSTOCK 2009! XX AK

A Collection Of Videos From The Event
The aftermath – The event finished at 11pm, I’ve already been on site for 3 days solid and now I have to de-rig and pack up and we finish at about 4 am. Everyone has left the remaining few of us on site as they make their way to the after party so Sunni and I decide to make our way there. One problem, one of the drivers that is on site has lost there keys (as mentioned before), Emma has put herself to bed because she is worn out from driving to get Tatanka and racing (unsuccessfully) back to the site and all that is left is me and Sunni and the un roadworthy car. And guess what – Sunni has lost his fucking keys. Unbelievable. Now I’m stuck on site in the pitch black, we cant drive the ‘death-mobile’ even if we wanted to so we sit back, smoke a joint and decide to rename the shenanigans ‘Keystock.’

We spoke to a few of the performing seals after their sets and the interviews and pictures will follow shortly but for now here’s what a few of the Kiddstock DJ’s had to say…

Mark EG - “First of all massive thanks to the crowd at Kiddstock in that tent. it was proper bangin!!! respect to everyone!!! Heheh. OK well thanks everyone for the amazing party. there's something really great about outdoor festivals eh?! was a great vibe in there and the smell of sheep dung just made it even better!!! !hehehe l8rz!!!”

Organ Donors - "Yeah thanks guys was an absolute storming party eh we loved it, we had actually asked if we could play the last set but Kiddstock said they really wanted Tatanka to close the party, well we did get to play the last hour in the end and B2B with our Kidd! And absolutely Loved it..Rock on Kiddstock 09!.

Jordan Suckley - "What a day raving in a farmers field with my woolly hat on, and it was good to see so many friendly faces all having a mad one. I really cant wait for next years Kiddstock this is a brilliant concept and I think it really works. See you all next year "

Rodi Style - "Kiddstock was held at the most amazing location overlooking a gorgeous valley, a perfect spot for a really kickass party. Really enthusiastic crowd and professional and accommodating staff!"

William Daniel - "Kiddstock for me truly encapsulates what the scene is really all about. Everything about it - from the location, music, DJ's and organisation was unique and there is something quite surreal about having' it in a field in the middle of the most stunning British countryside in the middle of nowhere! Big thanks to Alex and all involved at GG & AKHQ and last but not least the awesome crowd! Roll on KS2009!"

Phil York - "Kiddstock has been one of the highlights of the summer for me, held in a wicked remote location, awesome atmosphere and all in all a great party! Lets hope there’s more Kiddfectious events to come!"

Garbo - "Loved it, the location was amazing, was well run, and the music was great... Roll on Kiddstock '09!"

Finally a big thank you to the following:
AKHQ: Joe, Bishi, Laura, Emma, Sunni, Daniel, Tricky, Spal, Lyndsey, Damian, Ruth
The goodgreef crew: Barry, Ben, Simon, Beorn, Amy, Caddy, Sam, Phil and Enyd.
Paul Calvy, Arbuckle, Paramedic Pete and Vikki, Jayson PA man, Laser Stu and Mark, Nat, Irish Dave, Russell, Simon Oates, Steve, Jess, Emma, Lottie, Kieron, Tez mayhem, Alistair, Metty, Andy Woods, Steve Smith, Suitcase Martin and co, Andy the Farmer, Detox gang, Pandora’s Box, Kutski, Dave Pearce, 2fm, M8,DJ MAG, IDJ, MIXMAG, CORE, Jules, Mark Kavanagh, Ed Real and Nolan at Trackitdown, all the fantastic djs and contractors and most important of all you, the Kiddfectees for making it rock!

spal everyone knows you can be bought for a cheeky ham-shank and a packet of space raiders ;)

....cheap as chips......

....still demanded a sunday roast on the way home though......

u ripped me off!!!!!!! :-o