INTERNATIONAL POP OVERTHROW

DUBBED BY ONE CRITIC AS “SPEED DATING FOR THE ROCK & ROLL SET,” THE WORLD'S ULTIMATE POP/ROCK MUSIC FESTIVAL FEATURES HUNDREDS OF HOT UNDERGROUND BANDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD JAMMING FEBRUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER FROM L.A. TO CHICAGO, SAN
FRANCISCO TO VANCOUVER AND (SINCE 2003) LIVERPOOL'S FAMED CAVERN CLUB

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Now In Its 11th Year, IPO—Launched As Southern California-BasedEvent in 1998—Expands Its Reach Across North America
To Atlanta , Chapel Hill, Detroit , Milwaukee and Portland ;
Promoter David Bash Is Setting His Sights Next On Stockholm ,
Madrid , Tokyo and Sydney

Keyed up by their desire to get dibs on the next superstar band emerging from the pop/rock underground, passionate fans of everything hip, cool and melodic all over North America and across The Pond have been going crazy (and joyfully so!) these past few years trying to keep pace with the dizzying expansion of International Pop Overthrow.

Now in its 11th year, IPO (www.internationalpopoverthrow.com) lived up to its ambitious moniker from the get go, attracting acts from all over the world for its first few years at the hottest clubs in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. Now it's everywhere, running annually from February through November in cities across the U.S. and Canada : Chicago , New York , Boston , San Francisco , Toronto , Vancouver and even (since 2003) at the famed Cavern Club in Liverpool .

Fans that can't make the gigs at the historic venue where The Beatles first met Brian Epstein and ultimately played 292 shows will have other options closer to home thanks to all the new cities on IPO's burgeoning agenda in 2008. In February, the event took over Atlanta (February 13-16) and Chapel Hill , North Carolina (21-24). Its first stops in Detroit (April 9-12) and Milwaukee (May 1-4) sandwich a marathon run in Chicago April 15-27. Before overthrowing the pop scene in Portland , Oregon for the first time from August 20-23, IPO will hit Liverpool (May 20-26), return to its roots in L.A. (July 25-August 9) and head up to San Francisco (August 12-16).

IPO is also scheduled for Vancouver August 26-30, with dates to be announced for November shows in Boston , New York and Toronto . Festival creator and promoter David Bash now has his eyes set on expanding the event's global reach and in coming years hopes to “set up shop” in cities like Stockholm, Madrid, Tokyo and Sydney.

Each IPO event varies in size, from smaller cities and scenes like Chapel Hill (30 bands) to the sonic melting pot of Los Angeles (170 bands), but all of the IPO festivals feature some of the best pop and rock bands from around the world. Expanding on Bash's founding vision to unite a worldwide pop scene under one umbrella, the fest has quickly grown beyond its roots as a showcase for melodic pop bands and now invites artists from a wide variety of subgenres: indie pop, folk pop, garage pop, punk pop, psychedelic pop, modern rock. The thousands of fans who attend every year treat themselves to a complete rainbow of pop sounds, and on occasion, have witnessed the early development of future

superstar bands. A few years after a three-year run at IPO (1998-2000), the popular SoCal group known as Kara's Flowers evolved into superstar, multiple Grammy winning band Maroon 5.  Not long after L.A. buzz band The 88 had played their third IPO, they got signed by Island Records, and the swarm of industry folks who descended upon the venue Southpaw at the second IPO in New York in 2002 to see the Nashville-based band The Features proved fruitful for them as they were soon inked to Universal.

Despite the exciting diversity, each participating band shares a common foundation of great melodies, what Bash calls “pop music with hooks and harmony driven music that harkens back to the spirit of the 60's and 70's.

“These are not retro bands,” he adds, “but bands and artists who evoke that spirit, the kinds of hooks and choruses we heard in that era. It's very contemporary, guitar driven music. Our goal is to offer showcases for these bands, to get this kind of music in the hearts and minds of not only mainstream listeners but record company executives as well. These kinds of acts need to be signed and fans should be buying records by artists like these. The industry likes trends, but there's nothing more enduring than a great pop hook.”

In addition to its growing success as a unique diamond in a sea of rough-edged rock festivals, IPO has received glowing critical acclaim over the years. Kevin Bronson of the L.A. Times calls it “a musical whirlwind.” Amplifier Magazine has raved, “Each day was filled with surprises and pure excitement.” Mary Huhn of the New York Post perfectly defines the love affair pop and melodic rock fans are having with IPO when she adds, “The IPO is like speed dating for the rock and roll set!”

Bash launched IPO in response to a question the lifelong pop music lover has asked himself since childhood: “What can I give back to the musicians who bestow their gifts upon us?” In the mid-90s, he began writing for pop music fanzines like Yellow Pills, Audities and Amplifier.  Bash then developed working relationships with several of the bands whose CDs he'd been reviewing, many of whom told him of their desire to play in Los Angeles , but the frustration they'd had in trying unsuccessfully to make that happen.  In order to answer these thinly veiled pleas, he started IPO in 1998.

“I created IPO as a festival which would emphasize an international flavor, hoping to include bands from L.A. but also from all over the country and world,” he says. “I've always believed that there are people in the mainstream who would love this kind of music, but might not be aware of just how many incredible artists there are out there playing it. A lot of our audience is made up of pop underground fans that love this kind of music but aren't attracted to the stuff they hear on contemporary radio. The name of the festival came from not only this concept, but it was also the name of the debut album by the early 90's major label power pop band Material Issue, whose leader Jim Ellison committed suicide. The name is a tribute to him. ”

The explosion of artist friendly promotional sites like myspace and Sonicbids over the past few years has increased Bash's ability to find IPO-type artists from around the globe with a few clicks of a button. He's partnered with www.sonicbids.com, which has an IPO page where bands can submit their materials for consideration in different cities. They can send links to their Sonicbids pages, which are essentially electronic press kits complete with song samples. Bash has always had a huge communication network that has helped him stay current on great developing bands in the U.S. , and myspace has enhanced his ability to discover even more of those, as well as several international acts.

“One of the keys to IPO's success,” he says, “is our concept of having likeminded bands performing on the same slate. A lot of acts, hoping just to get out there, book clubs more randomly and hook up with festivals where the crowds may not be into their specific vibe. It's almost like a crapshoot. At IPO, they know they're among fans and artists who share a love of great songs and pop oriented music. We've really developed into an incredible, artist and fan friendly pop music network and international community. No matter which city we're in, it's such a great, friendly environment for people to share their love for pop music--sort of like Woodstock without the violence and drugs.”