John D's Blog

ONWARD MARCH

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Skate and Surf Festival is quickly approaching. The Break Contest is in full swing, plus we are launching this little artist-to-fan mobile gaming platform called GameChanger World. Where to begin.

We are creatively planning our next announcement. If all goes according to plan... and production, I would expect an announcement soon after the day of the Irish. The line up will end with around 80+ artists... Some will only be appearing and not performing—but most will be doing both. There will be some unannounced performances, including The Bob's Special Guest. In typical tradition, we will also have some name reversals to add confusion and mystery. Big thank yous to Lonnie Quinn, Sam Gursky and Clay Graham for assisting with this next announcement.

Event Parking... This year's event finds us in close proximity to a wonderful neighborhood and we ask that our fans help us make this as enjoyable an experience for them as possible. On-site parking sold out. Off-site parking is close and plentiful, and our shuttle service will take you roundtrip to/from the event. Please help me encourage everyone to use the shuttle service available.

This site is going to be special! This is the first time one of our main stages will play on lawn. The layout will make this event experience more fan-friendly than ever before. Our main and side stages will play outdoors, a party stage will play inside Encore Event Center and GameChanger mobile games will be set up throughout iPlay America for fans to game their favorite bands—one on one.

The GameChanger World platform is going to be more dynamic than I could have ever imagined. The delays will be worth it. We were hoping to have the games available by now, but due to "technical difficulties" we are going to be saving it all for Skate and Surf. At Skate and Surf, GameChanger will present Trailin' Travis, Forever the Sickest Kid's Master Blaster Runner 3000, Mayday Parade's Face Off, Bayside's Blitz and games from Chunk! No Captain, Chunk!, My Ticket Home, Senses Fail, We Came As Romans, Miss May I, Mod Sun, Crown the Empire, Andrew W.K. and many more! You will have a chance to be the first to game the artists, check out the latest in mobile gaming and win exclusive GameChanger World merchandise. These games will be available for play on both Saturday and Sunday inside iPlay America.

Thanks for the continued support. I am looking forward to a great weekend in May. More to come. Be sure to "like" Skate and Surf Festival on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for future updates!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

It is with absolute pleasure that GameChanger World and Skate and Surf Festival may welcome LONNIE QUINN, CBS New York's Chief Weathercaster, as our OFFICIAL WEATHERMAN FOR SKATE AND SURF FESTIVAL WEEKEND! Lonnie is an inspiration to our team and our go-to representative for all things weather-related. We trust in Lonnie to bring us the sunshine on May 18th and 19th!

All the thanks in the world are due to all of the loyal festival fans who have reached out to Lonnie (and CBS) on our behalf. Our most special thanks go out to COURTNEY BOYD of Harrisburg, PA for connecting us with our very own weather idol! Courtney is the lucky recipient of two GameChanger Player VIP Packages, festival lunch backstage at artist catering and a private shuttle to/from her local hotel for both festival dates. As a thanks for her efforts, Courtney and her guest will be our team's personal VIP guests!

SKATE AND SURF FESTIVAL ISSUES BOUNTY FOR WEATHERMAN

GameChangers, we need to help our friends at Skate and Surf Festival secure the best possible weather for Skate and Surf weekend! It appears we will need some assistance, so we are officially enlisting YOU (the festival fans) in a quest to connect with Lonnie Quinn, lead weather anchor of CBS.

The individual who connects Lonnie Quinn with Skate and Surf Festival in an official manner (television, video, Facebook and/or Twitter post--from Lonnie himself--tagging the festival) will be rewarded with the following: GameChanger Player VIP Packages for two (2), on-site festival lunch backstage at artist catering, on-site festival parking AND MORE! In hopes that Skate and Surf Festival may have an official weatherman, we need someone to connect us with the Weather God, Lonnie Quinn.

We plan to turn to the fans to assist with necessary resources throughout the planning of the festival. Anybody up for a game?

2.11.13

Greetings from Freehold, NJ.

At this time last year, something so special for so many years was being run into the ground by an egotistical executive who cared more about numbers than the traditions of a community. Friends of many years turned their backs and allowed success to become a failure - all for the sake of a paycheck. A developer chose lies and paper over truth and honor, forcing a devastating set back to a historic music city that will be felt for years to come.

Out of the ashes, rises Skate and Surf Festival.

Eleven years ago, Skate and Surf Festival was created to be a platform through which artists could gain invaluable exposure by performing in front of larger audiences, surrounded by other talented acts, all looking for their breakout performance. Some of today's brightest stars rose at Skate and Surf. My Chemical Romance, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Coheed And Cambria and this year's headliner, Fall Out Boy.

For the festival to survive, it must look to the future.

Welcome GameChanger World, a new artist-to-fan mobile gaming platform launching this Spring. GameChanger World has powered the return of Skate and Surf Festival and will ensure its presence for many years to come. In the next few months, artists like T. Mills, Bayside, Mayday Parade, Miss May I, Circa Survive, My Ticket Home, Forever the Sickest Kids and more will begin releasing mobile games through the GameChanger World platform. Most of these games and more will be on-site for this year's Skate and Surf Festival. Fans will be able to download "free" mobile games, battle the artists themselves in the GameChanger Arena, and earn exclusive platform rewards from the artists themselves. From artist trading cards to special meet and greet opportunities, gamers will be rewarded for their engagement on the artists' mobile platform.

GameChanger World games will be available on iOS and Android mobile devices, allowing fans to engage their favorite artists 365 days per year, 24 hours per day.

Skate and Surf Festival is back. The future begins today.

See you all in May.