Pulp Summer Slam is an annual music festival in the Philippines. It is founded and produced by Pulp Live World Productions, Inc.. The festival consists of local and international rock and metal bands with the occasional line-up of hip hop, ska, reggae, pop rock, and other genres. The event is held every year during the summer in Manila, Philippines and every year around 30,000 fans show up for the event.
Pulp Summer Slam held its 10th anniversary at the Amoranto Stadium featuring Lamb of God and Testament as headliners and 30 local and foreign bands on 17 April 2010.
Pulp Summer Slam was produced to cater to the readers of Pulp Magazine [1], a rock music magazine in the Philippines. Produced by Pulp Magazine publisher and major concert promoter Vernon Go, Pulp Summer Slam during its early years always falls on April 30 . The relevance of the date to the Pulp Summer Slam is due to Pulp Magazine's early nature – controversial and gory photo shoots were often featured on the cover. Pulp Summer Slam is famous for gathering more than 30 bands in its line up every year, as well as the 30,000 or more rock fans who show up every year. Many rock fans from all over the country come to this one day show and dress in costumes or bizarre outfits. Often referred to as "The Slam", Pulp Summer Slam has become an annual tradition for rock fans in the country.
In its latter years, Pulp Summer Slam started to bring in international bands as headliners. This made the Pulp Summer Slam become known all over the world. Many ticket buyers from Asia started to drop by the Philippines to witness the show and experience the festival. International bands who came in for Pulp Summer Slam were Death Angel, Darkest Hour, Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, Testament, Anthrax, Hellyeah and Nervecell.
During the early years, Pulp Summer Slam has a two-band stage setup to accommodate quick changeovers for each local band. When headliners started coming in, the stage was made to accommodate three-band set ups. On Pulp Summer Slam 10, the stage had a four-band set up to accommodate 2 headliners.
Pulp Summer Slam is produced by Pulp Live World Productions, Inc., one of the major show producers in the Philippines. Pulp Live World is known for its ability to pull off the most outrageous, intricate technical riders and concept-themed shows. Last March 15, 2007, Pulp Live World produced a show for Shadows Fall in which a moving giant zombie was constructed as the band's backdrop. This show is featured in Shadows fall's DVD release "Madness in Manila". Another one of Pulp Live World's biggest shows are Super Junior's Super Show 2 (April 10, 2010) and Super Show 3 (February 26, 2011), wherein the production included more than 300 stages platforms, LED screens, hundreds of lights and pyrotechnic for a one night show in Araneta Coliseum for 9,000 fans and 10,000 fans respectively.
Pulp Summer Slam 1
The first Pulp Summer Slam was held on April 30, 2001 with 50 popular Filipino rock and metal bands in the lineup. This was held in the Rosario Sports Complex in Pasig City, Metro Manila. During this time, there was no other existing music festivals in that scale and Filipino rock fans responded positively to the show. The poster for the first Pulp Summer Slam featured Carlo Estrada wearing a wrestling spandex in relevance to the name "summer slam" which at first would sound like a wrestling event. Bands featured in this festival were Parokya Ni Edgar, Eraserheads The Dawn, Razorback, Rivermaya, Sandwich, Greyhoundz, Teeth, Battery, Barbie's Cradle, MOYG, Brownbeat All-Stars, Bad Burn, Chicoscience, Ciudad, Imago, First Degree, Itchyworms, Dahong Palay, Shampoo Ni Lola, Huka, Mr. Crayon, Blue Rats, Moonstar 88, and more.
Pulp Summer Slam 2
After the success of the first Pulp Summer Slam, the second was moved to a bigger venue at the Fort Open Grounds in Taguig City on April 30, 2002. More than 35,000 rock fans showed up and overwhelmed the production staff of the festival. The ticket price was a measly 50 Pesos which was less than 1 US Dollar at the time. 30 local bands were featured in the line up along with a live female mud wrestling. It is also the first time that producers decided to use giant video screens to enhance the experience for the fans. Bands featured in the line up are Slapshock, Chicosci, Sandwich, Badburn, Greyhoundz, Skychurch, Pan, Cheese, Parokya ni Edgar and many more. The poster for Pulp Summer Slam 2 features a female model wrestling with a man in relevance to the name "Summer Slam".
Pulp Summer Slam 3
In 2003, Pulp Summer Slam 3 was moved to Amoranto Stadium, Quezon City. More bands were featured in this year and gates opened earlier at 12pm. This is also the year wherein the Pulp Summer Slam CD was released to public. Buying a Pulp Summer Slam CD entitles the buyer a free ticket to the festival which was raised to 150 Pesos. Bands featured in Pulp Summer Slam 3 were Agaw Agimat, Bamboo, Barbie's Cradle, Boldstar, Brownman Revival, Cheese, Chicosci, Color It Red, Cynthia Alexander, The Mongols, Gary Granada, Imago, Itchyworms, Joey Ayala, Kamikazee, Kapatid, Pinikpikan, Pin-Up Girls, Razorback, Rayyn, Reggae Mistress, Radioactive Sago Project, and more. This is also the year when underground bands were officially announced to be one of a priority in the festival. Again, in relevance to the title, the Pulp Summer Slam 3 poster features an image of Gigantor and Rusty battling it out in a wrestling ring with a referee.
Pulp Summer Slam 4
For 2004's Pulp Summer Slam, there were many changes. One of which is the poster image wherein instead of wrestling concept, a Filipino version of Uncle Sam was replaced. The poster features Filipino rock legend Pepe Smith wearing top hat made of native material and Filipino flag uniform with a sign that says "I want you! Join the Pulp Summer Slam Army!" This festival was held in Amoranto Stadium on April 30, 2004 is the first time where tickets include freebies like beer, sodas, discount to t-shirts, and more. Having a solid concept other than the "wresting" idea gained support from sponsors and grew the audience back to 25,000 rock fans, after the modest success of Pulp Summer Slam 3. Band who performed were Stonefree, Grass, Kapatid, 6 Cycle Mind, Sugarfree, Twisted Halo, the Mongols, Urbandub, Sin, Death By Stereo, Cakewalk, Imago, Bamboo, Moonstar 88, Chicosci, and many more.
Pulp Summer Slam 5
Following up on the "Filipino Uncle Sam" concept, Pulp Summer Slam 5 now has a theme. Entitled, "World War Five", this year's Pulp Summer Slam features Greyhoundz frontman Reg Rubio as the demon soldier on the poster holding a KKK flag. Held on April 30, 2005 at the Amoranto Stadium, Pulp Summer Slam experienced to receive counterfeit tickets for the first time. Ticket price to Pulp Summer Slam 5 is 180 Pesos inclusive of freebies such as beer, pizza, soda, prepaid cellphone credit, and a discount on the official merchandise. Bands who performed were Orange and Lemons, Tropical Depression, COG, the Ambassadors, Kamikazee, Itchyworms, The Dawn, Kikomachine, Shards of Ice, Spongecola, Jeepney Joyride, Sheila and the Insects, and many more.
Pulp Summer Slam 6 "The Invasion Begins"
In 2006, Pulp Summer Slam was forced to change its April 30 date. Because April 30, 2006 falls on a Sunday, the producer was forced to move Pulp Summer Slam 6 to April 29, 2006 which is a Saturday. This is also a year when a regular Pulp Summer Slam attendee who wears fake alien ears to every Pulp Summer Slam was featured as a "mascot". Entitled, "The Invasion Begins", Pulp Summer Slam 6 featured World Battle of the Bands winner Jaggedy Ann, an all-female rock band. This year's festival was supported by a poster issue in Pulp Magazine wherein bands performing at the event each got a full page poster with the alien-ear mascot called "Tenga". Bands who performed were Join the Club, Sandwich, Giniling Festival, Pedicab, Agape, Saydie, Dicta License, Juan Pablo Dream, Sultans of Snap, Queso, Kapatid, Pupil, Paramita, Valley of Chrome, Boy Elroy, and many more. The event also featured appearances of sexy female celebrities such as Ara Mina and the Viva Hot Babes. The poster for Pulp Summer Slam 6 displays an image of Tenga with the members of Jaggedy Ann in the background.
Pulp Summer Slam 7 "The Seven Deadly Sins"
Pulp Summer Slam 7 was entitled, "The Seven Deadly Sins". Because it's the 7th leg of the festival, the producer of the show took this opportunity to use the seven deadly sins concept and made several official posters featuring gory interpretations of the seven sins. This year is also the first time that Pulp Summer Slam featured an international heavy metal band as headliner. Death Angel, which was an acquaintance of producer Vernon Go, dropped by their home country to perform for the first time to fellow Filipinos. This was also the first time that Pulp Summer Slam had a triple-band stage setup. Since April 30, 2006 falls on a Monday, the producer was once again forced to move Pulp Summer Slam 7 to April 28, 2007, Saturday.
Pulp Summer Slam 8 "Forever"
Pulp Summer Slam 8 entitled "Forever" is conceptualized after the number 8 which when turned to the side is the sign of infinity. The poster for this year's festival features a stone sculpture of a woman with pythons on her hands. This festival is headlined by international heavy metal band Darkest Hour and had more than 30,000 fans in attendance.
Pulp Summer Slam 9 "Countdown to Extinction"
The title of Pulp Summer Slam 9 "Countdown to Extinction" is named in relevance the 10th leg which is "The Apocalypse". No pun intended on Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction album, the ninth leg of the festival was headlined by Shadows Fall. For this year, Pulp Summer Slam was moved back to the April 30 date which fell on a Thursday. This leg also featured underground bands from other countries such as Australia, US, Malaysia, Norway, and Hong Kong. Bands who performed were Rico Blanco, Kamikazee, Typecast, Sandwich, Kwjan, Boy Elroy, Chicosci, Skabeche, Nyctinasty, Greyhoundz, Unholy Ground, Goddamn, Shepherds the Weak, King Ly Chee, Andrea Marie, Sanctus, Paraluman, Slapshock and many more. Pulp Summer Slam 9 will also be featured in Shadows Fall's latest DVD release, "Madness in Manila" to come out on August 29, 2010.
Pulp Summer Slam 10 "The Apocalypse"
Pulp Summer Slam "The Apocalypse" is the 10th anniversary of the festival. The official poster featured four women riding on horses, thus the "four horsemen". An early poster was also released featuring an image of an old man holding a sign that reads "the end is near". Pulp Summer Slam 10 is by far the most talked about, most read about festival in Asia because it is headlined by two international metal bands Lamb of God and Testament. These two metal bands had never headline a show together in any part of the world and with the ticket costing only 300 Pesos (approximately 6 US Dollars), Filipino fans became the envy of every metal head in the world. The news was first published in Blabbermouth.com where in Testament frontman Chuck Billy was interviewed about headlining with Lamb of God for the festival. Some US fans were outraged and expressed their sentiments online when they found out about Pulp Summer Slam's 6 US Dollar ticket price for the show and began questioning American promoters why tickets to festivals in the US costs so high. The ticket price of 6 US Dollars of Pulp Summer Slam 10 "The Apocalypse" is inclusive of freebies like beer, sodas, pizzas, condoms, prepaid cellphone credits, and a discount to the official merchandise of the event.
Held on April 17, 2010 at the Amoranto Stadium, the producer was forced again to move the date from the original April 30 to accommodate the availability of the headliners. By 6pm of April 17, 2010, the show was announced to have sold out and is over capacity at around 35,000 fans in attendance. Lamb of God's drummer Chris Adler was interviewed by a local TV network and expressed his excitement for the successful show. "The response of the crowd was more than we expected for our first time here in the Philippines." Other bands who performed were Slapshock, Intolerant, COG, Greyhoundz, Chicosci, Typecast, Bhelliom, Firefalldown, Quartered, Pedicab, Arcadia, Sin, Ozawa, Bloodshedd, Alex in Wonderland, Bane, Pentavia, and many more.
Pulp Summer Slam 11 "Resurrection"
Pulp Summer Slam 11 featured three international bands Anthrax, Hellyeah, and Death Angel on April 30, 2011 at the Amoranto Stadium. For the first time in almost a decade, Pulp Summer Slam presented a new beer sponsor, Colt 45. The festival was attended by around 20,000 people who received free beer, pizza, cellphone load, sodas, discounts, and many more with their 350 peso ticket (approximately 8 US Dollars). The festival also featured a bigger stage platform and a 50-second pyro show after the set of Anthrax at 11pm.
The festival also featured local bands such as Kamikazee, Paramita, Urbandub, Franco, Arcadia, Chicosci, as well as a visiting band from Dubai called Nervecell - all of whom shared a stage with four band set up.