IT'S A MONSTER
For years, Earthcore (AKA Earthcore Productions, AKA Good Trix Corporation AKA Dance Aid) has been growing into a veritable monster. It's a monster not just in size, Earthcore is monstrous in almost every respect.
For years, Earthcore (AKA Earthcore Productions, AKA Good Trix Corporation AKA Dance Aid) has been growing into a veritable monster. It's a monster not just in size, Earthcore is monstrous in almost every respect.
Earthcore Corporation under the control of Spiro Boursine, have been cheating multitudes of people out of money, and even threatening and intimidating people out of getting what is rightfully theirs.
Every year more people come on board, and more people leave, burnt, cheated and disgusted at the idiocy, ruthlessness and arrogance of Earthcore. For the last two years at least, Earthcore has defaulted on paying Artists, Cleaners, Medical staff, Transporters, Lighting and Fencing contractors, the farmers whose land they use, local communities, even their own workers.
Every time its the same story, they claim they have lost money, refuse to answer phone calls, threaten to not pay people at all if they call to ask what is happening with their fee. They pay only the most essential workers or those they consider to be a member of their family. Everybody else is treated with absolute disregard, absolute contempt. Some have been threatened with violence. Every year it's business as usual with more poor suckers coming to get done over and ripped off.
TRASHERS
Earthcore damages the very landscape they use to market themselves with, they don't clean up the mess they leave. Last years major event was a disaster. Shepparton Council and the Undera local community had long decided to boycott any professional involvement with Good Trix / Earthcore as the local football club who were meant to be paid to clean the previous year were not paid. Rather than organise an alternative, they decided to leave a mess.
Rather than take responsibility for the bad blood that had been created with the local community, Spiro Boursine gave his oh-so tragic swan-song after his DJ set, claiming that Earthcore was over because the mean old Council was out to destroy him. In light of the actual wrongdoing his company had committed, his ability to portray himself as a victim is shocking.
This tendency to trash its sites and damage its relationships, has dogged the company for years, but has become worse and worse. Each year the Festival burns its bridges with Councils and each year they have to throw themselves further a field to find new locations and new communities to fuck over.
EARTH-"CORP"
Whilst promoting themselves to the Trance Community as earth loving and full of consciousness, Earthcores business practices are not much better than Shell, Newscorp or Monsanto. The difficulties of running an event like Earthcore are numerous, but the truth is that Earthcore would not survive without the seemingly endless support from the Rave community, from volunteers that see the scene as actually meaning something... Bit by bit those people are bitten and sucked dry, but there is always new blood. The executive body pay themselves handsomely whilst others are exploited.
Under Spiro and his cronies, Earthcore increasingly stinks of aristocratic arrogance. Its most conspicuous and glaring example being "Club 333". This elite $333.00 VIP club within the Carnival was the only aspect given a complete loving treatment. Designed to make money out of those who wished to "party" with the International DJ set, it was a dismal fiscal failure, rightly ignored by the discerning public, and unaffordable to the rest. Even the Celebrity DJ's who were given automatic access largely ignored it, preferring to hang out with the crowd, or with their real friends. The contractors who supplied the infrastructure for Club333 are also yet to be paid. Yet despite the financial disaster of the last Club 333 attempt, Earthcore is at it again!!!!!!!
DANCE A.I.D.S.
In order to save Earthcore from its deserving fate, Spiro announced he was standing down (just as he has repeatedly announced bankruptcy) and passed the reigns to an ethical organization to save its reputation.
"Dance Aid is committed to raising funds and raising awareness by hosting various events based upon worthy humanitarian and environmental causes with complete transparency in terms of where the nominated revenue raised actually goes to and who and what it benefits. Far too many charity focused groups fail to address this major issue properly with many funds being swallowed up by shady "administration" costs. Other festival and charity groups seem to go on environmental and community themes yet are primarily focused towards self gain for their directors and stakeholders." from Dance Aid website
"Dance Aid" is the face we are now presented with, a slick glib PR construction lazily derived from Bob Geldof's bible. Yet the organisation uses the same headquarters, and perhaps the same personel. Such rhetoric is pure spin designed to try to counteract the growing stain upon their name. It is completely the opposite of the truth so far and should be viewed as no different from politicians kissing babies. Dance Aid's relationship with Earthcore is to simultaneously whitewash Earthcores reputation and to seem as if it is an independent partner. Spiro is still at the helm instead he calls himself a "consultant". The spin-doctoring is almost as impressive as the Petrochemical companies....
YOUR CHOICE
If you think that organizations such as Earthcore, and the scene they are a part of is actually meant to MEAN something other than making money and having a dance then don't support Earthcore
If you think that ethical standards matter and think that any youth culture that wants REAL change in the world needs to BE that kind of change.... then don't support Earthcore.
If you think that working people should have rights, and respect and not be exploited mercilessly by crooked businessmen.... Then DO NOT attend Earthcore 2007.
