Facedown Festival…
A Christian Music Festival for Stage Dives and Sing-alongs
After downloading the free song “For Today” from Amazon.com, I stumbled upon a fascinating Christian record label out of Fallbrook, CA called Facedown Records (#FacedownRecords). Not only did I get a free “For Today” download, I got a dozen free downloads from Christian metal bands like Gideon, Messengers, and War of Ages — just to name a few. I looked into it and learned that these bands collaborated towards a common goal: Facedown Fest
This made me curious.
I was able to track down Shannon Quiggle, Head of Publicity for Facedown Records, and learn more about this interesting event in Christian music:
Tell us about the Facedown Festival? What is it all about?
Facedown Fest started as a way to get the family together for a big show, but also for a big hangout! The first Facedown Fest was in 2000 at the Showcase Theater in Corona, and it featured Overcome, Dodgin’ Bullets, Point of Recognition, Figure Four, and Cast in Stone. After a couple of years we outgrew the Showcase, so we moved over to the Glasshouse in Pomona where we had quite a few years of Fests. Recently we’ve moved back to a more intimate setting at The Stronghold Venue in Chino — perfect for stage dives and sing-alongs. We just had our 14th Fest on March 28-29 of this year.
Tell us more about your record label? Are all your acts Christian?
Facedown started in 1997 when Jason was touring with No Innocent Victim. It grew from there and was home to bands like Overcome, Comeback Kid, Sinai Beach, Nodes of Ranvier, Seventh Star. We strive to find bands that focus heavily on their message as well as the music. All bands that we sign are made up of Christian members, and some are vocal and bold with their approach, and others are a bit more reserved and focus on expressing their faith through their music and lyrics. Each band might do this in a different way, and that is perfectly fine. As a company, we strive to act and work with integrity and just be real with people. We’ve seen first-hand the results of signing bands that are genuinely good people — bands that love what they do and are committed not only to the business of being in a band but to the integrity of their music.
I discovered you guys because you have free downloads on Amazon; why do you offer free downloads?
We’ve been giving out samplers since the label first began, and now those physical sampler CDs have taken the form of free downloads. What better way to showcase the talented bands we represent than by making a track from there albums available to everyone?
Tell us more about your website.
You can keep up with music news, releases, tour dates, sales, and more at www.facedownrecords.com.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all of your ways, and He will make your paths straight.”
