Big Day Out's Ken West welcomes 'kindred spirit' AJ Maddah The spirit of the Big Day Out will not change, says Maddah. An emotional Big Day Out co-promoter Ken West has rubbished speculation he is quitting the music festival and has thrown his support behind Soundwave's AJ Maddah to jointly run it. The mercurial Maddah meanwhile has pledged not to reduce the event's strong Australian flavour and to improve the fan's experience, starting with shortening queues at the 2014 event and providing fans with "better value" in the future. The percentage of Aussie bands at the Big Day Out will not change. "I need everyone to calm down," West said in a statement which was supplied to Fairfax by Maddah. The world is not collapsing. In short AJ is joining the BDO circus and I am staying. So the BDO team will now be C3, AJ Maddah and yours truly. West said the 2014 BDO headlining acts - Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire and Blur - was a "bucket list" lineup for him and now it's "about time I let a new generation help continue the BDO evolution." Two years ago West's former co-promoter Vivian Lees sold his share to Texan-based Lollapalooza promoter C3 Presents. Lees this week went on the offensive on Triple J's Hack program, saying Maddah was buying out West and called the younger man "a rhino" and "a gambler" with no commitment to the careers of Australian artists. But West defended Maddah as "the logical choice" to take the BDO forward. I feel AJ is a kindred spirit. Crazy in a good way... He knows this event better than anyone and has always been its greatest supporter, even as a competitor... I know him and I trust him. West was emotional in paying tribute to his supporters: "I will always be with BDO through thick and thin, I love this show and all the passionate people that make it happen... especially... the music fans who allowed me to have the greatest job in the world." Maddah said West had approached him to become involved recently. He stressed that West would continue, although he'd do less. There were no plans for West to eventually step aside, but called that "inevitable ... I will hand over the reigns of Soundwave one day. None of us are immortal. Well maybe [Michael] Chugg. Maddah revealed he had booked BDO acts for "seven years" prior to 2011 - including Kasabian, Rage Against the Machine, Trivium, Slipknot and Bullet For My Valentine - and would be involved in booking future BDO artists. He believed negotiating to secure Soundwave and BDO acts at the same time could keep headliners' multimillion-dollar asking prices in check. If the festivals aren't played off against each other hopefully we can make our artists' budgets go further which means better lineups and better value. Maddah said he now holds an "equal" financial interest in the BDO but that how much was "nobody else's business." So how would a Maddah-run BDO look different, aside from perhaps guaranteeing it primarily retains a rock focus. Maybe [I bring] a bit of energy and vitality... part of the problem at the Big Day Out was they had gone so far away from where the event started... you could stay it had been a bit bloated and bureaucratic. Maddah said he'd improve site design, add extra toilets and work on shortening queues for alcohol and food. We are asking people to invest in 11 hours of entertainment, if they have to spend an hour queuing that devalues the ticket by 10 per cent. But Maddah rejected speculation it'd be harder for Australian bands to get on the BDO bill now - his Soundwave lineups typically involve few Australian acts. That's partly because we didn't want to recirculate the lineup of the Big Day Out. But the percentage of Aussie bands at the Big Day Out will not change. There will be no change to the spirit of the Big Day Out. It's Ken's vision and I'm working for him. For 20 years it's been my ambition to work for the Big Day Out. It's been a great festival for 22 years. I don't need to f--- with that. It is understood a clear-out of dozens of Big Day Out staff has already happened. The organisation's CEO Adam Zammit will remain in his role. Ken West has been approached for comment.