Making It Better: A Serious Topic For Serious Local Supporters and Musicians - Page 2

clockworkengine · 06-11-2007, 11:53 PM

I guess it all comes down to whether or not local bands want to stay local.

R0XY · 06-12-2007, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clockworkengine

They already had that, pitboss. The Catastrophe was perfect and was dedicated to the music scene. Now it's practically derelict because there is simply no local interest. And that's why we all need to start working together, traveling, handing out cds, constructing national mailing lists... everything.

They were in a good location.. but they never progressed.. think about all the time that Jason talked about getting a liquor license and it never came about.. I'm not sure what makes a bar a great bar but that would be a step.

Every time I think about a bar I always compare it to the Dive. I'm not sure what made this a "great bar" to me, but it was. Maybe it was the fact that all my friends were there. Maybe it was the fact they didn't have the same bands play every weekend or brought talent in from Lousiana too. They had a great house sound guy in Brian, they had great bartenders, and everyone knew everyone most of the time.. Like I said I don't know why but that was my idea of a "great bar" and some of the best times of my life.

06-12-2007, 10:40 AM

Shameless to say, back in the day all it took for me to get to a show was a sweet email to my personal email. I had a few sweet talkers. Now, with the age of myspace, I'm lucky to catch a bulletin. Because of so man spammers out there with caddy bulletins. I hear 92zew in Mobile telling us national blockbuster acts are coming to the Soul Kitchen. And even now a days those bands aren't worth seeing. They are playing damn bars again for peets sake.

Is it worth to have your five years of fame only to do the reunite tour in the end? So why stress yourself out, lay low, not play a few places for a while, come back, with NEW SONGS, that we DONT already know, and maybe more of a crowd will come... Do that without traveling.

I dunno.

xush · 06-12-2007, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clockworkengine

Let's talk about something. How many of you (and I'm talking to the musicians) are still hoping and working to get that record deal or professional bill-paying music gig?

We've got to start doing more than just playing the scene. We've got to pool our resources. Bands should start touring together. there is nothing here. They go where the action is... and that is everywhere else. What if we started a system in which we begin organizing tours for our bands.

But I personally want to go somewhere with my music without having to uproot across the country permanently.

I think it's an interesting topic, and you've covered a lot of ground in the original post.

I believe that any band that takes its music seriously wants to share it and spread it as widely as possible. There are several ways to do this, and touring is the most effective. As hard as it proves to be to book one's own band across the country, I can only imagine trying to do this with several bands en masse would only be trickier/harder. Cool idea though. It's something my band has considered in the past, at least finding a 'sister band' to work closely with, so that you could offer booking agents/talent buyers a complete show in one booking.
Haven't been able to make that happen as of yet though.

"Scene Cohesiveness" is another topic that comes up every few months. It's a hard thing to achieve, if it even can be attained at all. These days you've got to work SO hard just to keep your own band busy, it's very taxing. And just what is the 'Scene?' Does it really exist? There's bands and venues. Many are in no way related to each other. Tough to make that cohesive.

I don't mean to sound cynical, I think they're nice ideas and I hope they are goals that could be achieved. Discussion of the subject is the best first step.

As far as the basics go though, playing locally is where bands grow and mature. Would be nice to have a place to do that comfortably in the area. I have considered the possibilities of 'alternate venues,' and this is something I really want to experiment with soon. I understand the appeal and convenience of playing in bars, but it only does a band so much good. There must be places shows could be held that would be more conducive to growing a scene or at least focusing on the music. Community Centers have been used in this way; I think there must be a way to put on a show in a place it can be most effectively presented.
Is there a way to do it successfully? I don't know yet.

Would people come to shows that weren't in bars or music venues?
Would you go to a theater or community center, or is booze an essential ingredient for enjoying a musical performance?

jeez, I better stop typing now. sorry about that~

Cherry-Bomb Productions · 06-12-2007, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Top_drawerjunkphotos

Is it worth to have your five years of fame only to do the reunite tour in the end?

WE SHALL SEE!!! CHECK US OUT @
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/OCTAVEDOWNBAND

Razz · 06-12-2007, 11:33 AM

Education is the key here. Of course, the musicians, friends and families know about shows. But I think most of the people around here are not aware of our music scene.

Some great ideas have been brought up in this thread and it got me to thinking...We used to have a pretty good music scene. Or at least, I thought so. At one point there were so many bands playing that I coudln't figure out which ones to see. Now it's the opposite. Of course, I get out so little these days I tend to go see the bands I'm friends with and I KNOW I'll have a good time. Which is prolly the same for most of the folks on teh coast that actually go to shows.

But how about this...Rather than having a couple of bands pitch in for travel expeneses, why don't the bands pitch in for advertising costs? I think it's about $250 to advertise on the radio, getting fliers printed up doesn't cost that much. The biggest pain in that is getting your band mates to actualy distribute the flyers.

Whenever I want to know if a band is playing I come to this website. But not all bands advertise on this site and not all of your fans know about this site or don't have a computer!

Razz · 06-12-2007, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xush

I think it's an interesting topic, and you've covered a lot of ground in the original post.

I believe that any band that takes its music seriously wants to share it and spread it as widely as possible. There are several ways to do this, and touring is the most effective. As hard as it proves to be to book one's own band across the country, I can only imagine trying to do this with several bands en masse would only be trickier/harder. Cool idea though. It's something my band has considered in the past, at least finding a 'sister band' to work closely with, so that you could offer booking agents/talent buyers a complete show in one booking.
Haven't been able to make that happen as of yet though.

"Scene Cohesiveness" is another topic that comes up every few months. It's a hard thing to achieve, if it even can be attained at all. These days you've got to work SO hard just to keep your own band busy, it's very taxing. And just what is the 'Scene?' Does it really exist? There's bands and venues. Many are in no way related to each other. Tough to make that cohesive.

I don't mean to sound cynical, I think they're nice ideas and I hope they are goals that could be achieved. Discussion of the subject is the best first step.

As far as the basics go though, playing locally is where bands grow and mature. Would be nice to have a place to do that comfortably in the area. I have considered the possibilities of 'alternate venues,' and this is something I really want to experiment with soon. I understand the appeal and convenience of playing in bars, but it only does a band so much good. There must be places shows could be held that would be more conducive to growing a scene or at least focusing on the music. Community Centers have been used in this way; I think there must be a way to put on a show in a place it can be most effectively presented.
Is there a way to do it successfully? I don't know yet.

Would people come to shows that weren't in bars or music venues?
Would you go to a theater or community center, or is booze an essential ingredient for enjoying a musical performance?

jeez, I better stop typing now. sorry about that~

Scream Until They Hear Us have montly shows at the VFW in Gulfport. No alcohol, and it's all ages. I think they make enough to cover their expenses, but not much more. But they aren't doing it for the money. They usually charge $5 I think. And they often times have five bands. Also, most of the bands are from out of state.

gmonyxmas · 06-12-2007, 12:11 PM

Get the fuck out of town. Period.

Razz · 06-12-2007, 12:16 PM

Well, now...if all the bands left, who would I watch on the weekends?

alex 101 · 06-12-2007, 01:28 PM

hate to say it, but alot of musicians around here don't have alot of ambition. everyone that's posted on here have made logical suggestions for promotion, but i don't see too many people bothering to take the advice.

my suggestion; if money is a problem with promotion then instead of playing a bunch of tiny shows to no one but the bartenders then save your money for one really big show. there are venues you can get for all ages shows, which is probably the demographic you should be courting anyway. they are the ones with the disposable income to buy your merchandise. sorry, but the average 20-30's crowd is there for the party and if they can see you on any given weekend your crowd will eventually dwindle. make it an actual concert and not just a random band playing in a bar, and it'll make the experience better for everyone.

06-11-2007, 11:53 PM	#11 (permalink)
clockworkengine Band Member Band Whore Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Henry, CO Age: 25 Posts: 391 Rep Power: 44	I guess it all comes down to whether or not local bands want to stay local. __________________ www.myspace.com/clockworkengine Don't you give me that "Don't you give me that look again" look again.

06-12-2007, 12:11 PM	#18 (permalink)
gmonyxmas Band Member Fawkin' Newbie Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 83 Rep Power: 0	Get the fuck out of town. Period. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/elsah http://www.myspace.com/thewayhighmen

06-12-2007, 01:28 PM	#20 (permalink)
alex 101 Band Member Screamo for Emo Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: ocean springs, ms. Age: 31 Posts: 216 Rep Power: 44	hate to say it, but alot of musicians around here don't have alot of ambition. everyone that's posted on here have made logical suggestions for promotion, but i don't see too many people bothering to take the advice. my suggestion; if money is a problem with promotion then instead of playing a bunch of tiny shows to no one but the bartenders then save your money for one really big show. there are venues you can get for all ages shows, which is probably the demographic you should be courting anyway. they are the ones with the disposable income to buy your merchandise. sorry, but the average 20-30's crowd is there for the party and if they can see you on any given weekend your crowd will eventually dwindle. make it an actual concert and not just a random band playing in a bar, and it'll make the experience better for everyone. __________________ www.consumptionmusic.com www.purevolume.com/consumption www.myspace.com/consumption www.musicfreedom.com/consumption www.isound.com/consumption

06-12-2007, 10:40 AM	#13 (permalink)
Top_drawerjunkphotos Guest Posts: n/a	Shameless to say, back in the day all it took for me to get to a show was a sweet email to my personal email. I had a few sweet talkers. Now, with the age of myspace, I'm lucky to catch a bulletin. Because of so man spammers out there with caddy bulletins. I hear 92zew in Mobile telling us national blockbuster acts are coming to the Soul Kitchen. And even now a days those bands aren't worth seeing. They are playing damn bars again for peets sake. Is it worth to have your five years of fame only to do the reunite tour in the end? So why stress yourself out, lay low, not play a few places for a while, come back, with NEW SONGS, that we DONT already know, and maybe more of a crowd will come... Do that without traveling. I dunno.

06-12-2007, 11:33 AM	#16 (permalink)
Razz Productive GCB Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Age: 29 Posts: 1,122 Rep Power: 45	Education is the key here. Of course, the musicians, friends and families know about shows. But I think most of the people around here are not aware of our music scene. Some great ideas have been brought up in this thread and it got me to thinking...We used to have a pretty good music scene. Or at least, I thought so. At one point there were so many bands playing that I coudln't figure out which ones to see. Now it's the opposite. Of course, I get out so little these days I tend to go see the bands I'm friends with and I KNOW I'll have a good time. Which is prolly the same for most of the folks on teh coast that actually go to shows. But how about this...Rather than having a couple of bands pitch in for travel expeneses, why don't the bands pitch in for advertising costs? I think it's about $250 to advertise on the radio, getting fliers printed up doesn't cost that much. The biggest pain in that is getting your band mates to actualy distribute the flyers. Whenever I want to know if a band is playing I come to this website. But not all bands advertise on this site and not all of your fans know about this site or don't have a computer!

06-12-2007, 12:16 PM	#19 (permalink)
Razz Productive GCB Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Age: 29 Posts: 1,122 Rep Power: 45	Well, now...if all the bands left, who would I watch on the weekends?