RTP-area local music and culture

[loxpick AT aol.com]

 One thing a lot of bands tend to forget is that club owners have this nasty 
little addiction called 'overheads'. No matter how great your band may be, if 
they can't fill the joint, for whatever reason, the club owner may well lose 
money, maybe lots of it.

Think the bank, landlord, phone co., beer vendors, Duke Power, and a 
bajillion other expenses will cut the owner any slack because the attendance 
has been down and he can't afford to pay right now? If so, please contact me, 
my family has a bridge in Brooklyn we'd like to sell, cheap too!

For a new, unproven draw of a band to expect they can waltz right into a club 
like 506 is not only excessively egotistical, its fucking insane!

I've been in bands since 1965 and can certainly empathize with how hard it 
can be to get gigs...hell, we're strugglin' in Killer Filler...but the 
reality is that there are way, way more good bands in Chapel Hill than there 
are clubs to keep them all booked and that, coupled with the economic 
realities faced by club owners make gigs a bit on the scarce side. 
Particularly if you are not a PROVEN draw.

But think of how much worse it would be if the clubs that are there went out 
of business because they booked bands based solely upon skill or friendship 
as opposed to draw.

pete gamble


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: local506 AT gmail.com
To: ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 1:55 pm
Subject: Re: Local music... who decides?










Thanks Ross, couldn't have said that better myself, which is good cos
I'm really busy today and wouldn't have time to reply in depth (and
really didn't get a chance to read every line of every posts.)

However, I will say this.  As a club booker, I pay attention to what
the other clubs in town are doing and who's putting up fliers, et al,
so if the first-time I'm hearing of your band is when you contact me
to play 506, then it's my opinion that you're not working hard enough
(at either getting shows, or promoting the shows you got.) There are
plenty of other rooms for a band to play their first few shows, before
taking the jump up to 506.

As far as getting those others shows, which sounds like you're also
having difficulty with - my recommendation is to make friends with the
bands you want to play with.  With most of our local shows, I book the
headliner and the headliner picks the bands they want to play with.
In honesty, that's how I find out about many new local acts (much more
so than bands sending me their myspace link.)

What's funny, one year ago, this original email could have been
written by Red Collar, a band that didn't even play Local 506 until
last July (when Sleepsound ask them to open their CD release show) but
would probably be looked at as a bands who's getting such
'favoritism.'

With all that said, I will share as much info as people are willing to
listen to (one of the reason's I take the time to post on amch.)
Unfortunately, too few bands in my opinion ask such questions...so i'm
glad you got the ball rolling.

glenn / local 506
-- ch-scene: the list that mirrors alt.music.chapel-hill --
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ch-scene



 


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