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<  Around The Stove  ~  Local Gigs

PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2006 9:23 pm Reply with quote
Stumbled across this article which is pretty interesting, I guess we forget how easy we have had it, or have it here in NZ compared to overseas... In saying that though it sucks more bar owners don't think like this...
Quote:
Getting the lowdown from local club bookers.
by A.D. Amorosi

For local bands, getting booked is like getting fucked. They all think they’re good at what they do and would like to do it as often as possible -- and get paid a lot for it. Some should. But like a careless lover, some prima-donna bands are only worried about themselves.

What about the booker? Wouldn’t they like to find mutual beneficence without putting out more than they get back? Aren’t they looking for the orgasm of fiduciary reward? Could the metaphor get any more skeevy? We spoke to bookers about the goods, the bads and the uglies of the biz.

Why book local bands at all? Sense of community? They’re your pals?

Bryan Dilworth (Curt Flood Booking; at The Khyber, NXNW, Whiskey Dix): Both those things. Ultimately I'm responsible, financially, to venues open seven days a week. Local bands are an important part of our relationship to the music community. The bands need us as a venue to play. It's reciprocal.

Joe Lekkas (Doc Watson's on Mondays and Wednesdays): I try to book bands I think have something to offer to discerning music fans. Not just run-of-the-mill, I'm doing this because it's on the radio bands.

Sara Sherr (Sugar Town at the Balcony/Plain Parade; at Doc Watson's): I started booking bands as an extension of my years as a music critic. I wanted to be a part of the action instead of merely observing. I felt female rock musicians got short shrift. Why not start a community for them? As time went on, [business partner] Maria [Sciarrino] and I got to know more bands, and we wanted to branch out and do other things that weren't necessarily gender-based.

Jon Hampton (Heyday Entertainment; at the Troc, Balcony, North Star and Mill Creek Tavern): Local bands are the basis of what most rooms are. They are the acts that play the rooms regularly and therefore establish the room itself. I can't imagine doing national acts alone in the 100- to 300-size rooms.

Gina Renzi (The Foundation; at The Rotunda): I want to feel I've helped my neighbors, by helping others come to know about their talents.

Geoff Gordon (Clear Channel; at the Tower, TLA, Electric Factory, Tweeter, more): Hopefully we're part of a building process to get locals nationally recognized.

What criteria do you use in booking locals with nationals?

JL: Bands that spend time developing their own sound or, at worst, ape bands who have developed good sounds.

Maria Tessa Sciarrino (Sugar Town/Plain Parade): Whoever is appropriate in Plain Parade-ville. Appropriate never really denoting bands of a musical feather, but bands that artist and audience alike will appreciate. Our experience as general rock nerds allows us to make connections with music that normally wouldn't be seen with your average rock promoter.

JH: As any booker in the city will tell you, this is not an easy feat -- most of the bills these days come prepackaged with national acts and the talent buyer has his or her hands tied. We are generally not given the power to include local acts on a lot of the bills. This can be frustrating, as there is a lot of talented local acts out there that can add to the bill's draw and entertainment value.

BD: We tend to stay genre-specific, even though we are trying to get away from that generic booking ideal. When I walk through EFC's offices I see ads for The Who with Miles Davis and Ravi Shakar. Back then it was easier to enlighten people. Crowds are tough. Most people would be happy going to Delaware Avenue and hearing the same cover band. Guys with rockabilly haircuts usually want to hear only rockabilly bands. Hip-hop kids want to only hear hip-hop. I'd like to think we could do Sun Ra Arkestra and Old 97's. Either way, there's four million people in this city. I'm happy if 200 of them come to Khyber.

How about a locals-only package?

SS: Some bands know what bands work well with them. You can get this whole community of friends' friends' friends showing up. Sometimes you'll be exposed to a band you might not otherwise hear.

BD: We're trying to, like we used to, get one bigger local to book the rest of their own evenings. I don't know if you've noticed -- and it's a bad trend across the country -- having one national anchor band bringing their own buddies … on tour to open. That's been death to all music scenes. We're trying to book against that, fighting to get locals on as a first of four.

GR: I lean more to experimental artists, lesser-known artists of world fusion and traditional world-music genres. We need to respect and listen to immigrant/traditional music as easily as we go out to see an indie-rock or hip-hop act. It's nice to showcase a few acts of the same sort of appeal, but I don't like shows filled with clones.

Have you ever booked locals you hated but were great draws?

MTS: Not really. Since we have to deal with these bands in our everyday lives, we'd rather work with people we can actually like.

JL: I have. But only in desperation. It happens. I'll usually book bands that I love, regardless of draw. After all, it's not really about the money.

JH: Of course, but as I always tell people: If I booked only the bands I liked, my venues would be closed 98 percent of the year. So the unfortunate side to what I do is that personal taste cannot guide my bookings. My venues are like clients, and I have to do what is ultimately best for them.

GG: Subconsciously, I've forgotten the names … of all the bands I hate.

What locals won’t you book and why?

GG: Bands that have been abusive. To me, to the crew. Sometimes a local band's sound check gets cut short. Unfortunately for them, I have to cater first to the headliner. But some locals get angry. We won't book you again. Some locals are pissed they don't have a big guest list.

BD: We don't feel comfortable when bands aren't realistic. All bands automatically think that people are coming, that there's people hanging at Khyber anyway, so… We won't re-book bands who didn't promote or didn't host their own night that wasn't just them and their buddies. You're dealing with people for whom this -- their band -- is their creative output. But having stickers and a manager doesn't mean you're in a band. They take this all too seriously. And not seriously enough. You have to earn it, earn an audience. That's why and how the next level is so important. Worry about the big picture.

GR: I won't book a band who sides with any hate groups, anyone who talks a big talk but has yet to cut their teeth, yet still asks for half my budget in pay.

What is the least annoying way to get to you?

GG: E-mail first. No unsolicited packages. Those packages are annoying. I book 450 shows a year. Send me a note. Tell me what you're about, where you've played, where you're building and where on my schedule you think you'd fit.

MTS: Contact us via e-mail, give a URL to your website and/or mp3s. Have music we like, bring out a decent amount of people consistently.

JH: If you have sent in a package, don't call the office 100 times. This doesn't help. We are all extremely busy. E-mail is actually more effective. I think it is important for first-time bands to be honest about your draw and what size room you really should be playing. If you are only worth 10 people, I'd rather have you tell me that then tell me you are good for 100 and not deliver.

Generally, what do you pay?

MTS: After house costs and guarantees, money is divided up amongst bands evenly. That's it. Everyone helped out with making the show a success, so everyone should see an even cut of the profit.

GG: Little to nothing. Headliners often determine this, but it's not much.

GR: Beginning bands who never had gigs? Free or something small, like $50. I encourage every band to sell merch and allow them to ask for donations. Returners, I see how close I can get to what I paid before, and try to increase it by 10 percent or so. Locals who can headline, what they usually request, what they make at other venues, what their costs for the evening are and I come up with something fair for all involved.

BD: It's like being a waiter. Look at one table on one night -- you're screwed. Look beyond that and there's hope. Work to affect every single head and not worry about a dollar and you may be able to open at TLA for $5,000 in a year or two. This is no business in which to make money. The most a local band will get at Khyber is $600. Break that down between how many members, manager and other costs.

What do you expect from a local when/after you’ve booked them?

GG: Good locals become an attribute to the show by promoting their own gig. We go back to bands who do good jobs and work their asses off for us: Quick Step John, Octane, Silvertide, Cordalene. Do a good job for me without complaint and I'll bring you on good shows.

GR: Immediately after booking, promote! I'm surprised and disappointed to find bands who didn't promote at all. The Rotunda has a pretty big mailing list, website, phone line and money to duplicate fliers. Why do some bands not give me band bios/links to their sites, not hand out fliers, not even send info to their friends? I don't mind getting them crowds they may not get on their own, but they need to help me out here!

What are some stupid things local bands do?

JL: Call repeatedly, like a psycho ex-girlfriend.

JH: I get liquor in the mail once in awhile.

GR: If they know someone who knows me, they get that person to give them my cell and call every day. One guy calls me and uses a different voice and name every time, pretending he is just some guy trying to promote this particular band. But I have caller ID.

SS: Show up late without calling. Have issues with women in positions of power. Invite friends who all want to be on the guest list and bitch about paying the cover.

MTS: Lock their keys in the car. There's a lot of that. They take their time sound-checking, making everyone's lives difficult.

Tell me your favorite -- good or bad -- local-band incident.

GG: I don't think there's anyone in the local scene that adventurous anymore.

SS: During Can-Am Connection and Relay, we had a deaf theater group playing pool and blasting the jukebox in the other room. That was very surreal.

JH: Any scene can always use more camaraderie, or internal support. It really bothers me when I hear bands badmouthing each other because at the end of the day, if one band makes it, it only helps the entire scene.

GR: At least five different band leaders have gotten naked -- or down to underwear -- while performing. This may be more due to the summer heat in The Rotunda than to any sort of allegiance to burlesque life. A hardcore show's bands once left us a special package of their own feces, but we haven't concluded whether that was from a local or national. Those things are tough to tell. Oh yeah, a certain musician always calls me the cutest promoter in Philly, which I don't agree with, but I'll accept it.


Source: http://citypaper.net/articles/2003-10-16/cover16.shtml


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