177 replies to this topic

[Kristopher]

i just wish people who arent in bands would care a little more. that would be pretty cool. dont you think?

The assumption here is that people know that there's something even going on. Either everyone in the city who would be interested in the local scene already knows about it and has made a decision, for whatever reason, whether or not to check it out, OR maybe there are people out there that would be into local art and music if they knew about it, except they don't.

I don't think I would have known about all the cool local bands I know about now if I wasn't in a band. Why are shows mostly attended by fellow local musicans? Maybe because they get exposed to the local scene by performing with these bands? But what if you aren't in a band and don't have friends in a band, how do you get exposed to it? To what lengths have we gone to to make ourselves known to absolutely everyone who might be interested?

Maybe the popularity of "cool" scenes (Seattle, etc.) are due to people wanting to be apart of something cool, or maybe they just had a higher visibility to the public at large?

EDIT: I started posting this before I saw Brodie's post pointing out the same thing. It seems we agree!

[bob]

a few things, and i hope this kills it, but prolly not:

if you're in a band, a question you have to ask yourself: how well did i promote for this show? did i make flyers? like, actual, flyers you can touch? did i pass them out? did i just expect the promoter to do it? where does the promoter live? either the other side of town, or he/she's you roommate. both of these are problematic. IT'S YOUR FUCKING BAND. STOP COMPLAINING. so maybe we've both made flyers. did i just put one in stinkweeds next to the thousand other flyers and call it good? did i at least get on the internet and hype the hell out of it? did i at least throw it on myspace or whatever? or did i get off work start drinking and complain because "the scene sucks."? i'm usually rather dismayed by how little local bands put stock into their own promotion. of course, again, this has very, very little to do with shizz affiliated type things. my point, if there is one, is that word of mouth is great, this messageboard IS FUCKING AMAZING IN EFFICIANCY but it's your band. fucking promote yourself. be a rockstarrr douchebag. be that moron that puts flyers under windshield wipers. go to shows you have no interest in seeing and pass out flyers. at least to your level of comfort. or get drunk and do it and bypass that line of comfort.

about the 'monday night football' guy: uh, whatever. who cares? i care about his girlfriend, maybe, but i really don't care if he goes to the show, and i don't care if he's there. it does however bring up a point. you walk around phoenix (yeah right, like you were gonna walk) and it's not like portland or SF or williamsburg or whatever. in other words, it doesn't look like everysingleperson is in a band. this is both a blessing and a curse. you get to decide how mainstream this 'art culture thing' is. it's not in your face all the time. in phoenix, you have to seek it out. i am of the opinion that this is a good thing. enthusiasm is key. having to seek it out weeds out a lot of people you don't want to be involved with. but don't expect anyone not in a band to care. the goal is to start bands. get people hyped. you can't hope for anything. see paragraph one again. you do all that, you still might not have a single goddamn paying person at your show. but if you're worth it, things'll happen. it might take years and years and years and years.

also, let go of that word 'scenester.' it's like the goddamn n-word. throw it around, watch as it just kills everything. a scenester is someone that goes somewhere because they think they'll be seen. they're not in bands, they don't do art, they don't do anything. they hope for celebrity status. elitist is often its synonym. don't call people that. i know they're around. phoenix is filled with them. it has nothing to do with most people that are in bands. and it's not everyone that isn't in a band that goes to shows. those are your fans. scenesters are like the monday night football guy, they're just there. when the hype moves on, they'll move on. maybe a scene, your scene exists, and maybe it's important to you, but if it's all you got, if your scene is your world, than i feel sorry for you.

[JRC]

a question you have to ask yourself: how well did i promote for this show? did i make flyers? like, actual, flyers you can touch? did i pass them out? did i just expect the promoter to do it? where does the promoter live? either the other side of town, or he/she's you roommate. both of these are problematic. IT'S YOUR FUCKING BAND. STOP COMPLAINING. so maybe we've both made flyers. did i just put one in stinkweeds next to the thousand other flyers and call it good? did i at least get on the internet and hype the hell out of it? did i at least throw it on myspace or whatever? or did i get off work start drinking and complain because "the scene sucks."? i'm usually rather dismayed by how little local bands put stock into their own promotion. of course, again, this has very, very little to do with shizz affiliated type things. my point, if there is one, is that word of mouth is great, this messageboard IS FUCKING AMAZING IN EFFICIANCY but it's your band. fucking promote yourself. be a rockstarrr douchebag. be that moron that puts flyers under windshield wipers. go to shows you have no interest in seeing and pass out flyers. at least to your level of comfort. or get drunk and do it and bypass that line of comfort.

One of the aphorisms I live by is "I've been worked like a whore for companies and people who didn't give a damn about me. And I'll be damned now, if I don't work like a whore for the art I claim to love more then anything else in the world."

JRC--TTS

[Hooray For Everything]

It's everything & nothing.
I hate even commenting on this, & making a target of myself....
There have been certain shows that Charlie has booked that I really wanted, that I thought my band was best for, and thought to myself, "why is he playing favorites?", but, when Aaronttp put the list up in black & white, I felt just fine. I feel very fortunate.

I can only speak for the bands I've been in, actually, I can't speak for the bands, only for myself. I tend to play in fairly mellow projects, when people go out, the want to PART-Y, and i understand that. However, whenever we do play our infrequent shows, the response is always great. I think Phoenix is a great place to do our thing, although I do notice that there seems to be a more fertile scene for what we do in other cities, such as Tucson, Portland, etc.....why? Because. Many reasons. Some places are just cooler, can't we accept that? And I have always maintained, you can't TRY to be cool, just BE.....I truly believe that there are lotsa folks in this town that would love the projects that I involve myself in, it's just FINDING them, hipsters LOOK for shit, but there are plenty more people here that ain't so hip, but if you can find them & hold there hands, you can lead them to your show, & they'll pay their five bucks, buy some beers & a cd, get on your mailing list, tell their friends....and boom.

I suppose I'd rather have this discussion in person....

Given the type of music I'm interested in, the only locals that I was crazy for (I like many others) were Blackfeet, and I told everyone that would listen how wonderful they were....I like many others of course, but Blackfeet were closest to what I would normally be drawn to, locals or not....

Support who you like, and let it happen, if you have a good idea, and you feel like doing something about it, go for it....Lonna did, and it turned out good, hopefully I'll get a show or two together, and see how that goes......

I will say this, I wish there were more great songwriters.....doing the kind of stuff that I like, i mean.....and more cool guitar players.....

and better radio...

[Hooray For Everything]

I agree with Bobb regarding the promotion thing...

guilty

[Hooray For Everything]

i love phoenix,

anytown usa is going to have too many parking lots a super target etc. it's called america

some places will have more then / less then others

cites grow, cities die, cities go through rebirth etc

i feel fortunate to have places like stinkweeds, eastside, grand ave, casey moores, encanto park, historic neighborhoods, good weather (for the most part) to mention a few

i am thankfull for my girlfriend, my house, my job, the friends i have made here and the life i have established.

i love phoenix

this was a great post chad!

yeah..werd

[Hooray For Everything]

very uncool to call someone a high-functioning retard. We understand that you don't like the music, but show some class.

High functioning?

You obviously don't know the guy.......

[Brodie]

fucking promote yourself. be a rockstarrr douchebag. be that moron that puts flyers under windshield wipers. go to shows you have no interest in seeing and pass out flyers.

<SNIP>

also, let go of that word 'scenester.' it's like the goddamn n-word. throw it around, watch as it just kills everything. a scenester is someone that goes somewhere because they think they'll be seen. they're not in bands, they don't do art, they don't do anything. they hope for celebrity status. elitist is often its synonym. don't call people that. i know they're around. phoenix is filled with them. it has nothing to do with most people that are in bands. and it's not everyone that isn't in a band that goes to shows. those are your fans. scenesters are like the monday night football guy, they're just there. when the hype moves on, they'll move on. maybe a scene, your scene exists, and maybe it's important to you, but if it's all you got, if your scene is your world, than i feel sorry for you.

These were my two favorite points of Bob's.

I get bagged on what seems for me like a lot (by anonymous naysayers) that I am a "shameless self-promoter" (I will not assume I'm "known" by anybody on this board besides those of you I know personally, so I will inform the rest of you that, in addition to paper flyering, I post flyers electronically on this board, LiveJournal communities, AZPUNK, AZMusicForums, MySpace, as well as my own site and my e-mailing list). I suppose it wouldn't seem that I'm some sort of egocentric jerk if I had a band, but I am a solo act. So, NO SHIT I'm promoting myself and ONLY myself. Many tell me this is NOT a bad thing, however. They seem to get it. And if it garners a few more people through the door, than WHY THE HELL NOT?

As for the word "scenester"... which I think there are many meanings for, including one who is out and about in "the scene" (this would apply to most of us), one who is "important" in a "scene" (this is either ALL of us, or NONE of us, in my opinion... I don't see a hierachy in the least), or Bob's definition, which is the definition I feel I am being attacked with whenever somebody anonymously posts the words towards me (occassionally) or I hear my name and the word whispered behind my back at a party (it's happened once or twice). I don't know how any of you feel when you hear yourself associated with the word, but I feel like I'm being insulted. So, I'm all for NOT using the word anymore.

[Hooray For Everything]

I fergot to mention td reisert....& snow songs (yoli)..... & brent miles...all great & local...

yes, these are all people I've played a bit of music with.....

[weener]

& snow songs (yoli)

This lady breaks my heart.

[robofish]

You know, I almost think being called a hipster
would be worse than a scenester, but no one is
calling me either, so I can't say for sure.

Brodie, keep on promoting yourself. The people
who complain about it are either too lazy to do it
themselves or the type of person who would say
you sold out if you got a record deal.

Man, I remember Brodie when he was playing for
grilled cheeses, he sold out now that he expects
actual money.

[nathan]

very uncool to call someone a high-functioning retard.  We understand that you don't like the music, but show some class.

High functioning?

You obviously don't know the guy.......

my name is Nathan, what is yours?

[Brodie]

my name is Nathan, what is yours?

Who, HFE? I call him "shithead..."

[hardrocker]

im tired of listening to you vaginas cry

you bunch of pansy bedwetters

hot licks is what you all lack, but when i fuckin attack, you better believe ill give you a shreddin

vaginas

cry cry cry
weedly weedly

[mothrock]

im tired of listening to you vaginas cry

you bunch of pansy bedwetters

hot licks is what you all lack, but when i fuckin attack, you better believe ill give you a shreddin

vaginas

cry cry cry
weedly weedly

hardrocker,

why you gotta be so sexist?