60 replies to this topic

[rudolpho of pensacola]

I love reading posts from touring and/or local bands complaining about concert promoters. It only further validates everything that I have personally sacrificed by putting on these shows.

mothy wothy, i imagine what he means is that his own personal money coming out of his own pocket to pay the touring bands that have gurantees and maybe liking the band so much that he takes a hit over a draw compared to musical integrity or something like that hta thsh? and not to mention liking a local band so putting them on the show even though you know they will not bring too many people out.
sacrifices for the sake of support as oppossed to just making money?--------->i could be WAY OFF but i stink maybe perhaps that's something kind of kind of like what he means. and that is why i would never ever want to be a promoter. too stressful. so my respect goes out to all of those promoters that find a happy sunshine unicorn filled middle ground. taking chances on bands, taking hits now and again, and making money for themselves and bands.

[mothrock]

If you can sell 100 tickets, Franco wants you to play there.

exactly.

Franco was the first person I EVER dealt with when trying to book shows. I wised up quick on what to do and not to do.

[lit up like a monument]

this thread was just a general statement made in a random direction from me, nothing more nothing less. i dont take it personally when promoters dont reply but "it would be a lot cooler if (they) did"... some people are too defensive when they read stupid pointless threads like this on a message board, blah... im not going to reply anymore because it just seems like im trying to argue or something when i could really care less. i have had the priviledge of playing with tons of really awesome bands in phoenix in the past (and hopefully still in the future). i appreciate every show we ever get and am not one to bitch about other bands getting shows we want. i have busted my ass booking tours and most of the shows turn out pretty good, some of them get cancelled, some of the shows have 1 person there to drink at the bar, it happens. one time after we drove all night from flagstaff to SLC, we didnt even find out the show was cancelled til we got to kilby court to find a note written on a piece of paper on the outside of the club that says "sorry but the locals cancelled and we didnt think anyone would show up". sure it sucked, but we still met up with some friends and went out and had a good time, fuck it. as far as booking in phoenix goes, it is ten times easier than portland or san diego (two other places i have lived in)to get on decent shows out here.

[lit up like a monument]

i know i said i wouldnt reply again but i just wanted to add this.
last time my band was on tour we were from portland and came down to phoenix with day and age from san diego. modified had tons and tons of people there. the passenger and asleep in the sea were the locals, even one of the guys from alseep in the sea was helping out running the door and all that. our two bands made more that night than any other two nights combined which was awesome because we were so far in debt. it isnt just about the money, it is about the mood and the energy of the venue, modified is and always has been my favorite venue out of anywhere i have ever played.

[mothrock]

as far as booking in phoenix goes, it is ten times easier than portland or san diego (two other places i have lived in)to get on decent shows out here.

hence why I am being a dick.



I thinking I am blurring the line between Phoenix which is a great place to play, and Seattle, which is a pain in the ass. I don't have ANY beef with promoters in Phoenix. The ones I would even bother dealing with treat people fairly.

and to Folofo's idea with setting up a show-trade website. Karl Addison who used to book at the lucky dragon had a website called "distrobase", it failed because he was trying to charge bands to use it. I would pay good money to get shows up here in Seattle. Where's my distrobase now?

[SceneIsDead Concerts]

sacrifice? that sounds pretty dramatic.

what do you mean?

Time + Money = Concert Promotion

It's certainly not dramatic when a good portion of every single day is involved with putting on these shows. And, the financial burden of paying for them when the attendance isn't met.

[SceneIsDead Concerts]

im not complaining about promoters, just saying some should try and be a little more courteous. if i take 20 minutes to write out an email politely asking to be on a show, they could at least hit reply and type "sorry, but not this one" back to me. its not like i was emailing trying to get on coachella or something... i have been in bands now for 8 years and never once have i asked to be paid for a local show, usually if we do get paid at a local show we just end up giving it to the band or bands on tour. this thread wasnt meant to attack anyone just a plea for better communication, but you can take it how you like

Honestly, there are more immediate issues I have to deal with than being able to answer every single email I receive. It's not just the occaisional band asking for a show. It's booking agents, managers, record labels, venues, promoters, touring bands, local bands, street teams & more of the same referred to me from any combination of the above. I have a running list of emails just waiting to be responded to. And, I would love nothing more than to do so.

[SceneIsDead Concerts]

.....and laying it all on the line and "sacrificing" doesn't sound like a good business plan. If you look at it like "sacrificing" you are setting yourself up for disappointment and making yourself bitter. No wonder you don't respond to happy-go-lucky bands, you're too shell shocked from your own outlook on your business expenses (that YOU took the risk on) to give the bands the time of day.

Bitterness comes from listening to the very same people you help complain about you. I've had bands/venues/attendees complain for a myriad of reasons at shows. And, I usually stop working with those people and/or arranging those types of shows. As a concert promoter, you're exposing yourself to risk with every confirmed date. It's just common for a lot of the people involved to use the concert promoter as their scapegoat. This is the main point which I am concerned with. And, I don't view myself as a martyr.

[lit up like a monument]

im not complaining about promoters, just saying some should try and be a little more courteous. if i take 20 minutes to write out an email politely asking to be on a show, they could at least hit reply and type "sorry, but not this one" back to me. its not like i was emailing trying to get on coachella or something... i have been in bands now for 8 years and never once have i asked to be paid for a local show, usually if we do get paid at a local show we just end up giving it to the band or bands on tour. this thread wasnt meant to attack anyone just a plea for better communication, but you can take it how you like

Honestly, there are more immediate issues I have to deal with than being able to answer every single email I receive. It's not just the occaisional band asking for a show. It's booking agents, managers, record labels, venues, promoters, touring bands, local bands, street teams & more of the same referred to me from any combination of the above. I have a running list of emails just waiting to be responded to. And, I would love nothing more than to do so.

ok im a liar because i just cant stop reposting....
i dont think i have ever done a show with you in the past so i dont know how well of a job you do as a promoter. if you think you do your job well then by all means keep up the good work. if you dont think it is important to write every single email back that you get then dont. thats your business. im just saying in a perfect world it would be nice to know if someone is even getting these emails i write trying to get bands on shows. i understand people are busy, but that still doesnt change the fact that i feel like an ass writing the same person who never replies to me over and over everytime a show comes and not knowing if theyre getting the emails or not... it wasnt anything meant to be taken personally. how many promoters are there in phoenix? how many amazing promoters are there in phoenix? a shit load

[beefstew]

my previous post was almost like an FYI, as if they are ideas/suggestions/comments that have not crossed other peoples minds and even more of just a reminder to myself as to what has worked to keep me happy and excited about music and the 'scene' in general without getting jaded. hopefully no one takes offense to it.

to all the promoters (sceneisdead, especially), i don't think the job you do is easy by far, but know a little bit about what it entails. i guess it just comes down to not really knowing until you actually experience it for yourself. i personally would not want to, so kudos to all the promoters in town for working so hard at keeping things fresh and exciting because it sure would be a lot more difficult if there wasn't that nice little 'buffer' for bands and venues. this is not me 'kissing ass', being 'buddy/buddy' or any of that either. just appreciation.

this is a cool thread because sometimes I (we) think i'm the only person to have experienced shitty band travels. i like hearing all the experiences people have had.

mothy and i were in a band a few years back and we travelled to san diego only to find out both locals had cancelled! no draw. we played in front of an okay crowd (15-20 peeps) while one of the bands that cancelled SAT IN THE AUDIENCE!!! kind of shitty, but it was an amazing trip. D.O.nald was our chauffeur and drove us out there in his van, set up, played, had a drink or two and drove back. mothy went straight to work, while the rest of us went home and slept.

Edited by beefstew, 12 April 2006 - 06:51 AM.

[donald]

maybe to help out LitUpLikeAMonument and others who may not know, SceneIsDead has put on some pretty good shows and is one of the promoters in the valley that I really like. I have worked with him in the past and have seen him pay money out of his pocket to bands because nobody showed up, on the flipside I have seen him do shows like Polysics at the Brickhouse that I would like to believe he did fairly well on.

He is fair, doesn't bullshit, and does it for the love of the music he puts on, or at least from what I have seen.

We all complain, we all have bad days, there are bands I won't ever work with again, there are venues I don't ever want to work with again. That's part of life. I don't think anyone has tried to make LitupLikeAMonument out as a complainer. So please don't take this discussion as something negative on your part, in fact I am really glad we have all talked about this. I think we have all gotten to see many points of views without anyone bashing someone for what they think.

If only all of our threads were this cool

[donald]

If you can sell 100 tickets, Franco wants you to play there. 

exactly.

Franco was the first person I EVER dealt with when trying to book shows. I wised up quick on what to do and not to do.

HA!

I think Franco wisened Montoya and I up right away when we first started booking shows too.



it is written in blood!

[Tender Lad]

The only promoters I've disliked (from a sound guy point of view) are the larger ones bringing up and coming or washed up nationals to town. Clear Channel for instance, has a guy who's job it is to be a total cocksucker to get his way. "There aren't enough speakers" he said to me once an bitched to the club until they brought in a bunch of stuff. The same guy was a sweetheart at another show when I already had everything the way he wanted it. The independant promoters in town I have only had good dealings with. This isn't really on the same page as the rest of the thread, I just felt like venting on certain promoters.