119 replies to this topic

[Brodie]

"Welcome to the real world..."
Hey, I never said I was unprepared for this possibility. It's not a matter of me opening my eyes, I knew that this was how it was going to be when I decided to go back to school.
And, yes, there is more than just the economy holding back most people from supporting local music.
Yes, I support these Save the Scene conferences, anything that any group is doing to rally the troops.
But, I don't think that local musicians aren't doing enough to get the word out. I don't think anybody locally is to blame for low turnout.
I think that's what my original point was, that lack of money had more to do with low support than lack of effort on the musicians' part.
But, maybe musicians AREN'T doing enough to spread the word about our local scene.
I'd like to know what you guys think needs to be done on our* part that hasn't been done.

*Yes, me play pretty music, too.

[chadk]

yea you can't really tell someone what to cause their egos will get in the way, not always but yea, people assume, and that makes an ass out of me you and everybody

[donald]

I hate that too,
I think everyone gets that and it's not fun at all
when everyone promises to be there and then don't
I would rather someone say they are not going and
will never go to any of my shows. I think I would
have a greater respect for the person just for being
so brutally honest. I wouldn't like it at first of
course, but I can't blame someone for their taste
in music. Especially since rock is dead KS

Getting people out of the house is the toughest part
The show at the brichouse this thursday will be free
friday at borders on mill AAA is playing and it will be free
Sunday a modest proposal presents will be playing and
that will be free as well. But I think we need more than
just free to get people out.

FREE BEER AT EVERY SHOW!!!!!!

[donald]

People as they get older get tired of looking up all the new and cool shit out there.
Then they start priding themselves on seeing Van Halen before they were signed
or seeing The Red Hot Chili Peppers when they played at the mason jar. Now they
listen to Blink 182 or the classic rock stations because they already did that and now
it is time to grow up and raise a family.

I have a friend who would go to all the show and new about all the coolest shit,
then he got married got a house and a kid and I can't drag him out to anything.

It's sad but true, and that's how it works.

Maybe we need kid friendly shows, where we give free earplugs to everyone
under the age of 12.

[bobby]

I may be a few days behind on this but it’s a great subject. Two ideas strike me as very important to revitalization of the local scene. The summit is a great idea. I think it is important to think of it as a business. I know it’s about the art. The art of creation happens at the practice space. The art of performance happens on stage. But it is the business aspect of the performance that’s got everybody down. The music industry has written off Phoenix because of the lack of ability for local bands to fill the seats. A touring act coming through Phoenix needs to fill 50% of the seats at any given venue. The venue size is dependant on the draw of the band. Promoters that book shows tack local bands on to the bill to fill the other 50% of the seats. Why can’t we fill the other 50%? I think its geography. Why does it work so well in other cities? I think it’s because in other cities like Portland and Austin you can walk from your apartment a few miles in any direction and find a number of events that you can choose from. In Phoenix you have to drive 20 miles through car lots and strip malls to get to a show and I think we’re growing up and are realizing that it’s just not cool to get shitfaced and drive home from a show. So if touring acts aren’t coming through to get the press and promoters to promote and fill 50% of the seats then we’re left to fill all 100 % and someone who came out to see one of our bands on Monday night probably wont come out on Thursday night too. Friends is on. So this summit is a great start. Without dialogue between bands and club owners and bookers, we’ll never solve anything. What do they want from us? What can we do to help? What do we want from them? What can they do for us? They want to fill seats and sell booze. We want to play for a full house to people drinking booze. We want the same thing. How do we get the touring acts to come through? I love to see local bands on a big stage opening up for touring acts. Those are the best shows. Lets work with these people to get the touring acts back in Phoenix.

For a real grass roots local scene without touring acts we need to look at it from a different angle. We need the kids. We need the under 21 crowd. What about playing skate parks? I don’t think rum tenor’s brand of country music would go over well there but for those of you playing the harder stuff I think it’d be received well. What about bowling alley’s? What happened to that alley that had live music? Anybody know? Are they still doing that? How did that work? As we’re getting older, our peers and our friends are too and for a lot of us to go out to a show that means that we’re leaving a wife and child at home and that doesn’t fly every week. I’m not saying we start setting up at the gazebo in front of JC Penny’s at the mall, but do some family friendly stuff like skate parks or bowling alleys. First Friday’s are another great one for all ages and it’s combining more than one medium and that part of Phoenix is really coming together.

We can support each other to death. I love this forum and I love the shizz and I am grateful to be a part of it and I love Donald for all the hard work he does for the cause but we can come see each others bands only so much. It’s not on our shoulders that we don’t have support for an exclusively local scene. This town is really not set up for that. The culture in this town is consumption. The consumer is God here. People move here from all parts of the country to have a job and cash their check and buy cheap real estate and enjoy the luxury of going to the mall and throwing money away all while remaining anonymous. There is no sense of community in this suburb of 4.5 million people. We want chain restaurants and don’t mind waiting an hour to eat at them just as long as the people sitting next to us on the bench don’t try to strike up a conversation. We need several venues in close proximity near apartments and houses, not in the ghost town of sports arenas and cigar bars. This may not happen overnight but the artists studios in Phoenix are a great place to start.

I digress. I will put my soapbox back in my trunk. Thanks for reading. Thanks for wanting to make this work. See you at the summit.

[vitaminardi]

Yeah, right on! , thanks for posting that, dude!

[bobby]

I’m pessimistic too. But I think we need to look at the symbiotic relationship of local acts and touring acts. The local acts go on first and the touring acts follow and close the evening. The touring act keeps the people there. You can put together the greatest bill of local bands but you can’t expect the same people to come out every time. A gal or guy with a job is more likely to get out to see a touring band once or twice a month than an all-local bill. We need the help of bookers and promoters to get these touring acts back through Phoenix. A west coast tour these days includes Austin, Denver, maybe Tucson, LA, and northward. I don’t think we need the media. It’s never done anything for us before. Not even in the good old days.

[aaronburke]

i am pessimistic as well but hopeful,
and your idea of touring bands etc
is right on, bobby. but how can we
get more touring bands to come through
here? i know of several touring bands
who hate playing phoenix and i know of
several more who have gone so far as
to actually swear phoenix off for life.
these bands have had shitty shows
here with low attendance and have had
enough. let's be honest, the venues
here suck. i love modified and i like
little nita's, but i can't think of anywhere
else where i really enjoy going to a show
or even playing at. not including house
shows and the like. i like the hollywood
alley too but it's 21+.

i think you're right, if we could get more
touring bands out here, with locals
opening, those locals would obviously
be seen by more people, thus building
a following, thus bringing more people
out to their future local shows and
supporting shows. but i don't know -
everything is so spread out in phoenix,
and most people are so used to staying in
once they hit a certain age, i don't know
how it could be done.