Members jeff42 Posted November 28, 2013 Members Share Posted November 28, 2013 Lets just say every band that played in my town/area suffered from the snow that came late afternoon. Including us.In Some parts of my area the roads were fine but the higher elevations... not so much.Roads were snow covered into the morning hours even though it stopped snowing around 5pm.We had a typical friday night-like crowd at a place that has been getting light turn outs for the last year or so. Not what we thought the "Biggest Night Of The Year" would look like. But we were not alone. I got reports that other bars we play regularly were dead and A successful local band (20+ years strong) played down the street from us at a catering hall and only about 100 people showed up.I have a feeling the owners were expecting way more.I was told many people were uneasy about road conditions and of course police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted November 28, 2013 Members Share Posted November 28, 2013 it was nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted November 28, 2013 Members Share Posted November 28, 2013 It was dismal here. I have been alarmed for awhile now. When the recession hit in 2008, it started going downhill. But now, construction (my field) is booming. We're so busy, we an barely keep up. I thought maybe it was a sign that things were getting back to normal. But what I'm seeing is that the construction is residential housing for retirees who are leaving high cost areas and moving here, building a nice new home to live in, but they aren't working and contributing to the economy other than the construction jobs their homes provide for two months. There is no first time home-buyer market, a sign of economic activity and mobility. Historically, from right after Labor Day through New Year's, bars and restaurants would be packed, with the night before Thanksgiving one of the best nights of the year. I played one of the nicest cocktail lounges downtown last night, and I started at 6. The place was pretty full. By 7 it was 2/3 empty, and by 8 there were 5 people left. I have played there many times, and done well, so I know I wasn't me. I went outside and took a stroll on a rare break, and I was shocked, There was virtually no traffic downtown. It looked like a Sunday night at midnight. This entire fall has been a bust. The traditional crowds in the fall, when everyone starts moving inside, have not materialized this year. I think people are fearful that the other shoe will drop and the fragile recovery will flop. There is an overriding feeling of malaise here. One venue that contacted me about performing there called me back and told me they were going to stop having music altogether. It is a highly rated restaurant with glowing reviews, but he's still losing money. And this is not a novice restauranteur. Another place I play regularly won't return my messages or calls about booking Jan-Feb.-March. I can only assume it's because they are wrestling with whether to continue or not. My regular Sunday night gig downtown is sparsely attended and I would guess it will go away soon. In every case, when I look around outside, there just isn't anyone out. It would be one thing if I was chasing customers away, but there aren't any to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted November 29, 2013 Members Share Posted November 29, 2013 Ours could have been much better. Nothing is more of a buzz kill than a benefit on Thanksgiving Eve for someone who died in an accident involving alcohol. I think we got some good live recordings, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted November 29, 2013 Members Share Posted November 29, 2013 mstreck wrote: Ours could have been much better. Nothing is more of a buzz kill than a benefit on Thanksgiving Eve for someone who died in an accident involving alcohol. Yeah.....let's hold that at a BAR..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted November 29, 2013 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2013 mstreck wrote: Ours could have been much better. Nothing is more of a buzz kill than a benefit on Thanksgiving Eve for someone who died in an accident involving alcohol. I think we got some good live recordings, though. at least you got that. I wanted some video shot wednesday, even if there was no crowd I could use some decent close up video of us playing but the guy I asked to shoot just didnt show up no call.. nothing. meh.. kids... Maybe he'll show up tomorrow. and yeah that does sound like a buzz kill. Hope you worked things out with the bar owner and the pay cut and all that silliness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted November 30, 2013 Members Share Posted November 30, 2013 This forum needs a "get-along shirt"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted November 30, 2013 Members Share Posted November 30, 2013 mstreck wrote: This forum needs a "get-along shirt"... that or shock collars lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted November 30, 2013 Members Share Posted November 30, 2013 Mr. Performance Major needs to go back and get his degree in music education. My sister, nephew and cousin all pursued performance degrees... Obviously none are working for the philharmonic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted December 1, 2013 Members Share Posted December 1, 2013 Awesome! There were no bands that we wanted to see in our immediate area, so Amy and I went to visit our favorite bar on Friday - it was nice to relax without being on "band time". Last night was spent watching a movie at home. We were asleep by midnight, haha! Next weekend, we'll be rocking a new venue (hopefully, with all of my coworkers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted December 2, 2013 Members Share Posted December 2, 2013 Obviously because I enjoy it, or I wouldn't do it. It's a diversion on an otherwise dead forum. Tim is the political Robeboy. Some of you take this place way too seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted December 2, 2013 Members Share Posted December 2, 2013 guido61 wrote: Obviously because I enjoy it, or I wouldn't do it. It's a diversion on an otherwise dead forum. Tim is the political Robeboy. Some of you take this place way too seriously. I'm with you brother... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted December 2, 2013 Members Share Posted December 2, 2013 guido61 wrote: Obviously because I enjoy it, or I wouldn't do it. It's a diversion on an otherwise dead forum. Tim is the political Robeboy. Some of you take this place way too seriously. So stirring up **** is entertainment for you? Isn't there a term for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted December 2, 2013 Members Share Posted December 2, 2013 The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider. That's been pretty well documented and reported recently. To what degree that's affecting the music business, I don't know, but I agree it's not a good sign of longer term prosperity for most of us. As far as the rich go? I'm seeing more corp money being thrown around on parties and bands of late. For me, that's a good thing. As far as the rest of the economy goes? Hopefully it will trickle down . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted December 2, 2013 Members Share Posted December 2, 2013 guido61 wrote: The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider. That's been pretty well documented and reported recently. To what degree that's affecting the music business, I don't know, but I agree it's not a good sign of longer term prosperity for most of us. As far as the rich go? I'm seeing more corp money being thrown around on parties and bands of late. For me, that's a good thing. As far as the rest of the economy goes? Hopefully it will trickle down . I think the gap between the motivated and the not very motivated is getting wider. As much as you wont like to here me say this ,,, its become way too easy to just be stupid and poor. We will feed you, give you free medical, help you with your rent, your heat, pay you more to breed out of wedlock kids, give those kids a free lunch and even give you a free cell phone with free talk time. So yea ,, there are gong to be lots of poor people ,, Its just too damb easy to do nothing. Being stupid and poor has become a career path and way too many people are taking that path. Now i am paying more for health insurance so i can fix someone elses kids teeth and pay for the birth of their babies. Enough already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted December 4, 2013 Members Share Posted December 4, 2013 Not enough to be worth mentioning. Let alone spend time and money trying to prevent. Are a lot of people showing up and pretending to be others so they can vote in your precinct? A lot of election outcomes being altered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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