Here's the reality for you: Every shit-hole with a liquor license is calling themselves a "club" as if they're upholding some sort of higher standard. Some owner's punk-ass nephew is calling himself a booking agent with absolutely no experience in booking bands. He is probably in a subpar band himself and is booking his and his all friend's crappy bands in the place and nobody shows up because the place is now known for having crappy bands. The owner blames his nephew, who in turn blames the establishments crowds for having bad taste in music. In my reality a "club" is place that you go, where you know they are going to weed through the crap bands and provide you consistent entertainment from groups with a consistent product presented through an impressive, appropriate and again reliable system. I think it's time any place that decides to host music, take some initiative and provide their audiences with a quality product and build their own crowd and a reputation in their community of having good bands all the time. If you're going to hire Grease Monkey and the Skid Marks and the $200 Crate PA every weekend for beer money and 10% of the door, hoping they'll be able to drag their parents out one more time, you'll get exactly what you deserve. A bunch of drunks watching a bunch of drunks who could barely play their instruments before you decided to get them inebriated as their only form of payment.By now, I'm sure someone out there is saying, "it's just not like that anymore!" Yeah? And guess who let it get that way? You and your audience. You let the idea of what's acceptable dwindle down what it is today. The reason I was able to "tour" most of the Western United State and then some earning a living at it, was because patrons had expectation of their bars, their entertainment and what they would throw their money at. I feel like I'm starting to write my own article here, so I'll shut up now. As is often said around here, it's like a race to the bottom around here. Just when you think you can see the finish line, they lower the bottom.
Out-of-Town Gigs and Touring: The Hard Realities
in Guitars
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Here's the reality for you: Every shit-hole with a liquor license is calling themselves a "club" as if they're upholding some sort of higher standard. Some owner's punk-ass nephew is calling himself a booking agent with absolutely no experience in booking bands. He is probably in a subpar band himself and is booking his and his all friend's crappy bands in the place and nobody shows up because the place is now known for having crappy bands. The owner blames his nephew, who in turn blames the establishments crowds for having bad taste in music. In my reality a "club" is place that you go, where you know they are going to weed through the crap bands and provide you consistent entertainment from groups with a consistent product presented through an impressive, appropriate and again reliable system. I think it's time any place that decides to host music, take some initiative and provide their audiences with a quality product and build their own crowd and a reputation in their community of having good bands all the time. If you're going to hire Grease Monkey and the Skid Marks and the $200 Crate PA every weekend for beer money and 10% of the door, hoping they'll be able to drag their parents out one more time, you'll get exactly what you deserve. A bunch of drunks watching a bunch of drunks who could barely play their instruments before you decided to get them inebriated as their only form of payment.By now, I'm sure someone out there is saying, "it's just not like that anymore!" Yeah? And guess who let it get that way? You and your audience. You let the idea of what's acceptable dwindle down what it is today. The reason I was able to "tour" most of the Western United State and then some earning a living at it, was because patrons had expectation of their bars, their entertainment and what they would throw their money at. I feel like I'm starting to write my own article here, so I'll shut up now. As is often said around here, it's like a race to the bottom around here. Just when you think you can see the finish line, they lower the bottom.