RE: sxsw criticisms (my take)
It's rare enough that I agree with Jim that I thought I better point it out. IMO, his view of the value of SXSW - or any kind of CSRF - is exactly right. Bluegrass has something a little bit like that in the International Bluegrass Music Association's annual trade show - though not surprisingly, it's on a much smaller scale. Even so, there are similar discussions about the value, or lack thereof, of showcasing, etc. Those folks that have a plan get something out of it (good example: Blue Highway. They got a good buzz going before they appeared, and they really nailed down their big-time status by doing a hot showcase for a big crowd), those that don't, don't. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
(good example: Blue Highway. They got a good buzz going before they appeared, and they really nailed down their big-time status by doing a hot showcase for a big crowd) This brings up something I've been curious about Jon. What might you consider big-time status for a bluegrass act? Ever since I experienced the legend Ralph Stanley hocking his own CDs in between sets have I wondered how big the big- time really in that there world. Neal Weiss
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
If this is the case, and I have no reason to dispute it, why should poor old Garth get such a ragging around here for all *his* efforts at self-marketing? It's just a difference of scale, isn't it? Ross Whitwam[EMAIL PROTECTED] Molecular Pharmacology Therapeutics Program Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NYC At 10:27 PM -0600 16/2/99, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Despite what y'all say about SXSW or any event like it, I think that when playing a showcase, or any CSRF like it, it is up to the artist to make the most of what's available. You *do* have the opportunity to get important people out to see your band/act if you take the initiative to let people know you're out there. You can't expect to just show up and draw a crowd. These things are really about networking, getting the word out about what makes you different or better than what else is out there. If you go into it thinking that you've got no shot and no one cares, your probably right. If you work at it and actually have something interesting to say or maybe think of different way to grab some attention, the right folks will find you. These events are good opportunities, if you look at them as a start or continuation of whatever plan you have and if you don't have a plan, then maybe you better reconsider what you're doing in the first place. Jim, off my soapbox
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
Kip writes: But I suspect if you're in the Joe Blow Band from Scranton, PA and you try to convince a rep from Hightone to make your set, it's probably not gonna happen. Why not? Isn't the Joe Blow Band any good? Why are they making music then? What's the point of making the trip? If the band REALLY cares about what they are doing you CAN communicate that with people who attending these things. I know I come across as a jaded f*ck sometimes, but really believe that you can make these things work to your advantage, if you TRY. Dale Watson and The Hot Club Of Cowtown both claim to be signed to Hightone after SXSW gigs, btw. I think it would behoove a lot of these bands to simply concentrate on their music and spend less time trying to figure out how they're gonna get the attention of AR. Yep, it depends on what you want out of what you're doing and you need to think about WHY you're doing it. "If you only find the right combination of green and purple, the Right People will bestow their blessings upon ye!". So then you have all these little bands desperately looking for the right combination of green and purple and suddenly it's not about music anymore, it's about green and purple. I'm not sure I follow this. But yeah, if you wanna sell your band, you need to concentrate on things other than music once in awhile. Life can be like that, no? g But when all is said and done, it's the music that matters. And that is not the message these mega-festivals send to the bands.The bands are sent a very different message. What message do you get out of this? oh and welcome to the music business. It doesn't have to be this way, I guess, but it is and until or unless you change it, I think I behooves you to work inside the system. Any day I agree with Jon W and disagree with Nancy is a scary day for sure. Jim, smilin'
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: . Look: SXSW sells a dream. That's why all those bands make the drive (well, that and it can be fun to hear all the great music, depending on how superhuman you're feeling that week, as Junior Barnard once said). And let's not forgot there's a group of people making an *enormous* amount of money off that dream. The actual musicians are not among this group, for the most part. .Sounds like big time college football and basketball. Another arena of riduculously uneven exchange due to the star-struck nature of spectacle. Stuart off to England tomorrow. Church and King ah, the majesty of it all!
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
Ross Whitwam wrote: If this is the case, and I have no reason to dispute it, why should poor old Garth get such a ragging around here for all *his* efforts at self-marketing? It's just a difference of scale, isn't it? .Well sure. But its also the same difference of scale that gives the rich and poor equal rights to sleep under the bridge. Or for Wal-Mart and "the little man" in Newman GA to sell records. Scale matters. Plus it's the damn spectacle of Lord Garth that I find so annoying.
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
Kiplet says, On Tue, 16 Feb 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Despite what y'all say about SXSW or any event like it, I think that when playing a showcase, or any CSRF like it, it is up to the artist to make the most of what's available. You *do* have the opportunity to get important people out to see your band/act if you take the initiative to let people know you're out there. Again, if you go into SXSW with a buzz on your band, then sure, you might realistically expect some "important people" to come to your show, chat you up afterwards, etc. etc. But I suspect if you're in the Joe Blow Band from Scranton, PA and you try to convince a rep from Hightone to make your set, it's probably not gonna happen. As an ex-weasel and one-time band manager, I'd say that Kip is exactly right about this. Letting people know you're out there only goes so far, especially if you haven't been to whatever the last CSRF on the calendar was and thus haven't had an opportunity to chat up the AR guys at the labels you're hoping will sign you. It's all about buzz, really, and bands can't do all that much to manufacture a buzz (other than being a really great band, and God knows that doesn't always make a difference); it's either there or it isn't. Label weasels are people like anyone else (well...sorta g) and they want to go to the shows their friends are going to, go to the clubs that are supposed to have the coolest bands playing. Some have every intention of trying to take in as many bands as possible on a given night, but it doesn't always, or even often, work out that way, particularly not at CSRFs like SxSW, where there are so many good choices at competing times. Even if a band does all the self-marketing stuff right, there's no guarantee and not that much likelihood that they're going to get seen by anyone who can make a difference to their careers. It's probably true that the bands who pay the most attention to self-promotion and are the most marketing-savvy are fairly often the ones that come away from events like SXSW with contracts. Maybe that's because that type of band is also marketing-savvy enough to have come up with a commercial sound. But I don't think it's the case that simply doing a good job of self-promotion is going to lead to a contract or to the big-deal weasels showing up at your gig at SxSW. There are too many other intangibles involved. These things are really about networking, getting the word out about what makes you different or better than what else is out there. I agree there's worth here in the sense of meeting other bands, trading shows with them, meeting some lower level label reps, d.j.'s, yadda yadda. But all of the emphasis here on schmoozing and networking and "taking it to the next level" and so on...I dunno, I think it would behoove a lot of these bands to simply concentrate on their music and spend less time trying to figure out how they're gonna get the attention of AR. Indeed. Not that that will guarantee future success either, since it's painfully obvious that talent and skill don't automatically lead to success or recognition. Look: SXSW sells a dream. That's why all those bands make the drive (well, that and it can be fun to hear all the great music, depending on how superhuman you're feeling that week, as Junior Barnard once said). And let's not forgot there's a group of people making an *enormous* amount of money off that dream. The actual musicians are not among this group, for the most part. Which was Nancy's point, I think, or part of it, and I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that the founders of SxSW could do more to make the event band-friendly, even if that meant higher expenditures on their part. But bands also need to go into any CSRF with their eyes open. If you're expecting it to be the music-biz equivalent of winning the lottery, you're right only in that the odds of your winning are so microscopic as to be virtually nonexistent. (And why any band would want to score a big fat contract with a big label in today's completely unstable biz is somewhat mystifying, but that's a topic for another day.) Unfortunately, Jim's statement: If you go into it thinking that you've got no shot and no one cares, your probably right. If you work at it and actually have something interesting to say or maybe think of different way to grab some attention, the right folks will find you. strikes me as more wishful thinking than anything else. --Amy "Ain't no use in hanging around/Emptiness swallows its own path/I watch my weakness go down easy/And I pray it won't last..." (The Damnations TX)
Re: sxsw criticisms (my take)
Despite what y'all say about SXSW or any event like it, I think that when playing a showcase, or any CSRF like it, it is up to the artist to make the most of what's available. You *do* have the opportunity to get important people out to see your band/act if you take the initiative to let people know you're out there. You can't expect to just show up and draw a crowd. These things are really about networking, getting the word out about what makes you different or better than what else is out there. If you go into it thinking that you've got no shot and no one cares, your probably right. If you work at it and actually have something interesting to say or maybe think of different way to grab some attention, the right folks will find you. These events are good opportunities, if you look at them as a start or continuation of whatever plan you have and if you don't have a plan, then maybe you better reconsider what you're doing in the first place. As to why the larger acts play, it's usually to promote something that their record label is paying for. SXSW is a media event and the labels look at it as a major marketing opportunity. This seems obvious to me, but I guess other folks don't see it that way. g Jim, off my soapbox
