Pilot Error

Finally back on line, many thanks for all the comments... Turns out we're not going to do it after all for work reasons, but we had spoken to the venue and the promotor and turns out that there was no pay to play element and it didn't matter how many people we'd brought with us. All seemed fairly legit, but at the same time I totally take on board (and in fact agree with) most people's opinions on BoTB. Having said that, we're playing the semi final of the Drummonds 2k competition on 2nd September so I suppose it's horses for courses....

Cheers for all the advice guys, still undecided if we're going to bother going down. May take a couple of cars down and see what the crack is. Hate battle of the bands myself, but if it's all legit then maybe worth a punt. Like a couple of people have said...what's there to lose?

Was my initial thoughts exactly, but apparently we'd signed up for it some time ago with a link to our Soundcloud / Facebook pages etc and this is where it's come from. I just don't trust it at all - being billed as the 'Final' but there have been no heats that I know of. Coupled with a 4pm start, 8 bands playing 25 mins each and at least 2 covers must be played. We're not gonna do it obviously - too many alarm bells ringing too loudly!

Just thought I'd post this up to see if anyone can shed any light or have any experience of this. We got a call today from someone at Rock Radio to say that we've been selected for the final of a battle of the bands, with a prize being to play on the Rock Radio stage at the Extreme Weekend @ Knockhill on 27th August. Apparently we've made it through to the final 8 in Scotland, although we've never played a heat before. Generally I steer well clear of this sort of thing, and tend to have a pretty good bullshit detector, so would be interested to hear your thoughts. The website describing what happens is Rock Radio Battle of the Bands which sets more alarm bells ringing. We're supposed to play a minimum of 2 covers in a 25 minute set, and not expected to bring anything except breakables. Sounds like a load of horseshit to me.... It's not one of those obvious 'pay to play' competitions that everyone despises but there still seems to be something not quite right with it.....

Ah mate that sucks, sorry to hear that. How was stored in the car? If it was hidden in the boot or under covers somewhere on the back seat then there's a good chance that your household insurance may pick it up. I work in the industry and also had the same thing happen with a Les Paul in Leeds and my insurance company paid for a new one. If you need any help with it then just drop me a line.

*slow handclap* Good one, really helpful comment.

I echo all of this. So much hard work has gone into this, and is such a shame that it's not happening. I know it's had its detractors over various things, but this would have been a GREAT thing for the Aberdeen music scene, and Aberdeen in particular. Huge respect needs to go to everyone who invested their time and money into trying to get this to work.

From my experience, it's been the case of the bands just showing up at 7ish and the running order is arranged when you're there. Soundchecks then pretty much follow the usual thing of last band soundchecks first etc.

Which is exactly what I'd tried to say in a previous post on another thread. We were under no illusions that we were realistically going to be playing the festival, but rather we were delighted to have been playing shows to people who ordinarily would never have seen us.

I'll happily recommend Phil as a drummer to anyone! Just don't accidently record over a practice tape.....

Exactly the point I was trying to make, but you put it a lot better than I did!

In that case, why even join a music forum dedicated to local bands and the local music scene? If there wasn't anybody playing in bands, then there wouldn't be any local scene. Maybe I've grasped the wrong end of the stick on it, but whether you care or not, I'm sure the majority of people would consider it a good thing for people to make the effort. Nothing wrong with it at all, I appreciate your opinion completely! However to call bands that you have (correct me if I'm wrong) never seen other than a short clip, "horsehit" seems a little bit shortsighted. Agreed, may not be your taste and your opinion is just as valid as everyone elses. Fact remains that both ourselves and certainly one of the other bands on our showcase night have gigged extensively all over Scotland, recorded songs that people have enjoyed, and built up a local following purely through working hard and gigging our balls off. From what I know, the very vast majority of these showcases have been free, reading this thread has been the 1st I've heard about any charges at all. No clue why that is the case to be honest, must be some reason... Is just a shame that it seems like the easier thing to do, to take a pop at local bands without ever supporting them fully. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion, and of course if you've never seen any of the bands, all you can go on is the (admittadly fairly ropey) 30 second video clip. But anyhow....anybody got any idea on when there will be more announcements about who will be playing?

Speaking as a member of one of the aforementioned "horseshit" bands, I'm obviously interested to see how this thread progresses! From speaking to a lot of local bands that we've played with, I know that there is an overwhelming feeling that the organisers probably had a very good idea of which bands will be appearing on the 'local' stage. Due mostly to the fact that they are already well known to all the local promoters who have booked them several times in the past. And I agree, that there are a lot of acts who have showcased who probably aren't up to gig standard yet, or who have simply learnt a couple of songs with a view to trying out for the festival, but so what? For it to be a true 'open to all' showcase, then they have to be given a shot like everyone else surely? Maybe the quality of some hasn't been up to the demanding standards of a lot of local music 'critics', but it's my view that anything that gets people wanting to play in bands, write music and get onstage has got to be a good thing? A lot of people seem to be happy to put bands down, when in fact that the same bands play week in, week out at Aberdeen's venues and people would rather sit on a forum and criticise on the basis of a 30 second video clip, than actually go and see them play. Anyhow....just my tuppenth worth!

From our point of view, it is more an oppourtunity to play in front of more people than would normally have been in Drummonds on a Monday night. We've got our 'official' showcase on Monday night, but we were asked to play on the 28th just so there would be a wider range of music than just the acoustic acts that were originally going to have been there. There were alot more prople there in the audience than a normal weekday night, purely because of the presence of the cameras and that was what we were wanting to be a part of, certainly not the interviews which nobody knew about until just before we played. There are a whole load of really good bands showcasing, and although we're not expecting to get through, it has exposed us to a few new people and also a couple of promotors who'd not seen us before, and have picked up a couple more shows as a result of it, which I consider a success. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and the people who were there seemed to have a good time. Was a win win as far as I'm concerned!

Just in case anyone's interested, STV have uploaded footage of one of the showcases at Drummonds... Northern Lights Showcase, April 28. | STV Video

Hey, cheers for replying. We're all late 20s - early 30s - how old are you? We're ideally looking for someone at least of drinking age, there tends to be a lot of 'socialising' etc after gigs and checking out other bands so if you're not old enough to get into the pub then it's gonna be a non starter I'm afraid! Gigs coming up in the next month are Aberdeen, Montrose, Perth, Dundee and Glasgow, and then late in the year we're heading down south for a run of shows. Obviously not great if school / college etc is going to be a problem! I'm not wanting to sound like a dick, just we've come across these problems before!

Hi guys, The revolving door at Crooked Little Vein seems not to have stopped yet unfortunately. Our 2nd guitarist has decided to concentrate on drumming for the time being and has stepped down. We therefore urgently need another guitarist who can sing backup vocals as most of our stuff has a lot of harmonies etc. We play a punky / grungy type of music, and songs are at Crooked Little Vein | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos or you can find us on Facebook. We've played a lot round Aberdeen / Glasgow etc and have several shows coming up so we need someone who can come in and hit the ground running. Going to be gigging a lot over summer, and wanting our 2nd EP to be recorded in the next 3 months, then touring at the back of the year. Obviously need someone who can write songs as well as playing them! Just PM me here, or send a message through Facebook. Cheers,

I want this to be true very badly indeed... 13 Songs still a regular in my stereo, and never got to see them live..

Am looking forward to this A LOT!

Agree with every word of that, and was exactly the same. Had a ticket to see them on the ill fated In Utero tour, and caught them at the Dutchess in Leeds back in 89. I saw an interview with Chris Robinson from the Black Crows, when he was saying that everybody talks about Nirvana because of the drugs and the celebrity marriage and the circus around them, but why couldn't they talk about Nirvana because "that guys writes really good songs and....well, they rock". Think that summed it up. Seems to be the fashionable thing nowadays not to give Nirvana the credit they deserve for helping bring punk and alternative into the mainstream. If it wasn't for them, bands like Screaming Trees, Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Pixies etc wouldn't have had anywhere near the exposure and success that they did. He championed his favourite bands like Shonen Knife, Daniel Johnson and Flipper and kids saw him wearing those bands on his T-Shirts, and went out to buy their records and check them out. Yeah, he had his failings but so the fuck what? Who doesn't? Pop songs with a fuzz box and a dash of punk attiture - that sums it up pretty nicely to me!

Ah crap, if only I had the money I'd be all over this like a rash. Goddam mortgage!

Crooked Little Vein - female fronted punky rocky grungy melodic noise Facebook: Crooked Little Vein Myspace: Crooked Little Vein | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos Email: crookedlittlevein@hotmail.com

Bumpity Bump....still got it and looking to get rid - any offers?

Just heard the single for the 1st time on the radio today. Awful.

No, no, not at all! Think I must just have misread or misunderstood.... Surely every band around the world is a 'local' band? Reckon I might have got hold of the wrong end of the stick good and proper on this!!