Guest stuartmaxwell Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 due to more venues opening etc bands are playing a helluva lot more nowi reckon this a bad thing, partly cause they are jaking promoters and venues but also because bands who play every week are playing the same set everytime,complacency is a horrible thing and i have noticed with a few local bands recently that things are getting stale and are going through the motionsaka the fox playing four (aberdeen) gigs in one week last month is just ludicrousturning 13 play a helluva lot too, and playing the same set too(im not saying these acts are stale, just mentioning the fact that they are ripping promoters off by halving their potential crowd )surely people will get bored of seeing X play at Y venue every two weeks?? or is it that there is not enough bands to fill the venues?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Storm Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 hmmm...welll...from Drakes point of view, i guess on one hand we are completely guilty of 'using' (oh you know what i mean!) bands too much in a short space of time, yes live music 7 nights a week is a bit much even in our eyes...but it is the only way we can survive at the moment - no live music usually means no punters for us - so on the other hand we NEED the local bands to play as support for some of the great touring/out of town acts we have coming through....and if bands turned me down more then my job would be harder than it is now!!! its a catch 22 situation....sometimes i have to use bands that only played at us in the past 2 weeks or so mainly because i think they would be most suited to the bill and might even get a gig swap out of it...i( hate mis-matched bills!)...but then the turnouts are poor which is the downside. but i also think that the novelty always wears off when a new band has done a few gigs...unless your mates are hardcore followers/gig goers people will stop coming once they've heard you 3/4 times...and im sure stuart will reiterate this is not a go at Turning 13 as he them really dont you stuart?! hey Eric Euan - how many gigs do they play?! shaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartmaxwell Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 yeah, totally not a go at anyone, i like t13yeah eric euan are guilty on that one too, but more venues/more gigs/ means this, just hope that aberdeen can cope with it!its a tough job i suppose, it would be cool to get more aberdeen bands on the go with a bit more diversity, dave and chris officers band sounds pretty cool, i think the drakes music policy doesnt really favour drab indie pish like drummonds does, and there seems to be a load of drab indie honkers in aberdeen, mini think dundee kinda suffers the same way in that most of the gigs have the same bands, and they dont really have a shiteload of gigs going on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 its a tough job i suppose' date=' it would be cool to get more aberdeen bands on the go with a bit more diversity, dave and chris officers band sounds pretty cool, [/quote']Argh, patience! We haven't even got a line-up yet. Don't want to feel under pressure already... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pop-notmyface Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 i believe Turning 13 ae playing at the opening night for A.S.S.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Storm Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 Argh' date=' patience! We haven't even got a line-up yet. Don't want to feel under pressure already...[/quote']and this is the problem with new bands...people like me pounce on them at the first sniff! not really.....!but new bands emerge, their first gig is rammed then it all goes downhill from then....from a venues point of view!Eric Euan are now not the big crowd pullers they once were....shawn???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flossie suvara Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 Compared to 10 years ago (when I were a lad...) it is ridiculously easy to get a gig in Aberdeen these days. With the Lorelei, out of our first 5 gigs, 2 were at private parties (the Mill Inn and Oh Henry's of all places), 1 was at the old RGU union (sloe club, which I had frequented regularly for 4 years, so managed to blag us a slot on a charity gig lineup) and 2 were at what is now Estaminet, but which in those days was know as Kit Carsons (before even Smart Alex) - The manager of Smart Alex insisted on hearing a demo tape before agreeing to let us play. Nowadays, it would seem that one could almost start a band with nothing but a name and a loose genre, get a gig and THEN think about getting other members, writing songs and practicing. There is, to me, a fine line between a healthy music scene, with lots going on and heaps of bands playing heaps of venues, and oversaturation, leading to venues not putting on so many bands. I certainly admire Dr Drakes for managing to put on live music 7 nights a week.I've mentioned it in other posts, but playing outside Aberdeen is the way forward - even for those bands whose members are not old enough to drive. There must be lots of small towns between say here and Inverness or Dundee who have one or two bands who would be interested in playing Aberdeen - gig swapping/sharing instruments/providing accomodation on a reciprocal basis would allow these bands to play in Aberdeen, and Aberdeen bands to play elsewhere, without having to worry about transporting amps/drumkits etc. Train/bus would be a viable option.And another plus point - playing in smaller towns outside Aberdeen (such as Keith, Nairn, Forres, Insch, etc) - you usually notice a sizeable drop in the price of a pint...RegardsFlossie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hog Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 I think we (element) play about once every 3-4 weeks with a few exceptions here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camie Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 Yeh I agree I dont understand why bands would play so often. I reckon once or twice every month is the healthy ammount for a local band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Craig_HexPen* Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 it was about this time last year that we were playing drakes about once a week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 we sometimes dont play local gigs for months and months on end... last one we played was June 9th... next 'official' gig is August 6th.We are however playing the moorings in July... under a false name. I think we've got the balance about right.... every 2 months or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash@TMB Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 ***Flossie,I was at that Lorelei gig in the Sloe Club! I also saw you somehere else must have been at Kit Carsons since I went they a few time. Both gigs were good and I got pissed. I remember calling for a tune called 'Rescue' at the Sloe Club. Did you have a song called 'Rescue', or am I confused about it's name? Which one of the Lorelei were you? Obviously not Couth, and I'm pretty sure you're not Shambles... Bill???***We only do live music 2 nights a week, and one of those is a jam session. There are 3 reasons we limit the number of gigs per week:1) First a foremost we are bar, and a damn good one. Our prioity is alcohol. Gigs are a bonus, and we love hosting them.2) Putting on gigs more frequently opens us up to the issue of noise emissions. What we have right now is workable and doesn't piss anyone off, but more would... err rock the boat LOL!3) Drakes is the main live music venue in our area, and we try to achieve a degree of symbiosis.Certain bookers are guilty of rerunning the same bands on a too frequent basis because those bands are drawing a crowd. The bands themselves probably don't initially realise that they are being exploited/over exposed in the interets of door money / bar takings. Occasionally our line up repeats itself too soon, but that's mainly due to lack of awareness and communication between our various promoter/bookers. Sometimes we do it deliberately, like with E106 and Reap next week, because there are other persuasive factors at play (although I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to reveal those?). We don't go looking to boost our bar takings though, that's not our way. Popularity in the enemy of McQuality.There are DOZENS of bands in this town - not to mention all the touring bands. If the bookings were split equally then the whole town would go 3 months without any band playing more than once. In reality the market will usually dictate to some extent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHAWN THE OX Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Eric Euan are now not the big crowd pullers they once were....shawn???? what! once were??friday 26th march 2004 when we had 90 people in to are EP launch @ drakesnot bad i thinkand i think we did alright 2night!crowd wise anyway!!!!normaly we tend to play once a month but since the fudge awards we keep getting booked, sorrywere not playing in aberdeen again till 14th aug when we open for sunways @ the moorings barbut we have been keeping busy lately coz were doing a wee tour and we have been geting are shit togethersorry!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Reverend Z. Munch Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 due to more venues opening etc bands are playing a helluva lot more nowi reckon this a bad thing' date=' partly cause they are jaking promoters and venues but also because bands who play every week are playing the same set everytime,complacency is a horrible thing and i have noticed with a few local bands recently that things are getting stale and are going through the motionsaka the fox playing four (aberdeen) gigs in one week last month is just ludicrousturning 13 play a helluva lot too, and playing the same set too(im not saying these acts are stale, just mentioning the fact that they are ripping promoters off by halving their potential crowd )surely people will get bored of seeing X play at Y venue every two weeks?? or is it that there is not enough bands to fill the venues?? [/quote']I think its a lot more interesting to see a band every couple of months to see how their sound or ideas has developed but i don't know if its bands lacking in self-confidence about their own material that they have to constantly gig it to see what audience's reactions are to it in order to evaluate it and re-work on some parts of songs and then unleash it on an audience again or if they're merely doing it for the money and pleasure of doing gigs.I am sure every band has got their own personal agenda but from a punter's point of view, i can see it being very frustrating because i personally don't see the point of paying money to see a band i saw a week ago playing the exact same set, i suppose from a promotor's point of view though - they ain't giving a shit too much because they're just using bands to make up the numbers at a gig that features a touring band or using bands as fillers to a themed gig night or whatever.I think new local bands should ideally not gig too much and concentrate on making their sound and songs better, there seems to be this preoccupation with just doing gigs with a lot of bands starting up, like they need to gig straight away...and not putting any time or effort into actually working on their material and then you get bands going up onstage and 9 times of 10 making such a pisspoor racket that doesn't even translate into anything musical at all.The problem with established acts like Maple, Turning 13, Deadloss Superstar and Eric Euan is that they've got a sound thats their trademark and kinda overdose on it too much and it restricts their range of talents just putting out the same sounding records all the time.I think another thing that makes a lot of bands boring to see is that they never change the set-up onstage, its always just four guys onstage strumming their guitars and thumping the skins, there's nothing to be excited by, there's no presence or performance going on, there's no animation or passion or enthusiasm in what they're doing, i am not saying go onstage and fucking smash everything up but for fuck's sake, put on some kinda show!.At least then your performances, gigs, music and overall name and reputation doesn't became stale by yourselves or tainted by word of mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delboy Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 personally i like to leave it at least 3 months between seeing a local band unless i'm a huge fan of them. even some bands i've really liked i've got bored with quickly by seeing them too much in a short space of time. but this has been ongoing since i first came to aberdeen in 2001 and with more gigs easily available, its enivitable that bands are gonna gig too much. i agree with flossie, better to try and play some outposts and gig swap but thats not always easy to do. as a promoter i can sympathize with the likes of drakes who are often let down and you always have a list of bands who can usually play at short notice! what used to piss me off when i booked gigs in advance was bands who'd do you over by playing the malt mill for free the day before or after when your trying to promote a paying gig! but hey its all part of the game i suppose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flossie suvara Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 ***"I was at that Lorelei gig in the Sloe Club! I also saw you somehere else must have been at Kit Carsons since I went they a few time. Both gigs were good and I got pissed. I remember calling for a tune called 'Rescue' at the Sloe Club. Did you have a song called 'Rescue', or am I confused about it's name? Which one of the Lorelei were you? Obviously not Couth, and I'm pretty sure you're not Shambles... Bill???"Your guess is spot on Flash - I am indeed also known as Bill - once owner of mighty dreadlocks, but now sadly shorthaired and balding (but hey, I was balding even when my dreads were down to my bum) - The Lorelei did indeed have a song called "Rescue" - all slow and melodical to start, but then got faster and heavier. And more proof of how small a world Aberdeen is - Simon Pirie, who works in the Moorings, is the brother-in-law of my mate Luke, who was my best man...RegardsFlossieMandolin - (Ital) Small guitar made entirely of linoleum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Storm Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 what! once were??friday 26th march 2004 when we had 90 people in to are EP launch @ drakesnot bad i thinkand i think we did alright 2night!crowd wise anyway!!!!normaly we tend to play once a month but since the fudge awards we keep getting booked' date=' sorrywere not playing in aberdeen again till 14th aug when we open for sunways @ the moorings barbut we have been keeping busy lately coz were doing a wee tour and we have been geting are shit togethersorry!![/quote']come on shawn calm down now!!! yes there were 90 people at your EP launch, its your ep launch, bit of an exception....:but look how many gigs you's have done since then, even your 'crowd' has dwindled a bit, not everyone comes out to every gig now that used to do they? you do still have the 'hardcore' few though! and yes, since the fudge awards you keep getting booked...and you keep accepting! (im not complaining obviously - i need you sometimes!) shaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delboy Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 wasnt the eric euan EP launch invite only???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkt Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 I can see both sides of the story...the promoter and the venues do suffer by bands bringing a less than full crowd but also bands need to play. There is no better practise for a band than playing live and so the more they play, the better they become. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 I can see both sides of the story...the promoter and the venues do suffer by bands bringing a less than full crowd but also bands need to play. There is no better practise for a band than playing live and so the more they play' date=' the better they become.[/quote'] Playing is the best practice but try rehearsing, you get lots more time, you can work through the set a few times, tweak your songs, write new ones. Much better than a quick song at soundcheck and 30 mins of sweaty terror. From everyones point of view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkt Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Playing is the best practice but try rehearsing' date=' you get lots more time, you can work through the set a few times, tweak your songs, write new ones. Much better than a quick song at soundcheck and 30 mins of sweaty terror. From everyones point of view.[/quote']not when your paying by the hour at Captain Tom's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHAWN THE OX Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 wasnt the eric euan EP launch invite only????YES! but people didnt have to come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
less_than_stu Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 I agree with you Mr Maxwell. I have gotten very bored of seeing Turning 13 recently, even though I really love their music. I fear that I will also go the same way with Eric Euan if I keep seeing them all the time, but fortunately, this hasn't happened yet.I would like to apologise on behalf of The Void for gigging far too much and for keeping the same set for far too long. If I may give reasons for this atrocity, we are going to Edinburgh soon, and simply want to play to Aberdeen as much as possible before we leave. As for the song-writing, we have been without one of our number for 2 months, which has made it harder to write new material.I don't know why I'm trying to explain myself here, but I kind of agree with this theory on over-gigging anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delboy Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 YES! but people didnt have to cometrue but a lot of folk would have felt a bit overwhelmed or even special at being considored for an invite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jake Wifebeater Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 The Spike Boys tend to play about every 6-8 weeks, with the occasional bonus/short-notice step-in type gig and I reckon that's about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.