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STV Local continue coverage of Northern Lights Showcases


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How do they schedule the bands to appear, and do the cameras only appear on the weekend/odd night?

Random luck, or better bands getting later slots on weekend nights etc?

I've been in quite a few times for the showcase events and have not seen a TV camera yet.

The quality there looks far higher than any night I've been in. Some nights you get the odd good band during the night.

I went on Tuesday night and I was there for about 9pm after the advertised 8pm start. You Dead were already setting up and turned out to be the final band. There was 6 bands listed to play.

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How do they schedule the bands to appear, and do the cameras only appear on the weekend/odd night?

Random luck, or better bands getting later slots on weekend nights etc?

I've been in quite a few times for the showcase events and have not seen a TV camera yet.

The quality there looks far higher than any night I've been in. Some nights you get the odd good band during the night.

I went on Tuesday night and I was there for about 9pm after the advertised 8pm start. You Dead were already setting up and turned out to be the final band. There was 6 bands listed to play.

I was quite disappointed (but not all that surprised) to be playing to a crowd of some other bands, their friends, and my Dad. No cameras, nobody really watching, but it was a good laugh. This was Sunday 12th.

To be fair, the band on after me (the only one I saw, unfortunately, and the one with about 30 mates with them) were pretty good, but I can only imagine the crowd for the last two bands - I assume the friends would leave with the band.

I'm not sure who's actually judging this, unless they're behind the bar, because other than the soundman there was nobody of any standing there that I could see.

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I was quite disappointed (but not all that surprised) to be playing to a crowd of some other bands, their friends, and my Dad. No cameras, nobody really watching, but it was a good laugh. This was Sunday 12th.

To be fair, the band on after me (the only one I saw, unfortunately, and the one with about 30 mates with them) were pretty good, but I can only imagine the crowd for the last two bands - I assume the friends would leave with the band.

I'm not sure who's actually judging this, unless they're behind the bar, because other than the soundman there was nobody of any standing there that I could see.

I was wondering about the judging too.

I've been in where there is the two girls behind the bar, whoever I'm with and a couple of mates the band brought along.

That only does leave the soundman.

I've been left to think with the quality better on TV showcase and on a weekend nights, it's pretty much known who is who?

Maybe the odd exception but that's what I've seen so far.

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I was wondering about the judging too.

I've been in where there is the two girls behind the bar, whoever I'm with and a couple of mates the band brought along.

That only does leave the soundman.

I've been left to think with the quality better on TV showcase and on a weekend nights, it's pretty much known who is who?

Maybe the odd exception but that's what I've seen so far.

I'm starting to think that yeah, they do know what they're doing. Which is very pissing annoying when you're opening it up to (feasibly) every musician in the city.

At best misleading, at worst a farce.

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I was quite disappointed (but not all that surprised) to be playing to a crowd of some other bands, their friends, and my Dad. No cameras, nobody really watching, but it was a good laugh. This was Sunday 12th.

To be fair, the band on after me (the only one I saw, unfortunately, and the one with about 30 mates with them) were pretty good, but I can only imagine the crowd for the last two bands - I assume the friends would leave with the band.

I'm not sure who's actually judging this, unless they're behind the bar, because other than the soundman there was nobody of any standing there that I could see.

the band were the shores

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On the night the video in the OP was taken the door fee was 4 if I remember correctly.

Any night I've been it's always been free.

If they are charging for the nights the TV cameras are there, that kind of suggests that the bands on show that night were handchosen and not random slots.

Again it supposed to be an open and fair competition and it's hardly fair then to have some nights free, some not and also unfairly giving certain bands more exposure through tv.

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Any night I've been it's always been free.

If they are charging for the nights the TV cameras are there, that kind of suggests that the bands on show that night were handchosen and not random slots.

Again it supposed to be an open and fair competition and it's hardly fair then to have some nights free, some not and also unfairly giving certain bands more exposure through tv.

Not TV, but still exposure, yeah. It's disheartening, almost, to turn up to absolutely none of the "fanfare" reserved for the nights with the "better" (read: more popular), hand-chosen acts on. In the back of my mind I'm well aware I, nor the Shores, nor Malfunction, nor The Nova Kings have any chance whatsoever of getting a slot and it's really sad that they're building up hopes like that.

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Not TV, but still exposure, yeah. It's disheartening, almost, to turn up to absolutely none of the "fanfare" reserved for the nights with the "better" (read: more popular), hand-chosen acts on. In the back of my mind I'm well aware I, nor the Shores, nor Malfunction, nor The Nova Kings have any chance whatsoever of getting a slot and it's really sad that they're building up hopes like that.

Hopefully this isn't the case but the evidence suggests that it is the harsh reality of this showcase event.

TV crews don't just happen to show up randomly and the days that they have organised to be there would suggest that the organisers have known in advance when they were coming and organised the shows to suit.....shame really

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Hopefully this isn't the case but the evidence suggests that it is the harsh reality of this showcase event.

TV crews don't just happen to show up randomly and the days that they have organised to be there would suggest that the organisers have known in advance when they were coming and organised the shows to suit.....shame really

Did you even see the first showcase that was on STV? Every act was horse shit.

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Did you even see the first showcase that was on STV? Every act was horse shit.

and thats your opinion but other people may think otherwise? all i was saying is it seems more likely that the bands who played on the nights stv were there were picked specifically with the knowledge that stv would be there to film that night.

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On the night the video in the OP was taken the door fee was 4 if I remember correctly.

I was convinced when I walked past Drummonds for the night that the latest STV footage is taken from it was showing a 4/5 door fee as well?

Edit: Just checked the Facebook event for that one - it was a door fee of 4.

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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!

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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?

Honestly couldn't care less if people play in bands or not.

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.

What's wrong with that? The clip is short and free.

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Honestly couldn't care less if people play in bands or not.

What's wrong with that? The clip is short and free.

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?

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Ok

- showcase slots have generaly been selected at random. If you notice the posts we put out its simply a list of dates and people can take what they wish on a first come first serve basis. The one on the last video (Tijuana Sun etc) had already been booked in as a normal gig long before as they regularly play Drummonds on weekend nights - this date was then turned into a showcase. This may have happened once or twice but all other showcases have been pretty much midweek and open to anyone, however a certain degree of sense needs to come into it. I wouldnt be putting 5 bands on a bill that I didnt think anyone would come to see as the bar needs to take money obviously. With regards charging to certain events the above explaniation applies to that too - the date was already announced and door charge was already on that show. All other showcases have been free entry

- with regards people calling bands "horse shit" etc - yes there have been varying levels of quality and yes some in my opinion have been horse shit - but thats only my opinion. For me its good to see people getting involved, coming out and playing and good to see bands making the effort to get people along to shows. The attitude of someone judging a band on these clips is exactly whats wrong with Aberdeen and why a few promoters including myself are beginning to doubt whether its worth it.

- re judging - there is always someone there in the crowd. They arent meant to be seen etc but they are there blending into the crowd. Each band has been seen, written about and safely filed away. This is not the bar staff or the sound engineer.

- and finally where yes a few slots may have been decided before the showcases for certain local bands I can assure you that there are plenty of slots open to bands taking part in these events or we wouldnt be running them.

- And extra finally - if your showcase wasnt well attended you are in a minority. Nearly all of the events have been well supported and have been busy. Obviously a great deal of this for an event like this lies with yourself. If you dont take mates, you might not get as big a crowd. Its not the same as a gig where you are the support act and people will be there for the headliner anyway. With events like this its realitvely unlikely that random people are going to come and see you.

Anyway hope that clears some points up.

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