promote - promote - promote!!!

[manny@telerama.com]

Live music is still important in some genres. And despite all the multimedia
distractions, young people still go out. Recent shows like Dungen, Black Dice,
Melt-Banana, Outhud/Hella, Ted Leo, all as packed as they have ever been.
That's indie rock. I even heard Al Di Meola packed them in at Mr Smalls.
Can't be just old people going to that show, to sell out Smalls they'd have to
have a big younger following too, from the jamrock scene etc.

The goth scene just doesn't happen to be one of the scenes that prizes live
music at this point. Dance clubs killed most of the need for it. So approach
most goth/industrial type shows with appropriately low costs and expectations
of small crowds. The type of G/I-related shows that draw nowadays are crossover
nu-metal juggalo bands like Mindless Self Indulgence. There were at least 500
people at MSI. Obviously something is telling them to go see live music.
Probably the internet.

As far the cost of taking a band on the road, there are more bands out on the
road than ever before. The internet and myspace, etc, are helping them to get
shows. So I hardly think that the number of tours is decreasing because of
costs. I still see plenty of bands with five or six members or more. None of
them have a tour bus, road crew, or stay in hotels etc.

-mt