promoter's

[Patrick Bowers]

As a former DJ, bar manager and club promoter i would like to give my 
perspective on things.
I've been on this list a few months and can see this discussion going 
nowhere.

I paid for acts like The Cruxshadows and Bella Morte to play at my old venue 
in Baton Rouge LA.
I have never once, not had a guarantee to pay the bands when they came 
through.  Pay to play doesn't work.. EVER.
Cruxshadows cost me $400 bucks to book, i made $150 off them.
Bella Morte played a few dates for us, $400 bucks, food and a place to stay. 
  We made out on the 1st show by $200 and bombed the 2nd show.
I booked Kid 606, an electronic act, cost me $800 bucks upfront and a plane 
ticket to fly him down from NYC.  I made $860 bucks which i split with 
another promoter.

I have seen alot of bands bust promoters pockets.  My old boss Colin 
Gibbens, who used to manage Xymox, Front 242, FLA and Haujobb lost 10's of 
thousands of dollars bringing the big bands through Baton Rouge.  This was 
all between 1997-2001.
We also had alot of successful shows with Pigface and VNV Nation come 
through.
Unless you really go out and make flyers, do radio ad spots, and spread word 
of mouth about your show months - weeks in advance people will not show up.
Writing an e-mail to tell people about your show a few weeks in advance is 
not sufficient.

>From the club side of things i could easily make 150-200 bucks on a Friday 
or Saturday Dj'ing G/I music.  I promoted for that as well, and being a 
radio DJ helped to promote me as well.

I hope everyone in PGH can forget about the BS and help the scene out.  It 
seems that the eliteist goth/industrial people in every city decide not to 
support other peoples shows, thus making what little scene there is a PIECE 
OF SHIT that flops.
Club Nights will Stop
and people will do house parties.
In Baton Rouge we had a problem with the New Orleans crowd, people felt they 
were too good to come to our shows and both scenes ended up suffering.

So it falls on bothe the promoters to sell thier shows, and the people in 
the scene need to make it know what shows they want to see and go to them.

I have been to Cleveland to see Front 242 a few months ago, it was awesome.  
Its a shame there isn't the GI scene in PGH that there is there.

Stop BITCHING and start FIXING your local GI scene.