Battle of the Bands......update

[Fat Strings]

So we played in the finals this weekend. Let' just say it was everything that I expected. A bunch of high school aged kids and their parents rooting them on. There was even a band that had their moms buying up a bunch of tickets just so their kids band would play later.......Not only did these bands have no talent, they couldn't even tune their own instruments, all the while there were about 50-60 kids chanting their name and going nuts....REALLY???:confused: It's just sad to think that anyone could railroad their friends into listening to that crap. Now don't get me wrong, I strive to find the good in everything but Jesus, there was nothing there! I really gave the majority of these bands a fair shot, and I admit I did hear a few things that I liked, but for the most part it was all crap. Now as far as our performance, we felt like it was the best that we have played to date. We went up there with the attitude that we were just going to have fun, and not care about the outcome. What a difference that made! Such an awesome feeling! We had the owner by the stage the whole time moving his head to the music, we had the sound guy movin', hell, even the bouncer was diggin' what we had goin' on! We made a few connections that night we should be hookin' up with a promoter/booking agency this week. The bouncer called his contact there as we were playing to let them know about us. He seemed sincerely excited about our sound and couldn't wait to work with us.....so all and all, it was a good time. Sorry for the mini rant about the other bands. I don't normally bash other peoples music, and I'm not trying to convey that I think our stuff is awesome and everyone else there just sucked. It was just the fact of padding the ticket sales of a mediocre band that got my fire lit! So anyway, moving on from this. We have a gig this weekend and we're planning on packing the house for this one. Should be a solid turn out and if we continue with the attitude we had from the battle, I think that we're going to do well there also! We'll be playing with a band that we've become pretty good friends with called Code Vain. You can hear there stuff here http://www.myspace.com/codevain
I'm going to get back to acting like I'm working. Lagrange can fill you guys in on more detail....later....

FS

[Brian Krashpad]

Oh, one of those "ticket" dealies.

Those smack of "pay-to-play" and I won't go near 'em (I have done BotB's which were not ticket/crowd response based, such as based on judges). You had the right attitude for it though.

[LagrangeCalvert]

FWIW the sound guy and the Bouncer who is also a DJ had a vote in the end. All they said to me was "Sorry Josh. You boys are clearly on a different level than any of the other 9 bands here tonight. Too bad your still not in Highschool. Make sure you get into the BODOG battle of the bands next year....they actually JUDGE your music, not the amount of people/money your bringing in."

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, you got some good exposure and maybe made some contacts for later on. Sounds like victory to me!

[oldguy]

LG & FS's,
Sounds like you went in knowing what to expect, and kicked A$$ for anyone who knows what real rock'n roll is, IMHO.
We used to play "Battle o' the Bands" , which were more like fun jam sessions back in the day..... no poseurs, real players.
And all of them I see nowadays ask me if I've been to Musicians Friend, or half a dozen other music stores, and we all sit and ask ourselves the same question...what are all these young guitar players doing banging out the same dropped D tuning chords, loud and hard, over and over. There's a time and a place, I'm not against the sound......but out of tune guitars just clash 10 at a time, and seldom do you see a younger dude learning the basics and playing tastefully. We have to help them out.......we just have to...they have the talent, they need the basics. Sorry to rant.... there's too much good music that needs to be preserved, tho.:pancake:

[Fat Strings]

...what are all these young guitar players doing banging out the same dropped D tuning chords, loud and hard, over and over. There's a time and a place, I'm not against the sound......but out of tune guitars just clash 10 at a time, and seldom do you see a younger dude learning the basics and playing tastefully. We have to help them out.......we just have to...they have the talent, they need the basics. Sorry to rant.... there's too much good music that needs to be preserved, tho.:pancake:


Nothing much I can say to that except AMEN! :AOK:


FS

[VSTAR]

You have learned a good lesson !!! Next time bring a bunch of you friends and make lots of noise . No , when you play for other people there is always a problem are you playing for the crowd or are you playing for the club owner or the folks controlling the gig. This happens at all levels last year the SuperNova talent search was a good example .
Don't let this bother you , just another lesson in the entertainment world.

keep Jammin!!

[just strum]

Hey, I think there is some positive that came out of it. As someone noted, the exposure and contacts. The other thing, every gig is another step forward - my hat's off to you guys.

[Plank_Spanker]

A battle of the bands is a fashion show - local "celebrity judges", and winners based more on image than true substance - sort of a primer for the real music business......:puke:

A BOB is good for a young band seeking exposure and is a "rite of passage" to get a small taste of how jaded, phony, and nasty the music business is.

It means nothing.

Keep on keepin' on, man. The real winners are the ones out there still playing their music.

[Fat Strings]

great points fellas. At any rate. We have been making contacts and trying to get things happening all around this city(cincinnati, ohio), only problem is.......there is really no "scene" to speak of. If your not a cover band, you can't get work.....unless you split the night with another band or two.......which, right now I'm lovin' just playin....but there comes a time where you'd like to get paid for all the hard work you put into making that night happen! I'll step off my soapbox now.

FS