Chicago: The Eponymous Thread

"Has our ability to get our friends/family out diminished that much? Since this was Megan's last show, I thought for sure that people would be spreading the word and getting people to come out. There was a day when each band member was bringing out five to ten people. And if that's simply not possible any more, then ok, I guess we'll have to face up to and deal with that reality. But I suspect that it was due to a lack of effort this time - ya know, phone calls, e-mails, etc."

Uh ... I love Megan and everything, but why would my personal friends (who don't know Megan) care about her last show? When they come, it's to see the band in general and me in particular. Doesn't make sense.

I don't think there was ever a day when each band member was bringing out five to ten people as a RULE. But especially not a weeknight when it's $10 and the show is a guaranteed sell-out. If it's a weekend, if the tickets were cheaper, if it's a show where we know we need to draw 100+ for the club to be happy and therefore go out of our way to tell people about it, then yeah, maybe. ARGH.

He's never kept a diary, because according to him, he's never had a single thought that he doesn't feel comfortable sharing with other people. It's easier to just talk it out.

you're in a band with louis jagger?

2x. There are friend's bands that I genuinely enjoy going out to see, and there are others that I would never go to if they weren't my friends.

That Guiliani for President of 9/11 article is hilarious.

Also, the new new ILX isn't dumb. Stop fearing change, you buncha panty waists.

Like Windows Vista.

xp then turn images on! Adapt or die, people!

It's not that. He doesn't "overshare" -- it's more that he just doesn't have a private, internal life.

I guess in general I feel like most of the responsibility for draw should be on the shoulders of the headlining band or whatever group put the show together.

Just to flip sides for a minute here, because I do think that draw is important, any time you're added to a bill it's because the club's booking dude expects that you will bring money into the club, either from ticket sales or drinks. If the headlining band is not capable of selling out the show on their own, then why would a club feel comfortable booking an opener that isn't capable of pulling in their share to make up for it?

The issue I have is not with the fact that we're expected to draw, because that's a reality for any band that wants to play good clubs in Chicago, it's more about how Matt expects us to approach it.

Cf. how half of our songs are third-person narratives about other people.

any time you're added to a bill it's because the club's booking dude expects that you will bring money into the club, either from ticket sales or drinks
Dude, I know that. I just mean most of the responsibility should be on the headliner or at least the organization sponsoring the show. If the venue feels certain the headlining band will lead to a sold out show, which it did, why have any opener bands at all?

I'm just being defensive. I think once a club has asked you to play, they can't go off on you for not bringing in enough people. They can just not ask you to play again.

If he hasn't already, M really should read some books on marketing/management/PR or, otherwise, hire someone to do PR for you guys for three months. You guys need your own n3ptali for M to meet the goals he has set for the band. He's like the guy running a restaurant and handing out flyers on the street and is feeling down when the restaurant only fills up during Summer Block Party Days or when the extended family of someone who works there is in town -- and then wonders why restaurants that hire publicists and take out ads get attention. I wouldn't tell most bands this (and I'm not following this advice), but for his particular goals he needs to pay someone who has the experience of getting other bands to meet those goals (of having their own following). And I know you can't buy that, but you can buy the services of someone who knows how to reach an audience that will stay with you.

(And I keep saying, opening for buzz bands means drawing a crowd that follows publicity - fickle crowd. If M respects bands who, for the most part, bought their attention, then he has to do the same. Or, better yet, headline with local bands, play shows outside of the indie-business world, give other bands breaks before the have their own label/attention/whatever.)

If most of the band's friends are like me, they're more likely to see you headline than to see one of these "buzz band" shows. (I don't think I've been to a single one, other than the night we were both in Madison and I saw Devotchka.)

Same old story - he just needs to find an experienced and pragmatic manager instead of banging his head against the wall and blaming the band.

[i]I think once a club has asked you to play, they can't go off on you for not bringing in enough people. They can just not ask you to play again.[/i]

Yeah, I think that's true. Did I indicate otherwise?

Smartest thing yet said regarding this.

Correct. He says he bites his tongue in that band a lot because it's not really his place to make decisions, but he has the comfort of knowing that he has another band where he can call the shots.