BAND SCENE GONE IN JOHNSTOWN - HELP!

[Victor Synn]

In any case, what J-town really needs is a club owner that has the right amount of finances behind him/her to get a decent sized room, courteous staff, and advertises their establishment and bands in the way they should be advertised. Also, they would need to know how to treat the band with regard to pay and amenities. If that doesn't happen, I'm afraid it'll be a long time before that area has any kind of real life.

Hello?!? This will never ever happen - atleast not the "club owner that has the right amount of finances behind him/her" or the "the band with regard to pay and amenities". We can't even get a crappy bar owner to allow bands to play in this area anymore. They are not making enough money for the bars - for the bar owners to even see some sort of payoff.

I think everyone has agreed Westmont Gardens is a crappy place to play as far as getting treated fairly. But if your looking to get treated like a rock star in this area good luck - heck at this point we are lucky if we can get a band in the door. Until the people begin to show more interest in bands and begin to pull away from Karoke or DJ night - we are in deep trouble.

Then it's obvious you saw my sarcasm. Thanks for noticing. I know it'll never happen in J-town because most J-town club owners take no time and effort to solve those problems. So basically, what I'm saying is the J-town area is pretty much screwed for a thriving band scene until someone realizes the problems and fixes them.

[shadesofjuneGuitar]

1. The local music scene is just like any other market: It's driven by demand. You can either choose to beat a dead horse, play to the chairs and complain, or find another market. It goes back to what Griff and I were talking about: You can't always play in your backyard. Believe me, it's a very sad thing that some places aren't seeing crowd turnouts like they use to, but the whole point is that it's the same thing if I nailed two boards together with some red paint, advertised it, then got pissed when nobody would buy it.

Again, I didn't set out to offend anyone, but please actually THINK about what I said before responding.

Hey guys ... First off ... I didn't want it to seem like I was bashing you ... I'm not ... Your post does have some merit... however, I'm just saying that, like many others, my band has expanded our area... We play in 5 states. We 95% of the time have great crowds and everything is going well...

What I am saying is - I would like this region to pick it up a little, and nothing seems to be working in general. So with that said ... Bassist_25, I agree with the majority of what you are saying ... I'm just rebutting with the fact that not all bands in this area stay in this area ... our touring radius right now is close to 300 miles.


Justin ... I thank you for the kind words ... and to build on what you said ... I'm not just talking about the length of time I've been playing, but:

1.) I've been in 4 different bands
2.) I've been in FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT because a producer in LA stole one of my songs and actually had a band in the studio recording it.

3.) I've been through the bad agent/ manager piece in the past.

4.) I've released 2 - soon to be 3 independent albums.

etc .....


We've all paid our dues in our own respective ways .... that's not what I mean ... Look WE ARE ALL MUSISICANS and we should help each other ...

THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO IS CREATE ANOTHER - "Beating of a dead horse" threads ... so - LET'S DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE WITH THIS ONE ... Does anybody have any ideas on how to get local attendence up at shows?

Please give your input ... it is the only thing that is going to help.

[Mackovyak]

Well, as for the paying the dues thing, I didn't want it to turn into people listing them, it was just worded wrong, the past few posts cleared it up better. ...

What would I personally try to push to get attendance up in a particular place other than what I have stated above....

Anyone ever kick around the idea of wrist banding the D.D......D.D. pays no cover, gets a free soda or something. If anyone sees them drinking....deal with it.

Does anyone other than Q-94 up there do the night spot report?

Down here there are also two weekly newspapers that come out....New Times and City Link. Free, paid by advertisers. But everyone is always checking them out for something. Anyone ever consider trying to get with Mainline Newspapers (for the J-town area) and getting a REAL weekly entertainment section.....you know...maybe a little write up about a local musician or local pub?

[bassist_25]

Hey guys ... First off ... I didn't want it to seem like I was bashing you ... I'm not ... Your post does have some merit... however, I'm just saying that, like many others, my band has expanded our area... We play in 5 states. We 95% of the time have great crowds and everything is going well...

What I am saying is - I would like this region to pick it up a little, and nothing seems to be working in general. So with that said ... Bassist_25, I agree with the majority of what you are saying ... I'm just rebutting with the fact that not all bands in this area stay in this area ... our touring radius right now is close to 300 miles.

No problem, bro. I don't take many things personally. I just thought this was going to turn into another "My band that's only played two shows in the past 5 months is not seeing arena-sized attendance. What's wrong?" type of threads. Like I've been saying, it's VERY crappy that J-town seems to be dying. But like I said, if people are content to wallow in their own apathy, there isn't much to do except look for new markets.

Does anybody have any ideas on how to get local attendence up at shows?

I think one idea is to work with club owners to offer incentives other than just a live band and some alchohol to draw people out. I'm not saying that every gig needs to be a big production event, but offering things in addition to the headlining band is always good. Right now, we're currently working with a club to stage some sort of "extra" the next time we play there. I'm also not talking about a gimmick, but rather something else like a bikini contest or something. I find if you talk to the club owners (especially after a gig), they are very receptive to ideas.

[bassist_25]

Does anyone other than Q-94 up there do the night spot report?

Yes, other radio stations do advertise live entertainment. Plus, we also have an excellent resource on channel 10, which lists news and entertainment around the clock (it corresponds with a local radio station, use to be Sheldon Sharpless. Now it's a Top 40 type station. Anyone know what I'm talking about?).

Down here there are also two weekly newspapers that come out....New Times and City Link. Free, paid by advertisers. But everyone is always checking them out for something. Anyone ever consider trying to get with Mainline Newspapers (for the J-town area) and getting a REAL weekly entertainment section.....you know...maybe a little write up about a local musician or local pub?

Good point. I know that State College has a weekly entertainment guide. It would be cool if Cambria County could have its own entertainment guide. I don't know what the cost of distrubuting something like that would be, though.

[Mackovyak]

Good point. I know that State College has a weekly entertainment guide. It would be cool if Cambria County could have its own entertainment guide. I don't know what the cost of distrubuting something like that would be, though.

Even if it's a page or two, I think it's a matter of getting someone to do it. Obviously someone who lives up there.

Mainline newspapers distributes:
The Dispatch
The Journal
The Mainliner
The Mountaneer-Herald
& The Star-Courier

A front/back page with an article about a local pub and an article about a local musician, and then a listing with everything in that area going on.

The cost of an extra page can't be that much, and it might be a selling point for that paper.....essentially, all the papers are the same publication with a few different changes.

The hardest part would be to get someone to compile it each week. Good luck....

[dayzichick]

The number one thing that has worked for us is full time PR during the shows. I don't mean just saying stuff in the mic. Get out there and talk to the crowd on breaks, especially the fans who keep coming back, because those are the ones you can really get to know, and those are the people who will tell others how much they like your band. Ask them their names, ask them what they want to hear you play, and ask them back. Here's a for instance, I became friends with one of our fans because she came to every show, heck we ended up inviting her to our wedding. She invited me to her weekly Friday happy hour, which consisted of mostly CTC employees, one of the largest employers in Johnstown. From that one friend, we gained probably about 20 more regulars who come to every show now and about 50 more fans who come to at least one show per month. One girl, a couple of happy hours later and we've increased our crowd. Talk to your regulars, word of mouth is huge huge huge in these small towns. If you don't toot your own horn, no one else will. I know the bars and clubs are supposed to help but I never rely on that, I've even put our own ads in the paper before. In my opinion, there are not enough drink specials in Johnstown. It's almost like they are in competition to see who can charge the most for a draught beer. Ash Street Tavern has Who's Your Daddy every Friday for happy hour I think.

[songsmith]

I think dues are there for a really good reason. The struggle weeds out the people who shouldn't be there. If you want to seperate the wheat from the chaff, you have to flail it, beat it with a stick. I've been thinking that paying dues hasn't really resulted in more money, or bigger crowds, necessarily... however, I'm able to sit in with practically anyone around... people seem to RESPECT my abilities, and experience, and I couldn't be prouder of anything I've ever done. I also get forgiven pretty quick when I hit a bad note, too, and there are still plenty of those. People like Lumber City Slim and Felix Kos look over at me onstage and pretty much tell me to do whatever I want with THEIR music, and that means a lot, and they do that because I worked my ass off and spent a lifetime figuring out what being "good" means. Being "good" is on a sliding scale, apparently, and when you get to a point where you feel like you're finally getting your shite together, something shakes it all up, and you see a goal that's just a little further away, so you try to reach that point. More dues to pay.
I like to think it's not all for nothing. I saw stuff you wouldn't believe, we've talked about that before. I got stories... . I also think those who aren't muso's think it's a lot easier than it really is, and some of them feel entitled to screw you over because you get your money for nothin' and your chicks for free. That may be why they pay the same now as they did 15 years ago. --------->JMS

[Peachz28]

Ok I have been beating this one around for a bit now...

I noticed people in this area tend to only see the bands they know well.. Its very hard to acquire a new fan unless they are brought out by a friend or accidently stumble into a bar..

Maybe if the bands could join together to help themselves and also help increase the crowds for the up and coming bands..

Rock the House is usually successful and I know there is another one such as that coming up..

But maybe monthly have an event with 3 or 4 bands at somewhere like Ace's or Pony lounge..

Thoughts?

[tonefight]

Both places have reasonable cover, resonable beer prices and are always a good time. Get yer canes or walkers out and come on down.

Yes I do agree with reasonable prices and a good time, but I have a very hard time giving a bar money when they will no longer let certain bands play because they do not like having "that kind of reputation", meaning no more metal.

I will no longer give the Country Inn my money.

Point taken but it is a bar owners choice as to what type of entertainment they have and you shouldn't get upset with them over it, there are also places that my band wouldn't fit in / doesn't fit in, we've been to a few places where we weren't as heavy as the crowd wanted. Not every place is suitable for every type of entertainment and it works both ways not just against you.

[Peachz28]

Point taken but it is a bar owners choice as to what type of entertainment they have and you shouldn't get upset with them over it, there are also places that my band wouldn't fit in / doesn't fit in, we've been to a few places where we weren't as heavy as the crowd wanted. Not every place is suitable for every type of entertainment and it works both ways not just against you.

Yes - I would normally agree with you if the bar would have handled it in a much more diplomatic way. They did not.

Those kind of people or that kind of reputation - are not statements that I enjoy being categorized in.

[Punkinhead]

Ok I have been beating this one around for a bit now...

I noticed people in this area tend to only see the bands they know well.. Its very hard to acquire a new fan unless they are brought out by a friend or accidently stumble into a bar..

Maybe if the bands could join together to help themselves and also help increase the crowds for the up and coming bands..

Rock the House is usually successful and I know there is another one such as that coming up..

But maybe monthly have an event with 3 or 4 bands at somewhere like Ace's or Pony lounge..

Thoughts?

Ace's has at least one of those a month, usually a few. It's all age stuff but, it gets a good crowd, and like I said before, you get the chance to open for some really big bands at times with those shows.

[Peachz28]

Ace's has at least one of those a month, usually a few. It's all age stuff but, it gets a good crowd, and like I said before, you get the chance to open for some really big bands at times with those shows.

I have actually checked out an Ace's show. Great music, crazy mosh pits but I must say I felt REALLY old there and they do not serve alcohol.

I have spoke to the owner and he mentioned that he is going to attempt to open the bar for the GODHEAD show that is coming up in June. He will still have it as all ages - just the 21 and over will have to stay in the bar area if they have alcohol.

That should definately get a crowd more my age in the door and I won't feel so sad.

[Punkinhead]

Ace's has at least one of those a month, usually a few. It's all age stuff but, it gets a good crowd, and like I said before, you get the chance to open for some really big bands at times with those shows.

I have actually checked out an Ace's show. Great music, crazy mosh pits but I must say I felt REALLY old there and they do not serve alcohol.

I have spoke to the owner and he mentioned that he is going to attempt to open the bar for the GODHEAD show that is coming up in June. He will still have it as all ages - just the 21 and over will have to stay in the bar area if they have alcohol.

That should definately get a crowd more my age in the door and I won't feel so sad.

I am surprised that he's doing that. When we did shows there, he wouldn't do that. He told us that you can't do it with the PLCB laws. But, if he does and it works, that's awesome.