"Banding" Together

[PittsburghBluesConnection.com]

Hello all, I seen the button "Start a Discussion" so I thought I might. I am not a musician, just a "wannabe" drummer, but I love the Blues and am in awe of the great talent we have right here in Pgh. I noticed also that we have a problem getting the fans out to see the bands. This is why I started PittsburghBluesConnection, web site to help promote all of you, anyway I can. But in doing so I realized we also have many other sites and organizations doing the same thing, BluesBiz, this site, Myspace and a dozen others, all working independently with members on one but not the other. Now I know it is hard enough working full time, having a family, plus being in a band and then having to check a half dozen sites to get your information out, a daunting task. I am not sure what the answer is but I have one small suggestion to toss out there. And that is we build a database, with, perhaps one "BUTTON" posted at at every site(s) that dumps into this central database with everyone I know, you know, the organizations that support the blues, media POCs, venue owners or managers, Radio POCs, societies, the works, and anyone else you can think of that needs information or is looking for information especially the FANS! The database would e-mail the whole blues community, with a bi-monthly blast out to everyone's via their e-mail letting them know where are and your schedule and "hot" issues. I would really like to target the fans that show up in the bars to see you all. If during the evening, the band could ask the audience to leave their e-mails, or "GO HERE" to the "BUTTON" and submit their e-mail address, we could generate and send then a bi-monthly e-mail with your schedule and other "stuff". This list would grow and grow and we would have hundreds if not thousands of fans knowing exactly where you are and when instead of having to hope they fall through the door. Granted, schedules are time consuming and I see a couple quirks in this area but nothing that I do not believe formidable. Perhaps this s a dumb idea I don't know, I just keep thinking of ways to get the fans off their butts and out to see and hear fine talent we have right here in the "Burgh" . Your thoughts?
Respectfully.
John

[PittsburghBluesConnection.com]

Hi Pamela, thank you, any ideas or suggestion are appreciated. We just have to get the fans out to see the bands, especially the young ones, like Tara mentioned, their is the future of the blues also. hummm.

[Tara Charles]

Hi John,
It's not a dumb idea it's a good one. I've often wondered when I go to see some of the great bands in the burgh, where all the fans are? I've wracked my brain on marketing strategies and come up with not much. It's very sad really that here in this city with all this great talent that people don't get out. I do have one suggestion though. Become a little more "kid" friendly. Pittsburgh and the surrounding area's I believe are very family oriented. I went this weekend to the big beach bonfire party in Erie and it was PACKED. Each band did their thing to a huge crowd of happy listeners. It started at 7:00 and was over by 10:00. Great hours for us musicians and there were kids, parents, grandparents, teenagers, great grandparents, uncle's aunts you name it. It was FUN FUN FUN. I think we should start thinking this way!
p.s. Pam Hello and I can't figure out how to say hi to you! LOL. your music sounds great girl!
tara charles

[PittsburghBluesConnection.com]

Hi Tara, thank you for the kind words. I agree we have to get the kids involved somehow. More outdoor activities, festivals, BBQs, benefits, etc. We older folks(speaking for myself) and I notice a lot of the blues community are more seasoned crowd so we really should focus more on getting family oriented events going.

Anyone reading this who know of a venue/location in the PGH area that we might be able to do something blues/family oriented, please let me know, I will do the leg work and information gathering, perhaps we could do a BBQ/band/bonfire here in the "Burgh", sounds like fun.
My thanks to all.
Blues On!

[jim franciscus]

I agree wholeheartedly with Tara on the fact that bands/venues should try to do more family-oriented shows. And I think that this applies to the blues as much if not more than any other genre in the area. Blues crowds tend to be mostly older people who don't stay out in bars until 2:00am anymore. If you start the show earlier you may get more people that are there to see your whole show. Starting at 10:00pm almost guarantees that you'll end up playing for the drunk guy who just rolled in at 1:00am and is mad as hell when you quit at 1:30am (after being there working your ass off since 9:00pm). You know him, he's the guy yelling for "Free Bird". ha ha...I personally love doing the outdoor shows in community parks, charities, etc. The pay isn't there for the most part, especially with the charity events. But it's a great way to get noticed and the crowds are bigger and more enthusiastic. I've got a new band and it's been a great way to build our following in the past couple of months. It's starting to pay off with some decent paying gigs that came out of the publicity that we got from the charity shows. Of course, it always helps to be well-rehearsed and to interact with those crowds from the stage. People want to be a part of what you're doing up there otherwise you end up being background music to everything else. Those are just some suggestions of things that have worked (somewhat) for me personally. But this is a great thread of conversation that I hope we can get some other suggestions from as well.

[PittsburghBluesConnection.com]

Hello all, this is a reply to Pam and Tara, Jim and Barb, yes, yes, yes, we need more outdoor, family events, we have to not just focus on the bar crowd only but also to find ways to do picnics, bbq, holiday events, Labor Day, Halloween, "Fall Fest", "End of Summer Blues", "Bass and Blues" something, it just takes a little leg work, well not a little, but getting the venue, modest admission/donation, "PROMOTION" posters, flyers, bands plugging it at their gigs, we can do it! I will work feverishly if we can get a committe going somehow. You all have a vast knowledge of what it takes, way more than I, but I am here to help in any way I can. The more we do, the more you are seen and heard! As that saying says: " Lets get it Going ON"

[Barbara Gangone]

This is just the subject of a meeting we had at Moondog's in May. Why can't we start doing something like theBlues Society is doing at the Boston Waterfront next Sunday(Aug 17) ?
Lots of neighborhoods have parks to set something up. Because it's almost the end of summer, it might be a little tough to do, but Autumn could be a good time for an event.

[Dave Yoho]

~a story that developed this week~
The Blues Orphans learned during our August performance at the Penn Brewery that the brewery's new ownership will not be including live music in their business plan (except for their German music acts.) Our November and December bookings have been canceled (The Blues Orphans has been performing one Friday a month at the brewery for 12 straight years). This past Saturday, I visited the brewery and the band performing announced that their performance was the "last live music show at the Penn Brewery"

Just last week, The Blues Orphans were discussing the possibility of a one Friday a month gig at Sassy Marie's. I received a telephone call Wednesday night and was told that Sassy Marie's closed their doors.
Then as I was about to head out to Vasta's in Dormont for the Chizmo Charles & The Rhythm Aces open jam, I receive a telephone call that the Vasta's Wednesday jams have been canceled.
Is Live Music in Pgh, dead? Let's hope not....times are tough...what do you say we all put some more effort in utilizing the Invite feature of the network. Entice friends, clubs, bands, venues, family, places that book bands, musicians & fans.

Because of this network, I have gotten off the couch and into the venues to see live music more often. I'm living proof that the talents & clubs on PghLiveMusic that post their Events, get me out.

The network needs more of this, The clubs, bands & fans need more of this, The industry needs more of this... Live music in Pittsburgh appears to have become some what of a Field Of Dreams. With the help of PghLiveMusic, Build It And They Will Come.
Invite. Bring them in. Get them out.

[jim franciscus]

I'm not going to say that live music is dead here in the Pittsburgh area. But it certainly appears, save for a couple of places, that live music in bars is virtually dead. The DUI laws, drink prices, cover charges, late starting times, and failure of a lot of bars to promote the live acts that they book are some of the many reasons for this in my opinion. My bandmates and I put Shot O' Soul together in March of 2008 and agreed unamimously from the start that we would avoid playing bars at all costs with maybe a few exceptions. We're concentrating on charity events, social halls (VFW's, Moose, Elks, American Legion, etc.), private parties, and outdoor events for the most part. Those venues usually draw very well and the people are there mostly in the spirit of the event or in support of the club/venue. They want to be entertained and if you do that you're virtually guaranteed to be offered a return gig at decent pay. In the case of the social halls/organizations, they promote the daylights out of your gigs to their members and all of their friends. And most of those people are members of more than one club. So again, if they like you it leads to more business for your band.
It's truly a shame what has happened to the local bar business in general. I know a lot of bar owners who barely make it because they don't even draw enough business to hire any entertainment. If they hire a band or even a DJ/Karaoke and the event doesn't draw well, it's devastating for them. Their budgets are that tight. Ron "Moondog" Esser will tell you that he loses money a lot more often than he makes money on the bands that he books. And that includes the national acts that he brings in. I don't know what the solution is. I've participated in several meetings and forums with both bar owners and musicians to try to come up with solutions. Most of whom have not seen any long-term success. But the situation for both the bands and the bars is not good these days to say the least. I hate to purposely avoid booking my band in bars. But, the band is a business too and I've got to go where we have the most chance at success. We want to play where the people are. But these days it seems that where they are not is in the bars.