We played the Boston Music Festival

[Aaronharmon]

We had a pretty good music scene in Bowling Green Ohio, at BGSU. There is a bar called Howard's Club H. I saw Matchbook Romance and Fall out Boy there a few months before they made it big. They have live music every week with a bigger acts like once every 6 to 8 weeks.

I also saw OAR there (before they sold their souls to a major label). They were awesome.

[RR05xx]

Welcome to the Boston Music scene for original music. Near as I can tell, its been that way for years. There are about 10 colleges and universities in the area, and no one goes to see live music unless they "know" the people in the band. Simple as that.

There are a few cool places to play, but the "promoters" do nothing more than book you and take a cut from the place. While you would think that they have just as vested an interest in bringing people in, they do less than nothing. It is up to you to promote your show and if no one comes, chances are you will simply not be invited back.

Being a good band is irrelivant. If you just played Mary had a Little Lamb with a bucket and a tin horn, but could convince 50 to show, any club in Boston would have you back as many times as you want. I am not kidding.

It what it is. I do it for fun and to justify owning the equipment etc.

Now there are some place outside of Boston that do the cover thing and pay decent etc., but then you are playing 3 sets of other peoples music. yawn. I like doing a cover here and there, but I could do without doing all covers all the time.

[Ben...]

The only bands that get anywhere in my city are "Indie" bands that produce garbage that sells because that's what's popular and on the radio right now.

[VitaminG]

Being a good band is irrelivant. If you just played Mary had a Little Lamb with a bucket and a tin horn, but could convince 50 to show, any club in Boston would have you back as many times as you want. I am not kidding.

:idea: but then you'd be cover band, right?

[thetroy]

That's ok, the most respected musicians amongst the world elite play exclusively covers. You'll never see Perlman playing his own music to a packed hall!

[Strat God]

Hang in there John. We all have those type gig stories. Keep the faith - it's a roll of the dice when you get far away gigs. You guys are good so keep plugging away closer to home and feel good in the fact that you give a professional show whether there is a large crowd or not.

I'd rather play live to a few people than sit home and wood-shed in my bedroom.

[RR05xx]

:idea: but then you'd be cover band, right?

?

[VitaminG]

?

if you were playing Mary Had a Little Lamb on a bucket & tin horn, then you'd be playing a cover. So your issues with getting people to an originals gig would cease to be a problem because you'd now be a cover band.

anyway, it was a throw away line that nobody laughed at and which becomes even lamer with a thorough explanation

[Sinistas]

People don't go to that club because the parking is nonexistent. That's truly the downside to playing in the city - you can actually get LESS people than if you play in say, Cambridge or Allston.

[RR05xx]

if you were playing Mary Had a Little Lamb on a bucket & tin horn, then you'd be playing a cover. So your issues with getting people to an originals gig would cease to be a problem because you'd now be a cover band.

anyway, it was a throw away line that nobody laughed at and which becomes even lamer with a thorough explanation

Ok, got it.

Dont worry, I am sure you wil hit 10K posts soon .

[RR05xx]

People don't go to that club because the parking is nonexistent. That's truly the downside to playing in the city - you can actually get LESS people than if you play in say, Cambridge or Allston.

Actually, that is not true. I have played there a few times in the off (baseball) season and there was plenty of free parking and we had a good turn out (Middle East upstairs size crowd). But we promoted it because we know the scene.

Promotors do stupid things all the time. My band got booked one time at a club on the Cambridge/Sommerville line with what turned out to be death/black metal bands from CT. We are not death metal and i have no idea what the promoter was thinking. However, it was worse for the CT bands who did not know that they would be playing in front of 2-4 people.