OFF: US Gong '96 tour

[Keith A Henderson]

Hi Folks:

Here's some more info on the upcoming Gong tour of the US for those of us that
are interested.  Funny, they seem to be in a similar situation concerning
venues, etc. that was such a big deal on the Spirit of the Age tour.

Anyway, here it is FYI..........

>From veman at ix.netcom.com Wed Jan 17 12:11:42 CST 1996
Article: 13568 of alt.psychoactives
From: veman at ix.netcom.com(Victor Manning )
Newsgroups: alt.music.planet-gong,alt.music.psychedelic,alt.music.progressive,
alt.psychoactives,alt.gathering.rainbow,alt.extropians,alt.conciousness,
alt.discordia,rec.music.phish,rec.music.gdead,alt.music.todd-rundgren
Subject: Gong Tour USA in 1996
Date: 16 Jan 1996 11:45:53 GMT
Organization: Netcom
Lines: 78
Message-ID: <4dg35h$7ir at ixnews7.ix.netcom.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: ix-sj24-06.ix.netcom.com
X-NETCOM-Date: Tue Jan 16  3:45:53 AM PST 1996

OK this is what's up...

The 'Birthday Party' band (Daevid Allen, Gilli Smythe, Didier Malherbe,
Tim Blake, Pip Pyle, and Steffi Sharpstrings) is gearing up for a US
tour run in March of 1996.

Believe it.

Dates are currently being booked nationwide, although, as we all know,
Gong is not exactly a household name.

As one of several veteran producers of the Twelve Selves tour in 1991,
I know from experience that getting the word out about a Gong-related
show can be difficult (I wasn't anywhere near the Net in 1991). This
can seriously jeapordize the prospects of generating enough revenues to
properly present the artist, as well as be able to pay all the costs incurred.

This time we got the real deal. The stakes are a little higher. No
hole-in-the wall impromptu theaters (ok... I admit mine was probably
the worst).

Convincing booking agents, and managers of quality venues (holding from
500 - 1000 people; or more depending on the city) to book a band
they've never heard of, that caters to a fringe market, and has never
toured America, is challenging at best.

Some of us are willing to try. The problem is its hard to estimate how
many people in a given community, if they know about the show, will
actually come out to see it (preferably even buying ADVANCED tickets
(hint)). We need to have some sense of numbers in order to approach these
venues at all.

If YOU happen to be one of those people- we want to know about YOU,
where are YOU?, how many others do YOU know?, Would YOU like to see
Gong Live in 1996? Let us know, then tell EVERYONE else YOU know that
the possibility is looming.

Many Gong-fans may not yet be on-line, and therefore will never read
this message, so get the word out thru your own channels. Call those
friends you haven't seen in years- tell them to pass the word along.

NOW IS THE TIME TO COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK !!

Let us know that you're out there. We want to be able to convince those
hard-working club owners and managers that this show is worth their
time and energy to make happen.

Don't Dither, DO IT
Do not wait for a Gong concert to just fall from the other side of the
sky into your town. We must combine our energies and manifest it
together. Think of it as YOUR show, then let us know you're there, and
that this is as important to you as it is to us.

YOU is we is Gong is ONE is Gong is we is YOU.   YOU do your part, then
we can do our part, and then they will do their part, and we'll all see
each other at the show.

It s a beautiful dream. Let's make it come true.

Nationwide- write us at sahearn777 at aol.com.
San Francisco Bay Area fans can write to veman at ix.netcom.com

Currently, we are only surveying the potential audience size in a given
community. However we will keep a temporary mailing list so we can let
you know the Tour Schedule when it manifests.

If you are interested in helping produce a show in your area, contact
Sean Ahearn at 310-987-1723

The Gong Band, it's enough!!!!

                                VeMan