OFF: Concerts, hmmm.

[Mark Lee]

Gotta say this is so true, even I admit to being guilty on occasion
of suffering from the same 'virus'.  I used to go to gigs regularly
in my younger days and found some really excellent groups that way.
Bands like ours (Dr Hasbeen) and Spacehead amongst others suffer from
the fact that we don't play mainstream music, which appears to what
99.9% of venues want, even when we play a 'rock' oriented venue we
still get asked the same question, "do ya do any other covers mate".
Without sufficient funds to promote ourselves in the way that some
of the mediocre mainstream stuff is pushed at us it's a case of doing
what we can, when we can afford it, even people like Alan must suffer
when they travel 200+ miles to do a gig and find 20-30 people there.
It don't even pay the petrol...

I can't think of a way to change the system for the better, if I could
then we'd all be megastars now !  We do it because we enjoy it, and
if on occasion we make a couple of beers out of it, whoopeee.

My only hope is that some of the people on this list like Mr Dibs
continue to make the efforts they do to keep us fed with the musical
food we enjoy, the BADAMS of this world are few and far between.

One day The Hawk will cease in it's current incarnation, it seems that
due in part to the virus mentioned there is little chance of a 'live'
band taking on the mantle, any band. We'll probably end up cocooned
in our little virtual world having to be satisfied with studio only
stuff, sad but most likely true.

Anyway, I feel better now that I got that off my chest, back to
the grindstone...

Mark (Hasbeen)

-------Original Message--------

Date:    Wed, 13 Jun 2001 21:51:20 +0100
From:    ANDREW GARIBALDI <andygee at DIAL.PIPEX.COM>
Subject: Re: OFF: Concert Attendance

[snip]

On the space-rock front, Alan Davey's gigs are getting better attended but
the average audience is rarely into three figures, low even for some of the
small venues played, while Spacehead and Dr Hasbeen havea similar situation.
Yet Hawkwind still do it wherever they go, obviously the known name that
people put themselves out for.
The theory runs that those of a 'certain age' or income bracket are either
jaundiced of all the small conceerts and only go to big ones - or if they
have to travel distance to the gigs,then the expensive peripherals make it
all too much  - and so on.
So, are the up and coming bands, even the known ones, doomed to play to such
small audiences and is there no way of redressing this situation?
Just a thought for all...........
Andy Garibaldi