Musician Feedback

[Amelia Blake]

Hey folks,

I had lunch with Kelly at the Tourist Bureau yesterday, and he acknowledged that the city has not done enough to promote its music.  Not being a musician, he felt he didn't really know what it was musicians wanted to happen here.   I don't know if any of you attended the town hall meeting with Mayor Glover last month, but one of the things touched on there were that musicians wanted to be able to play on the street.

I'm not a street musician, but for those of you who might be interested in that - where would you propose to set up, what kind of music would you play, and how often?  If you're either from or have been to a city where they are successfully promoting local music, what do you see that's different?  Would you suggest having to get a permit to play, or how would you regulate how many musicians were out each day/evening and how far apart they set up?  The Boardwalk was one proposed area, as well as outside the Blind Tiger.  Where else do you think would be a good place for musicians to be out?

What ideas, if any, do you have that could help the tourism office promote local music? 

Keep in mind that the tourist bureau is not the mayor's office, but they do work with them.  They do have a budget and it was indicated they might even be able to pay musicians to play in the Red River District, for example, during lunch hours, holidays, etc.  That area is a ghost town and Kelly was thinking that if there were an artists' presence, it might spur more people to frequent the area and help attract tenants to the empty buildings.


At the mayor's town hall meeting, some musicians indicated they felt they were unable to "get their music out there" in this town.  Any suggestions at all, pertaining to music, the arts and how to put a face on the Shreveport Music Scene?

Any feedback is appreciated.  I don't get out as much as I used to.  I plan to talk to Dan at Tipitina's about the same thing, and see if we can get some kind of informal survey from the folks who pass through his doors, too.

Thanks!   

[Doc]

Thanks for this post, Amelia. 

WT is trying franctically to get a real Internet radio station up and running, all we lack is a little cash (a very little, say $500) to get it rolling.
The idea, is that Radio Free WT would be BMI/ASCAP licensed, and anyone who's in our rotation (all original local music is welcome) would theoretically collect royalties on their performances.

I like the idea of street musicians in the RRD, it would definitely help livent he place up a bit, but there's also got to be tenants (destinations) there too, so hopefully it's not a chicken-and-egg dilemma.

I know we got a smart and savvy bunch o' Ticklers here  - - what do you folks think??   

[Amelia Blake]

Anybody?...Anybody?

Don't be shy!  It's just an exchange of ideas, that's all...

[Cracka]

support from local radio...local radio is too political based on advertising dollars...local venue here the warehouse has brought in some killer acts...we have been fortunate enough to share the stage with people like LA Guns, Adema, Black Stone Cherry, Egypt Central, Midnight to Twelve...and most aren't played on local radio...now they are played on the satellite radios like Sirius and XM but how many people in this town have that??? bringing in these midlevel/larger acts and having local bands opening up for them creates huge exposure for the local band as well as exposure for the mid-level act that is passing through town...no local radio support, hell spin a song a time or two...not like it needs to be in heavy rotation...i'll give skinny on 99x some props though he really does push hard for us local boys

[Tom]

I agree with Colin, It makes sense to me that if a national act is coming to town that are in rotation on XM and Sirius. Why not spin there song a time or two the week before the show. The warehouse spends advertising dollars to promote the shows on the radio but like Colin said a lot of folks don't have XM or Sirius so they don't really know the bands or the songs that they play. I think that would help to draw bigger crowds to the venues.  It is unfortunate that several of the clubs that supported live local Original music have gone away like Flanagan's, Sharpies, Diver Down.  There are many avenues to get your music out there. 98 rocks is doing the left of center gigs on Sundays at The Eldorado, 99x has Homegrown on Sunday eve.  There are many on line site that you can use to promote you music. We use the hell out of Myspace, I recommend Dirtbagmusic.com. There site is geared towards getting your music heard and fan interaction. Reflectionsburn is one of 2 non signed acts that they feature. We also picked up a clothing endorsement with them along with some other really cool stuff. They are also the ones that got us into rotation on XM radio. It takes alot of hard work and long hours pounding away on the computer to get music out there. Personally I would like to see a Festival here that Promotes Local Original music of all kinds. We are a little on the heavy side for the Revel or Mudbugg madness. Why not have a weekend festival with Original music and merch booths for the bands that are playing and even allow bands that are not playing to have merch booths so that they too can get the word out. We Have this badass Festival plaza that gets used a few times a year that I am sure each and everyone of us has payed for with our tax dollars. Just my 2 cents.

[Amelia Blake]

I like the idea of a festival that features original music.  I am just hoping to get to use the riverfront more, not just Festival Plaza.  Or maybe every weekend (or some weekends) there could be artists, musicians and food booths set up along the riverfront or the plaza.  I don't think you can get people to come out and listen unless they have something to do besides listen to music they're not familiar with.  So maybe like a scaled-down Revel, featuring only original music?  The Farmer's Market was pretty cool and did have music featured each time, so that's a step in the right direction, but it's seasonal.  It would be nice to get some steady work out of playing for tourists, too.  I know it sounds cheesy, and of course it has to be somewhat family-friendly.  Inside venues are probably the best place for the heavier music, maybe?

The idea is to make the arts/music very visible here, so that when a visitor comes to town they have no trouble finding us.  Working on our own careers has to be top priority, I realize (I do the internet promotion thing too) but putting a face to the music scene here is a must.

I've been communicating with Dan Garner of Tipitina's and we're talking about another musicians' forum, this time on Saturday, Oct. 4th - around 3?  Not sure where it will take place, but all are welcome.  We're talking mostly about visibility in this town - what are some restraints you think are getting in the way of getting your stuff "out there?"   Have you come across potential venues who are reluctant to book live music - what are their reasons?

[Amelia Blake]

Okay, so now there is a musicians' forum planned to happen at Tipitina's on Saturday, Oct 4th @ 3 p.m.  It'll only be as good as the people who attend.  Let's get some more ideas flowing.

Thanks,
Amelia 

[Cracka]

i tell you what was fun as hell...when i helped Tanya Shelton with Freedom Fest or whatever it was called in July 4th downtown in the district area under bridge...bands all day alternated original music and cover music...at that time we were still pretty new and were an all cover band...but its always fun to play for 700 or so people...i forget how they did it, i think sold tickets for raffle prizes or something...yea that is what it was they sold raffle tix because they couldnt charge a cover....some sort of octoberfest would be cool there...i mean hell the businesses could chip in...restaurants are usually willing to donate 10% for a cause or something...heck if its being promoted like hell and people are there they will be selling food/booze so 10% is a cakewalk for that

[Doc]

I remember that show, Paige and I volunteered for that one too. Those shows were a lot of fun, but what made them possible was that private people had bags of money they could throw at this kind of show, in the hopes that they made their money back eventually. I don't know if they did or not, but we simply don't have that luxury. We're a very poor family living hand-to-mouth, and WT has never been a money-making venture.

We threw one decent-sized show at Harlequin Alley last year (10 bands, 10 hours, 2 stages), and would LOVE to throw such a show again, especially under the bridge, and we've discuss that idea many times right here in this forum. Usually we get a few "Yeah! that'd be great"s, but when it comes right down to people to play, or volunteer, or just help coordinate the thing, we get crickets.

We would do this kind of show, as soon as we had any indication that we wouldn't be doing it alone, but judging by the response we got to Burtonfest Jam (0), the promo packs we got in the mail for it (1), and the posting and contribution level here lately, I'm not very hopeful.

People talk alot. Most times they do somewhat less.

I know this may be a little abrasive to some folks, but it's the truth, and most people know it.
The way I see it, if the truth hurts, make something else true.

Go ahead, prove me wrong! I dare ya.     

Anybody wanna throw a big show under the bridge? Ya'll know - we've always been game! 

[Amelia Blake]

Doc I don't think you're being abrasive - just realistic.  When Donna and Mike McClellan were around everyone had all kinds of ideas that they should put their money into, but few were willing to help take on the risk.  Most musicians are broke (myself included) so I understand that - just hoping we can get some creative ideas flowing to make this place more the music center it should be. 

I hope people will come to Tipitina's to give their two cents' worth.  A lot of people showed up for the mayor's town hall meeting with musicians, but there weren't any real clear goals that came out of it.  (not that Brady Blade and the mayor wouldn't be open for more dialogue)

Big shows are great, but what about an ongoing thing?  What about arts & music every weekend, with a rotating lineup?  The tourist bureau can help, I think (can't speak for them), if they have something concrete to work with.  I still would be interested to know if there are any potential venues out there (restaurants, shops) who are reluctant to book music for any reason?  Are there licenses or permits that stand in the way?  Just wondering. 

Hope to see a nice group of talkative musicians/artists at Tipitina's.

[Amelia Blake]

Just as a reminder, the meeting at Tipitina's is still going to happen tomorrow (Saturday) Oct. 4th at 3 p.m.  I've got a meeting with Brady Blade from the mayor's office on Tuesday, so if there are questions or concerns maybe I can pass it along to him.  Of course, anyone is free to meet with him on their own, too!

Please pass the word along and hope to see a few faces there.

Amelia

[Amelia Blake]

This meeting was cancelled due to lack of response. I'm still meeting with Brady, though, so if you have any ideas or concerns, e mail me privately.

Thanks,
Amelia

[Doc]

Well, damn. I was hoping to at least be there, even if I didn't have much to contribute. This was the first meeting of it's kind I'd heard about -before- it happened.
Thanks for keeping us posted, Amelia.

[Amelia Blake]

Well Doc, like I said, I'm still meeting with Brady on Tuesday, so if there's anything you want to bring up - or even if you want to be there - just let me know.  Or if you want to plan another meeting, we can do that, too.  I have a gig tonight so when I had NO confirmation that anyone would be there besides me and Dan, I decided to forego it.  I would love to hear ideas from you, Paige, and anyone else to try to rev up the live music scene here.  If the city could make this a more venue-friendly town perhaps more places would offer live music.  I heard from my nephew in Austin and he said the city is very supportive and pretty lax about music - you just have to get a noise variance after 10 p.m.  Of course their motto is "Keep Austin weird" and somehow I can't see Shreveporters going for that.  Who knows?

Anything that would make music and the arts more visible would be wonderful.  Thanks for all you do!

Amelia

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