[NewMusic] Booking / 'Usual Suspects'

[Phillip Greenlief]

PG:
I think if you're conscious of the issues you've stated below, that's a
good start. And given that you've sent invites to other communities is
also a good thing. It wouldn't hurt to keep trying. It also helps to go
to shows in other places and make contacts that way. It's way beyond
weird how things have always been factioned in the bay area - even when
people are clearly working against that behavior.

I have often played with bands on bills in LA and other places and have
given people my card and said, "let me know if I can help book a show
for you in the bay area..." I don't remember the last time someone took
me up on that. I did a duo with GE Stinson and duo b was also on the
bill last week in LA - we heard a really fun rock band called The Mad
Gregs down there, and invited them to come up and do something
sometime...again, I doubt if I'll hear from them. 

Onward,
PG


----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Matt Davignon
Subject: [NewMusic] Booking / 'Usual Suspects'

Ah, that touches on what I couldn't quite put into words the other day
when you asked what we'd like to see more of in this scene. Rent and I
have both been trying to increase the breadth of our programming at
the Luggage Store series. Stylistically I feel we've had some success.
When I started, electronic oriented music was mostly pushed to the
once-a-month "Detritus.net" night.

But the thing I'd most like to improve is that to me it feels like our
venue represents this list more than local experimental music as a
whole. I've tried to invite people from different communities. I spent
a good year sending unrequited invitation emails to the Jewelled
Antler folks. We've tried to recruit guest curators from the ATA
scene, Recombinant Media Labs, Noise Pancakes, Aaron Ximm from 964
Natoma, etc. So far we've had one great show curated by David Lim,
another curated by Alex Yeung, and Suki has been doing a monthly
audio/video series that we hope might return. Frankly I'd be very
thrilled to get someone in who knows their way around the whole
BrutalSFX crowd.

I have to admit I've realized that I've fallen into my own set of
'usual suspects' in booking. It's a strange thing to happen when it's
the very thing you're trying to avoid. We want to continue booking
things we don't already know about. Unknown musicians have
occasionally brought great shows, and sometimes brought awful ones.

Argh... thinking out loud again.