Staying live

This post is long overdue, my apologies. I haven't felt very motivated lately. Today after a Facebook chat with my boyfriend, Chris, he said I should definitely give blogging a real go and even write for a career, so I decided to post something. That was probably the best compliment I have ever had.

A while ago I saw someone post on Facebook how sad it is that so many venues can not afford to run their live music night anymore because there's no audience, and then urging people to support live music and going to their local venue - who knows what they'll find! I then proceeded to bounce ideas off of my fellow university students of the same major. This post is a collection of thoughts and ideas inspired by our chat. I also consulted Chris and as biased as I may be, he is a very wise individual and an enthusiastic musician who has to deal with the problems of gigging regularly with his band. (check 'em out!)

Fair enough, you might stumble upon something great - your future favourite band ever - one night at the rock bar on the corner of your neighbourhood. But the chances that you'll instead be bombarded by an endless supply of mediocre "I've heard this a billion times" delivered to you by a group of bored indie boys who are so above playing that gig to a mere handful of people are far more probable than hearing something actually engaging AND of decent quality. Sounds cynical and pessimistic but that's what the live music scene here does to you; puts you off live music.

I'm playing the devil's advocate here as I have quite honestly been put off by going to live music nights because of the sheer amount of horrible that enters my ears and the awkwardness that goes on on the stage. I do not want to listen to or watch that. And I definitely don't want to spend my money on that. I'll go see a band I already know and like but I will stay well away from live music venues if I don't recognise any of the names on the poster. It's not that I don't want to support live music. It's just that the majority of live music out there doesn't deserve my support.

Is there a reason that people aren't interested anymore? Are there too many mediocre bands putting on mediocre shows that don't excite people and that's why they don't have an audience in the first place? Shouldn't it also be the venue's responsibility to book interesting bands and offer good quality entertainment and not just the audience's duty to support the utterly boring and technically challenged musician wannabes who are trying to "make it"?

Also, I've noticed that as getting gigs has gotten easier to do on your own, lot of bands go out there and play way before they're ready, way before they're "good enough". And if the bands themselves don't care too much about being worth people's money then why should people support that? Chris agrees: "It almost is too easy to form a band and do some gigs, thus lowering the general quality of unsigned music."

Fellow students said: "I can't stand listening to a bad band. I'll rather choose another bar of my liking."

"I think that bands should make sure they are ready to try their wings before they hit the stages, and if the venues held some kind of quality standards the band could maybe realize that they are not ready if they are constantly rejected and go and practice some more."

I think what it ultimately boils down to is that the responsibility of paying to see bands shouldn't solely lie on the shoulders of the audience. It should also be the promoters' responsibility to offer something worth paying for.

The bands that are worth it are still "making it". Local bands, if good enough, have a local following and are known by everyone in their community and draw an audience in that area. But only if they're good enough to draw people's interest. That's where it all starts. No bond or sense of community will be strong enough to pull the weight of a shit band. If a band one day wakes up to the reality that they don't have any fans and no one goes to their gigs, it isn't the audience's fault. They're just not likeable.

"It's then a challenge for the better bands to find a way to stand out and not get lost in the mess of crap bands. There's no excuse for that if they're really that good." - Chris, 2012

It's a jungle out there. There's no arguing that things were easier when musicians could concentrate on playing music and writing songs and the business side was taken care of by business professionals. Now bands need to do their own PR, social media, gig bookings, branding, and quite often also recording and mixing. All in addition to the musician-y stuff that comes with the gig. There was also an unspoken promise that bands that get booked to play a gig are at least of decent quality and have a backing from the industry. Such promises are now far gone and the collection of clueless are taking over the stages. People aren't interested because they're not being offered anything interesting.