At 11.26 PM 1/2/97 -0800, you wrote:
>I just recently saw Junk play in Sacramento and there was nobody there
>either, much to my regret. They were pretty bouncing too but hardly anyone
>would get up and dance. I had the feeling that the 4 people that I showed up
>with were the only ones there who came knowing that there would be good
>music. The others I think just showed up to drink in a bar.
Hmm... I'm a bit surprised there's not too much of a crowd, considering
Sac'to is not that horribly far from the Bay Area.
Junk played here in Los Angeles back in June at a club called Hollywood
Moguls, who used to have a regular acid jazz night (The Internationalist -
wassup Charlie?). Anyway, a couple weeks before Junk played there was a
double bill (one of them San Diego's B-Side Players, the other a local
jazz-rap group called Black Eyed Peas) and the place was *PACKED* and
people were groovin alright. Both bands brought their large-sized followings.
When Junk played, the place was a ghost town. I showed up, just like you
mentioned, because I heard about the band.
Generally a wise thing to do with bands playing in a town where they're not
known in is to share the bill with a popular band (or DJ) so they already
have a built-in crowd and get to do what they're supposed to be doing -
playing to new ears.
I just happen to know the bands are playing
>because I seek them out and I have good internet access, and then I drag a
>few friends with me to shows. Most people depend on more traditional forms
>of info gathering though.
> In my few trips to San Francisco area, and Santa Cruz, I must say that
>the audiences there were always very receptive and energetic. Those
>neighborhoods seem to have the ball rolling in that respect.
Well, San Francisco already has a well-connected and well-established scene
that probably surpasses the scenes in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago
_combined_ , and it probably second in the world only to London's. I'm not
familliar with Santa Cruz's scene (I've been there but never been to the
clubs), but I can only guess that it's generally a college town
that's relatively close to The Bay Area (But hmmm.... so is Davis...) My
only guess is that the UCSC's campus radio station has a popular show or
two that plays our kinda music.
I'm sure people with nascent or still-developing Acid Jazz scenes are
reading this with some degree of interest. Obviously we're blessed to have
this internet mailing list medium to spread the word, but obviously not
everyone has access to it.
So below, I've provided a "checklist" for mediums of promotion and
publicity for an acid jazz (or any kind of music really) scene, which is
open for discussion or additions. See if we all have our bases covered.
Hopefully we can all learn from this and watch our scenes grow!
MEDIUMS OF PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY
(forgive me if this sounds like stuff from a textbook...you will be quizzed
at the end of the period. :))
I VISUAL
1. Print Media
a. Newspaper/Magazine ads
- Self or Promoter-Sponsored Ads
- Club ads
b. Newspaper/Magazine Articles
- Concert reviews
- Interviews/Features
- Club listings
c. Band newsletter/mailers
2. Other Printed Media
a. Flyers
- Self or Promoter-Sponsored flyers
- Club flyers
b. Posters/Postbills
c. Stickers
3. Television
II. AURAL
1. Club/DJ Play
2. Radio Airplay
3. Word-of-Mouth
III. OTHER
1. Internet
a. Mailing Lists
b. World Wide Web
c. Newsgroups
Elson
>P.S. if anyone comes through my neighborhood (Sac/Davis) let me know and
>maybe I can help with that.
Go for it!
Elson
-30-
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Elson Trinidad
Los Angeles, CA, USA
elson@westworld.com * http://www.westworld.com/~elson
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