In which the author vents his rage at those who have made answering the telephone
(without screening) an activity which he can no longer safely indulge! Those other
99% of
you who have made Beanbender's so worthwhile should
return immediately
to Beanbender's main page!
``Why Hasn't My Band Been Booked at Beanbender's?''
This document addresses the question
of: ``Why hasn't my band been booked to play at Beanbender's?''
Also addressed are related questions, such as: ``Have you listened to my
tape yet?'' and the ever-popular: ``What do you think of my tape?''
that most baneful interrogative, often stated as an order:
``Call me back and tell me what you think.''
One of the things about booking a concert series is that you
have to listen to a lot of music, and, if you're like me,
you like to have variety in what you hear. I found that I really
appreciated the musicians who took care to do fairly different
things each time through - I've had a couple discussions with
Damon among others about "Why don't you book X more often?"
and the answer is: Although X's music is "free improvisation,"
each performance is so much like the last that I don't really
feel like hearing them again for a while. I don't think that
X's "free" is really free: it's the same bunch of gestures
and sounds each time they play.
I really appreciate Matt's demand that people send him interesting
and ambitious proposals! Why not?
I'm not a purist - whatever is most expressive of the most
outlandish imaginary landscape/drama is fine with me -
I don't understand why anyone would want to limit themselves to one
genre or one single method or even one definition of music. There are
so many interesting possibilities out there. That's freedom.
The first rule of booking a concert series is: You don't HAVE
to call anyone back. There are already so many headaches associated with
putting on weekly concerts that no one in their right mind would agree to
additionally call everyone back who they're not booking right away.
Calling people back is ``nice,'' yes. But it's also totally crazy.
That said, let's get to the issue at hand: why you're not playing in front
of maybe 20 paying customers next Sunday night.
Possible Reasons for Non-Bookage
- We actually like your music but haven't gotten around to you yet. We do
keep a list, and we hope to squeeze you in soon.
(No, it doesn't help for you to call me at home every week!)
- We actually like your music but you've played our series recently, and
we're trying to squeeze in more new folks.
- Your music does not fit our requirements. Our requirements are for
so-called "Creative Music." If you are unfamiliar with this term, chances are
that your music is not what we're looking for.
- You're an accomplished player, but you always do the same thing. We'd
love to have you if you would only come up with something new in terms of
composition, improvisational strategy, orchestration, etc.
Come up with some grand idea: do an opera, work with dancers, work with
artists, put a big ensemble together, maybe even a marching band. Put your
ideas in writing. We never get written proposals more complicated than, "My
band plays at your space." Real proposals would be quite welcome!
- You're already playing lots of music at bigger venues. Beanbender's is
not just another gig. This isn't about "gigging around town."
- Although your music is more-or-less in the right genre, you seem intent
on imitating what others are doing, or did, and we can't detect much original
content.
- You sent us a beautifully packaged CD of yourself playing standards, and
a note attached that said, "This is my inside stuff, but I play outside too!"
So - let's hear it! Making a cassette of a rehearsal isn't asking too much, is it?
You do rehearse, right?
- We've been around since March 1, 1995, but you've never come to a concert.
Given that you're into the music we book, we find this odd, and we are
inclined to wait until we see some evidence that you understand that music is
a communal activity and that you have to go to a few shows, meet some people,
and maybe even get involved in helping out in some small way.
- No, we don't believe that it is our "duty" to book you and your friends.
- No, we're not actually threatened by how good you and your friends are!
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