Advice to Bands - Fairs, Festivals and Ribfests

Just finished playing at and doing the sound for a local service organization rib fest.  A couple of observations that may be of some value to bands...

First of all a few points.  Unless you are a headliner that attracts tens of thousands of attendees, you are a basically a filler.  The ten to maybe 50 people you brought don't even amount to 1% of the crowd attendance.  You should thank your lucky stars to even be picked to play at such an event and get paid!  It is not the festival or rib fest.  It is the festival.  It is all about the service organization or community or promoter.  They are there to raise funds.  They raise funds by revenue by whatever they sell... Tickets... Beer... Ribs... What ever.  You are an expense.... An overhead. 

Here are some do's...

1. Have a video of a live performance online for talent buyers to see.  Not a music video.  Talent buyers want to see what you look like on stage.
2. Really consider whatever money they offering.  Most have budgets that they have to stick to.  Any money is good money.  It is better then not playing.  Having to travel far distances is totally different.  Being an unknown you should probably expect not to be offered to much money, unless you have a unique act, this includes travel money.
3. If you are hired, promote being at the event as much as you can promoting the organization/community/promoter that has hired you.
4. Show up an hour ahead of the time from when you are supposed to start,
5. Make sure you greet organizers and thank them for the opportunity.  Also great anyone you know... People in the crowd... Other bands... Stage and sound crew... Etc
6. Get on stage and ready to go as quickly as possible.  Most of these events want as much live music they can get as quick as they can get it.  If you take to long to start, you might not get invited back.
7. When you are done playing, get off the stage as quick as you can so the next band can get ready.
8. Have business cards.. CD... Banners... Swag... What ever you have.  Our band has always gotten more gigs, gained fans, and had more internet radio plays after we have played such an event.
9. After you are finished playing be sure to thank organizers again and say you hope they will will have you back next year.
10. Hang around after you play to watch other bands and greet more people.

Here are some don'ts...

1. If a back line is supplied, do not insist on using your own drum kit.  Doing this slows the flow of bands down and will get you not invited back.
2. Don't be a diva.. Don't insist on having everything  perfect.  This is reserved for big name acts.  Play the best you can under the conditions you have.
3. Do not allow any fan, manager, what ever to go over and tell the sound engineer their job.  The event liked that person or persons enough to have them do the sound, so respect that.
4. Do not complain if you to start early, late, get interrupted, or have your performance cut short.  The event has a good reason and its about them... Not you.
5. Do not complain or bad mouth the organizers or event over the microphone.
6. Do not send an email after the event complaining about some thing.

The above are sure ways not to get invited back.  Also, service organizations, communities, or promoters communicate.  If you are deemed to be a diva or trouble making band, that will spread amongst talent buyers and you will soon find it hard to get a gig... No matter how talented you may be.

Based on what I observed during this event, there are at least two bands that will probably not be invited back.  Thankfully, there are a good number that probably will be invited back.

Shameless promotion time... Visit our websites at...

www.lorrainedavies.com

www.toodrunktofishband.com

www.themacsmusic.net

Take care...

Rob

They Should Be Called Stupid Traps...

They should be called 'Stupid Traps,' not 'Speed Traps!"

I have been driving the highways a lot this weekend and saw something again  that I have seen so many times before done by other drivers. When people driving and speeding see a police cruiser over at the side of the road with their lights flashing and a vehicle pulled over, they hit their brakes and slow down.  Why?  If it is a speed trap and they are speeding, then they have already been hit by the radar and if there is police available to pull them over, they will.  Quickly slowing down is not going to help a bit.  If there is just the one cruiser there, they are busy with the person they currently have pulled over and are not likely to leave them to chase after another vehicle, especially when they are not operating their radar device.

All the driver of the vehicle is going to accomplish is losing control of their vehicle, or, causing the vehicle behind them to run into them.  So don't do it!  It would be best if you don't speed, but if you do, don't make matters worse by hitting your breaks! If you do, you have just been caught in a stupid trap!

R.

I Am A Visible Minority

That's right... I said it... I am a visible minority... For those that know me or have seen my picture you may wonder why I would make such a statement.  For those that do and don't know me... read on...

I am a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Straight Happy Healthy Sane Monogamous Canadian Born Male...  You can't get much of a bigger minority then that.

There are no special schools... grants... loans... mortgages... help... opportunities... government or corporate hiring guidelines or assistance... new to the country assistance... front of the line immigration rules  for me... I miss them all.  Anything I get... I have to work harder then anybody else out there to get them.  If I complain... I get called racist... or politically incorrect... or something like that.  I none of those... Well... I'm not racist(that's another blog)... but I am somewhat politically incorrect.  Being politically correct means not fighting for your beliefs... speaking your mind.. or trying to right wrongs... and that is definitely not me.  Actually... I am totally politically incorrect.

Also...  I can now add being over 50 years old to the list....  another nail and the coffin of help and opportunity.

Oh sure... there are others like me...  They just trek on and shake their head at what their government are doing, and, what others are let being done.

The only way this country of ours is going to be saved is if this group, and we will add females to it, will get together and form their own political party to challenge the current ones.  The current major political parties are watered down and have sold their souls to anyone that would give them a vote.  Our heritage and our freedoms of what we once had are gone.  The only we we are going to get them back, if we even can, is to fight for them... speak our minds.. get others involved.. and become politically incorrect.  Otherwise, we might as well join the Apathy Party of Canada(www.apathycanada.ca)  

So how about it... you in?  Other minorities welcome... 

For now though... next time you are filling in a job application and they have a check box that asks if you are a visible minority... check it.

Talk soon... R.

Alright Boys.... Feel Like A Woman... Then You Can Use the Girls Washroom!

There was a recent article in the Toronto Sun that tells of how the Toronto District School Board has passed a guideline that transgendered students can use whatever washroom they feel comfortable with.  So.... if you are a male, but feel like a female, then by all means use the female washroom.  No proof is needed... no doctor's note... nothing... just what you feel.  This is so these transgendered kids don't feel uncomfortable using the washroom for the gender they were born as.

Unbelieveable!  What about the students that still feel comfortable with the gender they were born as?  What about their rights?  Now they have to put up with males and in the female washrooms, and, females in the males washroom!  How comfortable are they going to feel.

The fact that there is no proof needed that you are a transgendered person, you can just imagine what is going to happen.  The comments on the Sun's web site already said it.  Statements that people wish this rule was around when they were in school are plentiful.  One guy stated he would have said anything to get into the girls bathroom.  Guess what... he probably was and is not alone.  I imagine there is a lot of males, and probably a few females, that are going to take advantage of this guideline, even though they are not transgendered.

The guideline also states that single bathrooms should be made available for students, should they not want to go into a multi-stall environment.  This would be the only move I could see that is viable and would work for all.

Again, powers that be take away the rights of one, to give to another.  When will we learn and stop this.  Any new rights should not be given to anyone if they take away existing rights from others.  Now kids that are not transgendered have a lot less privacy, choices, and rights, then they did before, thanks to the Provincial Government and the Toronto District School Board.

One other thing - the guidelines are the same for teachers at the Toronto District School Board.  Since teachers are allowed in student washrooms, you are looking at a whole other level of issues about safety and privacy for our children.  How many parents that have a daughter would want a male teacher that thinks he is woman, to share the washroom with their daughter.  Also, as mentioned by one commenter on the Sun web site, fears of pedophiles just got a whole lot bigger...

R.

Bicycle Path of Disaster in Ajax, Ontario

I used to live in Ajax, Ontario up to about a year ago.  While there for some 20 years, I worked for the Town and also tried to get into politics.  In recent years bicycle paths were a contentious item.  The mayor and majority of his council wanted them, so they got them.  Residents that I talked to mostly didn't care or hated them.  There were those, mostly seniors, who did not like sharing the sidewalk with bicycle.

Recently I drove through Ajax and noticed a few things.  First, the city limit signs now say a "Bicycle Friendly Community" as well as mentioning a "Share the Road" organization.  I also noticed new painting of the paths.  If I were a parent of a child who rides a bike, or bicycllst, in the area I would be concerned.  Traditionally bicycle paths have been at the edge of the road with a line drawn from the curb, stating where the bikes should travel.  There was also at times a graphic with chevrons and a bike showing which way to go.

These new marking are frequently in the middle of the two road directions or in the middle of one direction!  Also, where the old paths looked like enough room for one bike, so you had to ride in a single file(which I believe is provincial law), now there are no lines!  Just a graphic that is wide enough for 3 or 4 bikes to ride beside each other.  With these new graphics and position, it's the bikes that aren't sharing the road and vehicle drivers are getting a lot less room to move around.  So theortically, young bikers may be inclined to ride beside each other while they are riding in the middle of roadways or farther out from the curb.  This is a recipe for disaster.  It will only take a split second for a collision when a driver and/or bike rider aren't paying attention.  Mark my words... accidents will happen... if they already haven't.

If you are going to spend the residents tax money on bike paths or lanes, what's wrong with sharing the sidewalk?  Widen them a bit if you have to.  Then, put a line dividing the sidewalk to let bikers now where they should go.  Wouldn't seem a lot safer?  Pedestrian and bike collisions would be a lot less tramatic then vehicle and bike collisions.  Not that anyone wants them to happen, but, mistakes do happen.

If I was running for council anywhere... and I am not... I would make "Share the Sidewalk" one of my campaign items.  "Share the Sidewalk" may save lives.

Rob MacArthur
www.robmac.org