[atlantaprog] It's raining on prog-nite...! :-P

OK, no rude comments from the peanut gallery, please! 
;-)  I thought it was a good pun!  (LOL)


Seriously, now...

If we are going to put up an online prog resource as
has been suggested, we should tie it directly in with
our group.  

That said, we really do need then to create an
identity for ourselves.  And really soon!

Rather than give ourselves a collective headache
trying to be too orginial, or straining to cast of the
negative connotations associated with "progressive"
music, we need to find an identity that is both easy
to remember and is rather general, yet also pointing
out our purpose.

As far as an online resource is concerned, it
shouldn't be too hard to put together.  The big
question is who would host it?  Sean Tonar is
associated with Progressive Ears.  Maybe he has an
idea or two.  Sean, who is PE's host...Earthlink,
maybe?

And do we just stick with Metro Atlanta?  What about
the SE region in general?  Get bands from surrounding
states to gig here and vice versa?  For those who were
at RogueFest in July, the Nashville band Trilobyte
Cafe was (IMHO) very different AND good!  Ands they
were funny too!  ;-)   I think they enjoyed the day as
well and I am sure they wouldn't mind playing down
here again, perhaps at one of these "prog-nites" that
we are proposing.

To address the issue of the "older" versus "younger"
prog audience.  So far, what has been proposed caters
to one at the expense of the other.  If we go for a
place that serves alcohol and is a smoking environment
(not to mention late hours), we will alienate the
majority of the "older" audiences.  But, if we opt for
a venue that has none of these things, we then
alienate "younger" and potentially new fans.

Local Atlanta guitar-meister Glenn Phillips has
regular shows at the Red Light Cafe.  What he usually
does are two full shows:  one an earlier, all ages,
non-smoking show (which encourages the older fans with
families to come on down and bring the kids with
them...a "family-oriented/friendly" affair), and then
a later set for the 21-plus crowd (a more traditional
club setting).  I personally like that concept.  The
only real problem with that is that I think it only
reasonably works with one (or maybe two) band(s).  If
we were to do a real "prog-nite", I think we need to
showcase three (3) bands at a time.  OK, at least two
if you want them to have long sets.

I think any "prog-nite" we do should be on a Friday or
even better a Saturday evening.  This will maximize
the possibility of attracting Mr. Jon Doe Prog-Fan who
has a M-F, 9-5 commuting to/from downtown job with a
wife, 2.2 children, pets and a white picket fence in
Alpharetta to sample local prog music.  If the show is
an early enough time, that will allow him to bring the
whole family if he wants to (i.e., no babysitter). 
Maybe if it is early enough (winding down by 11 or
so), then the younger set will get their prog fix for
the night and still have time to hit the bars/clubs
for their usual entertainments.  I found that back in
my partying days in Atlanta (and it wasn't THAT long
ago), that things really didn't get started until that
time anyway.  ;-)

For the sake of logistics, it needs to be at one venue
and not split up for different audiences, though the
venue can be at different locations per event if so
desired (but personally I think we should stick with
one location for continuity's sake).

We make use of the internet to advertise/promote these
events...send emails to folks utilizing the
participating band(s) mainling lists reminding them of
the shows.  Advance notice is the key.  The more
notice a potential audience member has, the more
likely they can make plans around it (arranging
babysitter, errands, etc.)  Have the following month's
lineup set in advance would be good as well, for then
we could announce it and drum it up at the previous
prog-nite in between sets.  If we get any radio spots,
then the DJ can also announce and promote these shows
repeatedly.  Advertising in the Creative Loafing
wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

My guess is that attendance to these "prog-nite" shows
would at first be rather light.  But if we play our
cards right, the size of the audience should get
larger each month.

I would venture to say if all goes well, after about a
year (i.e, a dozen or so "prog-nites") we should have
gotten a good saturation point of local attention to
plan a local festival with at least a semi-known band
headlining.  And give them plenty of advance warning. 
This first festival should be small (one day event,
five to six bands), and besides the headliner, should
have a big regional/out of town band and the rest made
up of local bands.  If we break even on this, we can
expand to two days and more bands (and bigger names
headlining) the next year.  We of course continue the
local "prog-nites".

Oh yeah, continually rotate the roster of the
"prog-nite" bands to ensure everyone gets to "come off
the bench" and play a bit! ;-)  The theory is that the
same two/three bands wouldn't play together at any
other "prog-nite", or at least for quite some time. 
And definately that for the headliner, so that
everyone gets a crack at headlining if they want it.  
Examples:  Month 1 might be Timothy Pure headlining
with Karma Lingo and KTM.  Month 2 could be Brain 21
headlining with Ultima Thule and Natural Tension. 
Month 3 could be Trilobyte Cafe in from Nashville with
Cobweb Strange and Mindworm.  Month 4 could be Z-Axis
headlining with 3d5spd and Agent Cooper.  Month 5
could be Farpoint from SC headlining with Tales From
Utopia (new prog-metalish band up in my neck of the
woods) and Paracelsus (if we have our act together by
then...LOL) And so on and so on.

Don't worry if you have never heard of some of these
bands...I have and I ahve also been talking to people
about joining our little community.

While all this goes on, each band of course can book
their own seperate gigs, individually or with other
local prog bands like we have done previously.  Here,
however, is the prime area to follow up on the
suggestion of "cross-pollinating" with other "artsy"
local bands and their audiences.  Time to scratch each
others' collective backs!

At every "prog-nite", even bands who aren't playing
can promote their music by having a merchandise table
set up with their CDs for sale and stuff.  Even better
if they have a free sampler CD/tape to give away.

That comes to something I suggested at the meeting...
making our presence felt at the other prog festivals. 
If one of us were going to be going to these anyway,
we can purchase a merchant's table and promote SE (and
especially Metro Atlanta) prog music.  You
know...samplers...full-blown CDs for sale...other
merchandise like T-shirts and bumper
stickers...mailing list/website...boombox/CD-Walkman
to preview the material, etc. ...Atlanta
"prog-nites"...and our own festival when that comes
up.

I think that ProgDay, NEARfest and even ProgPower USA
are no-brainers, since many of us have gone to these
repeatedly ourselves (or are close by or even local
like PPUSA).  The more difficult ones would be ones
like ProgWest or even Baja Prog. 

Another thought that sprang up was this:  in the
future, getting our foot in the door with larger
events like the Atlantis Music Conference or even the
smaller stages at Music Midtown.  BIG exposure
potential at these!  Also charity gigs or rallys for
any socio-political organizations that you may support
and/or be part of are also good sources for us to
exploit.  EarthDay comes to mind for me.  I remember a
lot of cool and varied bands playing at the
(FREE!)EarthDay concerts when I was in college...!

Anyway, some brainstorming I have been doing. 
Comments/suggestions/flames are welcome!  ;-)



Bill



=====
William C. Kargel

wkargel@xxxxxxxxx

Visit my homepage at http://www.geocities.com/wkargel

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com

Other related posts: