[atlantaprog] Thanks! And an update...

Hi all,

Thanks for those of you who came out to the show last night. In spite of myriad obstacles, it proved to be one of the more successful ARIA showcase nights! A great crowd (with lots of non-ARIA folks) and a great set from Sundog made it easy for us in Z-Axis to get up there and do our best too. We tried a few different things last night - including more ambient stuff and a few things we haven't played in a long time. We also threw in cover of the Brubeck standard Take Five, which gave all four of us a chance to stretch out a bit!

Whither the showcase you may ask? Matthew has stepped down from organizing the monthly series due to an overwhelming schedule, and has turned it over to me. I've talked briefly with Curtis at 9-Lives. He definitely wants to continue hosting the event, starting in August. He even said we could probably have a weekend night. I want to have a meeting with him, and perhaps others in the 9-lives structure, and pin them down to at least three months worth of dates (hopefully I can get it in writing!) so I can do some *real* planning. In fact, if I can't get this from them, then I'll probably throw in the towel myself, since I have no desire to put up with the kind of BS Matthew had to endure with 9-Lives (and CJs) to pull this off (you're a more patient man than me, Matthew. Thanks again for all your work and sacrifice!)

Assuming the showcase continues, there will have to be a few changes. First off, there are not many bands left in the rotation! Paines Promise, MOF and Solution Science are on hiatus from live performances (hopefully not for long). That just leaves Lord Only, Z-Axis, Karma Lingo, Sundog and Noise.com!!! I've got some ideas for keeping it going, such as actively recruiting non-ARIA bands (for one show, then having them start coming to the shows if they want to stay in the line-up), also bringing in regional bands - Farpoint, Wheatstone Bridge, Smoking Granny (or one of it's offshoots), Land of Chocolate, Little Atlas, etc. I am wide open for any other ideas you all may have, but this thing will die on the vine if we don't breathe a bit of life into it.

Also, the meetings - we had 9 folks last week. Not exactly a critical mass. Wade and I had hoped to strategize on Rogue things, but with so few people there, there wasn't much point.. so it was just basically a shop-talk evening and networking evening. I don't see much point in continuing the meetings myself - certainly not in the format they have been - (i.e. reserving a room, etc.). If enough of you want the meetings to continue, say so now and I will book another one in a couple of months... only this time I will ask for RSVPs so everyone won't sit around wondering whose going to show up. Otherwise, meeting will probably be reduced to informal pre-show get-togethers on showcase nights.

Thoughts?

AWG


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