Gamma Ray at Jaxx...

[Sumeet]

Hey, I'll go see Gamma Ray just to meet Sumeet. *g*

(HAVE I met you before? At PP? A wave in passing?)

If I recall correctly, we met, but only in passing... I think we were both part of the same large ring of people who were standing around talking during the break between Therion and Stratovarius... :Spin:

 

[Stingray11214]

There were a few points I wanted to add to in this thread.

1) As most people in bands that play out at clubs know, it isn't so much about the $$$ for me when it comes to selling tickets. Most importantly, it shows the club owners that people are interested in these types of shows AND it helps the local band's standing with the club. No matter what city you are in, it usually helps if you purchase your tickets IN ADVANCE from one of the local openers! When you buy them from TicketBastard (or similar service), you are not only paying extra for your ticet with those ridiulous fees, but you are hurting the up and coming local acts. Please support the local scene!

After reading this post, I feel sorry for the bands. You know, Nightwish's former frontwoman, Tarja Turunen, stated that if the band did not sell out, they did not get fed. I thought that statement was beyond ridiculous until I saw this post. If Division sells, let us say, 150 tickets at $25 each, no way they are keeping more than a grand from them. I feel bad for you guys. You are literally forced to promote your own show just to make some cash, with Jaxx doing nothing for you.

That said, I can see why many bands from Europe hate to play here. Why should they shlep all the way here, get no support from the labels or even the metal media, go tour these small clubs that do very little in promotion for you, to make maybe $2-3K a night on average, when you can make that in 20 minutes at the whatsorwhositshalle in whatsorwhositstein, Austria/Germany or wherever else, because it is far more convenient to play in Europe. No wonder many top acts will not touch the US with a ten-foot pole.

Finally, I live in the big, bad, City. And the places I go to do not usually have local bands. I am not that crazy about finding unknowns unless I have heard them first. So A)How do you know that the local band is selling the tix, and B)How do you know they are locals?

Peace,
Ray C.

 

[booB]

Hey, I'll go see Gamma Ray just to meet Sumeet. *g*

(HAVE I met you before? At PP? A wave in passing?)

I can't imagine that you haven't met Sumeet... I hang out with you tons at ProgPower, and I hang out with Sumeet tons at ProgPower.

 

[OdinsCourt]

After reading this post, I feel sorry for the bands. You know, Nightwish's former frontwoman, Tarja Turunen, stated that if the band did not sell out, they did not get fed. I thought that statement was beyond ridiculous until I saw this post. If Division sells, let us say, 150 tickets at $25 each, no way they are keeping more than a grand from them. I feel bad for you guys. You are literally forced to promote your own show just to make some cash, with Jaxx doing nothing for you.

That said, I can see why many bands from Europe hate to play here. Why should they shlep all the way here, get no support from the labels or even the metal media, go tour these small clubs that do very little in promotion for you, to make maybe $2-3K a night on average, when you can make that in 20 minutes at the whatsorwhositshalle in whatsorwhositstein, Austria/Germany or wherever else, because it is far more convenient to play in Europe. No wonder many top acts will not touch the US with a ten-foot pole.

Finally, I live in the big, bad, City. And the places I go to do not usually have local bands. I am not that crazy about finding unknowns unless I have heard them first. So A)How do you know that the local band is selling the tix, and B)How do you know they are locals?

Peace,
Ray C.

It's different for Nationals. They usually get a very good guarantee if they are big enough. It's just the locals who have to struggle. Basically, the locals in many cases are the sole source of promotion for these shows (that, band/venue's websites, & word of mouth).

As for Tarja's comment, I can tell you that would not be true at Jaxx. Besides, I'm not sure they even played any shows in the US besides PP (she cancelled their tour here at least 2 times), so maybe she is talking about other countries?

And I'm not sure European bands hate playing Jaxx - in fact, most bands in this genre LIKE to play there. Jaxx pays them very well (too much, IMO, in many cases). They get fed. They get a packed house due to the locals promoting and bringing extra folks. They get to play for their US fans. Etc.

Usually at these smaller nightclub type places, local bands are the ones who don't get things like "National Recording Artist" and whatnot written about them. You could always call the venue for a show you want to see and ask who the support is as well. As for whether or not they sell tickets, it just depends on the venue - some make locals sell tickets, others don't. So I don't have a good answer there other than to contact the locals through email to ask them.

 

[eaeolian]

If Division sells, let us say, 150 tickets at $25 each, no way they are keeping more than a grand from them. I feel bad for you guys. You are literally forced to promote your own show just to make some cash, with Jaxx doing nothing for you.

Not entirely true - Jaxx does advertise, and occasionally even mentions us in them - but true to a point. On the flip side, we end up taking some sales that Jaxx would get anyway, so there's some give and take. You're severely over-estimating our cut of the ticket sales, too - this is why we plug our merch at every possible opportunity, since we actually MAKE something on that.

That said, I can see why many bands from Europe hate to play here. Why should they shlep all the way here, get no support from the labels or even the metal media, go tour these small clubs that do very little in promotion for you, to make maybe $2-3K a night on average, when you can make that in 20 minutes at the whatsorwhositshalle in whatsorwhositstein, Austria/Germany or wherever else, because it is far more convenient to play in Europe. No wonder many top acts will not touch the US with a ten-foot pole.

Many top Euro acts don't understand the realities of playing in the US - Euro-style metal is a small market here, so they've got to scale their tour exepenses realistically. Some do, some don't. Some get overly encoraged by what Glen called the "Powermetal Golder Triangle" here in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, and expect 500+ per night, and get disappointed by the end of their tours, too. However, the only Euro band I know of that didn't like playing at Jaxx was Blind Guardian, but I got the impression they didn't like playing ANYWHERE they were booked in the US.

Finally, I live in the big, bad, City. And the places I go to do not usually have local bands.

Yeah, some clubs are doing that, and some tours add explicit "no local support" clauses. Locals carried the metal scenes through the awful mid and late '90s - well, along with Death Metal - and I know a good band or two in virtually every market. Club owners pissed a lot of touring bands off, though, by adding fifteen locals that had to buy (and then sell) enough tickets to pay for the headliner. (*cough*L'Amours *cough*)

I am not that crazy about finding unknowns unless I have heard them first. So A)How do you know that the local band is selling the tix, and B)How do you know they are locals?

This *can* be tough, depending on how well the local promotes. Unfortunately, I don't have any good answers other than to look for some sort of local music resource...

Mike

 

[eaeolian]

As for Tarja's comment, I can tell you that would not be true at Jaxx. Besides, I'm not sure they even played any shows in the US besides PP (she cancelled their tour here at least 2 times), so maybe she is talking about other countries?

I'm about to piss a lot of people off, but maybe she's just a Prima Donna? The available evidence makes me think this...

And I'm not sure European bands hate playing Jaxx - in fact, most bands in this genre LIKE to play there. Jaxx pays them very well (too much, IMO, in many cases). They get fed. They get a packed house due to the locals promoting and bringing extra folks. They get to play for their US fans. Etc.

For us, this works - and Jaxx engenders a certain amount of "loyalty" by being a good place for the bands to play. In other markets, the locals *could* be the whole draw, or the attendance mught just suck. (Ask Gigantour how that went, or Stratovarius how the Chicago gig was.)

Usually at these smaller nightclub type places, local bands are the ones who don't get things like "National Recording Artist" and whatnot written about them. You could always call the venue for a show you want to see and ask who the support is as well. As for whether or not they sell tickets, it just depends on the venue - some make locals sell tickets, others don't. So I don't have a good answer there other than to contact the locals through email to ask them.

Not a bad idea. Better than mine.

 

[jaimek]

If I recall correctly, we met, but only in passing... I think we were both part of the same large ring of people who were standing around talking during the break between Therion and Stratovarius... :Spin:

Talking - or fuming about Stratovarius taking So Fucking Long? *g*

 

[Sumeet]

Talking - or fuming about Stratovarius taking So Fucking Long? *g*

Heh, yeah, and after that long-ass set break, who knew we still had 10 minutes of video clips to stand through, learning such scintillating details as what hotel they stayed at in Stockholm and what they had for dinner in Buenos Aires...

 

[eaeolian]

A little bump. Those who order tickets - they didn't go out 'til today because of a small SNAFU in the mail room. You should receive them soon...