(*warning...epic OP content*)
We were initially contacted by a band from Billings on Oct 29th about playing a show here in Butte in July, as they are on "tour" during the summer. So here's how dialog has gone so far...
10/29(Them):
"hi we are doing a tour this summer and we are goin to b in butte on july 13 do u wanna do the show with us"
10/30(Me):
"Where are you trying to get it at? Not at all trying to sound cocky by any means, but you would probably want to open for us because all of our fans that will show up usually leave after we play...and have totally ghosted bands that we've opened up for. Let me know the details and I can talk it over with my guys. The more shit we can line up in advance, the better."
10/30(Them):
"ok if its us to playing we will..
also if u can set the venu up we will open for u guys"
10/30(Me):
"Has anything been planned for it yet other than the date? Any requests (all ages or 18+...cover charge or free...etc)? This will help narrow down our options...which aren't usually many but knowing what to work with is good. You bringing a P.A. or are you expecting there to be one? Details are good."
10/30(Them):
"ok we would like to have it be an all ages show. we will not have a pa and all we ask for is that we get at least half the money we make and u can have the other half of the cash. i think that is about it"
At this point, I decided this wasn't worth the trouble. I even asked the guys what they thought and they agreed that this was a bunch of bullshit.
- No PA? Expecting the band to bring one, or the venue to have one, without even asking...unacceptable.
- Taking half of the cash? Ok...when the local band you are setting up a show with is
1) Bringing the PA...
2) Doing all the flyers and promotion so you have a crowd...
3) Setting up the venue... and
4) Even giving you the time of day considering they are an extreme metal band and your band is some faggy screamo pussy shit (oil and water, folks)... Those expectations are not even ok. What if we don't even MAKE any cash!?
Our interest in this show is absolute zero.
There was another message they sent about a week after this, which said something to the effect of "are we doing a show or not". I erased it, because they had proven that they have no clue what they are doing and we didn't really want to hop onto a show like that.
Last night (12/16) I get a call from the singer of this band. I didn't recognize the number, and didn't mean to answer it right away but accidentally did...here's how it went.
Me: "Hello"
Them: ".....uh"
"....um"
".....yeah"
"....is this who I talk to about setting up a show?"
Me: "um...maybe. Who is this?"
Them: "This is *identity spared*"
"....and"
"...um"
"....can we play a show there?"
Me: *I pause for a minute trying to figure out if he knows who he is talking to*
"Well...you know I'm in a band here and don't own a venue, right?"
Them: "...uh"
"...um"
"...ok, bye." *hangs up*
Then, a friend of mine (whom we work with on setting up quite a bit of our local shows) calls and says these guys called her and she wanted to know if we knew what was going on. I said "yeah...we aren't doing a gig with them, they don't know what they are doing". She says they said they were doing a show with us (RRR) and another band (whom I get the feeling don't know about it either) and that they just needed to confirm the venue and everything. She asked them if they had a PA, they said no. She said we (RRR) would probably have to bring the PA then, which means they are going to want to make a little extra off the door. She asked them if they were going to do any promo, they said they thought we (RRR) would do all that. She told them she would talk to us (RRR) to get the plan straight and would get back with them.
So then, we get another message from them on Myspace
12/16(Them):
"we got the venue book she said she is good friends with us guys it will be on july 13th
i forgot the name of the venue can u message the venue's name and adress thanks
also the band order will go
1st xxxx xxxxxxxx
2nd xxxxxxx xxxxxxx (*them*)
3rd river runs red
also do u want to charge $10 a ticket
thanks
cant wait to rock the show with u on july13th"
So, figuring out they have not a single clue as to how this sort of stuff works, and thier idea of what they are entitled to is larger than thier idea of reality, I replied with the following out of pure don't-give-a-fuck-no-more:
12/16(Me):
"Dude, there is no way in hell we can possibly see doing a show like this. Not only will we not fit on the the bill (we are really heavy metal, you guys really aren't), but it seems there is a lot more organizing to be done that is simply being left in the air...and I assume we are supposed to put together. There is no way anyone in Butte is going to pay $10 to get into a show like that: we have played here with Hemlock, who has toured with Slayer/Slipknot/etc, and we couldn't see going any higher than $8 even then. I really don't think you guys know what sort of planning this involves, especially if you are forgetting where the show is. To top it all off, we never agreed to play any show in the first place...I only asked if you had any plans in place, which you didn't, and we never responded afterwards when we found out what your expectations were. Sorry, but we need to decline our participation in this. Hope it all works out for you guys."
It seems to me that these guys are all about 16-17 at best...and they are gonna borrow mom & dads van to go around the state for a month and doing this will be thier rite of passage...they will come home MEN! The mentality that going on tour makes you a serious band is really unprofessional...the mentality that going on tour makes you a serious band when you havn't made any real fucking plans to ensure the best scenarios at every destination is most definitely and ultimately unprofessional. Getting on myspace and making a bunch of demands for a show, but not being able to get on the phone and having a serious conversation with someone means you spend too much time chatting on the internet and texting your girlfriend: you have a social deficiency! Most of all, good luck finishing your tour. You don't have a cd or any for sale: thats where bands actually make the money they need to stay on the road, as most venues don't pay for shit. If you are lucky to make $100 at every gig, you *might* have a chance...depending on what you are driving and how far you have to go between dates.
My band actually planned and cancelled a tour over a year ago because we realized we couldn't afford it since we didn't have any secondary form of support behind it (cds and merch to sell at shows). It would have been a quest into oblivion.
And this is who was trying to set up the show with us (not even slightly kidding):
We were initially contacted by a band from Billings on Oct 29th about playing a show here in Butte in July, as they are on "tour" during the summer. So here's how dialog has gone so far...
10/29(Them):
"hi we are doing a tour this summer and we are goin to b in butte on july 13 do u wanna do the show with us"
10/30(Me):
"Where are you trying to get it at? Not at all trying to sound cocky by any means, but you would probably want to open for us because all of our fans that will show up usually leave after we play...and have totally ghosted bands that we've opened up for. Let me know the details and I can talk it over with my guys. The more shit we can line up in advance, the better."
10/30(Them):
"ok if its us to playing we will..
also if u can set the venu up we will open for u guys"
10/30(Me):
"Has anything been planned for it yet other than the date? Any requests (all ages or 18+...cover charge or free...etc)? This will help narrow down our options...which aren't usually many but knowing what to work with is good. You bringing a P.A. or are you expecting there to be one? Details are good."
10/30(Them):
"ok we would like to have it be an all ages show. we will not have a pa and all we ask for is that we get at least half the money we make and u can have the other half of the cash. i think that is about it"
At this point, I decided this wasn't worth the trouble. I even asked the guys what they thought and they agreed that this was a bunch of bullshit.
- No PA? Expecting the band to bring one, or the venue to have one, without even asking...unacceptable.
- Taking half of the cash? Ok...when the local band you are setting up a show with is
1) Bringing the PA...
2) Doing all the flyers and promotion so you have a crowd...
3) Setting up the venue... and
4) Even giving you the time of day considering they are an extreme metal band and your band is some faggy screamo pussy shit (oil and water, folks)... Those expectations are not even ok. What if we don't even MAKE any cash!?
Our interest in this show is absolute zero.
There was another message they sent about a week after this, which said something to the effect of "are we doing a show or not". I erased it, because they had proven that they have no clue what they are doing and we didn't really want to hop onto a show like that.
Last night (12/16) I get a call from the singer of this band. I didn't recognize the number, and didn't mean to answer it right away but accidentally did...here's how it went.
Me: "Hello"
Them: ".....uh"
"....um"
".....yeah"
"....is this who I talk to about setting up a show?"
Me: "um...maybe. Who is this?"
Them: "This is *identity spared*"
"....and"
"...um"
"....can we play a show there?"
Me: *I pause for a minute trying to figure out if he knows who he is talking to*
"Well...you know I'm in a band here and don't own a venue, right?"
Them: "...uh"
"...um"
"...ok, bye." *hangs up*
Then, a friend of mine (whom we work with on setting up quite a bit of our local shows) calls and says these guys called her and she wanted to know if we knew what was going on. I said "yeah...we aren't doing a gig with them, they don't know what they are doing". She says they said they were doing a show with us (RRR) and another band (whom I get the feeling don't know about it either) and that they just needed to confirm the venue and everything. She asked them if they had a PA, they said no. She said we (RRR) would probably have to bring the PA then, which means they are going to want to make a little extra off the door. She asked them if they were going to do any promo, they said they thought we (RRR) would do all that. She told them she would talk to us (RRR) to get the plan straight and would get back with them.
So then, we get another message from them on Myspace
12/16(Them):
"we got the venue book she said she is good friends with us guys it will be on july 13th
i forgot the name of the venue can u message the venue's name and adress thanks
also the band order will go
1st xxxx xxxxxxxx
2nd xxxxxxx xxxxxxx (*them*)
3rd river runs red
also do u want to charge $10 a ticket
thanks
cant wait to rock the show with u on july13th"
So, figuring out they have not a single clue as to how this sort of stuff works, and thier idea of what they are entitled to is larger than thier idea of reality, I replied with the following out of pure don't-give-a-fuck-no-more:
12/16(Me):
"Dude, there is no way in hell we can possibly see doing a show like this. Not only will we not fit on the the bill (we are really heavy metal, you guys really aren't), but it seems there is a lot more organizing to be done that is simply being left in the air...and I assume we are supposed to put together. There is no way anyone in Butte is going to pay $10 to get into a show like that: we have played here with Hemlock, who has toured with Slayer/Slipknot/etc, and we couldn't see going any higher than $8 even then. I really don't think you guys know what sort of planning this involves, especially if you are forgetting where the show is. To top it all off, we never agreed to play any show in the first place...I only asked if you had any plans in place, which you didn't, and we never responded afterwards when we found out what your expectations were. Sorry, but we need to decline our participation in this. Hope it all works out for you guys."
It seems to me that these guys are all about 16-17 at best...and they are gonna borrow mom & dads van to go around the state for a month and doing this will be thier rite of passage...they will come home MEN! The mentality that going on tour makes you a serious band is really unprofessional...the mentality that going on tour makes you a serious band when you havn't made any real fucking plans to ensure the best scenarios at every destination is most definitely and ultimately unprofessional. Getting on myspace and making a bunch of demands for a show, but not being able to get on the phone and having a serious conversation with someone means you spend too much time chatting on the internet and texting your girlfriend: you have a social deficiency! Most of all, good luck finishing your tour. You don't have a cd or any for sale: thats where bands actually make the money they need to stay on the road, as most venues don't pay for shit. If you are lucky to make $100 at every gig, you *might* have a chance...depending on what you are driving and how far you have to go between dates.
My band actually planned and cancelled a tour over a year ago because we realized we couldn't afford it since we didn't have any secondary form of support behind it (cds and merch to sell at shows). It would have been a quest into oblivion.
And this is who was trying to set up the show with us (not even slightly kidding):
