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| From | Sam Smith <sam@lullabypit.com> |
| Subject | Help for a young band? |
| Date | Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:56:09 -0600 |
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I just got this e-mail from a friend. The band is pretty talented - not
Audities-style, exactly, but I guarantee a lot of people here would
stand and applaud after you heard them cover "Red House." The one kid -
Trevor - is probably one of the four or five best guitarists at his age
I've ever heard. So at the least, they're worthy of a chance. My buddy
may or may not be on the paranoid side - he was in a pretty good band
himself once upon a time, so if nothing else it's informed paranoia.
Anybody with connections or ideas, I'd be grateful. Buzz me offlist and
I'll put you in touch with my friend and/or the band.
Thanks.
- sam
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Help for Josh and Trev
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 17:46:38 -0400
Had a long conversation with Trevor yesterday. He's feeling pretty blue
about the music career. He's been using myspace and connecting with
other bands and has gotten shows in Boone, Wilmington, Charleston, and
elsewhere. In return his band gets other bands into the Raleigh scene -
where these bands subsequently get regular shows in clubs like The
Pourhouse and The Brewery. But when he tries to get return shows in
Wilmington, Boone, or Charleston, etc., he gets stonewalled. A couple of
places like The Library in Chapel Hill have even blackballed the band
(because a fan wrote on the wall in their men's room "Xxxxxx rules" or
some nonsense). They're playing at Cat's Cradle and the club won;t even
list them on its web site - what a crock of shit....
The shows, he says, have gone well in these places - and he fears that's
part of the problem. He thinks bands are playing him to get into
Raleigh, then dissing his band to club owners. Or else the club owners
are in cahoots with the local bands and keeping out competition.
Surprise, surprise - shitty doings in the music biz, right?
Anyway, he's been trying to get hooked up with a management
firm/promoter.agent - anyone who could help them get shows - and maybe
get them regular work touring NC,SC,VA, etc. The only bite he's gotten
is from a Raleigh - from an agency that does one thing - gets them dates
- they have to sell tix, promote the show, etc., etc. For this, the
agency takes an 80% cut and they get 20%. Am I crazy, or is that a rip
off beyond all measure? I know the biz is meaner now than when I worked,
but Jeez, we got 80% even in our early days....
They've had a couple of PR firms approach and offer to help them get
press, etc., then ignore them. They have support from NCSU (the radio
station) and a growing following, but they need some management /agency
to get up the ladder....
So I'm asking for help. I want to put Trev in touch with people who
could intro him to managers, agents, whatever - or guide him how to land
somebody who'd put them to work for a reasonable split (hell, they'd
take 50-50 in a heartbeat).
BTW, the last time Trev wrote to Xxxxx and asked to appear on a bill at
Xxxxx's, after playing there a number of times and getting good reviews,
his reply was "Not right now." And Xxxxx told them he loooved them....
So I'm asking for your help. You have some contacts in the biz (at least
you know some artists). Can you please prevail upon some folks to at
least give advice or offer a name/intro? They're more than willing to do
the spade work, but they need a name to get them in the door with
someone legit like Deep South Promotions or another agency.
I wouldn't ask for myself - but for the guys, who're trying like hell to
have a music career, I'm asking.
Even if you just intro me to people and suggest I go cap in hand, I'm
happy to do so.
Laugh at my helicoptering - but please do what you can. I'm open to all
suggestions....
--
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*Sam Smith*
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