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Robert Inhuman, ADVICE ON PROMOTING SHOWS WHEN IT'S AN UPHILL BATTLE...

I'm from a city that's not even that small, but the mentality definitely was. It was almost literally like pulling teeth to get a group of people together and interested regularly about the bands I was excited about. Though I've moved on since (Didn't want to be like the person in that old Big Black song "Kerosene", ya know?) I feel really proud and accomplished to have served a few years promoting alternative sorts of shows in that environment. There were some incredible high points in which the energy lasted from show to show, people actually took initiative to help, nurtured their own interests independently, it wasn't like starting from square one every time we put a date together. Things really fluxuate in most cities - some places this cycle is subtle; in others it is like night and day. But for kids who are beating their heads against the wall in small towns where if you don't play a more widely accepted sort of music you just can't get a gig for yourself or for a band that is touring through... here is my general advice from an email I sent to a guy a couple years ago...

- When a touring band contacts you that you actually appreciate and want to help, do it cos it means a LOT to the band. And don't be slacker about it, remember you represent the city's rep and if your show sucks they will mention it, even if not with bitterness, to bands all over the country.

- Try to get promotion started 1 month before the show. Not longer cos it is idiotic to promote 1 show for months in advance, people with stop even paying attention cos it gets annoying.

- Even though we mainly use the internet to find out about stuff now, make flyers, ones that don't suck if possible, and get them at a place that you can scam free copies so you can make at least a hundred each time. Flyers sometimes attract people but also for the outta town bands it shows them you are really TRYING. This means a lot even if the show doesn't go perfectly; they are a sign of respect and support even to this day.

- Send out a press release to every newspaper and local magazine you can find contacts for. It should basically be everything on your flyer typed out with brief descriptions of the acts and then possibly extra info or links online about them, especially about people touring through if possible. The press release should go out about 1 month before the show. In the possible event that a paper would wanna do a good write up or ask questions about it, they'd have time to get at you about that.

- Put same info above on all the local or regional online forums that could remotely apply to your event. There are a lot, just search them out and keep a check list of all this stuff for each time you're promoting a show. This is not an instruction to start spending a lot of time on local internet forums, because unfortunately that can be a really morbid way of life that I would never ever recommend unless I wished unspeakable misery on a person.

- Try to get bands there on time or earlier; it is almost impossible but at least try. It usually sucks to have it start an hour or two later than planned. Along with this keep in mind that more bands is definitely not automatically better, even if you really like the bands. For average bands playing around a half hour each, 3 to 5 can be a good amount to work with, depending on who can draw out an audience and whatnot. More than 5 acts, unless they are super short and can setup really efficiently, means people will get worn out and more stressed to be there than taking it all in well. If you've got the luxury of having a good number of local bands to work with, just keep switching em up for different shows, everybody should appreciate that usually. If there are acts that you really like that can't bring people in for one reason or another, maybe compromise with a local band that is somewhat popular in addition to the one you like but is not as popular.

- Be welcoming to everybody who bothers to give there time to come support your event; don't be cold to them if you can help it. If you are into having music between bands, make it happen - it can be a chance to show people new stuff you are into and get more experiences out of the show when it's all said and done.

- Make sure you've got somebody solid handling the door / admissions. Local bands do not need to be paid if there is a touring act, unless the circumstances are special somehow. The traveling people just want gas and food to keep going. If your show ends up going great, giving them more means if their next night is bad they will still be okay. Not everyone does this, but my policy whenever possible is saying "it's $5" (or whatever) when people enter, but if a kid comes and can't pay I still let em in cos not everybody has money all the time and I'm more interested in getting people together than getting paid. But that's if a kid just can't pay, not if they just don't give a fuck, there's a difference, you can probably figure that out.

- For anybody from outta town, unless they were straight dick and trashed the place or had a really bad attitude (it is uncommon), seriously try and make sure they have a place to sleep - comfortably if at all possible. This means a LOT to a touring band - just somewhere safe to sleep. Food or entertainment is a great plus, but shelter and space is the important thing. Try to figure this out ahead of time, especially if you've gotta ask friends if their houses are an option.

...that's basically it off the top of my head. I just followed a list of guidelines and hoped for the best. It is common sense and learning from experience, like most things in life. Some people will possibly (and mercilessly) hate you for trying to do any of this stuff, so decide beforehand how you want to react and deal with a negative reaction. If you know anybody who is looking for advice on starting to arrange stuff, feel free to forward any of this if it can help at all. It's just my way of going about it, but for me it seems ethical. Getting an audience excited about things is a whole other topic that is a lot more challenging in some cities. I never really figured out the science of it, so I ended up thinking I was either doing my P.R. calculations wrong, or I was living in a city where the kids were already dead and gone on the inside, and like zombies they couldn't rest as long as there were living people, unassimilated, around them... Good luck.

credits

from Resisting The Viral Self LP​/​CD (2007​-​2009), released March 29, 2009
Robert Inhuman: software electronics.

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