Live stuff
first this week, and a query, why were there not more of you in The Bridge last
night to listen to Swansong?
They are undoubtedly
one of the stand out Bands playing the local scene. They are regular Giggers around the South
Yorkshire area and a little beyond. And
they would get a lot more Gigs, only, as one Promoter said to me, “they don’t
have a following”.
Last night I
saw them play an energised first set at The Bridge, edgy, skilful and full on,
covering rock classics to the more rocky Beatles numbers. They performed like true troopers and professionals
to a handful of listeners.
So why might
this be the case? Indeed why is it that
many of our local Bands find themselves not getting the recognition they
deserve?
My own view
is that it’s down to “profile”. The
musicians who play in these Bands do so because they simply enjoy playing and
sharing their music. Swansong very much
reflect this, no frills, nothing added, simply good wholesome rock and
blues.
But these
days to get a following it would seem that there has to be an added extra,
audiences are looked for added value when it comes to investing their time in
following or turning out to listen to a Band.
Take for
example Leeds Pirate Band Seas of Mirth, OK the music might not be everyone’s
cup of tea, but they give much, much more, result, wherever they play, a near
full house.
More locally
the amazing Papa Legbas have by hard work and development of the Band’s character
and staging have achieved the near impossible, popularity while playing their
own songs, pulling audiences wherever they go.
It’s been a privilege to witness their growing fame. But again the Band offer more that little bit
of value added, be it the mix of instruments or the staging.
Now, I’m not
suggesting that every Band should go off and develop silly things to do that
might hold the attention of an audience, far from it, but what I am saying is
that Bands do need to consider what their unique selling point might be. What is it that they can do to create a
following who will turnout in sufficient numbers to make a Band attractive
enough to book on a regular basis or for Event Promoters to have at the top of
their list for Booking into Festival events etc.
And with my
Promoters hat on, I know exactly how important this is. If money is being invested then one needs to
be certain that at least costs are going to be covered, which means Bands that
attract an audience are always go to get first pickings.
As Artists
of all genres discover, creativity and talent are not enough in a competitive
market. Luck and hard marketing graft is
also required.
But let not
this take away from a fine evening’s entertainment on one of The Mashers rare
forays out this past week. And if Jon’o
thinks that the dark glasses and military hat will in some way disguise him
enough to keep HMRC off his back, he can think again. And to hear their great sound GO HERE
It was good
to see ROMPers and other faces in the audience though and have a good chat with
Karen, Swansong’s brilliant and attractive singer. A Lady of many talents if ye go and search
out the Web Site HERE
And another
man of many talents got hold of the tunes on my phone last night, and the
result……. He was clearly disappointed at what he found……
If you’ve
not come across Chris Bilton’s work, go and take a look on his Facebook page HERE
But the BIG NEWS of the week is that Roy
Blackman has declared himself fit. It
means we can now get down to being serious about promoting the CD. “Roy Blackman – Rotherham’s Man of Memories”. You’ll find Roy’s planned itinerary on his
Gig list HERE. PLEASE NOTE – this is not where Roy will be making “Guest Appearance” it’s where he will be heading with a supply of
CDs and the off chance that he might be offered a “Floor Spot”.
Roy’s CD is
now also available via Amazon as an MP3 Download. For reasons unknown it’s appearing only on
their American site, I’m sure someone will tell me why, but hey, don’t let that
put you off if you only want the songs or a song without the brilliant insert
with all the lyrics. His Amazon listing
is HERE
To BUY ROY’S
CD ON LINE JUST GO HERE
Roy will be
one of Guests taking part in the Words and Music Presentation as part of Banners High on the 2nd June.
We’re waiting for venue confirmation, but we have an excellent
afternoons programme of music and Theatre developing. I’m currently awaiting one or two final
confirmations and then we will be able to publish the full programme.
Tickets are
already available for the full day HERE with
a few special offers and the usual concessions.
You’ll also find opportunities to buy advanced tickets to each of the afternoon
and evening sessions. We’re expecting
tickets to go quite quick so jump in quick and place your order.
Plans for Slamfest
continue apace. We have four key
opportunities for people to get involved and take part in the event.
1. 1. POEM IN
PICTURES - Get in touch with Vicky
Hilton about this one. It’s an idea that
she and the afore mentioned Chris Bilton came up with. Rotherham ‘s Artists are being invited to
paint or sketch a picture including the words of a poem which we will Exhibit
during the week. It’s also our intention
to continue this through to The Rotherham Open Arts Festival where the best
will be selected for Exhibition throughout the month of October. Contact Vicky HERE
2. 2. SCRIPT
WRITING - We’re looking for short
scripts 15 – 30 minute max from writers to be performed by the FOF
Theatre Company in a 90 minute
presentation during Slamfest. Once again
we intend to use the material during the Fringe of The Rotherham Open Arts
Festival on a mini tour of the Borough. If
you want to enter your Play, Email the script HERE Closing date is the end of April.
3. 3. FRINGE
FESTIVAL CORPORATE IMAGE – This is a competition for Arts, Digital Artists
and designers. It’s open to anyone in
South Yorkshire. We require a full
Corporate image for the Fringe Festival, a design that we can use on Posters,
Communications etc. . All entries will
be exhibited during SLAMFEST and a winner selected on Saturday 28th
July. There’s a two hundred pound first
prize and the top two entries will have an opportunity to exhibit a limited
number of pieces during The Rotherham Open Arts Festival in October. All entries must be submitted by 7th
July 2012.
4. 4. BANDS AND MUSICIANS – On Saturday the
28th July we intend to flood the Pubs and outside areas of Rotherham
with music. If your Band or act would
like to be involved with this then contact Mick Hill HERE
Keep your
eyes peeled because there may well be other opportunities to take part.
All details
of the above can also be found on the Slamfest page HERE
Following on
from last week’s Blog Rotherham Arts Events now has a TAB on the Acoustic Rotherham Web
Site. You can find a very general
introduction to what it’s all about and Team as it stands at the moment.
You’ll also
find more detailed Role descriptions for the two key posts that we are seeking
to fill at the moment, the most important of which is the role of COMMERCIAL
FUND RAISER. Check it out HERE
Any
questions about RAE or any of the Events Email HERE
There will
be no sitting back as we seek to produce some quality events.
Just a
reminder that time is running out to get your name down for consideration to
take part in the Wath Folk Festival “Silver Roots” Competition on Saturday 5th
May at The Red Lion, Wath. 2:00pm. A chance for emerging, if that’s the right
word, over 45’s to go through their paces for a £50 prize and tickets to the
remaining main event of the Festival.
Yes….. and a Cup. A lap of
honour of Wath upon winning is also mandatory, so you had also better be
fit. EMAIL HERE or HERE putting “Silver Roots Entry” in the Subject
line.
Our good
friends from Malvern, that’s Worcestershire, have a super new CDEP out “Nothing
to Declare”. You’ll find some fantastic
original rockin’ blues, so nip over to their Web Site HERE and sample the great sound on offer. Best of all it’s cheap…….. ish.
I was
pleased to see that Cairan Boyle’s CD Launch at The Riverside last week was a
fantastic success. There’s some great a
great clip that you can find HERE and to find out how to get your hands of
a copy of the CD you’ll need to go HERE
I’m sure I’m
missing something important, but time presses on so we’ll head towards the good
things coming this week.
For those
who live on the other side of the Hill in that other County, this week sees the
start of the Manchester Irish Festival,
which of course is giving our mate Dom Collins every excuse to drag out all his
aged Irish jokes! This year’s Festival
looks to be as lively as ever with Parades and fantastic Celtic Music
throughout.
And of
course there is the full range of activities throughout the week, and no lesser
day than the 17th March, next Saturday, when The Mashers will be
heading to The Cannon in Worksop, The Rogues will be doing their thing at SNAFU
in Rotherham, and Mark Hearne makes his Annual pilgrimage to The George and
Dragon at Wentworth. You lucky, lucky
people.
You can
check all the details out HERE on the Diary pages.
And of
course, we’ve added more Festivals to the Festival page, there are more links
on the Resources Page.
And thank
you to all. Last week the Acoustic
Rotherham Web Site had a record number of hits for a non-event / controversy week. Please keep spreading the Word, especially
now that it has won Universal Approval as it now can be read on Phones, Ipads,
Laptops and desktops. We love you all.
So whatever
you are doing this week, have a great one, enjoy yourselves and please support
local music, especially next weekend, and KEEP IT LIVE.
No comments:
Post a Comment