What the hell is up with the attitude of the Wisconsin metal scene? Does anyone
even care about metal at all?
The punk scene has a better attitude than the metal scene. Playing shows because
they love to, selling cheap merchandise to get their name out and just
supporting each other. They go to each other’s shows, help each other get on
shows, and they just hang out because they enjoy being together and being a part
of something. What happened to the metal scene of the early 90’s? Seemed like
everyone was together. Bands supported each other and were friends. Nowadays it
seems like bands are only friends if it benefits them, not because they actually
like the people and the music.
I try to set up shows for my band and others, but it is a damn chore. Bands and
venues don’t write back and if they do I get the “we won’t play unless we get
paid” bullshit. Fuck you guys. You can’t drive 10 minutes to play a show for the
love of metal. Why do the bands coming from far away have to get paid less (if
they even get paid) than the local support? If one or two bands drive from far
away they should get a fair amount for expenses while the locals either get
little money or maybe they play for the love of the music and support their
fellow metalheads. Maybe the far away band will bring you out to their city and
you get the cash while they get nothing. Did that ever occur to anyone?
Another thing about bands in Wisconsin is the “book us a show, but we won’t
return the favor.” And then you want me to book you another show in my city!
Yeah right. I know it is hard to “return the favor” and book shows for bands,
because there is only so many weekends, etc, but maybe you shouldn’t wait for a
band to book you so you can return the favor. Book a band first and then let
them return the favor. I find a lot of bands on myspace and then book them for
shows and I never even met them. I just like their bands music and want to see
them live. I’d book more but the “I need a huge amount of cash” attitude from
bands stops me from booking more, because you can only have one of those bands
per show. My band has played 14 shows for a grand total of $25.00. We just love
to play and support metal. We’d love to make it so we could do this as our job,
but right now we’re getting experience playing shows and playing together.
I’m trying to set up a three day mini tour and I got a response saying that the
venue I wanted won’t have a metal show, because there is a metal show on the
next day. What the fuck kind of attitude is that? Me, I’d go to both shows. Why
do bands have the attitude that my band is better than your band? That sucks. I
love lots of Wisconsin metal bands and wish I was in all of them, but what makes
every band unique is the members of them, each one contributing their take on
metal. I know that not every band is your cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t support them or even bring them to your city. Maybe you don’t like them,
but someone else going to the show might like them. Also, they might be nice
guys too!
I’m just really sick of the bullshit I keep encountering with setting up shows.
I know that bands and venues have schedules, but timely responses are a great
thing to get when setting up a show. It’s nice to have everyone on the same
page. When you have the show set up then you can promote it so people will show
up. There are some “promoters” that suck at it. They either rely on the internet
or barely put up actual flyers at the music shops. I promote the hell out of the
shows I set up. I put up flyers all over the surrounding areas and post myspace
bulletins and send emails.
Let’s actually make a Wisconsin metal scene!
