Music Scene on the Gold Coast
I am so honestly sick of the lack of scene on the coast... so sick of it infact, that I am doun right determined to get it kickin like it's never been kicked before!!! People need to play here... we need to get people out of the crab holes and there silly metro lives and see and listen to some real music by real people, and real artists!!!!
Who is with me... I WILL do this by myself if i have to... but people usually help!!!
Spread the word!! Get any and every artists, hotel owner, bar attendant, grand parent and bald headed baby to speak up and get some live, loud, and local music happening here on the scene!!!!
Who is with me... I WILL do this by myself if i have to... but people usually help!!!
Spread the word!! Get any and every artists, hotel owner, bar attendant, grand parent and bald headed baby to speak up and get some live, loud, and local music happening here on the scene!!!!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Lloyd Rayner a.k.a. doyle on -
I agree Tim. You would think that in this recession period that punters want to go out and watch live music to forget their woes and even have a good time as a result. What ticks me off id that a lot of of venues all over the S.E. Qld and New south Wales sector are opting for solo/duos there making it tough for all musos who have done the hard slog over the years. But what they don't realise is that the average cost for a decent duo ranges from $275.00 - $450.00 whereas if you hire a band it may even cost maybe $100.00 - $200.00 more for the venue manager. Now here's the hypothesis:- Say a band is well liked and have a gig somewhere isn't it obvious that their fan base would come to the gig and thereby increase sales going in to the venue admin's pocket??? Over the years I have watched venues opt for solo or duo acts and you can go in there and there will be only a handful of people present. To double that you would have to count the staff and maybe the odd doggie that snuck in for a wayward bone. hehehe!!!!
I have recently moved here to Tweed Heads and like you I would like to see an upward trend in gold coast venues rethinking their game plans and start opening up venues to local bands again. "Let's keep music manned not Canned".
My apologies to the up and coming solo acts and duos out there but guy and gals how about getting behind the bands and mention to venues you are performing at to revert back to also giving the bands a go. Who knows? with that sort of support, there would be a thriving music industry again so we all can say Recesssion?? What Recession!!
Cheers n' Beers.
God Bless
Lloyd a.k.a (Doyle)
-
Permalink Reply by Sycle1 on -
If you can get all the Ice users to quit or stay home, I think the scene would change very quickly.
-
Permalink Reply by Keeks on -
haha ice users.
I've thought long and hard about this too. is it the venues or the punters who aren't supporting local music? or both? i'm not a musician so i dont have that perspective, but what i've noticed is that venues seem to go through phases of popularity and then they get REALLY packed and then everyone gets sick of how busy they are and then they die off completely.... and then another venue becomes popular and the cycle continues... why is this??
i think sometimes the cover charge to see local bands is too steep also. i understand the bands need to be paid, and totally deserve to be. but $15-$20 entry to see a local band or dj can sometimes hurt the budget, or turn people off... although i have paid that kind of cover numerous times, but does all that money go directly to the band or are the venues pocketing heaps of that? i think venues are silly to make the cover charge so high, aren't you more likely to get people through the door if the cover charge is like $5-$10 max, with cheap booze, good atmosphere and awesome local talent, instead of high cover charge, expensive drinks, hardly any punters, lack of atmosphere, less likely to return next week.. ??
anyway, i think the whole idea of this website is to encourage and support the local music scene a bit more... so i think its important that people talk about why its struggling. :)
-
Permalink Reply by Lloyd Rayner a.k.a. doyle on
-
Kelli,
You have made some very positive remarks and thanx for being a fan and good listener to all bands. Unfortunately, the Venue controls the payment issues and negotiate between bands' spokespersons/managers so in any event the venue gets a cut of the cover charge and believe you me in all my years in the industry I've heard some of the lamest excuses as to why they get a cut some bordering on the absolute ridiculous.
Also with the booze issue some venues in previous years have been held accountable by the licencing comission for watering down their mixers and charging top dollar. I may go out on a limb for stating this but there are a few around still adopting this policy.
Door charges:- The venue proprietors/Managers should get off their collective wide acres (A*ses) and meet the needs of the Clients(Punters) of the particular venue and charge door entry to suit. Which I may add some venues in Brisbane and Sydney have adopted the attitude of free entry and possibly adding a $0.10c surcharge to drinks to compensate which I believe is the fairest way to go. These places are thriving and surviving as a result. So you see Kelli when a venue closes down it's the management who adopt the policy of "Greed outweighs Need" and are only hurting themselves in the process.
There will always be an entertainment base but given the ever growing population on the Gold Coast, all of us. The Muso's, Entertainers, and Fans alike need to network all pubs and clubs and associations to rethink their collective single-mindedness and PROMOTE instead of DEMOTE the entertainment industry as a whole from Coomera through to Ballina and at least 250kms West.
Again thank you for your thoughts.
-
Permalink Reply by Lloyd Rayner a.k.a. doyle on
-
By the way Tim. We're right behind you 100%
-
Permalink Reply by TimPitchford Music on -
Thank you all for you thoughts and comments. It is good to see that I am not the only person who feels this way. Venues, Pubs & Clubs alike really do need to work out where it is they wish to be in regards to "Live Music" or "Dance/Trance DJ Clubs" with excessive drinking, and so on... (Not to put down the clubs... this is not my intention). But to see the Gold Coast actually live up to its vibrant stigma (The fact that it is up there in holiday destinations) I think the general music scene would help incredibly... Being a muso myself, I see first hand all the talent around the local area. Everybody says the same thing... Venues don't pay well, advertising sucks... no good venues, it's all about the boose, and so on. The Gold Coast needs help!!!! Whether it be the punters or the venues... or even BOTH. We should take a hint from the Melbourne Music Scene, or Sydney for that fact, for the culture thrives souly on the fact that their LIVE entertainment is nothing less that A grade. Not to mention the individual culture of each capital is vast...
I just grow frustrated hearing the same comments week in, week out... for there really is potential in a place like this... people just need to work together to make it work. This site is proof that it can, and WILL, eventually work... people getting behind live music 100% as opposed to just "every now and then"... friends and friends of friends and so on really need to work together to get the culture on the coast thriving, so that not only venues rethink their strategies, but also the general public, and maybe even one day, the Gold Coast Council... (its a big step, but who knows???)... I can only hope that things will eventually get better.
And i truly appreciate anything that anyone does to help it improve. Your efforts do NOT go unnoticed! My thanks to you all...
Peace,
Tim Pitchford
-
Permalink Reply by Lloyd Rayner a.k.a. doyle on
-
hey Tim,
Will keep you posted of any developments.
At the moment I'm settling in to the new place. should be a few more weeks knowing my ground speed however as it says in my details on here am sledging out on bass with the King Louie band (hehehehe).
When we have the things done we need to do, I intend to get out and about and maybe (this is an idea for you we can get together and create a proforma document that when printed we can inundate the venues where we play and maybe with a lot of support do a letter-box drop to all the venues however big or small on the greater Gold Coast outlining our feelings on the situation.
Also we need to setup a network of email databases for the venues to be able to contact us. Also we musos should band together and pass on any details via this website to other musos = honesty and integrity between fellow lovers of the world's biggest common language.
Cheers n' Beers
God Bless
Lloyd
-
Permalink Reply by Mayan Fox on
-
With the risk of sounding like I'm playing Devil's Advocate, there are a number of venues on the Coast that are open to live bands. There are also a number in Northern NSW and Brisbane which aren't too far away. While Brissy can be a little clique, their are still a number of venues that we've played at that are inclusive and open to all acts.
For an originals band as most of us are, the pay is average and some of the the venues aren't ideal but there's still opportunity out there. We just can't be fussy while we're at the bottom because if we keep honing our craft in the smaller venues eventually, hopefully, it will lead to bigger and better things. The time is soon at hand when the Gold Coast will get huge recognition as a musical Boom Town.
The music scene is split I believe 3 ways. That is Live Original, Live Covers & DJs. Most venues tend to have a certain demographic within their patronage that frequents them the most and so they obviously aim to cater for their wants. I truly believe that the problem lies amongst the punters (and perhaps the pokies!). It's the punters that ultimately make the call because their the ones spending the money and keeping a venue afloat. Having worked as a Bouncer I've seen how some venues truly aim to provide a piece of everything. Sometimes it works and sometimes it fails.
We need to get the word out that the Gold Coast is a happening place. We need to ingrain in the minds of revellers that live music is where it's at. There's a gluttony of entertainment choices in the world today so we are up against it but with passionate people like Mike & Kell who built this site and Tim who started this thread it can happen. We just need to get off our lazy butts and promote like wild fire.
-
Permalink Reply by Lloyd Rayner a.k.a. doyle on
-
Hey Mayan Fox.
I like your views and suggestions on the subject and I really don't think you are The Devil's Advocate just telling it like it is.
I would like to see a promoter who has the gift of the gab to get behind all the musos DJ's etc unbiased to work the scene from Brisvegas down.
Years ago one of my bands went through a promoter who has sadly passed over who could "sell Ice to Eskimos" or "The water of a duck's back" whichever way you look at the picture. He would get us work by way of mini-tours and send us out to play for example Roma(Friday) Dalby (Saturday) Toowoomba (Sunday). He would send the bands to the furtherest Place within reason first and get us work on the way back home. Then he would get the odd premier gig for the bands and also local work. If you did right by him he did great for you. We would have about 5 gigs per months sometimes more.
There are not many promoters and Managers that do that anymore but it would be good if a few re-emerged to assist all of us.
Bearing in mind tho' the muso's are their own representatives so it also would be a good way of selling the Coast regions attributes of excellent music and entertainment.
Myself. I would love to see a few agents, promoters step up to the plate and help all of us.
God Bless
Cheers n' Beers
Lloyd
-
Permalink Reply by Hoodoo Hand cigarbox guitars on -
wouldn;t it be nice if you could go to the beachside ect.and listen or play music just for the joy of being alive,no cash involved,minimal ego,no liability eccept your own,and get a bbq happening.Who knows what paid gigs would come from that ?
-
Permalink Reply by Mitch Bruger on -
Probably no reason why that couldn't happen. Most of the larger parks have a little pavillion or at least a power source that may be accessed with council permission. Why not just plan a concert in the park (say 2 or 3 acts of 30 - 45 mins each) 6 to 8 weeks in advance, publicise it throught the GCMIA site, contacts, forum etc... and word of mouth and then we all just show up on the day and enjoy an arvo of real people playing real music?
Mitch
Top Members
© 2013 Created by Mike.
