How to put your own gig on

This is a works in progress, I'm typing live so it might not be as comprehensive as it I would like. Please check back. As ever your feedback to info@antipoprecords.co.uk

DIY Gigs - Step One - With these simple ideas we hope to inspire you and guide you to - Making money, looking cool in front of your peers and having a good time.

This is aimed at young people who may have played no gigs or a handful of gigs and had similar ideas and wonder if it's easy or hard to put your own gigs on. People will often look for the promotors who organise concerts in the nearest city centre of the biggest venue. this is great and can be a good experience but there are advantages to putting your own gigs on. Here's a basic run down of things to think about. If you need further questions email info@antipoprecords.co.uk


There are a ton of basic thing you need to make a gig. The most important are also the most obvious.


WHERE?

VENUE - School hall. Youth Club, Scout Hut, Club House, Shed, or Church hall?

Find the place. Get your smartest friend or most polite friend to speak with the owner or manager. Make a plan before you go so you knwo wwhat you are talking about. If you have drafts of tiem sheets, designs for posters or cds of the music you can take it with you and it will show you are prepared.

Be HONEST - with the number of people you hope to attend, the type of music you have planned and the volume of music you anticipate because you don't want to shock the owner/manager on the night into canceling your gig because you changed the original plan massively.

*Is the venue free to hire? What do you have to do to hire it? Is theer a deposit? Is the deposit refundable? Be careful if there is paper to sign and before you agree to anything. If there is a deal with money to be completed AFTER the gig make sure the deal is black and white and cannot be changed on the night by the owner/manager.

WHEN?

try to plan with as much time in advance as possible. The longer you have the less rushed you will be. Things can always go wrong no matter how much time you have to prepare but the more time you have the better,

Make sure you chose your date very carefully. Make sure the date you have planned is not also the final of the X Factor, the World Cup final, the last ever episode of Coronation St or the biggest concert EVER in the venue next door. Know your competition!

Friday nights are usually the best night of the week to plan gigs. People finish work and school for the week. School holidays are when people are off school, college, university and have nothing else to do.


FACILITIES - does it have electricity? Do you need to plug in amplifiers? Does the place have a toilet? Sink, wash basin? A first aid kit? Car parking? Lots of stairs? What kind of people usually visit the location? Old, young, rich, poor, regular, tourist? How will these people react to the gig you are planning?


HOW?

EQUIPMENT - PA, A public address system or speakers, amp, cables and mixing desk are usually required to give singers microphones amplification. These need to be plugged in somewhere. Make sure the place you choose has electricity and extension cables to stretch power around the stage. Unless you are in a large place tit is unlikely that much more than singers will need to be amplified.

If you don't have any of this stuff you could approach the local music shop to sponsor your event. If they have the equipment to hire but do not wish to sponsor you could approach a local small business and ask them for sponsorship. The money they give to you to pay for the hire of the equipment you can offer in return to put up posters to advertise their shop at the event or include an advertisement in your promotion i.e. on the back of the flyer.

INSTRUMENTS - Do you have the necessary musical equipment? If the bands can share as much equipment as possible you can save time on soundchecking and gaps between the bands, making the night run smoother and faster.



MAKING THE MOST OF THE NIGHT

You want lots of people to attend.

PROMOTION - flyers, posters, spread the word. everybody has facebook, don't they? Messaging friends, with txts, putting posters up in school, college, local shops. Get your most artistic friends to design a poster. Call up the local newspaper, radio station and speak to the arts/entertainments or listing editor. they usually decide what gets a mention in the paper. The radio DJ is the person who plays at the peak time. Usually morning 8-9am and evenings 5-6pm. Or the DJ who plays the most suitable type of music. Ask politely if you can put posters up in the local shops.

TICKETS - if you are printing tickets to sell or giveaway in advance make sure they are numbered and cannot be copied easily. Make sure you keep a record of who has how many and how many there in total.

PERFORMERS

BANDS/DJs/RAPPERS - Choose your bands carefully. Make sure the bands fit the style of music. The more people you know and trust the better.

FRIENDS - you will need help from friends/family. Who is going to drive the heavy stuff? Someone with a car/van. If you are collecting money on the door who is the most trustworthy person? It is useful to keep one sensible person in charge of the money.

TIMES - time the event to start at a time and plan all the set up time and packing away time included. Work out how long a band can play, how many tracks they play. You will need enough time to bring in equipment and do soundchecks with the equipment. If there are neighbours nearby you may need to finish by a certain time.

YOU - try not to stress out too much, don't lose sleep. Do not shout at people, lose your temper, do not drink alcohol. Always be polite and think on your feet. you are the face and voice of the gig. Treat yourself and others with respect. everybody makes mistakes.


By doing DIY gigs you avoid getting told who you play with what time you play how much the ticket is and what you can and can't do. You make the rules, you make the gig, you make the atmosphere. All good experience. Tweet

Out come the Wolves

The place is Liverpool. The time is November 2010. The theme is the Wolf. What has come over the designers of the advertisments of music and art? This is a gig poster.




Another concert poster:




The Liverpool Biennial signified this year and branded by the wolf.




This music poster has a host of animals. Is this a wolf or have we gone too far?

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From Russia with love

Even though I've been listening to Track 3 'Jessica' on repeat for the past day the demo just wouldn't do it for you. Rarely does a demo do anybody justice to anybody. None more so in this case of the Russia singer Ed Rice whose razor sharp belter of a voice on CD sounds rough, frail and at times broken, like a morning after a night on the JD and Lucky Strikes. A far stretch from the live performance we have witnessed in, ironically, a Rock Club just outside Manchester where Russia cast their calpyso spell upon the dazzled crowd.



Comparisons serve only to pigeonhole and flatter or infuriate the artist. The writer will always try to refrain from dallying in such simple descriptions but these names serve not to elaborate the description but to highlight the quality of such a band. When asked bluntly, prior to the soundcheck, "What do you sound like?", they offered Paul Simon as an influence. Of all the names that follow this is the hardest to pin on Russia. Paul Simon of Graceland, Lady Smith, Bridge Over? The safest thing said is you can dance to Russia like you can dance to Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.



As the night progresses, to the obvious delight of the appreciative audience, voices chirp surreptitiously in the crowd. Bandied around are the names of legends, Van Morrisson, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton and pop contemporaries of Razorlight and Vampire Weekend. These are frivolous likes and putting no stead in them we reach the crux of the caper, "It's not who you're compared to, it's how many records who you're compared to has sold." Food for thought?

It has been said the larger an area the band is named after the worse the band is. Russia are out to smash that rule.

Russia on Facebook

Russia on Myspace
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MinionTV - on the road

Stuck in a van on a journey from London to Liverpool, Justin and I got talking. Having been to see MinionTV play in some dive in Camden it was 3am and delirious time so I half-arsed convinced him I was a journalist from the NME and these were my big interview questions. Sucker.


You are a founding member of the band. When did it start out?

Around 5 years ago but more officially two years ago but I've known Ste [Stephen Johnston - guitar] for a while.


What does the name MinionTV mean?

It symbolises about a hundred different stories. To me it means nothing.


What instrument do you play and what gear do you use?

Guitar. A Gretsch Duo Jet. It's not an expensive one. I have a Vox AC30 amp. ZVEX Fuzz Factory. Boss DD2. Boss bass distortion. Electro Harmonix Holy Grail [reverb]. Electro Harmonicx Phaser. Tremelo. Ebow.

An entirely unrelated picture of George Harrison.

Whats the weirdest thing to ever happen to the band?

Every gig is weird because people don't really expect the kind of music we are playing.


Who do you idolise or aspire to musically?

Just to be myself. Also, Radiohead as people as much as a band. They are ever-changing, experimenting and consistent.

Justin mentioned Radiohead. This is what Radiohead used to look like.

Why have you got no singer?

We all like instrumental music. We would have singing if we felt it needed it.


Your first album was quite spectacular. What will your next album be like?

Personally, I'd like it to be beat-driven. Bass and beat-driven less of the guitar riffs and more heavy.


What direction do you see MinionTV going in the future?

Less guitary more electronic. Sticking to short songs, catchy melodies, not too different, like, from what were doing at the moment. If we could get away with doing an epic 30-minute heavy electronic song I would. And more visuals would be good.



interview with Justin Bailey
www.miniontv.co.uk Tweet

Metro Manila Aide - Framus Endorsement

Metro front-muffin Saul Godman is featured on the Framus guitars website. A jolly trip to the German factory could be on the cards for Saul, further heightening the erotic sounds of the Metro machine!

Saul said about his AK1974 "I never like to slow down mid-solo, only speed up in the opposite direction... so the sleek neck, delicious cutaway, easy access to the higher frets and rampant tone make it a sheer pleasure to play. I can't put it down!"

Yummy!


Pic: Lauren McBride

From Metromanilaaide.co.uk Tweet

Tip Top Tips for 2000 and beyond

No links, you like it go find it.

I.C.H.

Colchester badd ass punk dread. Each song has been averaged at 643MPH tha is 9 light years a second. They are fast!




Meatfeast

Birmingham quartet with more ability than sense. Who'da thunk Jazz and Thrash would go together so well?


Pic: Adam Baker


2 Sick Monkeys

2 Sick Monkeys have done 9 million more gigs than anyone ever. They're a band who's messages you can live your own life by.




El Toro

Scouse sounds from the underground. Surfin' bird and a line of Vibrato. Really feeling this.



Photo: Johnayliffe.com


Billy Liar

There is more talent in this man's key chain than in the entire polyphonic spree. His Doc Martin would crush Chris Martin's mush.


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The Temps EQUAL the world record of most gigs in a day!

"To come this close and not get the record feels a bit like a failure but we have done seven gigs in twelve hours and had an unforgettable day."

The Temps on their record breaking day that ended at Head of Steam, twelve hours after it began at the New Band Stage. Damaged equipment, (a broken guitar amp and bass guitar) made the final show on the steps of St George's Hall impossible and the world record of 'eight gigs in one day' a gig too far.

The record breaking day for the Liverpool lads began at the New Band stage in Williamson Sq. at 11am before moving to the Pier Head for an impromptu set in one of the areas the festival doesn't stretch to. Other shows at Heebie Jeebies, Mocha Lounge, the deck of a ship in the Albert Dock, Head of Steam and a performance from the steps of the Granada TV building saw the band rack up a record breaking seven MSF performances in twelve hours.

Seven shows in one day at Mathew Street Music Festival must be a new MSF record and The Temps have added something unique, spontaneous and organic to an enormously successful event for the city.

Picture by Mark McNulty here Tweet