A message from Bex Evans of Speechless with Sound posted on MySpace today....
"Appologies to all about the weekend just gone, due to various different reasons the weekend did not go as planned and efforts was made to try and salvege something over the weekend period, however best efforts was unable to save the weekend as a whole. Best wishes are made to all and hope that you all have a great career."
I'm sorry guys, but I just HAD to rip this apart. I've come to the conclusion that Bex Evans is not evil, just unbelievably thick. However, solely in my opinion of course, she IS a self-serving, arrogant, selfish chancer. If the best she can do for all the bands and fans that she completely messed about at the weekend is to offer a few lines of badly spelled and grammatically incorrect drivel, then she clearly has no place in Manchester's music scene. Bands spend countless hours in the rehearsal rooms, driving to and from gigs, waiting around at soundchecks... spend thousands of pounds on equipment, rehearsal space, petrol, promotion... and Bex offers this limp apology for completely fucking up what was supposed to be a professionally run 'Industry Event'? Who the hell is she kidding? Surely nobody can take her seriously after this debacle? The venue which she ran at last year's 'Catch In the City' was a shambles, though the other venues were by all accounts a roaring success. The 2007 Christmas Hide & Seek festival was even worse, with 3 stages being reduced to two because she hadn't organised a back line. Then there was the issue of there being only about 15 people in audience due to the usual Speechless With Sound promotion campaign of doing sweet fuck all. I remember coming down one evening and the poster listing all the bands was still up from the previous day! Comedy at it's best. One band who had national television exposure and were causing quite a stir at the time commented that they'd never seen anything like it before in any part of the country.
Focusing on her 'apology', she may open with 'apologies to all' but has she truly said that she's SORRY? I don't think so, just a pathetic excuse about 'various different reasons' and 'best efforts'. There's no specific apology to the fans that turned up to closed doors or changed line-ups. No specific apology to bands that spent time and money promoting the weekend for her only to either not play or be shoved elsewhere. No specific apology to the local press who were scratching their heads trying to figure out why the band they's come to review had already played at a venue on the other side of the city. There was definitely no offer of money back for disgruntled fans.
I'm of the opinion that Bex Evans should hire out Dry Bar and Night & Day for a Saturday and put on all the bands that she messed around and open the doors as a free to enter evening. This would at least be a goodwill gesture and perhaps go someway to putting together a reputation that currently lies in tatters on the streets of Manchester. It may also help restore the reputations of the other companies (e.g. M20 Records, ) who have been tarnished by their association with Bex Evans and her sub-amateur SWS 'Promotion' company. In this forum Dave from M20 Records stated that perhaps Bex needed a friendly arm round the shoulder and some advice rather than a verbal lynching and boycotting of SWS gigs by all and sundry. It was inferred that she had just taken on more than she could handle. In that case SHE NEEDS TO STAND UP LIKE AN ADULT AND TAKE IT ON THE CHIN. Admit where you went wrong, apologise for it and explain how things will be better next time. Don't give us a mini-paragraph that says fuck all.
WE WON'T TAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday 5 June 2008
Tuesday 3 June 2008
Useless Pieces of Shit...
Further to my previous blog, which I was a touch late in uploading, I thought I would name some of the unscrupulous promoters that are ruining the Manchester unsigned music scene with their money grabbing exploits and blatant disregard for bands, fans, and music in general. It's all very obvious, and those involved already know who the offending parties are, but for those who may be new to the city and are planning to attend some unsigned nights, or for those new bands just starting out... WATCH OUT FOR:
V-Man Promotions - Run by one of the biggest, in my opinion, clowns in Manchester; Vuzz. He seems to have each and everyone of his fingers and toes in lots of dirty little pies with the sole intention of raking in as much money as possible. Don’t get me wrong, he's no fool... Anyone who can build up the wads he has from treating people like shit is obviously a shrewd character. If you ever have the misfortune to meet him then you'll be greeted with a hands-in-pockets 'who the fuck are you?' stare, unless of course you are offering him the chance to make some cash, whereupon you will be offered a limp-as-a-dead-fish handshake. He'll still be looking everywhere else in the room apart from at you just in case he spots someone important, or someone he thinks he can make more money from. Vuzz is one of the main players on the Manchester pay-to-play circuit that is seriously damaging the health of the local unsigned music scene and is held in extremely low regard by almost all the bands and artists that I have talked with. Unfortunately most musicians will bump into him at some point or another, and it's horrible to actually have to be nice to the fucker. The worst thing is that he hires a bunch of young and impressionable people who are fooled into thinking that working with him will get them a leg up in the music industry. They won't. They are the ones he gets to do his dirty work and who are made to hassle bands for cash before they take to the stage, and they are the ones who are forced to explain to bands that they haven’t sold enough tickets and are going on last/first/next week. It's obviously hard to do, but if bands can club together to avoid playing Vman Events shows then he would quickly go out of business. Check out the links to various Vman related goodies;
Official website - http://www.vmanevents.co.uk/main.htm
MySpace page - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=60711480
Anti-Vman Events MySpace page - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=331056880
Speechless with Sound - the brainchild of one Bex Evans. I can’t quite work out if she is actually whittled from the same fibre as the dastardly Vman, or that she's just a bit, okay VERY, thick. As anyone who had the misfortune to be involved in the horror show that was the May 2008 Hide & Seek Festival will attest, her organisational skills leave a lot to be desired. Who books 300 bands to play in 'over 18 venues' then does practically zero promotion (flyers, posters, radio plugs, local papers....? ANYTHING?!?!?!?) and then neglects to pay the venues in advance resulting in them refusing to open? An idiot, that's who. So far there has been no apologies to any of the bands who were completely messed around and spent time and money to play only to be stood outside a closed door scratching their heads and calling a mobile that had been turned off. As for the paying fans, they seem to be viewed as even lower than the bands themselves! Unless she has a vested interest in a band, and many people will know what I'm talking about here, then she doesn't give a shit. There's no such thing as courtesy with this woman. She'll ask bands if she can use all their equipment, yet not even say thank-you. If you need to contact her then good luck! If she needs something though, it's all smiles and promises to return the favour. Take a look at her MySpace (links below) which is extremely amusing if only for the fact that she can't even spell. Now I don’t wish to poke fun at anyone's level of literacy, but if you call yourself a professional organisation and publish things with your company name on it, then at least use the fucking spell-check option.
SWS MySpace page - http://www.myspace.com/speechlesswithsound
Bex Evans MySpace page - http://www.myspace.com/rebeccalittlevolcanoes
V-Man Promotions - Run by one of the biggest, in my opinion, clowns in Manchester; Vuzz. He seems to have each and everyone of his fingers and toes in lots of dirty little pies with the sole intention of raking in as much money as possible. Don’t get me wrong, he's no fool... Anyone who can build up the wads he has from treating people like shit is obviously a shrewd character. If you ever have the misfortune to meet him then you'll be greeted with a hands-in-pockets 'who the fuck are you?' stare, unless of course you are offering him the chance to make some cash, whereupon you will be offered a limp-as-a-dead-fish handshake. He'll still be looking everywhere else in the room apart from at you just in case he spots someone important, or someone he thinks he can make more money from. Vuzz is one of the main players on the Manchester pay-to-play circuit that is seriously damaging the health of the local unsigned music scene and is held in extremely low regard by almost all the bands and artists that I have talked with. Unfortunately most musicians will bump into him at some point or another, and it's horrible to actually have to be nice to the fucker. The worst thing is that he hires a bunch of young and impressionable people who are fooled into thinking that working with him will get them a leg up in the music industry. They won't. They are the ones he gets to do his dirty work and who are made to hassle bands for cash before they take to the stage, and they are the ones who are forced to explain to bands that they haven’t sold enough tickets and are going on last/first/next week. It's obviously hard to do, but if bands can club together to avoid playing Vman Events shows then he would quickly go out of business. Check out the links to various Vman related goodies;
Official website - http://www.vmanevents.co.uk/main.htm
MySpace page - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=60711480
Anti-Vman Events MySpace page - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=331056880
Speechless with Sound - the brainchild of one Bex Evans. I can’t quite work out if she is actually whittled from the same fibre as the dastardly Vman, or that she's just a bit, okay VERY, thick. As anyone who had the misfortune to be involved in the horror show that was the May 2008 Hide & Seek Festival will attest, her organisational skills leave a lot to be desired. Who books 300 bands to play in 'over 18 venues' then does practically zero promotion (flyers, posters, radio plugs, local papers....? ANYTHING?!?!?!?) and then neglects to pay the venues in advance resulting in them refusing to open? An idiot, that's who. So far there has been no apologies to any of the bands who were completely messed around and spent time and money to play only to be stood outside a closed door scratching their heads and calling a mobile that had been turned off. As for the paying fans, they seem to be viewed as even lower than the bands themselves! Unless she has a vested interest in a band, and many people will know what I'm talking about here, then she doesn't give a shit. There's no such thing as courtesy with this woman. She'll ask bands if she can use all their equipment, yet not even say thank-you. If you need to contact her then good luck! If she needs something though, it's all smiles and promises to return the favour. Take a look at her MySpace (links below) which is extremely amusing if only for the fact that she can't even spell. Now I don’t wish to poke fun at anyone's level of literacy, but if you call yourself a professional organisation and publish things with your company name on it, then at least use the fucking spell-check option.
SWS MySpace page - http://www.myspace.com/speechlesswithsound
Bex Evans MySpace page - http://www.myspace.com/rebeccalittlevolcanoes
What's Wrong with Manchester's Music Scene?
What's Wrong with Manchester’s Music Scene?
Manchester has long since taken the mantle away from Birmingham as England's second-city in all but name alone with it's abundance of sporting successes, the movement of major business and industry to the area and of course it's legendary musical history. Joy Division? The Smiths? The Happy Mondays? The Stones Roses? Oasis? All these hugely influential and successful bands call the State of Mancunia their home, so why is it that a city so steeped in musical tradition has one of the shoddiest local music scenes in the country? Let me tell you...
Everyone is in a band. Or so it seems. The large student population is obviously a fertile breeding ground for aspiring musicians to meet like minded folk and start a new project. Combine this with the fact many people move to Manchester specifically to join a band or to get their current group more exposure and you get a saturated market. Now there's nothing wrong with having hundreds of bands to choose from; variety is the spice of life and creativity should be encouraged. However, and this is where the real problem lies, there is simply no quality control. I’m not saying that there is a dearth of great bands out there; this couldn’t be further from the truth. They are just hidden away beneath the pile of Oasis and Libertines clones that bore the pants off most gig-goers with their tiresome aping of said bands.
Any Tom, Dick & Harry can strap on their instruments, throw together a few chords then call any one of a number of promoters in the area to ask for a gig. The promoters who actually do what their title suggests will usually ask for a demo and some information about the band (e.g.. how long they've been together, where else they have played, what their aims are) before carrying out some background research and making a decision. Typically, if the demo shows promise and the promoter thinks he can sell them, they'll be booked for a gig and then will see what happens. If they feel the band isn't upto scratch then they'll politely decline and suggest that a bit more time is spent in the rehearsal room before taking to the stage. A good promoter will get adverts placed in the local press (which is usually free) and perhaps even on local radio. They will also promote upcoming shows at venues around town and will most certainly have an internet presence. If the event goes well the band may even get a slice of the door profits, but in any scenario the artist will at least be given a couple of guestlist passes and some free drinks for their efforts. You see, a good promoter will be able to pick a good band and promote an evening of entertainment that will have the punters coming in. A snowball effect will then occur, with gig-goers realising that this promoter is putting on consistently good shows week after week and so they come back and bring their friends until the promoter has to hire out a bigger venue to appease demand.
Now counter this with the numerous sharks masquerading as promoters. These people are the ones whose first question to a band looking to get a gig will be "How many people can you bring down?". If this happens to your band then HANG UP IMMEDIATELY! They are not bothered about you, your music or the fans. They are only care about how much filthy lucre you can make for them. If you say you can guarantee 25 plus people down then you will be offered a slot immediately and be forced to agree to sell X amount of tickets at around £5-£6 each with any below that number having to be paid for by the band themselves. This instantly guarantees the 'promoter' a profit and so all they have to do is hire the venue then sit on their backsides whilst watching the money roll in as the bands market themselves over MySpace & Facebook and to all their friends & family... essentially doing all the promotion work themselves. You won't see the 'promoter' advertising the event in any local listings, there'll be no internet exposure, no posters around town, no flyers being handed out at other gigs and definitely no radio - that would require real effort! It's these promoters that fill venues up around the city with bands that clearly aren't ready to be there, thus putting music fans off unsigned nights because they know that the quality is likely to be decidedly ropey, and even if one of the four bands on show is any good, paying the price of a CD to watch them and over £3 for a drink doesn't represent value for money in the grand scheme of things.
So what can be done about this? It's simple really, and it's already being done by a few folks in Manchester who take pride in selecting bands that they like to play their shows rather than those who can quickly bring in a given amount of people because it's their first gig. These people take pride in their events and choose bands as an investment, as a good performance will bring back fans in their droves, meaning next time the promoter puts them on they are likely to see more people through the doors.
I like to give credit where credit is due, so here are a few nights that I've enjoyed recently;
Buff Bang Pow! - A quality evening all-round. Tickets are cheaper than most nights in Manchester (about £2 for advance guestlist or £3-£4 on the door) and are occasionally free! They sometimes offer drinks specials which are always a bonus, as everyone enjoys a few pints to accompany the music, with DJs sometimes booked for after the live music ends. Run by the lovable Buff girls, these nights are well worth getting down to.
Designer Magazine - A real leader in Manchester that is run by a thoroughly nice chap who lives and breathes the local music scene and does things in the right manner. They were recently involved with the excellent Northern Quarter MAPS Festival and you couldn't walk around the city centre without seeing fly posters on walls or brochures in bars. There were also features in the M.E.N., Xfm, and even on BBC Radio 1. That's what I call promotion! Compare all this work with that of another 'Festival' that happened the week after and you'll get the picture. Seek and ye shall find people…
Fiction-Non-Fiction - Lauded on the unsigned scene as having perhaps the best unsigned bands performing week after week, FNF is all about the music and having a good time. They FNF boys have even organised bands from overseas to play their nights, and are putting on Saturday evening shows over the summer in addition to their traditional Tuesday slots at the hip Tiger Lounge.
Of course this isn't an exclusive list, just some of the promoters that I can assure the reader will put on top-quality events. Manchester has worked hard to gain a reputation as being the hub of new music in the UK, so it would be a shame for this to be ruined by a few people who are in it for the money. With bands like the Ting Tings and the Courteeners topping the charts and proudly declaring their love of Manchester, the industry focus will be shifting up from London once again as record companies migrate north looking for the next big thing. How long that focus remains here will depend greatly on the quality control that is put into place throughout the city's venues...
Manchester has long since taken the mantle away from Birmingham as England's second-city in all but name alone with it's abundance of sporting successes, the movement of major business and industry to the area and of course it's legendary musical history. Joy Division? The Smiths? The Happy Mondays? The Stones Roses? Oasis? All these hugely influential and successful bands call the State of Mancunia their home, so why is it that a city so steeped in musical tradition has one of the shoddiest local music scenes in the country? Let me tell you...
Everyone is in a band. Or so it seems. The large student population is obviously a fertile breeding ground for aspiring musicians to meet like minded folk and start a new project. Combine this with the fact many people move to Manchester specifically to join a band or to get their current group more exposure and you get a saturated market. Now there's nothing wrong with having hundreds of bands to choose from; variety is the spice of life and creativity should be encouraged. However, and this is where the real problem lies, there is simply no quality control. I’m not saying that there is a dearth of great bands out there; this couldn’t be further from the truth. They are just hidden away beneath the pile of Oasis and Libertines clones that bore the pants off most gig-goers with their tiresome aping of said bands.
Any Tom, Dick & Harry can strap on their instruments, throw together a few chords then call any one of a number of promoters in the area to ask for a gig. The promoters who actually do what their title suggests will usually ask for a demo and some information about the band (e.g.. how long they've been together, where else they have played, what their aims are) before carrying out some background research and making a decision. Typically, if the demo shows promise and the promoter thinks he can sell them, they'll be booked for a gig and then will see what happens. If they feel the band isn't upto scratch then they'll politely decline and suggest that a bit more time is spent in the rehearsal room before taking to the stage. A good promoter will get adverts placed in the local press (which is usually free) and perhaps even on local radio. They will also promote upcoming shows at venues around town and will most certainly have an internet presence. If the event goes well the band may even get a slice of the door profits, but in any scenario the artist will at least be given a couple of guestlist passes and some free drinks for their efforts. You see, a good promoter will be able to pick a good band and promote an evening of entertainment that will have the punters coming in. A snowball effect will then occur, with gig-goers realising that this promoter is putting on consistently good shows week after week and so they come back and bring their friends until the promoter has to hire out a bigger venue to appease demand.
Now counter this with the numerous sharks masquerading as promoters. These people are the ones whose first question to a band looking to get a gig will be "How many people can you bring down?". If this happens to your band then HANG UP IMMEDIATELY! They are not bothered about you, your music or the fans. They are only care about how much filthy lucre you can make for them. If you say you can guarantee 25 plus people down then you will be offered a slot immediately and be forced to agree to sell X amount of tickets at around £5-£6 each with any below that number having to be paid for by the band themselves. This instantly guarantees the 'promoter' a profit and so all they have to do is hire the venue then sit on their backsides whilst watching the money roll in as the bands market themselves over MySpace & Facebook and to all their friends & family... essentially doing all the promotion work themselves. You won't see the 'promoter' advertising the event in any local listings, there'll be no internet exposure, no posters around town, no flyers being handed out at other gigs and definitely no radio - that would require real effort! It's these promoters that fill venues up around the city with bands that clearly aren't ready to be there, thus putting music fans off unsigned nights because they know that the quality is likely to be decidedly ropey, and even if one of the four bands on show is any good, paying the price of a CD to watch them and over £3 for a drink doesn't represent value for money in the grand scheme of things.
So what can be done about this? It's simple really, and it's already being done by a few folks in Manchester who take pride in selecting bands that they like to play their shows rather than those who can quickly bring in a given amount of people because it's their first gig. These people take pride in their events and choose bands as an investment, as a good performance will bring back fans in their droves, meaning next time the promoter puts them on they are likely to see more people through the doors.
I like to give credit where credit is due, so here are a few nights that I've enjoyed recently;
Buff Bang Pow! - A quality evening all-round. Tickets are cheaper than most nights in Manchester (about £2 for advance guestlist or £3-£4 on the door) and are occasionally free! They sometimes offer drinks specials which are always a bonus, as everyone enjoys a few pints to accompany the music, with DJs sometimes booked for after the live music ends. Run by the lovable Buff girls, these nights are well worth getting down to.
Designer Magazine - A real leader in Manchester that is run by a thoroughly nice chap who lives and breathes the local music scene and does things in the right manner. They were recently involved with the excellent Northern Quarter MAPS Festival and you couldn't walk around the city centre without seeing fly posters on walls or brochures in bars. There were also features in the M.E.N., Xfm, and even on BBC Radio 1. That's what I call promotion! Compare all this work with that of another 'Festival' that happened the week after and you'll get the picture. Seek and ye shall find people…
Fiction-Non-Fiction - Lauded on the unsigned scene as having perhaps the best unsigned bands performing week after week, FNF is all about the music and having a good time. They FNF boys have even organised bands from overseas to play their nights, and are putting on Saturday evening shows over the summer in addition to their traditional Tuesday slots at the hip Tiger Lounge.
Of course this isn't an exclusive list, just some of the promoters that I can assure the reader will put on top-quality events. Manchester has worked hard to gain a reputation as being the hub of new music in the UK, so it would be a shame for this to be ruined by a few people who are in it for the money. With bands like the Ting Tings and the Courteeners topping the charts and proudly declaring their love of Manchester, the industry focus will be shifting up from London once again as record companies migrate north looking for the next big thing. How long that focus remains here will depend greatly on the quality control that is put into place throughout the city's venues...
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