mom_surfing wrote:

pay them around $1000 to be an opening band. we saw a blue grass band open for reverend horton heat.

That's funny. Could there be a musical act less appropriate than bluegrass to open for Rev Hort Heat, except for chamber music? Jazz, rap, country, heavy metal, beach music--all seem relevant in some way.

Now I know what it means to open for Rev Hort Heat...It means you have $1000, or at least you did.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Big_Ryan wrote:

it sounded like that was a condition of the venue, not of reverend Horton heat

although if i was a big name band i would definitely take money from people to let them open for me, lol

yeah, the reverend had nothing to do with it. when my son was in high school about 7 years ago he had friends that had a punk band. one of the mom's forked over the grand so they could play there.

www.surfintheeye.com

I did not intend to suggest that Rev Hort Heat took money from the opening act. When I saw Rev Hort Heat in person (Dec. 2005, in Wisconsin) he had two hard rock opening acts ("The Supersuckers" and "Split Lip Rayfield") touring with him. They were already popular on their own.

It seems incongruous that a blue grass band would open for him. I was trying to say something funny to decrease the horror emotion associated with paying $1000 to open for another band. Sorry if I induced confusion. To avoid giving the impression of unintended suggestions I will restate merely that one incongruity suggests others.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Nov 23, 2013 21:18:40

Pay to play?
No. Never. Ever.

https://kingpelican.bandcamp.com/

Might be worth noting that most sports...at the junior, college, and even pro levels, participation is essentially pay to play for most athletes. Outside of football and basketball (the Britney's of the sports entertainment world), there are fewer ath scholarships than you might think (eg none in the Ivy or DIII levels)..and many going into debt trying to compete at the pro level. At an amateur level, pay to play is just a plain fact.

Not saying this is good or bad...but maybe an interesting analogy to the minor/major leagues in music. Many athletes understand that participation is a priviledge.

Last edited: Nov 24, 2013 02:18:38

mom_surfing wrote:

there's a pretty decent venue a few hours from here that gets some pretty big name acts. you used to be able to pay them around $1000 to be an opening band. we saw a blue grass band open for reverend horton heat. it was not good. but, afterwards they could put they opened for him on their resume'.

One of the oldest sayings in rock&roll (there is even a bumper sticker): "Nobody cares who you opened for."

ErnestHernandezIII wrote:

Pay to play?
No. Never. Ever.

+1

Matt "tha Kat" Lentz
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I pay to play all the time... Gas, practice space, time, studio, gear, lost family time. And a club wants me to pay them, too? Ha ha ha.

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The notion of 'pay-to-play', on any level, is obsurd and insulting. These scams are almost always designed to prey upon young musicians and their inexperience. I suppose the ill-informed idea in these artists heads is that they will get this great gig with a band they love and both instantly become heros to said bands audience and the band will take them under their wing. Those of us with years involved know this to be anything but true. The bands rarely, if ever, take the time to watch opening/local bands. And that sounds terrible, but consider two or three of these per night for an entire tour and it becomes understandable. You simply get burnt out. And the audience simply has no interest in anyone but the artist they are there to see. There are certainly exceptions, but they are exactly that, and rare.

The one thing that bugs me more than anything is that there is rarely any need for a pay-to-play. The venues doing these (The Masquerade in Atlanta) has bands that need absolutely no assitance with draw.

And in regard to the paying 1k to open for someone, that is taking this concept to a whole other level of rediculousness. I can only imagine that this 'investment' either benefits the venue/promoter, or is used to cover their initial contractual investment.

Now we have been lucky enough to open for many acts that we both admire and have long since been influenced by. But we went in knowing the only benefit we would get is to get a chance to meet these artists. A few we have become good friends with, but many didn't even know we were there.

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Squid wrote:

The main page of this website presents a systematic approach to the problem of pay-to-play, Afton is just one perpetrator:
http://www.neverpaytoplay.com

This page is run by the guys (and gal) in Girl Trouble - one of my favorite NW bands of all time. I didn't know "pay to play" even existed til they brought the issue to light. I've really only dealt with local bars over the years, and they've all been really good about collecting the door, then giving it to the bands afterwards. Yes, they often take a bit out for the sound guy, but it's usually a reasonable amount. Sorry to hear that some of you are having to deal with pay to play - I know things are tough out there for bands, but that just sucks.

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

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