Red heads give the best hugs

September marks two events for me. One, the end of summer. Cooking on the grill and enjoying a few cold ones outside will soon be gone till next year. Two, the season end of Twisted Tuesdays. In a way I’m glad when there are a few shows left. These shows take a lot of work to put together. Lining up the right bands, promotions and keeping the nights running flawless are things those that attend, don’t know about. Plus being able to go to the day job alert on Wednesday’s is a plus too.

Once again this year I’ve gotten so many comments at the shows from people that really liked a band they never saw before. Even Rit the sound guy, has been impressed with the bands. That’s probably the most satisfying aspect of the shows. Mixing up the bands to get two different crowds thus exposing each one to the other’s crowd.

To this day, I don’t know why more bands don’t take a chance on their weekend shows. How many times do you go to a show and its like 3 bands playing practically the same music for 3 hours? Plus all the bands playing together have the same fans, so instead of having 3 different bands each with it’s own crowd, they have a bad show (crowd numbers) because 50 showed up instead of 150. My most mixed up show was one of the best this year. The show featured Red Room, The Jellybricks and Hierosonic. Before the show a got a few emails wondering what I was doing with the line up. The “sheep” couldn’t understand, because it was way out from the norm. However those same people were the ones that came up to me at the end of the night and said what an awesome show it was.

Bands need to think out of the box when setting up their gigs. I have never had a band cancel because of the show mix. In fact most were excited to play a show that was out of their norm. This year most of the weekend stuff is stall and does not grab my attention. I’ve also been told this from others that only go to original band shows. Hopefully one of these days, bands will wake up and start having shows that will spark the interest once more.

This year I noticed downtown is dead on the weekdays. In past years we could count on 20-30 extra people coming in from off the street. This year the outside bars have been empty and most of the restaurants have few people sitting at their tables. I’m guessing the “novelty” of downtown is wearing off. Plus in my opinion it’s getting stall. If the “suburban” bars were smart they would exploit this, however most have raised the white flag years ago and are happy with getting anyone walking in their doors. Just like I mentioned above about bands, venues need to be creative as well.

This past Tuesday night Carrie Rapaport, stopped in to say hi. We chatted for a little and things are looking pretty good for Carrie in LA. She mentioned LA is just like Central PA except instead of having a 100 bands that suck you have a couple 1000. Booking clubs for original acts is just as hard as it is here. You have to work harder promoting your gig when you get one, because again just like Central PA your only known for your last show. Carrie’s band, Cake Cutter, is finishing a CD that is already getting some buzz. Songs will be featured on various TV shows and also the soon to be released Jackass Movie. I remember the last conversation I had with Carrie before she left for LA a few years ago. She was unsure what the future held, but she knew it had to be better than what was going on here in Central PA. I admire her for taking a chance on her dream. So many people talk and think about what they want to do in life, yet very few ever take the next step to actually pursuing their dreams. And yes I did get a hug, multiples in fact. I’m telling you guys, red heads know how to give great hugs.

Well I guess that’s enough for now. Hopefully Ernesto moves through the area fast and we can salvage some of the extended weekend with decent weather. Don’t forget to save a little of your partying for this Tuesday Night, Sept. 5th, for Maria Forgotten and Condition K!!!!

Lator Gators - BigJim