organ

Surface Unsigned have announced venues and dates

http://www.myspace.com/surfaceunsigned

Dry Bar, Manchester; Flapper, Birmingham; Boston Music Rooms, London.

So, those venues are out of commission for real gigs for a while.

I see that Leeds (with a low-visibility presence in 2008 and previously pencilled in for 2009) is not included in the latest schedule.

West Yorkshire bands will have to find some other chancers to give their money and dreams to. Either that or follow the lead set by The Cribs, The Pigeon Detectives, ¡Forward, Russia!, The Music, I LIKE TRAINS, Wild Beasts, Corrine Bailey Rae, Sky Larkin, Kaiser Chiefs and all the other dross that somehow scrape along without Mr Mitchell and his ilk.

Hannah Krepski of Surface Unsigned started a thread about the "festival" on Drownedinsound:

http://www.drownedinsound.com/community/boards/music/4149291

looks like EVERYONE should go ask the BBC why they're sponsoring/supporting a Pay To Play operation?

I note that the thread in question has been censored. More threats have been issued I suspect.


http://drownedinsound.com/community/boa ... ic/4149398

No, it's a different thread - same lead post posted a second time

Phew!
Thanks John. That's a relief.............

I am sure that we are all aware that the circus is underway again. I posted this on the DIS forum in an effort to bump up a previous thread. It would be sad if our words of warning failed to reach currently engaged bands.

The Surface Unsigned fiasco is underway!

I note that the Surface Unscrupulous Festival has commenced again for another six months of ripping fledgling bands off.
Recently my band did a "Battle of the Bands" type event which we swore we would never do again because of our experiences with Surface Unsigned.
I am relieved to say that it was a positive experience and well worth doing. It enabled us to meet other bands and have a laugh. No money changed hands, no silly deposits and no ridiculous audience voting charades. Thank God! The venue was good with an excellent backline and the promoter really did promote the event so we actually had a 'real' audience, not a bunch of partisan friends and relatives. We were not harassed on stage and after the performance we were treated to a proper balanced panel of judges who gave individual, detailed, live and sincere appraisals of our performance, warts and all. They were not 'Micky Mouse' judges either. So refreshing after all the Surface Unsigned rubbish!
So you see, it can be done properly without becoming a cash cow situation, done purely to line the organiser's pockets. Given that the winners of Surface Unsigned always disappear into obscurity extremely quickly after their illustrious victory, the question must be, 'Why pay through the nose to achieve absolutely nothing?'

PT

Still don't see why it has to be a "battle" - why didn't this promoter just put on a good gig with a good bill, since when was music and going to a gig a battle? There's no such thing as a good battle of the bands gig in my book, all stinks of bulshit to me

SeanOrgan wrote:Still don't see why it has to be a "battle" - why didn't this promoter just put on a good gig with a good bill, since when was music and going to a gig a battle? There's no such thing as a good battle of the bands gig in my book, all stinks of bulshit to me

Sorry Sean,
I have no reason to think that this stinks of bulshit. Obviously I am watching it carefully though. As a young band we have struggled royally trying to perform and these guys approached us recently. They asked for no money and have been very supportive of our efforts. They have made tremendous efforts to support us and our shows. They have written articles and produced eye catching graphics to advertise events. It is perhaps a shame that it takes the form of a Battle of the Bands because we feel that, is very old hat but hey, we have been treated with respect, which has been very scarce in our performing lives. The gigs have been genuinely enjoyable. We really don't care if we get knocked out because we treat each round as just another gig, we have no interest in 'winning.' The organisers offer neither fame nor fortune and any small profit made from gigs goes to a homeless charity. As a band we have no complaints. We get to perform to a decent sized audience, the atmosphere is great and we haven't paid a bean. We bring our music and skill to the party and this company recognises that and respects us for it.
On a different note, we were approached by another organisation recently who offered us a place in their 'Battle.' They seemed harmless enough if not a little naive. Things were going well until they asked for a £25.00 deposit and after a lot of arm twisting admitted that we needed to sell 25 tickets to get the deposit returned. A visit to their website reveals a flashing Surface Unsigned banner and they site their major influence as being SU. OMG it's one thing having to put up with the likes of Surface Unsigned and quite another to discover a two bit copy cat version. Perhaps John needs to investigate this one?

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... =397188654

PT

still don't see why it has to be a battle, music isn't about battles and votes and all that crap. Why can't people just put together good bills packed with good exciting cross polinating bands without all the battle of the bands vote for who's best bullshit

SeanOrgan wrote:still don't see why it has to be a battle, music isn't about battles and votes and all that crap. Why can't people just put together good bills packed with good exciting cross polinating bands without all the battle of the bands vote for who's best bullshit

It would be good to dispense with the 'Battle ' element I agree but it probably came about when the genuine interest in live music started to dwindle. When it came into fashion, the competitive element brought in extra bums on seats. It applied pressure to the participating bands to try to bring supporters or perish! These days gigs with little or no audience are becoming painfully common. Ouch!
At the bottom end of this food chain where this type of event is common, audiences are not necessarily music lovers. As a band we have now reached the stage where we can pick and choose the sort of gigs we do but when we started we had to accept anything that came along.
It would be great if we could access an excellent promoter who could put together a good bill and help us showcase our talent but out here in the stix that kind of utopia does not exist. Just before Christmes we lost 6 live music venues in our area. Perhaps London is different. We have to try and work round reality. That is why, occasionally, we put up with the 'Battle' type bulshit.

PT

well if bands got their finger out and did some publicity and some old school leg work... coupld it be that things like My Space and the internet have made bands lazy... could it be that this is a waste of our time (still have not idea who your band actually is)

maybe battle of the bands, surface unsigned and pay to play is all you bands deserve....

CDr cost what? About 30p each out of Sainsburys, a stamp costs what 42p or so large letter second class, artwork just costs a little time and effort? send out five well aimed demos a week and stop Sean O banging his head on his desk here! I think he's had enough of you bands now... all he did yesterday was listen to Pete Doherty and go on about how good the new album is