[Dynagroove] Tribeism Review-Where's the love?

Becky becky at iswest.net
Tue Aug 20 15:24:50 PDT 2002 

And that, friends, is some of the best insight I have read...thanks ben for
breakin' down what I was thinking...

I think the idea of keeping a Friday event central to hollywood is the best
bet for sure. I also think it's adventurous and unfortunately risky of
promoters to bring out new and un-tired talent and I commend the tribe for
the choice of fred everything...we really do need to support the diversity
out here, as the same line up seems to be gracing flyers for months on
end...and it does get kinda old (sorry dj's and promoters...) not to say the
talent is any less quality, just nice to hear the records from a different
perspective.


Gravity was a success...and really, we felt lucky that we got the 300 we did
on a Friday night...it was a surprise and we had so much fun doing so. Yes
it was at one of the 'tired' locations, but it seemed to work for that night
and we had no complaints...we do have free thinking let - outs to thank for
a good fraction of our crowd, it was nice to pop over there and grab all the
people not yet ready to quit having fun...



I think Hollywood park would be prime for a Saturday event, especially now
that so many people saw how really nice it is...and it's really really
nice...especially with that big fat union sound system in there.



I like the response we are seeing as well from this discussion...we as
promoters need to network and share ideas this way, unfortunately there are
nights that there is competition among the different parties...but the law
of supply and demand will soon overcome and we will have a better balance of
events to patrons again...this five party Saturday stuff has got to stop...I
know, for myself, I would like to support all of your events and having to
choose between two or three parties thrown by crews who I back is rough...



And during the week even...man, last Wednesday! FOUR top of the line events
going on in the middle of the week! It was overkill and there was hardly
enough people to go around. I feel bad for the party that actually brought
james curd to town that night...hopefully he was already here and didn't
need a plane ride cuz that gets so pricey...out of towners during the week
is a risk for sure, imo we should go local during the week and save the
headliners for the big nights, but that's just me....



And on the promotion tip...GEEZ...I was embarrassed to be out passing out
flyers with the hundred other or so promoters these last few weeks...just
dumping armloads of flyers on people...it was shameful. If I were those
kids, I would run away too...just OVERKILL! I wonder if there is a way to
get past that stuff...I am all for the email aspect of promotion and would
honestly like to eradicate all the wasted paper that flyer promotion
brings...


-----Original Message-----
From: dynagroove-admin at reelhouse.net
[mailto:dynagroove-admin at reelhouse.net]On Behalf Of Ben Annand
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2002 1:41 PM
To: dynagroove at reelhouse.net
Subject: Re: [Dynagroove] Tribeism Review-Where's the love?

I've always felt that Friday nights are inferior to Saturday nights for
getting numbers, but I hardly think that it's the only factor.  Here's an
example: the Tropical Cade refers to from 3 years ago with the "almost
pathetic" turnout drew 200 people (which btw, I do not feel is "almost
pathetic," I generally prefer parties around this size).  Still, it was less
than I thought I would get and in a space that would have been better for a
bigger party.  I thought the main reason the party didn't do better was
Friday night, and didn't do one on a Friday for a long time.

However, at that time there were not as many Saturday night parties as there
are now.  A week ago I had Tropical on a Saturday, there were 10 other
parties that night, and I pulled 200 people.  I did not hear of another
party that drew more than 100.  Given the number of parties that night was
it really better to run on Saturday?  I'm not so sure.  Gravity was the week
before on a Friday and drew about 250, had a lineup with equal or less draw
than Tropical.  The only competition it had was Free Thinking, and the
promoters of Gravity estimated they had at least 30 people come from Free
Thinking after it closed.  I once had a Tropical thank-you party on a Friday
after Free Thinking and it had almost 300 people.  So I'd have to say that a
Friday night party can be successful, especially if it's close enough to
Free Thinking - both the parties I just mentioned were within a mile of
Boardners.  Another thing to keep in mind is that promoters can often get
cheaper deals on djs and locations for Friday nights since the competition
is less stiff.

I would say the main reason of turnout problem for Vinyltribe last Friday
was the combination of Friday night and lack of central location.  Another
reason is that Fred Everything, one of the most talented DJs I've ever seen,
is still not a huge draw in L.A.  Another reason is it's really, really hard
to do parties right now in general- you could probably count the number of
profitable house events so far this year on one hand.  Everyone's numbers
are down, yet most any DJ with draw has a greedy agent who wants x amount of
dollars no matter if you're throwing a massive, a 1000 person club, or a 300
person underground party.  Venue owners are usually scum, and keep adjusting
prices upward despite a struggling economy and party scene.

What to do about it?  Here are some general suggestions for promoters:

- Don't ever throw a party unless you're prepared to lose every penny.

- Pick a location that's central, it's not worth risking being too far out
out of the way for people.

- Pick your date carefully, Saturday's still better if there aren't too many
parties going on but a Friday can work if you're in Hollywood and keep the
price down.

- If you're deciding between a larger and a smaller space, pick the smaller
one to keep expenses down.  Less money for location and sound, and if you
don't get tons of people the party can still go off.

- Promote like crazy.

- Use your guest list for people who help you out and for people
contributing to the scene, like other promoters.  Don't give a bunch of +1 s
to your friends or pretty girls just cause they need to feel special.  Run a
discount list for your friends if they need to feel special, if they're not
willing to contribute something towards your party maybe they're not such
great friends anyway. If your friends are really broke they out to being
willing to do an hour selling concessions or help with setup or something in
exchange for free admission

- Try to offer people something different, over time it will build a loyal
following that will come to your party even if there are a lot of other
things going on.

- Build a mailing list.  Get people to sign up at your parties so that you
encourage a regular crowd.

- Stop complaining about crusty old martini drinking househeads and start
promoting to different crowds.  There's a lot of interest in house music in
L.A. right now, and you will find people at other types of events who are
interested in your house show.  You may find yourself the only person
promoting at these events, instead of standing outside of Release or Deep
with 30 other promoters who annoy the crowd so much they don't want to take
any flyers at all.

In conclusion there really isn't any surefire way to get the numbers you
want at your party.  All you can do is weigh all the factors and hope for
the best...

Ben

PS I wish I could have been at Vinyltribe to support and hear Fred but I was
in SF, I will post some pics and review of the Sunset Boat party shortly...






>From: Cade O Nelson <con at reelhouse.net>
>To: Mack <Spicoli at happ-e.com>
>CC: Dynagroove <dynagroove at reelhouse.net>
>Subject: Re: [Dynagroove] Tribeism Review-Where's the love?
>Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 12:40:26 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
>Support in this scene is a facade.  It is no big deal and I have long
>since stopped taking it personal.  I believe the problem with this event
>was Friday.  No I AM NOT saying that Free Thinking dented this party.  It
>is the actual night.  I have had this conversation with many promoters Mr.
>Annand, Jhymn, Doug (family), and even Zack Hill.  About three years ago
>there were several Friday night parties in  a row.  Tropical, Stompy, and
>Vinyltribe did a little get together with Wally C.  All of these had a
>small turn out.  almost to the pathetic level.  To the point where I
>insisted on paying to get in.  All of these crews have a "Following" but
>no one showed up.  The only common denominator was Friday night.  Even my
>very own Free Thinking does not pull my "supporters" all that much.  Most
>of my crowd is crusty old house heads (sarcasm don't take it serious you
>COHHs) and hollywood foot traffic.  Unless you got Mark Farina or some
>other huge name your not gonna pull.   People must save their money for
>saturday or something.  When Louis and I were looking to do a club on
>Fridays we both decided it would never work unless it was free.   Even
>with a Free event the "True Heads" won't come out unless I beg Diz or
>Heather to play for me.  I don't take any of this personal.  For when I am
>not doing an event I find myself taking it easy and enjoying other stuff
>and only going to events that really interest me.   To wrap things up I
>find that people tend to just support their interests.  No problem, I just
>try and make my party everyone's interest without straying far out of my
>own.  But I would never throw a production of a Friday without Mark
>Farina, Diz, Heather, Or Derrick Carter.  Blah blah blah blah blah  This
>is just MY HUMBLE OPINION.
>
>Cade
>
>
>
>On Sat, 17 Aug 2002, Mack wrote:
>
> > LACK OF SUPPORT is Saddening...
> >
> > After seeing Zack and the VinylTribe guys promoting this party for a few
>months I was really really excited for this night to begin.
> >
> > We showed up at the casino and got free parking and got in for only $10,
>thanks to the before 10:30 rule.
> >
> > The venue was very sweet and kind of on the tropical tip. We were right
>next to the race track and had a patio and a tent over us. The wind blew in
>from the patio and cooled the dancefloor perfectly. The sound was setup in
>a nice sorround sound setting. Good lighting, a disco ball would have made
>it even better though.
> >
> > When we walked in Emi was layin it down, and warming up the small amount
>of people that came early.
> >
> > Got a drink and let it simmah.
> >
> > Next up was Zack Hill, as a few more people started to show up. Zack
>came with it I thought. I really liked the programming of his set. He
>played some old, and some new, but they all worked very well and I began to
>actually lift up my feet at that point to dance. I'm slow...
> >
> > Then after Zack, Steven Dimitri came on, and played some great tracks as
>well.
> >
> > But at that point I began to get a little dissapointed by the crowd. I
>expected a lot more support for the VinylTribe.
> >
> > The VinylTribe is notorious for throwing small and intimate $5 parties
>that never dissapoint. They have a weekly internet mix show and have been a
>staple in LA for years now. And it seems people aren't giving them the
>love. Support local talent.
> >
> > It's not like they are some boaters that just came in from some other
>town. They really deserve to get 3 times the amount of people that came out
>last night. It's sad sometimes when you see the good people never get
>rewarded for their efforts. There aren't many crews in LA as a whole that
>are always down to donate their talents or their time to help out another
>crew or party.
> >
> > I was very glad to drop $10(even $15) for Fred Everything, who in my
>opinion was off the hook. Playing some fresh tracks and mixing them well.
> >
> > I hope people realize that things happen and you have to move on from it
>and look forward to what the future holds.
> >
> >
> > IN CONCLUSION:
> >
> > -Phat Party
> > -Great Music
> > -Great location
> > -LA should have supported more
> >
> > Thanks VinylTribe for your efforts and thank you Fred Everything for
>coming out.
> >
> > Mack
> >
> > _____________________________________________________________
> > Get your own FREE email address at http://mail.happ-e.com
> >
> > _____________________________________________________________
> > Promote your group and strengthen ties to your members with
>email at yourgroup.org by Everyone.net  http://www.everyone.net/?btn=tag
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________________________________
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>
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