Your Goal
Used to be a number one record. You wanted that ceremony, with all the label geeks and your manager, where you were presented gold and platinum plaques, which you paid for, demonstrating your success. But do you really want to be Lady GaGa? Beholden to Perez Hilton? A creature of the media? Or would you rather fly under the radar? Especially since the radar is controlled by the mainstream media, on its death bed and notoriously out of touch.
The Disco Biscuits are having their own festival. I just learned this turning the pages of "Relix", which has turned into a compendium of ads for promoters trying to draw urchins to their multi-act presentations.
On page 2, there’s an ad for the Telluride Blues & Brews festival. I’ve never even heard of it! I know about the venerated Bluegrass festival, one of my favorite downloads, Bruce Hornsby and Bela Fleck doing a cover of "Tangled Up In Blue", was recorded at that gathering. Headliners include Taj Mahal and Bonnie Raitt.Â
Page 4 is Bonnaroo. Do I really want to see Springsteen with all those twentysomethings? Not really. We don’t want no heathens in the temple during the religious ceremony.Â
Page 6 is Clearwater. Susan Tedeschi, Arlo Guthrie and Richie Havens. Sounds like fun if the tickets are cheap enough.
Page 9 is the Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash. They’ve got Hot Tuna and…Â
Page 11 is Rothbury, featuring the remnants of the Dead’s only summer performance
Page 13 is All Good, with a bunch of second tier jam bands and "Art, Camping & Loving". So, I guess if you want to get laid in a tent, this is your place!
And on page 19, there’s an ad for CAMP BISCO!
No, the magazine didn’t run out of first tier festivals. On page 27 there’s an ad for the Wanee Festival. They’ve got a pretty good lineup. The Allmans, Gov’t Mule, lovable has-beens like the Doobies and Toots and the Maytals, and up and comers like Umphrey’s McGee. But can you imagine camping in Florida in June? Check it out!Â
Actually, in the back of the magazine, there’s a whole directory of festivals. The mind boggles, one’s eyes roll back into one’s head. Everybody’s trying to make some money!
You overpay the headliners and the wannabes play cheap, for the theoretical exposure.
The commercialism runs rampant. The festivals want ink. They’re playing to the aforementioned mainstream media. They want attention. But most newspaper reporters have no idea who the Disco Biscuits are, never mind those telling stories on TV.
But from July 15-18, there’s going to be Biscuitmania in Mariaville, New York, twenty minutes from Albany, wherever the fuck that is (Mariaville, of course, I know Albany!)
You’ve got to be deeply into it to know more than a few of the acts appearing. But this festival sounds like a truly good time. Because everyone going is on the exact same page. This isn’t a mixture of the tribes, multiple religions, this is solely your brethren. THIS is the festival that will stay in your memory bank, that will be the basis for your first movie. You won’t be fighting the crowd, you’ll be making friends!
Phish did this first. moe. has had their moe.down for years. Actually, they’re on their tenth iteration, there’s an ad on page 23. But moe. actually had a major label deal. They tried to play the big time game. But the Disco Biscuits?
Actually, this is the EIGHTH Camp Bisco.
And it’s truly a camp. They’re going to have Color War!
All for $145 in advance ($165 at the gate!) Hell, there are even VIP tickets, for only $225. I’m against the segregation of the classes, but if you can pay to sit in front of the plane, I guess you can pay for special toilets and showers, away from the riff-raff.
Actually, the list of VIP perks seem to be extremely well thought out. Not only free wi-fi, but the computers to use it! And a free shuttle from the Albany airport!
Sounds like someone had to do a lot of work. But that’s how it is when you invest in yourself. But after making the effort, you can reap the rewards! You don’t have to worry about getting an offer from one of the big time festivals, you don’t have to worry about having played the year before…at your own festival, you’re the star attraction EVERY YEAR! Your audience can’t get enough of you!
You’re never going to be booed, only encouraged. If you’re mercenary, you can sell high-priced merch the whole weekend!
You’re creating YOUR OWN culture!
Stop trying to convince people who get into the show for free. Stop spending your marketing budget on people who don’t care. Just build an e-mail/txt list and service these people! It’s akin to going to the aforementioned summer camp, a family reunion, a yearly ritual.
That’s how you’ve got to sell it.
And we all know the money is in live performance. The music is a giveaway. Why sell out to the major festivals, letting them make all the profit, when you can reap the upside yourself!
Yes, the big festivals are like the big labels. They’ll write you a check, but they don’t care about you or your career.
Create your own destination attraction, your own Disneyland. With manageable crowds and access. Think about it, how much would you pay to go a festival of YOUR favorite band?
