{"id":3145,"date":"2010-07-17T13:00:13","date_gmt":"2010-07-17T21:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=3145"},"modified":"2010-07-17T13:00:28","modified_gmt":"2010-07-17T21:00:28","slug":"camp-bisco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/17\/camp-bisco\/","title":{"rendered":"Camp Bisco"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Latest Accessory of a Well-Equipped Band: A Festival of Its Own<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is an utterly fascinating story that should be read by bands and concert promoters alike.<\/p>\n

I tell everyone that if a genie came out of a bottle and offered me the ability to go to summer camp for the rest of my life, I’d take that deal.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s where I had my first girlfriends, where I made fast friends, Camp Laurelwood in Madison, Connecticut.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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\nCamp Laurelwood<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We didn’t call it Color War, we called it the Olympics.\u00c2\u00a0 The Big O is coming!\u00c2\u00a0 The Big O is Coming!\u00c2\u00a0 A counselor would start this chant in the dining hall and you knew, in only a matter of days, the entire camp would be divided into teams and all other activities would be thrown overboard and for seventy two hours, we’d compete.<\/p>\n

Competition was the key element of the baby boomer lifestyle, we’re all about winners and losers. But the younger generation is all about participating, being a member of the group.\u00c2\u00a0 The so-called social revolution.\u00c2\u00a0 Social media allows you to stay in touch with your buds, make new ones, 24\/7. Which is why Facebook is so exciting.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not dead, it’s not genealogy, it’s about bringing all your lifelong contacts together and having a party.<\/p>\n

Which is not only the essence of summer camp, but Woodstock.\u00c2\u00a0 It was about being there as much as the music.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why Coachella and Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza are so successful today.\u00c2\u00a0 Really, the music is secondary to the experience.<\/p>\n

The challenge for the promoters of traditional concerts is how to bring this social experience to the arena, the shed, the stadium.<\/p>\n

There needs to be a Facebook page for the event.\u00c2\u00a0 A place at the venue where everybody can connect.\u00c2\u00a0 There needs to be prizes, there needs to be togetherness.<\/p>\n

Been to a gig recently?\u00c2\u00a0 With the giant Verizon texting screens?\u00c2\u00a0 I can’t take my eyes off them, even though they’re talking about people I don’t know, I’m fascinated by the fact that these people are here TOGETHER!<\/p>\n

You’re not together at a movie.\u00c2\u00a0 And too often, a concert is a show.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about what comes from the stage more than what’s going on in the audience.\u00c2\u00a0 But if there’s to be a live music renaissance, the attendees must be equal partners.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about ripping them off, but providing an engaging experience that is truly two-way.<\/p>\n

It’s hard for boomers to understand.\u00c2\u00a0 Who grew up with cheap concerts by artists whose music defined the era.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ll all pay extreme amounts to be close to the fire.\u00c2\u00a0 But how many acts provide that intense flame today?\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe GaGa, maybe Swift, but the most successful road acts are almost anti-star.\u00c2\u00a0 This is the lesson of the Grateful Dead, not free music.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about building community.\u00c2\u00a0 About seeing the same friends at each gig.\u00c2\u00a0 About needing to be there.\u00c2\u00a0 If the band plays the same rigid, stultifying set do you really need to go next year?\u00c2\u00a0 Obviously not.\u00c2\u00a0 And maybe not even if the price is cheap.<\/p>\n

We’re experiencing a social revolution.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s all based on interconnectedness.\u00c2\u00a0 Old wave media hates this.\u00c2\u00a0 The newspaper is used to dictating!\u00c2\u00a0 Music has always led.\u00c2\u00a0 Why can’t music get down in the pit with listeners and embrace them?<\/p>\n

Sure, the deal has to be fair, fans can’t be abused.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s more.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to get concertgoers INVOLVED!\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to allow them to connect with each other, as well as the band…if you can e-mail a band, why can’t you meet them, especially if you’ve paid an admission price?\u00c2\u00a0 Why can’t you meet the roadies, tour the stage, not only at VIP prices for Bon Jovi, but for middling or developing acts too!\u00c2\u00a0 This is where you create the bond.\u00c2\u00a0 You want fans to come home with summer camp memories.\u00c2\u00a0 I went every year, and like I said, I’d still be willing to go, those were the best years of my life.<\/p>\n

P.S. Camp Bisco may only be 15,000 people this year.\u00c2\u00a0 But everything good starts small.\u00c2\u00a0 And blows up when you least expect it.\u00c2\u00a0 Suddenly, everybody gets the memo and has to participate.\u00c2\u00a0 And you go from doing 15,000 a night to 150,000.<\/p>\n

This is the Phish phenomenon, absent social media\/the Internet which can spread the word so much quicker than in the days of yore.\u00c2\u00a0 Stop telling me you need development money, you need to get on the radio, on television.\u00c2\u00a0 Phish had none of that and they can do better live business than today’s Top Forty wonders.\u00c2\u00a0 Focus on music and culture, not marketing.<\/p>\n

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Latest Accessory of a Well-Equipped Band: A Festival of Its Own This is an utterly fascinating story that should be read by bands and concert promoters alike. I tell everyone that if a genie came out of a bottle and offered me the ability to go to summer camp for the rest of my life, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-OJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3145"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3147,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions\/3147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}