I only speak for myself, and bands should always feel welcome when I’m on duty.
Please Remember:
The opinions expressed are mine only. These opinions do not necessarily reflect anybody else’s opinions. I do not own, operate, manage, or represent any band, venue, or company that I talk about, unless explicitly noted.
Back in high-school, we had a piece of paper tacked up in the sound and lighting booth. To this day, I still quote it:
“I know you understand what you think I said. What I’m not sure you realize is that what you heard isn’t what I meant.”
Just a few days ago, I posted an article suggesting that bands do a lot of homework while looking for venues to play. As I was writing it, I (of course) knew exactly what I meant. However, it was later pointed out to me that the presentation of what I meant might not be clear to everybody. The issues are:
- People might think that I was making an authoritative statement about booking policies and business practices at Fats. (Yikes!)
- People might think that bands without a big following aren’t welcome. (Also yikes!)
What people heard isn’t what I meant.
If you read that article, and your feelings were hurt, I apologize – big time.
Also, let me say the following:
- I’m now including a disclaimer in my articles that states that the opinions on this site are mine alone. I probably should have done that in the first place.
- I talk about Fats a lot, because that’s the context that I work in. I also talk about Fats because I want to get the word out about live music there. I don’t speak for Fats as an organization, and I don’t represent the ownership or anybody else in any official capacity. Also, I don’t have booking authority, and I don’t have the final call on how shows are put together. Anything you read here is just me “callin’ it as I see it from FOH.”
- In my opinion (just my opinion, now), there is exactly one way to tell if a band is welcome at a venue: The band is at the venue. Really! In my mind as an audio tech, if you’re booked you have my full support. If you don’t know how a night might go at a venue, but you still want to play there, you should definitely try to get a date. What I’m advocating for is that musicians go into a gig knowing exactly what to expect from the venue, so that surprises and disappointments can be avoided. That’s all there is to it.
So, with that out of the way…on with the show!