In spite of my trying to reach out to promoter organizations and individuals I've come up empty handed. But there are bands who would like to book shows for the spring like God Module, I:Scintilla, XuberX and others. So hey, since I seem to be too scary to contact if anyone else happens to know anyone who would want to book these acts then tell them to contact the bands. Their info ain't difficult to find.

XuberX is playing mar 11 @ big vs with us and the dark clan.

Dave didn't let me in on that juicy little nugget. Neither did Dan.

hoooooopefully i didn't just spill any beans....

Is there even an active promotion group currently operating in the TC?

noht exactly...

What happened to Silent?

I don't know what "happened" to them. But they only booked one or two shows a year, mostly of fairly large Metropolis acts.

"The Farmer" tends to do a really good job on bringing many synthpop acts here, on his own coin (while it's mostly not my cup of tea, I definitely salute him for the effort).

yeah, ye kilted farmer does bring in some cool peeps, and he put us up quite a few times (us being UCKF in this case)

maybe they don't want to be dealin' with the devil... unless they're booking charlie daniels that is.

And they wouldn't be dealing with me. At all. Because of what I do I'm contacted by bands all the time and since these bands don't know anyone in town they ask me to hook them up with someone who can get them a show here in the Cities. But I don't know anyone willing to book shows here in the Cities. So I end up turning a lot of bands away who then book shows in Chicago and Madison and even Des Moines. So hey, if you like driving a shitload of miles to see bands you like that's great. Bully for you. I'm more interested in seeing them a little closer to home. But I'm certainly not getting any help.

eh. i can throw shows together, but they're generally at the underground. great for some bands, shit for others.

personally, i love the place.

i know this. i was trying a poor attempt at a joke but seem to have failed miserably.
and i let me say that i do appreciate what you are trying to accomplish, or at least a connection you are trying to create. if a band doesn't come around here, that generally means i don't get to see them so of course i want them to come around.
if i were a promoter, i'd be in touch to see who is coming around, but i just don't have that kind of resources - not to mention, i don't particularly know how the hell to throw something like that together. while that may sound like a cop-out, i still don't have the resources. i mean, if i could help, i would.
my apologies if i struck a nerve. personally, the lack of shows pisses me off too, but there just seems to be a general apathy of sorts out there that seems to make people apprehensive about even attempting to bring shows in - unless it's something that is getting played on KDWB, 89.3, or 93X.

Every time we get passed over (which happens a lot) I get upset. But it's even more upsetting when the band contacts me personally and says, "Hey, we've been having a hard time finding someone in your town to book a show for us and we really want to play there. Can you give us the contact information of your local promoters?"

I spend about a half hour beating my head against a wall before I reply back that I can't help them.

eh, industrial isnt really a money-making genre, especially now that we've all gotten into our one sub-sub-sub-genre. most booked shows are lucky to break even. what can ya do?

Why not direct them to mr chan presents? Oh boo hoo people will say that is a sucky idea but it's better than nothing and they've booked some electro/industrial shows before.

I mean are they specifically asking for PROMOTERS? If not why not send them venue booking info & say you'll round up people to help flyer/promote. You don't NEED A promoter to book a show. Unless they are adamant about that I think giving an option is better than saying sorry ou're sh*t outta luck.

The Varsity
http://www.varsitytheater.org/stagedoor.html

Triple rock National/regional/touring Bands and Agents, please email: booking@triplerocksocialclub.com

Turf Club http://www.turfclub.net/Booking.html

In my educated guess, Mr Chan (or clear channel) only books fairly large acts. It's somewhat difficult to book shows on your own, when you have no idea what to expect from audience and you're little known to the venue in question.

And yes bands in the genre NEED a promoter, as you need the shows to be actively promoted (and in a city filled with squelching apathy -- that's a tall order). There's nothing more depressing then seeing one of your favorite bands, play what appears to be an empty room.

I already revised my post a tiny bit after you replied but ok. I have a good friend in this genre who doesn't always use a promoter and works directly with the venues. I know for a fact because I helped him w/ a few things. But I get the need for one in a smaller genre. Well those are my ideas and I think they're better than saying "we can't help you."

The whole thing boils down to money and/or demands. Too many bands want too much for the amount of people they can draw. If bands are treated like royalty throughout the world they expect it in the US too. (A-Ha wants $30-50000 guaranteed to do a show in the states. I so far count 3 shows on their itinerary for May in LA and NY of course)
I have tried contacting Mr Chan about assisting with promotion. I made them the offer that I would pay them to help promote and would finance an entire show by myself. They have yet to return one of my phone calls or emails. I have passed along their info to booking agents that have contacted me (who's asking prices far exceed what I am willing to risk) and have yet to see one show result from that.
When you budget out a show (in this genre) it normally does not make financial sense. The demands some of these bands ask for are CRAZY!! I can't prove it but I think that most bands take their best shows and use that as a base for what they should be paid. Minneapolis can draw OK but is no where near the top end of the tier. This is why I took the Assemblage 23 show. Talk about easy to work with and realistic demands!! I wish everyone was like Tom!

The thing is that Dark industrial/electro, like Thosquanta said, is not a big draw and all clubs know this. One time I even threw an act in the lap of the Triple Rock saying that these guys will draw over 100 people(They drew 150 on a previous show that I did there) (on a weekday early show) and they turned it down cause they couldn't make enough money. So imagine what happens to a club when a show only draws 50 people (we've all seen it)? This is why they charge rent to outside promoters. I also believe that fans of dark electro don't drink that much overall compared to other genres and this may be another reason why clubs pass it by.
Sad to say, if a fan of the genre has not heard the band it is highly unlikely they will attend. A promoter once told me he handed out 2000 sampler CDs at an Erasure concert and it only resulted in a handful of ticket sales to the show he was promoting) I have yet to meet many people that said they came to the show cause of the snippets they heard online. They usually love one of the bands in the lineup.
Sometimes people complain about ticket pricing. Tickets need to be priced so that there is at least a minimal chance to breakeven. I NEVER set ticket prices with the hope of making money. I put them as low as I can with my best guess at turnout to breakeven. Sometimes artists will be dead on as far as their draw and I average that and then other times they are full of crap!! I for one HATE seeing acts skip MPLS time and time again but nothing has changed since I did my first show back in 2004 IMO. You mix unrealistic demands from bands with a small fan base and usually the result will be negative.
I for one am still wondering how VNV Nation can pull such a crowd? That show at Station 4 last summer rocked and it was 120 degrees in there. Yet, the last three times they have come here they have used a different venue and promoter? This implies to me that there isn't as much money even in successful shows as one might think. I had a few people ask me if that was a show I did. My answer was "No way, I could never get this many people to turn out."

no wonder you were willing to book UCKF. our demands were burritos and beer.

(thosquanta tends to lean more towards pizza and whiskey)

That was awhile ago but I think that comes close. I also believe that Shawn must have used all your drink tickets for himself cause he was passed out on the backstage couch for Avenpitch's set.

I'm an engineer/programmer, not a businessman or record exec, so don't read too much into this, but, I've always been annoyed by the need for outside promotion companies.

It's a whole additional layer of complexity and potential to get screwed.
It's a "middleman" between the bands and venues that (technically) just doesn't need to be there.

Wouldn't it be more efficient for a venue to book its own shows? First Ave has an EMPLOYEE who books the shows in the Entry, so you've got the band and the venue working out a deal and splitting up the money when the show's over. Simple.

You throw in a promoter, and either the promoter takes a big chunk of the money and rips everyone else off, or the promoter gets screwed out of a bunch of money (from both ends; the venue AND the bands), or there's confusion and arguing over who is responsible for what, and EVERYBODY gets screwed.

It would be awesome to just have ONE venue on town that catered to darksider shows, so everybody would know what to expect, everyone would know who to deal with and who's responsible for what, and how much they could expect to make. But since nobody's stepping up to the plate (not that I blame them, it's a petty&fickle crowd for the most part), we're left with chaos, and any promoter who steps in to organize things enough to pull off a "successful" show is generally rewarded with a financial LOSS.


Anyway, suggestion to devil: If it isn't something that Silent or BadFarmBoy will want to run with, rather than just shrugging and blowing them off, why not point the bands and tour managers to the 7th St Entry booker? That place is empty a lot of nights, and this crowd's big enough to fill it for a reasonably well-known band. That venue exists ONLY for small live shows; it ain't a regular bar or dance club. If a band can't even come to an agreement with a dedicated music venue with such minimal overhead, well, "Go book a show at Target Center then, ya friggin rockstars".

i agree w/ the post above this it's basically what i said in mine. the only other logical solution for a town with no one willing to host shows like this is for one of us [my suggestion is devil] to get a sugar daddy who's willing to fork over the big bucks.

the problem is promo. its debatable what and how well it works, but you need word of mouth, flyering, bombing sits like this, etc.

bands can't do that while they're on tour most of the time. hell, i can't be bothered to flyer in my own goddamned city most of the time.

even if you "cut the middlemen" and have the venue take care of it, they tend to have a pretty limited outlet. yeah, 1st ave buys adspace and whatever, but they sure don't go bug DJs to spin whatever band is coming and flyer similar shows to garner interest.

7th St. Entry would be one of my first choices to book a show. 1st and foremost is because of their inhouse marketing/promo. 2nd is because of the split they do. It is very fair!!! It isn't an UPFRONT rent that most every other venue charges. I really like the atmosphere of this club and it is the PERFECT size for almost any darksider show!!
The number one reason I don't do more shows there is because #1 - It is downtown. Man I hate parking downtown!! and #2 - IT is impossible to get in there. I could try and request a Tuesday in 2011 and I would bet it would have 5 holds on it already. Granted I only do 3 or 4 shows a year but that has been the case for the last 4 years.

Well, I've never seen much "promotion" come out of the "promoters" I've known so I guess I've always wondered why they're at all important myself.

Bottom line: If I have as much contact info as possible (and thank you for the specific suggestions) I can pass the info along. If the bands use that info and ask an outrageous sum for a booking date then they can be laughed at and mocked. At that point I don't care. If they contact me again and say, "All we did was ask for X amount of dollars and they laughed at us," then I will reply, "Then you asked for too much. If you're not willing to take what's being offered good luck with the rest of your tour."

I'm just trying to hook people up. If it goes sour after that it is of little consequence to me. And one hit from thirty years ago does not entitle you to fifty thousand. You're lucky to get $500 bucks and a door take at a place like 4th street station. Fuck those washed up has-beens. Maybe they're huge in Europe but so is David Hasselhoff so it doesn't seem to mean much.

I'm gonna sound like a broken record here, but bands have to work, really hard, to build an audience area by area. It means repeated touring, and breaking even on tours, not on shows. If it's possible, even losing a little money on a tour, if it means coming back to a bigger audience later. All promoters can do is increase your name recognition, which is a good thing, but it's a long-term strategy; it will not get people in the door if they don't already know who you are.

how is that? like it was already mentioned, there doesn't seem like there is that many shows there - at least not many that are advertised anyway.
is there a lot of shows there that aren't being advertised?
i've often wondered why more shows don't come through there. it seems like it would be about the appropriate size for that sort of draw...

Unter Null is touring with Cyanotic this summer. They're looking for promoters to contact them at UnterNull2010Tour@Gmail.com for summer dates. They're willing to play anywhere. The new Unter Null album is HOT, btw. She's really expanded her repertoire.

I have no idea. I am currently working on a few shows that could draw between 100-200 people. The Entry is the perfect place for it however, I just don't think venues are that keen on booking darksider music. I can't get the wheels to turn there. I mean I can get an email telling me it is booked but beyond that I have had a tough time. Years ago someone told me that you had to know someone there. I don't. Renting a venue is tough to cash flow with a 100 person turnout.

I will contact them. However, I know nothing about them(looking on myspace). Just am sick and tired of touring acts passing MN by. Will see what turns up.

as usual, if you need a cheap opener...

I'll also take a moment to offer Dissociate as an opening act to whom it may concern. I can work with any electronic/experimental/industrial/whatever bill.


Just recently opened for Nitzer Ebb @ the Varsity.

i will offer myself as a driver/errand person for project pitchfork if they need it.

Dually noted. I will keep that in mind. Thanks

Ad·ver·sary and Iszoloscope are looking to play cities they've never hit before. Neither have been to the Twin Towns. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adversary ... 284?ref=nf

IMHO this would be a great show for Hard Mondays, but I wouldn't mind seeing them anywhere.

I have the oppposite problem as most of you guys. I'm not playing out on purpose. I'm too busy to be juggling that into my life right now.

... plus I no longer have live performance gear, aside from my mic and guitars. My big server is a bit much to haul around.

BUT, what I can offer is this: in my Myspace friends list is a booking agent that offers me to play out about once every 2 months... her login in is "amy @ twin cities".

Just puting that out there in case anyone can use it.

<-------a shame

anything ever come of this?

Thanks,E.

Sadly, unlike a certain, handsome dude holding an awesome Les Paul bass I currently don't have a cohesive body of work. I've been all over the place in recent years.

having a non-cohesive body of work doesn't slow US down!

Uberbyte is planning a US jaunt. I would hope that someone would want to bring them here considering how well Combichrist is received when they come here, and Uberbyte is like Combichrist only about 80% better.

I have been in touch with them and have a date penciled in for August. Have been trying to contact Mark at Ground Zero about having the show there but have heard nothing back. Also have inquired at Triple Rock but same story. Have plenty of time thankfully.

Ego Likeness have been putting together a US jaunt with Angelspit. Both are proven draws. Angelspit have been amassing a pretty large fan base over the past couple years and Ego Likeness already have many devotees even though they only have a few releases under their belt (+ a number of EPs). The new album, "Breedless," due out on Metropolis next month is sure to increase their following considerably (it's pretty damn good). You can get in touch through their booking agent Athan at athan@cruxshadows.com.

Thanks!! Will look into it. I love both bands. Met Ego likeness twice. Great people!! I have talked with Athan many times.

might have to emerge from the shadows for that one.

Front Line Assembly is planning a tour. I don't have contact info though. Maybe someone can contact through myspace if interested. Last time they came it was amazing.-the best show of the year-and I'm not even really a die hard just went for fun.

awwww. we couldn't open coz we have drums now...

i think it's been said before, but it can be said again. badboy/kilted farmer have been awesome with the shows he is booking.
it's nice to have such shows coming through and i'd like to extend my gratitude.

This is only an east coast tour. Farthest east they are coming is Pittsburgh.

Could not agree more!

According to Dan Clark Ego Likeness are hoping to book some Midwest dates after that, sans Angelspit. Caustic has a new album out, the Dark Clan are finishing up a new album and XuberX is always looking to "tour" a bit so we might get a good package deal on this as they're all friends.

And as ever OBCT just likes to play I figure if we can get gas cash and sell a few t-shirts the night's a financial success.
Oh and I'll do genre poster design CHEAP. Color, B/W whatever is needed.

hm? got my attention. do you mean design, printing or both? got a portfolio?

Anyone know of anything planned to bring any of these peeps to Minnesota?

Alien Vampires, Amduscia, C-Lekktor, Die Sektor, Distorted Memory, Eden Synthetic Corps (ESC), Tamtrum.
Edit: or AktiveHate, Heimataerde

I'd love to see Combichrist live too, but know they just played here last year (still kickin myself for missing that).

Nope, sorry. Haven't heard a thing.

Most of those are overseas acts and it's grown extraordinarily difficult in recent years for small acts such as these to cross the pond for US tours. I'd be shocked to see a show by any of them over here.

Haha!
Didn't think so myself either, but that just lets me know I live in the wrong country, lol

You have almost zero chance of seeing anyone that obscure in North America, without attending a big multi-day "festival", a la Coma/Kinetik or whatever.

I know Chemlab is heading Stateside for a US tour but he's currently figuring out the logistics of circumventing a bunch of volcanic ash.