Appreciate it, Malaysia.

So this is where we are.

A deadbeat. A scene falling into ashes. Everybody's just giving up.
Giving up their bands, giving up their gig-going, giving up their music, giving up their passion, giving up the phase of their life that would be considered the happiest in their entire lifespan.
Giving up.

That's the problem in this country isn't it? The problem we never escape from because everybody just loses their initiative to make something grow. This whole music scene thing? It's a joke. It's a complete joke. Only a handful takes it seriously and the rest of these kids? They just come and go, but they don't do so in a way that's even worth respecting.
They come, find faults, pick sides, judge, criticize, boycott, get bored and then, they go.

What we need, is a change, a new movement of the OLD folks, who have been passionate all their life, to find the opportunities to make more worthy shows. Our scene nowadays is filled with shows that lack in catching the crowd's eyes. They have quantity (say over 15 bands for a day), but they have no quality.
They start late.
Over ambitious.
Pricey entries.
What do you expect when you see an empty venue?

Who went to my birthday gig in October 2010 at Noisy Studio? It was small scaled. It was cheap. I provided free food & drinks. It was accessible. I had a good line up - a little too many I suppose, but at least I canceled just a few than tire everybody out by ending super late. And most importantly, at least everybody enjoyed it. So many people came, the studio couldn't even FIT everybody.

My point isn't bragging. My point is: if you want to do shows, know how to do it.

There is also no point in doing a show that's meant to be exquisite, without a big budget to fall on when profit never shows. One thing, guys, for a fact, is that all the nicer places are usually inaccessible. Again, how can you expect more than a handful if you spend loads of cash on an event with nice sound and equipment and quality yet the atmosphere and choice of performers do not reach the standard?

It's all about knowing what you are doing - starting small before taking out the big guns. You cannot learn to run before you learn to walk.

Have people perhaps thought of joining all these low budgeted/no-budget-at-all organizers (say Dyslexia, UxF, Nervhous, Vokill, etc...) and make one BIG organizing community?
And don't go "ew, communities" because that's just the biggest bullshit I can hear. If you call yourself hardcore or punk or whatever you say you are, you think you're 'individual'? Don't be fooled, you're part of a subculture, which is part of a group and is part of a community.

All I am saying is, since everybody now tries to do good shows without much budget, then failing and losing even MORE money, why don't everybody collaborate, split the costs and share profits? The shows then become more diverse regarding genre, places, crowd, bands, concept. At least with every show there is one organizing label that takes the higher stool depending on what type of event it is (Concert / International / Punk / Post-rock, etc).

Sure, many of the kids nowadays think the real musicians are not materialistic and dedicate solely to music. But you still need to understand business if you're going to want your music to get OUT THERE. Do you think Butterfingers just sat around waiting for their luck to come? Or OAG, or Pop Shuvit or Love Me Butch or Hujan or Yuna? No. They went out there, strategically, to find ways of branching their music out and pulling their money in.

'Tapi diaorang mainstream la...' - Honestly speaking, not really. Not all. And even if the successful ones are mainstream, they deserve it because their effort is there. I honestly am not much of a fan of a band called Bunkface but I have my small respects to the boys for doing it DIY with effort until they reach the top, top enough to charge ridiculous amounts for booking them. And then Sam starts the Azenders which is a completely different story.

I've strayed off topic, haven't I? Anyway. I'm just trying to say, there are so many bands with potential to make it big and so many organizers that can help the bands. With bands by your side, the organizers can go from just organizing gigs to being booking agents and work with other projects. Opportunities are there when you seek it.

The important thing though, is for everybody to appreciate and accept all the different genres in the scene. You don't have to enjoy them but there will never be progress if we always condemn each others' efforts and work. 'Ew, band indie'. Padahal band2 macam Thy Regiment bukan indie? Punk bands like Carbon4teen isn't indie? They're all Independent right? They aren't Indie Rock, but they ARE indie. Learn your terms well and know your definitions, because you only look a fool.

The scene is not about canalising and separating. There are no protocols or rules to music. If organizers themselves jeer at bands from other genres, they will never be exposed or mature enough to understand the purpose of creating platforms such as gigs for musicians to showcase their talent, whatever sounds they originate from. It's not about what u can or can't listen to. In order for the Malaysian scene to stay alive, everybody has to start supporting everybody.

You diss a shuffler for wearing a trash metal cap. So what? A techno-lover cannot enjoy hardcore? Are we so anal we have the right to stop people from coming close to our genres and scene? Aren't we, as musicians, organizers, scenesters, suppose to open our arms to all who want to venture?

Sure, a lot of these kids aren't passionate and don't stay for long, but everybody has the right to put their share, however little.

It is time we start to slash out all the negatives, use our common sense and gameplan and proper plotting to set the scene back on its feet. I'm leaving the country for over a year. I'd expect good changes whenever I return for vacation.

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With Love,
KL Mosher

Organizing a gig: BE SMART II

An Addition to my previous post which I posted a while back, a year or two ago.

http://klmosher.blogspot.com/2008/12/organizing-gig-be-smart.html

Understanding the event:

You are the organisers. You understand who and what type of band you invite to play at your show. You would've, if you are a good organizer, listened to their tunes they have sent to you or available on their sites.

Be sure to get the right amount of equipment.

Bands that are willing to play won't be expecting Fender/Marshall equipments, or any of that sort, but they will be expecting a good enough set of equipments to allow them to play a full set. Experiences have led me to realize how a wrong set leaves the band feeling disappointed.

If the band needs 3 amps, get three amps. If a band needs a keyboard stand or 2 microphones, get them. It isn't difficult to get things like these right. You cannot expect a band to thank you whole heartedly if by the end of the show, they needed to change their set or minimise their sounds, use a mixer, or any of that sort. Think it through.

A good promotion:

Don't depend on people to just find out about the event. As organizers, it is your responsibility to promote the event to as much extent possible. If this results in you having to walk around the streets handing out flyers, do it. It is not difficult to create an event page, with full details, and invite friends, tell them to invite friends, etc etc.

And be smart about where you promote. Promote at places where you know your targeted age group or giggers linger. Bukit Bintang, Kota Damansara, Uptowns... all that. Shopping malls too.

A good location:

A lot of giggers are teenagers. This means they usually rely on public transport or their own minimal transport to get there. Don't find a place where people will have difficulty in accessing. Take MCPA Hall. It was easy. Monorail station right in front of it. One Cafe. Monorail station right in front of it, and a very famous road behind (Chow Kit). People know these places. Even if you decide to get a place that is unknown or new, you must keep in mind how the transport to get there will be. I've been to a gig where only a handful people showed up because of transport difficulty.

Think it through. There are a lot more things to consider when you want to plan a gig.

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With Love,

KL Mosher

Organizing a gig: BE SMART

Before going on financial issues, and confirmations... have a self analysis first:

- Are you committed?

- Will you give up easily if you are faced with a sudden problem?

- How well do you take rejection and unreasonable negotiations?

- Are you good at solving problems?

- Are you spontaneous?

- Are you willing to sacrifice time and effort?

- Are you good at teamwork and cooperation?

- Are you careful with what you say and how you work?

- Can you make things work?

There you go. If it's a yes for all, you're ready to go.

It is not an easy thing, judging from observation and a bit of experience in the business of organizing events like gigs.

After knowing yourself and what you want to do with the gig, you have to know your status:

- With or without dependency on ticket sales, food sales, or any other form of profit, do you have enough money to foot the bills, the payments, the fees if anything goes wrong?

- Are your ticketing prices set right? Will crowds come?

- Is the place right? Convenient? Well known?

- Will there be any way to solve problems if things are delayed?

Man, the list can go ON, but I  sekarang macam malas sikit, don't feel like putting them all down.

Step One:

Before the gig, it is vital for you to remember that whatever happens, you're responsible. Therefore it is important that you, as an organizer, figure out the budget before even confirming any bands. Will you have enough to pay refunds if something goes wrong? Recently, I ada pergi dekat satu gig, and diaorang bagai organizers, tak buat baik, so in the end, performances semua terlewat sangat, and some bands kena pull out. And the organizers cannot even pay them the price they promised. This is just bad planning, bad predicting. Seriously.

Also, ini sebab ticket price pun terlalu mahal. Think about it. Which gig will attract more people? A gig with just-okay bands, and low price, or a gig with great bands but high price? Honestly, for the KL crowd, people will choose the cheaper gig! Memang.

If you want a gig to work, and you want a lot of people to attend, you have to come up with a price that will suit everybody. So everybody will come. And the profit will be amazingly successful. But no, just because the gig had an international band coming to perform, they shoot up the ticket price, so very little people came... so very little money was earned. Mana boleh jadi lah? Think AHEAD. The problem with the people nowadays is they don't think properly. They just organize gig to promote their name, promote the bands, but if you want to promote, promote well. Don't end up promoted as the-city's-suckiest-organizer. 

Some people make gigs just to "get to know each other". Yes. Fine. Get to know each other, but shit, there is no use in making a gig without profit. You have to make sure you get some money back from those that you pay the bands. Just in case something goes wrong, at least you can use ticket money to pay for whatever costs. Organizing a gig is not something you can simply tembak with. It's either gain or nothing.

Okay, so after the finance thing is cleared, get the bands.

Step Two:

BE FRIENDLY! But not too friendly sampai macam kurang ajar. Like  "EH WHATS UP! I WANT YOU GUYS TO PERFORM". Please... it is still a professional transaction, despite how easy-going and friendly our music scene is, lah... :)

Keep the common manners like Please and Thank You's. But don't be fake. If you are a "I love your tunes, really hope you guys think about it!", don't try to be a "I await with utmost impatience for your reply on this matter". Kan? You need to be in your comfort zone to be able to converse properly with the bands. And by being informal but polite to them, it makes them know you are human, and if you have any problems with budgets, tell them, so they will see you as an honest peminat muzik, not just a dude trying to make it big by organizing gigs just for show.

These bands will be performing for you and for the crowd. You got to be real and honest with the bands. Negotiate. If there is a problem with technical stuff, apologize to the bands, and explain and discuss what to do next. If things have gone wrong in your hands, maybe it's time to listen to what other people have in mind. Do not blame anyone else but you. You are the organizer. If you blame someone else, keep it to yourself, or for after the gig.

Step Three:

The scariest thing in gigs is the time management. The bands lined up to perform, the soundchecking, the sets going to be performed... everything you can imagine! As an organizer, you must know how to switch tactics, change plans within a click of a finger.

For example: The gig is supposed to end at 12am, but the gig started 3 hours late, due to technical problems. So instead of putting the best band last, put them on 5th last, so at least you are sure they will perform the set they agreed on. 

But honestly, to even make that bit successful, you got to get crowd. And to get crowd, step 2 has to be fulfilled.

Alright, here is me trying to pretend like I know everything about this business, but I'm just speaking from common sense, and what I feel were the main errors in some gigs I go to... SO. Take it or leave it :D

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With Love,

KL Mosher