Swindon Music

In response to Edge Effects serious music/electronica thread I was thinking I could maybe ask my mates band (Fuck Buttons) to come and play in Swindon. They are becoming quite well known but is Swindon ready for Electronica or would it end up as a pointless waste of time and effort?

that would actually be a good test, I hope it would pay off but fear that the craving for such a genre is such that the attendance may be small. Then again it would be nice to be proved wrong, a chance to see the electronica set put their money where their mouth is maybe? I will go on record though by saying that if it dosnt work out the fault will lie squarley with someone who owns a guitar!

It's true, it would be a perfect test. If it was well promoted and it did well then we would have proof that Swindon isn't as insular as some people may think. However if it were to fail then I would feel rather guilty.

I spoke to Darren (Coleman) a while back about trying to get the Cardiacs to play Swindon. It would be amazing for Daz and myself as we both adore them, but i'm not sure how many people would come. Or am I seriously underestimating the musical pallette of general gig goers in Swindon?

I'd be there, the album is fanbloodytastic, I know Mr Bates would be there as well

I'd be there, the album is fanbloodytastic, I know Mr Bates would be there as well

That's two then. If the majority of the people on this forum say they will come I will seriously think about organising it...

It's true - did talk to them but sadly the band was concerned that they would not be able to perform their full act on the stage at Riff's, pity there no other local venues

And then Tim Smith ironically had a cardiac arrest. Poo.

I will be there too. I have alwayts tried to support peoples ventures in Swindon, (I was there at the Winners Lounge too Mr L....remember?). However, look out for the posts the following day saying..."GUTTED!"

On a more serious note. What most of these ventures have lacked is proper full on promotion. It is expensive and time consuming but it's necessary if it's going to work. Posting on this website is not enough.

I've seen them before and would go again. I reckon it would be pretty busy, they seem to be getting pretty big.

It depends what sort of promotion you're looking at.
If you use the right promoter you've got the adver.. The fanzines (Ocelot, Frequency etc) then the radio.. I expect they could get a plug on Radio Wiltshire, Brunel and GWR. The only real cost is when you look at flyers.. But that's still not that expensive.. And the reparations for said advertising should cover that..

Of course there's word of mouth.. You need to get people talking about it. If there's a group of say 10 people who want it to be a success and they each tell 10 people they think would also enjoy it that's 100 people you've plugged to for free.

I think everyone sees advertising as a bit of a mountain.. Something that's extremely hard to target. But if you sit down and think about it seriously (where to target.. Which other gigs to go to and hand out flyers etc) it's not as hard as it first looks. And it's no where near as expensive as you think. I'm sure 90% of the people on here know other people who can get them things done on the cheap, or even for free as a favor.

And there's always time to spare..
If you've got time to sit at your computer and post on a forum then you could reuse that time to mock up a flyer, or ring up a couple of people and get your promotion sorted.

Surely it's worth a shot?
If it doesn't work, then so be it, you know not to do it again.
But if it does, you're on your way. You could even make it a bit of a brand.

I should work in marketing

All true Mr Mainstream. It's not that expensive to knock up a few posters and run off some flyers. Hitting the colleges is something I rarely see. I spend time at New College and North Star and very rarely see posters or flyers promoting local music (yourself excluded of course). Surely the colleges are the first stop for promoting any genre of music? I have also never seen anyone handing out flyers at a gig for a forthcoming gig.

I know Paj does a lot of college flyering, but I personally think you need to get people in college to do it for you..
When we have a gig and we flyer college, we know the 'crowds' who will go to gigs.. So they'll be our main targets.

I think we've discovered there's an art to promotion. If everyone took a minute and thought about it, I think it's possible that the attendance to most gigs would go up, and you'd start to see the support of the music scene (or community) grow.

But I think it needs a team of people to get together and really sort out what's going on.

I would most definitely come, travelled to Bristol to watch them a year or so back and was thoroughly impressed. They pissed all over Magik Markers. I'm not sure how many others would come - do they get much coverage in NME?

personally I think all of thats been mentioned is important but I dont think makes a real difference to the man in the street listening to the radio or reading the Adver, if you want to make it a success like somene else said get someone who goes to the college to promote for you, especially if someone who is popular.. shallow thoughts maybe ... I dont know depends on your views... but people follow and its the younger people you need to get involved... its harder to win over the older crowds I think....

Unless its a name people know or have heard of its hard to get the masses out of their homes... creat a buzz by being in the centre of the a buzzz... recruite some people at the college who are in the know... catch them while theyre young before they turn into what seems like the majority of oldies into Eastenders, X Factor TV addicts :P

sorry to have waffled you wil all probably think I dont know what I am talking about - but my thoughts regardless...