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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
March 5, 1997
Numerous local bands play at small Lawrence venues; some do it for the music, and some dream of MAKING IT BIG TIME
Story by Paul Eakins
The Pipe Dream
Setting: A hole-in-the-wall bar, filled with sweaty rockers and smells of beer and smoke.
The band is on stage, playing like madmen as the masses move in time to the music. Sitting at a table is a powerful record company representative, coolly observing the action.
The show ends, and the band walks off stage. The representative approaches the band members with a check in one hand and a contract in the other.
"Boys," says the man, "I'm with Big Time Records, and I'm going to make you famous."
And then they wake up
Not as Easy as It Looks
Band members practicing in their basement or garage may dream of such events on their road to fame, glory and money, but the reality can be much different.
Lawrence provides outlets for up-and-coming bands to be heard. However, as many local bands have learned, it takes hard work to become established, even in a local scene. Many bands don't care about money and fame — they're just
playing for the music.
"One out of every 1,000 bands comes even close to making money doing it," said Doug "Skinny D" Richards, singer for Girl Drink Drunk and booking agent for The Bottleneck. 737 New Hampshire St.
Richards has been involved in the local music scene for several years. He said that he had seen it go through several changes and that it had improved recently.
Kelly Corcoran, a Topkea senior who books bands for the Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St., said that there were fewer big-name bands but that smaller bands were gaining in popularity.
"There's no Stick and no Paw," he said. "There are a lot of bands that can play a medium-sized crowd of around 200."
Matt Dunehoo, Shawne freshman and guitarist for Proudentall, said there was something for everybody.
"There are a lot of cool bands — country-fried sounding bands, punk-like bands," he said. "Anyone coming to town could see a band of almost any genre they wanted to see."
Tom Humphrey, a Kearney, III., senior who books bands for Open Mike Night on Mondays at The Bottleneck, agreed that local music was improving.
Jim David plays bass guitar with Halftrack. Halftrack is one of many bands taking advantage of Lawrence's local music scene.
Joey Bloom/ KANSAN
"The scene is on the upswing. There are a lot of good, young bands," Humphrey said.
Where to Play
Open mike has become an opportunity for many local bands to get their first taste of playing at a real venue and to get public exposure.
"It used to be that mostly Kansas City and Topeka metal bands came to play," he said. "Anyone could sign up. It was a joke."
As a result, the bands that played often were ones that few people liked, Humphrey said.
Humphrey is more selective in choosing the bands that play on Open Mike Night. He will give most bands a chance, but usually he needs some sort of reference, he said.
Humphrey chooses many of the bands that play Open Mike Night from the albums he plays on his KJHK radio show, Plow the Fields, which airs Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.
"If there's a band that I respect, and they recommend another band to me, I'll book them," he said.
"If I play it on my show, I definitely want them to play at Open Mike," he said.
Bands can send him tapes either to play on KJHK or for Open Mike Night, but Humphrey said that it was not absolutely necessary.
If a band that Humphrey doesn't know wants to play, he said that the way they described themselves when they applied might influence his decision.
"I understand that not all new bands have demo tapes," he said.
"If I just see alternative rock, I definitely won't book them right away," he said.
Corcoran said Humphrey had made Open Mike Night a credible and important show to play.
"I can't praise him enough for what he's done," Corcoran said. "It's a good place for bands to play because people that go to Open Mike are often influential in the music scene."
Corcoran said the Replay Lounge was another good place for beginning bands to play.
"It provides a venue for bands that aren't quite ready to play The Bottleneck." he said.
The Replay Lounge is a small bar that puts the band face-to-face with the audience because there is no stage.
JKHK, the University's student radio station, is now accepting tapes until April 1 for eight spots at the Farmers Ball competition to be held at The Bottleneck. The winner of the Farmers Ball will perform as an opening band at Day on the Hill.
Local bands will soon have another opportunity to not only play a local show, but to play in front of a crowd of thousands at Day on the Hill May 3.
"The band is part of the crowd," Corocan said. "They're right next to you, watching from three feet away."
Unsigned bands need to send a recording, which can be on anything from compact disc to a 7" record, to KJHK.
Joey Bloom / KANSAN
A panel of KJHK members will choose the eight bands who will be randomly selected to play on either April 22 or 23. The audience will then vote on the best band for each night, and the two finalists will play on April 25. The audience will vote again, and the winner will play at Day on the Hill.
So You Want a Gig?
Bands new to the music scene may not know the best way to get gigs or to perform on stage, but experienced bookers and band members know the dos and don'ts of music.
Humphrey said that one of the most important things he looked for in bands was integrity.
Tom Hegeman plays guitar with Halftrack, a local band. Half track performed Friday night at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.
"It's not necessarily who's the best guitar player or singer," he said.
Humphrey said bands should be willing to play with other bands, regardless of the other's popularity or musical style.
If a band is choosy, it is minding. he said.
"Itit sets a bad tone for people who book
the shows," he said. "They think, 'They're
stuck up.'"
Corcoran agreed that being humble was important.
"Once a band gets established, that attitude can run up," he said.
If band members have an attitude when they are just starting out, that's a problem, he said.
New bands also need to play at any venue they can, said Andy Graham, Overland Park senior and guitarist for the dot.dot.commies.
"A band starting out should have no pretensions about playing," Graham said. "They should play parties, Open mike and any chance they get."
Dunehoo agreed.
"A band can't start without places to play. A party can be a great alternative to a bar gig." Dunehue said.
Graham said persistence was important in getting gigs.
"If you solicit the places you want to play, bug them enough, then you'll get a chance to play," he said.
Corcoran said he watched the crowd's reaction when a band played to decide if he should book them again.
"You want to see if people like the band," he said. "It may not be exactly what you like, but you look to see if people dig it."
On the Road
Many bands start playing locally and hope either to get signed or to go on the road.
Boys Life, a band that originated in the Kansas City area, did things a little differently. The band has played very little in Lawrence or Kansas City but has been touring the country for three years, playing increasingly larger venues and crowds across the country.
John Anderson, Boys Life drummer and Lawrence resident, said the band worked very hard to establish themselves.
"It's as much work, booking a tour and promoting a record, as going to school full time," he said.
To get shows, the band talked to other bands to obtain names of clubs, booking agents or anyone who wanted to let Boys Life play.
"There are hundreds of thousands of kids who like to hear new music and give bands shows," he said.
The shows that Boys Life first found often were in basements and warehouses, and the band was unsure what would happen, Anderson said.
"The first two or three times, I thought, I wonder if anyone's going to come. I wonder if anyone knows about the show," he said.
Anderson said that the band now is well known in many clubs around the country, and it will be leaving soon for its third or fourth tour of the East Coast. Boys Life then will return for the fifth time to the West Coast.
Despite this success, finding gigs was hard for the band before people recognized the name, Anderson said. It took much practice to perfect the ability to bookshows.
"It's like trying to build a house and not knowing how to use a hammer," he said. "It's a hit-and-miss process."
WEDNESDAY
Groov-a-licious with The Band That Saved the World, 9 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Cost: $2
THURSDAY
The Reverend Horton Heat and NY Loose, 9:30 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Cost: $10 advance tickets.
FRIDAY
and $13.50 students, $32 and $27 public.
La Boheme, 8 p.m. at the Lied Center. Cost: $16
■ Funky Stuff (formerly Justin Case) 10 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Cost: $5 and $6.
SATURDAY
University Theatre Series: The Merry Wives of
Windsor, 8 p.m. at Murphy Hall. Cost: $12 public.
$11 senior citizens and $6 students.
■ La Boheme, 8 p.m. at the Lied Center. Cost: $16 and $13, 10 students. $23 and $27 public.
University Theatre Series: The Merry Wives of Windsor, 8 p.m. at Murphy Hall. Cost: $12 public. $11 senior citizens and $6 students.
The Bloodhound Gang and Nerf Herder. 5:30
p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.
Cost: $8 advance tickets available.
- Jane Jensen and Smoking Popes, 10 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Cost: $1.05.
SUNDAY
*Alumni Recital Series: Carla Edwards, organ; 2:30 p.m. at Bales Recital Hall. Free.*
Swing Set, 8 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Free.
University Theatre Series: The Merry Wives of Windsor, 2:30 p.m. at Murphy Hall. Cost: $12 public, $11 senior citizens and $6 students.
MONDAY
Music History Lecture: Franz Schubert; 3:30 m,
s at Swarthout Recital Hall, Free.
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Visiting Artists Series: Schubertiade with Penelope Jensen, soprano, and Michael Zenge, piano: 7:30 p.m. at Swarthout Recital Hall. Free
Open Mike, 8 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Free.
TUESDAY
Six Finger Satellite, Zen Gorilla and Hydrogen Terrors, 8:30 p.m. at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Cost: $5 and $6.
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