How can we improve ourselves?

[spencerm]

Hey, so we have a bunch of different things going on in and around Atlanta lately, and I was just hoping to get a bit of discussion about what we all feel like we can improve on, and maybe talk about how we can implement these improvements. I'm posting this on the forums so that people can register and post with anonymous names (if they feel the need to.) I guess I'll start with a list of things that I want to improve at UtC (which is where I do most of my volunteering, these days.)

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Under the Couch has about ten behind the scenes people who never seem to get actively involved with shows. They help us do equipment and run recording, but they don't seem to "get" the idea of showing up to support the venue or music, and instead only appear for large shows. I would love to get them to be more active with everything.

We have to let students of GA Tech into shows for free (this is the price we pay for getting funding from the school), but this can lead to a weird separation between the "tech kids" who generally pop in and out of shows, and everyone else. I guess the way to fix this would be moving over to a donation system for most shows, but we have to get everyone from Musician's Network on board (the group that runs UtC, for those who don't know.) It's still a cool thought.

Parking sucks. I have no idea on how to fix this. Suggestions? Anybody know of anywhere to park nearby?

The space feels super empty. I wanna get artists in to paint the walls and stuff. Know of anybody? Pleaseeee tell me. I want to make it pretty!

Tech kids can be disrespectful (woo, look at me, making generalizations.) I'd like to hang up more stuff to try and get them to be more aware of their actions and choice of words. This is something that we (Musician's Network) have to talk to the school about.

We have a really cool magazine rack on one wall, but it's filled up with crap (celebrity mags and issues of TIME.) It'd be awesome to fill it with zines and stuff, but I don't have any right now. Does anybody know of anyone who has some that they don't want?

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And now for some not UtC things!

We don't do physical advertising very much... How do we fix this? Is there something we can do once every few weeks to get the word out about shows? Maybe make a calendar that we can post up? Could someone make a list of restaurants/shops that allow posters to be put up?

Sometimes it can be hard to find someone to play backing tracks when recording. Would anyone be interested in a directory of DIY musician's in/around Atlanta and the things they play, so that people know where to go if an accordion or saxophone is needed?

21+ shows are not kewl. Can we take a harder stance against them? I know that a lot of venues in Atlanta are 21+ only, but it really is a bummer when you can't hang out and go to a show because of something as silly as your age. I feel like if we push some of the 21+ venues around Atlanta to do 18+ shows as a group, then we might be able to get them to drop their age limit down.

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I would really really love for this to turn into a discussion with lots of people inputting their thoughts and ideas, so please post! Even if you think it's too aggressive, post it under a pseudonym, I don't care. We can take what we have now and make it so much better, if we're all willing to do a bit of self reflection and accept some criticism.

[devinutah]

Really my problems with UTC aren't the venue itself, but the location.
As a woman I have never felt safe at Tech. It feels like a very male-dominated space. I have heard racist/sexist comments made at UTC shows by Tech students and seen nothing done about them.
Not to mention the constant police presence at Tech which is unsettling.

And yeah, donations at the door would be way more inviting than $5 while students are free. If there was ever a time I could afford to pay for every show it was when I was a student lol

[Justin]

I always have a dilemma when booking/playing shows whether to do a show at a bar or an all ages spot. I would love to do only all ages shows, but when I'm being realistic about it, I always know there will be a good turnout and all my friends will come out if I do it at 529. I want Wonderroot to be THE spot for doing punk rock shows, but as sad as it is, some people are more reluctant to go there. This is a combination of people being silly scenesters who only hang out at bars (and yeah, who cares if they are there or not), and the problem that while Wonderroot has had tons of rad shows, everyone seems to remember going to an awkward unattended show or 2 there that made them hesitant to go back.

I would say maybe a little less than half of the people who go to DIY punk shows are actively involved in the scene (people who play in bands, book shows, or even just keep up with what's currently going with DIY punk). Those people are going to be at shows regardless of how big a show is and who's going to be there. The rest of the people there are more there to have fun; they want to be where the action is (although something fun and exciting will compel people to want to be more involved in the future). So basically it comes down the obvious factor of what attracts people is OTHER people. (Sounds kind of like a catch 22 doesn't it? "Want people to come to your show? Just get a bunch of other people there.")

One thing I've been trying to do more of is put a couple local bands that would bring out different crowds. For instance, one band that would bring out the older punk rock barflys, and another band that would bring out the younger enthusiastic crowd. The local bands should be the main ones responsible for getting people out to a show. It doesn't make as much sense to put on 2 locals that have a huge overlap in their turnout.

I'm definitely guilty of not flyering for shows the way I did in the past. Since the vast majority find out about shows through facebook anyway, flyers seem to have become a little obsolete. But on the other hand, when you have flyers all over town that people see multiple times in the weeks leading up to a show, it makes them think it's going to be a big thing. It seems like a show they don't want to miss out on.

I've also been wondering this in regards to all ages shows, what is everyone's opinion of the all ages shows vs 18+ or 21+? If you are 21 for instance, would a show being exclusive of people under 21 deter you from going? Would you still go, but think that the idea of it is lame? Or does it not matter to you at all once you are old enough? I grew up with very strong opinions on this matter, but since I'm an old geezer now, it's something I don't think about as much.

[spencerm]

Feb 27, 2013 12:47:54 GMT -5 devinutah said:

As a woman I have never felt safe at Tech. It feels like a very male-dominated space. I have heard racist/sexist comments made at UTC shows by Tech students and seen nothing done about them.
Not to mention the constant police presence at Tech which is unsettling.l

I agree with the male dominated thing, but I'm not sure how to fix it. Much of the student body seems content with things as they are, and it's super gross. If you have ANY ideas on how to improve the situation, I would seriously love to hear them. As it goes for sexist/racist comments... Please, seriously, tell someone about it when it happens. We don't want that stuff going on! Nothing happens if nobody points it out

Also, the campus cops are totally creepy. They've kicked me off campus in the past for doing outdoor shows, but there's not much that we can do to them right now.

Feb 27, 2013 14:20:27 GMT -5 @Justin said:

what is everyone's opinion of the all ages shows vs 18+ or 21+?

All ages shows are the bestest shows ever, except when people do crazy stuff like bringing children to rowdy shows (I saw Gogol Bordello play an all ages show once, and there were way too many kids under the age of 12 that ended up bawling/injured.) 18+ is good if you know the show is going to be really rough. 21+ just feels lazy to me. The excuse I always hear for 21+ shows is that the venue doesn't want to deal with people under 21 trying to get drinks, but honestly, it isn't that hard to give someone a wristband if they're over 21 and just look at their wrist before serving a drink.

[devinutah]

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151352276022963&set=oa.396262220469812&type=1&theater

This poster perfectly illustrates my point about UTC not being conscious of the fact that there are other people than white straight men attending shows. I know you probably didnt make this flier but your name is on it.