YouTube is your friend, not your enemy

“We are against YouTube. We don’t like it.”

Those words were uttered by a musician a while ago, and if there had been more time, I would have loved to discuss that further.

Every successful business spends a lot of time and money on understanding their customers. A band or an artist is most definitely a business – and a tough one to be in too. You need to understand the mentality of your customers, i.e the fans.

Unfortunately, many artists seem to be stuck in the 80’s and the 80’s way of thinking. It’s 2013 – the minute you choose to get your ass up on a stage, you will end up on YouTube – if you’re lucky. Even back in the hayday of the glorious movie stars in the 50’s and 60’s they knew that ALL publicity was GOOD publicity.  

You’ve got a crowd of a few hundred or a few thousand people with cellphones and built-in cams or little compact cameras with HD-video, in front of you. What’s the smartest thing to do? Thinking of it as a threat or using it to your own benefit? There is an old saying that goes – If you can’t beat them – Join them. 

Every smart artist nowadays will do the latter. Even those who were initially against YouTube have now realized that it’s a powerful marketing-tool. If you’re not on YouTube – you simply don’t exist.

The more videos a band has on that thing, the more popular they will seem, because nobody’s gonna waste time and effort filming and sharing a boring, uninteresting band. It’s a compliment that someone has taken time from their concert-experience, to share it with others.

Cause unlike records, a live-experience can’t be copied. You can’t distribute and share the feeling and the buzz of being in a crowd, that true live-experience that people pay tons of money for. The ONE thing that artists today actually CAN make money from, if they know how to do it properly.

So, a fan-filmed YouTube-video should be looked at as a PR-video for the NEXT show a band is gonna do. I’ve had people commenting or e-mailing on my videos, saying that the show I filmed looked so awesome that they’ve decided to go see the band when they’re playing in their town.

Being the one uploading live-vids, I’m not making ANY benefit from it whatsoever. I’ve not made as much as a penny doing that. But the bands – as much as they may be bitching about it (some of them) HAVE.

Most of them are probably even totally unaware of the two or three extra people that bought a ticket to their next show, based on a live clip they saw on YouTube. But those three people may be the ones telling THEIR friends about the kickass band they saw last night! That’s the way it works.

Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P) has always been against cameras at his shows. But a few years ago, at a press-conference at Sweden Rock Festival, he had to admit that there’s no point trying to fight it. Instead, he had chosen to subscribe to the Grateful Dead-way of thinking.

Now THERE’s an interesting band to take a look at from a marketing point of view.

There is too much to say about how they’ve profited BIG TIME on allowing fans to participate in the live-experience of the band. I suggest you Google it, it’s pretty interesting actually.

Grateful Dead were early pioneers of “how to let fans have your music for free and still make a profit”. They even let fans plug right into their soundboards.

To learn more – go check this out: http://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead-Business/dp/0470900520

What are some of the marketing lessons that businesses can learn from The Grateful Dead?
Brian: The fundamental assumption in almost every band’s business model was that they were going to make their money on album sales. The Grateful Dead rejected that assumption. Their fundamental business model was based on making money from the concerts.

Because of that change, there was a cascade of decisions that fell from that. For instance, each concert was completely unique night-after-night, so there was a strong incentive to see them for several nights in a row – this ultimately led to fans following them around the country.

In addition, they allowed their fans to make tapes of the concerts and freely spread them to their fans – the more concerts they played, the more tapes there were, the more people were exposed to the music, the more people paid for concert tickets.

David: The Grateful Dead let their audience define the Grateful Dead experience. Concerts were a happening, a destination where all 20,000 or more audience members were actually part of the experience.

Making fans an equal partner in a mutual journey, the Grateful Dead teaches us that our community defines who we are. In an era of instant communications on Twitter, blogs and the like, we learn that companies cannot force a mindset on their customers.

Not that I’m a big fan of the Grateful Dead, but they definitely knew what they were doing.

Going back to the musician who was saying that he didn’t like YouTube because he had no control over what was being distributed and he couldn’t edit it and such… That’s all just an ego-thing. I understand it, I don’t like people taking pics of me where I look goddamn awful, uploading it to their Facebooks and Instagrams. I have no control over that either. It’s a pain in the ass. But I’m not an artist who has chosen to be looked at/listened to.

If the bands think of YouTube as a threat because they have no control, I don’t see why they don’t simply TAKE control?!

Unless they give people an ALTERNATIVE, people will go to the “unofficial” material, cause there’s nothing else to choose from.

Why not bring someone on tour who’s good at filming and editing – who they can “control” – open a YouTube-channel called XXX On Tour 2013 – watch it here! And put good quality videos up there regularly?

Maybe even take a small fee for letting people download these good quality clips each day? I for one would prefer that anytime, to the crappy iPhone-videos with horrible audio that people upload on YouTube.

I’m far from a pro, but I feel that the least I can do for a band and their fans, is to provide videos with decent audio. At least as decent as you can get with the size and type of cameras you’re allowed to use without getting into trouble with security.

GRASPOP festival did a great thing last year – filming every day, then uploading it within 24 hours – great quality, multi-cam footage! Who’s gonna want to watch something that’s not as good, when there’s the real deal?!

My point is – instead of being uncomfortable with the evolution in social media, USE it wisely and let it work for you. I don’t see the point bitching about something when you’re not providing an alternative.

Being in a band today means you’re up against tough competition. The more you’re seen and heard, the more likely that you’re going to survive – it’s ALL about keeping your name and reputation alive.

YouTube is a big part of that.

Message to bands: Be creative and proactive – YouTube is your friend, not your enemy! :)

Firewind – Rock In Den Ruinen (Dortmund, Germany)

Rock in den Ruinen, was the next stop on my (neverending…) journey across Europe (and the US) to check out Firewind doing their thing. Still enjoying it as much as ever.

Flew into Düsseldorf international airport very early in the morning and rented a car to drive to Dortmund, which is less than an hour away.

The “adventure” started already after 30 minutes when the GPS gave up on me. Suddenly, the battery-symbol started blinking, informing me it was dead– ceased to be. Bye-bye. Oh, wonderful.  I found my destination eventually – with the help of my backup, a printed Google-maps description.

It was 8.30 in the morning when I got there, and the show wasn’t until seven in the evening so I had plenty of time to kill. My iPad picked up a T-mobile network, so I paid for a 1-day pass….only to realize that it wasn’t working. The signal was gone. Sigh– five euro down the drain.

So, moving on to Plan B. McDonald’s is a good place for a traveller. You can sit there for hours and nobody cares, they’ve got their own free Wi-Fi and there are toilets, food and everything else you need. So I went to find the nearest McDonald’s.
Only – in Germany they don’t accept anything but CASH at McDonald’s apparently. I’m just not a cash-person, usually travel with just “toilet and tip”-money, the rest is for the credit cards. So I just got the essentials – their loss.

Was hanging there until I got bored and went back to the festival area to find the parking lot. The plan was to take a nap. I needed all the sleep I could get.

[Hanging at McDonald’s in Dortmund…]

There were signs showing where the festival parking was, and loooots of cars in line to get there.

Or so I THOUGHT!

When I finally drove up to the guy with the handheld credit card machine, who didn’t speak a word of English by the way, I asked how much it was. I was expecting him to charge me whatever it cost and then show me where to park the car.

Instead, he tells me to open my trunk. WTF???

So he goes and opens the trunk, and I figured it must be some sort of security thing. He comes back, says something in German, and looks puzzled (not to mention how puzzled I must have looked right back!).

One of his colleagues comes over and tells him in German that I’m probably looking for the festival. Turns out I was in line for the city DUMP where people drive through to get rid of their junk – and apparently pay depending on what they’re getting rid of! Lol! The festival parking was right next to it. :)

Tried to get a few hours of sleep but I had ended up at the Heavy Metal parking-lot. I don’t know WHAT kind of audio-system people are building into their cars, but it sounded louded than a fucking airport! I had earplugs shoved into my ears so hard they almost switched places half way through my head, but heard the Metallica-anthems anyway!

After a while I gave up the sleeping-idea. Decided to go find the box office, get my pass and go watch a few bands instead.

But – I encountered one of those classics. The “Uhmm… no, I don’t see your name on the guest list….”-classic.

The lady was very kind, it wasn’t her fault, and I could tell she felt bad telling me that my name wasn’t on the list she had in front of her – she even showed it to me.

“I*ve got these names for Firewind – could you be listed under a different name or as somebody’s “plus one”?

No. I’m not a “plus one”. :-)

So I had to sort this out. Drummer-Jo saved the day, he got the “chain” of solutions started – and the problem got solved eventually. If I had known, I could at least have brought enough cash to buy my own ticket, but since I knew I was on the list I didn’t think more of it.

In the meantime, a girl with red hair approached me with a smile, said that she heard there was a problem with my pass. I said that I was on the guest list – but apparently not on the one they had.

She said that in worst case they’d just simply let me in, but if I was supposed to have a backstage pass, they needed approval from the band. I didn’t know if it was “just” a ticket or an actual guest pass, I never ask these things. I’m grateful for whatever. :)

So a guy shows up with a handwritten note, saying that the only had “these” names on the Firewind-list – and was about to make a few calls to get me in – as they all understood that I wasn’t a local, I had travelled from Sweden for this event. Would suck big time to be stuck outside the box office!

Five seconds later HE got a call, and next thing I know, he comes back and hands me my AAA-pass. Everything was cool. What a relief. :)

Unusually friendly and helpful staff, I’m used to the “nope, you’re not on the list, not my problem – NEXT!!” -sort of people. The Rock in den Ruinen people went out of their way to help out – I truly appreciate that!

Hadn’t heard of any of the bands on the bill except Firewind. The only artist I remember was some psycho dude who was much like an escaped mental patient playing some sort of circus/varietee punk/Rammstein mix of some sort with belly-dancers and flutists on stage. Just weird but in an interesting sort of way. :)

Bob (Katsionis) was outside with some people talking, so I ended up talking to a super nice photographer who had taken the live-photo that Firewind will be using for the live-CD that’s coming out this summer. :)

He wasn’t a full time photographer, but loved going to gigs whenever he could. I can relate to that – it’s the rock’n’roll that keeps us sane (or insane, whichever way you choose to look at it, lol!).

The show was great – REALLY great. I keep saying that every time, don’t I? But the fact of the matter IS that this is a brilliant live-band, it’s as simple as that. But then there are evenings when they spice it up even more and deliver “with a twist”. That’s what they did in Dortmund.

Maybe because it’s the home town of their record label Century Media, but I just think they were in one of those “let’s kick some ass“-sort of moods last night! :)

Kelly did an excellent job, he was really belting it out, and he’s clearly a lot more comfortable as a live-frontman now than he was the first time I saw him a few months ago in Atlanta and NYC. He’s definitely developing into a good frontman.

Cause it’s tough to get thrown into a band like Firewind which is 100% a live band. If you don’t have the same background, you’re in for quite a challenge. But he’s really catching up fast. Great job, I was impressed.

[One of my favorite songs from the latest album…]

“Gus is such a poser”, was a comment I heard from a photographer backstage – in a positive sense. We love posers, they make great photos and videos, give us more posers! :)) It’s almost impossible to take a bad live photo of Gus, and that goes for my video-filming as well. If you’re gonna be a guitar-hero, you gotta be one – all the way. And Gus certainly is.

He’s the born entertainer. We all know that he kicks everyone’s ass on guitar. But he owns his stage, every single time. However, he gets tough competition from Bob Katsionis who keeps up with him like it’s a walk in the park – not only in the guitar duels but also by showing off his multitasking-skills on keyboards/guitar. It’s the perfect showstopper and jawdropper-combo! :)

Music is not a contest, but it’s a good thing when you’ve got someone in your band who challenges you to deliver not just your best but even better than your best- and never get too comfortable.
Petros (bass) was in a great mood spending more time than he usually does at the front part of the stage – and all of this backed up by the Belgian monster-drummer Jo Nunez whose sticks are seconds from being set on fire by the speed…! Man.

Together they are like a speeding train, you just can’t stop them – and I LOVE the energy!

[Take THIS!!]

After the show I was pretty much just hanging with the photographer dude again. He kept saying that since I had the triple-A pass, I could go anywhere, so he did’t undestand why didn’t I just go in there and say hi to the band.

I’ve never been comfortable doing that. I probably never will be. They were in the catering-tent having dinner. I had no business being back there. It’s simply what I would consider “band-time”. It would feel totally wrong to just barge in uninvited. Sure, I’ve got the “right kind of pass” but I’m not going to abuse that privilege.

So eventually, Kelly and Jo came to hang out a little. It was freezing though – like it can be in the spring when it’s humid and the cold really gets really annoying.

[The sun was setting behind the backstage area this chilly spring evening in Dortmund, Germany…]

We decided to go to Firewind’s “dressing room” (=tent) but the security guy took Kelly for somebody else and wouldn’t let him through! What a dork.

Apparently he looked a lot like someone they didn’t want backstage so he had to prove he was in the band! Lol!

Jo was trying to get the photographer in with us, cause normally you can escort a guest with your AAA-pass. But the security dude was being an asshole, so we had to part ways with the photographer. He was cool about it though.

It wasn’t a lot warmer in that tent, that’s for sure. The crew guys were working on getting the gear ready for transport, while the rest of us were just enjoying watching other people work, lol! :)

Nah, they are all great guys. Very relaxed atmosphere, always.

We got kindly thrown out though because the festival was “closing” so the backstage area had to be cleared. The guys were waiting for their shuttle and I had to go get my rental car. The whole afterparty-idea fell throuh – for me at least. I headed back to Düsseldorf airport to spend my second night being sleepless.

I was tired, but I was on that “after-show high” that makes it impossible to unwind to get some sleep. By the time I got off the kick, I was afraid to fall asleep cause I was so dead tired that I would probably pass out completely and miss my flight.

Came home to Malmo looking like I’ve been hit by a truck and run over by a bulldozer – five times. But I still think it was worth it, like it is every single time. This is just a solid band, and I can’t wait for people to discover them at Sweden Rock Festival in June. :) They’re in for a treat, and this is one of few bands that I never have to worry will suck – cause they just never have.

So – over and out from Malmo – I’m off to Dreamland…!

Apollo Papathanasio – in his own words

Finally – time to go live with the Apollo-interview that I did recently.

Read about Apollo’s visit here:
http://lita77777.blog.com/2013/04/07/if-all-interviews-were-like-this/ = [and photos from the set at www.facebook.com/intherearviewmirror]

The “camera guy” Henrik has been working hard all week editing the video. He did a great job, thanks Henrik!

And a big thanks to Apollo for taking time off on a Saturday to drive down to Malmo for this interview eventhough he had to be at rehearsal with Spiritual Beggars the same day.

Below you will find the full transcript of the interview – including parts that had to be edited out of the actual video (cause it was too long).

I also made a list of topics discussed in the video to make it easier for the stressed, modern rocker to find exactly what he/she wants to hear more about – straight away. :)

So here it is – Apollo Papathanasio in his own words. Enjoy.

Leaving Firewind, what happened?  0,38
How did the band react? 2,06
Are you still friends? 4,13
The harsh reality of the music business 4,49
What's happening with Evil Masquerade? (and Spiritual Beggars) 5,25
Joining 3 different types of bands (Firewind, Evil Masquerade, Spiritual Beggars) How/why? 7,50
Feeling like a full member of the band, or a hired gun? 8,55
The new Spiritual Beggars video 10,42
The Spiritual Beggars tour 12,37
Loves the music teacher job/influencing kids 13,46
The plans for this year 16,35
Solo-project and collaboration with In Flames-Niclas 17,43
A message to the fans 19,00

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT – INCLUDING BITS THAT WERE EDITED OUT OF THE VIDEO-VERSION

Hello Apollo, welcome to Malmoe. You had a good drive down here? Nice weather and all? It’s a nice day today.

Very nice, we should be outside!

Maybe next time! :)
You’re known for fronting many bands, but maybe mostly for fronting Firewind. A few months ago you quit the band and fell off the map. Nobody really knows what happened. This is your chance to give your version of what happened?!

It’s a long story. I felt that many times I couldn’t give 100% of myself and I felt that… I don’t wanna be the guy who pulls the breaks all the time because I cant take this gig or do that tour.
So, I started thinking about it and we talked about it many times. And in the end I decided to step down and give my place to somebody else.

You’ve been with Firewind for 10 years, did you think about this for a very long time or was it a specific moment that made you decide and feel that “this is it“…?

Yeah I felt that sometimes you can’t combine different things. I wanna do a lot of things… I also have my family and you have to make it economically. It’s not easy to play in a rock band. There are some duties… You have to be available all the time. I felt that I wanted to be able to do something else.

How did the band react when you told them that you were out?

Actually, they felt it. It wasn’t anything new, it’s been a process for a long time. We talked about it and there was no arguing. It was my own decision. I wish we could had played more shows, played 300 days a year, so that you could have made a living of it. Instead of playing in different bands – just play in only one band.
Then it would have worked. But the way it is today, people have to play in different bands… it’s not easy to combine all that stuff.

And sometimes I felt that eventhough I was there, I had my mind somewhere else sometimes. It has to be 100 per cent. 110 per cent.

Did you know that you were going to quit the band when you did the anniversary shows in Greece back in December?

Well…yeahh… Like I said, it’s been a process for maybe one, two years. I almost decided that I was about to leave, so the guys knew. We didn’t always talk about it, but I think they felt it. They knew that something was gonna happen. They were not shocked or whatever.

You never really made a “last show” or a farewell gig, you just somehow went “underground” and disappeared…

No, I can’t say I disappeared because I’m still gonna be a huge fan of Firewind and if they ever need anything I’m there for them. We have always been like brothers. I’m happy to have given my part in such a great band like Firewind.

So you guys are of course still friends…?

Of course, yes, yes! We don’t talk so much right now but after a while I think we’re gonna talk more. I mean, they are busy, I’m busy…. There’s no time for chats right now.

Are you at a point in your life where you realize that it’s not just about becoming a rock star – you’re experiencing the harsh reality of the music business?

Yeah, it is a tough business. You can go for doing something 100% full time and live in a tent or whatever to make it – or, like in my case, just do several gigs and record records but not tour that much. And in my case, that’s what it is.

But you’re still in Evil Masquerade and Spiritual Beggars, if you had decided to quit those two bands and made more time for Firewind, would that have worked? Was that ever a solution?

No, actually it has nothing to do with that, it has to do with how to make a living. If there had been more time for one band, really a full-time job, of course it would have been Firewind.

So many people try to make it, I know many guys who are in seven, eight bands just to keep it up. But I don’t think it’s good to do that, because you put your energy in too many different things and sometimes you lose that energy because of it. It’s better to minimize and focus on less things. So, it was not about choosing, or whatever. It has to do with how big the job is.

But you are still in two bands. If we take Evil Masquerade to begin with. What’s happening with that right now?

Yeah, we recorded a great album, Pentagram, it’s fantastic. Kind of doom with Rainbow and Black Sabbath-elements. I really like Henrik [Flyman] because he’s very creative. He has new ideas, that nobody else dares to do. He doesn’t follow a manual. He does what he likes. And with Spiritual Beggars it’s more straight forward rock’n’roll, which I like. Everybody decides together if we’re gonna do a tour or do gigs, so it’s easy. It’s two different kinds of types of business or whatever you wanna call it.

With Evil Masquerade, Henrik wants to push the band forward and get out more, which is difficult. It’s a small band. ‘Beggars is more established – since ’92, and there are people who really love the band. So it’s easier to do some touring. It’s a struggle for Henrik, I try to help him as much as I can. He’s touring with the band Lacrimosa and he keeps busy, it helps him find new ways to push Evil Masquerade.

When I look at the musical styles of the 3 bands that we mentioned – Firewind, Evil Masquerade and Spiritual Beggars… those bands are all in totally different areas of the rock spectrum…

Yeah.

What makes you decide that “Yeah, I’m gonna join this seventies band and then I’m gonna join this heavy metal band”?

Firstly, it’s good to play in bands who have different directions. I don’t think it’s a good idea to play in Firewind and play in a similar band that plays the same… there’s no point. If you wanna play in different bands you have to develop yourself to play in different styles. So I think it makes sense. Cause I really love the seventies, I always liked ‘Beggars. Since ’92 I’ve always been listening to what they released. It was an honor to join the band in 2009, I think, when they asked me.

Since you are singing in different bands – is it difficult to feel that you are a full member of one of these bands…? Do you feel that you’re just stepping in like a hired gun? Or do you actually feel like a member?

Firewind was, I think, the only band that I felt I was a member of. Cause everybody would contribute to the band, sometimes the ideas were bad, but in many ways it was perfect.

Evil Masquerade is the same because we’ve already made three albums, They did two earlier, before I was in the band. After three albums you feel that you’re “in“… But I think, somehow, that it has to be a band that’s starting together. Putting a band together from the beginning. When you step into new bands and become the last guy in, it will always be that you’re not a hundred per cent a member of a band.

With Firewind it was like a restart somehow. We recorded the album together. We went to the studio together, did some songs, and that made me feel that it was truly my band.

[Firewind with Apollo]

Evil Masquerade made something called Let’s Unite in Rock. Can you tell me more about that?

It was a guy in Australia, I think, whose relative died of cancer and he wanted to do something. He got in touch with Henrik and Henrik made this song. The idea was to do like back in the eighties, you know “Stars“, with Dio and all those people…? The all star project? The idea was to do something like that because it’s very rare today. Nobody does that.

It was an eighties thing, everybody used to do that…

Yes. It has to be simple, it has to be great and in the vein of the eighties. So Henrik made that great song, I like it. He called some people and everybody wanted to contribute.

You also just released a video with Spiritual Beggars…

Mike [Michael Amott] likes seventies vintage style. He likes new stuff and old stuff, it’s good to have from different worlds, We just decided to make it as simple as possible, as much as we could. So we did the recordings in a rehearsal studio and some parts of the whole band outdoors, It was to show people that we ARE a band, and we’re gonna keep going. The idea was to just make it as simple as possible. It’s real, you don’t have to put any effects on it. We only used old effects, like in the seventies, with the colors and whatever… Very straight forward, yeah.

You’re going on tour next week…?

Yeah, it’s gonna be great! The tour is only two weeks, but I like that, because you can put your energy into those two weeks fully. I prefer when it’s only two weeks here and two weeks there. I don’t really like 7-week tours. It’s too much, because somehow a band loses their energy along the way. So I think that two or three weeks is good. You go home for a month and then you can go out again. It’s the best thing to do.

[Spiritual Beggars – on tour right now]

Spiritual Beggars

You’re also working as a music teacher. Does it give you some kind of satisfaction to give the legacy of music to very young children and inspire them?

Oooh, yeah, yeah! Of course. I love my job, very much. It would be very difficult for me to leave my job. It gives me a lot. And I’m happy to contribute to students with my experience and teach them how they can work with their music, teach them how to play.

What ages are the kids that you’re teaching?

They are from around ten to sixteen.

Do they know that you’re touring with bands and stuff?

Yeah…I try not to talk about it but you know…Kids always find out…!

So, no metalheads that think you’re the coolest teacher they ever had?

Naah, It’s cool with music, everybody loves music. In that sense you can say it’s cool… I try to teach them what reality is like, to do new recordings, to play in bands… I put them together in bands and sometimes it’s like in real life, some people can’t work together and you can see it pretty quickly.

Have you influenced any kids that might not have been interested in music before, to start listening to rock’n’roll?

Yeah, I think I’ve made many students interested. Sometimes after two months they tell me that they bought a guitar or they ask me “I wanna buy a Fender, how much should it cost?”. Sometimes even parents want to play in bands, haha…! It’s fantastic, music is fun, it’s business it’s everything. You make good contacts, meet great people…

So what are your plans for this year, as far as you know right now? It’s the Spiritual Beggars tour – what else is happening that you know of…?

I’m gonna work a bit with Evil Masquerade, and these are the 20th anniversary shows with Beggars, so that’s why we’re putting out a new record. We’re gonna do the tour and we’ll try to do some festivals, in France and whatever, I don’t remember. And then some more gigs later this year.
And then, when this year is over, I will try to work with my stuff, together with some other people.

Any plans of doing something solo?

Yeah, I don’t wanna call it “solo” but I wanna work with other people. It’s just music, doesn’t matter if it’s solo or something else. I wanna work with people who I appreciate.
I have done many songs with Niclas Engelin from In Flames. We have like fifty songs that we can start working with, if he has the time. We will see what happens after this year. When I’m free and don’t have so much to do.

[Niclas Engelin – In Flames]

It’s not gonna be so much for Spiritual Beggars cause Michael is with Arch Enemy. So I’m trying to keep it cool this year and then I’m gonna start preparing something [in 2014]…

[Michael Amott with Angela Gossow – Arch Enemy]

Seems like there’s gonna be a lot for you eventhough you left Firewind!

Yeah. It’s always like that.

Do you have any message you want to give to your fans?

Keep on listening to heavy metal, rock’n’roll, and thank you for supporting me. We’re gonna meet again, soon!

Pimps and whores?

Okay, well I’m not quite done bitchin’ yet…! :P

So the Black Sabbath tickets went on sale this morning. I went from happy and excited to pissed off and disappointed.

That “Early Entry“-package shit is probably the worst idea promoters have EVER come up with. Thanks for being total assholes, LiveNation!

The development is pretty sad, the way I look at it. It’s like squeezing the last penny out of fans – to the point where it’s gone way beyond tasteless.

Back in the day, fans used to wait for their idols to show up at the stage door – in rain or snow, any kind of weather, for hours, sometimes days. I know, cause I used to be one of them. But it was FREE. And your autograph was precious just cause you knew what you had to go through to GET it.

Now fans have to pay for that “privilege”. If you’ve got a REALLY fat wallet and nothing better to do with your hard earned bucks, you can PAY to get that autograph and breathe the same air as Ozzy for a few minutes. How much is that worth to ya?

I love Ozzy, don’t get me wrong.This is a general thing that somebody (and I hope that the fucker gets rolled in tar and feathers!) came up with a few years ago, that’s escalated to enormous and ridiculous proportions.

Those who charge stupid crazy amounts of money for very little, have no shame whatsoever.

I wish that fans would just collectively go on strike and say enough is enough.
Fuck you! We’re not playing along with this shit.

I’ve been so angry for the past two days. And I’m even one of those “privileged” ones who CAN pull some strings and get in on the guest list if I want to. People even ask me howcome I don’t just do that. But to me, a concert experience is the greatest thing in the world, if it meets certain criteria.

That criteria, usually, is getting in the front row, get that closeness where you can see every expression on the artists’ faces, every little detail and just be a part of the indescribable energy that goes between the crowd and the band.

Being as short as I am, I could never do that if I was ANYWHERE else in the arena than right at the barricades.

If I’m on the guest list I can usually forget that for concerts of this size.

The second the door opens – it’s the law of the jungle. You have ONE thought in mind: RUN!

Get to barricades asap. Nothing else exists for those two minutes until you get to your front spot. (Then you’ll have to spend two hours fighting to KEEP it, but that’s a different story. I’m used to it, it’s fine).

So, by the time they’ve found my name on the guest list, the front row is fully populated already, and that was that. There is just no TIME for any guest lists.

I’m not into standing way in the back looking cool. Well, I am if it’s a band I don’t really care about too much, but for bands that I REALLY want to see (Priest, Whitesnake, Sabbath…) I’m not taking any risks. I’m buying a ticket just like everybody else.

But now, even THAT option has been taken away. Because paying a fucking FORTUNE for that front row spot is NOT an option.

I’d rather not go at ALL. Screw that.

I COULD pay for it, I’m travelling all over the globe for concerts so yeah, I guess I could afford it, but I’m just NOT doing it. Just out of pure principle. They can take that “Early entry experience” and shove it up their greedy asses.

[Forget about THIS if you haven’t won the lottery recently]

The whole thing pisses me off. Concerts are supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to be an experience for everybody. The standing crowd are usually those who can’t afford the expensive VIP seats – or those who, just like me, are the hardcore fans who WANT to experience the show. The kind of people who are making the superstars who they ARE.

And let’s face it, Black Sabbath is, or at least WAS before they became rich, WORKING CLASS. Their FANS are working class, mostly. Charging these fucking fees is the same as getting the rich assholes in the front and the less financially fortunate fans, way in the back. What is that doing to the fan-hierarchy and the experience for the BAND? Or has it gone to the sad point where they just don’t care, as long as they get their fat check?

When I looked at the so called “VIP Early Entry package” – what they are charging for is just the plain fact that they are opening the doors a bit earlier for the rich people and keeping them closed for the other fans! That’s IT. And that DOOR is the difference between a “regular” ticket for 700 DKK and the VIP crap for 1500 DKK! That’s a pretty damn expensive door.

Cause all that other shit that they are trying to market as something “special” is just junk.

A “tour laminate“. What the fuck is that?! It’s not good for anything. It’s not good for backstage entry, it’s not good for anything other than just plain decoration. And that piece of plastic doesn’t cost them a whole lot. You can do it yourself in any office with a laminating machine and a color-printer!

Then there’s some “tour gift” whatever that is. Unless it’s a leather jacket with custom artwork on the back, it’s sure as hell not worth 1500 DKK! And the last thing you get is “event management staff present“. Uh, wtf?! Isn’t there ALWAYS “staff” present? What are they good for (other than being gatekeepers)?

Seriously, people are expected to scoop up the cash for basically NOTHING! For something that has been a normal part of going to a show since the fifties. The doors open and people get in! End of story. Who gets in first is up to the fans themselves.

But now we are made to feel like absolute bitches – OWNED by the Live Nation PIMPS. It’s become simple prostitution.

The prostitutes are the artists. The whoremongers are the fans who are paying for the “special services”. And the pimp is the promoter. Nice.
So this is where we’re at now. It’s just so frikkin’ SAD.

Black Sabbath – to VIP or not to VIP?!

Two words: BLACK SABBATH!! The European tour dates were announced today – let’s hope that it happens this time and that Tony Iommi is feeling better and stronger than ever! :))

Tickets go on sale later this week, beginning of next, depending on which show you’re going to, but I went to check out the ticket-options for the shows in Copenhagen and Stockholm…

And there it was again. That thing that has been so common in the States for years, but that we here in Europe luckily have been spared from: Who gets closest to the stage and why.

Photo: Just announced! Black Sabbath will perform at Friends Arena in Stockholm 22/11/13! Tickets go on sale 12/04/13: http://bit.ly/SabbathTourStockholm

Here in Europe, it’s simply on a first come-first served basis. Some fans will sleep outside the arena for days, and believe me, if they are such huge fans of a band that they are willing to do that, I don’t have a problem with them being in the front row. It’s only fair.

I’m also pretty much okay with all the various ideas that managements come up with to cash in extra bucks – the VIP packages where you have to pay two months worth of RENT to meet your idol for three minutes and then be thrown out. Very precious minutes, to say the least…

If people are willing to cough up that dough and if they feel it’s worth it, it’s none of my business. It’s their money and it doesn’t affect me in any way.

Some want to buy packages with food or with limited edition merch of all sorts, parking spaces, yadayada…. All good. Doesn’t affect me negatively, whatever people wanna do.

But there is ONE thing that PISSES ME OFF.

When people are being forced to PAY to get in the front row! THAT is NOT okay in my book.

And I discovered that that’s what they’re gonna do for the Sabbath-shows.

“Package 2: You get to come in before the regular ticket holders, and choose your spot (standing). 

And for THAT – you pay TWICE as much as the regular price! Instead of 695 SEK, which is very expensive already – you have to cough up over 1500 SEK to get in “first”. What the fuck…???

What it means is that basically, you will have rich people waltzing right in because they CAN, while the real fans who might not have that kind of money, end up behind the wealthy ones. It’s sickening – I can’t find any other expression for it. It’s like John Lennon’s classic comment:

For those of you in the cheap seats I’d like ya to clap your hands to this one. The rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!

Sell expensive seats for all I care – and all that other shit – but leave the STANDING crowd out of it.

I got just as upset in Manchester last year when I went to see Steel Panther. There were two lines opposite eachother, one to the left and one to the right. I didn’t know why, until I saw them open the door on the OTHER side letting in a shitload of people, while the rest of us were stuck where we were.

The shitty part of it? The people in “my” line – the “poor man’s line”, had been standing there for hours freezing their asses off, while that OTHER line had people showing up in the last minute like they just didn’t really give a crap.
I learned that those other people were “VIP members“. You bought some sort of yearly membership and they let you in before everybody else at specific events.

It’s not okay – it just isn’t.

Of all the things bands come up with to make a buck or two nowadays, THAT one thing should be SACRED. Leave the standing front row people out of the greed, please. Give them a fair chance.

Even the “Golden Circle”-thing is okay. You still get to come in at the same time, you’ve just bought the right to be closer to the stage and it wasn’t twice as expensive, it was just a few extra bucks. I can live with that. It’s when it gets extreme and greedy that I feel like I’m gonna throw up.

Bon Jovi charged people 20 000 SEK for the “honor” to sit on the side of the stage for a few minutes – of course being totally ignored by the band, and then get thrown out. Sure, it’s a choice these people made to pay that kind of money, but 20 000?! That is about 8 months worth of RENT for me. It’s pocket change for mr Bongiovi, no doubt, but it sure as fuck isn’t for his FANS.

I’m just grumpy I guess. I can’t stand injustice.

I was super excited about the news that Black Sabbath are going to give it another try, and that I’ll get to see the legendary, ultimate heavy metal band this year.

But it just kills the joy to realize that I will only have two choices: To pay 700 SEK and not see shit (cause I’m too short – if I’m not in the front, I can’t see a thing), or pay up twice as much to get in “before everybody else” (which honestly wouldn’t feel right anyway).

Just ruins the whole experience right there already. It’s not even a sport.

And don’t even get me started on how bad things CAN be with all the “pre-sales” and shit… (see previous Van Halen ticket hell-blog below….).

Guess I’ll just have to smile and cough up the bucks to get the experience. But at least getting angry about it is still FREE….!

http://lita77777.blog.com/2012/01/10/van-halen-ticket-hell/