I am still convinced this is the biggest scam going. Has this really lauched any bands in New England to fame and fortune? "Well, if you can't sell 20 tickets, blah, blah, blah." That seems to be what everyone says that partakes in this bullshit. I have never paid to play/sold tickets for any show in any band I have been in. Still, I have played shows people would die to play. Most recently Gang Green, Grief, Ghoul. Same goes for friends in other bands, playing with the likes of Suicidal Tendencies, Agnostic Front, Madball, Slapshot, Killing Time, Candiria, Sheer Terror... Not a ticket sold and some really great shows played.

The first show I ever played (I was in high school) was a battle of the bands at Lupos. It was a sell tickets kind of deal for some company that booked these dumbass shows all the time. We sold 75 tickets and to this day I have no idea who the hell we sold them to. We played after like 5 ska bands, and before another 5 ska bands. We couldn't have made much of a lasting impression on any of these 75 mystery people because we never played another show.

We did it a few times, but will never do it again. Places like Mark's dangle these killer national acts in front of you and it sounds like a good idea at the time, but it is definitely not. I already have a job -- I would rather jam in our practice space and write new tunes than pay to play.

pay to play = gay
It's a scam promoters use so that they can sleep well at night knowing that they'll make $$ on the gig they book in addition to completely coping out on the only job they should have for a gig, which is PROMOTING the fucking show. If all the bands are selling tix, then they don't have to do shit to get the word out there.

once upon a time, clubs paid bands to play...or so the elders tell me.

I think the problem is the're are so many fucking bands now that the're will always be someone willing to pay to play. So if thats the case it will never go away.

watchmaker666 said:

Absolutely correct.

watchmaker666 said:

Dead-on, namely 17-year-old emo-esque faggot "bands," most of which formed within a month of the headliner being announced.

I'm sick to fucking death of seeing gigs turned into day-long jam sessions for retarded fucking teenagers and their fucking schoolchums.

Fuck, it's like there's no PRIDE anymore.

a promoter once wanted an old band of mine to sell tickets for a hall show. i told them look, it's not a raffle, all I want is a garauntee of like $20 for gas money because it was like an hour and a half drive for us. They wouldn't give it to us so we walked. When a promoter is afraid to part with 20 bucks, that's when you have to walk.

back before we understood the workings of this scene, we did some of the "pay to play" bullshit, and never again will i. it did NOTHING but cost us money.

pay to play is BS. If you have to be the promoter you should at least get some credit, cash, and say in whats going on. Promoters should stop being faggots and actually get off thier ass and PROMOTE!

I had a professor in college who told me that if I really wanted to be a concert promoter all I needed to do was get put a million dollars on the table and then set it on fire. he inspired me greatly... to drop out.

watchmaker666 said:

Exactly, it's fucking selfish.

watchmaker666 said:

you're right. these new bands with parents willing to pay for there kids to "make it".

watchmaker666 said:

Exactly. Supply and demand. Business 101 and it sux.

Yeti said:

A good example is when I play some shows and kids half my age will have like a MesaBoogie half stack or something I mean c'mon my band members work so hard for our shit. We don't run to our parents and ask for all this crazy gear that they probably wont use for more than a year.

I will never do that shit, ever.

Ya the few times we did this, it wasnt worth it in the end.
If you KNOW that place is gonna be packed, or for some reason HAVE to play with a certain band, then whatever, do what ya gotta do if you have the means.

I PAY TO PLAY!!!

whoa.......that dosent look fun.

TOTAL SUCKA said:


Looks like a Sacreligion practice.

hah

SteveOTB said:

Yeah man, every piece of gear Watchmaker has is either a hand me down or we somehow got a hold of it really fucking cheap. We keep it ghetto

Suckreligion_NLI said:

hahahahaha

All I can think of when I hear about pay to play is "gay for pay".

All I can think of is DRI.