Metro Area Music Promotion?

[dismayed]

It seems like I always hear about everything any of our local country artists or Carrie Underwood is doing around the state, but I usually hear nothing about modern rock / alternative rock groups that are playing around town until after the show. Even while listening to radio stations focused on that genre (like The Buzz) I rarely hear advertisements for modern rock bands.

Are we lacking promoters? What's the deal? I'm tired of Oklahoma City being the land of country and washed up hair metal.

[FritterGirl]

Can't answer for why they're not promoted on the radio, but the Gazette always seems filled with ads for "alt/modern" bands.

[PennyQuilts]

Interesting topic. You didn't give specific examples of local country bands that get mention vs. local rock bands who don't. I'd be interested in more specifics.

[kmf563]

The biggest problem is that all of the local radio stations are either clear channel operated or sister companies. We don't have any "local" radio stations. The OU college station does a good job and the edge in tulsa does a good job. The buzz tries with their sunday born and bred show. They feature a different local artist every week but it's not on until 9 or 10pm. The katt features a local rock artist every week but it's on at midnight on like a thursday...who stays up for that?
The buzz also has a battle of the bands every year and the winning artist gets airtime - right now that is Hush Hush, Commotion. Their song was the number one song on the daily top 5 songs that don't suck for like 5 months in a row. Rick and Brad on the katt also feature a new local artist on the morning show once a week - last week it was 2AM. The gazette does pretty good promotion as does Look OKC. It's there - you just have to be looking for it in order to find it. That's why it's important for people to use the grassroots system and spread the word and help any artists you like. If you find a group you like, take your friends out to see them play! There are lots of festivals and free shows to get a taste of the local variety we have to offer. There is a lot of great talent in the state!

[OkieHornet]

OklahomaRock.com - Your Source for Oklahoma Music

[dismayed]

The most memorable example recently is of course the centennial concert. If it hadn't been for this board, I wouldn't have known that the Flaming Lips and All American Rejects were part of that concert. I only heard about the country artists performing on the radio and on local news.

I receive a monthly email newsletter from ticketmaster.com of upcoming events in the metro. Usually it consists of about 20 blazers games, a few country or hair metal acts, and occasionally something like 'affair of the heart.'

The local radio ads are much the same.

I guess I'm trying to figure out if we have a lack of promoters in the city, or a lack of modern rock bands wanting to come here? Perhaps it is a catch 22 with one feeding the other?

I think it has to be one or the other. Pretty much everyone who is really into live music knows that Tulsa gets better concerts than OKC as far as modern rock goes. You can see it just by perusing that OklahomaRock.com website. I'd really like to know what the folks in that city are doing that we in OKC, aside from maybe The Conservatory, aren't.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

If it hadn't been for this board, I wouldn't have even known about the Centennial Celebration at all.

[kmf563]

That fib about Tulsa getting all the acts just isn't the case. Stalk my myspace page if you want to know who all is coming here and when. LOL.
Yes, Cain's is a great venue and they do a heck of a job with promotion.

Even oklahomarock.com doesn't post every show. I used to post weekly lists on here but no one seemed interested so I stopped as it took a lot of my time to do this.

FYI though - we have a lot of bigger acts coming to OKC if you are interested....
Matchbox 20, Daughtry, Bon Jovi, Shiny Toy Guns, The Almost, The Starting Line, Madina Lake, The Sick Puppies, Silverchair, Dinosaur Jr., Ian Moore, The Flaming Lips....and more more more are in the works!

[FritterGirl]

FYI though - we have a lot of bigger acts coming to OKC if you are interested....
Matchbox 20, Daughtry, Bon Jovi, Shiny Toy Guns, The Almost, The Starting Line, Madina Lake, The Sick Puppies, Silverchair, Dinosaur Jr., Ian Moore, The Flaming Lips....and more more more are in the works!

Speaking of Matchbox 20, did anyone see that ALANIS MORISSETTE is their "special guest artist." What is up with that?

Another show coming is Van Halen, with DLR!

[kmf563]

yes yes - i forgot about alanis and the semi van halen show. also mute math is coming with M20.

[jbrown84]

Are they going on without Rob Thomas, or is he still doing Matchbox 20 alongside his solo career?

[kmf563]

Rob Thomas will be here.

Forgot some other acts coming too....
Rob Zombie, Ozzy, Dierks Bentley, and how could I forget little miss hannah montana?

[metro]

I went to the Shiny Toy Guns, Yellowcard and Blue October a few weeks ago at the Coca Cola Center. The show was good but the crowd was weak. It was probably less than 500 people despite the radio stations giving out some free tickets. Pretty lame crowd for such big bands. It saddens me.

[jbrown84]

Whenever shows come here to a medium size venue like Coca-Cola, if the same show is going to be at Cain's the next night, a lot of people skip it and go to see it at Cain's. It's not worth it to me, but a lot of people do that.

[Misty]

I am very spoiled coming from Austin, but the music events I've attended here have either been at bad venues or the event planner must have been my grandma. I was disappointed so many times that I finally gave up and quit trying. I know it's unfair to compare ANYWHERE to the Austin music scene, but at some of the events I was actually embarrassed to be there because they were such crap.

[kmf563]

Yes, when compared to Austin it is crap. And when Austin is compared to Atlanta - it is crap. And so on and so forth...I think comparing cities and venues are like comparing apples to eggs. The only thing they have in common is they are both a shape and edible. Nothing in our city is comparable to Austin, but nothing in Austin is comparable to Atlanta.

There are many things people do not think about as a benefit to this city. The Flaming Lips on New Year's Eve...for only $15!!!! Really? Imagine how much it would cost elsewhere. Imagine how much the parking alone to get to it would cost. And then imagine how close to the stage you could get. Yeah, I'm happy with our city and the music. I prefer to not pay a million dollars and stand at the back after walking 20 miles from my car that I paid $50 to park. No thank you.

[wsucougz]

Unfortunately the most consistently decent venue in the greater OKC area right now is probably the opolis... In Norman.

Hopefully the Tower Theater will change that.

[kmf563]

really? you like that place? You are the first person I have ever heard that from.

[BDP]

Personally, I think we do have venue problems and promoter problems. I am not saying that it is a dead city in terms of music and I do not personally know any promoters here, but it is pretty lack-a-dasical compared to many markets I have been to. I agree that I think the Opolis does a good job with booking, but, yes, the venue is very awkward, to be nice.

The one asset we lack the most is a great music venue. We really do not have one, outside of the civic center, and it's generally spoken for. Maybe the Tower can change that, because after the loss of the Continental, I am not really sure what other rooms in the city have the potential for being great music venues that are a capacity between club and arena. There may be some empty space in bricktown that would work, but I don't think they're priced right for that.

The Farmer's Market could be a great venue with some sound treatments and extending the balcony, but I'm not holding my breath on that happening.

And, honestly, even in the biggest of markets, a lot of alt rock and modern rock acts are undersold. It's just the nature of the genre. They don't have a lot of cross over appeal and the media conglomerates have more or less decided that it's not worth their space. But, in reality, that's part of the appeal of the genre... that it exists outside of the mainstream media machine.

[wsucougz]

Will Rogers theater is really in the ideal spot right now to become a music venue again. Unfortunately the owners have relegated the facility to weddings and private parties.

As far as the Opolis, yeah the building layout itself is a little odd but it's cozy and imo they are the only ones consistently bringing in solid talent.

[kmf563]

This is where it gets tricky...see people complain about the current venues and want larger ones, but then they complain about the lack of attendance at the ones we have. Why would anyone be gullible enough to build something larger in hopes of "if you build it they will come" when the current venues rarely hit max capacity? Yes, on occasion the Opolis hits max...but what is the max? 200? The Bloor Door is a great venue and brings in excellent talent - but most of the times I've been there you can hear the crickets sing along. People will not design specifically for something that isn't supported.

I guess that's where the lack of interest and promotion comes in. Most bands are left to do their own promotion but there are a few hands of help out there. OKClive.com is a big help, the gazette, LOOKOKC, Oklahomarock.com, the venues themselves advertise, local radio helps sometimes, the booking and management agencies promote, local shops like guest room records help tremendously, and then there are people like me who help put up posters and spread the word, flood the websites, do listings, plus all the street teams that are out there handing out flyers and stickers. I don't know what other kind of promotion you are looking for. But if you have ideas I am more than willing to listen.

[Misty]

I don't think we need bigger venues at all, we need more small, intimate places to hear local music. Or, when the weather is nice-outside concerts. I personally prefer small shows. The few places like this that I know of don't seem to have any consistency. Another issue for me is that everything is so spread out, if you don't have a designated driver then you can't drive across town to enjoy a few cocktails and a live band or two and we have no public transit. I just haven't found any places that have a consistent flow of good music with a good atmosphere, even when it's a non-band night. If you have suggestions I'm open! But I can tell you right now I won't waste my time at a mediocre place with hit or miss mediocre music. The Blue Note isn't bad.

[jbrown84]

There are tons of small venues with live music. Now whether or not that's GOOD music is a whole other issue.

[kmf563]

I agree that a nice strip of live music bars would be nice. They attempted to start this on Western and it kind of piddled apart. I love the idea of listening to a band for an hour or so and then going next door and listening to something different. That just can't be done here without a DD or taxi and wasting too much time getting from place to place. That's why I follow the music, not the venues.

From what I gather from you Misty on your musical tastes - unfortunately I don't think you will find a bar close to you that has consistently good music. Your best bet is the blue note or the wormy dog. When summer rolls around again there are tons of outside music in the park events and all the patios are open in bricktown then you can float from nonnas, the mantel, city rock, bourbon street cafe, mickey mantles, tapwerks, LIT, and the brewery.

[BDP]

I don't think we need bigger venues, per se, but we do need a music venue in the 1000-2000k capacity range. I don't mean event centers that are convention rooms that will accommodate shows. We need something that was at least in part designed or treated with performance entertainment in mind. Even a ballroom without poles would be nice. I'm talking Gyspy Tea Room, Fillmore, Bombo's, Slim's, El Ray, etc. Basically, we need a theater or ballroom that is available for these types of shows.

And when I say promoter, I mean as in the industry term, the person or company who secures the venue, the talent, ticket outlets, and "sells" the show, i.e. the organization that is taking the financial risk, like a BGP, Beaver, DCF, etc.

Oklahoma City actually does a good job of small club bookings with the Conservatory, Opolis, Blue Note, even VZDs from time to time. It also has been very successful with large arena and, sometimes, outdoor concert tours. We get 'em on the way up and the way out. But we miss on the theater circuit a lot. Any promoter with a subscription to Pollstar can see that (which is weird, too, as the city is a great routing location between the midwest and southwest). Whether this is due to lack of support or lack of assets, I guess we can only speculate.

I'm just saying that I know we lack a good mid-size level theater with a capacity that can bring a decent ROI without making ticket prices so high that it depletes the demand. I also know that I, and others I hang out with, do in fact skip shows that, given a better venue, we would definitely go to. You have your favorite acts that you will see anywhere and put up with gymnasium acoustics like at the Coco-Cola or Ford Center, but then there are many more that I just wouldn't be able to sit through or spend my money just to hear it get destroyed by the acoustics. And once I've seen them in a crappy venue, I am less inclined to go see them again if it's in the same crappy venue.

Again, like you said, maybe it's just lack-luster support, but markets our size seem to have these options and do fine with it. Who knows...