[mplpost] FW: gigging etc.

[Bill Usher]

Estelle and I have had an off-list back-and-forth about the topic of Gigs
and festivals and she has asked me to forward some of her comments to the
list. Happy to oblige.

Bill

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Estelle Klein" <estelle@kos.net>
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 10:21:02 -0500
To: <billusher@sympatico.ca>
Subject: gigging etc.

Hi Bill,
The thread you unrolled is most interesting and valuable.
Reading it is enjoyable as well as informative, even granting my lack of
broad
knowledge regarding current practice.

Your comments about me certainly reflect my 'process'... in part. A valuable
resource was always the information from performers whose opinions and
experience I valued,  plus the input of a few folklorist types who had some
clue about live festival performance (many did not). I attended a fair
number of festivals, mostly in the U.S. and visited New York and Boston
clubs ... at my own expense ... out of love for the music, not particularly
in an effort to 'scout'. It never occurred to me to ask for funding from
Mariposa. Also, Mariposa did conduct 'live' auditions for a while.
There was not a 'network' of 'ADs'  in Canada during my early years. Later,
those that emerged tended to work independently but a few began to promote
the idea of  some kind of 'block booking' in order to cut costs. I was
primarily interested in inviting artists who could contribute to my
particular programming view and preferred to assume full travel costs in
order to do this. The programming process is a different one.
Exceptions might have been some performers from Britain where we tried to
make their trip useful for broader exposure in both the US and Can.
In the block booking process now favoured by many and understandable from a
practical and budget point of view, one does get the feeling of sameness.
So-called 'workshops' appear to be similar in approach when I read
programmes but I'm sure (or hope!) they differ in reality when a mix of
participants is involved.
Am I making a case for *judicial* use of block booking? Probably. Does it
help the performer... yes ... for the 'chosen'.  Does it preclude use of
those who are not the flavour of the week/month/day, who are relatively
unknown? I think that may be the problem. Is it better to be excluded on an
individual basis or to
lose out when group clout is applied? I am in sympathy with performers who
have to deal with it.
Perhaps I do not know enough about this booking process. Would it be useful
to hear from those who engage in it?
Well ... I send this privately not knowing if it has relevance to your
queries. Quote anything of use ...or not.
Kindest regards
Estelle
mailto:estelle@kos.net



------ End of Forwarded Message

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