Athens' Big Weekends
by Matthew Toledo - 1/6/2000
I've received several e-mail's over the past few years from musicians in other parts of Ohio all asking me the same thing: "What's the trick to a successful gig in Athens."
By "successful" I mean playing a gig with more than 10 people in the audience. Five of whom are playing pool while the other five are hitting on the bartender. It's always disappointing when you travel a couple hours in a crowded truck just to unpack your gear in an unfamiliar place and play to an empty house. It's happened to me, and I've seen it happen to other bands who deserve better. Example: Heavy Weather recently played to a scarce crowd at Mama Einstein's over the winter break when all the students were out of town.
There are only a few things that you need to know if you want to have a great gig. First off, you should try to schedule a gig during one of the "big" weekends. Ohio University has several special weekends designed to encourage the parents and siblings of O.U. students to visit Athens. These special weekends are appropriately called Sibs (as in Siblings) weekend, Dad's weekend, Mom's Weekend and Parent's weekend. Other key weekends for Athens include Halloween, Homecoming, and Alumni Weekend.
The bars are always packed during these special events. Mainly because there isn't that much else to do in Athens** capable of exciting the student populous or their guests.
So when are these events? Check it... here is a little secret web page that contains all the information you need. Visit http://redbud.cats.ohiou.edu/calendar/ This link has the Ohio University calendar of events listed on the web. You can even search for special events.
FYI, Dad's weekend starts on the 21st of this month and Sib's weekend starts the following week on the 28th.
Now for tip number two... book in advance. Most bars around town book an entire academic quarter in advance. Occasionally a band will cancel and a spot will open up. But "standby booking" doesn't really work well unless you are real close friends with one of the booking people at each bar in Athens.
Try not to book during Ohio University's many odd breaks. O.U. is on a quarter system and there only three main quarters... sorta like an academic hockey game. Summer quarter doesn't last all summer. Although each passing year shows an increase in the number of students staying for summer quarter, the student populous is still only a fraction of what it is during the regular school year. Winter break turns Athens into a ghost town.
Visit -> this <- well hidden Ohio University web page for information on when the quarters start and stop. Remember, avoid the breaks if you want a better shot at having a full house.
Tip Three: You should have a decent press kit, especially if your act is from out of town. Include a picture, a CD or tape, a history of your bad, description of your sound, list of past performances and anything else you may deem worthy of sharing with others. Mail this press kit directly to the booking agent at each of Athens' local music establishments. Make sure you call the bar before hand to verify the name and address of the booking person. (You can get a list of local bar phone numbers by clicking -> here <- )
Make sure you send news of your gig to the two local papers in town that students read. The Athens News and The Post. The procrastinator's deadline for the Athens News is Monday at noon for that week. However, to ensure a proper review, it's a good idea to send the press kit at least a week before your show.
An alternative to a press kit would be a band web site (it saves on paper and CD's). If you have a web site you could send e-mail to music@athensnews.com at least a week before your show and have them check out your sound clips and read your history on-line.
Lastly, you could also send your press kit directly to me and I could personally hand it to the two guys who write the Athens News music column. Dan is in the same office as me and Dave stops by almost every other day.
So there you have it, some great tips to ensure a great gig. Now, just go home and practice those scales (power chords, drum licks, etc...)
