shut up, fans

Forwarded by another promoter. You’ll have to work out who, if that sort of thing is of GREAT IMPORTANCE to you.

It’s another you could file under ‘actually quite sweet’ but, hey, sob stories bore me and I’m feeling bitchy (FOR A CHANGE!!!!!! SHE ADDED SOMEWHAT SARCASTICALLY).

Hello.
My name is ****.

I am Shonen Knife fan who lives in Japan.
I will go to see the show of Shonen Knife held in 6/17 in your venue.

It is the first that I go to England.
It looks forward to it very much.

I did preparation for a trip to England.
I prepared for both an aviation ticket and a passport.
I prepared for packing of the trip in the suitcase, too.

But, I don’t have the most important thing.
I couldn’t buy the ticket of the show.
When I saw https://www.wegottickets.com/, a ticket had already been sold-out.

Nooooooooooooooo!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!

I don’t stop the plan of the trip.
I will surely see the show of Shonen Knife in your venue.

May I ask you a favor.
Could you sell a ticket to me on the day of the show?

Please give me an answer by email if it is possible.
I am sorry to trouble you.

I am so sorry in poor English.
Yours sincerely.
****

HOW DOES THIS PAINFUL STORY END?

Well, I dunno.

UPDATE: Oh, ok, you can read the ending by checking out the comment underneath.

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this is not a spam, we have your contact in our mailist

Hello dude, how are you???

This is not a spam, we have your contact in our mailist, if you don’t want to receive our messages, please, let me know.

It’s a mailing we, uh, didn’t subscribe to.

In the moment we are organizing a tour for this amazing thrash/death metal band:

**** (brazilian thrash / death metal band)
+
UK supports

**** makes a quantum leap with their forthcoming material. Thrash anthems that are both pure brutality and violence,

Brutality and voilence. Brilliant. Just what I want to see in our finest toilet venues.

yet with Very fine nuances and subtleties. Apocalyptic vocals, vicious riffing, Sizzling and atypical solos, mind-boggling speed, all executed with Chirurgical precision.

****’s musical roots cannot be denied, but more than ever, Thisis the **** sound. The new material benefits from an Impeccable production that really highlights each individual Performance. Always surprising, very strong, it keeps you on your Toes from beginning to the end. Come and catch Them live and witness one of brazil’s top 10 metal act expand its Kingdom!

FREE DATES:
December 08th Tuesday
December 09th Wednesday
December 10th Thursday
December 11th Friday
December 12th Saturday
December 13th Sunday

CONDITIONS/GUARANTEE:
-Case of water, or free water for performance.
-150-300£ – Can also be discussed! A documented percentage of door, or % after Breakeven available!
-Basic sound check or Line check.
-Dinner/Drinks and Sleeping Places (5 people / The guys taken their sleeping bags)
-Some kind of written or documented paper showing an agreeance of the above requirements between venue and band. (Even if not all are met).

What do you think??? This sound good for you???

No.

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aye, so

Am experimenting with adverts. Dry yer eyes oot; I’m sure you’ll get over it. If it ends up being HUMUNGOUS FAIL then I’ll do away with them.

Oh, and there have been a few other cosmetic changes.

I realise this looks horrific in IE6. Will attempt to rectify.

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shut up, james delingpole

Oo-er, check out Mr Controversial and his views on Michael Jackson. The fella obviously only had three minutes to write and submit his column to The Times this week. Choice quotes:

“Michael Jackson nearly killed me once.” (Gotta start your article with that ‘shocking’ first line, obviously.)
“if you think his music is that great, try humming me Thriller. You can’t.”
“And who’d want to try stuff like the moon walk anyway?”

Have a gander at his amazing words here.

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ways to waste a promoter’s time, part 529

Email sent at the end of 2007.

Hope you are well and you dont mind my emailing you.

Please let me introduce ****.
We are an Indie-Electro Manchester based three-piece currently on our FIRST SELF-BOOKED UK TOUR.

I think it’s safe to say that most bands self-book their first tours, but well done anyway.

On Tuesday 16th October we visit the LONDON LARK (Islington) and would like to invite you along to be part of a great night as we showcase our music to some of Londons finest ears.

We think you will enjoy our live experience and the energy that we put across from the stage.
Our music is purely song based (therefore melodic and anthemic) and is both mainstream and cutting edge.

Oh, fuck off.

If you are interested in coming to see us at the LONDON LARK

Got the name of the venue wrong. Twice.

next tuesday then please be in touch so that with your consent we can;

* Send you an MP3 of our music and/or link to our homepage (ALREADY ATTACHED PLEASE Check us out)

I didn’t give you my ‘consent’, you utter bastards.

* Send our biography/photos/press cuttings

It’s generally best you send this sort of thing anyway.

* Add your name (and guest/s) to the guestlist
* Provide you with more detailed information about the gig
* Provide you with more detaled information about ****

We didn’t want to fill your Inbox with large files

Just fill it with a load of bumf that wastes my time then [until I can use it two-and-a-half years later in a blog... but... y'know...].

and so would prefer to have your permission to do so.
If you want to know more about **** or you intend to come along to the showcase then please be in touch.

Weep. Their Myspace page has now been deleted.

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AAAAAAAARGH!

THIS SENTENCE IS ALL IN CAPS.

When I’m editor of the NME (I hear there’s a vacancy in this chair), all reviews will be like this one.

RIP Swells.

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without a doubt the most wrote about celebrity…

This was accompanied by a less-than-subtle and quite hideously airbrushed photo which came with a ‘(c) Photographs by Zoo’ watermark.

I felt visually raped.

Flyin’ Bird Entertainment Present Exclusively….

KERRY KATONA

OFFICIAL CLUB TOUR | WITH FABULOUS PARTIES

The UK’s biggest celeb

Sorry… what?

has put together her own unique club tour…

She’s put it together herself? So why have we been sent this wonderful offer from her AGENT?

Expect the most explosive star in MTV history to lock out your venue with the mention of her name!

Kerry is set to rock venues across the UK and Europe on this exclusive tour.

This is the FIRST time a star of this calibre has embarked on an event like this…

I’m intrigued – do carry on.

Each venue will have:
Branding for flyers provided

Holy shit that’s amazing.

Kerry Katona Live PA/Hosting the event (Either/Or)
Kerry’s Favourite DJ Kay performing a 60 minute set
Meet and Greet with Kerry and pictures
CD Giveaways
Some dates will also be filmed for future transmission
Pictures from the event syndicated to magazines/newspapers across the UK

**KERRY IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE MOST WROTE ABOUT CELEBRITY, COVERED IN EVERY PAPER AND MAGAZINE ACROSS THE UK NEARLY EVERY WEEK WITHOUT FAIL! PUBLIC INTEREST IS NEVER FAR AWAY FROM THIS ENIGMA!**

Once this tour is full no further dates will be added, this is on a first come first serve basis

CONTACT **** for fee’s and availability, this won’t be around long so book NOW!

What a cunt.

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tetchy rider

LAGER DEFENSIVE.

Our preference would be to have a buy out for 6 people at £10 a head rather than to have hot meals provided in venues. If you’d usually provide catering rather than buy out please contact me on the details below and we’ll discuss in advance.

Dressing Room Rider

- 2 Bottles of Good Quality Red Wine
- 16 Cans or Bottles of Good Quality Ale (i.e Timothy Taylor Landlord, Old Speckled Hen or something locally brewed we are open to ideas. Please no shit bitter like Tetley’s or John Smiths and nobody drinks lager in the band or the crew)
- 12 Cans of Diet Coke
- 6 Cans of Lemonade
- 2 Cartons of Fresh Orange Juice
- 16 Bottles of Still Water
- Fresh Fruit (Apples, Bananas, Red Grapes)
- 3 French Sticks or Sufficient Fresh Bread
- 1 Small Container of Lurpak Butter
- Fresh Deli Meat (Chorizo, Parma Ham, Salami)
- Cheeses (Parmesan, A Ball of Mozarella, Mature Cheddar)
- 1 Tub of Hummus
- Salad (Should include – Italian Mixed Salad, Spinach Leaves, Cherry Tomatoes, Carrot Sticks)
- 12 Bags of Selected Crisps

Please make sure the quantities of food bought are sufficient to feed 6 people.

To be made available to the band and crew at load-in…

* Tea and coffee
* Good quality biscuits (Please use your imagination, not rich tea)
* 1 bag of mini donuts
* 6 Postcards of local themes or historical interest

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another battle of the bands for you to not give a shit about

Another missive found in the email archives to get bullshit-detector whirring. Managers – please stop telling us about some shit Battle Of The Bands competition, especially one in a different city to the one you’re trying to get a gig in.

Hi there my name is **** i manage ****, Brighton based rock band.
The band includes 5 members and has an riginal and fresh rock sound.

The band have local support from Juice Fm and have had their EP produced by Ace from Skunk Anansie. They have also won the 2006 Brighton Battle of the Bands.

The sound is friendly metal/ mega riff rock and we would apreciate it if you could please listen to the attached mp3 files.

Their Myspace page is now strangely non-existent.

It seems that these competitions have their uses though. I mean, how else would you find a band to play your wedding?

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south florida – you suck!

****’s first release, ****, was a collection of infectious tunes that introduced the group to the eclectic South Florida music scene. Their catchy melodies and foreign sound began turning heads of avid music fans who clamored for something different than the local music scene had to offer…songs.

What dya say about THAT, South Florida scene? Huh? Huh?

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“very large prestigous venue lol”

Sent sometime in 2008…

Hi!

we are an Alternative rock band called ****.

We have already achieved alot ourselves but feel that with the right help and direction we could really take it to the next level…that where you come in!

A little bit of info on us:

We are a three piece from Bournemouth-south of England and have been described as ‘Epic,alternative experimental rock that is as catchy as it is brooding’,we have been around for a couple of years and already have a strong following in our hometown.

We have literally gigged our arses off playing in places like Southampton,London,Brighton,Bristol,Birmingham,Sheffield and Wales to name a few.

In 2006 we won the county over 18s battle of the bands,then in 2007 we won the Rock Poole battle of the bands,headlined the soundstorm stage at the Sound Festival,played at a packed out Bournemouth Firestation (very large prestigous venue lol),met Zane Lowe and gave him a CD,oh and lets not forget magically making a bass fly through the air! (footage of which is on our youtube channel)

We plan on making 2008 even better though!

We arent gonna stop until we are signed and playing in front of thousands (and we still wont stop there).

There is much to enjoy here including the dreaded “next level” – expect that a lot. Sigh.
They’ve won not one but TWO Battle Of The Bands competitions. “ROCK POOLE”, though, I GET IT. THAT’S FUNNY.
They gave a CD to Zane Lowe???! Holy batshit, that’s utterly ground-breaking.
“Brooding”? Shut up, journalists.
… and so on.

They’re the sort of band you’d imagine playing competent rock and posing for photos in empty car parks.
*checks out the website*
Ah.

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awwwww, etc

The who email consisted of two telephone numbers, a link to a Myspace page and the words

to poor to make a demo CD

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bog off, beardos! only clean-cut REAL drummers required

My Name is Mark Summers
I am the head Casting Director at Mark Summers Casting UK.
Our clients have included Madonna , Justin Timberlake , Kanye West , 50 cent ,Duffy , Kylie & many more.

We are currently casting a major international live event/show
to take place in London.

Due to the high profile of this job we cannot at this stage mention what
this event/show is.

We are looking for the UK’s most talented drummers to audition and to
take part in this once in a life time project.

Overall the Talent must be free between July 09-March 2010.
There will be a few months break in between the dates TBC
Please don’t suggest who are planning going on holiday or who are
not willing to change their plans if they get a role.

CASTING FOR THE FOLLOWING ROLES

10th / 12th / 13th / 14th June 09 in London Location TBC

6 Real MARCHING SNARE DRUMMERS (male & female)
(YOUNG ADULT, 18+ CLEAN CUT, ALL RACES)
They must be real drummers so please do not waste our time suggesting people
who are not real drummers.

The drummers will also be paid a good fee

Please email us a photo & some information of your suggestions.

Also to stop emails going into our spam file please mark in the subject line
Drummers

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more glowing words

“Great Set… f*cking tune” – Matty Clinton, The Twang

“Most bands bring me two hit records, you’ve brought me 5. That Doesn’t happen often” – Producer of The Twang/Kings Of Leon

Really? Quite surprised the producer hears two hit singles in most bands who approach him – I usually find that most bands bring a whole heap of shit to the table.

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most children should be banned from making music

Via Awesome Pals (and Gumtree. Natch).

Bassist wanted for already formed thrash metal band
Location: Wortley ls12

Hello =]
My band mates and I are looking for a bassist with interests in music such as: Lamb of god, Slipknot, Children of bodom, soil, and so on.
We also play some Blink-182, i know it seems in great contrast to all the other bands we listen to, but we really love blink-182 and they are the main source of music that we play. We do, and will venture into thrash metal.

Our band doesn’t currently have a name, so suggestions would also be greatful.
We would prefer it if you were between the ages of 13 to 20.
The ages in th band currently are very different. The three of us are aged 12, 15 and 17 and are all very good at what we do.

If you are interested, or know of someone who might be then please get in touch.
Thank you, Joey.

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“officially the worst press release i have ever seen”

This was sent to us with those words. It certainly crosses the being-wacky-for-the-sake-of-it line.

The world’s best Fantasy/Bi-sexual Hipster Rock Band return with their new record Nightmares in the key of (((((WOW))))). The album is the band’s fifth long player and was recorded with Burke Reid (The Drones, Jack Ladder, Mess Hall, Gerling) at Big Jesus Burger Studios in Sydney.

There will be a series of exclusive launch shows to celebrate.

Commencing with a caterwauling cacophony of doom, the album delves deep into the band’s wide-eyed wonder of relationships. Candid and disturbing revelations set against a diverse backdrop, Nightmares at times re-visits the guitar thuggery of previous albums Chubby and Bish Bosh II: The Bosh Bosh. At other times the band strips away just a little of the sludge to reveal beautiful yet strange pop melodies, and weird, unsettling lyrical observations. For this is an album made by MEN about other MEN and WOMEN and CHILDREN.

The album also introduces to the world the band’s newest member (and 27th drummer), Matthew Blackman (Charge Group, Purplene, Palace of Fire), and features synthesizer and jazz-saxophone performances by Chris Ross (Palace of Fire, ex-Wolfmother).

Tucker B’s are celebrating their fifteenth year together (sheesh!), and now find themselves at the peak of their fantasy rock powers. Nightmares in the key of (((((WOW))))) wraps the band’s warped vision in pristine production and allows the strangeness to shine.

I think I’d rather sit down with a nice cup of tea and watch ‘Celebrity Masterchef’ instead.

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“christ, pray god they never find any Lux stuff!”

… is what ex-Luxembourg guitarist Rob said, on discovering this blog. TOO LATE. HA HA IN YOUR FACE, ROB.

From Wikipedia:

They released most of their music through their own record label Dogbox Records. Luxembourg were never signed to a major label.

To whomever added that second sentence there – I love you. I am going to go through every split-up indie band on Wikipedia and add that sentence. <3

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an 18-page rider

Right, this one might be old. But it is new to me. I like this. This guy can send us a rider any day he likes – as long as we don’t have to actually, you know, act on it. I present you, Iggy Pop’s rider and backline requirements (via The Smoking Gun).

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key demographic audience of males and females between 13 and 60(+)

Old skool rock with a somewhat wide-ranging ‘key’ demographic. Their email says they’ve been together for 10 years yet the biog says they’ve been together since 2002. Either someone is a naughty fibber or just terrible at sums. Tut tut.

**** formed in the spring of 2002 with one undivided goal, to bring the roots of old school rock into the modern day, without compromising their sound. With all members involved having different musical influences ranging from Coheed and Cambria, Reuben, Iron Maiden, The Who and The Jam amongst many others, the music they have created is a standard apart from a lot of the rock bands out there. The combination of the deep growl of the bass, the soaring melodies and rugged tones emanating from the guitar, the thundering drums and harmonious vocals culminate to create something that’s equally enjoyable to listen to as it is to ‘rock out’ to…. Their music speaks to a very wide audience with their Key demographic audience being males and females ranging between the age of 13 all the way to 60+. This has given them greater scope for performances as they are able to play in a number of different settings and venues. **** believe that the commercial rock music of today has become somewhat indefinable. They want to change all that by bringing in their old school rock influences towards the upbeat feel of modern day rock music.

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clueless managers

OK OK I get it – fair enough, you have to have sympathy for the new manager. That is, someone who is totally new to band management. It’s very much a learning-as-you-go sort of job. If you’re in America, however, the best way to get advice isn’t through a UK promoter you’ve never spoken to in your life, whilst simultaneously putting them off ever wanting to book your band by
1) offering up a band playing a style of music the promoter would be unlikely to put on anyway.
2) pricing them out of the market (the hip, trendy and totally fabbo we-rocked-SXSW buzz bands from America Land will quite often play a string of London shows for a £50 guarantee a pop).
3) NOT SENDING ANY MUSIC OR INDEED A LINK TO ANY MUSIC OR ANY INFORMATION OTHER THAN THEY ARE ‘DOING OK IN TEXAS’.

Such as this.

I am trying to help a Texas band that I know get some gigs in the UK. They are a very good Rockabilly Bluesy band with a great look and sound and are looking to visit and play in the UK for a week or two.

Obviously considering the cost of the trip, they’d be looking for more than just a couple of hundred £ a gig.

They have a good name in Texas and do regular gigs, they are currently funding the production of an album, and I do have access to one or two of their songs that I could forward to anyone who might be interested.

As you might guess, this industry is new to me and so your help and guidance would be appreciated.

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