North West is a hillbilly Highway
Having kept a close eye on the Keep Music Alive meetings, blogs and Gary's review on Kingpin I think it may also be an area specific problem.
Hindley has the Hindley Arms and Georgia Browns that are the main venues for music with a few others thrown in for good measure. We all know how good the Arms is as a venue and Georgia Browns is a good venue but not a specific venue for a certain genre of music.
I am sure alot of the younger ones who are not very educated would not step into the Hindley Arms as its protrayed as a Rock venue except on a Sunday which is a joke.
Georgia Browns is a mixed bag hence like Gary's comments full of a load piss heads. Its very much passing trade type of venue.
Now Hindley embraces music very well but in central Manchester the venues are not there and where I live in Stretford its non existent many of Whatever's venues in our area have shut down . Altrincham was a good area for us but there all dead in the water.
Darwen is an area I have spent probably 50% of my 400 gig time over 8 years in I know that place really well. Marigolds , Millstone were good venues for us. The Millstone is pretty crap now due to 6 or 7 landlords over 3 years ruining there business. Marigolds is always top draw Lynsey and Nicki know there audience and supply plenty of top bands.
But in Manchester venues like Marigolds just wouldnt exist. Its like a bygone era venue. I loved gigging at the the place but its so different to central town areas. The more you delve into the far flung reaches of Lancashire the better the venue. But alot of breweries are closing the smaller town pubs down and relocating to central town areas. Not realising these pubs are keeping the music alive. Breweries and cheap pint pubs are destroying the local we all know this.
I know where I live there is possibly 2 good band venues now and its the same recycled bands keeping there cycle of gigs to themselves .
I understand with rising costs of just about everything we all need to save money but is it worth losing the quality band venues.
Alot of pubs I have played and some on here I have not are not interested in pigeon holing there pub but it might not be a bad thing as places like The Market Tavern have been successful playing one style of music. But The Market Tavern in Altrincham is an old mans pub with very few youngers one coming in as they have not been brought up on real music. And I must admit its the same faces week in week out and outsiders are looked upon with distain at times. But it makes money as does the Hindley Arms and Marigolds to name a few. There always rammed.
Booking bands is one thing but booking the right bands for your pub is another.
I blame the miseducated Landlords/Landladies for the decline in live music not knowing what there booking then blaming the band and everyone else for there financial mismanagement of there pub.
The logo should now read
Keep Music Alive - Get a good Landord
And to quote a famous prophet of our time:
' As the space ship of life orbits the saturn hemisphere we embrace power and lose control. Our goal in lifes musical tapestry is to achieve a higher plain upon a desert filled camel ride.
But to come out the other side with a bottle of water and a sweat stained shirt is all in time with a drum beat and gods plan is nothing short than a bibalogical musical with too many scenes to obtain greatness. I say keep music alive'
Jon Travolta 1978 - Just before singing Summer Loving in Grease.