From Kent Williams Sent Fri, Oct 23rd 1998, 15:55
From Kent Williams Sent Fri, Oct 23rd 1998, 15:55
Two questions: 1. After spending time in Paris and Amsterdam, it occurs to me that american techno and hiphop crews could really find an enthusiastic audience in Europe and the UK; I have several friends who, while not really well known outside our little musical backwater, do really good work live. Does anyone have contacts with european booking agencies that they could send CDs and press kits? Last I checked it's possible to get off-season tickets to Amsterdam from Chicago for as little as $300, which means that if two guys can get 5 gigs around Europe they can break even on a tour even if they only get $200 a night for appearing. 2. If anyone wants a midwest booking in Iowa City, I can hook you up. We have two club nights (on tuesday and sunday) a week that are well attended; a fee can be negotiated based on the potential draw. Tuesday night is nominally a 'hip hop club hangout' but could encompass any act who is downtempo and funky. Sunday nights are techno/house/drum and bass. Tuesday cover is free or up to a few dollars, Sundays are usually 3-4 dollars with an average of 150-200 people showing up, meaning performer's fees in low 3 figures would work. If you need $1K to show up, it may be hard for us to manage. A new venue will probably be opening up before the end of the year that would have more flexible schedule; more details as they are available. Iowa City is more or less in the center of the major midwestern cities; 3.5 hrs from Chicago, 5.5 from Minneapolis,St Louis, and Kansas City, so if you're touring in the midwest it's a good stop over for a quick club date. A big problem right now in my opinion is that there are people all over the place attuned to the same vibe, yet they feel rather isolated from each other by distance and lack of connections; whenever connections do form (for example Holland<-->Detroit, Berlin<-->Detroit, Chicago<-->London) interesting things begin to happen.