On The Road With TPPI/KX Day 2 (Thursday): Earning Respect One Fan At A Tme
I woke up fairly early Thursday morning after only getting about 4 hours of sleep, but after chilling out with our gracious hosts, we hit up Cracker Barrel and headed to Greenville, NC. The drive across the state of North Carolina would end up taking us close to 8 hours to accomplish. The mood inside was a bit more low key than the first day, with people trading off naps and chilling out with video games or Mad Libs. We hit up a Wal-Mart halfway through and picked up some percussive toys and the two bands had primal drum circle plus melodica jam sessions, often playing along with accompanying music from the ipod.
As we approached the venue, the place looked like a ghost town. The area was made up of old run-down commercial buildings and very little signs of other human beings nearby. We parked and walked up to the door, and found this:
One of the things that interested me most about this trip was seeing what trials and tribulations an unknown touring band has to go through when they are just starting out. With an ever increasing amount of competition, rising gas prices, and a limited amount of venues, it has to be difficult for a band to tour and make an impression on people. I imagined it to be quite a battle to wage to grow fans outside of your own city, and two days into the tour, the challenges became crystal clear.
We contacted “Jeff” and found out the show had been moved to a weird alcohol store in a shopping center called 21 Eleven Beer and Wine. I have never seen a place like this before, carrying very high end microbrew beers only for cheap prices and being pretty much a specialty store that had been hosting other shows as well.
Jeff and the few other locals who came out for this one turned out to be cool dudes, but with a bill completely filled with obscure out-of-towners, there wasn’t much in the way of an audience except the other bands. Apparently the Spazzatorium was facing typical problems a DIY venue faces when it is no longer under the radar (think ISP Space, 585, 141, etc). The two bands that opened before our Georgians were two groups steeped in the Minus The Bear school of Hardcore, but Native was pretty good, so if that’s your bag, check them out. Both of our bands put on great performances regardless of the circumstances. I am really digging Kebert Xela right now. We finished the night at a cheap hotel watching the ridiculous Batman And Robin movie while partying late into the night.
Both of these bands are damn spectacular and I feel honoured to get to experience the chemistry between these musicians and fun atmosphere on this tour so far. There may not have been many people at the first two shows, but you can’t win a fanbase overnight, and these guys are having a great time together earning it the hard way. I’m having lots of technical difficulties as per usual with getting reliable Internet service, but hopefully I’ll have much more for you soon.
Kebert Xela:
This Piano Plays Itself:
- Posted by Davy Minor on July 18, 2008 at 10:59 am
