Hey y'all,
So I've been booking shows for a while and have had a certain DIY house show sort of place going for two years now. We have had a lot of great bands come through on tour and we have always tried to help them out and get them food and a place to stay. I have always booked bands based pretty much on the same criteria, that they aren't hateful a**holes, and that they are actually a good band. I don't have to necessarily like them, but I think since I have been alive long enough and playing music long enough to know mostly when someone is or isn't good.
Anyway, I've got this kid who has asked for shows in the past. He is a solo act, his guitar playing is sloppy, I would say he is actually tone deaf and the only thing that could make up for that is writing great songs. Which he doesn't. I've never promised him a show, though I have never told him straight up he sucks and I won't book him. But he seems to think that since he lives nearby, writes his own songs, because he has had a hard life, and because he has always wanted to play at this place that I should book him.
So I guess the question is, do you, when booking shows, just keep to the idea that you want to book people you can stand by and respect as musicians and artists, and exclude the kids who just aren't good enough yet? (not forever, just until they improve) Or do you book someone because they REALLY want to play, because they think they are good enough and have earned it, and maybe slightly out of pity.
Also, since a few days ago when I turned him down for a date next month, he started talking lots of crap about me and the venue. Called me out from stage at an open mic saying he earned this and that it is unfair that I book other people and not him. Plus something twice as long as this whole thing on Facebook about how I suck.
Just looking for some input, maybe some of you have dealt with something similar.
So I've been booking shows for a while and have had a certain DIY house show sort of place going for two years now. We have had a lot of great bands come through on tour and we have always tried to help them out and get them food and a place to stay. I have always booked bands based pretty much on the same criteria, that they aren't hateful a**holes, and that they are actually a good band. I don't have to necessarily like them, but I think since I have been alive long enough and playing music long enough to know mostly when someone is or isn't good.
Anyway, I've got this kid who has asked for shows in the past. He is a solo act, his guitar playing is sloppy, I would say he is actually tone deaf and the only thing that could make up for that is writing great songs. Which he doesn't. I've never promised him a show, though I have never told him straight up he sucks and I won't book him. But he seems to think that since he lives nearby, writes his own songs, because he has had a hard life, and because he has always wanted to play at this place that I should book him.
So I guess the question is, do you, when booking shows, just keep to the idea that you want to book people you can stand by and respect as musicians and artists, and exclude the kids who just aren't good enough yet? (not forever, just until they improve) Or do you book someone because they REALLY want to play, because they think they are good enough and have earned it, and maybe slightly out of pity.
Also, since a few days ago when I turned him down for a date next month, he started talking lots of crap about me and the venue. Called me out from stage at an open mic saying he earned this and that it is unfair that I book other people and not him. Plus something twice as long as this whole thing on Facebook about how I suck.
Just looking for some input, maybe some of you have dealt with something similar.