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Post by Johnny 5 on Jun 26, 2008 10:29:16 GMT -5
Time to nominate your favorite bands for the 2008 Grand Band Slam. Head on over to www.hartfordadvocate.com and nominate away!!
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Post by twistdpair on Jul 22, 2008 15:13:54 GMT -5
Would we have heard by now if we were going to be included in any categories?
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Post by Johnny 5 on Jul 22, 2008 15:41:39 GMT -5
I believe the ballot opens tomorrow. I'll post it up when it goes live!
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Post by Johnny 5 on Jul 23, 2008 12:22:08 GMT -5
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Post by analog on Jul 29, 2008 12:17:05 GMT -5
The Analog Reception has been nominated for the "new group" and "indie/emo band" categories. We would really appreciate your vote! You can check us out at: www.theanalogreception.comAlso, show some love for our friends in Straddledaddy. They're nominated for "original rock", "jamband/groove rock" and "best bass player". Thanks!
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Post by Johnny 5 on Sept 17, 2008 11:51:29 GMT -5
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Post by mrscotti on Oct 1, 2008 10:29:06 GMT -5
The Band Sham is total cr*p. If you really think that they don't have this thing rigged like every other "Battle of the Bands" i've got a bridge in Brooklyn I think you might be interested in.
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Post by Johnny 5 on Oct 1, 2008 13:28:19 GMT -5
I can see your point. But for me at least, my band won two categories, Best Cover Band and Best Keyboards and I can assure you we don't know anyone at The Advocate nor did we use any tricky scams. Just old fashioned emailing or fans and friends. Is it a popularity contest? Sure, but for cover bands I don't think it matters much, popularity runs that scene. As far as the other categories, I don't know. And I'm sure the Advocate isn't fans of us right now. This year and last year we had to bow out of the actual Band Slam show last minute due to scheduling conflicts. They probably won't even allow us on the ballot next year, haha!
As I said last year, I'd rather they get a panel of judges to go out and see the bands and pick the "best" based on actual talent and merit. But that would be overly complicated. Which is why I'd LOVE to do it on ctmamusic. I'd also like a better Local Music section. I run a site devoted to local music. You'd think I would have at least HEARD of some of the bands Dan reviews. I don't mind him going to out of the way spots to review bands, but that seems to be the only place he goes. Every now and then he visits Rookies or something, but last time he went he reviewed a cover band from PA. Not exactly local.
It boils down to this: I really need to get my act together and start doing more with this site!
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Post by analog on Oct 2, 2008 15:50:33 GMT -5
Rigged or not, it's one of the few bits of recognition that local bands get around here. Congrats to Straddledaddy who actually deserve to win. And to your band Johnny. I totally agree with you about the Advocate's coverage of local music. It's like all this guy listens to is Rockabilly and Surf. I've invited him to several great local shows (including some Straddledaddy shows) and never get so much as a response. The next week he'll come back with a review of a jazz trio doing standards in a coffee shop. It's a testament to what the scene has become, I guess.
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Post by Johnny 5 on Oct 2, 2008 16:13:37 GMT -5
That's true. We were excited to win, either way. It's good press and you're right, it's at least SOMETHING. In their defense, The Advocate is doing more for local music than I am at this point. The issue is that with very little effort a whole lot more could be done.
There are some amazing bands in CT, but you'd never know it. I'd love for some of you guys to check out some of the great bands that you know of and write an unbiased review for ctmamusic. I post all reviews that I get that are not clearly a band writing a glowing review of themselves or their friends. Which means I get very few. Get out there and write up a review of some cool bands, just keep it honest and I'll post it on the site. Maybe with enough support we can start doing more with this site. Of course, that means I need to get off my butt and do more too!
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craze
Scenester
Posts: 55
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Post by craze on Oct 6, 2008 14:51:25 GMT -5
Hey - I've noticed that there are a lot of CT musicians that share mrscotti's view. I did too until the band I'm in finally won. I've been playing in local bands for a long time and have had plenty of nominations but always got out voted in the end. No one in my band has a friend at the advocate - we just have a lot of fans who were willing to take the time to vote. We pushed it hard through our mailing list, myspace etc. I can say 2 things. It's not rigged, and you can win. But just in case I'm wrong and it is rigged, I wonder why they picked StraddleDaddy for Best Original Rock Band.?.?. John's right that it is what it is and I'm thankful as well that they do something. It feels good to get some support. I'm also glad to have this message board where people can speak their minds...
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Post by Johnny 5 on Oct 6, 2008 16:34:18 GMT -5
Hey - I've noticed that there are a lot of CT musicians that share mrscotti's view. I did too until the band I'm in finally won. I've been playing in local bands for a long time and have had plenty of nominations but always got out voted in the end. No one in my band has a friend at the advocate - we just have a lot of fans who were willing to take the time to vote. We pushed it hard through our mailing list, myspace etc. I can say 2 things. It's not rigged, and you can win. But just in case I'm wrong and it is rigged, I wonder why they picked StraddleDaddy for Best Original Rock Band.?.?. John's right that it is what it is and I'm thankful as well that they do something. It feels good to get some support. I'm also glad to have this message board where people can speak their minds... Thanks! Yeah, I wish we could get more people onto this board. I like to think of this as an unbiased forum for discussing the scene. But we need more members here. As for the Band Slam, until someone else (myself included) does something better for the scene, it's one of the only things going on and it's hard to criticize. All I can say, for now, is get more musicians/fans involved on here and maybe we can get some better support for something new. Also, Craze, I moved you image into your signature. Hope that's cool. That way you don't have to keep posting it.
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Post by analog on Oct 8, 2008 12:49:08 GMT -5
I would suggest going on to other message boards to promote this one. You have what could potentially be the best local music board to this area. Try Craigslist's musicians section, Harmony Central, I know the Gear Page has quite a few CT and MA members on it. Just an idea. I think largely the CT scene has become dominated by cover and tribute bands, so original bands like mine have started looking outside of the state for scenes/other bands to get involved with. I would imagine that there is not a whole lot of comraderie amongst cover bands, as most of them are playing similar sets and competing for the same few good gigs. I may be wrong. Johnny, you would know this better than I. It's definitely not the same scene it was 10 years ago.
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Post by Johnny 5 on Oct 8, 2008 13:40:19 GMT -5
While it's definitely a different scene, I don't think the cover bands are fighting amongst each other. At least I don't think so. I think all the cover bands realize they're not exactly going to become famous, we're all doing it for fun and to make some money. I'm friends with most of the main cover bands in the area and I don't see any animosity for the most part unless it's a personal issue.
I definitely should start promoting more. I've actually become quite inspired by this thread and have been doing a little behind the scenes work and may be able to get some more exposure for this site and hopefully get more people on here and get the scene a little more active.
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