Interim Music

07/03/2024

Studio setup for 2024.

13/08/2023

3 hours to go. 3 songs and 1, 1 minute intro are "done". It's time to sleep for a bit. This was exhausting but also a blast.

13/08/2023

I turned my equipment off during a lightning storm, but we're back at it. I've got 2.5 songs written and I may be in trouble.

12/08/2023

Join me as I attempt to write 4 songs in 24 hours. I'm not sure how active I will be in the live stream, but feel free to send me some encouragement in the comments!

12/08/2023

Just making sure everything works for the live stream tomorrow!

11/08/2023

Just posting this here in case people don’t check stories!

4 songs in 24 hours. Uploaded to streaming at the end.

Tomorrow, August 12th at 10 AM we start.

On Sunday, August 13 at 10 AM we stop.

LETS DO THIS!

29/06/2023

Congrats to A Mile West on releasing their debut EP!

Album · 2023 · 6 Songs

16/06/2023

Here's a breakdown of the remix I made for The D.C. Show's new record, Reboot Wars. I picked the song Drinkognito and went for a very Meteora/Hybrid Theory type of sound.

Check out the new DC Show record, as well as the original version of this song in the comments!

13/03/2023

Had a blast with the dudes in A Mile West these last 2 weekends. Talented dudes with a sound that I really love.

10/11/2021

YYC 8 Hour Songwriting Challenge: Christmas Edition? Let’s talk about it!

14/10/2021

Let's make some songs on Saturday, October 23rd! Event in the comments.

29/09/2021

The next songwriting challenge will be on Saturday, October 23. Mark your calendars!

02/05/2021

Let's check out the songs that were created today!

06/03/2021

Join me as I work on my entry for the YYC 8 Hour Songwriting Challenge Vol. 5. Over 30 other artists from Calgary are joining me and at 8:00 PM MST I'll be going live again from this page for the listening party.

Special thanks to Long & McQuade (Calgary Royal Vista), Korneff Audio, and URM Academy for some awesome prizes.

28/02/2021

Join me this Saturday for the YYC 8 Hour Songwriting Challenge Vol. 5.

07/06/2020

Seth Simp - Stay The Night

03/05/2020

03/05/2020

09/12/2017

There's something cool in the pipe for New Years. Really excited to flesh it out.

23/11/2017

We're back! Talking about failure, my new job, and how to get your band on bigger bills!

22/11/2017

It's been a while. Podcast tonight around 8:00? Sweet. See you there!

08/08/2017

IMP # 15 - DIY Touring with Ryley from Without A Crown

Scott and Ryley talk about DIY Touring, making contacts in other cities, and building your band's notoriety.

31/07/2017

IMP #15 - Interview with Kyle Mudge of Trench Finger

Today's episode has Kyle Mudge of Trench Finger on where we talk about local show promotion and a joint venture that our bands have in the pipe!

26/07/2017

IMP #14 - Interview with Taron Cochrane of Taron Cochrane Ente...

I sit down with Taron Cochrane of Taron Cochrane Entertainment to talk about The Gateway music festival in Saskatchewan, the importance of building up your scene, how far simply being nice will take you, and more!

25/07/2017

*Note. This is not meant to be sarcastic or to attack venues, bands, or band members. This is purely my observation as someone who has both played in a band and also promoted shows*

Music industry folks, let's talk bands selling tickets. Typically it's something like this:

Venue needs people in their establishment and decides to have live bands in order to bring people to their space.

The venue then asks for bands to help in selling tickets for the event. (I do believe that bands can and should sell tickets for any show that they are promoting as promotion is a team effort by ALL. I do not agree with pay to play though. Quotas and bands not receiving any of their ticket sales or having to pay out a number if they fell short is a huge no no. There are differences between pay to play and helping sell tickets.) The venue then hopes that each band can sell 10-15 tickets per band member which gives a band of 4 a potential draw of 40-60 people. Multiply this by 4 and you have 160-240 people coming out to the show.

Then what happens is the contact person for the band signs a contract/speaks to the venue/promoter understands the expectations. Then the tickets are disseminated within the band and each member sells a different amount based on their circle of friends, their effort level, or circumstances like coworkers being unavailable, large sporting events, and other stuff. They typically don't feel the pressure that the contact person does as they don't typically see the contracts or speak with the venue/promoter.

Leading up to the event the venue reaches out to the contact people and asks for ticket numbers. Usually this number is at about 15-30 at the local level. It falls below the hopes of the venue which then puts a bit of stress on the contact person to give information that they know isn't going to be liked.

Before we start saying that bands shouldn't sell tickets and that promoters should because their name implies it's their job, arena bands still sell tickets. Their name just does it for them because they put in the work and built up a brand that has a demand. Tom DeLonge from Blink-182 used to break into his high school at night after it was closed and put a show flyer in EVERY SINGLE LOCKER. The best promoter in the world can't sell 250-300 tickets for 4 bands, that the average person has not heard of, all by themselves. It's just not possible. If there is a market for what you're doing, people will come. If there isn't a market, people won't come. It's up to the show production team AND the bands to make something so rad that people can't not attend.

Now...there's something to be said that venues shouldn't soley rely on bands for their draw, that they should have another angle to explore so that there are multiple layers of draw. I do agree with this. I think that a lot of trendy night clubs with DJs don't have to worry about who is DJing on a Friday night. There will be a turnout. But is that easy to do? Especially when live music isn't the draw that it used to be? Not really. Not even close actually.

Saturation definitely comes to mind. When you have 3-5 A tier venues, perhaps 10-20 B tier venues, and then 30+ C tier venues, accross a pool of maybe 700 entertainment acts in the city playing Fri/Sat 4x a month...that is a huge supply and a tiny, tiny demand to go around. So your event has to stick out in order to be successful.

I think that show and event posters and digital assets need to improve, venues need to improve on their branding as much as they can, and the idea of show promotion needs to be redefined as a whole. If a venue expects bands to promote and sell all of the tickets, they're setting up the band for failure. If a band refuses to sell tickets, they're setting the venue up for failure. If a promoter refuses to sell tickets because they want the venue and bands to do it, they're setting both of them up for failure. I really see shows and concerts as a partnership. Everyone is going to have a different skill-set, strengths, and weaknesses. Everyone can bring something different to the table, but that doesn't mean it can't be a bit more of a gradual gradient than a firm black and white in terms of "roles".

What is the solution? What do you think?

24/07/2017

IMP # 13 with Philip Fradkin of PKscreams. Phil is a HUGE advocate for the Calgary rock, punk, and metal scene. I don't think that I know anyone else that I am nearly guaranteed to see at a show when I go out. He currently works at Sunrise Records and has been involved with many street teams over the years. Today we talk about show promotion and the keys to getting people out to shows.

24/07/2017

Interim Music's cover photo

24/07/2017

Interim Music

23/07/2017

IMP #12 - Interview with Jeremey Dirom (JD) of J. Dirom Photography and the Lloyd & JD podcast.

JD is a Calgary based photographer that writes for Concert Addicts and The Portal Magazine, a local vlogger, and also a fellow podcaster. Today we talk about branding and the importance of EPKs, among other things. He shoots concerts anywhere from the smallest local venues to the Saddledome and he is a very driven individual. Very stoked to talk with him!

Check out his website here: http://www.jdirom.com/