#goth fail

If you're thinking of talking me out of doing The Tomb at the venue I selected, DON'T.  Know why?  Great shit never happens cos someone said "hey everyone, let's back up now and be practical about this."  Know why?  Cos the second someone does that, and takes it seriously, they end up sitting on their hands and doing fuck all, cos "practicality" says one shouldn't do it.  I'd rather put on an amazing night that means i have to buy a lesser shampoo and fish bottles out of the trash bins then do it at a venue I can only kinda-sorta put up with cos the management will let me do it "for free" --which also means that the management is "free" to double-book me whenever he feels like, that the regulars are "free" to decide that it's just not worth it after a few months (or, worse, that they're "free" to put up with no ceiling over the stage and sticky restrooms without doors on the stalls --or yeah, did I mention that the restrooms at this place are SPARKLING CLEAN!!!).

Furthermore, if you're going to recommend me your friend's band who'll play for less than $200 or "maybe even for free", don't, OK?  Why?  First off, let me explain something:

Playing music is work.  It's is hard, PHYSICAL work.  Don't believe me?  I'm a fucking classically-trained tenor, and I can't even keep up with Bruce Dickenson on Rock Band without passing out *from the breath control necessary to keep up with that fucker alone*.  If you wouldn't expect a professional house painter or landscaper to do their work for free, DON'T ASK MUSICIANS TO PLAY FOR FREE!!!  EVER!!! 

Plus, I honestly think it'll be better for The Tomb's reputation (and my own) in the long run if I *start out* as "that guy who actually pays the musicians".  Cos why?  Cos then bands will *want* to play The Tomb, those who played the previous instalment of The Tomb just might be able to afford to go out to The Tomb (maybe even buy a VIP pass!), and they'll bring their friends along, some of whom might also be musicians who will want to play The Tomb.

Yes, it may be more "cost effective" to talk a band into playing "for the experience", and you know what that makes you?  Fucking Wal-Mart and the ding-danged Koch Brothers.  It's not just "cost effective" to not pay people what their fucking worth, it also makes you a fucking douche canoe.

So yes, I'm going to do this night, and I'm going to pay my bands that play it at least $200 a show, cos I think that's the barest minimum a band should play for, cos playing music is fucking hard, physical work, and people need to appreciate that fact.

So don't bother talking me out of this.  If I don't make it, this time, I'll try again.  Cos why?  Cos I can!  If I have to beg for a little money to pull this off the first time, then so be it, but if I can manage to pull the first night off with plenty of money to secure a second night, all the better!

I've also just emailed a local distillery about a sponsorship, so if they can cover even half the rent for all subsequent instalments of The Tomb, all the better.  If they decline this time, I'll try again.  And I'll try other places, cos I believe in this.  It's not ridiculous.  What's ridiculous is giving up on the venue I want just cos i have to raise a little money for it.  What's ridiculous is ASKING MUSICIANS TO PLAY FOR FREE just to make sure things cos less.

...and hey, if people would rather go to Nectarine to pay $5 cover for watered-down drinks and frant-brats perving on them, and week after week of shitty dubstep and aggrotech, and one awful experience after another, then I guess that's fine, too.  But guess what else I'm hoping will be a selling point for The Tomb? 

Yeah, wheelchair accessability, but *also* the fact that the guy in charge (that'd be me) is an effeminate trans faggot, disabled, and completely no-nonsense.  I will enforce a "three strikes" rule against unwanted touch --as in if you touch someone and they said no and told me or one of my people about it, you get three strikes (with each "strike" meaning you're done for the night and you don't have to go home but you can't stick around The Tomb) and then banned for life from my events.  I may even add your photo to a "wall of shame".  I know goth girls can dress provacatively, and goth boys can be pretty-pretty, but that doesn't give you a free pass to touch people without consent.

And the three-strikes rule will apply to queerphobias, racism, sexism, and ableism.  I don't want that shit happening on my time.

Why three strikes rather than zero tolerance?  It's a dark, alcohol-laden atmosphere, and I figure mistakes sometimes happen, and most people have the capacity to learn, even under those conditions.  If that's still unacceptable for you, please talk to me and make your case, cos I think, at least until I see that most people just don't learn, it seems reasonable, especially cos the offending party has to leave with each "strike".

Find something else to bitch about. Or rename your blog WE ZHATE THIS GROOP OF PPL. JESUS SHUT UP. They made homophobic/transphobic comments. GOT IT. ACKNOWLEDGED. NOTED. ON RECORD.