Since that announcement there has been much confusion to what exactly it meant.  Arena continues to own and operate Project Backstage, but has turned over daily authority to Jason “JBabs” Babiuch and has given him the Director title.  Arena is far from gone from Project Backstage and continues to communicate with JBabs daily as to the direction and assisting with the transition for the new role.

What does this mean long term for Project Backstage?  Not much really.  The day to day things that people see with staff on the street, the reviews being posted, and some one-on-one assistance with bands will eventually all be taken over by JBabs for direction.  All staff generally reports to JBabs now instead of Arena, and the only person that has real direction from Arena will be JBabs.

Arena stays in the role of PB of more behind the scenes now and less public working on National artist projects along with working with some of the promotional and market advancement opportunities that Project Backstage is connected with.  The “stepping down” that Arena mentioned at the awards show is more of leaving the public light and dealing directly with the staff and assignments much more than he is actually leaving Project Backstage.

While this may seem confusing from the outside the point is between the two moves of Arena and JBabs they are hoping to bring a new vision into the daily operation of Project Backstage, increase recruitment, and provide more coverage to more events and genres and artists once the transition is complete.  JBabs has made it clear to expect staff changes under his leadership, and Arena has given him the green light to complete whatever is necessary to enact the new direction of Project Backstage with keeping music and entertainment at the core.

So far only a couple of staff changes has happened and that is the promotion of David Merchbrock from Event Coordinator to Field Director filling the spot vacated by Megan Cervas earlier this year, and the departure of Jericka Milsap which happened prior to the awards show and was to allow more concentration on the SLAM Radio side.  More changes should be announced soon along with the addition of several new reporters to the staff.

We will provide more insight as it becomes available

One such Band I recently witnessed is a band from Independence called “Shades of Gray“. They were playing at a biker bar and did a good job judging the audience and playing to the wishes of the crowd without them asking. That is the sign of a good band in general, but most cover bands are the only ones that can pull that off it seems. They did have an excellent opening band and ran the sound for that band and themselves. They also played much longer than a good local original band does…so Kudos to them.  The bar really seemed to enjoy the live music over just a Juke Box,

Anyway, here are a few other things I noticed that, bodes well for a local hole. The drink prices. They are usually half of any “Venue” and they are usually strong. The People, the bar staff is much more attentive, even when the place gets busy, and man do these places seem to get busy. And the regulars are often very friendly to newcomers. I suppose the regulars plus the fans a cover band might bring are the reason these places get so busy, especially in a place that holds 100-150 people. Everyone claps when they hear songs they liked and some even sing along. I suppose for music lovers who can only get out every so often because of a family or whatever the big venue shows seem to be the way to go, but I suggest that every so often they just stop in the local watering hole, have a few drinks, play some pool and listen to the music you grew up listening to on the radio…I dare you not to have a good time.

JD Enke
Project Backstage

Another rule that members of a band should remember is DO NOT ever “poke” the media no matter what size they are.  From that local blog clear up to a 1,000,000+ subscriber base, do not attack them directly nor call them out.  Never attack a reporter in hopes of getting your name mentioned.  This seems to be the thing many local bands are doing lately thinking it is a fast way to be noticed and talked about.  People in media LOVE the drama.  They get paid to report drama, and in some publications, even create it – about YOU.  The people writing and creating stories have no love lost throwing you under the bus to get a few more hits on their site or to sell a few more copies because of their article.

If you are wanting coverage for a show or an event that you are taking part of:

1) Kindly invite people.  Send music IF asked.  Do not send your music unsolicited, this is a grey area for reporters on if they can even accept it because of legal issues.  Keep in mind if you are wanting that publication at your show, it is not going to happen on the first request generally.  If they do come out, make sure they are on the list +1.  Sometimes media will come alone, but in a review scenario generally they send two people to make sure that the review does not go biased to one side or one opinion.  Do not expect media to pay to get into your show that you asked them to be there, when they are coming to promote you.

2) Don’t be excessive.  If the media you are contacting says they will try and come (generally it is hard to get a hard yes or no), don’t email every single day asking if they will be there.  They are aware of your show, but if you want to send a friendly short email reminder the day of show, that would be considered acceptable.  Too many artists email something different every single day, especially the week of the show, in hopes to gain some want or attention to be at their show.  Be calm, be collect, and remember – you are dealing with people that do this for a living.  If they don’t make it to the show you asked, don’t be afraid to ask again, politely.

3) Remember you are not the only one.  From the 50 person venue, to the 600 person venue, you are not the only band, ever, that is wanting a reporter at your show on any given weekend.  Even smaller publications have 3-5 different requests for reporters on the same night.  That number rises greatly as the publication size grows.  If you are a band that they have recently reviewed, or if you have no press for them to research, you are generally at the bottom of the list to go out and see.  While yes this may not be fair it is how it goes.  Reporters want some history on you before they come out and see you.

4) Make your Electronic Press Kits (EPK’s) small.  Too many times we see it when a band sends in their EPK, and it is 10 pages long.  Condense it.  Make sure it is only 2 – 3 pages maximum.  Longer press kits are not acceptable and take too much time to read.  They will be pushed to the bottom, if not the trash can, as soon as they are seen.  If Metallica or Anthrax can keep their EPK’s to 2 pages with all the achievements they have earned, there is no reason a local artist that is trying to grow can not do the same.  If reporters have questions from the EPK, they WILL ask.  Once again, that is their job.

5) Never attack whatever comes of your review/article.  The minute you publicly complain about the article that was written about you, you lose all humility.  If you are not humble to what was done for you, you not only lost that publication that spent the time to write about you, but most likely many others.  Reporters pretty much all know each other in each market.  They may not admit to know each other, but they do.  If you think magazine A sucks, and you make it very public – magazine B, C, and D probably all have drinks with magazine A once a month, and they will talk.  Stay humble and respect what was written.  This does not mean you have to agree with it at all, but your only chance to gain vindication from another publication on a bad review/article is let your fans talk the talk and stay out of it.

These are only 5 of the simple things that a media coach will teach on the most basic levels.  I will write more in depth in the future, but remember, these are just the basics.  The rules are different for local artists than National touring acts simply because of the fan base.  National’s have a much larger fan base which equates to ratings.  Locals generally don’t and are read at a much smaller rate than the others.  The facts of the industry suck and at times do not make sense, but it is all in place for a reason.

If you want press, be humble, be patient, and never for any reason attack a member of an organization you want to be wrote up in.  Most of the time they will just turn and ignore you, but when they do show up after you attack them, that is when you need to worry.  I can guarantee you that you can play the show of your life, say all the right things, and be at the level of a Hall of Fame artist – but if they showed up after you attacked them, your review is going to absolutely suck.  Guaranteed.

Frank Arena
Project Backstage

I think that this bias in the media industry is such hypocritical behavior, and those that engage in it should find other means of employment.  I say hypocritical, because the definition of reporting is “…to give account, usually in detail”.  To not properly and thoroughly report what is happening in town – IN ALL SCENES – to continually ignore certain areas is not only callous, but also downright despicable and irresponsible.  It almost borders on prejudice, and is most definitely bigotry in the purest sense of the word (look it up).  It is cronyism in practice, and frankly, is completely against what should be considered fair, reasonable and complete media coverage for any responsible reporter, columnist, or media employee.

To be clear:  I am not talking about radio stations that have a certain format or genera of music that they focus on; i.e., a rock station not playing a red dirt band.  But I am talking about radio stations that refuse to play music of the same genera from bands that aren’t a member of a certain “scene” or “in-crowd”.  (This rant is not restricted to radio.)

This behavior causes many hard working artists in the area to be completely ignored.  Many of these artists put their blood, sweat and tears into their work to entertain the fine residents of Kansas City, yet if they aren’t up to snuff for a small handful of individuals who report on Kansas City events – their efforts are for naught in a city that won’t support them.  (Notice I say WON’T rather than CAN’T.)  The residents of Kansas City have a right to receive information about ALL events that are happening in their area.  These people are acting as a FILTER – and the residents of Kansas City are losing out.  In effect, this biased behavior hurts rather than helps – not only entertainers, but the music-loving public themselves.

I am totally on the fence about publicly calling out certain individuals in this rant as much as I would LOVE to – but I don’t even know if it’s even completely necessary.  Most everyone that is reading this, I’m sure, know exactly which individuals I’m talking about.  You have probably sent these individuals press releases, review requests, invitations – only to have your correspondence be COMPLETELY ignored.  They may have even blocked you on social media sites.  These people won’t even give some of you the dignity of a response.  They are bigots and cowards, and are hurting the entertainment industry that they purportedly are there to support.

I propose to take action, and contact the “higher ups” of these individuals, telling them about how 75% of the entertainment industry here in town is being ignored, and how we feel about this type of behavior.  To demand EQUAL and FAIR coverage for all areas of the Kansas City music and entertainment industry.  People always complain about how segregated this scene is.  Let’s do something about it and stop complaining.

Anyone who is interested in organizing a campaign like I’ve described, please contact me to discuss.

Thank you for reading.

Anthony Scott, Cauldron Soundwerx Productions

I was inspired to take this route to make my point rather than use other words that could get long and drawn out after watching “Cyberbully” (Don’t judge, I was bored). This made for TV movie actually made a ton of good points, although ended with a lot of cheese and predictibility. This is not about the movie, but for those that have seen this movie can predict where I am heading with this.

In the scene every day there are bands that just do not like each other. There are bands that love each other but a few members don’t like a few members of others. There are 100 combinations that I can use as an example but you get the point. Why people don’t get along varies vastly depending on the people and lets face it, it is always going to be this way. There is absolutely no possible way that everyone is going to like each other at all times at every minute of the day.

So add on top of personal issues the fact that a band is getting more exposure than someone else, or a different band is not all that good but is trying to develop into something, or worst yet those bands that just ride that middle road and never move forward or backward but are happy in that middle. This causes grief between bands and people moreso than just the personal issues that come and go, so the trash talking begins and the smacks with words go flying on message boards, social networks, and other methods for one to talk bad about the other.

Now back to the movie. Would you want what you are saying about another person to be the final straw to make someone commit suicide or make themselves a disabled person for the rest of their lives? Would you be ok with knowing that what you said out of spite or anger was the one that took that person away from their life? 99.9% of the people that I know in this would say no, they could not handle that. How is this any different than when you sling profanities, rumors, or talk down another band because they are not as good as yours or worse yet, because they are better and you are jealous?

Lets say you get into a heated discussion with another band, your fans are close to you and you bring them into the picture to pretty much attack this other band about how horrible they are. This carries over to practice where they are already hurt by all the trash you spoke earlier that day and the rumors they are hearing that people are making up because you wanted this fight with them. They have it out, and the band breaks up. Is this not the same thing as suicide, only to a potential career in music, and a life that nobody will ever know if they were good enough to pull it together and be part of the less than one-tenth of a percent that makes it?

Right now in the Kansas City scene things are so much better than it was last year at this time. Even weak shows are drawing 60ish people this year, where at the same time last year they were only getting maybe 20. KC’s scene is stronger than it has been in many years and it is continuing to grow. Is every band in KC great and that is why the numbers are increasing, no. Then why?

Is it the work of Project Backstage and others like Kansas City Cassi, the now defunct Scantlin Entertainment, and other e-zines? Is it SLAM Radio, Kansas City Local Artists Radio, the Big Dumb Fun Show, or Rock Addict Radio that have made HUGE strides in supporting local music and bring it to new people? Maybe it is the promoters that have started working together and collaborating on shows to make a larger impact? Absolutely not. None of these are the main reason that the scene has taken a turn.

The scene has done a complete 180 degree turnaround because of the bands. Good one, so-so one, and even the horrible ones (unfortunately, they exist – gotta be real here). More and more bands are supporting each other. You are seeing bands promote to their fans to stay at a show after they play, or show up before they play to see the other bands. You are seeing the actual members of other bands playing bills out rocking with the others playing on the same night. Above all of that, the bands are living the rant I wrote in the middle of last year that “nothing is more important than the show”.

The unity that this scene is developing is amazing. Does that mean all is great in KC and we are done? Hell no. There is a long way to go. In the end, if you make sure that your show is the most important thing when you take that stage, show that you and the other bands playing are unified, and you respect (you don’t have to like them) the others that are going up to entertain the people in that venue, this scene will continue to grow at record pace, guaranteed.

So if you are in a band, or a fan of a band, and you get caught up talking trash on others in the KC music scene, just stop for a second. Think to yourself, “is what I am saying or doing going to benefit anyone in advancing me to where I want to go”? Generally that answer is going to be no. Don’t make someone feel like crap for weeks because you had no idea they respected you so greatly and then just to hear you talk smack on them because you did not think they were that good, or they did not have the look, or whatever the reason is. Do you want to be the responsible one in the mind of the person that you made commit career suicide because what you said was their final straw? Worst yet, if that person had so much stress on them prior to hearing what you said, then goes home and takes their life?

Sometimes the best answer when asked about someone that you do not like is a simple “I don’t agree with them” or something along those lines.

Am I trying to tell everyone in this scene to let their problems go, or what to say, no. All I am doing is suggesting that before you trash someone else because of jealousy or disdain, stop and think. Be professional and do what is best for the scene, not just for yourself. Show unity, show respect, and handle your show to make it better than the show before.

Frank Arena
Project Backstage

When I arrived at Aftershock the Tards were only a set or so away from playing and that was a relief to me as I had not missed the last time I might see them. The Tards REALLY need to stay together in the form they are right now. Tom’s infectiously positive personality makes for a fun show. The fact that every one of the bands preceding the Tards and even the one that would follow got up and did a song with the band says a lot. They will be missed until they decide a triumphant return….hopefully sooner than later. Roxxi showed up with the rest of Burning Tide and by the smell of her “21” Chalice it was obvious people were buying her drinks that when mixed would cause uncontrolled regurgitation and major hangovers. She passed out on a table and was thankfully carried out by her band mates and properly cared for from what I hear. That’s awesome to see in this day and age.

Anyway, the Tards played for a bit over an hour I think and I jetted shortly after, Sorry Vanlade, I am told you put on a hell of a show and I will definitely see you soon. I needed sleep so I could prepare for New Years properly. I had a DD planned for New Years and could actually drink….so drink I did.

We started New Years at the KC Anthem Lair, I had been drinking before arrival, and even though the Wings smelled wonderful, I had to decline to avoid regurgitation myself. Wings are no good coming back up. I did leave the lair with a monkey that screams when I spank it, but that is another story for another time. Suffice to say the KC Anthem Monkey will be around the scene as much as I. We left there in time to catch Psychostick and toast the New Year in with a half glass of beer. Not sure how I survived without passing out, but my DD’s nephew did not fair as well. He pulled a Roxxi and passed out on the bar. So we had to take him home shortly after the toast.

I know there were tons of shows and parties going on, I wish I could have hit more, Kim Commando, we did miss you that night. Scott Barnett, I hear the Speedway was a boatload of fun, but really is any Drek show not fun? There are tons of these shout outs I can give, but I digress, don’t you just wish you could be everywhere at once?

JD Enke
Project Backstage Reporter
http://www.projectbackstage.com

I have been going out to shows and seeing new artists that PB has never covered as of yet, going into different scenes, and of course going back and attending shows of artists that knew I was there last time but did not know this time around.  Shows were attended that were very well packed with people, and others there were very few people there.

One group in specific, when I attended the first show 4 weeks ago, there was a lot of people there.  Probably 250+.  The band was awesome.  Great energy, awesome stage presence, just showed the whole package.  I was very impressed and thought “why has this band not moved up in the scene and known?”.  Well, it was not their draw, it was the headlining bands draw, but that should not make a difference.

The same group I happen to catch a couple weeks later at a venue about the same size as the first, not a great lineup so the crowd was not there, but I thought “Same band, this should be good.  I am going.”.  I was VERY disappointed.  They were flat.  The stage show was not there, they were wearing flip-flops on the stage with no “attire” like they had the first time.  I sat and pondered for quite a while on what was wrong.  It did not take long to figure out, 250+ people = awesome show.  25 people = relaxed “mailed in” show.

Now I am picking on one artist that I am not naming and calling out intentionally.  Why?  Because more bands do this in the scene than not.  They will always play down to their crowds.  It was even quoted from one of the bands I was watching during set change saying “they only paid $10, what do they expect”.  WTF??  Really?  I paid $10 too because I saw you a couple weeks earlier and I wanted to enjoy the presence again, not be disappointed and disrespected.

So with that whole back story to this rant now in front of you, you can see why the title.  Nothing is more important than the show.  Period.  It should not matter if there are 5 people in the crowd that showed up and paid their money or if there are 500.  You may not make the same at the end of the night, but those people sure paid the same.  Why any artist or group that has aspirations of becoming professional musicians would ever play down when the crowd is down just amazes me.

Not only is it very disappointing for the fans, it is disappointing for the venues, it is disrespecting every single person that supports you, and it makes you look like pompus arrogant assholes.  It’s that simple.  I saw on a message board one day people making fun of a band out of Lawrence, KS called Sidewise because they were wearing “guyliner” and going all out for 20 people in the crowd.  I seriously wanted to reply and ask “why wouldn’t they, if they do it every other night, why not tonight?” but I restrained myself because it was another artist I respected (although I am re-thinking that).

Honestly, this is another reason the “scene” is the way it is.  NOBODY will support people that do not respect them, or earn their money.  If people wanted to see half-shows and toned down acts, they will go see them for free each week at the local coffee houses around town, not the full fledged venues that have spent literally thousands of dollars on sound and lighting to put on SHOWS.  If you don’t respect your fans enough to play for them, they will not pay to see you.

So bands and artists, please for the love of music and everything with it, if you want this scene to thrive – DO YOUR THING EVERY SINGLE TIME.  If it is 5 people, 25 people, or 3,000 people in that crowd, leave it all on the stage for those people.  Do not totally make a joke out of local artists like this.  If you will do it for one show, do it for all of them.  Show these people that are coming out that you are serious, you want them there, you demand that they enjoy what you do.  I guarantee you if you put it out there every single time, your numbers will go up, you will make more money, people will come out to your shows because you ARE a entertainer.

Frank Arena
Project Backstage

When bands and entertainers jump onto a bill, and they are ready to go out and sell their tickets, they immediately start selling themselves and their sets.  I would like to think it is not intentional that they totally overlook the other bands playing the same night as them.  Granted, the scene is started getting pretty large, and the talent that bands are playing with range from “start up band” to “local headliner”. 

Whatever the case is, people are paying for a ticket.  Generally they are throwing $8 – $15 a ticket your way, times 2 for a couple to go out and see these shows that you are selling.  Sell the show.  Sell the other bands on there too.  This is a GREAT way to promote the scene as a whole and to get people to keep coming out.  If you continue to sell just yourself, it will get harder and harder to sell that ticket if the same people have seen your stage show 20 times this year alone.  You can use this as a major advantage when promoting your shows.

I know myself I have always asked who else is on the bill.  It has always been very difficult to sell me on going to see just one single band.  I want to go and see 2, maybe 3, and if there are more bands that I have never heard of then it is a great oppurtunity to open up and maybe find some new talent.  People like value for the dollar, and the more value you give them, the easier sell it will be for you.  Yes, in the end chances are they are buying the ticket because they know YOU, and they want to see YOU, but if you can talk and tell them about the rest of the show it means larger crowds for everyone involved. 

In the end, when you are getting people to come out to see you play, yes, always sell yourself but don’t forget about the rest of the show.  This can be a full day of entertainment for someone on a low budget for $20 for 2 people.  This is a great selling point.  In the end, it will result in your fans finding other bands they enjoy to see, and those bands you are playing with, well their fans will stick around and see you.  This will do nothing but be positive for the entire scene.

Frank Arena
Project Backstage