March 25, 2008
Austinist Show Preview: Secret Show #7
This Tuesday, it’s won’t be business as usual for a quartet of local bands looking to escape the drudgery of the bar/venue scene. Mo Pair, Some Say Leland, The Blue Hit and Infinite Partials are planning what will be the seventh in a series of “secret shows” that take place all over Austin in diverse locals like sewers, next to old Cottonwood trees, and now, on an island on Ladybird Lake.
The instructions are simple: arrive at the youth hostel at 2200 Lakeshore Blvd. at 8:30, and start heading east on a trail behind the hostel to a gazebo sitting by the lake at Mile Marker 7 ¾. Organizers of the secret show will begin taking spectators to a small island by boat, where at 8:45 Mo Pair will begin their set. The last of the four bands to play that evening, the string-infused Infinite Partials will go on at 10:15. It should be an evening of musical merriment for anyone wanting to have some natural beauty with their live music. The secret show folks put it like this: “The secret show has a plan to take over Austin and turn it all into a venue for our art, music, and personal enjoyment. We want to redefine the meaning of public space and community. We want to look at an old unused gazebo, footbridge, cemetery, street corner, and see a concert hall. We want to revel in our musical delight under stars, not under lights. Most importantly, we want you. Come join us, at the appointed time, at the appointed place. You will know when the time is right.”
Infinite Partials: [myspace]
Mo Pair: [website] [myspace]
Some Say Leland: [website] [myspace]
The Blue Hit: [website] [myspace]
The Secret Show: [myspace]
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Is Red Hunter a friend of the "secret show" folks or are they just blatantly ripping him off?
P.S. It's not a secret show when you advertise it and invite anybody to come. Just call it a show.
I don't know if anyone has a trademark on "shows on an island," josebear, but I'd be interested to hear Red's opinion.
And I realize the shows are less secret now, thanks.
josebear, do you think that Red Hunter is the first person that ever decided to have a show in an unusual place? They have been doing this for a while and even had a show in the storm drains under the city last week, which I was lucky enough to attend. It was amazing, and so was this one. The shows are always in a different, interesting place around Austin, and the bands are alwasy differnt and always interesting. I think that saying they're ripping off Red Hunter is silly. If everyone lived their life saying that you should never do something that's been done before, then life would be pretty boring, and Red Hunter would've never done his, because he certainly wasn't the first.
P.S. The shows are only advertised among their myspace friends and by word of mouth and the location is usually not known until a few days before the show. Sounds pretty secretive to me.
whatever, it's still not a secret.
So a real secret is something absolutely no one knows, except for the secret-makers? Who would be at the show?
This country is fucked up beyond repair if people think that secrets demand the telling of secrets.
I'm with reynard, it's not a secret if you tell.
That's what makes secrets exciting, having something whispered in your ear or overhearing someone else's conversation. The secret travels fast because it's cool and it has urgency, especially since the locations change every time. I heard people talking about it at the yellow bike project. I had doubts at first too, but I went to one, and now I'll probably try to go to as many as I can for as long as they do them.
It's not whispered in your ear if it's put up on myspace. and austinist. and craigslist. and the austin chronicle site. and facebook. and so on and so on and so on.
Hi friends!
I am one of the creators of the secret show. We have been doing it for about a year now, once a month. We started it because we are all musicians that like to play strange, quiet music and were tired of playing in bars where if anyone clinked a glass or was talking too loud, it really disrupted the listening environment we were trying to create. (also, truth be told, we're all a little crazy and like climbing into sewers and trees and out to islands to play our instruments) For this reason, we started putting on little shows, mostly for our friends, in weird little places around town. The listening environment was magical. Everyone dead silent. Wind. Trees. Ambient sound. We then created the myspace so that people could keep up with us more easily. Then others joined. We have been thrilled that so many people have become interested in the Secret Show. We have met so many interesting musicians, artists, people with boats, listeners, and urban explorers. The intention of the Secret Show however is and always has been our personal enjoyment. We really don't care how many people come. We'll keep doing it for ourselves.
Halloween was the best one by the way. All you guys missed it. Running around in the graveyard with transvestites always gets the blood moving.
So... I wholeheartedly agree, it has definitely outgrown its monniker...but that's okay. We still want it to seem like a secret, even if our 400 myspace friends know about it. We aren't really used to so many people being interested in the show so we actually had to turn some away at the sxsw show and last night. We always expect a couple dozen...not a couple hundred from all over the world who are so cool we can barely stand it and who love our music too! These people that come to the shows have been the best audiences. It's been so awesome. We are hoping to deal with some of the crowd issues next month. We're working it out. Sorry if you didn't get in last night or at sxsw.
So...what else? Oh, Red Hunter. No, we are not affiliated with him. When we first started doing the shows, someone mentioned him and we started listening to his music and checking out some of the stuff he does. He's great. Sailboat tour. That is freaking badass. His music is similar to ours (quiet and weird) and I can see how he would seek a non-sixth street option to present it also. It's cool to see others who have done creative things with music and public space. I would be interested in what Red Hunter thinks of us. Surprised really, that he would think of us at all.
There are several other groups that hold secret events in town and have been doing it since the 1970's. I think we get a little flak for not being as...ahem...secret as they are but we have really been enjoying the way we are promoting and conducting the shows and that is the goal. Our enjoyment. If you are interested in the groups that have secret punk shows, secret clown shows, secret dance parties, and secret film screenings, hit us up on myspace. It's on the DL...but we'll tell you about it.
Finally, if you enjoy secret shows but don't like the way we are doing it, do it yourself! That's the best thing of all. We hope to start something like that, where people feel like they can have a show wherever they want, without permission or worrying about who's commenting on who's blogs about it. After all, no one has a trademark on the secret show either....so have at it!
Hoping this answers some of your silly questions, see you all on April 29th.. shhh. ha.
ss
Folks, I went to Red to get his opinion. This is his response, and he made it clear he was okay with it being made "public."
"Yeah, I've heard of those phonies, but I can't believe they're actually ripping it off right down to the very island!! I was stunned when they invited me to play their "secret" sxsw show this year, which is what I did three years ago to start the whole thing off (see pics from the first show at the cemetery, whiskeyandapples. com/photos i believe is where that stuff is located. )
These people have modeled their pictures and the whole vibe of what they're doing after what has been posted on my site whiskeyandapples. com since 2006, including some very highly-circulated pictures of our canoe trip to that island so long ago.
The coincidence of it would be too great, it seems far more likely that they saw the artists who had taken part in those shows experiencing later success and have set out to imitate it, hoping nobody calls them on it. it actually bothers me a lot. there has been so much documentation and press, both in austin as well as all around the world, that it's amazing anyone would try to start something like that and take credit for it without acknowledging the people who originally did it (see our lengthy press list at myspace. com/whiskeyandapples which features tons of national press like NPR and countless interviews/articles commenting on the uniqueness of our shows, which began on THAT VERY ISLAND because i could see it from the street where I lived at the time. )
Since these "secret show" people invited me to perform at their sxsw show this year through myspace, where I have pictures/press from those shows posted, it further increases the likelihood that they would've seen/heard about that stuff, although the fact that they're now going as far as the very island we did is just too much to take sitting down.
I don't mind if you put that on the record, either. I try to live my life creatively and go where my vision takes me. If people want to copy what I do, they should try copying the originality part, not the actual ideas.
ps, what we did was way cooler, for the record. word-of-mouth to friends only, with no pretense about its secrecy, only the desire to have fun in untrodden places. not a bunch of flyers advertising the exact location of a "secret show. " that is a complete oxymoron and reduces their whole thing to a joke. fuckin lame."
wow. I think everyone needs to smoke some weed and chill. This is Austin.
wow. cool. Well there's the surprise. Now I guess we know that Red Hunter thinks about us. A LOT. I guess that's a testament to the saying "you can't please everyone so you might as well please yourself." We'll keep pleasing ourselves and we'll allow that Red Hunter should do the same.
Also: people need to just do their research before they go on public rants. It kinda makes you look dumb when youre wrong.
just sayin.
I am also somewhat involved with the "secret show." Here's my two cents.
We heard about the island from a friend who said he'd been to a few parties and even another concert out there, he thought we might be interested in doing one of our shows there. So we checked it out, and we agreed.
I am originally from Louisiana. When I was in high school, my group of friends used to play shows in random areas around our small town. Once in an abandoned shack in the wooks, once in a public children's park sitting on top of the monkey bars. The music was terrible, only a handful of close friends came and we thought we were the first to do something like this. We weren't. Nothing is totally original when you research it. Into my adult life I learned more about other people around the country doing the same sort of thing. I have been to similar shows in San Marcos and Nacogdoches. There are also other people doing similar shows in Austin besides us. There are shows under the bridge, in basements, in caves, and on the street, and even punk shows on the pedestrian bridge that we go to although we are not affiliated with them at all. There are lots of DIY groups doing similar types of shows, and have been for a while. Here's proof. Go to this myspace page: www.myspace.com/dodiyusa
Next, the bands are always different. Our own projects play at the shows occasionally, but the vast majority of the bands that have played the shows have just been bands that we like, whose music may not fit as well in typical music venues around Austin.
Also, the thing I love about these shows is that they are not so exclusive. Sure, it's not so much of a secret anymore, but it's something that belongs to Austin, not a small group of friends. I have been surprised to see so many different kinds of people at these shows, young and old, punks, hippies, travelers, and we have never gotten a negative response from anyone, except for a guy that said that tea light candles kind of creep him out.
Finally, we've been careful to never say that what we are doing is totally unique. We were interviewed by austinsound.net a few months ago, and talked at length about other DIY shows including "The Order of the Owl."
P.S. - We did not invite Red Hunter to play at the sxsw secret show. Maybe one of the other groups around town doing DIY shows did, but we did not. Although, I enjoy Red Hunter's music and will continue to purchase his albums in support of what he does.
Since I wrote this post and asked Red for his opinion, I'd like to weigh in as well.
I like the idea that we can and should enjoy music in a non-traditional places. You take a chance that way, and the experience is sure to be more special than your average night at a club. Order of the Owl was a great idea, and it obviously planted seeds in the minds of adventurous Austinites.
The Secret Shows idea, which, admittedly, are less secret with each Austinist post, have their heart in the right place. Bringing new music to people who might not normally hear said music, in an interesting setting, is superb.
But I understand Red's ire. After all, that island doesn't have his name on it, but playing secret shows on said island is basically retracing his steps, and that would annoy most people. If the Secret Show people want to fly right, they're either going to need to be much more explicit about Red's influence, or outgrow it.
and also, since I was never invited to any Order of the Owl shows (ahem!) I like that these Secret Shows are so much more accessible...if not all that "secret" in reality.
wow. good point. any place that has already had a show should never have a show there again. lamar bridge should never have another show. continental club, no more shows.
seriously though, that's pretty dumb. sure, the secret is out, but that's because it's fuckin' rad and fun and positive and something people want to be a part of. cheers to that!
Hey, first off I'd just like to say that it's totally cool when people have shows in off-radar locations. But it's not totally cool for them to approach the press for it in Austin where the exact same thing already received ample coverage from the Austinist, the Chronicle, and everyone else around the world two years earlier.
And yes, "secret show" did invite me to play their "secret" sxsw show, and to deny that publicly is really not helping their case, especially when I still have a copy of that invite for anyone to view themselves (included below.) Acting like it's a memory slip on my part so they can continue to deny knowledge of how we already did the exact same shows in the same locations they're copying is just comical. They sent me that invitation via myspace at 9:28 pm on Dec. 24th, 2007 from their myspace.com/theaustinsecretshow profile and now proceed to deny it publicly? I'll gladly forward that email to anyone who wants to see it, just myspace me.
I leave for Europe tomorrow and I assure you I don't spend a lot of time thinking about these little ripoff shows---just enough time to realize that they're doing the exact same things we did in 05 and pretending like it's this fresh, new idea of theirs. PS, nice flyer, too. The sailboat and compass image appears on the disc to our official release, Lightness. I'm sure it's just another coincidence, like their cemetery show, their secret sxsw show, their canoe trip to the exact same island, it's all just a huge coincidence.
Here's their copied invitiation, again note the way they don't acknowledge that we already did this, even though they're writing directly to me:
"Hello friend,
We love your music. Do you think you would like to play the secret show during sxsw? We see you will be in atx. We want to have it in one of the underground tunnels downtown. We have been recording in there. Great acoustics.
whaddya think?
ss"
i feel like i shouldnt post, because i'll likely end up accused of hating on Red "again" by our mutual friends.
so first, let me state for the record that I enjoy Red's music and appreciate the influence he's had on many of my friend's musical projects...both through collaboration and inspiration.
i think that a lot of the well-deserved buzz revolving around Red and his music stem from this great mysterious aura he's generated over the past few years. via his tours and things like "Order of the Owl" he's done well to plant the seed and feed this image of a ghostly, wandering soul followed by an ever-ready and every-interchangeable cast of talented characters/musicians. when combined with his anything-but-ordinary brand of music, its a powerfully engaging tool for his musical endeavors. i'll admit that i was and still am happy to buy into it. thus, i can fully understand his sense of irritation with something that might detract from it by so closely mimicking its essence (whether intentional or not).
with that said, the ranting just comes across as petty and whiny - plain and simple. Maybe its just me but he would have been better off saying nothing, or at least being more subtle in his displeasure. its already obvious people have recognized the similarities and it would only be a matter of time before someone called it all in to question. I know I was planning on bringing some of this up if no one else did. I don't know...maybe I'm just from a different school of thought when it comes to all of this. a simple statement would have done the trick
as for Secret Show folks....
I think you need to evaluate all this and understand that people have, and will always notice the similarities.
Coincidence? "Rip off" (as Red stated)? I don't know and wouldnt venture to guess...
but maybe a little transparency on your side wouldnt hurt? I don't know. What you do with all thats coming forth from this discussion is up to you all, but it doesn't really sound like everyone involved is on the same page when it comes to the origins of your shows. The confusion isn't going to help anything
Either you like to have fun seeing music in unique places or you don't. Is this about ego, who did what, or is about sharing the experience of listening to music with others? ... Others who went out of their way and turned off their tv and didn't go to a bar to get drunk, but instead trekked out to an island or crawled into a sewer or confronted the true eeriness of a graveyard. If this Red or any others care about who did it first or any of that BS, then it's about ego. For me, I like the experience. If it's not your thing, then that's understandable, but I just love the experience. Who cares if it's called "secret"? It's pretty secretive to me, but why is that such an issue here? Do you like music or not? What's the name matter? Does the name Los Angeles Lakers makes sense? I'll go to these other secret shows too, sounds fun, but maybe those are too much of a members-only ego club.
It's not terrible to have a sense of 'ego' (to some), or pride, especially in creative fields where people often find themselves justifying the fact that being creative is work, hard work, and being original in any sense is something that artists frequently deliberate on.
This is an interesting issue, not because it matters who's right or wrong or whether people are allowed to have hurt or protective feelings over it, but more so because of a concept that all artists need to be aware of which is plagiarism.
Doing something that someone else has done is not without merit, and indeed fuels all kinds of improvements, yet when doing this, unless the idea's predecessor is dead, and even then, the issue of not at least referencing the source of an idea is bound to raise eyebrows.
Mostly I just hate the name with a passion. It reminds me of "The Party," which might be the most audaciously unoriginal name for a party in history. If you want to rip off Red - I'll just say that because that's what it is - that's cool; make him a pioneer and give him credit, but don't pretend like you thought of the idea when you clearly didn't.
I wasn't at Red's secret shows (I wish I had been) but I certainly shan't be at these, especially with such negative energy created by something purported to be so "positive." The idea of Red's shows as I understand it was to create something organic, and this production has veered far from that ideal, if that is what it was supposed to be (I assume it is).
Yamcheeo, I get your plagiarism point. I am sure there wasn't any intentional plagiarism, but I get it.
But being original or creative cannot be done. It can only happen. Creativity or originality (same thing) can flow out of a person, but that person cannot do it. If something creative is to come out of me, or if something I do is deemed creative, then great, but I cannot make it happen. No one can.
Also, SillyBillyGirl (if that is your real name), I don't think these are silly questions, and labeling them as such is just arrogant and negligent.
Red,
Yo dude! You have to understand that our collective is run by up to 25 people and it is hard to keep track of stuff. Before sxsw, we sent out invitations to a lot of out of town bands to play. You probably received an invitation through that. Sorry, you were one of those people. One of the hundreds of bands who were in town for sxsw...so deal.
So...let's be transparent. Until today, I personally had never heard of you or your band. Our group began as just friends playing music in the graveyard. We did this in Denton too so if you have a copyright on that, you should go up to Denton and shake your fist at them too. They play a lot of music up there too.
We met there 3 times before we started calling it the secret show. Then we got way stoked and started trying to 1 up ourselves by playing in other places. We have had shows in the power plant, under the street, at a hobo camp, and in Bouldin creek. This has all been for the sheer enjoyment of us and our friends. Until now, we really have been under the radar. I think it's pretty badass that people are talking about us. Go us. We are pretty awesome.
No one person is the main "influence" of the secret show. We choose the locations together. The photographs are all contributed by audience members. The press, if any, is not contacted by any of us, it's people who are actually interested in what we are doing and want to write about it. This Austinist thing is a surprise to us. We have never met Adam S. but we are grateful that he is interested in what we are doing.
We're going to keep partying and playing music and inviting whoever the hell we want here in Austin. All you people who are anti music and partying can suck a nut. Do you even live in Austin? If you do, come to the show on April 29th and throw eggs at us if you want. So we're basically doing the same thing that you did...so what? Lots of people to this kind of shit. Because it's awesome.
And, for the record, I drew the flyer with the sailboat and I have never seen any of your records. Sailboats are pretty easy to draw and I suck at drawing. Blahhhhhh.
Also, being that there are these similarities, which were not plagiarized, and especially seeing what was just written by the person who drew the sailboat, then I think that there is another answer: synchronicity.
Below you'll see that it's a governing dynamic that creates, along with "I", never I by myself, or Red, or SillyBillyGirl. And being that Red and the new secret show people are in the same town, and it's a good idea, synchronicity is bound to take place.
On synchronicity (from Wikipedia):
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events which occur in a meaningful manner, but which are causally un-related. It was a principle that Jung felt gave conclusive evidence for his concepts of archetypes and the collective unconscious, in that it was descriptive of a governing dynamic that underlay the whole of human experience and history — social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual.
Dudes, it's about not having a bunch of phonies exploit something you held sacred, do a super lame job promoting it to the local press as if it was their fancy new idea, and cheapen the whole experience.
I'm not above responding to a bunch of phonies, either. Something in my blood does not allow me to keep quiet when I'm being ripped off or dissed this way.
You know, I had a new idea for you in case my old ideas are starting to bore ya:
If you really want to woo the press, you could also try releasing "secret records" with all my songs on them. It would be totally awesome! You could sing about my ex-girlfriends and go to the press and everything, it'd be super unique. I mean, It's a free country. Anyone can sing Red's songs about Red's ex-girlfriends on the same island Red and his friends already rowed everyone to by canoe in 05 and approach the same press about it and call it a "secret." Red must be some kind of freak if he has a problem with that.
You could call your new band "Secret Wolf."
You've already been to my site where pics from our off-radar shows were held, whiskeyandapples.com/photos, so you know where you can find pictures of me, which you can remove the heads and put your own heads in their place. That'll save you time and the money for future canoe rental.
Oh snap, I been havin so much fun here, I nearly forgot I've got a tour in Europe starting tomorrow. Eat my dust ya bunch of bums!
rock ON! I have to go to work now. I know, next thing you know, you guys are going to say you all have jobs and other stuff to do too but I said it first, therefore I rule.
RE: rws0006 I donno, I think creativity/originality does take work. There is definitely an amount of instinct that nobody can force which is involved, but when push comes to shove it's when one makes their ideas exist beyond their minds or their studios or whatever that counts. In this context at least.
As for else,
It seems as though the only answers are opinions.
My thought for now is:
It's strange the comments where people are suggesting that people don't like music. Whether you believe someone started something or these shows are fun or bing badda boom bat, I would venture to say that no one putting a post up is saying that they 'don't like music' or cool shows or something.
hah, secret wolf...
Synchronicity is an interesting idea but a hard sell.
At the end of the day none of this matters, especially for the bystanders who aren't even in any of the bands involved, but it would seem really strange that even while looking into the idea of putting on the secret show on the island, that they would not have come upon any press from Red's previous performance.
Of course all my comments are opinions, but ya, now I'm really interested in why these similarities have taken place. I think it points to the Sacred, as Red says, and it's like wow what more can be done with this? The synchronicity of all this fascinates me. What is the function of this, that it comes up again 3 years later in a such a similar fashion? It must be important, touching on some crucial archetypes (I'll let you look that up) that are needed for all of us.
so, seriously, this Red guy needs to calm down. I have been to a couple secret shows, i have played at one. They are gorgeous and delicious and amazing to be a part of. I just moved to Austin this year from Portland, and i don't know of anything quite so beautiful as this going on up there. As for the whole "phonies" and "copycat" business. Who gives a godamn whether you came up with the idea first?! i sure don't. I don't play music and try to create good experiences for people because i want all the credit for it! I do it because i love to do it. Maybe that's not altruistic, but at least it's not cocky and immature. I don't want every person who's ever done something similar to look at my timeline and say i influenced them because i happened do it a year or two earlier.
Calm down, go to Europe and let the people have their music.
Rock on secret show, rock on.
of course, sacred synchronicity! after all, you did use the word archetype, you must know what you're talking about. yuk yuk, I'm just gonna go look up archetype in the dictionary now. oh, and can I have some of what you're smoking, too?
Is the fact that you're denying trying to get me involved in your lame-ass ripoff in December synchronicity, too? I honestly can't believe you're denying awareness of what we did, and denying sending me that invite on 12/24/07 which I will gladly forward to anyone who wants to see it, and now you're offering definitions of words from dictionary.com, thinking that might excuse you.
The reason for all these coincidences is a lot simpler than your mystic archetypal mumbo jumbo. It's that you thought you could get away with copying our scene and underestimated a) how many people already knew what we did and b) that some of us would care.
To your question "like wow, what more can be done with this?" my hope, honestly, is that you will do nothing more with this. When we started to see growing crowds at our last couple shows, you know what we did? WE STOPPED. Word had gotten too far and they didn't feel as sacred and pure as when we started.
But you! You have gone to the press from the beginning, seeking publicity from the onset, and you look like a bunch of sellout fakes. I'm sure a lot of the musicians and people coming to the shows have had a great time, but whoever's behind your "secret shows" is the phony i'm talking to. I can't stop you from doing more of your lame shows, but I can assure you that by knocking on the door of all the local press with each one of your ripoff shows, you have forever cheapened the whole concept. A curse on you for trespassing on sacred ground.
reynard, just saying what I see that's all. and yes I do think I know what I'm talking about.
RHunter, I wasn't involved in creating or putting together the secret shows. I did play at 2 of them (Ron Scott for transparency sake) and am friends with those who are put these on.
I really think your accusations are wrong, that's all. And yes, I believe in synchronicity, even though I was also putting that out there to push some buttons for fun, which I assume is what you're doing with your whole leaving bums in the dust as you go off to Europe, unless you really are that full of yourself. I assume you're just hurt by what you see as a rip-off, but I think your accusations are wrong.
that's cool. I just think you're doing so in a way that is pompous, exaggerative and ludicrous.
Also, Red was admittedly harsh there, but I also think it seems obvious (to he and I, both) what's going on here. But whatever, have your fun. I hope you all get lots of press, rendering you optionless but to return to "the underground."
i'm just waiting for Room 710 to demand equal coverage of their tugboat excursion down the sewage filled alley behind their club.
I, for one, think secret show is a great idea, even if it's stolen. You can't have enough good music played outdoors, as far as I'm concerned.
But I've only seen one Red Hunter show, and I thought it sucked. It was during SXSW at Rancho Relaxo, and perhaps he was just tired, or uninspired. I thought it was the least coherent thing I saw all weekend, despite the rest of the bands playing there being really terrific. Since those guys throw such great shows in their backyard, should anyone else's backyard shows be stopped due to un-originality?
Hello,
I am also involved somewhat with the secret show and have yet to chime in on this little debate, which I think is a valid one. I do, however, think that people aren't reading each others posts and keep saying the same things, flat out stating untruths, and asking questions that have already been answered.
I don't know how many times any of us has to say these things, but maybe one more might do it. So here goes:
1. As far as I know, no one involved in the secret show has ever said that what we are doing is totally unique. We have stated numerous times that very similar things happen all over the world. Some of us have even been involved with groups in other cities that did similar things. We did not know about each other before moving to Austin, and were delighted to meet people with similar ideas. ZEITGEIST. Look it up. For instance, I, personally, was doing simlar shows about 8 years ago. Here are just a few more links to other similar things many other people are doing and have been doing for a while now:
www.xlr8r.com/tv/41
www.takeawayshows.com
www.myspace.com/dodiyusa
Also, any one ever heard of "The Beatles"? They did a show on a roof one time.
2. We have NEVER advertised for these shows in any form other than Myspace, word-of-mouth, and passing out fliers with instructions on them to people who were already interested. The press we have gotten from the Statesman, Austinist, and Austinsound.net has been totally welcomed, but unsolicited. We have NEVER sent out press releases, and NEVER posted anything on facebook or craigslist. The advertising is seriously done word of mouth among friends of the organizers and the bands that are playing. Let me stress one more time for Red and the others who seem to think that we've "gone to the press from the beginning." WE HAVE NEVER GONE TO THE PRESS ABOUT ANY OF THIS. We have had things written about us and have been interviewed, but it was ALL UNSOLICITED by us.
Finally, we try to plan all of the shows so that they are fairly centralized and accessible by bike. So the overlap was bound to happen eventually. I had honestly never heard of Red's island show until I read these posts. Furthurmore, the guy that showed us the island said he had been to a few parties and a few other shows there. And for the record, I just checked with him, and the other shows he saw there were not affiliated with Red Hunter. So yeah, it seemed like a cool (even inevitable) idea for a show location. No, I didn't "google" it first to verify that we wouldn't get a curse "for trespassing on sacred ground."
Red. Are you kidding me? I haven't been bothered to read most of this discussion because I'm finding it pretty annoying. I have only recently met the folks associated with the secret show, and over a few beers a little while ago it was brought up that a location for the next show hadn't been decided on. I have never heard of you ( no offense meant ), or read whiskey and apples, and I dropped the idea to do the show on the island and offered up my jon boat as one of the means for getting people out to it. I have spent a good bit of time on that lake, including the island. I'm sorry if you feel your idea has been "ripped off", but quite plainly it wasn't because it was not your idea that inspired this event. It was truly a coincidence, of myself feeling like that island has always been a good location for gatherings of all kinds, and the folks from the secret show always looking for new spots to put these on. That should put your mind at ease. If you're put off about the whole idea of these shows being copycatted, I really can't see where your frustration would lie, I mean folks putting on music in a venue outside the bar scene, how novel, right?
So, I thought it was interesting that this showed up on austinist, as the name "Secret Show" would indicate that it is not a public thing, but to Red's comment, a sacred, private event. I don't take issue with the publicity, but rather the continued guise that this is under the radar of the general public.
I personally received an email from one of the musicians that was participating in this show - a musician whom I had never met or had any contact with. I suppose that they got my email address from here, but I was puzzled by the intent of the invite. I love live music and go to shows quite often, but why would you blast invitations for an intimate event to people with whom you have never had a musical conversation?
I was invited to a couple Order of the Owl events by a friend of Whiskey&Apples, but never attended. (I know, for shame!) However, these invites were by phone call, not by a myspace bulletin, or by email or a friendfeed. Not that there is anything wrong with spreading yourself out to the larger populous, but as one commenter put it before, eventually such tactics will bring about the demise of these events. And maybe that will spawn new, creative endeavors. We shall see.
Red - fuck these little kids who can't think for themselves. I like that your angry and you aren't afraid of stepping on some toes to make a space for yourself. Keep it up brother.