little-scale
Offline
ad-hell-aide
Dot.AY wrote:

The strength of actually meeting like-minded people face to face shouldn't be underestimated. As 10k mentioned we started a blog to try and centralise the Australian scene. But because at that stage we were the only two active artists that we knew of (except for little-scale in Adelaide) we decided to do a tour. This not only created a friendship between the two of us but really created a sense of community across the whole country.. I don't know what little-scale thinks of this but for me that tour was a turning point in making us all work harder on our own creative stuff and working off each other... Then we got on TV which always helps tongue
There really aren't that many artists in Australia but we make it work with what we have and in the space of a couple of years it has really become a solid tight nit scene.
So yes, network, meet people, make friends and keep creatively active .. the scene will build itself around that...

I agree with what you are saying... it was great to meet you guys, and I am glad that we've all stayed such good friends over the years since. The Australian scene is always an inspiring one for me.

egr
Offline
Abandoned on Fire
smiletron wrote:
egr wrote:

You guys are doing a great job in my opinion but since I'm not in town I don't see any promotion except on the net.  RDE mentioned that he'd be willing to help people learn how to make chipmusic at the last show... workshops planned?  Non-show meet-ups?

yeah, actually fakebrad and i have been working on doing some of just that. there are a few people who are really interested. just few and far between.


its just rough cuz its literally just the three of us.

I'm always ready to help when I can.  Extra gear, pick up pizza, whatever!  Driving to Nashville is no biggie.  smile

Rei Yano
Offline
California

I was thinking about maybe a year or two down the line doing a workshop in the central valley of CA. probably in Fresno. People would pay the cost of the gameboy and a cheap cart with lsdj on it. maybe have em pay 40 bucks or so to buy the items needed or they could simply attend and bring their own or just watch idk. Just a thought I was having. Teach a bunch of others the basics of LSDJ mayhap.

rallyj
Offline
Anahiem, CA
Rei Yano wrote:

I was thinking about maybe a year or two down the line doing a workshop in the central valley of CA. probably in Fresno. People would pay the cost of the gameboy and a cheap cart with lsdj on it. maybe have em pay 40 bucks or so to buy the items needed or they could simply attend and bring their own or just watch idk. Just a thought I was having. Teach a bunch of others the basics of LSDJ mayhap.

I was thinking the exact same thing, but over in my area. Somewhere maybe in Fullerton, CA or Anahiem, CA. I suggest you make it free, maybe more people will show up.

Rei Yano
Offline
California

I was thinking of doing it like a combination. you can show up for free but I will have several kits set up that they can pay for. nothing would be for profit. have em pay about the same price I bought the stuff for. It would just be a bit convenient I think for some people to get started immediately.

jefftheworld
Offline
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Rei Yano wrote:

I was thinking of doing it like a combination. you can show up for free but I will have several kits set up that they can pay for. nothing would be for profit. have em pay about the same price I bought the stuff for. It would just be a bit convenient I think for some people to get started immediately.

When I ran a workshop here in Toronto, we had three options:

Borrow a Game Boy and/or borrow a cartridge.
Buy a cartridge.
Buy a cartridge and a Game Boy.

Seemed to work out quite well, Electric Playground even came an interviewed us (though I'm not entirely sure if the segment is going to air).

I found the workshop to be a great way of getting people interested in chip music and the scene in general.  Plus it's a neat way of making a little bit of extra money, if you choose to charge a little.

infradead
Offline
Tacoma WA

i think what the scene really needs is more prostitots

make sure you're getting those at shows.

then you'll get more pedo looking older pedophiles.

LastKnight
Offline
Middlesbrough, UK

Get into Fights with old ladies

Sycamore Drive
Offline
East Kilbride, Scotland

I don't know if it has gone any way towards extending our scene, but putting on a big event has certainly helped to bring together and tighten our scene in Scotland. We had tutorials, busking (as you can see above, it was both well received and hated simultaneously) and other stuff during the day as well.

OldGreyWolf
Offline
Wellington
jefftheworld wrote:

When I ran a workshop here in Toronto, we had three options:

Borrow a Game Boy and/or borrow a cartridge.
Buy a cartridge.
Buy a cartridge and a Game Boy.


I think running workshops like this is a really good idea. That way people can have a go without committing to buying anything straight away

Sycamore Drive wrote:

putting on a big event.

I'm definitely keen on this. I plan on putting together a semi regular touring event, which could incorporate workshops etc.

Also, I'm getting close to having a good amount of people for an NZ comp so keep an eye out for that!!

Apricorn
Offline
Wellington, New Zealand
LastKnight wrote:

Get into Fights with old ladies

I lol'd

Glenntai
Offline
Hudson, MA

Hey everyone, speaking of boosting the chip scene, food for thought:

I've been thinking about introducing chiptunes to people at conventions;  I've seen people just sitting there rocking out on LSDJ in a corner before, and people would walk by thinking that was a pretty neat concept.  What's stopping us from possibly getting this into the heart of a medium highly-trafficked by people who would be more likely to understand this kind of music?

Examples:  MAGFest, in Virginia, has their own chiptune concert each year.  I'm in talks with another convention about possibly starting up a concert for them in St. Louis, MO if I can find artists who're willing to perform.  One of them near Dallas is rooted in oldschool gaming and would be another possibility.

What are all of your thoughts on this?  Or, perhaps, should I have this moved to another thread?

Rei Yano
Offline
California
LastKnight wrote:

Get into Fights with old ladies

Poor guy. That just pissed me off.

TristEndo-in-spacebutt
Offline
California

if that was me! I would BRK him!

jefftheworld
Offline
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TristEndo-in-spacebutt wrote:

if that was me! I would BRK him!

I bet he didn't put up a fight because he didn't want to BRK the law.

nickmaynard
Offline
rochester, ny

i re-read this thread a lot.

and march 10th will be the fifth monthly chip show i've set up in rochester. we've been really lucky not only in terms of getting great artists to come play here (anamanaguchi, starscream, g & j, zen albatross, j. arthur keenes, danimal cannon) but also in terms of finding an audience for chip music here. all of the shows have been well attended (and are becoming more well attended every month).

here's what i've learned.

1. communication is extremely important.
2. you can't do it alone. get your friends involved.
3. booking a show isn't enough, you need to promote the hell out of it.
4. develop relationships with local venues.
5. most areas can't support a 100% chip show, so don't book a 100% chip show.
6. look at what the most successful people do and emulate that.
7. learn from your mistakes.