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I wish I could talk some bitches into road tripping out to this. No one I know is cool though.

Hahaha this is seriously, like, A Chip Off The Shizz Block Volume 2. Seriously. Can't wait.

Virt.

Because since I bought it I've pretty much constantly had shows booked and it was (until last night) my only Game Boy, so I didn't want to chance sending it off either to get fixed or replaced and having some sort of delay in getting it back that would force me to cancel a show. Before last night it wasn't too much of a problem, the sound could easily be fixed by messing with the volume a bit, but last night it completely took a shit on me during my set. And it happens just as bad (if not worse) with the pro sound mod jack...I guess I'll contact him and see what's what...

Video of my first chip gig can be found here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid … &hl=en

It was at Magfest 6, in '08...Played three songs running LSDJ on my DS...I'd been using LSDJ for about a week so not only did I not have any idea of how to do anything interesting with the program, but I was also still writing pretty shitty music. The crowd was very unenthusiastic, most of them sitting down. At first I thought that was a reaction to my music, but Virt got the same response so I guess not. I was nervous as fuck and with no crowd energy to tap into I just stood up there like an idiot for 15 minutes.

What I consider to be my real first gig (in which I was paid, and also had an actual set instead of just playing three songs) though was back in October, at a multiband festival in Phoenix, Arizona. That night, the crowd was dead for almost every band, and then when I played, people were literally running in the door from off the street to dance. For the rest of the night, every time I turned around I had people complimenting me on how much they enjoyed my set. It was a great time. Video evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roG4-PzJ8R0

I've only been playing shows since October so I don't claim to be an expert in this shit, though I've been getting a lot of show offers lately so I guess I'm doing something right...anyway,

Rather than trying to set up straight up chip gigs, try doing some shows with already established artists first. Doesn't matter the genre, though it shouldn't be incredibly far from what you're doing. I mostly play with Rock / Punk / Metal / experimental bands, and at each gig I've played, I've had no problem drawing a crowd and getting people dancing. Maybe it's using the "Woah! He's making music with a Game Boy!" thing to my advantage, but it definitely works.

The problem with trying to set up a "chip night" in an area with a small chip scene / following is that if people aren't familiar with that kind of music, then they're not going to know to come out. I see flyers and show listings all the time for genres and styles I know nothing about, and thus, I don't go to those shows. But if you can build a reputation for yourself as an artist, I'd imagine it's easier to set up whole gigs dedicated to chip music and get people to come out to them because they'd be familiar with your music from seeing you at other gigs. It expands the listener base as well.

It really helps to have friends involved with whatever local music scene you're trying to get into...my success has all been based in Phoenix AZ, which sucks because I don't live there, but I have a good number of friends in the music scene there and they've been doing a lot to get my name out there by inviting friends to shows and stuff like that, also passing my name along to promoters. So while social networking and flyers and stuff like that have definite advantages, it's easier to start off with word of mouth and then move to those things once you have a small following.