I've been looking into doing local open mics. I'm prepared for the worst
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Madison, Alabama
Zef wrote:
It's important to consider that Chipmusic is a whole new medium of sound for 99% of people; hearing a new genre is one thing; but to be introduced to a completely new mindset and headspace of music can be too much for some people. Mainstream music has broken the ground for us by having sharp pulse leads etc. but it's still a farcry from all out chip. Be patient with the public, it's not really their fault; if you're not getting enough interest, then perhaps mix in a little bit of more traditional electronica with your chipmusic. I know I'm going to get fragged for telling people to change their music, but expanding your repertoire is rarely a bad thing.
A fair suggestion. If I was going to play live, I might consider bringing a synth on stage with me and maybe play a bit of lead/backing pads/whatever. You could always be "The guy with the Moog and the Game Boy." People might swallow it a little more easily if they think you're playing a "real" instrument.
But then I know fuck-all. I live in a small town in Alabama. I've never even *seen* a live chip performance.
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Philly, PA, USA
Peter, I agree with what you said mostly.
I think that 8static has been and continues to be an important part of the philly chip music scene. Whether that is for having a show where the philly musicians can play or people can do an open mic or whatever, it has a moderate sized loyal following and pretty consistent attendance.
However, I will agree that people need to reach far beyond just chip music nights, and that's something I've seen a lot in philly. Cheap Dinosaurs regularly performs with various other local bands; Chipocrite has performed at Labowskifest and several other non chip shows; Ro-Bear, as he has said, has played at frat parties; and Sprinkle Kingdom, at least while Jon Baken was there, made itself host to several shows that were some chip music and some electronica, some rock, some whatever.
Now I have been thinking a low about the end of exclusive chip music nights, and I think for the performers that is something that they need to look at very strongly, and stop using chip nights as a crutch. Musicians (and visualists [myself included]) need to get out there and find non chip shows and get their name out and even just legitimize the aesthetic. However, I would not say that chip music night should stop altogether because the crowd that comes out to these shows comes for the shows that we are putting on. And part of that is that the shows we put on are very different from anything else you will see, both in terms of the performance and the feel of the show.
So while I whole heartedly agree that performers need to branch out and find new ways to get their art seen, we cannot forget about our current fanbase and community who come to these regular chip shows.
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San Diego, CA
Decktonic wrote:
That being said, if chip music is going to break out of the "tiny little scene" mentality, we should do more to work with the electronic scene at large (which is doing pretty well, tbh) and stop this mindset of "electronic music / dance music / DJs / etc all suck". At least, that's been my approach.
agreed! I feel like a lot of the pushing of the progressive part of the chip scene has come at the expense of a lot of great chip dance music. it's fine to want musicians to progress the aesthetic, but people don't have to do it at the cost of everything else! I've found that a lot of people that like my music like it because it has those dance elements, anyway.
on the topic of chipmusic nights -- for the places that HAVE chip-only nights, it may seem like they're being used as crutches, but for us here in California, having a chip monthly is something that we've been trying to get going for a really long time now.
the problem with trying to branch out WITHOUT a chip night is that when you manage to snag the people at a show who want to listen to not only you, but other people of your aesthetic, if you don't have a regular monthly to refer them to, the most you can do is give them your facebook or artist page and that's a lot less conducive to a repeat attending than having a show with a name that you can refer them to.
that's the problem we're having in San Diego right now. we're playing lots of shows! before December, I was on track for a show every other week, and I was playing with rock bands, chillwave bands, DJs, everything! my friend Bleeds opened for Freezepop two weeks ago! but every time we get someone to come up to us and ask us where they can find our music, the most we can do is refer them to a Facebook page or something. it would be a LOT more powerful if we could tell those people that they could listen to us every first Friday of the month or something!
chipmusic nights are important. it's great to want to expand the scene, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the chip-only nights unless most of the chipmusicians are REALLY popular in your city.
also I agree with everything that pixls is saying 
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Detroit, MI
herr_prof wrote:
I know, its scary to have to compete openly against regular "mainstream" music acts, but lots of you have the chops and material to pull it off. Playing only to chip music fans is only hurting your chances with growing your fan base and getting your music to a wider audience. Don't get me wrong, I love my chip bros, but the whole thing is starting to feel like a LOCALS ONLY Hardcore night. I recently moved to austin, and people asked me a few times if im going to start a night here, and the answer is no.
Thanks for the info!
This is great to know, as I'm just starting to help build a chiptune community in the Detroit, MI area.
My goals are to to help connect "Japanese-Influenced' (youth) cultures with this region to stimulate the younger creative generations and the Japanese business society in Detroit in general. Students are leaving the state as they graduate, and as major Japanese automotive businesses are leaving, it is not helping for any new (and smaller) business to start in this area.
I have learned of chiptunes when I went to Japan when I saw YMCK, Hondalady, Sexy-Synthesizer, Consumers, Omodaka, Kplecraft, etc. I have spoke to artists such as Hige-Driver, Mr. Yokemura and Midori-San of YMCK, and Hondalady, to learn that their music scenes are quite underground and have been there for quite a while. (YMCK is now under a major label Avex and isn't even allowed to perform underground anymore, even though they secretly do at some 8-bit cafe events)
I'm not a chiptune artist myself (just some fakebit) but I love the creative atmosphere and the art of the style, which I don't consider to call a genre since I've seen Japane Enka, Hip-Hop, and Acoustics music performed in combination with chipsounds. Yet, I have learned to just love it and wish for it to be more readily available and open wherever I would be.
To obtain these objectives, I wish to promote chiptunes as "Piko Piko (bleep bleep)" music 'influenced by video game consoles' as a "style" and open to any genre of music. We will collaborate with local electronic dance music groups, and show how fun it could be as music, performances, art, and just great parties. Also, since it is an 'artform' there is possibilities for frequent workshops in student communities of eduction... etc. etc.
I'm sure it will not be accepted by everyone, but I believe there is major potential to influence and stimulate communities in our area.
Anyways, just love what everyone is doing and I hope it stays around a longer!
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IL, US
spacetownsavior wrote:
Decktonic wrote:That being said, if chip music is going to break out of the "tiny little scene" mentality, we should do more to work with the electronic scene at large (which is doing pretty well, tbh) and stop this mindset of "electronic music / dance music / DJs / etc all suck". At least, that's been my approach.
agreed! I feel like a lot of the pushing of the progressive part of the chip scene has come at the expense of a lot of great chip dance music. it's fine to want musicians to progress the aesthetic, but people don't have to do it at the cost of everything else! I've found that a lot of people that like my music like it because it has those dance elements, anyway.
wait.. what? im not sure if you have noticed, but most chip music is dance music, or at least dance-oriented (which is probably why i like such a small percentage of chip music) and i havent noticed this "mindset" being common among the chip scene in any way
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Abandoned on Fire
+1 e.s.c.
There's no lack of chip dance music and I seriously doubt there ever will be.
However this is an excellent point: "on the topic of chipmusic nights -- for the places that HAVE chip-only nights, it may seem like they're being used as crutches, but for us here in [not NYC], having a chip monthly is something that we [are probably never going to see]."
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Philly
I have never encountered a scene/genre where just about everyone is friendly and supportive and loves to share their knowledge and music. So thankful to meet the 8static/Byte Nyte/Pulsewave crowds and hope to experience more awesomeness in 2012.
I enjoy blending the lowbit sound into other areas of electronic and do believe its draw can extend to other venues and shows with non-chip acts, provided they do "vibe" with the other performing acts. But we still need more genuine fans of the chip! If your city doesn't have a chip show, start one up! We gotta teach the childrens and keep passing this down otherwise it could fizzle out and be an esoteric form of sound that future generations ignore. TCTD 0_o
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Godzilladelph
Pixls: btw, people like me and An0va play house parties on occasion. I've been asked to "dj" a few times last year (which usually goes from me playing my triphop / "dubstep" ableton shit into some sort of weird gameboy dance party, except people are actually dancing). I've also been playing my more ambient, noisy stuff at first friday art shows, though I am by no means the first, Animalstyle regularly plays art shows in philly and abroad. Pixel8ter has been playing more crossover shows as well, with people like EOTO, helping to spread the chipluv all around.
Lastly, I haven't been to one of his sets yet, but apparently Dj CUTMAN has been playing mid-size to large-scale raves.
Idk about you guys in other cities, but as far as philly goes we tend to play out and about. I never thought it was possible to ONLY play chipshows haha. Also, I like performing OFF stage and on the ground floor every once in a while 
makes me feel less like a zoo exhibit and more like a person just trying to give some good vibes.
Last edited by SKGB (Dec 15, 2011 4:53 am)
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Philly, PA, USA
SKGB wrote:
Pixls: btw, people like me and An0va play house parties on occasion. I've been asked to "dj" a few times last year (which usually goes from me playing my triphop / "dubstep" ableton shit into some sort of weird gameboy dance party, except people are actually dancing). I've also been playing my more ambient, noisy stuff at first friday art shows, though I am by no means the first, Animalstyle regularly plays art shows in philly and abroad. Pixel8ter has been playing more crossover shows as well, with people like EOTO, helping to spread the chipluv all around.
Lastly, I haven't been to one of his sets yet, but apparently Dj CUTMAN has been playing mid-size to large-scale raves.Idk about you guys in other cities, but as far as philly goes we tend to play out and about. I never thought it was possible to ONLY play chipshows haha. Also, I like performing OFF stage and on the ground floor every once in a while
word, I didn't mean to imply that the rest of philly performers don't play other types of shows, but I was just listing a few as an example
tl;dr philly rocks, the rest of y'all pay attention.
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pixls wrote:
tl;dr philly rocks, the rest of y'all pay attention.
Yes, exactly! Let's get on the road to becoming the archetype for branching out with chip.
Last edited by an0va (Dec 15, 2011 5:12 am)
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Also, semi-related - It's a shame I never got to formally meet you, Peter Swimm, but I agree with everything you said in the OP and wish you nothing but good fortune in your new home! 
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San Diego, CA
e.s.c. wrote:
wait.. what? im not sure if you have noticed, but most chip music is dance music, or at least dance-oriented (which is probably why i like such a small percentage of chip music) and i havent noticed this "mindset" being common among the chip scene in any way
I didn't mean to make it seem like I thought this was a really common mindset, but I do feel like it happens sometimes. I'm also totally aware of the amount of chip dance music out there, but I don't necessarily think that it's a bad thing -- as long as we're pushing the more progressive stuff as well. Embracing the dance-y side of the aesthetic will help get a lot of chipmusicians out of the chip-only nights rut! Especially when your local music culture is really electronic-oriented (like San Diego's!)
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Unsubscribe
For me, as a nonfan of dance music, the great majority of dance music is pretty forgettable. But that is a whole another conversation.
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Madison, Alabama
As a counterpoint, I moved from Austin about four years ago and I gotta say, that town might get down on a chip night. Or at least some chillout all-chip sets at the Spider House or something. Or soundtrack a silent movie with chip for the Drafthouse.
Actually, someone please do a chip soundtrack for a silent movie.
Last edited by roboctopus (Dec 15, 2011 4:55 pm)
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Godzilladelph
PHILLY CHIP REPRESENT
not to get off topic or anything, but what the fuck IS dance music?
If I'm in the right mood, I can throw down to just about anything at any bpm, even if the time signature is "weird" or whatever. I just don't get it, is there supposed to be some sort of fucking music that your only allowed to dance to, and the rest is shit your supposed to just lie down with headphones on and pass out to? Fuck that, dance is a state of mind, not a fucking genre