DEMO WORKSHOP AT Betsey Trotwood 21/10/03 by Tom O'Connor

Unsigned bands looking for a deal: - drop everything and read this!

Monday October 21st marked the date of Plum Promotions first Demo Workshop at the Betsey Trotwood pub in London. The night opened with a one-hour demo workshop upstairs followed by The Purple Onion Club - an open-mic live music showcase and headline band appearance in the venue downstairs. Plum Promotions, which is led by the noble Alan North, organised the event in an effort to build relationships with artists in two ways: by offering feedback on their music that is both invaluable and in scarce supply via a panel of industry professionals (A&R, management, producers, journalists,) and by offering a stage where a band interested in testing out new material to a live audience could turn up and do so.

Tonight's panel included:

Things started promptly at 6pm as the 'industry experts' took their seats before a crowd of artists anxiously awaiting the public evaluation of their precious work.
Roughly 15 demos were reviewed covering a full range of genres and fuelling a healthy amount of dialogue between the panel and the artists. The quality of the recordings varied from unquestionable 'demo' quality through to a handful that were labelled "...ready for FM radio..." Some truly magnificent quotes were tossed about throughout the evening, so many in fact that I've decided to list them all (anonymously) at the end of this story.

Any new bands out there would find this event to be a useful source of ideas and advice that would prove to be essential in getting themselves organised and getting their music into the hands of people who could make a difference. But get there early, in fact, get your music in there at least two weeks before the event by contacting the Plum Promotions team and begging that they add your stuff to the list. There's a list of bands to be played, and if you're not on it your stuff won't be played.

Taking a step back and looking the demo workshop in big picture terms, I walked away from it with a positive feeling with regard to the morale of London's underground music movement. This was the third demo workshop I've been to this year, (although the first to be run entirely by Plum Promotions,) and they've all been excellently attended and full of refreshingly new music. An indescribable tension fills the room at the end of each song as the artists identify themselves and await the jury's decision. The tension thickened as one artist challenged several panel members with the words "...you've said you like my stuff, what are YOU going to do to help me? I know what I need to do, tell me what you're gonna do?" -An intensely fantastic moment, which drew the praise from the panel and might get that guy a break. The evening ended with a well-deserved round of applause for the Plum Promotions team and a frenzy of flyer, CD and email swapping, in addition to tons of shameless plugging.

History: The Purple Onion Club was named after a 1960's student pizza parlour in New York, the place where Bob Dylan got his first break, and later evolved into an avenue to success for other unknown acts. Alan's intention is to use this club as a way to get UK bands their first big break. The event will be held every two weeks if possible, and he insists that admittance will always be free. His reasons for hosting the night are not entirely altruistic, as it will help Plum Promotions as much as it helps the bands that participate. Alan elaborated on this point, saying "...the PR Plum Promotions receives is excellent and it allows us to build a strong relationship with the bands..." Alan also added "Plum Promotions wanted to find ways to help bands that did not involve exchanging money. It all boils down to the relationship Plum Promotions is forming with the bands." Events like this are exactly what an unsigned band needs to give their music exposure. My advice to unsigned bands? Be there.

Notable Quotables:
-"Don't bother sending your music to a record label; it will get you nothing as they are inundated with demos from other artists. The recipe for success is to get gigs and be a good draw, build a website and use it to communicate with your fan-base, become friends with promoters, get a support slot, be friendly with the bands you support as well as their managers, be cool - you will be remembered, get an agent if you can, get press, get in front of people, get on the radio and eventually it will happen..."
- "Trying to get signed is not a good plan. Having a laugh and enjoying what you are doing is a good plan, and if that leads to a deal..."
-"Getting the deal is only the beginning; things get much harder after getting the deal as you are pressured to deliver the deal's targets..."
-"A&R people hunt in a pack, they crowd together near the bar...they do not know their asses from their elbows; they do what they're told. If ever you do meet A&R people, have your own ideas of what your goals are and be assertive yet open to their suggestions. Rather than sending a completed song to an A&R person, try sending something incomplete that they can add input into, demonstrating that you are open to their suggestions."
-"People will be struck by the first few seconds of a demo, make your impact quickly, get the hooks up-front..."
-"Get yourself to New York, set up a three-night tour; no one will know you when you arrive, but after your tour everyone will know who you are, and unlike London the A&R people will come to see you..."
- "Whatever you can do to develop awareness of your band, if you can piss people off, they will be drawn to you..."