Have you ever wondered how you can contribute to Singapore’s music scene to make it a better environment for all of us?
Chances are you fall into one (or more) of the following catagories.
THE CONSUMER:
Do your homework! You have a very important role to play. You choose which gig to spend your time and money on, and you choose what to promote by word of mouth. If poor quality gigs don’t get support, poor quality bands and poor quality organizers will be forced to shape up or ship out.
Similarly, if you want to see bands and promoters working harder (and we all do!), make sure you go for the good gigs, and make sure you bring as many friends as you can, especially people who are not involved in the scene. If you can be sure that they will have a good time, then they will probably come for more gigs, and the scene will expand.
How to know what are the good gigs to go for? Make the effort to find out! Ask around! And once you’ve found out, spread the word!
THE PERFORMER:
You are the main representation of the scene. While the promoters and crowd are just as important, the global community on MySpace, etc, will judge Singapore’s music scene when they chance upon your music. It’s a heavy responsibility, so please make the most of it! Make sure that whatever you upload for the world to see is of the best quality you can possibily manage and afford, your music and our scene deserves it.
Live is where you get the responsibility of either enticing newcomers to the scene, or turning them off altogether. You choose how much and how hard to practice before performing. You can choose to ensure you are polished, well-rehearsed and entertaining, take the time and effort to be in tune, be in time and in key with your bandmates, or you can just revel in his 30 minutes of fame and hurt everybody’s eyes and ears while you’re at it. Do make the effort to look good, but never at the expense of the music itself. Do that and not only will you be the one labelled pretentious and superficial, but so will everybody associated with you.
The onus is also on you to develop a connection with your friends, fans and supporters to come down for your shows. Again, you have the power of inspiring people to come for more shows, or turn them off completely- a direct effect on the size of the crowds at our shows, and in turn the amount of interest the mainstream community would have in our scene.
THE PROMOTER (DGO):
You’re the boss! You can’t do magic and turn a bad crowd or band into a good one- that’s their personal responsibilities.
But you do choose how much to care about the quality of the show you’re organizing. You have the ability to say NO to performers that aren’t ready. You have the option of going the extra mile to watch them jam before they perform so that you can choose quality bands. You can choose to watch over the gig and make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible, and you can make all the difference. You can put in the effort to promote your shows and get photographers and volunteers to help you out.
I think the main focus is on these three groups. Stuff like the media, press and sponsors will give us coverage only if we deserve it and really put in the effort.
And please, everybody, don’t whine or complain. Let’s be proactive and take action. If crowds are getting too rowdy, step in and let the fellas know that we don’t appreciate what they’re doing. If enough of us gather together to stop them, they will. We will get more opportunities and faith from the higher-ups in society as and when we mature as a community. Look out for one another in mosh-pits. Treat each other with respect- crew, other bands, etc.
Let’s make SG Rockin’!
-Visa
