End of story.

It doesn't do any good to voice your opinion. Just ignore the bad stuff and it totally goes away on it's own.

whee!

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=82998073&blogID=298115421

Regarding the 'protest' that occurred this evening at Studio Seven, we would like everyone both involved and indifferent to understand our stance. Hills of Elysium are 100% AGAINST any and all pay to play shows and events in Seattle and across the country. We encourage all bands to steer clear of any show even hinting at such unethical proceedings.

We were alerted of a protest to be held tonight at a pay to play show going on at Studio 7 and were immediately interested in actively supporting the cause. We rallied the troops, spread the word, painted our witty slogans on signs and headed downtown for what we believed to be an important stand. As the evening progressed, details came to light as to just WHY this 'protest' was being put on and it turned out to be quite different from what we were prepared for.

It turned out that certain people involved in organizing this protest had actually been participating in the very event going on in Studio 7, and when all was said and done they had actually FAILED at paying to play. (Meaning that they did not accomplish their contractual obligation to sell $1500 worth of tickets they were never even going to see payment from.) The reality of this little 'protest' revealed itself as a bitter group of boys with damaged egos deciding to 'protest' against the exact thing they had aimed to achieve just weeks ago, and did so by playing outside the venue instead. Once these details were made clear, we were obviously outraged and disappointed. Our intentions were to stand up against PAY TO PLAY, not support a band who decided to flip-flop on their beliefs when things didn't go their way.

That being said, our stance on this entire evening and the protesting of pay to play in general is that we stick to our guns when it comes to the value of all Seattle bands. As much as we wish success for the bands who participated in tonight's event, we cannot say that we support your decision to perpetuate the plague of pay to play in our city. We encourage ALL BANDS to take a stand and simply refuse to play any show in which your ticket sales determine whether or not you play, or those which make false promises of 'getting that big break' yet don't pay you dime after your set. It's time for bands across this city to start standing up against venues, booking agents, and production companies whose only intentions are to exploit and rob hard working musicians. If any of you have any problem with Hills of Elysium and our beliefs regarding these issues, surprise us and SAY SOMETHING. Pay to play is wrong and until bands quit agreeing to engage in it, none of the rest of us will be blessed with its demise.

BE MUSICIANS, NOT TICKET SALESMEN!
DAMN THE MAN WHO SCREWS THE BANDS!
STAY AWAY FROM PAY TO PLAY!
MAKE MUSIC, NOT MARKETING SCAMS!

Forever your Nicotine Rockers,
Hills of Elysium

I would like to clarify that the protest was not against Studio 7, any of the bands playing there, and any of the labels supposedly represented by A&R Connections.
The protest was against A&R Connections, the company that arranged the event.
-The entire conduct of A&R Connections was questionable from the beginning, Gage (our frontman) asking more questions than they did at our 'audition' (a five minute interview).
-All the bands performing had to sell 100 tickets at $15 a pop; while this is no big deal usually; they only gave us 2 weeks to sell them.
-After the bands worked their asses off to sell all those tickets, we were informed less than a week before the event: we would only be able play 3-4 songs, we would not get the 10 minutes promised with the supposed label execs but only 5, and also that the bands would not be receiving any compensation for their efforts!
-However, A&R Connections would be receiving about $15,000 dollars from the ticket sales, only 500 of which would be going to rent Studio 7. This whole things smelled fishier than Pike Place on a 100 degree day.

This protest was to fight against these crooks who grow fat off the sweat blood and tears of all those hard-working bands who think that this could be their 'big break'. We of Stabbingback are sick of seeing our brethren bands getting F'd by these corrupt and greedy companies.

Rumor Control:
No, we were not bitter about 'not being allowed to play'. We sold plenty of tickets (people assumed that we did not sell enough, so we threw a tantrum; this was an incorrect assumption), we were all set to go, but this thing stank to high heaven and the only part we wanted of this was to tear it a new one. In an ironic twist, Raquel (I think that was her name) of A&R Connections called Gage as we were headed to our after-show show at Merchant's Cafe and asked us to come and play in the last slot... apparently missing the fact that we were protesting them!
Also, we never intended any harm or inconvenience to Studio 7 nor the bands that fought to perform there, and we are sorry for any that we caused. We have been banned from Studio 7, but we were already prepared for this before we even loaded up that trailer. We were prepared to face the consequences of actually having the balls to stand up for the rights of Seattle musicians.
Yes, Pay-to-Play bites; but we've done our time with ticket sales just like everybody else. That was never the point of this protest; someone, somewhere, somehow was either misinformed, or made another one of those wonderful assumptions. That was part of why we tried to keep it as under wraps as possible until the last minute.

This post is to make sure that people know the REAL reason behind the event; not assumptions and grapevine bull. We are Stabbingback against corruption.

We are Stabbingback.

~Brandon Lupov
brandon@stabbingback.net
www.stabbingback.net
www.myspace.com/stabbingback

BE THE MUSIC
FEEL THE PAIN
POST YOUR FEELING ONLINE

We are Unimpressed.

As we know, select music venues in Seattle and across the country are, in a nutshell, requiring in-coming bands/artists/musicians to become “salespeople” in order to take the stage. For example, Venue “A” insists that Band “Z” fork over X amount for tickets for a Friday night slot with the stipulation that Band “Z” must sell ALL their tickets to play. The band must not only scramble to sell their tickets, pay extra money out of pocket to promote this up-coming show to make sure they sell the (additional costs include: fliers/handouts, gas money, sanity), but also run the risk of NOT recouping their $ should they fall short of their quota. I don’t know about you, but local musicians typically aren’t millionaires.

What ensued last Friday was the peaceable convention of a group of musicians and a band who played ONE of their songs on the back of a trailer pulled in front of Studio 7 by an SUV. This band timed their arrival so that the playing of their ONE SONG occurred during a break in the music going on inside the venue and specifically did NOT coincide with any live performances, so as not steal away or distract fans. The message delivered to the on-looking crowd by the band’s lead singer was succinct, classy, and non-aggressive…merely disapproving. After they had finished their singular song, the band insisted that the crowd RETURN to and SUPPORT the bands inside, and exited from the street.

With that being said, where does MY involvement in all this stem? In addition to joining the protestors/band and helping to distribute their fliers at Studio 7, I also seem to have posted the myspace bulletin heard round the world (the one that apparently alerted the entire internet population to the protest details a few days prior). Consequently, my bulletins were copied and pasted from myspace, forwarded to various members of Seattle media, and now appear in articles of “The Stranger” and other Seattle forums.

I'd also like to add that that sentence in asteriks at the end of the above bulletin (the one about Hills of Elysium) was NOT part of the original bulletin and was ADDED without my consent by whomever had copied, pasted, and forwarded my text. Though I had exchanged messages with this band prior to the event and know how strongly they support the issue at hand, I would NEVER call out/tag a band by name without asking for their approval first.

Obviously, there has been significant response, both positive and negative. So here I am to justify my postings and involvement. Bottom line: these are issues that EVERY musician who wants to share their passion has to deal with, like it or not. Everyone TALKS a good game and has strong bleeding convictions about “taking a stand” and “how terrible the industry has become for musicians”, but no one ever DOES a damn thing about it. I apologize, but I’m a firm believer in action. NOW…in reality…….is one small group of people REALLY going to make every “big bad venue/A&R connection” rep forgo their money-making policies, ending Pay to Play for all eternity?? Probably not. Is one song played in the middle of the street, going to ignite a massive spark of enlightenment in the mind of every musician across Seattle? Nope, they’ll probably just laugh and shake their heads while calling us ‘kids’. Could the protest have been strategized differently or maybe even more efficiently? Possibly! I’m all ears and will ready invite your game plan, advice, critique, etc. The only point I wish to impart upon you, supporter or opposer, is to MAKE A MOVE AND BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS IF YOU ARE DISPLEASED. TALK IS CHEAP. There is also some side discrepancy about which band was supporting what issue that night and who’s rallying for what cause…and so on and so forth. Though I am not clear on all the small details, I believe we are all striving for the same justices and should try to keep that in mind. Let’s not turn against each other.

The second and FOREMOST reason that I, JANE - poster of the bulletin, involved myself in the mayhem was simply for my love of music. Pure, unadulterated music. The bureaucracy that has clouded the industry in recent years completely belittles and overrides the very reasons most of us got into music in the first place: to create, to share, and to express. What the heck are we supposed to think when creativity and self-expression now come with an attached fee and quota? As a solo artist and lead singer of a band I STRONGLY OBJECT and felt it necessary to assist in the venture of acquaintances who felt similarly and empowered enough to do something somewhat controversial and unprecedented. Yes, I am familiar with phrases like “it’s just the way the world works” and “that’s the way the cookie crumbles!” Fruitless as attempts on anyone’s part may be, I’d be damned if I sat back and didn’t even TRY to help rectify the situation, as childishly naďve as such idealism may be. And in response to the comments made about how silly it seems to protest A&R connections/venues when we simply have the option of not playing there altogether..........yes, that option had indeed crossed my mind, but I thank you for pointing it out a second time. Unfortunately, that action is FUTILE unless EVERYONE refuses to take the stage and these venues start LOSING money as a result. Seven or 8 or even 150 bands can’t do this alone. EVERYONE’S gotta be on board and we all know too well that “on board” is a realm that “talkers” don’t dare venture into.

In any case, I appreciate the people who do support the issues we feel so strongly about. I apologize to anyone who was put off my bulletin posting, but I trust you understand where the motivation came from.

Jane C
www.myspace.com/JaneCmusic
Seattle, WA