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Earlier this year I was contacted to compete in a local Battle of the Bands. Battles are inherently terrible things, as their main purpose is to scam naive musicians into guilting their friends and family members into paying an exorbitant amount of money to see what is generally said band's first show.

The company that approached me was called MT Productions, and I knew instantly that they were a front for Gorilla Music Management, a company that is run out of town every so often. They obviously hadn't heard anything by Wind Does, which they really had no reason to do since they're only concerned with numbers.

So I agreed, making up a story about being a "Post-Shoegaze" band, with the intention of going up on stage and playing until they forced me to quit. A petty movie, admittedly, but I knew I'd at least get a chance to try out some new material on a nice stage, and get a nice recording. The only trick, though, was to sell no tickets. If the company made any money, it would all be for nothing.

I asked a few friends whether or not they wanted to join me on stage and piss off a terrible "promoter," and everyone I asked gave a vehement "yes." Battles are terrible, and they weren't about to turn down a chance to be a thorn in their side, no matter how petty and silly.

After fielding two or three phone calls a week for two months, my making up story after story about why I wasn't able to sell any tickets, my team of misfits and I showed up to the venue on April 21st, 2013, ready to destroy.

Weeks prior, we'd formed a bit of a game plan. We agreed that while it'd be fun to just blast out unadulterated sound until the promoters finally cut the power, it'd be a missed opportunity not to use the opportunity to record something interesting.

Blueprint in hand (figuratively), our 30 minute time slot started, and the rest you can hear for yourself.

Well when word got out that this show was going to happen, and none of our were allowed to come, obviously everyone wanted to see it. But if they attended, the production company would make money, and the purpose would be defeated. Luckily, I videotaped it. Unluckily, the tape skipped, and about the first 15 minutes were lost to the ages.

But I've edited the remaining footage into the above video.

EvilCatBucky wrote:
EXCELLENT

EvilCatBucky wrote:
EXCELLENT

jrmy wrote:Awesome.

Out of curiosity, how did the other bands/performers on the bill take it? Were they pissy about it, or did they just think your friend was doing his thing? Were any in on it by the end?

kaboom wrote:

jrmy wrote:Awesome.

Out of curiosity, how did the other bands/performers on the bill take it? Were they pissy about it, or did they just think your friend was doing his thing? Were any in on it by the end?

A few guys were actually into the performance. Many of them were not amused, though. Some of them wouldn't even talk to anyone in my friend's group. The ones who did, though, were cool about it after learning the reason behind it. My buddy used the opportunity to tell them how to book shows around town, what venues are most accessible to their style of music, who to talk to, etc.