Mt Hope Elementary School.
There you have it, ground zero. The Van Ermans played in a elementary school parking lot. godamn, what has become of us? ha. Just kiddin, it actually wasn't that bad, quite a good show actually. Ya know, I'll hear from people (in a very sarcastic way)
"Yea cool Ben, you get to play for a buncha 14 year olds, I bet your proud of that"
Ya know what..bitchass!? I AM proud of that! i dont give a damn...a good show is a good show, and thats that. People are people, and alot of them makes for a good show. Its not like thats our only crowd. I'd say The Van Ermans have a decent crowd diversity. A couple weeks ago we played at a Co-Op house party in east lansing, where we were, in fact the youngest people there. Either or, we still rocked out..it just so happens that in a setting like that we can rock out while being slightly boozed up. Its all good fun. There are benefits to both kind of crowds, take a look.
Young crowd (13-15 yrs old) - Little kids are easy to persuade into liking your band. It doesn't take much, honestly. I remember when i was in 7th grade, i thought the older bands were the next best thing to Blink 182 (lets not forget, i was in 7th grade) It is even easier to persuade them into buying stuff (ie CD's, shirts etc.) They have weak minds, and being a salesmen, you gotta learn how to manipulate them into thinking that they NEED our CD. Its kinda along the lines of Star Wars, i act as Ben Kenobi and use my Jedi mind games, and they like the stormtroopers who are seduced into this false perception. (muhaha) Hey, its all part of the game. (i suppose thats why the music industry is so corrupt and misleading, oh well..i guess thats also why there is a shit ton of money in it) If you think thats bad or "not right", well you just have no sense of business, and your just over evaulating it. Call me an asshole, i dont care. I'm having fun.
You must understand, you gotta make SOME money to keep in the game. Honestly, its not like we really actually MAKE money for ourselves. When money comes in to the band, it goes right back out for expense's. Believe me, this stuff aint cheap..not one bit. This crowd usualy brings in the most money..simple as that. (why do you think Blink 182 and New Found Glory got so big, 14 year old girls love em)
ok. next crowd.
Peers (16-18 yrs old) This type of crowd is a bit more difficult. I'd say possibly the most difficult to appeal to. Most of your peers have more of an opinion about you, simply becuase they actually know you (me) on a personal level. so they could base music that i'm trying to sell them or get them to like on whether or not they like me as a person. (make sense?) This can be a minus, but it can also be a plus. There are many friends that don't particulary like the music The Van Ermans play, but respect it to a certain extent ( i hope) and will buy a CD, or go to a show for the mere fact that they choose to support a friend. Its along the sames lines of goin to a sporting event, play or to a Metal show just to support a friend involved. It may not be my even choice, but you gotta support people you care about. Thats a simple rule.
College Crowd (19-25)
There are mixed emotions comin from this crowd (atleast in my opinion) Overall, in general I've observed that people that are older than us are more critical of us. This is just kinda the law of the land, in all situations. The older crowd is just generally more jaded than the younger crowd. I'll admit, I'm critical of younger crowds, whether it be bands, or just people. (the people that are TOO jaded are the ones that go around callin the younger kids poseurs and mean it. Those are the stupid fucks that i cant stand. If your one of those..I'm truly sorry) But another general common factor with the College crowd is that they are usualy drunk more often. Drunk people are easily persuaded to either like somthing or buy somthing. Its kinda like the little kids, just under different circumstances. ha. Then again, drunk people can also be bigger assholes. So its really hit or miss. So i suppose we just gotta do our best to rock out and play good music and the rest will work out the way its supposed to. Hey, even if they don't like our band, alteast we can still party with em. being in a band is partly business, but mostly fun. Alteast it should be. If your not having fun, your doing somthing wrong.
so now I have overanalyzed every age group and how they interpret music and bands (atleast my band) . Maybe i'm wrong about it all, thats just what I have observed through experience. damn, I wrote alot. If your still reading, thank you. leave a message and let me know what you think. Tell me if I make sense, or if I am just full of shit. Also tell me what crowd you think your in (not JUST based on ages). This will be interesting. alright. Its Friday night, I'm gonna go do somthing fun. buh bye
love BEN
"Yea cool Ben, you get to play for a buncha 14 year olds, I bet your proud of that"
Ya know what..bitchass!? I AM proud of that! i dont give a damn...a good show is a good show, and thats that. People are people, and alot of them makes for a good show. Its not like thats our only crowd. I'd say The Van Ermans have a decent crowd diversity. A couple weeks ago we played at a Co-Op house party in east lansing, where we were, in fact the youngest people there. Either or, we still rocked out..it just so happens that in a setting like that we can rock out while being slightly boozed up. Its all good fun. There are benefits to both kind of crowds, take a look.
Young crowd (13-15 yrs old) - Little kids are easy to persuade into liking your band. It doesn't take much, honestly. I remember when i was in 7th grade, i thought the older bands were the next best thing to Blink 182 (lets not forget, i was in 7th grade) It is even easier to persuade them into buying stuff (ie CD's, shirts etc.) They have weak minds, and being a salesmen, you gotta learn how to manipulate them into thinking that they NEED our CD. Its kinda along the lines of Star Wars, i act as Ben Kenobi and use my Jedi mind games, and they like the stormtroopers who are seduced into this false perception. (muhaha) Hey, its all part of the game. (i suppose thats why the music industry is so corrupt and misleading, oh well..i guess thats also why there is a shit ton of money in it) If you think thats bad or "not right", well you just have no sense of business, and your just over evaulating it. Call me an asshole, i dont care. I'm having fun.
You must understand, you gotta make SOME money to keep in the game. Honestly, its not like we really actually MAKE money for ourselves. When money comes in to the band, it goes right back out for expense's. Believe me, this stuff aint cheap..not one bit. This crowd usualy brings in the most money..simple as that. (why do you think Blink 182 and New Found Glory got so big, 14 year old girls love em)
ok. next crowd.
Peers (16-18 yrs old) This type of crowd is a bit more difficult. I'd say possibly the most difficult to appeal to. Most of your peers have more of an opinion about you, simply becuase they actually know you (me) on a personal level. so they could base music that i'm trying to sell them or get them to like on whether or not they like me as a person. (make sense?) This can be a minus, but it can also be a plus. There are many friends that don't particulary like the music The Van Ermans play, but respect it to a certain extent ( i hope) and will buy a CD, or go to a show for the mere fact that they choose to support a friend. Its along the sames lines of goin to a sporting event, play or to a Metal show just to support a friend involved. It may not be my even choice, but you gotta support people you care about. Thats a simple rule.
College Crowd (19-25)
There are mixed emotions comin from this crowd (atleast in my opinion) Overall, in general I've observed that people that are older than us are more critical of us. This is just kinda the law of the land, in all situations. The older crowd is just generally more jaded than the younger crowd. I'll admit, I'm critical of younger crowds, whether it be bands, or just people. (the people that are TOO jaded are the ones that go around callin the younger kids poseurs and mean it. Those are the stupid fucks that i cant stand. If your one of those..I'm truly sorry) But another general common factor with the College crowd is that they are usualy drunk more often. Drunk people are easily persuaded to either like somthing or buy somthing. Its kinda like the little kids, just under different circumstances. ha. Then again, drunk people can also be bigger assholes. So its really hit or miss. So i suppose we just gotta do our best to rock out and play good music and the rest will work out the way its supposed to. Hey, even if they don't like our band, alteast we can still party with em. being in a band is partly business, but mostly fun. Alteast it should be. If your not having fun, your doing somthing wrong.
so now I have overanalyzed every age group and how they interpret music and bands (atleast my band) . Maybe i'm wrong about it all, thats just what I have observed through experience. damn, I wrote alot. If your still reading, thank you. leave a message and let me know what you think. Tell me if I make sense, or if I am just full of shit. Also tell me what crowd you think your in (not JUST based on ages). This will be interesting. alright. Its Friday night, I'm gonna go do somthing fun. buh bye
love BEN