Photo by Matt Blick
Tonight was supposed to have been one of the biggest events to hit Nottingham in years but of course things don't happen like that. I have been planning the fifth birthday celebration for The Sunday Alternative brand since last year when I set up the event page on Facebook and have been trying to book bands since earlier this year. My original vision was to have an all day event featuring bands and artists who had appeared on the radio show, but of course this isn't how Nottingham works. I had been persuaded to go ahead with this gig after making the decision to cancel a little while ago.
Maybe I shouldn't name names but I asked people in good faith and made a list of everybody that I wanted to play. Some people were unreachable, had changed management, had split up, or came up with stupid excuses. The Barnum Meserve for example, not exactly the busiest band on the circuit, got back to me saying that they were scaling back on live work in favour of recording. A band that only seem to appear at Waterfront every year (although to be fair they also played Macmillan Fest this year so maybe the double workload tired them out) don't need to scale back. They appeared on the radio show and also on my Sherwood Radio show in their infancy, that's how you get thanked. At least they replied, unlike The Golden Troubadours. Jake Morley's management asked about expenses and a fee but didn't reply further and Practical Lovers were asked six months ago but didn't know what they would be doing, surely if your diary is empty then you are available? In the end I had a poorly attended gig with City of Kites, Matt Blick and Fighting Evil Is Cool which was enjoyable as they're all great but it left a nasty taste in my mouth. Whether or not I am still doing the podcast in another five years I don't yet know, maybe the show will find itself back on the radio (doubtful), but the name will still exist as a promoter and production company. One thing I do know is that the tenth anniversary gig will not be held in Nottingham, not unless I start booking now to make sure they're all available.
===
Thank you in advance for donating using the PayPal button at the top of this page. It all goes towards creating podcasts, sketches, documentaries, films and more, all of which I will make available for free in return for your generosity.
