David--

I personally think it's a great idea. I am already
involved with a similar group, along with 60+
others--we are Ellis Paul's group "Fan Out" and we do
a lot of what you were talking about. We do grass
roots show promotion by bringing newcomers to shows,
lending CDs, requesting songs on the local independent
radio stations, hopping on to sites and writing CD
reviews, etc. Actually, I recently was promoting the
SISL CD on Ellis' website discussion board, as it was
being sold at Barnes and Noble, and I was trying to
make some of my friends/Ellis' listeners aware of it,
as I think it's a great CD.

The other large part of what we do is sell CDs at
shows. I.e., "working the merch table." We just have
a volunteer network to let Ellis know who's available
at which shows, he puts us on the guest list
(actually, he usually forgets, and the people running
the venue think we're trying to sneak by for
free)--something that I see as nice but not
necessary--and we set up the table, watch over it
during the show, and sell before, during intermissions
and after the show. We have a lot of fun doing it,
and we can actually do pretty well, as we are more
than a little familiar with the CDs. Of course, we
ALWAYS bring extra sharpie markers, as Ellis can't
seem to hold on to the silly things. In the past, Fan
Out has also helped Ellis find places to stay, etc.
It's a lot of fun, and the Fan Outers have become a
pretty tight little group. We have our own Yahoo
group, which is pretty active, and most of us have met
in person at least once, if not more. It can be a lot
of fun for us, and I think Ellis enjoys it too. I can
even give you the contact information of the gals who
run it if you'd like to pick their brains a little.
Just let me know if that would be helpful.

That was something of a ramble, but rambles are
something I am somewhat *famous* for on other DBs. By
the way, I actually think "The LaMottely Crew" is
pretty darned funny-an excellent name--just my .02 of
course.

Hope the Thanksgiving was happy,

Jen


--- lowerdryad@... wrote:
> Hey friends,
>
> Nice to see a little life left in the Dryad!
> Thanks for the traffic. My
> parents, incidentally, live on a small road up on a
> mountain here in NC.
> It's not on the way anywhere, so when a car does
> occasionally go by (every
> couple of weeks or so) they point out the window and
> say "Look! A traffic!"
> Just explaining my frame of reference. ;-)
>
> At any rate, I have an idea to run by you. For
> years there have been folks
> who have been kind enough to help out at shows
> selling CDs and such, have
> been in touch with ideas about gigs, etc., and have
> volunteered to hang
> posters. In the world of an independent musician,
> that's invaluable help,
> and has always been greatly appreciated. I've
> happily given free concert
> tickets and/or CDs in gratitude, but always on a
> pretty informal basis.
>
> With the upcoming overhaul of the website (well in
> progress behind the
> scenes, but not publicly viewable yet) there will be
> some additional sections
> to the site. One that we're considering is adding
> a page for folks who
> might like to help out in the aforementioned ways
> and others. The idea is
> to make it easy for folks who might like to be
> involved but don't know how to
> go about that; to give folks useful info on ways
> they can help out. The
> idea of a 'fan club' has always given me the
> willies, but to work with folks
> who might like to pitch in in return for some free
> stuff, etc. sounds like
> great fun to me. It's amazing how much difference
> one or two people in each
> town can make. Of course, none of it would be
> 'expected' and there would be
> no pressure. The idea is just to have some
> resources and an avenue to make
> contact if and when folks want to help.
>
> So here are my questions:
>
> - one - Does this sound like a good idea to y'all?
> If it feels
> opportunistic or schmarmy I'd much rather not do it.
> If it sounds like a
> fun opportunity and useful information, then we'll
> try to put together a
> useful section of the site.
>
> - two - What should we call it? People have tossed
> around several funny
> names over the years, occasionally to my
> embarassment, but usually with an
> accompanying giggle. Possibles include the
> LaMottely Crew (my fave),
> Dryads, and the LaMontourage (read as 'entourage').
> Pretty cheesy, huh?
> ;-) Any other suggestions or feedback?
>
> I'd really welcome thoughts on this. Many of you
> have been invaluable help
> over the years already, for which I'm so grateful.
> Of course, turning
> friends on to the CDs is a wonderful connection.
> With no major label
> promotion budget it's really the only way things
> happen.
>
> Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sure feeling
> grateful for your support
> among many other blessings.
>
> Peace,
>
> David
>
>
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> "Every gun and rocket that is fired, every warship
> launched, signifies, in a
> final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are
> not fed, those who are
> cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not
> spending money alone. It
> is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of
> its scientists, the
> hopes of its children."
>
> Pres. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
>
>


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