ALOHA!
If you are reading this, thank you. Even you don’t know me or my work, thank you. This is important for all of us no matter where you live or call home.
With the way the world is going; larger society, economics, politics etc. I am doubling down on supporting all things local in my community. And I am asking you to do the same.
What is needed to make our local communities flourish WILL NOT be coming from the top down. It is up to you and I as members of our local communities to support our communities.
And for me local community is wherever you are at in the moment. So if you travel to Atlanta or London or Bangkok support the local community scenes there.
You may join the pledge by posting into the comments below to show excitement and say you are joining in. You may also show support by downloading and sharing this image with a right click.
That is the basics. Support local. But I do have some other business to address just to further drive the point home that is specifically related to music.
Last Summer I saw Kylie Minogue at the Chase Center in SF and it was a totally fun show. But me and my BFF made this pact that any act we have seen live we will not be seeing live again, unless it is free or they are local bands or shows at small local venues. So if Kylie comes through again I pledge that I will instead take that $200 and spend it on my local music community; shops, bands, restaurants, markets and venues instead.
I’m asking you to make the same pledge that if you’ve seen Bruce Springsteen, or Coldplay, or Swift, or Beyonce or any other big name known arena act… The next time, on the next tour, you opt out (even if it is your last chance to see them) and instead use your money to support your local community. That $200 to $800 per ticket could get you into so many more local awesome shows than just one night with security hassle and overpriced everything. Certainly give local musicians priority but any band playing a small local venue no matter where they originated is, in my opinion, an honorary local, so support them. And support the opening acts too, more people in audience give them more confidence to continue making music.
So pledge to commit to supporting your local music scene over the corporate arena and stadium acts that don’t need your money. Commit to buying tickets (with cash if possible) at the box office, whenever possible, or at the door the day of. Make the hard sacrifice and boycott ticketmaster. Pledge to buy your music from your local record shops or at live local shows and ditch spotify, ebay, and amazon. Trust me spending your own money on physical music makes you appreciate it more. Pledge to support your local bands, venues, and record shops the way people support their local sports teams.
As part of my personal pledge to local community you will find below a directory of many of my favorite local venues. Mostly smaller intimate venues where the experience is right there in your face. This is like a one stop shop of many of my favorite spots for music and dancing. The Bay Area is loaded with great spaces to dance, perform, see theater, and hear music. If there is a local bay area venue you would like to see on my list put it in the comments and I will add a link.
ONE MORE THING: Just pick a venue, pick a date on the calendar and go, once a month if possible. Just take a risk, be musically curious and go! Put that money back into the community not into the hands of the few at the top.
Tip 1: Buying tickets at the box office or at the door the day of show gets more money to the venue/artists directly. Presale tickets are listed cheaper but often come with fees that make the presale price moot to say nothing of corporate taking there cut from the transaction. There are usually no fees at the door. Also even for sold out shows many times more tickets will be released on the day of the show (I personally buy most of my tickets the day of). And again, the money goes direct to the venue no mega-corps siphoning off from transaction fees etc. Pay with cash for merch as much as you can avoiding fees so the money goes direct to artist and may pay for the bands next meal or gas to get to the next gig (I’m not kidding).
Tip 2: Cover bands are a GREAT way to hear music from the bands you love on the cheap whether the artists are living or dead. And you are in a room filled with other fans all singing and dancing along to the same songs. So skip paying for overpriced tickets, lousy seats, expensive drinks (and probably a backing track) and see the music you know and love performed live by people in your local community!
Thanks for your attention.
Peace, Love, Happiness, Local Music, Dancing,
Bear
