Music Industry Rant: Drinks Specials

I receive a lot of event invitations on Facebook to other artists' shows. I also send out similar invitations to my own shows. The thing that bugs me though is when the description of the show is 30% information on the bands and their set times and 70% information on the exceedingly long list of drinks specials that the venue has on offer.

Yes, it is nice to have a tasty cold beverage, purchased at a bargain price, to enjoy while watching a band, but this should not be the selling point of the event. If people want the music industry to develop, then venues, musicians and promoters should start focusing on what the event is all about: Music. If your venue claims to be a "Live Music Venue" and not simply a pub with a termite-infested stage, then start running it like one. Centre your focus on hosting great live music events with top-quality sound and lighting. The music industry should be focusing on music and leaving the liquor focus to the liquor industry.

Photo Challenge! - "Cruising"

I've always had an interest in photography, so for my birthday in March, my wife along with a few members of our family chipped in to buy me a decent camera. After buying a book on photography and practicing a bit, she's decided I need a challenge. So, every now and then she thinks up a different style of photo that I should take.

Quite a while back, she suggested I take a photo that shows motion. Although it is long overdue, I finally managed. Yesterday, as it was such a nice day, I took a walk through town at around lunch time and snapped a few photos, amongst which I got this one entitled "Cruising" (Click to enlarge the photo).

I managed to take a few other nice ones, which I'll add soon.

My next photo challenge is to create an interesting landscape/cityscape photo. It should be fun. :)

Mark Haze - Gauteng Acoustic Tour

If you're in Gauteng this week, make sure you get down to one of Mark Haze's acoustic shows. Mark & our guitarist Bjorn are in Gauteng all week and still have about 4 shows left of the tour.

Check out the picture for the dates: