Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Moving Pictures Marching Band Parking Lot: Road to Bonnaroo at Mercy Lounge
Posted by D Patrick Rodgers on Wed, May 20, 2009 at 2:58 PM
If you've ever wanted to play the "marching band" drinking game, now would be the time. As the earnest, full-of-love dude at 5:03 will tell you, the final installation in Mercy Lounge's Road to Bonnaroo 8 off 8th series was about "pullinow allda stops to getchur Bonnaroo spot." And thanks to the folks at You Tell Concerts, we have yet another confirmation that Heypenny was quite beloved on Monday evening. Though technically, Space Capone received the most audience votes.
But what else can we learn from the video? We can learn that Elle Macho is apparently "Latin rock"-influenced with "a little jazz." And also that the dudes from a band called Cool Kid Collective thought they should have been included in the lineup (@8:02), but they certainly weren't too proud to do a little bit of self-promotion. Their reward? A review of their song "All Good": It's wife beater-adorned, beatbox acousti-rap-pop about sneaking out of your parents' house to enjoy blowjobs and shitty weed, and they leave me no choice but to assume their influences are LFO, Everlast and Len. Maybe next year.
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thank god that's 9+ minutes long! i could watch about a minute and a half of it before i wanted to barf on this digital version of byrds eye view. goddamn, what a bunch of shit.
I can't believe I just saw myself in an installment of YouTellConcerts. I can't believe Crystal graced us with her presence. Wow.
Also....I really wish a drunken Cream writer would have been interviewed for this. Would y'all have been starstruck?
I can't speak for all of us, but I run when I see her coming.
Well, maybe not run. But I'll step out of the way.
Well, I can speak for all of us. We typically shun cameras due to our scoliosis-induced hideous posture, massive overbites and constant gaping/mouth-breathing. You know; the blogger look.
Except, that is, for Gold. We put that pretty mug of his on the page whenever we get the chance.
Sit-down comedy moment of the night... "How would you describe The Tits to someone who's never really seen them?" I swear I'm older than 12, but I caught that and thought of So I Married an Axe Murderer... "like Sputnik, spherical, but quite pointy in parts." Major props to Kindergarten Circus for being more mature than me :)
"Heypenny was quite beloved on Monday evening. Though technically, Space Capone received the most audience votes."
If this is true then why did "Heypenny" win?Democracy in action I guess...
As the "5:03 Dude", I'd like to publicly apologize for gushing and rambling on...and on...and on...sorry. I had friends there...somebody stop me next time.
Good point, Moose.
And if the judges' votes trump the audience votes, then maybe the judges shouldn't have been comprised of people who hold a vested interest in the bands that played.
For example, having Hey Penny's manager as one of the judges seems a little, well, unfair.
Just a thought.
It figures they would have to have a panel elect to let them win.There is no way they could win otherwise.It's just fuckin lame to act like they actually won legit when another band got the most votes.
Hey there Anonymous,
I see where you are coming from regarding Heypenny and my involvement with them. Just to clarify this - I am not their manager. I am a friend of theirs that gives them management advice when they need it.
Let's take it up a notch...
I have also helped Pico vs Island Trees from time to time, as well as Tommy & The Whale (RIP), Kyle Andrews, to name a few. I am also a part of Movement Nashville and have a genuine vested interest in the bands from MN succeeding.
But, all that being said - my integrity in judging this thing was above reproach and anyone who knows me, knows that I walked in that room with the view that "this is about the show performance and not my friends performance."
I went in on Monday, thinking Space Capone was man most likely to get my vote based on the consistency of his performance. True to his rep - his performance was awesome. However, Heypenny bought their A-Game and I think it was hard to question.
I think Space Capone should be playing Bonnaroo regardless of RTB - but so should Heypenny based on the work they put in to nail that show. Oh and another thing - The Tits kicked some serious ass too.
You want to question my integrity - that is OK, dudes. I voted for Autovaughn on the last RTB, and selected another band to play. Why did my vote go that way? Because AV earned my vote.
Nuff said.
So the panel actually chose "Heypenny" and not the crowd?I'm sure your credibility is fine??Yawn!!Just sucks for the other bands that actually got more votes!If the panel was so legit then why not publish the audience votes and the panel's.This is as bad as Bush winning Florida in 2000 or worse!
I don't know what the final audience tally looked like, but the video spoke pretty well in Heypenny's favor. At least as far as I know - the judge faves leaned towards Space Capone and the Tits, up until Heypenny did their thing. So... what do you do, eh? I think Heypenny earned their place at Bonnaroo, as did Space, The Tits, Hotpipes and Elle Macho (all my opinion of course). I do feel a little shitty having to choose between bands that night (many of which I am a big fan of), but what I can say is that I saw some of the judges pretty torn as far as their vote was concerned. I was the only person (to my knowledge) on the panel that thought Heypenny could be a serious contender - considering the competition.
I don't why everyone is so angry about the whole fan vote / judge vote thing. In case you guys forgot, my personal preference actually was what determined the real winners. I hate to disappoint everyone; but neither The Features nor The Protomen nor Heypenny will actually play Bonnaroo.
It was all a charade. Representing Nashville at Bonnaroo '09 will be Jensen Sportag, Spring Hill Spider Party & Kindercastle.
Damn you, Drew! We talked about this last night and you PROMISED me that for $50 - we could swing things so that Dave Cloud would play instead of Jensen Sportag? Ballz! This sucks.
I was SO sick monday and feel like an ass for not making it to the RTB event. As a judge, I would have voted for SC regardless, simply b/c I'm totally biased and I think SC is the perfect B-roo act. I also know that they consistently bring out good crowds, have been touring a lot more at larger venues like The Vogue & House of Blues and they are winning over fans at an alarming rate. There are also a couple of other very cool things happening in that camp.
I'm sure other judges knew who they were voting for before anyone took the stage. I attempted to phone in my vote, but it was thrown out since I was not physically there (makes sense, but I had to try). At any rate, Heypenny is a fantastic band and they most definitely have something special worthy of B-roo. Also, I was told that SC still would have lost the judges vote by 1 even if I had been there. So close...
Let's face it, it was poorly handled. You changed the fan voting procedures AFTER the first one, and changed it to a worse situation at that. The judges chose who got on the bill without any input from the public, why should they also have a say in who wins?
The least that could have been done was make it a transparent process instead of a situation where the artist that got the most votes from people who bothered to show up and paid to drink at the bar LOST.
So bluedrew37203, when you say "my personal preference actually was what determined the real winners," relish the irony, because that's exactly what you allowed to happen.
When will people realize that this was not an election?
The reason that there were judges and the reason that the regular hosts of 8 off 8th selected the bands was because that was what Bonnaroo & BMI wanted. It was more like voting for the Pro Bowl in the NFL, where fan votes count for only one-third of who is selected. Why does the NFL do that? For the same reason Bonnaroo & BMI did. (Consider that BMI, Bonnaroo & the NFL are all more successful than any of their competitors.)
I think the fact that they allowed fans to have 50% direct input into who played their festival is awesome. Does Lollapalooza do that? ACL? Coachella? Not that I am aware of and definitely not in Nashville.
Keep in mind that the sole reason that any of these artists had this opportunity was the great work BMI has done to create the 8 off 8th brand and to work with Bonnaroo for the Road to Bonnaroo series to happen.
@Will Staniel The process was extremely transparent. From the moment it was announced, the rules were stated clearly. The one change that was made was made solely because fan complaints. Other than that one change — which was announced to the public, not shrouded in secrecy in some way — the event was exactly what it was purported to be. Every press release or announcement sent by Mercy, BMI or Bonnaroo made it abundantly clear that the judges' input would always be equal to fans'.
As far as my personal preferences determining anything, please consider who won. Obviously, my personal preferences did not determine that. The personal preferences of the entire team of people who are behind 8 off 8th did, however, determine who played because they work hard to make 8 off 8th happen during the other 49 weeks of the year.
If any of this is an issue to you, here is how you can remedy it:
Step 1. Start your own music venue with your own recurring night that showcases up-and-coming bands in Nashville. Build the brand of that night up to the point that other successful businesses see enough value in it to provide sponsorships for it.
Step 2. Start a performing rights corporation that has relationships with the premier musical festivals in the country and also works with independent artists to find ways to help them get paid for what they do.
Step 3. Find a massive musical festival that will allow you to choose how their acts are selected, regardless of their needs.
At this point, you can hold your own events however you think is fit. I'm certain they won't be poorly handled.
Nice pwn Drew! Drew FTW with stats 'n' facts!
But seriously, did anyone watch that Cool Kid Collective video? It's the worst.
10 Readers: 10 points
3 Judge Readers: 30 points
Drew Wins Best RTB Blog Comment!
Nice work, Drew. I don't think it could have been said better.
Drew just showed how lame he was?Way to show everybody you can flex your muscle.You really powned everybody by mistreating these bands,and the fact that you joke about it is just crap!
Moose - with all due respect - please stop bitching - it is getting old. I respect where you are coming from - but the milk is spilt, dude.
Will Staniel... time to blow your trumpet son and tell us what you are doing to make a difference - I am intrigued.
Drew raised some good points as did you. It is much nicer to sit and have a beer and talk about this shit when we are in the same room, right? I think we all wanna see good things happen for bands and no matter how the coin lands, someone is gonna be pissed. If the odds were in the favor of the band you wanted to win, you would be kicking back with a Daquiri smiling (I keed, I keed!).
Next time you see us out, come and say hey and let me buy you a beer. I love hearing what people dig, don't like and wanna see become better in town.
Fact: Heypenny did a great job and they work damn hard leading up to any of their shows. They did what they always do which is try and put on a good "show", rehearse hard and make it better than the last for those that are there to enjoy it. These kids spend a crap ton of money getting themselves to the UK 3 times a year to build their market and they run their mouth about Nashville music wherever they go. They have an attitude that should not be criticized but commended, never say a bad word about any band/artist in Nashville, support other bands shows and a work ethic I wish some other bands had. These 4 guys are always the last to get paid when they make money on shows and they look after folks that help them out. It may not be your bag and that is totally cool. There is room for lots of stuff in town. Protomen got the last slot and they are not my thing - but they work hard and folks love them. That gets a thumbs up in my books.
As for the way RTB was run - Drew was spot on in that this is fucking tough to do and there is never a way that gets a 100% unanimous vote for it's effectiveness and fairness. EG: Kindergarten Circus could have gone balls out and got a b'zillion folks out to vote for them. I don't think their performance was up to par right now. A couple of football seasons and who knows?
I would not have voted for it and I was priveledged to be asked to vote, because I have a rep for being objective. As does Bawston Sean, DPR, Joe Baine and others.
Folks that got to vote are advocates for music in this town. They have their fav's for sure, but they know a good show from their voluminous experience seeing them and will vote based on that.
End game - the best performance of the night won - love it or hate it.
Just saying it's not cool to act like Heypenny won because the audience chose them which was the way this was being portrayed.So you can't really say that "the best performance of the night won" according to the audience.I know you guys aren't used to people talking back to you,but to any other band reading this that performed,HEYPENNY DIDN'T WIN BY THE AUDIENCE VOTE,they were selected so know that you did better than them according to the crowd.End Game
@hanging chad:"Could a moderator change Moose's name to "Ass?"That my middle name son,but I thought your Ma was the only one that knew it?You must of heard her screaming it last night because the walls are so thin,sorry about that...
Moose - you are wrong. I am not saying the audience chose them. I am saying - when all was said and done - based on accumulated votes the following statements are true:
a) Heypenny won there place at Bonnaroo
b) At least everyone I know voted for Heypenny.
c) I take it you voted for someone else
d) You are bitching way too much about this.
e) You have nothing constructive to offer here and are more interested in telling the world how far you can piss.
Oh,sorry I question your egalitarian system you got going there,ha ha!
a)Gaypenny..uh I mean Heypenny didn't win the audience vote.
b)the blog panel chose them to go to bonaroo.
c)because you say they deserve to go then I guess they do,you don't really give any other reason than your opinion for that.
d)I can piss pretty far,just pointing out that the panel was the one that chose them by your own vague words.
e)I guess it's not constructive if people get called out on their bullcrap?What it be constructive if I just agreed with your opinion?
I didn't buy tickets for bonnaroo this year and DAMMIT now the weather's changing and I'm starting to get that itch. Here's hoping the shitty economy puts a little downward pressure on scalp prices.
@drew "Heypenny bought their A-Game"
not sure if that was a typo or intentional, but the fact that they won because of their stage antics makes it pretty funny either way.
Listen guys. We are sorry The Armed Forces were not selected for Bonnaroo this year. But what do you do? As for myself, I am doing what I have done for the past few years - help out bands that are working hard, are genuinely good folk and have something that I can work with. Moose and Anonymous... You have a choice here - sit on your couch and cry about it or get out there and do something better for the bands you dig - you whiny whiny asses.
Dude do you feel big calling people names on a blog?Nobody hit you with personal attacks!
A. I know Dean Shortland personally. He's a very likable guy, and I mean him no disrespect.
B. Dean introduced Heypenny at RTB. They were the only band who got an introduction from someone other than Drew Mischke, who was the emcee for the show. Interesting...
C. Dean is as close to being the manager for Heypenny as humanly possible, except for having the actual title. He preaches the gospel of Heypenny to anyone who will listen. Constantly.
D. Dean was judging an event where he obviously had a vested interest in Heypenny winning. I think it's pretty safe to say that he had his mind made up about who he was voting for long before Heypenny took the stage.
E. In my opinion, Heypenny deserved to win. It's too bad Dean was a judge, because that lends credence to the argument that the judging process was unfair. It WAS unfair. Dean had no business judging a contest where he was obviously VERY biased.
F. Dean, no offense. You do great stuff for bands in Nashville. But you should have sat this one out.
It's really just the arrogance that's so disturbing.This guy is basically saying because he thinks they were the best performers they clearly deserved to win,in spite of the fact that they didn't get the majority vote from the audience.Who cares if you consider yourself the cutting edge local Nashville music guru...slurp,slurp!!!Maybe I can get on the panel next year and lobby for the band that I manage..uh..I mean that I'm good friends with,and they rehearse really hard,and they always turn down money and shit and network for nashville music and shit...dude my rep is objective I totally promise!
OK - Moose/Anonymous. Firstly - apologies for blowing steam on this. It is not something I normally do. Actually I am rarely hot headed on almost anything.
Just to clarify - the initial 8 judges got to select 3 bands over the 3 RTB's to compete (horrible word I know). I selected Pico, Tommy and The Whale and Heypenny, other judges chose 3 bands also.
If I was biased on the matter, I would not have volunteered my time to judge - nor sat through those Monday nights from start to end, knowing that my mind was made up. I walked into each night - absolutely hoping who I endorsed for the bill did a great job and stood a chance like everyone else - but I only had one band on each night and in many cases at least 3 bands that I knew personally were also on those bills.
I def. run my mouth about Heypenny - I think they are worth hearing, but adding to that I have also done the same for Tommy & The Whale in their day, Harrison Hudson, Space Capone, Ricky Young, Paper Route, Parachute Musical, Kindercastle, The Dirty Holidays, Reno Bo, Brooke Waggoner, Disappointed by Candy, Katie Herzig, Lorien, Autovaughn, Modoc, Kyle Andrews, Red White Blue, Eric Wilson, Caitlin Rose, Human Voice - and that is just a few of them. I get excited when bands do well. I don't do it for a living - I just dig helping these folks.
Drew asked me to introduce them because he was beat and they were taking a while. As I had hosted things in the past, he was hoping I would fill dead time. You are right, in that it looked suspect - but it really wasn't at all. I offered to help him out if he needed it during RTB and coincidentally, it was then. All I can say is that many of my friends have been on these bills, who I care a lot for and am a fan off. All that to say, it is far too difficult to "choose" who goes to Bonnaroo on something like this when so many folks you know are involved. The only thing I could do, was my job and that was to forget history, friendships and whatnot and look at the show on that night.
I did my job fairly, and voted based on what I saw that night.
Sidenote to Moose: Had I not voted for Heypenny, they still would have won based on BMI, Bonnaroo and Mercy's voting rules. Do I think that 50% judge vote : 50% audience is fair? Hmmm... Not really no. But that was the deal and I wasn't asked to create the voting method - I was asked to judge on what I saw each night. As I said in an earlier post, the leading contenders prior to the night based on guesses between friends who were also judges were Space and Elle Macho.
I didn't vote for all the bands I placed on RTB, for the record. The 3 I selected are in my top ten local favorites to see and hear and I was glad they got a shot.
I was and am happy Heypenny, they did a great job - as did many others on that bill. As to my working relationship with them - it really is in the capacity of a friend who gives a damn. I am helping them from time to time as they need it - which isn't all that often if the truth be known.
Again, sorry for being pissy - but I just get so sick and tired of people hammering and ragging on bands (and the people helping them) that are trying to do something that matters. Calling Heypenny "Gaypenny" is just stupid and childish. Me calling you guys whiny maybe a little brash - but I was not hearing much positive in the mix.
Would a better approach be to perhaps write BMI, Bonnaroo and Mercy and raise your concerns about the integrity of the process? That seems pretty constructive if you ask me. Random negative posts in a blog forum - complete with 'blog names that keep it veiled' doesn't affect change, nearly enough.
Shit that was a long post... Too much coffee I think.
"Calling Heypenny "Gaypenny" is just stupid and childish. Me calling you guys whiny maybe a little brash - but I was not hearing much positive in the mix."
I honestly thought is was a gay pride band,not that there anything wrong with that,I mean pastel band suits.Cmon dude,your opening yourself to cracks wearing stuff like that.So when anybody else namecalls it's "childish",but when you call someone "a whiny ass"it's "a little brash"..phuckit,who cares,Who cares anyway,your favorite band won and you helped them,though your argument for how nuetral you were doesn't seem credible at all.Nobody can forget ties or relationships that they have with someone.Again the important point is that "Heypenny" didn't win the audience vote to get to Bonaroo,and that every band that competed knows that.The fact that you've acted so defensive tells everybody everything they need to know anyway dude.
Heypenny aren't my favourite band - although I like them a lot. Tommy and the Whale are (even though they recently broke up). I justify myself just fine, Moose. Again - IF I pulled my vote from the judges bag - and I would be happy to accommodate that request - just let me know. Heypenny still would have got the aggregate vote. Hate on them, hate on me - I can't say I will lose sleep over it. But my best piece of advice would be to write to Mercy, BMI and Bonnaroo regarding the voting formula.
I do appreciate your frustration with the voting method - but that isn't Heypenny's fault, nor is it mine. Bagging Heypenny does nothing to aid your case or your credibility (whoever you are in real life). I would also say that I would have voted the same way if I was in the audience. I just thought it was a better performance on the night. On the other night last month, I thought Autovaughn delivered the best show. That wasn't my band selection in the line up but I was hardcore about their performance that night. Protomen got the last slot, and I am not the biggest fan of their music. I couldn't fault their show, and they earned their place.
Heypenny are the first to admit the way they dress is ridiculous. It is in line with the characters they play and that is a marching band. But that was their artistic choice and seems to be working for the indie market they are targeting. It would not have been my choice, but then again - I am not in the band.
As said earlier, if you want to come out from behind your blog comments and have a beer and talk it out - I would be more than happy too, dude.
I hope that you remember that all 8 of the key judges had 3 acts on RTB - Space's judge was out of town when he performed - but nonetheless - that should not make a difference if the role of a judge is to apply objectivity on the night. Would you have been angry if Space won the judge vote, but the fan vote went to Jacob Jones, The Tits or Heypenny? If so, then ya kinda need to chill out on the lads, Moose. I don't think i would vote again - for the record. I was damned either way in this, and that was never my intention in getting involved. I just wanted to help the process, and see some Nashville acts go to Bonnaroo and that extends well beyond the 3 bands I had play.
I am not agro on the matter, nor do I feel the need to defend myself any further. If you knew me, you would know I try to be as fair and honest as possible.
Thanks
Wasn't really trying to bag on you dude,just saying it doesn't look or sound really fair when someone like you with a vested interest in the band is sitting on the panel.Just don't like the fact that this blog was acting like Heypenny blew everyone away when it just wasn't true.The fact that you and Bluedrew decided to start cracking on other bands after this contest was handled this way was really dissappointing,and really added insult to injury for everyone that competed,but I guess some people get off on having that type of power.Not me,I would think if the overall vote favored someone else then they would be the winner and it wouldn't seem right to let another band win,but that's just me.And at least Sportag,Spring Hill Spider party and Dave Cloud are trying to do something original.Just because they're not trying to be the next pop sensations like Heypenny doesn't mean they need to be blasted by the guy hosting this "contest".
You're totally right though,I don't like Heypenny.I just think they're very unoriginal.I personlly don't like bonaroo either.Just thought the contest wasn't done in a fair manner with the voting.
I guess some people get off on having that type of power
If you think that's bad you should see how cocky they get when they get wasted and bring out the death ray. Love those guys, but lazers and Jager are just a wretched combo. Have you wonder why we haven't seen the guys from American Bang in a while? They're just a stain on the green room floor now. It's kind of sad.
I think we finally hit some middle ground here. Sean was right about the lazers and jager, as a side note - but those were different times for me.
I don't dig Bonnaroo all that much either and hold much more stock in SXSW - but again they are 2 diff beasts. I actually really dig Spring Hill Spider Party, Jensen Sportag, and Dave Cloud - partic SHSP and it is a damn shame they aren't around any more. The 3 bands drew listed in that post are 3 of his favorites.
I don't think Heypenny blew everyone away. They blew me away on that show, and if I didn't have to choose one band - I would have chosen most of them - no bullshit. My opinion on the things that stood out to me:
- I thought The Tits were freakin awesome and I have their CD on repeat at work quite a lot. The bikini clad girls were hysterical and very nice tongue in cheek "up yours" to elitist's in town who would consider it blasphemy. Made me think of Motley Crew and I loved it.
- Elle Macho were about the tightest and well executed band on the bill and made up of folks who blow me away as people and musicians. BTW Butterfly has a digital release coming out which is seriously something magic.
- Space Capone in my books has something special. His shows are so freaking well performed and the hail back to the neo soul get's everyone having one of the best times I see at shows - that is a consistent fact about SC. Aaron is one of the best human beings that I know and when it comes to music he always tries to top the last thing he did. I honestly thought that would be where my vote would go that night.
- Hotpipes consistently do a great job in my books, but I felt their performance was more toned down than SC, The Tits or Heypenny. This isn't always the case with those guys. I love the music (another itunes repeater for me). One of the most fun shows I saw was them with De Novo Dahl at The Basement. My only thing with the Hotpipes is we don't see them enough.
- Shoot the Mountain - I have seen them play better than that night as a first point. Secondly, it is one of the better bands in town as far as my thoughts go. When I first saw them at NBN 08 I was pretty excited and the music is something I love to listen to. Joe Blankenship is a badass and I love the guy.
Anyhow, I don't really know what to say or do about RTB, the voting methods or who won. I am happy Heypenny got a place - but I would be equally as happy if any of the above got it too. If you can take into account that I was volunteering my time to help this thing and I honestly give a shit about the other bands, personally and musically - we can live to drink another day, right?
There is never an easy way to choose between stuff you love and people who are friends that you wanna see succeed. I really hate that shit. I hate the hating on the bands that comes out after it and I hate that other bands get overlooked - both unintentionally or deliberately and/or unfairly.
That's my 2 cents (no wait... 422 cents) on it.
Cool,I misunderstood the joke about the other bands,my mistake.Maybe they will find a better way to do this thing if they do it again.
I'm sure heypenny are good guys,but I,as well as many others who are choosing not to chime in here,don't like their music or stage routine.It's just hard to take artists seriously who formulate such an image and sound based on what is commercially popular at the time.Then when these artists are chosen in such a way that doesn't seem fair,it is certain to create some type of backlash.
"Commercially popular at the time". Are you talking about that Nickelback cover band? Or that girl who sings like Hannah Montana? Wait, you're not still talking about Heypenny.
You wanna talk about something that lacks authenticity? Bandai sell a Power Rangers Wolf Morphing Device and well... It doesn't work. I went through 5 of them and I was all ready to morph - even felt something, but dang thing lacks the power need to morph a man into a wolf. The people at Marshall's are totally unresponsive when I try to return them, complaining about their ability to actually "morph" someone. This shit is frustrating and spits in the face of the American Dream.
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