We’d played at the launch of the King Street Rock’n’Roll Walk etc Podcast at the Vanguard for the City of Sydney in late September. From that I’d managed to book the band into the venue for our own launch.
It wasn’t smooth sailing though. John Cass who runs the venue must have a memory like an elephant. I’d done a solo show there back in 2004 on a slow Sunday night and drawn a crowd of about 10 payers. Was I the same John Kennedy?, he wanted to know. “Well erm yes. But this CD launch will be something completely different.” I got the date but I was told that if I didn’t pull a crowd of at least 70 payers, “I’d never work in this town again!” No, he didn’t actually say that. I was informed through the bookers at Century Venues that if I didn’t hit that magic 70 mark the $2 fee that the venue would take off every ticket would increase to $5 so that the venue could cover its costs.
I like a challenge, So in the weeks ahead of the gig street pole posters were arranged. I started spamming all those people unfortunate to be on my mailing list. And I hustled up all the free promo I could get. Vinnie Ramone on Outpost on 2SER was very supportive. As was Jay Katz and the team on Naked City on Fbi. I tried to tap into Richard Glover’s ABC 702 mega drive audience but at the 11th hour his producer declined to have us on. “Richard is a big fan of the band” she told me. Obviously not that big a fan!
With all promo avenues exhausted, I could only wait and see who would turn up on the night.
Just before Perry Keyes went on stage to open the show at 9pm the crowd (and yes it was a crowd) was starting to vibe up. A cheer went up when I entered the room. I looked round to see if someone famous had come in behind me but soon realized that the cheering was for me. The uncomfortable sense of pride decreased somewhat when I saw that it was mainly family members and friends doing the cheering. Perry, in semi-acoustic mode, backed only by Johnny Gauci on keyboard treated the room to a solid set of finely observed stories of lives lived in Sydney’s inner suburbs.
The band took to the stage and opened with the first two songs from the the new Is This Not Paris? CD – Robert Mitchum/ Ramblin’ Man and Lonely Eye. The 68 Comeback Special was in fine form. A bit rough at the edges but ready to rock, and roll as required. After doing lots of Inner West pub gigs to raise some cash to pay for recording the album, playing at the Vanguard to a sit down audience was a little strange. At those gigs there was usually no door charge so people would feel free to talk all the way through the set. Another thing I’ve noticed about those gigs is that the fee for 3 sets of music hasn’t changed since I came down from Brisbane and started playing gigs in Sydney in 1982. It’s like a Wagon Wheel. “Still the same old price.”
But, I digress. We could see the audience at the Vanguard and they were looking straight back at us and listening to the music. A very unusual situation. But we rose the occasion and I must say, we rocked ‘em all night long. Well for about 90 mins anyway. The highlight of the set for me was our gospel number, Better Days. My backing vocalist, the boys in the band otherwise known as the Ordinaires, were joined by the talented Megan Heyward. The guys have been occasionally supplying backing vocals on this song for the last year. But with Megan’s help it really took the roof off the place this time round.
I got some great feedback when I went up to the CD sales stand after the gig. A lot of it was directed at me and Jeff of the many stringed instruments. I made a note to tell Peter, Smithy and Glen later that the band’s sound is like a building. You might not see the foundations but without them the building will fall down.
So the CD is well and truly launched. If you were there, we thank you for your support. If you weren’t, we hope to see you next time.
“Thank you and goodnight!”
This entry was posted in Posts. Bookmark the permalink. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
Is This Not Paris? CD: Part 6 – The launch
We’d played at the launch of the King Street Rock’n’Roll Walk etc Podcast at the Vanguard for the City of Sydney in late September. From that I’d managed to book the band into the venue for our own launch.
It wasn’t smooth sailing though. John Cass who runs the venue must have a memory like an elephant. I’d done a solo show there back in 2004 on a slow Sunday night and drawn a crowd of about 10 payers. Was I the same John Kennedy?, he wanted to know. “Well erm yes. But this CD launch will be something completely different.” I got the date but I was told that if I didn’t pull a crowd of at least 70 payers, “I’d never work in this town again!” No, he didn’t actually say that. I was informed through the bookers at Century Venues that if I didn’t hit that magic 70 mark the $2 fee that the venue would take off every ticket would increase to $5 so that the venue could cover its costs.
I like a challenge, So in the weeks ahead of the gig street pole posters were arranged. I started spamming all those people unfortunate to be on my mailing list. And I hustled up all the free promo I could get. Vinnie Ramone on Outpost on 2SER was very supportive. As was Jay Katz and the team on Naked City on Fbi. I tried to tap into Richard Glover’s ABC 702 mega drive audience but at the 11th hour his producer declined to have us on. “Richard is a big fan of the band” she told me. Obviously not that big a fan!
With all promo avenues exhausted, I could only wait and see who would turn up on the night.
Just before Perry Keyes went on stage to open the show at 9pm the crowd (and yes it was a crowd) was starting to vibe up. A cheer went up when I entered the room. I looked round to see if someone famous had come in behind me but soon realized that the cheering was for me. The uncomfortable sense of pride decreased somewhat when I saw that it was mainly family members and friends doing the cheering. Perry, in semi-acoustic mode, backed only by Johnny Gauci on keyboard treated the room to a solid set of finely observed stories of lives lived in Sydney’s inner suburbs.
The band took to the stage and opened with the first two songs from the the new Is This Not Paris? CD – Robert Mitchum/ Ramblin’ Man and Lonely Eye. The 68 Comeback Special was in fine form. A bit rough at the edges but ready to rock, and roll as required. After doing lots of Inner West pub gigs to raise some cash to pay for recording the album, playing at the Vanguard to a sit down audience was a little strange. At those gigs there was usually no door charge so people would feel free to talk all the way through the set. Another thing I’ve noticed about those gigs is that the fee for 3 sets of music hasn’t changed since I came down from Brisbane and started playing gigs in Sydney in 1982. It’s like a Wagon Wheel. “Still the same old price.”
But, I digress. We could see the audience at the Vanguard and they were looking straight back at us and listening to the music. A very unusual situation. But we rose the occasion and I must say, we rocked ‘em all night long. Well for about 90 mins anyway. The highlight of the set for me was our gospel number, Better Days. My backing vocalist, the boys in the band otherwise known as the Ordinaires, were joined by the talented Megan Heyward. The guys have been occasionally supplying backing vocals on this song for the last year. But with Megan’s help it really took the roof off the place this time round.
I got some great feedback when I went up to the CD sales stand after the gig. A lot of it was directed at me and Jeff of the many stringed instruments. I made a note to tell Peter, Smithy and Glen later that the band’s sound is like a building. You might not see the foundations but without them the building will fall down.
So the CD is well and truly launched. If you were there, we thank you for your support. If you weren’t, we hope to see you next time.
“Thank you and goodnight!”