paranoid (2 Viewers)

[Zeelander]

Yeeks, who came up with Gigsmart? L. Ron Hubbard?

 

[moc]

The only thing Gigsmart ever asked, is to support each other.

are you saying gigsmart is the new jesus?

 

[Buckrake]

‘It was curious to think that the sky was the same for everybody, in Eurasia or Eastasia, as well as here. And the people under the sky were also very much the same—everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just like this, people ignorant of one another's existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies, and yet almost exactly the same—people who had never learned to think but were storing up in their hearts and bellies and muscles the power that would one day overturn the world.’

 

[steptoe]

I see Tom is not posting to responses anymore theres only so much bullshit responses you can come with when someone is posting the truth until you inevitably run out of answers like Bunkead has

 

[moc]

worst thread ever. your posts are so fucking boring it hurts.

I see Tom is not posting to responses anymore theres only so much bullshit responses you can come with when someone is posting the truth until you inevitably run out of answers like Bunkead has

 

[RSJ]

The first rule of Gigsmart is: You don't talk about gigsmart.

The second rule of gigsmart is: YOU DO NOT TA... Oh wait, that's wrong *fetches paper from pocket* Ah - No smoking.

 

[Parabola]

I must agree with most of the posts on this thread. Gigsmart is a clique - plain and simple. They offer terrible gigs if you sit through some other terrible gigs and smile. Trev the moderator has a pineapple stuck up his ass, and because he can't get it out, has decided to act like a bollox on the forum. The truth of the matter is - if you've got talent, you shouldn't be with them. If you haven't got talent, well.. you know the rest.

 

[brianoak]

That seems perfectly reasonable to me. !zed

hey tom/gigsmartians:
now, correct me if i'm wrong, i was never a member of gigsmart or anything like it.

1) you get gigsmart POINTS for doing stuff, like going to gigs, playing gigs, giving gigsmart bands supports. in turn, if you get a lot of points this entitles you to move up higher in the gigsmart group. it also entitles you to discounts in some stores, such as Instrumental.

true?

2) to join gigsmart a person must do various initiation stuff, like helping out as a roadie at a gig, bring 10 people to a gig, or put up posters or hand out flyers. when they have done this sufficiently they are allowed play a gig, when they become a member and can start collecting points.

true?

3) a strategy is set up for each thing they do, such as a gig/release - they will ask members to do certain jobs like A) poster, b) promote or c) attend or d) provide gear. If a member doesn't comply they are docked points. if a person reaches 0 points they are asked to leave. for an album release each member gets points for every copy they buy.

True?

4) if you play a gigsmart support you must have a Gigsmart backdrop behind you. each gigsmart roadie must have a badge, or else will be docked points. if there is no banner gigsmart take no cut of the gig or give out any points.

true?

 

[steptoe]

I must agree with most of the posts on this thread. Gigsmart is a clique - plain and simple. They offer terrible gigs if you sit through some other terrible gigs and smile. Trev the moderator has a pineapple stuck up his ass, and because he can't get it out, has decided to act like a bollox on the forum. The truth of the matter is - if you've got talent, you shouldn't be with them. If you haven't got talent, well.. you know the rest.

never a truer word spoked

 

[Thomas Brunkard]

hey tom/gigsmartians:
now, correct me if i'm wrong, i was never a member of gigsmart or anything like it.

1) you get gigsmart POINTS for doing stuff, like going to gigs, playing gigs, giving gigsmart bands supports. in turn, if you get a lot of points this entitles you to move up higher in the gigsmart group. it also entitles you to discounts in some stores, such as Instrumental.

true?

2) to join gigsmart a person must do various initiation stuff, like helping out as a roadie at a gig, bring 10 people to a gig, or put up posters or hand out flyers. when they have done this sufficiently they are allowed play a gig, when they become a member and can start collecting points.

true?

3) a strategy is set up for each thing they do, such as a gig/release - they will ask members to do certain jobs like A) poster, b) promote or c) attend or d) provide gear. If a member doesn't comply they are docked points. if a person reaches 0 points they are asked to leave. for an album release each member gets points for every copy they buy.

True?

4) if you play a gigsmart support you must have a Gigsmart backdrop behind you. each gigsmart roadie must have a badge, or else will be docked points. if there is no banner gigsmart take no cut of the gig or give out any points.

true?

No. no, no but with a grain of truth. When Gigsmart started four years ago I had the idea of running a card whereby you earned the plum spots and all to motivate a bit of a team ethic. Obviously it was a bit ridiculous and unmanageable and was never initiated but it was mooted. In my defence I was 20 years old and was still learning how to do things. It is not indicative of how Gigsmart has ever worked.

That said, your post is indicative that the real big failing of Gigsmart is communicating what actually does go on. Suffice to say its not what is being mooted here and if Gigsmart is guilty of anything is that it doesn't efficiently communicate what it is and does well enough to those who would aways be expecting the worst.

 

[Parabola]

No. no, no but with a grain of truth. When Gigsmart started four years ago I had the idea of running a card whereby you earned the plum spots and all to motivate a bit of a team ethic. Obviously it was a bit ridiculous and unmanageable and was never initiated but it was mooted. In my defence I was 20 years old and was still learning how to do things. It is not indicative of how Gigsmart has ever worked.

That said, your post is indicative that the real big failing of Gigsmart is communicating what actually does go on. Suffice to say its not what is being mooted here and if Gigsmart is guilty of anything is that it doesn't efficiently communicate what it is and does well enough to those who would aways be expecting the worst.

At least Thomas has a brain on his shoulders. Trev is just a psycho on a power trip. And he does NOT know when to shut his pineapple filled hole.

 

[ITalkShite]

No. no, no but with a grain of truth. When Gigsmart started four years ago I had the idea of running a card whereby you earned the plum spots and all to motivate a bit of a team ethic. Obviously it was a bit ridiculous and unmanageable and was never initiated but it was mooted. In my defence I was 20 years old and was still learning how to do things. It is not indicative of how Gigsmart has ever worked.

That said, your post is indicative that the real big failing of Gigsmart is communicating what actually does go on. Suffice to say its not what is being mooted here and if Gigsmart is guilty of anything is that it doesn't efficiently communicate what it is and does well enough to those who would aways be expecting the worst.

Dude, if you're worried about how you 'communicate', maybe you should consider that what is being communicated is so rubbish in the first place: the general outward first impression that anyone would get is that Gigsmart is a mutual support network for deluded cock-rockers and shitty ska bands. Your gigs are joyless quid pro quo paybacks for bands who are 'involved' in the 'community'. Your site/forum is a collection of toe-curlingly embarassing rock clichés. Your attitude is guitar-shop-dude contempt and arrogance. The magazine you did was dire. Generally speaking, Gigsmart gives the impression that it is for dudes with beards and collections of really fancy guitar pedals.

 

[Thomas Brunkard]

Dude, if you're worried about how you 'communicate', maybe you should consider that what is being communicated is so rubbish in the first place: the general outward first impression that anyone would get is that Gigsmart is a mutual support network for deluded cock-rockers and shitty ska bands. Your gigs are joyless quid pro quo paybacks for bands who are 'involved' in the 'community'. Your site/forum is a collection of toe-curlingly embarassing rock clichés. Your attitude is guitar-shop-dude contempt and arrogance. The magazine you did was dire. Generally speaking, Gigsmart gives the impression that it is for dudes with beards and collections of really fancy guitar pedals.

Again nonsense and opinion there is no official representation that communicates that message. There is no bias towards any type of music. What you call 'a deluded cock rocker' is a classic retro band to someone else. If Gigsmart was in reality the all exclusive zone everyone makes it out to be it wouldn't have done gigs with such a diverse array of music.

The nazi attitude would be to enforce a creative control over the bands that play Gigsmart gigs. A good band to me is one that plays the style their attempting to exist in well and one who acts professionally. What doesn't wash for you could go down well in front of a load of teenage metallers in Carlow or a load of hippy students in Galway.

Guitar-shop arrogance is presuming your taste of music is the only one worth listening to. I don't think Gigsmart has ever been guilty of that.

Your site/forum is a collection of toe-curlingly embarassing rock clichés.

Judging someone off a public forum is a bit silly. Its aa bit like saying Thumped is a web site for music hating Nazis. Nonsense.

Your gigs are joyless quid pro quo paybacks for bands who are 'involved' in the 'community'.

Well you've obviously been to them all and found them joyless so at that point my advice to you is don't go to anymore? Sorry there was nothing you liked in over 200 gigs.

The magazine you did was dire.

Gigsmart never did a magazine. Sorry.

 

[Thomas Brunkard]

Jeez, I was gonna say nothing 'til I read this. Roxy, c'mon!?

In contrast to what you're saying here, my problems with GigSmart only arose when I came into contact with one of their more senior members.

I've seen T Brunkard and some of the others around... and some of them are actually alright... working really hard at what they do. But there's this whole other bitter side to some of the people and bands involved; it's really tragic.

I hope I was alright! Some people in bands are arseholes as are some people in Castleknock, Honolulu and Timbuktu. There is no institutionalised membership of Gigsmart. You are not a Gigsmart member. The only person who represents the Gigsmart organisation is, well, an organiser. It's like saying everybody on Thumped is an ashole because some people may have that problem .

I remember at one infamous Noise Party I was involved in, some dude from a GigSmart band coming up to me and trying to start a fight over something I'd said about a year previously. He was all like: "I know your name... and what you're like." It was funny stuff and then he got kicked out. This was not my only near-brush with GigSmart related violence.

A spa to be sure.

The main problem I have with GigSmart is that you can't fucking say anything, full stop, about them or they get really fucking ant-sy. Dudes, this is why people wind you up.

I take your point. In my personal defence I will say that I can't help but take it personally because I put in a lot of unpaid hours and personal finance in making different Gigsmart projects successful to greater and lesser degrees.

I always take a critique and analyse it to first see if it may be true and then act to correct it. If that means better explaining a project or by altering the way I was doing things then so be it.

As much as anyone has a right to voice a criticism I have the right to reply to it.

The other problem is this...
If you are making people, who genuinely don't want to see a band, go to see them just to boost numbers... what is the point?

Well its like this:
In Dublin there are many alternatives to gigs for a night out. No matter how good a band is some devices have to be used to let the people of the music-loving world they rock. Its also superficial to judge a band by the amount of people who like them and go to their gigs (unless everybody has seen them and thought they're shite mind...!)

Many young (not necessarily in member age mind, band age!) bands have the tunes but don't have the fans. If there's a collection of bands in this situation playing the same genre at the same level it only makes sense that they team up and support each other. A crowd begets a bigger crowd.

Imagine bands A, B and C are playing a gig.
Band D is going to the show and they bring some of their pals. Their pals love band A and when next some one mentions band A they can say 'I saw them and they were deadly'.

Result is band A gets more:

• Website hits
• Mp3 downloads
• Mech sales
• CD sales
• larger gig attendance
• More people listening to an enjoying their music

I've seen it happen with mike got spiked and I'm seeing it happen again with bands like the Murder of Crows, Argento and I like Ducks.

It does work. The extra numbers also help pay bands to increase their ability to get better and get their stuff out their via ticket receipts and merch sales. Ten extra people at your gig is the €70 to pay for next rehearsal.

The increased crowd also helps Gigmart get the bands gigs at more accessible nights in the week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) were they have a chance to turn the support from GS bands into real attendances.

Also it is ridiculous to be in a band and not check out other bands. You can learn from their successes and mistakes. Unless your in is perfect and has nothing to learn going to gigs is a chance to see how its done or not as the case may be.

If you get to 17 in the Irish charts (woo-hoo!) by telling all your members to buy a single... what is the point?
IT IS NOT A REAL REFLECTION OF THE MUSIC'S IMPACT!
All you're doing is faking an impact, no?

No. To get that 17 chart position New Colour Soul flogged over 600 discs in a week by working in over 15 gigs in a week. Again the idea of getting people to buy each other is to help the band recoup the cost of the excercise. Selling 600 discs barely subsidises all the promotion it takes to get that level of sales. Singles are a redundant format for that.

Also, again, it shows bands what other bands are up to. It was always encouraged but wasn't enforced. That'd be bullshit in fairness.

So, the point of my essay on GigSmart is: Just chill will yiz? And try to appreciate that sometimes when people are saying something shit about you,

it might just be warranted and/or true.[.quote]

i.e. Steptoe's posts.

I insist that could not possibly true. As much as he is entitled to accuse I am entitled to defend.

I have invited him or anyone who felt hard done by to call me but no phone calls have been recieved. In reality this dude is someone with no real problem just a fetish for seeing a nice anti-GS thread on Thumped.

He can of course prove me wrong by talking to me like an adult (085-7189920 anytime, I'm only a harmless hippy, its ok.). If I find that he has been upset or damaged by something I did or did not do I will move to restore the balance. I can do nothing otherwise but ignore it as fecitious and malicous lies until such a calls is made.


Criticisms I will take and appreciate but as much they can be given I am entitled to reply to them and judge their fairness.

 

[ITalkShite]

Are you Ron Healy?

Ok, give me five minutes here.

 

[Thomas Brunkard]

My dear friends now I'm going out to the pub. A lot of you have a confused idea of Gigsmart. Its not the masons nor is it a clique. A clique is a closed circle. The circle in Gigsmart is an open one.

All it was me and some of my friends trying to put on some gigs and help out some bands in Dublin which cost me money, earned me none but got me some good times, good friends and possibly some career experience.

It has never worked out badly for a band. At worst bands played to empty Voodoo Lounges, TBMCs and at best some built up national fan bases, got good record deals and plum tours and supports.

No need to be so hostile. If its a matter of you not liking the music then I'm sorry but taste is subjective and where you might not like avant-guarde Jazz/Disco Metal someone else may and we worked to give them that. You can't please everyone but we certainly didn't harm anyone.

Nice weekend to you all.

 

[Thomas Brunkard]

Are you Ron Healy?

Ok, give me five minutes here.

Yes I'm old man Ron, How did you guess?

 

[ITalkShite]

Right...

Again nonsense and opinion there is no official representation that communicates that message. There is no bias towards any type of music. What you call 'a deluded cock rocker' is a classic retro band to someone else. If Gigsmart was in reality the all exclusive zone everyone makes it out to be it wouldn't have done gigs with such a diverse array of music.

I never said anything about an 'official representation' - just my impression, and the impression of people I know. Also, as an aside, there's no need to immediately dismiss my impression as 'nonsense' - in fact, this is a pretty good example of the arrogance/contempt that myself and others have been referring to. But, whatever, each to their own.

The nazi attitude would be to enforce a creative control over the bands that play Gigsmart gigs. A good band to me is one that plays the style their attempting to exist in well and one who acts professionally. What doesn't wash for you could go down well in front of a load of teenage metallers in Carlow or a load of hippy students in Galway.

Huh? I never said anything about a nazi attitude. It's just my impression. A lot of shitty bands, who take their 'careers in the music industry' waaaay too seriously, play shitty gigs with your name on it.

Guitar-shop arrogance is presuming your taste of music is the only one worth listening to. I don't think Gigsmart has ever been guilty of that.

Ok. I disagree, but fine.

Judging someone off a public forum is a bit silly. Its aa bit like saying Thumped is a web site for music hating Nazis. Nonsense.

I'm talking about things like the 'groupie'/'roadie'/'rock star' method of rating posters on the Gigsmart board, and things like that. It's not so much what people say on the forum as the actual assumptions underlying it; they're pretty lame.

Well you've obviously been to them all and found them joyless so at that point my advice to you is don't go to anymore? Sorry there was nothing you liked in over 200 gigs.

Again, dude, personal impression that happens to be widely shared. Another personal impression (also widely shared) is that you guys are hyper-defensive and very prickly. Chill out!

Gigsmart never did a magazine. Sorry.

Gigsmart were pretty heavily involved in ISH magazine, if I remember correctly. Gigsmart = ISH like Sinn Fein = IRA. Sorry if it wasn't 'officially' your thing, but it had all the usual suspects in it and that really crazy guy (Trev?) wrote a load of stuff for it. It was really really really crap.

 

[Thomas Brunkard]

Right...


I never said anything about an 'official representation' - just my impression, and the impression of people I know. Also, as an aside, there's no need to immediately dismiss my impression as 'nonsense' - in fact, this is a pretty good example of the arrogance/contempt that myself and others have been referring to. But, whatever, each to their own.

I'm sorry I meant to use 'nonsense' as a noun rather than an adjective. The 'nonsense' is judging any org on the people that post on a public forum. Stupid is as stupid does not as stupids website's public section says if you get me.

Huh? I never said anything about a nazi attitude. It's just my impression. A lot of shitty bands, who take their 'careers in the music industry' waaaay too seriously, play shitty gigs with your name on it.

Shitty? Well thats your entitled opinion, if it were universally shared though there'd be a problem. Some of the bands have to take their 'careers' seriousl because they actually now have careers in the music industry and have to act accordingly. Some just want to rock too though.

I'm talking about things like the 'groupie'/'roadie'/'rock star' method of rating posters on the Gigsmart board, and things like that. It's not so much what people say on the forum as the actual assumptions underlying it; they're pretty lame.

Its not a rating like the sycohphantic points system here. It increases with the number of posts. It came with the forum so I put that in the whole rawk cliché system in for the craic. Its a bit of fun is all.

Again, dude, personal impression that happens to be widely shared. Another personal impression (also widely shared) is that you guys are hyper-defensive and very prickly. Chill out!

Well as I say I take it to heart if my integrty is questioned and I'd rather make an attempt to be understood rather than to read what I regard as misinformation about what I may or may not have done.

Gigsmart were pretty heavily involved in ISH magazine, if I remember correctly. Gigsmart = ISH like Sinn Fein = IRA. Sorry if it wasn't 'officially' your thing, but it had all the usual suspects in it and that really crazy guy (Trev?) wrote a load of stuff for it. It was really really really crap.

A girl called Denise edited and ran it. A number of people involved with Gigsmart and who had gigged for Gigsmart wrote for it and we helped them run their fundraisers. Gigsmart didn't produce the magazine. I swear!

Its somethign I'd like to do personally at some stage but something like ISH has very limited appeal.

 

[jane]

Career Guidance dude/dudette: What do you want to be?
Young chap: A paedophile.

Career Guidance dude/dudette: Ho, ho, ho, son, you have to wait until you grow up for that!





Sorry, I missed the boat on that, didn't I?








No, no, I'll let myself out. Here are some sad kittens to remember me by:

True Fact: At any one time, 78% of all current and former Atomic Kittens are pregnant.

Hey! That's just like real cats!