PUNK ROCK 2007- EVER GET THE FEELING YOU'VE BEEN CHEATED?

Ok heres the deal, your bands not good enough to play at the Tarmac Desert festival, cause you didn't release one crap single in the late 70's or early 80's thats selling for $500 on ebay and your not part of the punk rock back slapping brigade, but hey you are good enough to play if each of your band members buys a ticket for the weekend festival. No its not pay to play its got a brand new set of clothing (fashioned by tiger of London). "We just want to give new bands a chance." "But you said we weren't good enough"?, Well you will be playing at a festival with all these known bands on a different stage where nobody but your mates will be watching, but then you can say you've played with em, it will be a great chance for you oh don't forget to send me the cheque.."
What a fucking load of bollocks.!

The sad thing is bands will pay to pay, probably the same bands that moan about having to take a drum kit to a local gig. I'm pretty sure there's at least one major punk festival organiser keeping an eye on how many bands want to pay to play perhaps that will be an idea for the last ever one he's doing called Revolution Chaos Apocalypse, is it next year? this year ? or was it last year?, how long before a full line up of bands is pay to play at a festival?
And the 'go to a punk gigs three times a year' brigade (Unless Rancid grace us with their god like presence, then its four!) will no doubt be pressing their bondage pants, getting their hair cut into a whacky mohican style, donning their cock sparrer t-shirts and gleefully going along to the whole 'this is what punk is all about' experience.

Once the festival organisers take a couple of massive hits with a big loss they will fuck off from the punk scene faster than Jack the Ripper left a Whitehall Murder, and where will punk be? - because by that time punk promoters who do it cause they love punk music and make no money have packed their bags totally disillusioned by what punk has become. These are the same people fighting with venues to get at least expenses guarantees for bands, so why should they bother?

Being a punk promoter is about doing it for the music, if your doing it for the money well you are everything that punk set out to destroy. If it doesn't work, tough shit mark it down to experience, it's not about screwing bands, but with bands paying to get onto tours, bands playing their set 10 minutes before the concert hall doors open, bands now paying to play at festivals perhaps I and others like me have got it wrong. Bands want to be screwed, so if any bands want to give me £50 I'll put em on at a gig and I'll take all the door money, oh don't forget to bring all your backline as well I'll - only charge you an extra £10 for that, oh and I want a 24 can ryder as well at 5% non of that cheap shit and don't forget to do your own fucking flyers!.

Call yourself Punk You're a Fucking Disgrace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If this upsets bands, promoters and anybody else this is aimed at then good, you deserve it!

By
I Give Up

(not OMD as you may suspect because I don't use pseudonyms I gladly put my name to anything I write)