Fete de la Music

[growler]

HI Michael and everyone ............ 2nd thread of the day ?

Today in France is ' Fete de la Music ' day, this is a Government run initiative to encourage musicians all over France to get out onto the streets and Bars etc to play music ' free ' to the public. The past ones I have played at have always been so well attended, the French seem to turn out for anything where they can be entertained, and it is always well received and appreciated by them. Coming from England I often wonder if anything of this nature could be arranged over there, apart from maybe Queens Jubilee..... National Boot Fair day to get the public out onto the streets....... it's a thought ......... but maybe the weather over there is not so good. Anyway Just out of interest I would like to know if Pascal, Vleb and any of the other excellent French slide guitarists get involved in it .

Regards Growler

[Bill Stig]

Whenever we've attempted any acoustic street music in this area of the North West of England all we've had is complaints from local shop keepers about the noise. The public just walk past on the other side of the road and show no interest.
We tried to get some music on in a local park but the council wouldn't let us as they thought the kids would get drunk and throw themselves off a cliff!! I did think of moving to France.

Bill

[growler]

Thanks for reply Bill
I suppose it must be the British mentality....... oohh some one playing music over there , they must be busking. Over here you would have a crowd instantly, As for Local Councils ...... well they are a good enough reason to get out of the country,
I know they would not give permission for something like a once a year music festival , but they would give permission for a ' sodding ' great big mobile phone mast to be installed at the bottom of my garden , and a clay pigeon shoot just 200 yrds down the road, no wonder I left the country ......... but as for music....... forget it

Rgards Growler

[Michael Messer]

Hi Growler,

Happy 'Fete De La Musique' Day!!!!

It is a great idea and as Bill has commented...not one that would work here in the UK.

Actually - playing in France for free is a lot easier than playing their for a fee. I will be appearing at the Cognac Blues Passions Festival in July and in 25 years of touring, I have never seen so much official government paperwork. Without the exact documentation, musicians and other touring entertainers can lose a lot of money in French Taxes & National Insurance. Now I know why they invented the word 'Bureaucracy'!!! I have worked in France before and always had to sign some serious documentation, but now.....it is insanity. Luckily I have my E101 and a good cork screw for the festival!

Shine On,
Michael.

[Deleted]

There has been a national Music Day in the past, I remember going to an event ages ago, but don't know what happened to it. Also, BBC do a "Mad About Music Day", or at least for the past few years they have, because I've played at it!

Maybe you guys are just living in the wrong part of the country. Here in the West Midlands there are regular FREE live music events on the streets of Birmingham such as Arts Fest in October...and I run a free music festival in a park in Bearwood...just 3500 people and 10 bands, nothing big really....!!!! As for busking or doing any type of live music on the streets, you need to have a pro aproach, cover all the angles, comply with what the council ask for. In Birmingham to busk in the city centre you need to be on their approved entertainers list, and book in with them for a pitch..but there's no cost involved, and on good day you should be able to make £20 per hour, so that's a good bit of incentive to go out and play! Another thing we've done is charity fundraising busking, which can be great fun with 10-20 players, but again, you need to get your permits organised well in advance. A lot of cities and large towns do have a policy about busking and live music, but you need to find out about the system and work with it.

For our annual "Picnic in the Park" music day , we book the date 11 months in advance, and we have a committee of about 8 people meeting monthly to make it happen, and dozens of volunteers on the day... it's hard work and cost a lot of money..but these things dont come easy. To quote Mr Louis Jordan, "Dont sit there mumblin' and talking trash." .....live music on the streets and in our parks doesn't just happen, you've got to work at it.

[Bill Stig]

Hi john,
Birmingham does seem to have a healthy attitude to live music. I played at a dance music festival in the centre of Birmingham last month which was pretty big event - the whole street was closed off for it. Walking through the city there was also an under 18s gig going on, drunken teenagers were littering the street, but it can only be healthy for music.


It's that small town thing here - you just need one complaint and the whole thing comes to an end. There was a regular event held in a park , once a year during the day, where the punters complained the music was too quiet, one resident complained about the noise and it was stopped.

Music does happen but not on the streets.

Bill

[mesnier]

Hi Growler,
I just love the idea to share infos from the French Slide committee and the Michael Messer's UK slide committee...
My good buddy Vleb works on that pretty well!
I haven't play yesterday in Paris for 'la fête de la Musique', yep the weather wasn't excellent and I have reserve to keep my 'Fine-resophonic Koa' to busk into the street... I guess you will agree!
But the other French guitarist played yesterday, here was the programme:

And So On (beno) à Henin Beaumont (62)
scène devant le "BAR ROCK" (près de la gare) vers 20h30

vleb à Boulogne-Billancourt (92)
au restaurant Les Loges 137, Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément vers 21h
attention : repas sur place (20-25€) obligatoire....

mr mat à Grenoble
grande scène, place hoche - 20h

Osteel à Plaintel (22)
présentation des guitare a résonateurs pour les ce1/ce2 de l'école primaire de 14 à 16 heure

Cool Blues (Eldoro) à Valence
dans Maxwell str...euh la rue piétonne , du uke, de la basse et de la guitare en fer ou en bois

Sébastopol à Albi
dans le vieux quartier

Froglegs à St Girons (09)
Places des Kapos - St Girons 09200

Camus à Buxerolles (86)
magasin GUITARES GAM en face du ciné méga CGR - Buxerolles près de Poitiers

I wonder why your country doesn't make anything, you are much more into music than we are...And Germans does the 'Fête de la Musique' as we do...
Keep in touch, et merci for the link between us!
Pascal

[growler]

Bonjour Pascal
I had a fantastic Fete de la music. it started off badly with me getting half of my guitars out the back of the Break and slamming the boot shut ........ then seeing the keys inside the car ......... locked solid, luckily a couple of guys eventually got it open with coathangers. I played with a couple of guys who the Brasserie had booked for the night One guy playing electric guitar , the other guy playing guitar or Bass but sitting down and working a bass and snare drum with foot pedals, whilst also singing.
The guitarist was ' out of this world ' you just seem to keep coming across these guys in France, he was a cross between Marc Knopfler and Carlos Santa, he blew the place apart with his guitar solos . I backed them up on electro acoustic , Les Paul and Reso slide , did a few Neil Young , Bob Dylan numbers which always go down well with the French ....... finished about 2 inthe morning, and finally they asked me if I would be interested in joining them.

Keep in touch Growler

[Pierre ResoMan Bastide]

Hi everybody,

It was a great one ! Lot of musicans on every street corner. Some pretty good... Some not so good but they all were in love with music and audience.

I've played with The Nashville Airplane Band as an "invité" - guest - some ol' bluegrass stuff and rocky-folky ones. You know : Dylan, The Byrds, Greatful Dead... We wer hosted in a big brasserie int the middle of the Yuppies borrough. Lot of fun and... Good food... Good wine and beer...

See you in Paris next year ?

Pierre Bastide

www.dobrofranco.fr
www.myspace.com/resoman

[wolvoboy]

Hi everyone free music next weekend in wolverhampton starting Friday night to sunday free music folk and blues also free camping and parkingttp://www.folkonthefarm.org/ also beer tent but that aint free,should be good fun.
keep pickin and slidin Wolvoboy

[Deleted]

Oh yes...just remembered....I'm playing that one! 7.50pm Saturday evening...Mr Chickenbone