Dryvetyme Onlyne

I’ve talked about Bandcamp Houston before on this blog of mine, and I’ve been present for a majority of the events, serving as a live-Tweeter (@dryvetyme) and contributor. Hosted by the fine folks of Caroline Collective, this worthwhile endeavor into assisting Houston bands and artists is relentlessly energetic and optimistic with its desire to see the Houston music scene grow into the leviathan it should be.

This Sunday brings the next installment of Bandcamp Houston, entitled Booking Party. The goal for this session will be to instruct bands on how to book shows in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio with the greatest possible effectiveness. Or as the press release states plainly: “Bandcamp: BOOKING PARTY will be a workshop where bands will work together to contact venues to book gigs in cities within a four hour drive of Houston.”

The event will be this Sunday, July 12th, 2009 from 2pm-4pm at Caroline Collective (4820 Caroline, Houston TX 77004). Bands are to bring the following: a tentative list of dates that you are available to play, a laptop (notify Matthew Wettergreen if you don’t have one), and a press kit (not possessing one isn’t a deal-breaker, as it can be constructed at the workshop). Bands will be given the following:a “mad-libs” style form e-mail to tailor to their band, a printout of venues for the city that corresponds to their block on the grid, and a to-do list for contacting venues to get a show at that venue. Also, in a shift from earlier editions of Bandcamp, there is a charge for this (and subsequent sessions): $5 per person or $8 per band.

Bandcamp: Booking Party looks to be an excellent resource for anyone and everyone in Houston who consistently struggles with developing a solid base of regional touring around Texas. There is no reason that Houston-area bands shouldn’t be making 3-day, weekend-long tours around the state on a regular basis. My recommended potential touring jaunts include: Tyler-Dallas/Fort Worth-Denton, Pasadena-Corpus Christi-San Antonio, Waco-Austin-San Antonio, and Abilene-Lubbock-Amarillo. That being said, just do yourself, your band, and your fans a favor and get out to Bandcamp at Caroline Collective this Sunday for a great opportunity to learn, connect, network, and have a good time.