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Featured Replies

3 hours ago, Nuge said:

She's gorgeous, for sure.  Super nice and approachable, too.  We still chat.  She's from Vancouver BC but has family in the area - so she stayed with them sadly. 

You should set up the concert so that they are streamable on Surly in the music forum and advertise the date in advance. 

At $9.95, when you get 50 of us to agree to pay for the concert to support live music you have close to $500 more bucks to give them. 

Do you have any female flutists from Band Camp giving concerts?   We can move it to the pee in the butt forum and charge real money!

6 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

You should set up the concert so that they are streamable on Surly in the music forum and advertise the date in advance. 

At $9.95, when you get 50 of us to agree to pay for the concert to support live music you have close to $500 more bucks to give them. 

I'd be totally down for that.  Count me in.

  • 4 weeks later...
  • Author

Loch Lomond will take the stage Saturday night. I'm really excited to see them play. Hopefully the backyard is full so they can make some money.

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Edited by Nuge

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Author

My last show of the season is this Saturday 9/7.
Echo Onda is a Portland band fronted by Jacque Fitzgerald with several members of popular indie band Ages & Ages backing her. Looking forward to her new material and the full band.
Dark Reflector is taking the stage after sundown to herald in the night with goth darkwave electronic music.
Should make for a very cool show.

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Edited by Nuge

Well, count me impressed by this project.  Just followed on Facebook.

This is all so cool. There’s a place in my town that does this too, and you can see from the pics they get a good turnout:

Matildas Music Under the Pines

https://g.co/kgs/uSpn5xS

  • Author
4 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

This is all so cool. There’s a place in my town that does this too, and you can see from the pics they get a good turnout:

Matildas Music Under the Pines

https://g.co/kgs/uSpn5xS

That looks awesome.  Love that stage under the trees.  Mine is a work in progress and I love seeing all of these other venues.  It inspires me.

  • Author

Dark Reflector


4 hours ago, Nuge said:

That looks awesome.  Love that stage under the trees.  Mine is a work in progress and I love seeing all of these other venues.  It inspires me.

It was closer to “downtown” and got squeezed out by developers. I was glad when they found a place to land. 

  • 6 months later...
  • Author

Got my first booking for the summer series.

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So what does one have to do to get an invite to play

  • Popular Post
4 minutes ago, G650 said:

So what does one have to do to get an invite to play

 

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  • Author
1 hour ago, G650 said:

So what does one have to do to get an invite to play

It would help if you have music on spotify, etc.  Do you play?

3 minutes ago, Nuge said:

It would help if you have music on spotify, etc.  Do you play?

I was mostly kidding but yes. Hope to have a new EP out by summer

  • Author
3 minutes ago, G650 said:

I was mostly kidding but yes. Hope to have a new EP out by summer

Awesome!  

2 hours ago, Nuge said:

Got my first booking for the summer series.

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SXSNuge

Man I just love this thread.  So cool. You go on with your bad self, Nuge.

Need a middle-aged dad band that has never toured and doesn't have a drummer?

  • Author
Need a middle-aged dad band that has never toured and doesn't have a drummer?
If only you knew a drummer...
2 minutes ago, Nuge said:
On 3/28/2025 at 7:26 AM, jimmyjazz said:
Need a middle-aged dad band that has never toured and doesn't have a drummer?

If only you knew a drummer...

Clarification:  a drummer who is interested in playing with us

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Clarification:  a drummer who is interested in playing with us

Are you mocking the versatility of the Impreza? I'll be over there next Saturday if y'all are up for it up.

An Impreza is definitely a trump card, difficult to downplay.  Would it make it over the Rockies?

  • Author

These folks are playing on August 2nd.  If any of you miscreants are in the Portland area this summer come on over to my place for a show.

  • Author

Branson Anderson will be stopping by the backyard on July 19th. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Author

Johnny Franco will make his triumphant return to the backyard on Saturday 6/14

 

 

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  • Author

Or do you like the Simpsons version better?

 

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Edited by Nuge

  • 1 month later...
  • Author

The first date is coming up fast and I'm getting pretty excited.

Setting up the yard/ house and barage is fun.  The anxious part is trying to wrangle people in the door. 

I post stuff on fb & instagram, text people individually, and put up the posters I create but I never know who or how many people are actually going to show up - that is the stress inducing part. 

I want a good crowd for the musician's ego and bank account.  My ego too, if I'm being honest.

  • Author

My second show of the summer will be Branson Anderson on July 19th.

I discovered his stuff in 2023 when I first built the stage.  He was just starting out but I could see he was very talented.  He put on a great show at my house and has gone on to bigger and better things.  I was really happy when he reached out a couple of months ago to see if he could play again.  Yes, please!

 

 

Edited by Nuge

  • Author

Here's the show poster I made for him.

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Edited by Nuge

  • Author

Also, if any of you muledicks happen to find yourself in the Portland area reach out and come to a show. I'll make you a margarita.

would you get twice the number of people if the cover was $10? $20 is kind of steep for a backyard concert. i go to a lot of concerts and i'm not sure i'd pay $20 to sit in someone's backyard...but i'm assuming the turnout is mostly people who live in the neighborhood and not folks who are coming for a specific artist. in that case $20 is probably the way to go. 

  • Author

It's more of a suggested donation. I had people coming out last year and paying $20 for 5 people or not at all. And these were friends. So I'm putting out an expectation of payment for the artists.

18 hours ago, Nuge said:

It's more of a suggested donation

The neighbors...

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  • Author

My immediate neighbor knows that he doesn't have to pay but he usually drops a little something in the tip jar.  In actuality, some of the other neighbors have gatherings in their backyard and listen to the music from there.  Usually, someone will show up with a little cash and then head back over to their party.  I appreciate the gesture but wished they would just gather at my house and fill the backyard.

I think $20 per is on target.  I don't know how much money you collect per show, but if these are touring acts then hotels and gas can add up quickly.  I'd pay that for sure.

A lot of people seem to assume music is just this awesome free thing

2 hours ago, tbone_ said:

A lot of people seem to assume music is just this awesome free thing

Well, you see it's "exposure".

  • Author

$20 is basically one cocktail or two beers + tip at a venue.  My drinks are much better priced - byob. 

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Author

Had my first show of the year on Saturday the 14th.  It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride.  I had been reaching out to the manager of the artist, Johnny Franco, all week with no response - just crickets.  I sent a message to Johnny via instagram on Friday night looking for affirmation.  Said a prayer and went to bed without a peep from either. 

When I woke up there was a DM from Johnny to call him with his #.  I sent him a text to call me when he woke up.  I assumed he would be sleeping in due to performing the night before and being a musician in general.  The phone rang immediately.  "Nuge, I have some bad news and some ok news for you."  Uh oh.  "I'm at the airport getting ready to board a flight to NYC.  Gabriel (the manager) never put your gig on my calendar and I can't get in touch with him."  I mentioned that I had been trying all week to contact Gabriel as well.  I could hear the frustration in Johnny's voice.  "Nuge, you know I would never do this.  That's not how I do business.  When I got your message last night I was very upset.  I checked to see if I could change my flight but it was going to cost $1000 and I can't do that.  So I called around I found someone to play for you.  She's the best in Portland in my opinion.  She'll be great on your stage.  Her name is Maeve Stier."  I asked him to send me her contact info and I would reach out to her.  This is 7am Saturday morning.

I sent a text to Maeve to call when she's available and the phone rang shortly after.  We chatted.  I told her about the space, the expected audience, and the pay.  She was in.  She was playing two other gigs that day and could arrive around 7pm.  "Great, see you at 7.  I'll save some food for you."

I did some internet research and found out that she is a Portland based multidisciplinary performance artist that performs on Broadway.  She's involved in a renegade opera troup that randomly performs in area parks and botanical gardens.  She plays the gypsy jazz on her accordion.  Interesting, to be sure, but is it right for my backyard?  Will the folks coming for Johnny be interested in such a departure from their expectations?  So I did what my gf labelled as the most Capricorn thing ever and contacted all of the people I knew that were possibly coming and let them know.  I didn't want any hard feelings due to the ol' bait-n-switch.  One interesting thing I discovered is the girls that were leaning towards not coming having seen Johnny before all changed their minds and showed up.  A bunch of guys decided that they couldn't make it.  C'est la vie.

Maeve was a revelation.  I am still in awe.  She is a legit Broadway performer and proved it.  Wow.  Any doubt was wiped away within the first few notes.  Amazing voice and skill on the accordion.  I heard from a good portion of the audience that this was a very serendipitous occurrence.  As fun as Johnny and Dom are this was something extraordinary.  She gained a bunch of new fans and the line starts behind me.

 

 

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That's so cool.  I love hearing stories like that.  Artists have real lives and sometimes things just don't go right.

That story is cool but I’m probably most impressed by three gigs in one day.

  • Author
That story is cool but I’m probably most impressed by three gigs in one day.
She had 3 gigs on Sunday as well. Two of them with her renegade Opera outfit. Dressed up in costume and hosting tours through a botanical garden. Then Sunday night playing at a local bar in Portland. Got to pay the bills.

Yes sorry I didn’t mean that she was willing to play that many. I meant that she was able to get that many - I’m envious.

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