[Dixielandjazz] Networking (The music is not enough)

[Stephen G Barbone]

Just returned from a morning meeting of the Greater Brandywine  
Cultural Association (GBCA) held at the Brandywine Museum in Chadds  
Ford. Joined it a few months ago and made many valuable contacts. It  
is a relatively local organization that promotes cultural events and  
networking, near my home base. Some members are well funded arts/music  
foundations which seek to present the very cultural music that we call  
OKOM.

http://www.brandywineculture.org/

Today's presentation was by WHYY TV/Radio, the leading media provider  
and PBS/NPR affiliate in the Greater Philadelphia region.
They deliver arts and cultural programming on TV, radio, the web and  
through community events. Today I discovered that they seek  
information on arts and cultural events including . . . JAZZ and OKOM.  
And much of these are FREE to the public while the band is paid. In  
Woody Allen's words, 80 percent of success in life is just showing up.  
( we appeared on WHYY TV 2 years ago for the Clifford Brown Jazz  
Festival and got quite a few gigs as the result)

http://www.whyy.org/

Also, last Sunday I attended a focus group at The Kimmel Center in  
Philly (Our version of Lincoln Center). The Kimmel is a Regional  
Performing Arts Center, they seek to expand their outreach to regional  
events including LOCAL JAZZ Music performances in their public space.

Bottom Line? For OKOM bands like ours which seek local performances,  
these resources with their calendars and performance spaces are and  
incredible source of gigs and/or gig listings.

  I think many cities/counties and towns in the USA have similar  
organizations. For example Philadelphia has http://www.philaculture.org/

With a little digging, it may be possible for many of us to join such  
groups and receive the benefits of this kind of networking. Over the  
past few years Barbone Street has benefitted greatly. Through exposure  
on Network TV,  PBS TV, Local radio,PBS radio, member website  
listings, newspapers, magazines etc. In effect, we are acting like the  
advance men of earlier times who preceded Louis Armstrong and put up  
posters. Only we're doing it in the modern media. My cost so far was  
$50 to join GBCA and gas money/ parking to attend the Kimmel Center  
focus group. I expect the return will be far greater.

Band leaders who can spare the time may well find similar resources  
for local gigs in their areas. For example, in Saint Louis check out http://gatewayarts.net/groups.asp

Cheers,
Steve Barbone