I know, I haven't posted in a while. But we're back now and I do have some things for you.
Can you believe 95X has been around 11 years? We signed on the air on October 5, 1995. The first song played was the National Anthem, followed by "Tomorrow" by Silverchair. Since the station signed on, it has remained the same format, playing Modern Rock/New Rock/Alternative (whatever you want to call it). That's pretty amazing these days with radio stations changing formats every other day, it seems.
So, we have our
Birthday Bash coming up. Actually, we almost have TWO Birthday Bash concerts coming up. The first is a metal show with
Ill Nino, Godhead, Ra and
The Dreaming (former members of
Stabbing Westward). That show is Friday, Oct. 20 at Dos Amigos. Tix are $10/advance, $13/day of show and are available ONLY at Dos Amigos. It is all ages.
The second show is the
Burden Brothers. That concert date has changed a couple of times as they have had to reroute their tour. The Burden Brothers will be here Thursday, Oct. 26 at Dos Amigos.
The Feds, Faktion and
Members of the Board will open. Tickets are available now at Vision Audio in Midland and Endless Horizons and Dos Amigos in Odessa. You can charge online at frontgatetickets.com or call 888-512-SHOW.
While we're on the subject of concerts, I've had some good questions that come up from time to time about shows.
FAQ:Why do concerts only get scheduled in Odessa?Well there are some that get scheduled for Midland but most do go into Odessa. The biggest reason is venues. There are more viable venues in Odessa for concert promoters to schedule shows into. Remember, they have to rent them, so a lot of it has to do with cost.
Also, historically, concerts tend to do better when they are placed in Odessa. I don't know all the reasons for that one. But those are just the facts. Again, dollars is going to be the biggest reason for anything.
Why do concerts only seem to get scheduled at bars?
A lot of people don't like to go to bars, so that's a good question. Again, it's about the dollars...how much it costs to rent a venue and where is a place people will most likely go? The Ector Co. Coliseum is obviously going to be pricy...and that's a lot of seats to fill, so only the biggest of the biggest bands are going to get booked there. The barns at the Coliseum are available but sometimes those are already booked. There are only a few that have the facilities needed for a concert. And lets face it, the acoustics in a tin building with a cement floor aren't going to be the best.
In Midland the Chap center is an option but you're competing with lots of events and there's again the cost factor. The new Horseshoe Arena might be another option but so far, we haven't seen that many rock shows put into the Horseshoe.
Why are concerts scheduled during the week when it's hard to go?
That's a popular question and the answer has to do with routing and scheduling bands. If bands only played on weekends, what happens during the week? The band, managers and support crew still have to get paid. Obviously, when a band is put out on the road, they have to play night after night after night to (hopefully) ensure the tour makes money...or at least breaks even. Remember, they have gas, food and hotel expenses too...just like you do when you travel.
So when they are planning the tour routes, it only makes sense that some shows will land in some cities on weekends, others on weekdays.
Why can't we get huge bands like Metallica, Rolling Stones, Linkin Park to play here?It's a good question but it's almost like saying "why can't we get the New York Yankees to play at Citibank Ballpark" or "why can't the Dallas Cowboys play at Ratliff." Those bands charge ungodly sums of money to play a concert. People have complained about $20 ticket prices. Do you know what the ticket price would be for Metallica? A hell of a lot more than the price would be in Dallas. Why? Because we don't have an arena nearly big enough for them to play. The fewer the seats, the higher the ticket price would have to be for a show like that to come near breaking even.
What time will the show end?The quick and smart aleck answer is "it ends when it ends." It depends on how long it takes for set changes between bands. It might depend on if a certain band was late due to transportation problems or other reasons. It might depend on how a band feels on a certain night. If the singer's nursing a cold, the set will probably be shorter than normal. There's just too many variables to say for certain, exactly what time a show will end.
That's a good question because a lot of people either have to go to work the next morning or maybe they have to hire a baby sitter and need to know how late they'll be out. A good guideline is to plan on the show ending between 11:30 and Midnight.
Why aren't there more ticket outlets?
The promoters have to pay to have their tickets sold at outlets. More outlets, more cost. Also, more outlets means more headache because they have to pick up money and any leftover tickets the day of the show.
Why don't all shows have the same brick and mortar and online outlets?Different promoters bring in shows and they all have their own methods.
Do you have tickets to give away?
Probably. But the closer the show, the fewer the tickets. By the date of the show, generally, all tickets have been given away. Why? Because you have to come to the station and pick them up. We want you to have as many days as possible to get to the station and pick up tickets you've won. So we take our allotment and try to give them all away by the time it's a day or two before the show.
Can I bring a camera?Again, probably but every band has their own views on that. So some shows the answer may be no. We try to find out ahead of time but that's not always possible.
Can I take a movie camera/recording device?
No.
Can I bring my kids?Most of the shows are all ages, so yes.
Why are the shows all ages?Because they want to sell as many tickets as possible. If you cut it off at 21 or 18, the promoters would be losing a lot of dollars. It might not be profitable to bring in some bands if minors were excluded. Even though a lot of concerts here are at bars, remember in larger cities, most concerts do not have an age restriction. So it's not realistic to think shows here would have an age restriction.
I heard [band] cancelled. Is that true?Rumors always surround shows. Sometimes shows do get cancelled but most of the time, the answer is no. Always call the venue or the radio station to confirm something that "a friend's sister's boyfriend's cousin" may have told you.
