RockScotland

crazy_train wrote:
The Nazareth gig demonstrated that Zico's can be filled under the right circumstances and the management at Zico's really need to invest a bit of time and money and bring in a rock DJ and a local promoter with the specialist knowledge to make the place work as a live venue.

As a more immediate measure Zico's should look at getting rid of the clumsy website and look at getting the actual gig infornation into a more readily accessible format.

crazy_train

The post by Chic McSherry from La Paz in the Gig Guide section of the forum highlights this and other problems!

What chance has anyone got of seeing any half-decent rock bands when the bands themselves only let people know about their gigs 3 days before the gig?

I would certainly have made the effort to come through from Cumbernauld if I had known about this and I'm sure quite a few others would have been up for this as well (if only to hear how many times Doogie White reminds everyone that he was in Rainbow for a few months 10 years ago)!

Unfortunately I've now made other plans which I'm not going to change to hear La Paz play a covers only set! Things must be tough if Doogie White has to travel up from London to play some covers? Though, I suppose he did that with Chris Glen as well - though that wasn't too successful either with the later Oran Mor gigs being cancelled due to lack of interest and the very low attendance at the second gig!

As for Zico's, yet again no advertising, no mention on their website - it'll certainly be interesting to see how people turn out?

Will Wishy surprise us and we see a full house? I very much doubt it and to be fair, neither the band nor Zico's deserve it for their complete lack of effort!

lanky

lanky wrote:As for Zico's, yet again no advertising, no mention on their website - it'll certainly be interesting to see how people turn out?

Will Wishy surprise us and we see a full house? I very much doubt it and to be fair, neither the band nor Zico's deserve it for their complete lack of effort!

While certainly not a full house, it was definately the busiest I've seen it apart from the Nazareth gig. Probably around 150 there although it got busier later on when the young neds and nedettes were waiting for the "disco"!

Everyone was talking about the lack of publicity for the gig and most people there were through word of mouth. There was apparently also a small advertisement in the Wishaw Press (local rag) but I certainly never saw that.

lanky wrote:I would certainly have made the effort to come through from Cumbernauld if I had known about this and I'm sure quite a few others would have been up for this as well (if only to hear how many times Doogie White reminds everyone that he was in Rainbow for a few months 10 years ago)!

You wouldn't have been disappointed then, as he cringingly mentioned Rainbow constantly, even to the extent of forced irrelevant anecdotes about Blackmore not playing the "songs that I wrote". I could be wrong but didn't he just come up with some lyrics for the "filler" tracks on one album?

Still, it was advertised as a "Tribute to Deep Purple and Rainbow" and that what they provided. Possibly the gig was only let down by the terrible mix and the almost completely inaudible guitar.

It does show however, that it is possible to put on a decent rock show in Zico's!

fergy

big_fergy wrote:Everyone was talking about the lack of publicity for the gig and most people there were through word of mouth. There was apparently also a small advertisement in the Wishaw Press (local rag) but I certainly never saw that.

I think the majority of people were there from notifications in the relevant Deep Purple and Rainbow online sources as I certainly didn't see many old "La Paz" followers there. Possibly around a dozen old "faces" from the Heathery days. I never saw the gig advertised anywhere either and only found out by chance at the last minute.

I think the bulk of the crowd were there more for the Purple / Rainbow connection and to see Doogie White because of that. I don't think too many were aware of the existence of La Paz or had ever seen them before.

Bit of a shame because La Paz played a blinder - especially Chic McSherry who was excellent. I have to agree that the sound was appalling, with the guitar being inaudible for most of the gig. Again, at least Chic seems to have taken notice of the various comments and is advertising for a "soundman" in this forum.

I'm certainly looking forward to the next round of La Paz gis in June when they'll feature original material. Hopefully, they'll get the support that they deserve.

Shame that the EK gig on the 20th June clashes with the Chasar gig in Zico's although I can't see many locals travelling to EK when most can't be bothered even turning up at Zico's to support rock music.

While I also agree with a lot of the stuff written in this thread, Zico's are at least trying - but it's down to the locals to support the venue. There's no point moaning that there's no gigs when you don't make the effort to turn out. You've got to show support by going to all the gigs, not just the one's that you think are "cool" or the one's that your pals are going to. GO TO THEM ALL!

Billy Mac

billymac wrote:While I also agree with a lot of the stuff written in this thread, Zico's are at least trying - but it's down to the locals to support the venue. There's no point moaning that there's no gigs when you don't make the effort to turn out. You've got to show support by going to all the gigs, not just the one's that you think are "cool" or the one's that your pals are going to. GO TO THEM ALL!

Well said Billy! I agree wholeheartedly with the above!

Sadly, it's the Lanarkshire way though, to moan about nothing happening and then when something does happen not making the effort!

Zico's has had a lot of criticism (a lot of it admittedly deserved) but at least they are trying and I can see their point of not trying any harder when the response has been very limited to say the least. I personally think that the venue could still work! The main problem is publicity however as a lot of the old local rock crowd have lost touch with what's going on in the Scottish music scene and don't make any effort to keep up.

In the 80's they had it all on a plate in Wishaw with regular Saturday nights in the Heathery, Saturday afternoons and Thursday nights in the Crown and even a few regular gigs in the old Stag Hotel. Certainly a lot of the people I knew back in those days never even went to any gigs outside Wishaw! I have no idea how you could possibly get the information out to these people? Certainly a tiny ad in the back of the Wishaw Press isn't going to be seen by many.

I suppose it all comes down to money and probably some sort of billboard on a main road (possibly near Heathery roundabout) might help - similar to the one at the bottom of Hamilton Road used for Motherwell Civic. Probably costly though and it might take a while to pay for itself? There has been sporadic advertising on Rock Radio as well but only for certain gigs.

Obviously, a compromise has to be made somewhere along the line and Zico's must also realise that shoving a Dance DJ on immediately after the bands to cater for the underagers who flood in isn't helping? Why not try a proper Rock Night? Keep the Saturday for the 16 year olds to dance to the computer generated rubbish and dedicate a Thursday or Friday night to Rock music - with a proper Rock DJ (possibly from Rock Radio) and a couple of decent bands.

No Dice aside, none of the covers bands have made any impression and attendances for original bands (and possibly decent tribute acts) has been lukewarm except for the Nazareth gig and the La Paz gig. Although as has been pointed out previously, the people at the La Paz gig were mostly from "out of town" and the majority had never heard of La Paz (or the Heathery) being there for the promised Deep Purple and Rainbow tribute featuring an ex-Rainbow vocalist.

The Chasar gig will be a good measure to see how the attendance goes with no "big band" connections to attract punters. Although again, there will probably be a high percentage of "out of towners" in those attending, as the band used to have a decent following in their home area of Alloa.

Certainly the first step for Zico's has to be not chasing everyone away after the bands and trying to generate a bit of a local "scene" where people can hang around and discuss the band and listen to some (possibly even have a wee dance) rock music.

Surely the 15 and 16 year olds who flood the place on a Saturday night after the band can't be making much of an impression on profits?

I really want to see somewhere in Lanarkshire that can keep a regular like-minded crowd!

rockchick

rockchick wrote:Although as has been pointed out previously, the people at the La Paz gig were mostly from "out of town" and the majority had never heard of La Paz (or the Heathery) being there for the promised Deep Purple and Rainbow tribute featuring an ex-Rainbow vocalist.

Sadly, a "sign of the times" as all these tribute acts are generally a safe bet for any venue and don't require much work on the part of the promoter.

Original acts are just too much trouble (in terms of the work involved in promoting adequately) and punters won't take a chance on an unknown quantity.

brazzer

rockchick wrote:The Chasar gig will be a good measure to see how the attendance goes with no "big band" connections to attract punters. Although again, there will probably be a high percentage of "out of towners" in those attending, as the band used to have a decent following in their home area of Alloa.

Now that Chasar are playing their debut gig in Alloa rather than Wishaw will sadly mean that the majority of Alloa punters won't make the effort to travel all the way through to Wishy!

Hopefully I'm wrong although previous attendance at Zico's has been a bit dissapointing!

coonto

coonto wrote:previous attendance at Zico's has been a bit dissapointing!

And the "Understatement Of The Year" Award goes to..........

rb