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Looper's Delight
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Greg, I'm not familiar with your music yet, but...
Back in my street music days, I did a lot better in the good ol' US of A than in Europe. I also played festivals/theatres with a multi-ethnic dance troupe in Germany - it went well but I believe we were best recieved in the States.
Of course there is no 21 drinking age in Europe so the club scene doesn't suffer like it does here.
I get the sense that Techno is huge in Europe, and while the same is probably true in San Fran, here in the heartland, people still want to hear "real" music played by humans. It depends on what you are doing...
For grants you could check into your state's arts council...but ultimately, I think you want popular support for your music...perhaps, re-think and work on your marketing and/or product!
I've always had the belief that you need to conquer home first before you go off...I've seen too many people leave little Madison, WI bitching about the (actually pretty good) music scene here to become rock stars in say, Seattle or Austin - before they had built up a solid fan base here - only to come back with their tails between their legs and start over.
On the other hand, if there is a scene that you want to collaborate with or immerse yourself in for artistic or spiritual growth, or you have a gig waiting...well, that's a great reason to go...I'm working to set up some stuff in Israel soon...there is some pretty amazing music coming out of that tiny little country packed full of immigrants from a hundred different countries. Jamming with international cats in Mexico on the beach was one of the most amazing experiences...
Finally, at the risk of offending my good European brothers and Sisters out there, while I met some great folks, I found the overall vibe to be a little more snooty and the US to be more down home/relaxed (could it have been the American flag I had hanging from my as*?)....On the other hand, that may bode well for experimental music. Snooty people tend to pretend to enjoy and understand that sort of thing...Otherwise you are only playing for the other musicians who really do enjoy and understand it...
Hope this is helpful
Bradley
Greg Kucharo <telecaster@mac.com> wrote:
I've noticed lately, that allot of my favorite musicians have been
spending more time touring Europe and seemingly less time in the States.
Maybe it's just perception, but is the live music scene and music
appreciation just better in Europe?
From what I gather, the Europeans appear to be a bit more adventurous
in the music they listen to. Also, the civic support for musical events
seems to be better and more varied than in the U.S.
This is not to say that there isn't support for interesting and
experimental music in the U.S....
Perhaps in Europe the support is wider and more lucrative?
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Greg Kucharo-
mutantaudio.com
"Evil never dies, but copyrights expire"
-Firesign Theatre