A CBGB’s in Kuwait? Musician’s club it is!
Ahmad Al-Hamily and I have been thinking. After the awesome interview we had with the man himself, Monte Melnick, and his confirmation of what we’ve always wanted- i.e a musicians club in Kuwait, how realistic does it sound? We are currently working on a Kuwait Music union which has the music club as one of its objectives- and we should be getting there very fast, but for the sake of argument- what would be realistically needed to build a “live music club” so to speak?
Lets look at the areas we need to address:
- We would need a sustainable and reliable location to be able to conduct live performances and sessions on a regular basis.
- We would need to maintain some sort of governance from committed members who are willing to put in the time and effort to create schedules, plan, filter and organize meet ups.
- What kind of music would be played? Keep it open or restrict it to specific genres for the upkeep and sake of the club?
- Do we keep it non-commercial? If so how and who bares cost of logistics ? (equipment, rent, in-house munchies etc..)
- How do we go about launching the first event? Invite only, or special broadcast to interested bands?
These are some issues we can think of. Please do share if you have ideas.
About the Author
Caesar (Kuwait Music) Caesar is the Founder and CEO of Kuwait Music. A passionate musician and web nerd, Caesar spends most of his time thinking about how to build a healthy music business in the region Follow Caesar at the below links: Google+
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This means, we can have a place were musician can permenantly perform?
Man, that will be like a dream come true. Let me go find my beret and bongo.
As for how it should be come out, I have no idea.
Thats right Farisky!
Caesar and Ahmad thinking together…now there’s a dangerous combination!!!! For this to have any chance of success, you have to cover the legal aspect first – what we would need is a very generous Kuwaiti who would donate/lend a large villa with grounds, and get corporate sponsors to provide permanent equipment setup – a sound system, some basic lights, stage, soundproofing, seating ( a very large basement would be ideal!).
Second, in order to be able to perform, membership has to be restricted. You can never get a license to play at a venue where anyone from general public can enter. So, perhaps membership should be restricted to members of the KMU (Kuwait Musicians Union) to perform, and to the members of the KMUC (Kuwait Musicians Union Club) to attend shows. If we can get this far, this idea might have a chance of succeeding.
You touched on 2 of the most important points- finding a Kuwaiti with some clout to be able to host this at his large basement, and 2 restrict membership to the (Kuwait Music Union) to performers. Its a good start.
Now for some action, lol.
Yup…start begging!
hahah- who begs is now the question!
Farisky, are you a percussionist (bongo?) ?
I was referencing to the Beatnik culture.
They have their own clubs to perform their poetry and other musical or artistic endeavor.
This will be a tricky one execute. We need a gathering on this one.
Oh yeah a close study of clubs abroad and what is compatible with Kuwaiti regulation is also something to think about.
Clubs abroad don’t have our issues, so this will require an original, localised approach. It might be possible to finance this through membership and/or gig fees, but we would still need a spnosor with some clout and willingness to ‘stick his neck’ out
Of course experience from abroad is vital. Like there are goals to be met by the creating a club. Historically CBGBs, though a small club, provided everybody with auditions no matter what their abilities were and thus creating grounds for many to truly express their ideas and music.
However, that’s their experience and we should take what worked for them.
To think of it , the matter here is to get approval from the authories which is a tricky thing to do. It’s not about emulating its about learning and adapting.
That’s the key Dejan – finding a sponsor willing to stick his head out .
A sponsor should be willing to do this out of pure passion not only the money.
One thing that doesn’t bode well for this and other initiatives…it’s the same 4-5 people responding, our of what…40+ bands in Kuwait? Maybe that is the biggest problem here – if musicians are not interested to participate, why should anyone else??? They are very good at bitching, whinging and complaining though….
Oh My goodness, Dejan- THANK YOU.
You have no idea how much Ive wanted to say that and what we at Kuwait Music have been dealing with for so long. Thanks for echoing our feelings. Therein lies the problem, not the scene, but with the band themselves. What’s even worse is that we know for a fact that so many of these “so called bands” see our posts and activity on a regular basis, but nobody cares to participate, comment, give feedback or just engage in community. As you said, bitching is easy. Taking action is not.
Also, what is even sadder is that you know for sure that all of these bands are active and well on Facebook, twitter and their own online presences to care about the greater cause of participating on Kuwait Music.
I dont buy the whole “Its Ramadan and timings are all messed up so people arent so busy online”… when in fact it is technically proven fact that Ramadan actually has the highest engagement rates online.
As you said, a whole lotta likes, but no feedback. Its a lonely battle we are fighting.a
Yep, couldn’t agree more.
Thinking of ‘incentives’ for these wayward, lazy bums…errr…musicians, maybe we should organize some gigs, and invite only those musicians that participate in KM…just a (nasty) thought…Don’t know about Ali and Avant Garde Productions’ plans for the next season, but I am actually crazy enough to do it myself…maybe!
LOL
Damn, that is actually a brilliant idea- You have our full support!
Speaking of which Dejan, not to worry- we are cooking something big in the pot with a huge company here in Kuwait
Nation wide project- details will be revealed right after eid- should get these local musicians worked up and back up on the site!
Oh my..an off-the-cuff comment borne out of sheer frustration sparked what.. 40+ posts! I guess that’s a good thing, as I would love it if Musicians Union and Club become a reality, so whatever it takes!
A “Kuwait music union” is being worked on Dejan – right after eid we should have selections done and then the meetup to discuss goals
And thanks got the comment Dejan – you facilitated something I’ve been wanting to say since July 2011 .
In the context of Kuwait music that is
You are welcome…trust me to shoot my big mouth….
this idea has lot of potential. This could change a lot of things very fast.
Great going Caesar and Ahmed.