Gondola Gossip

It's Déjà Vu All Over Again

Why does it seem like every time you head to the mountains the music is always the same. No matter Epic or Ikon or how many different resorts you visit it seems like the same guitar players, bluegrass or jam band is playing over and over. Same bands at different resorts… are they following you or is it just the band rotation routine? Most mountain venues are tiny and locally owned. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it's not. Being connected to the community year-round is key to successful communication and collaborations, but can also lead to focusing on what your friends and the locals want… and not on musical diversity and what the much larger destination audiences want too.

Do you expect to buy a ticket when it comes to seeing your favorite bands? Do you remember the last concert you bought tickets to go see? It might not have been at a local bar, but rather a stadium, festival or fair grounds. This is the music side of things. That means paying for music… buying a ticket or paying a cover charge. Most evening shows begin around 7pm and will conclude before midnight many cases. At the same time these shows often included an opening act in addition to the headliner. This helped new artists and music reach different audiences, while recognizing the fact that not many artists have the original catalogs to perform for 4 hours.

Most venues are in the Bar biz not the Music biz… otherwise they would sell tickets, charge a cover and always be mixing things up to keep the shows fresh. They would seek out all kinds of different artists and new music of all styles… not sit around and wait for bands to beg them to get a chance play on the cheap or for "exposure". In the music biz audiences pay to come see and hear music, and they sometimes drink and eat at a venue. These performances have a scheduled start and end times typically concluding before midnight local time. In the bar biz people are coming to drink and that means you are open as late as possible to sell as much as you can.

The bar biz often has a tip jar in front of the band or guitar player so the audience can help subsidize the performer if so inclined. This in some ways is an admission the venue does not value the entertainment as much as selling F&B and that's what many bars are all about... making money by moving product. In most instances audiences are going to apres ski on the weekends, powder days and holidays… the crowds are big and the venues are small. That means you could have an organ grinder and a monkey playing and the place will be packed. This is how some venues see it. They want to sell as much as they can during apres ski or happy hour, and remember music isn't the product they are selling.

This isn't supposed to be a once in a lifetime vacation. Ski Resorts are looking to sell you a season pass with experiences and a lifestyle over the once in a lifetime trip. Most resort visitors are season pass holders of one kind or another already. Although some will make little investment or effort when it comes to entertainment. It is not difficult to use the same local booking agent, find the same local guitar players and the same old jam bands over and over and over all winter… and then just assume that the audience is always changing or that because some locals like it everybody does. Right? Never mind all the season pass holders, regulars and staff who will eventually suffer from the fatigue too. If the venue boasts the same music every night then you know you can see that show anytime… no need to make any special plans for that.