house concerts and 21st century touring

I’m thrilled to have a guest article from one of our hosts, Denise Williams, of Hillbilly Haiku.

~Music from the heart, not for the charts~

I was looking at my mailing list and wondering why in a year’s time of presenting house concerts, relatively few have come to one of our shows. Another host commented that he’d recently had a friend confess he really wasn’t sure what a house concert was all about. I could understand that because I still remember my initial impression when our friends in Texas told us they hosted house concerts.

Back then, I figured that Billy Bob (not a real artist) from down the block came over with his family band and they did a repertoire of familiar cover songs in a somewhat boozy sing-along type affair. Karaoke at home, for all intents and purposes.

I had also run across a mention of a Living Room Concert on Janis Ian’s website. For $14,999 Janis would do a show in your living room for up to 40 people, with a rather long list of guidelines and limits. The money went to Janis’s charity. In my ignorance I assumed anyone I’d really care to hear would charge quite handsomely for playing somewhere as small as a private home.

Then in 2006 we took our first trip to Texas and visited our friends who were hosting house concerts. That evening, Canadian singer songwriter Romi Mayes, accompanied on dobro by Dan Walsh, presented her original songs and they were GOOD. And she was funny - she actually told stories about her life and how the songs came about. And Dan played great!

We were hearing live acoustic music, good music!?, in someone’s living room. I was blindsided - I had no notion whatsoever that I could so enjoy a house concert by artists I’d never heard of. When the evening was over, we got to speak with the artists, we ate from the potluck and had a beer with them, they signed their CDs for us, we took photos together, we exchanged email information. In the back of my mind I was already trying to figure out how I could have this experience again.

Upon returning home, I started doing research on house concerts. When I found www.concertsinyourhome.com, I realized house concerts were a legitimate and growing phenomenon. It took a year to screw our courage up and begin presenting, but now a year later I can’t help wanting to let the world in our secret.

For music lovers, house concerts are nirvana! In a club environment, you are fighting the bar noise, the talkers at the next table, the pool table racket, the waitresses trying to take orders, etc, etc. Even at concert venues like the Ryman, I have been driven within an eyelash of physical violence when some nearby inebriated dullard insists on shouting over the music I’m trying to enjoy.

At a house concert everyone is listening, and you’d be amazed at how much these artists will share when folks are actually listening! Our evenings start earlier and end at a reasonable hour for those who appreciate that. And there is a shared social interaction that occurs between music fans when they gather and share a potluck spread, talk about their favorite music, exchange recipes, share upcoming anticipated concerts, that is so natural and sustaining. I’d even say magical. Music has that power!

But by far, the biggest surprise of house concerts for me, is the quality of musicians who will play in someone’s living room for a nominal $15- $20 per person and an appreciative, attentive audience. From artists that I revere and admire and have followed for years, to artists I may have only recently discovered but whose music is SO much better than what I find on contemporary commercial radio or TV. Artists who make music because it’s in them and has to come out, not the sort of Nashville Music Row writing-to-a-formula-for-hits type music that leaves me empty at best and often disgusted

The living room is a viable music venue… Before it was a commercial commodity or an advertising support medium, music was a communicative channel, connecting kindred souls, reaching out to new opportunities, and calming the savage beast, so to speak. Small, intimate gatherings honor and celebrate those functions.
–Bill Littleton, songwriter

You’ll thoroughly enjoy the music we present, or the evening is on us. What have you got to lose? We’ll even introduce ya to Spartacus Hamlin, that crazy biker/Luthier dude. See our upcoming concerts on the Tennessee page. — Denise

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Ned Treanor is a folk historian, with more memories than you’d expect from someone who was part of the Woodstock generation. Maybe the haze only filtered out the boring events.

I was compelled to share his recent enlightening and funny emails to me in what I hope will become a monthly series.

You want credentials? Shawn Colvin used to baby-sit his kids. Take it away, Ned

Fran-

Here’s hoping that everything’s going well in your neck of the woods. Here’s another “flash-back” that may interest your readers.

For the very first Earth Day, in 1970, Pete Seeger had gotten Lola & Robert Redford to be his co-chairpersons for the celebration to be held at Battery Park in Manhattan. He then commissioned an orchestral piece to commemorate the event. The piece was to be played in a way that would feature Pete’s environmental workboat, the “Clearwater.” The ship, which Pete had built in 1969, was a replica of the ferry sloops that had populated the Hudson River during the previous century, carrying cargo between Albany and the Port of New York.

The scenario was such that 1/3 of the orchestra would be located at the United Nations Plaza, another third would be on Roosevelt Island in the middle of the river and the final third would be on board the passing ship! As soon as all three sections were within range of each other, they were to make musical history by performing this piece, despite the logistical nightmare that it presented.

Oh yeah… there was one more “wrinkle” in the plan - Mother Nature!! No one had checked the weather report for the “big day,” so as the good ship “Clearwater” sailed south toward orchestral “history”, the heavens opened with a torrential downpour that had Manhattan at a near standstill. All of the dignitaries that Pete Seeger & the Redfords had assembled, as well as an army of musicians and craftspeople were all scattering for “cover,” to protect their instruments & wares.

However, at the height of this deluge, the rain abruptly stopped... the sun came out… and the “Clearwater” reached the point at which “musical history” was to be made. The three sections flawlessly performed their historical work… and practically as the last notes of the symphony were played, the storm resumed for the balance of the day, making for a flock of soggy, dis-spiritred craftspeople, musicians & politicians.

Mother Nature ruled. On Earth Day, no less. Anyhoo. Best wishes.

-Ned

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I regularly get emails from hosts regarding whether or not they should sign contracts. These things tend to show up when you book an artist that is represented by an agent. Agents rarely take the time to write a different contract for house concerts. Therefore, there are some ridiculously inappropriate expectations in artist contracts that often throw house concert hosts for a loop.

Most often, the host winds up crossing out half the things in the contract, and the artist is completely agreeable to it. Keep these in mind when you get your first (or your next) contract.

Hosts:

• should never sign anything that makes them uncomfortable
• should never agree to something they “hope” can make happen
• should only agree to a “guarantee” they can cover without missing a car payment

Are contracts evil? Are they even enforceable? Will I get sued? (no.maybe. probably not.)

For all the reasons to avoid contracts when possible, they do serve a very important purpose: they help clarify the expectations of each side, and they can help avoid unpleasant surprises.

Picture this: you are an artist, counting on the free guest room after the house concert, and terribly allergic to cats. The host forgets to mention he has two Himalayans, and that your bed is where they like to nest on sunny afternoons.

House concerts are a personal experience, and these events can cross a lot of territory that wouldn’t ordinarily happen with a traditional venue. If you have 5 roosters in the backyard that start crowing at 4:30am - you’ll want to bring that up, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a reliable tool to remind you.

In this spirit, I think it would actually be very helpful for every host to have a sample agreement of their own, one especially geared to their expectations and needs. It’s not necessary to require signatures, but why not have a simple email like this ready to go when you book an artist for a house concert

The house concert contract… does not exist.
However, if it did, it might look something like this:

Artist Name: ______
Artist’s Representative (if any)_____________
Host Name:______

Both parties, artist and host, make this agreement in order to create a fantastic, fun time, and to make sure they are aware of their responsibilities to make that happen.

________ is the date the house concert will take place
________ is the time the show will start
between ______ and _______ is the time the artist should arrive
the artist will perform ____ minutes, take a break, and then play ____ minutes more - give or take a few.

Artist (initial all that apply)
__ will show up on time, sober, friendly, and ready to entertain.
__ will remain at least as sober as the host.
__ is comfortable with house hold pets, except _______ and tarantulas.
__ will be friendly to the audience/hosts/guests, but may require some alone time and space before the start of the show.
__ will respect the home, and not leave wet towels on hardwood floors.
__ will honor the smoking policy, and does/does not need a convenient place to smoke.
__ is comfortable with the host’s requirement of a show that would not be rated more than G/PG/R in content.

Host (initial all that apply)
__ will pay a small deposit of _______ to hold the date
__ have food for the artist, most likely _______
__ have a bed or room for the artist’s to stay the night
__ provide an obvious place for the guests to place the suggested donation (i.e. suggested donation: $15)
__ will/will not allow children to attend. Teenagers capable of acting like adults may attend.

Both parties are aware that brown stuff can hit the fan. That said, both artist and host will do their utmost to uphold this agreement. If the event must be cancelled, both parties will be as accommodating as possible, by doing things like re-scheduling, refunding or forfeiting the deposit, buying a few CDs, sending chocolates or whatever it is that a kind person would do. Artist will be aware that the host may have put a lot of time and effort into promoting the show, and the host will remember that an artist may have significant travel expenses as a result of the booking.

This agreement should not be entered into lightly. Therefore, we put on our serious faces and sign below.

______________
artist

______________
host

Feel free to use this as a starting point to create your own, and please offer your feedback below if you have suggestions. — fran

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