Local cover band Itch Doctor had gained a pretty decent following in the last year. Looking to branch out of their regular routine of playing at the two popular night spots in town, the guys and gal booked a show in the next county.
“We were pretty confident that some of our regulars would show up,” stated frontman Dave “Dudeman” Dennis. “I mean, we created a Facebook invite and a bunch of people said they would be attending. So, we did our part.”
But when the van pulled up to the venue, they were in for a bit of a surprise.
“The marquee out front didn’t have our name on it,” complained Dennis. “It actually looked like in hadn’t been changed in weeks. And for every “s” on the sign, they used the number 5. What the hell, man!?”
Owner Billy Monroe didn’t particularly like having bands at his bar/restaurant/pool hall, but his family insisted.
“Yeah, well, this is actually my dad’s place. I’m the manager,” informed Monroe. “But he likes live entertainment. He used to be a vaudeville star, y’know,” pointing to a faded black and white picture on the wall. “So he’s still trying to recapture his youth.”
When asked who does the marketing for the venue, Monroe seemed confused:
“Oh, my mom does all of the shopping and ordering of food.”
After explaining what marketing is, Monroe still wasn’t quite sure.
“Well I know we have a website and a Facebook thing. My wife Aimee posts the daily lunch specials. She’s also the cook, and makes a mean-ass chicken parm!”
With a quick tutorial on how the internet works, Monroe had what you might call an awakening.
“Oh, wait…what? You can post stuff anytime? And people will see it? That’s news to me.”
He continued, “So we have like almost 400 likes on our Page. If I had just advertised that a band was playing tonight, I guess maybe more people would have shown up. Y’know, I always just think that the band will do all of the work. But yeah…shit. Maybe I really should learn this stuff. I mean…we’ve been kinda slow for the last 18 months and I had to sell my Hummer. So maybe next time I’ll do that or something.”
When asked if the bar started making more money with live entertainment if he would pay the bands more, Monroe laughed:
“Why would we do that? $100 a man is industry standard. It’s been that way for decades. Why change it now?”
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