So if there was a Caithness County Gig

[moncur]

Hmmm iv got some bellybutton fluff, a wallace & Gromit mug and some staples if that helps with the fundraising?

Jeid, So kind of you to donate an entire months wages to the cause!

[Jeid]

I've just found another Tenner!

Now all we need is 1200 like minded people.... with the power of Myspace... we could do it!

Hmmm iv got some bellybutton fluff, a wallace & Gromit mug and some staples if that helps with the fundraising?

Jeid, So kind of you to donate an entire months wages to the cause!

Likewise... it was kind of you to donate your monthly wages.

[moncur]

I've just found another Tenner!

Now all we need is 1200 like minded people.... with the power of Myspace... we could do it!



Likewise... it was kind of you to donate your monthly wages.

Poor comeback Jeid! I know u can do better than that!

[henry20]

I've just found another Tenner!

I'll match your tenner

Come on Moncur, put your money where your mouth is!!

[Jeid]

I'll match your tenner

Come on Moncur, put your money where your mouth is!!

He doesn't make money... well, unless he's offering his services... pennies don't count though

[canuck]

Be careful where you tread with this fundraising venture.

roblovesplastic, Gleber2 and I got caught in quite a tangle around gogglebox's first Big Gig. Originally motivated to raise some pounds for the hospital, we ended up singing madrigals outside the org jail.

[Deemac]

Just for your reference chaps. I was the treasurer at all the Edge of the World festivals staged in Caithness (1990 - 1997). The last one in 1997 had a gross turnover of £15K.

We were paying our headline acts back then about £1000 to £1500 for an hours set (plus riders). PA systems, marquees, staging, security, catering, fencing, promotion etc. etc. costs lots of money if you don't want to wallow in a mire of borrowed local dog doo!! (And I did all of that as well in previous years).

Only one tiny small problem. Six weeks before our very carefully scheduled date choice to avoid all the local highland games, galas, county shows etc. Thurso Gala moved their date to ours!! The nett result was very few local punters bothered to come and see this expensive extravaganza (admittedly the weather wasn't too kind on the Friday night either). Also organisations like the local council and tourist board were terrible and inept in their contribution. It almost felt as if they were actively against anything that would bring tourists and money into the county. How different Caithness is from the Orkney set-up in these areas!!! (And still seems to be).

I wish this new Big Gig venture all the best and a genuiely hope it is a great success. You will need lots of luck and the weather gods to be on your side. A large stash of cash is also VERY useful.

PS: Neill Fearns has been promising me for about 6 months now to copy the DVDs I have of lots of local musical stuff from this era and post it on Caithness .org (Still waiting Neill . . . . . . )

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Quite. The organisers will also have to figure out how they're going to afford Stevie Taylor's dressing room demands. An on-hand hair stylist can be pretty pricey you know. Which - going off topic here - reminds me: there must be more taxi firms and hairdressing salons in Thurso than there are stars in the sky, yet it's almost impossible to get one.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Also organisations like the local council and tourist board were terrible and inept in their contribution. It almost felt as if they were actively against anything that would bring tourists and money into the county. How different Caithness is from the Orkney set-up in these areas!!! (And still seems to be).

And not a truer word said. Their distinct lack of vision was (still is?) nearsighted at best. Indeed, look to Orkney - and Shetland, in particular - to see how councils get behind community-based projects.

In a way, Thurso is like an architects model: we're all doing similar things in different areas, yet not coming together for the greater good. I hope this changes.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

PS: Neill Fearns has been promising me for about 6 months now to copy the DVDs I have of lots of local musical stuff from this era and post it on Caithness .org (Still waiting Neill . . . . . . )

I'm very much looking forward to this. Neil, get with it, baby!

[Jeid]

I had the exact same conversation with my boss yesterday(with regards to Caithness people not turning out)

People seem to scream for stuff to be on all the time, yet, when it's on, they never turn up. What's with that? Yet, Orkney and Shetland seem to be able to draw a crowd no matter what.

[K dragon]

orkney have been doing this concert thing for years and the more thay do it each year comes a slightly bigger profit to go next years gig, also the community thang sets up our gigs so any profit thats made has to go next years community profits AND the gig. lots of red tape involved too i believe.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

People seem to scream for stuff to be on all the time, yet, when it's on, they never turn up. What's with that? Yet, Orkney and Shetland seem to be able to draw a crowd no matter what.

That's the way it's always been, Jeid, sadly - no shock there.

[Deemac]

And yet, how many tear down to T in th Park every year? (and at what cost overall!!)

I think there IS a market for this sort of event it's just a fine balance between practicable budget/quality bands that WILL draw a good crowd and all the other bells and whistles that these sort of events entail.

How you find this balance is the key (and sometimes just pure luck - ie. the weather). I recall just one of the five Viewfirth based Edge of the World Festivals having GREAT weather. And what a difference that made to the whole event. (And I have some great movie footage of this).

[The Pepsi Challenge]

DF Concerts - who organise TITP - have the monopoly on the Scottish music industry therefore they can afford it.

Promoting a festival is a tricky business, demanding the logistical and planning skills of a military tactician, combined with the steely nerve of the gambler.
But to organise a weekend music festival is a massive undertaking, particularly when it involves commercial artists. Compiling a bill and selecting a venue that will capture the public's imagination is an incredible stress and strain. But it can be done.

Question: will it be free? Or ticketed?

Regards commercial bands, then:

Having one major act capable of shifting the requisite amount of tickets, make the festival a high-risk event and siting it in The Dammies compounds that risk. It has no proven record as a music venue, with the Big Gig there last year the only show (I can recall) to be staged there.

Then there's the question of timing. Large festivals like T in the Park are scheduled so that they are part of a European circuit, effectively reducing the cost of bringing in artists from America and increasing the prospect of those artists availability. This is something to be thoughtful of.

If it's free on the other hand - and I expect it will (should?) be - then we're reliant on funding and fund-raising. If the gig was for a charitable cause, some 'big' bands may be attracted, should their expenses be covered, a big fee in itself.

Doom and gloom aside, I think there is scope to attract a people-drawing crowd and for the event to become a yearly success. So long as the weather is good... we're due a day in the sun, surely.

[Gogglebox]

A WEE UPDATE for those that are interested in THe Big Gig

Due to health problems (Ongoing Severe Back Problems ) i have had to stand down from Thurso Town Improvements and also the organisation of the Big Gig in 2007

If any of you were interested in in helping TTIA organise the BIG Gig could you pm me.
I fear that if we dont get somebody to lead the project it may not go ahead.

I would happily hand over any info i have and advice if required but you would get a fairly free hand to do the thing and it is quite enjoyable

Anybody or a group intrested contact me by pm or on info@thurso.org

[Jeemag_USA]

As for location I agree with someone it shoudl be in the middle of the county, and somewhere special. Its hard to pinpoint the middle though because someone will always think its too far away. There are a number of places where I would love to watch a gig and they are not all in the middle of the county.

One of the best outdoor gigs I went to was at Millbank, between the river, the mill and the boating pond, was such a good night so many moons ago, for anyone that was there you will remember George Dobie swinging of the scaffolding at the end, what a chiel!!

Anyway, I always like the area around Loch Calder, even the banks of Loch Calder at the north end, not sure if I got my bearings right on that one. Thats one idea.

But to be honest I think if the electricty could be supplied, somewhere on the north side of Morven, under Morven's shadow and the Maiden Paps shadow, that skyline is always etched into my memory so much, its a beautiful place, there has to be somewhere there to do it, and that would be my ideal place. Head for the Hills.

I don't see the point in having a band from south being the headline act though, how can it be a Caithness County Gig if that was the case, makes no sense. I think some of the older long standing acts in the county should play with the newer acts and be suportive of each other, be a county together or not at all. A festival of peace and good music for all the caithness chielies in them hills.

I don't know any of the younger bands now, but I would feel the Gaels, Fats and Ian Sinclairs band woudl have to be there, and maybe some collaboration from all local talent for a finale.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

One of the best outdoor gigs I went to was at Millbank, between the river, the mill and the boating pond, was such a good night so many moons ago, for anyone that was there you will remember George Dobie swinging of the scaffolding at the end, what a chiel!!

My God - was that you? If it's the time Blues 'N' Trouble were headlining, then it would have been June 1989. I was there standing at the side of the stage (with a can of Sweetheart Stout) enjoying one of my first-ever gigs. A great night it was. Blues 'N' Trouble are still on the go, incidentally. Am very good pals with the band; Wick's very own Mr. Boom even plays drums for them nowadays.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

A WEE UPDATE for those that are interested in THe Big Gig

Due to health problems (Ongoing Severe Back Problems ) i have had to stand down from Thurso Town Improvements and also the organisation of the Big Gig in 2007

If any of you were interested in in helping TTIA organise the BIG Gig could you pm me.
I fear that if we dont get somebody to lead the project it may not go ahead.

I would happily hand over any info i have and advice if required but you would get a fairly free hand to do the thing and it is quite enjoyable

Anybody or a group intrested contact me by pm or on info@thurso.org

Am very sorry to hear that Gogglebox. I hope your problems aren't severe, and, that, you return to full health soon as possible. You did fantastically well in regards to the Big Gig this year - many thanks for your efforts, and for taking the initiative. Hopefully someone with verve, guile and determination will take on the role. Get well soon, lad!

[Jeemag_USA]

My God - was that you? If it's the time Blues 'N' Trouble were headlining, then it would have been June 1989. I was there standing at the side of the stage (with a can of Sweetheart Stout) enjoying one of my first-ever gigs. A great night it was. Blues 'N' Trouble are still on the go, incidentally. Am very good pals with the band; Wick's very own Mr. Boom even plays drums for them nowadays.

No it was well before that, I was a nipper of about 15 or 16 maybe, so it had to be around mid eighties, I think it was around Live Aid time, I can't remember much of the music but I remember Silver Dollar played?