Interview with Sam Gursky of the East Coast Collective
I recently decided to send some questions over to Sam Gursky who, with his friends, has been booking punk, hardcore, and ska shows on Long Island under the East Coast Collective for one year now. What excites me about this group is the fact that they put together great shows all on their own, really care about the bands and the music, and are only in their late teens.
1. Can you give us a brief history of East Coast Collective? (How long you’ve been around, who’s a part of it and their ages)
East Coast Collective is a booking/promotional “company” (but I’d really rather call it a group) that was started in January of 2009 by Me (Sam Gursky, 18 now, 17 then) and my good buddy Jake Zimmerman (18 then, 19 now). We’ve had a lot of help from a lot of people over the year we’ve been doing this under this, such a Pete Judge, Quinn Adikes, Nicole Onorato, Sarah Conte and many more that I am sure I am forgetting to name. Me and Jake worked on a few shows together in the Fall of 2008, mainly backyard shows, but after the first DIY Holiday at the (now closed) Blackbox Theater, which Jake organized, we decided to really work together and chose the name.
2. What goes into booking a show?
A lot goes into booking a show. First, you need to find a venue (or a basement, I’d really suggest a basement if possible). Next, you need to find bands that both work well together and can work together to draw in a crowd. These two steps are the really obvious ones that you already know I am sure. The next part, is then creating a flier, getting a few hundred printed up, going to every possible place you can to drop them off, bringing them to every show you go to and handing them out and going on the internet and just posting information in as many places as you possibly can. There’s a lot more to it that you just kinda naturally get after doing it for a while, but that’s really the basics.
3. What are the biggest obstacles when it comes to getting a show going? Does age play a factor when it comes to convincing a venue to put on a show?
Money will forever be the biggest obstacle. I always love to have shows in basements and backyards because it cuts down immensely on costs and then I have more that I can give to all of the bands, touring or not. Also, it allows the shows to be cheaper, which is always a good thing. Age really hasn’t been too much of an issue for me when I book, but I know that it does limit the venues I can use.
4. What inspired you to create the East Coast Collective?
The real thing that inspired me to start booking shows, not just create East Coast Collective is Pay to Play. I despise this whole idea. Shows would not be possible without the bands. A promoters job is to promote the show. I cannot stress this enough. It is completely unfair for a band to do all of the work. Many promoters will tell you that this is done only to cover them, but if your major concern is money (making it), than you’re obviously in this for the absolute wrong reasons.
5. Do you feel Long Island has a good amount of respectable venues around? If not, what can bands and fans do to keep the ones that are around to continue to book shows?
Long Island is starting to build back up a good amount of respectable venues, but what we all need to do (bands and fans) is to respect these venues. Do not fight or start fights. If you are underage, don’t drink at or out behind (or in front of) these venues. It is because of activities like this that the police are called and that these venues are most often shut down or penalized.
6. What do you think about the current music scene on Long Island?
I think that the current music scene on Long Island is beginning to thrive again. We have a lot of talented musicians coming from every genre, ranging from Pop Punk to Ska to Hardcore to Alternative, great bands such as Gabriel the Marine, Tomahawk Chop, The Old Guard, Backtrack, Royal City Riot, Fumblerooski, Barnaby Jones and many more. I feel like Long Island is finally starting to be a destination for a lot of bands again, and it’s nice. We’re on the map! haha.
7. Favorite venue you’ve ever been to and why? (LI or non-LI) Favorite venue you’ve booked a show in?
My favorite venue is definitely Broadway Bar, for booking and just attending shows in. It’s got great sound, a great staff, and it can hold a pretty decent number of kids while still remaining a small intimate venue.
8. You must be exposed to a lot of up and coming bands that ask to be put on shows. What is a new band we should be listening to?
I think that there are a ton of new bands that you should be listening to, it would be very unfair to just pick one. I think that you should definitely look out for Tomahawk Chop, Fumblerooski, The Best of the Worst and Royal City Riot. You can check them all out on myspace, and some of them have free music available at www.woodlandrecords.com and www.openhandrecords.com
9. Any upcoming shows? Any exciting ideas in the works?
I have a few things in the works that I probably shouldn’t announce yet until they’re official, but some of them are gonna make certain people very happy.
My next show coming up is at Bushwick Music Studios in Brooklyn, NY on February 4th, featuring Laura Stevenson and the Cans, The Forthrights, Stolen Parts, Kudrow and Fumblerooski. Doors are at 7:30pm and the shows costs $6. Oh, also, the address is 55 Waterbury Street, Brooklyn NY 11206. You can always check out our myspace at www.myspace.com/eastcoastcollectiveli for upcoming shows, and we’ll hopefully have a domain name/website soon!
10. Any advice for kids that want to start trying to book their own shows?
For anyone that is thinking about starting to book shows, just think about it. If you are looking for a quick easy way to make some money, get a job. If you love live music, and really just want to help strengthen the scene that I would hope you consider yourself a part of, than you should definitely do it. Start small, borrow (or rent) a PA and have a show in your basement or backyard with some of your friends bands, maybe reach out to some bands you aren’t friends with and ask them to ask. Draw up some fliers and hand them out, post the information about the show everywhere you can. If you want to pay bands, make it something cheap, $2 or $3, nothing too crazy. If you wanna make it free, do that too. If you have a touring band, or a band traveling a long way, I’d suggest giving them some money, they’ll really appreciate it. Start small and build up, you can’t go wrong that way.
