kuldiga/zabadaks 16.05.2010
description of/satisfaction with:
some, not many, underground bands. most bands are not underground anymore.
there are very few clubs (around six).
there is one good independent studio in valmiera.
there are four or five independent music festivals. they are getting bigger and more popular every year. they offer big parties and a chance for hip youngsters to be stylish, especially in the metalcore scene.
some feel that people masquerade as members of independent scene, but live their lives differently than the tenets of the scene indicate.
ideology is important. some people don’t know what DIY means.
zabadaks:
zabadaks serves as an important DIY venue, but many don’t understand why it is DIY.
at the beginning, there were the same goals and good communication. we didn’t care about the sustainability of the internal structure, or how to keep people when the town is poor. now there are only 2-3 people left. new people have different views and some are working 40 hours/week, have little energy, and want to rest.
it is hard to enter a micro-community. it demands people be active, but most are passive.
one 13-year-old found out about zabadaks through a fanzine, wrote an email to them and then came to get involved, but overall, the general public is pretty conservative and skeptical.
for safety reasons, some feel isolationism is OK.
many people don’t come to concerts at zabadaks because they fear there are drugs there (due to rumors), or they are afraid of the other people who go there.
zabadaks uses sporting activities as way to attract new people, especially young people.
publicity:
printed publicity is dead. emails and text messages are used now to publicize shows.