The Dockside Band is #1 in the Greenville area on ReverbNation!

ReverbNation is where just about every band, musical act, music artist, songwriter and even poet turns to in order to expose themselves to the world.

The Dockside Band is on there and we have moved up to the #1 spot in Greenville SC for the primary genre we are in, which is  “Country”! (Even though we play a wide variety of music from many genres, we had to pick ONE specific category, and opted for country).

If we were in the “Rock” category, we would be 3rd. Out of the over 2000 bands you will see in all categories if you browse the charts for Greenville, TDB is 16th.

In my opinion that’s an amazing thing, especially when you consider that there are incredible bands and musicians here in the Upstate!

Go check out the talent on ReverbNation. You can kill a few hours just browsing or searching for more specific things. Musical acts generally have photos and recordings posted. I found one guy who could be the best bass player in the world on there, and some mind-boggling guitar players too. It’s kind of addictive!

Thank you for playing our songs and friending us on ReverbNation, and especially for sharing our links on facebook and twitter!

John M. Hoyt – TDB Bass Player

UPDATE: The Dockside Band is no more… But, for a fun and funky, dance and party band for your Upstate area event, be sure to check out the new HOT AS A PEPPER site!

What type of party will TDB not play? The type this bass player admits to attending….

We’ve said that we would love to play your party, and listed some of the types of parties we have played in the past or would love to play in the future.  From your typical pool party to your graduation party. We will play your bar mitzvah party, or if you are not coming of age, maybe you are coming out (of the closet), and that would be an interesting gig too…

However, please do not ask to hire us for your next SNUFF PARTY. No, it has nothing to do with tobacco. 

Former Scorpions bass player, Ralph Rjeckermann stated in a video that he had attended snuff parties in the past.

In the video, this bassist says he attended a party once where he saw, “really bad s***” and when asked by TMZ if it was a donkey show, he said “No, they actually killed people there and stuff. They pay up to $100,000 to see people get…”   Well, go watch the video….

Please, call us at 864.979.1224 and book your next Greenville or Upstate area party, as long as it is not a snuff party.

UPDATE: The Dockside Band is no more… But, for a fun and funky, dance and party band for your Upstate area event, be sure to check out the new HOT AS A PEPPER site!

Greenville live music community helps restore my faith in our profession

I have lived in LA on the West Coast, and Fayetteville Arkansas in the heart of The Country, and since 1998, here in the Upstate of South Carolina (Easley).

Growing up in Arkansas and playing in bands there, we had a tight community, with the 80s being incredible for bands and music performers in every genre. There was always a gig, always something fun going on. Musicians helped one another out in every way you can imagine. From helping other bands getting booked into venues, to sticking together on social and political issues that affected the live music scene, and in times of trouble, say a sick band member, there were half a dozen people ready to sit in and help.

Then, I moved to Los Angeles…  Talk about culture shock. We had to pay to play at many clubs (yes, you could buy a roll of tickets and sell them for a dollar each and make a dollar, or buy the roll from the bar or club and give them away, etc), and bands would cut your throat if you horned in on their established places to play. If you needed someone to sit in, and you were making 100 bucks each, that person would say he wanted 200 dollars to cover the session for the evening.   So each band member had to pony up a few extra dollars to cover the missing player’s replacement.

Forget about fundraisers. Every band who was good would only play a fundraiser if you paid them, and usually, it was their going rate. So if someone’s family had cancer and they wanted to have a charity event, they had to pay to rent the venue, pay for the band, pay for food, and for the swag involved, and then hope they had some money left over.  Those who could not afford publicity and relied on word-of-mouth were screwed, they rarely made much money, UNLESS they paid for the best band around that was guaranteed to pull in a big crowd.

In essence, bands there were very “professional” and were in it purely for the money. It was every man for himself (or herself).

Then I moved back to Fayetteville Arkansas after about 7 and half years to find that my hometown had become somewhat similar. Very money oriented. And I have heard this from friends of mine all over the country, wherever they live.

Finally, after moving here to the Upstate, I have begun to experience a little of what it was like back in the old days. Sure, venues here pay very little as opposed to what they did in the 80s, something that I will not go into now, but, the bands, musicians, entertainers, performers, for the most part, they all seem to want to lend a hand!

Let me list a couple cases that come to mind as I write this:

  • Decadent Daze members helped get our band booked into at least one venue, putting in a good word for us.
  • Decadent Daze bassist, Mark Bennett volunteered his services to help out on a charity event where our drummer could not make it.
  • Everlasting Earle‘s drummer, Travis Rygg also volunteered to assist with the same gig (We took him up on his offer).
  • Bennie Waddell, a singer who has worked with us before has always volunteered to sit in on gigs.
  • Kip Tomlinson, the original lead vocalist of TDB has sat in when we needed him.
  • Decadent Daze and a slew of great bands came forward to help out with a fundraiser for a venue owner who has cancer.
  • TDB, $2 Pistol and The Bottom Line Band volunteered for the Pickens County Cancer Association’s Pig Pickin’ in Easley.
  • When Delaney’s Pub in Spartanburg, SC burned, bands came forward to play a fundrasier to give back to the place that they had played.
Those are just a few, I kept thinking of more, but it would get rather long if I kept on!
Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I do understand that not every band can always play a fundraiser without receiving some kind of compensation. Music gear is very expensive, travel expenses are getting higher all the time, and if you have to hire in sound gear, lighting and personnel to operate that, then of course a small band cannot afford that, especially  when you consider they are likely taking off work and possibly losing money there.
It is certainly a breath of fresh air when bands and individual musicians, as well as club/bar/venue owners work together though!
Thank you to the Upstate music community for helping restore my faith in what this profession can be!

John M. Hoyt – Bassist and vocalist for The Dockside Band

UPDATE: The Dockside Band is no more… But, for a fun and funky, dance and party band for your Upstate area event, be sure to check out the new HOT AS A PEPPER site!