Why didn’t my band get chosen for the show?

First, sorry! We wish we had time for more bands, it was definitely hard to narrow down to the final list. Also, almost all of the bands got a pretty decent show of support, and final results were close. It may be cold comfort, but bands that didn’t make it this year will be favored when it comes to next year’s show. Keep reading to find out about our process of choosing and why yours didn’t make this year’s cut.

How did these bands get chosen?

This year, we took votes on survey monkey to find out what bands people would most like to see. We felt this might be a good response to some of the concerns that were expressed regarding last year’s show, which was done on a first come, first serve kind of basis. Since not everyone knew who to approach with their band idea, this process tended to favor those who had played in the show before and/or had a lot of familiarity with the participants. We wanted this year’s process to fit more with our mission – hence, the survey.

Can I take the survey?

Sorry, we’ve counted the votes, which means taking the survey down. If you didn’t get a chance to vote and are just curious about the options, we asked for a ranking of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of the following bands: Mika Miko, X, Hole, Spitboy, Discount, Julie Ruin, The Slits, Liz Phair, Dog Faced Hermans, the Frumpies, Babes in Toyland, Lunachicks, Mecca Normal, Talulah Gosh, Sleater-Kinney, Raincoats, Tilt, Huggy Bear, and Heavens to Betsy. We also asked for an email address both for a mailing list and to discourage voting multiple times.

Can I get on the mailing list?

Yes! Email us.

So were bands chosen based solely on votes?

Pretty much! We basically chose the bands with the most overall votes and with the highest ranking. We also took into account if bands had played before (for example, we wouldn’t want Bikini Kill to be covered every year, great as they are… there’s more riot grrrl out there to discover!) and if bands used voting practices that we felt to be in contrast with the community spirit of our mission, such as voting for themselves more than once and/or only voting for one band, instead of giving a second and third choice. Although we didn’t throw these votes out, we did take uneven voting into account. We want bands that are looking to be part of a great community and a great show, not bands that just want to show off their stuff.

My band got picked! What do I do now?

Congrats! I’d say it’s a good time to finalize your line-up and start practicing.

But I don’t have a full line-up yet!

We didn’t require that bands have all their members lined up before submitting. If your band got chosen and you still need a guitar player, drummer, whatever, there are plenty of incredibly talented players out there who might love to join you. It’s not necessary, but we would really love bands to take on the spirit of our mission by prioritizing people that haven’t played in the show before. If you need some ideas, you can email me.

My band didn’t get chosen but I still want to be involved!

That’s great! You can support other bands by assisting in things like finding practice spaces or sharing equipment. But most importantly, come to the show! Also, if you or anyone you know does design: email us, we’re looking for a new flyer for this year’s show!

Who will be tabling?

So far we have Petroleuse Press, Brooklyn Female Film Co-op, For the Birds, and Support New York. There are two spots left, email to reserve a table!

Why are there 8 bands instead of 7? (new question!)

We chose a backup when we weren’t sure if a band could confirm, when both bands were able to play we decided that they would split a short set.