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Matt Talbott from HUM will be embarking on his first ever solo tour. We’re looking for people to host Living Room Shows in November within 300 mile radius of Champaign IL. These shows are hosted by fans in private spaces. Each show limited to 40-60 people. Please read the details below and get in touch right away if live in this area and you’d like to host a show.
Here are a few words from Matt about these shows…
Hi friends. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here. Me too. Well…my dear friends at Undertow have been asking me for some time to consider doing some living room shows as a solo artist. I’ve been telling them “no†for some time as well. I didn’t feel I had the kind of voice or talent that would lend itself to this kind of performance. I’ve always just been a guy in a band, and, as any of you familiar with any music I’ve been a part of know, even then I prefer to hide my vocals behind a wall of guitars and the unreasonable volume that my band mates and I create.
But the idea remained in the back of my mind, gnawing away. And finding myself wanting to shake up my somewhat stagnate and anxiety laden life, I recently sent Bob at Undertow the following text: “…I wondered if u would be interested in hosting me next Friday at 5:00 for a 5 song mini-set of solo stuff and we find out once and for all if I got what it takes to do this living room scene,†warning further, “I’m telling u rt this minute there will be tears. It could get weird.†Man were there ever and wow did it ever. I was so nervous when I started I could barely get my shaking hands onto the guitar and could hardly make an utterance with my voice. But onward we went, me and my roomful of friends, and it became something beautiful that I felt privileged to be a part of. So many tears. So much joy.
And now I can’t wait to share it with you. So, if you’re into it, I will pack up my ’99 Saab with my shitty nylon string guitar, my sadness, some songs from my band Centaur, a few covers, and lots of new songs I have written just for this purpose (which you will be one of the first to hear), and I will come to your house and I will absolutely break your heart too. Yours if you want it.
Sincerely,
mt
PS: In the interest of full disclosure, I am likely not including any Hum songs in this performance. I’ve decided might be best to keep that music with the band.
Deadline for submissions: August 31
Tickets on sale September: September 20 @ 2pm (Central Time)
Thursday, November 1 – Indianapolis IN – CONFIRMED
Friday, November 2 – Columbus OH – CONFIRMED
Saturday, November 3 – Grand Rapids MI – CONFIRMED
Thursday, November 15 – Channahon IL – CONFIRMED
Friday, November 16 – Chicago IL – CONFIRMED
Saturday, November 17 – Skokie IL – CONFIRMED
Thursday, November 29 – Glen Carbon IL – CONFIRMED
Friday, November 30 – St Louis MO – CONFIRMED
Saturday, December 01 – Carbondale IL – CONFIRMED
Can you host a living room show?
We’ll make this as easy as possible for the hosts. All you have to do is let us borrow your space for about 3 hours and check names off the list at the door. In return you’ll get 5 additional free tickets for friends and our eternal gratitude.
IMPORTANT!
1. Read everything below so you know how it works.
2. email matt-talbott@undertowshows.com this info:
– a. Your address.
– b. A few photos of your living room.
– c. Please put “Matt Talbott Living Room Show” and the name of your city in the subject line.
3. Sit tight and we’ll get back to as soon as possible if we can book the show at your place.
Here’s how it works.
1. You have a house, loft, small gallery, studio or other private space that can comfortably and safely host 40-60 people. A place with a big living room, finished basement or other interior space would be ideal. There needs to be street parking, parking garage or public transportation nearby and your neighbors should be cool. It would be a huge bummer if someone called the cops because of all the extra cars and people coming to your house. You probably shouldn’t do this if you live in a small apartment with a bunch of uptight neighbors or a cranky landlord. Be realistic on how many people your place can hold. We need to know how many tickets we can sell in advance. Sorry, we can’t do these shows outside.
2. Ticket price will be $25. Everyone must buy tickets in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door. There will be no reselling or third-party tickets sales. All tickets sales are direct to fans from Undertow. Limit 4 tickets per person. We want everyone to have the same chance of getting tickets.
3. We’ll provide the host with a list of everyone coming to the show. The host won’t have to deal with any money and will only need to check people off the list as they arrive. We ask show guests to arrive between 7:00-7:45pm. The shows start at 8pm and we ask everyone to be out of your space by 10pm.
4. The host gets 5 additional free tickets for the show. If you have other friends beyond your 5 guests who want to come to the show you should direct them buy tickets on-line.
5. Your home address will not be published on the web and will only be given to people who purchase tickets.
6. The shows will promoted on our websites, Facebook and Twitter and word-of-mouth.
7. We’ll need your help to spread the word on your Facebook and Twitter too. We’ll create a Facebook event for each show and make you a host of the event so you can easily invite your friends (Thank you!). Remember, please don’t post your address. The address only goes to people after they buy tickets. We need to keep the location private so people don’t try to show up and pay at the door.
8. You don’t need any sort of sound system. All we need is a bar height stool and nearby electrical outlet for Matt to plug in some gear. Some kind of ambient lighting like a lamp on coffee table, floor lamp, or overhead lights with a dimmer to help create a cozy mood and a small table or counter top where Anders can sell some merchandise after the show.
9. You don’t need seating for everyone. If you have a bunch of chairs, great! But most shows are floor seating and we let guests know they should bring a cushion or pillow to sit on during the show.
10. There will be no opening acts on the living room shows.
11. We love dogs and cats, we really do! But an excitable pet running around during the show can be distracting for the guests and performers. If you have curious and friendly 4-legged family members, would you be ok with putting them in another part of the house or sending them to a friend’s house during the show?
That’s it.
THANK YOU!!!
* Email submissions go to Jayne, Ward and Bob at Undertow.