OK, here are the basics. Agents please read these as well. I have shortened these to the minimum because apparently not enough people were reading them. Without referencing the fast that you’ve read this in your opening sentence, I’ll just delete emails.
Contact: Charlie Shafer, workdog@mindspring.com
First, I’m slow to return emails. This is an all-volunteer gig, and we all have to work long hours at day jobs to pay the bills at home, and also to pay for this series. Just because you send me an email doesn’t mean I can get to it that day. You can send a follow-up email, but don’t overdo it. If you don’t hear back from me, I apologize, but it also means I’m not interested. You may think that’s rude, I know, but I can get up to 30 emails a day, all asking for a response. I sit down and return them after dinner, which means my whole night would be spent returning emails if I didn’t ignore those that didn’t matter.
Second: This is a fiddle-based program. It’s also a new music-genre-less program. It’s not a folk-singer program. Do not send emails for folk singers. Any of them. It’s not an Irish trad, or straight bluegrass, or any of those sort of thing programs. While we do some trad music, it’s usually got some sort of hook or geographical and stylistic significance to warrant putting it on.
Third: If you play locally a lot, I’m afraid we’re not interested. You may be really good, but if people have seen you all over the state, it won’t work for us. This program is a ton of work, and each event fro the start of the publicity cycle to the clean up after the show requires about 150 volunteer hours. It’s got to be something special to warrant that kind of effort. That goes for house concerts especially. How can I justify working hard to get 200 people when you’re willing to play for 30 all over New England?