Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein will offer a series of free and heavily discounted DJ shows in the coming days. Brownstein was slated to hit the road for a string of dates under his DJ Brownie alias with former STS9 bassist David Murphy, but the shows were unfortunately pulled due to low advanced ticket sales. However, Brownstein has quickly pivoted and put together a series of make-up gigs to fill those spots.
In a deeply personal post Brownstein explained,
Sadly, this weeks shows with David Murphy are officially canceled. I was really looking forward to the hang, but I get it. Before I explain further, I need to tell you that THERE WILL BE DJ BROWNIE SHOWS THIS WEEK.
Ok, here we go. Times are tough guys. There’s a million shows. Ticket fees are sometimes as expensive as the tickets themselves and why buy in advance if none of the shows are selling out anyway. Avoiding the fees and buying at the door makes sense to me. But the problem is the bands and clubs have no idea if the show is gonna be successful or not. And that’s hard for both the bands and the promoters/venues. The knee jerk reaction these days is to “cut your losses.” It happens every day, many times a day. I’ve seen shows canceled as small as these and as big as arenas, and everything in between. They even have a name for it. Blue Dot Fever. It’s caused by high prices, inflation and expenses, and an overcrowded market.
Story time: When the Biscuits started touring , our first hundred or so shows out on the road had almost nobody at them. Some shows had 10 people. Some had 2 people. Two of the shows had no people. But we played for the house crew. And little by little it grew. 10 turned into 50 into 100 into sold out rooms. You never know which of those 10 people are going to have a website that reaches 200k people a day, or a record label, or their own act that they decide to bring you out with. You never know which night is going to create that spark. If we had canceled those shows we wouldn’t be a band. If that tour was today the shows would have all been canceled and we would have missed the spark. You have to show up, if you can. I can. I’m one person with little to no overhead.
And so for this reason I’ve decided that the Show. Must. Go. On. No canceled shows, unless it’s dangerous for the fans or me to get there, or someone is sick or in the hospital. Real emergencies only.
Look, you don’t owe us anything as fans. WE owe YOU everything. You’ve invested in us. We are nothing without the fans. We are nothing without the community.
And so this week is now Fan Appreciation Week for DJ Brownie tour. I’ve rebooked almost all of the shows and as a gesture of my gratitude for you and everything you’ve done for us, I’m coming to you, to your town, and playing my music for free. No tickets. Zero dollars. Zilch. Nothing. Nada.
That’s the deal we are entering . You come to the show, pay nothing, and just enjoy the music. I am hoping that you buy drinks and food where possible to support the venues that are graciously keeping their lights on and bringing their staff in to run a free party for my most devoted fans. I am asking that you help me get through the week by supporting my poster sales, and I may even put out a tip jar!
I truly don’t care if only 10 people show up, because me and those 10 people are going to have the night of our lives. I have no ego about this. My ego has suffered a slow death post covid and now it’s just gratitude. Grateful for whatever the day brings. Grateful to wake up. Grateful for the coffee on my table and the air that we breathe.
BUT… I have a feeling if we remove all of the barriers to entry, all of the friction to coming, we will have successful shows. I’m banking on it, because I passionately sold this to each of the promoters of this weeks shows. So please everyone, don’t buy tickets, but come to the shows! Let’s show these venues that the fans were coming anyway. Let’s show the venues that keeping the doors open IS the right move. That showing up for the fans IS what’s needed these days. Hell, I’ll even come scoop you from your spot if needed. Whatever it takes!”
The run will kick off at Albany, NY’s The Eleven at Lark Hall this evening.
Here’s a look at Brownstein’s upcoming dates
Saturday 8/15 - The Eleven at Lark Hall - Albany NY (FREE SHOW)
Sunday 8/16 - Buffalo Ironworks - Buffalo, NY (FREE SHOW)
Tuesday 8/18 - Portland House of Music - Portland, ME (FREE SHOW)
Wednesday 8/19 - the Stone Church - Brattleboro, VT (FREE SHOW)
Thursday 8/20 - Wonderbar - Asbury Park NJ ($10 ticket)
