The first in a series of posts from concert organiser Abram Deyo, chronicling the ins and outs of bringing Canadian dance-punkers You Say Party! We Say Die! to China.
China Music Radar: Who are You Say Party! We Say Die! ?
Abram Deyo: YSP! WSD! are a dance-punk outfit from Vancouver who combine synth disco sounds with hard punk guitar rifts and drums. Their sound is for any fan of Pretty Girls Make Graves or Le Tigre.
CMR: How did you get linked up with the band?
AD: I got in touch with them a while back after hearing a single of theirs on a complimentary CD from Chinese magazine XMusic. After contacting them it turned out we had a mutual friend living in Beijing! Now I’ve been working with the band for over a year trying to bring them out here.
CMR: You’ve scheduled shows in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hong Kong. Did you encounter much difficulty trying to book the venues?
AD: The most difficult bit was that the tour wasn’t confirmed until the last minute, so we had to work around whatever the venues already had lined up for April. All the venues vary in size and sound, with the best being Mao Live in Beijing.
CMR: What kinds of crowds are you expecting to turn up?
AD: Well, I hope for huge crowds; but if we got around 200 for each show I’d be happy.
CMR: How are you getting the word out about the tour?
AD: Considering the short time-frame, I’ve been pretty aggressive spreading the word to the media. I’ve especially targeted Chinese-language media, but did a fair amount of English promotion as well.
CMR: Who’s paying for this tour?
AD: Haha…all the funding comes from me. The band is paying for their tickets and I am reimbursing them on arrival. The band’s record label has no involvement in the tour.
CMR: Any big surprises or unexpected difficulties so far?
AD: Booking the band’s plane tickets was a bit of a fiasco, due to China Air’s mind-bogglingly ineffectual online system. Other than that we haven’t had any major problems. Stay tuned though, because promoting a show in China is never cut’n’dry…
You Say Party! We Say Die! tour schedule:
April 17 – Mao Live/Beijing
April 18 – D22/Beijing
April 19 – Dream Factory/Shanghai
April 20 – Castle Bar/Nanjing
April 25 – Grappas Grapes/Hong Kong
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