Fan-base Recognition Award (?)

[Scott Hays]

I had (what I thought was) a great idea to propose in Jamaica (not because I was in Jamaica, but because there were a huge number of featfans all together in one place), but couldn't figure out a way to make a proposal. Ever tried to herd a bunch of cats?

Anyway ... I had this "great idea" about a simple way to promote the band. I was thinking that it would be really easy to present some sort of recognition award (a plaque, a certificate, a signed poster .... who knows) to a radio station that supports and/or promotes Little Feat. I came to Negril with a simple playlist from a station that I was going to nominate for the award. The playlist showed that the station played LF an average of four times a day over a period of a month. I wasn't sure what other criteria should be included for a nomination, but hey ... it was the first shot at it. Obviously, nothing came of my "great idea" ... but here is a place where I can propose it to a lot of folks in one place.

If anyone else likes the idea, I bet we could come up with all sorts of procedures, requirements and/or "rules" (or not) for an "official" awards program.

I spoke to a few folks while in Jamaica, and the idea seemed to resonate, but not very far from the places where we had those conversations (usually huddled around a bar or a bowl of something or other). I was going to post something on the hoyhoy list, but never got around to it. So now, I post it here to see if anyone else shares my enthusiasm for the idea.

If the award came from the fan base ... and bore some means of identifying it as a big deal (as opposed to the brainwork of one or two people) ... then it would, if nothing else, make the operators of one radio station feel pretty good about their efforts. On the other hand, if handled properly, it could become a big deal. At least in some circles.

At first, I thought the award might come from the band, but a few folks reminded me that this might smack of some sort of collusion or payback ... hence the reason for presenting the award from "the fans". I am sure everyone else but me immediately sees the rationale here, but I mention it just so we don't have to go down that road again.

But how to go about it (should anyone else agree this might be a good thing to do)? I don't really know, so am just thinking out loud in the hopes someone else will respond. There are a few ways to go. We could do it here ... there is a mechanism for voting for things, though I don't see how to prevent people from voting more than once (except the honor system). We could post it to hoyhoy and see what kind of response is generated. Or, we could do it in Jamaica, again because there are a lot of folks gathered in one spot who might be interested. Or some combination of all the above.

But I will stop here. If no one replies, then the idea can just die quietly on this vine. If anyone else is interested, I am willing to put some energy into making it happen.

What do you think?

[Little Feat]

I for one think it's a great idea! We need to dig into the POC and Grassroots folks and see what we can come up with.

Rick

[Kathy]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Although my two cents is onlyworth a penny because I don't listen to the radio. However, I did get a very positive response from our local college (NPR) station (WFIT Melbourne Florida), when I called to offer the promo for Kickin It at the Barn. So that's my one cents worth. Look forward to discussing this in depth in Jamaica next year.

Also hope that there will be another "POC, grassroots meeting in Negril, as I somehow missed the one last year. Don't know where my head (or the rest of me) was!

[Mike]

Maybe you could include Venues and Promotors also.

[kdelano]

Mixed feelings.

I kinda like Little Feat being our own little secret. When you tell someone youre going to see LF the reply is usally "Those guys are still around?"

My 2 cents is really more like half a cent.

On the other hand... I think WRNR in Anapolis, MD warrants a nomination. Not only are they Feat friendly, but I also believe their promotion has helped the sucess of the annual Rams Head run (the highlight of my year, {along with fall Striped bass season} since I lack the funds to do Jamaica

[OneR]

kdelano said:

Mixed feelings.

I kinda like Little Feat being our own little secret. When you tell someone youre going to see LF the reply is usally "Those guys are still around?"

You must live in an enlightened community [or hang with well rounded (<--- musically speaking) folks] ... more often than not I hear a reply of "Who???"

I like the idea of a recognition award from the fans ... lets people know that we're indeed appreciative of a stations' [or venue, or promoters] efforts to fight the good fight by spreading the feath

I nominate radio station KMTT [103.7 the Mountain] in Seattle ... they regularly have members of the band in the studio for a live performance/interview when Feat or Two Toes roll in to town ... tune in Thursday, April 15 from 3:20 to 4 PM to hear Paul, Bill, Shaun and Fred LIVE [no *time* delay either!]

cheRi

[DavidH]

Let Me give a shout-out for "The Zoo" 92.1 on the Dial here in Mobile, Al. In the course of one hour, they enlighted the Airways by playing "Spanish Moon", "Eula", and "Fatman". The best Radio on the Gulf Coast!

[MsBelle]

hmmmm...last 2 shows of Little Feat at the HOB in NO I met a dj from Mobile. He told me he played the Feat frequently - I wonder if this is his stayion and/or his show. Wish I could remember his name.

3 Feat songs in one hour!

[DavidH]

Could have been Sean Sullivan. A fantasic DJ, with a "Feat" fetish. The station's call letters are Wzew., and they are heavy on the Feat.

[Rollin' Mark]

FYI
106.7 WUIN "The Carolina Pequin" radio station in Wilmington, NC has a Top 100 Albums of 2003 list on its site.
www.carolinapenguin.com/top100/2003/
Kickin' it is listed as 59th, and its in some good company.
LF must be getting some airplay there.
If you're in that area, listen in.

Rollin' Mark

[RoxanneFox]

Hey Mark:

I think you have begun a great Voice on the Wind. I think it's a great idea. I have talked with Fred this week about the band doing an interview with 947the arrow, a Classic Rock DC station and looks like it will take place before the Feat enter into the MD VA NC area in May. I think this would be a great way for stations to begin seeing that the fans want to know what Little Feat is up to and where they are playing and possibly to play some of their NEW music.

As always you are ahead of the game and thinking in terms of doing for others. You are my kind of guy.

I like voting in Jamaica and telling what the stations have done and then the next year inviting someone from that station to the Annual Feat Fan Excursion. Hey we could pay their way and have a full fledged MC for the entire weekend. And even get PR for the band when they get back to their station with sound bites from their recognition.

Hope to see you on the road this yr.

Roxanne Fox[glow=red,2,300]TEXT[/glow]

[kdelano]

Rollin' said:

FYI
106.7 WUIN "The Carolina Pequin" radio station in Wilmington, NC has a Top 100 Albums of 2003 list on its site.

That reminds me, my previously mentioned WRNR in Anapolis, MD once surved their listeners for the top live albums of all time. Waiting for Colombus of couse came in #1.

k

[Scott Hays]

Thanks to those who have taken the trouble to reply to my original post about initiating some type of a fan recognition award for supporters of Little Feat. Not sure how many people are still following this thread (maybe I should post this message as a new thread?), but I thought I would summarize the conversation to date.

While there has not exactly been an overwhelming and enthusiastic response to the idea, it seems that there is at least a little bit of interest in it ...

One person seconded the idea of having folks in Jamaica vote for the station of their choice after hearing someone speak up for each nominated station and providing evidence as to why it should be thusly honored. Additionally, a representative of the station could be invited to Jamaica the following year to receive the award (and provide other services, perhaps). No other method for selecting a radio station has been proposed ... so maybe, if anyone wishes to continue the discussion, we need to consider the mechanics of it all.

Several criteria for consideration of a nominee were proposed (though not all directly) -- I have taken taken the liberty of reading between the lines, and propose the following for consideration as an initial set of standards for making a decision:

• the station plays advance copies of Little Feat songs/albums
• the station has a history of sponsoring shows or providing airtime to promote shows
• the station provides airtime for live performances by members of the band
• the station plays lots of Little Feat
• the station includes Little Feat in top (100, 25, 10) lists, special honors it gives out, surveys it conducts, etc.
• the station conducts and plays interviews with band members.

This is a good start, but it seems that other criteria might be considered.

Some also suggested that venues and promoters be included in this recognition award. This may be a good idea, but in my experience, it is generally easier to start small to see how things work before attempting to take on the whole world. However, if someone really wants to take on the venue/promoter category, let me ask a couple of questions: How would we be able to compare various venues and promoters in order to make a good decision? How would we compare venues and stations? Or do we provide different "categories" of awards?

Several stations have already received a mention for consideration (along with reasons). Here they are, all in one place, even if we haven't yet figured out how we are going to be able to judge one from the other:
• WFIT (Melbourne, Fla)
• WRNR (Anapolis)
• 947 "The Arrow" (DC)
• WUIN (Wilmington, NC)
• WZEW (Mobile?)
• KMTT (Seattle)

It would be nice to continue this ad hoc, anarchistic nomination process (how fitting for the LF fan-base) ... I for one am looking to see if we can't formalize it a little more. So ... keep throwing out ideas and let's see where this goes. I am more than willing to synthesize the thinking, but also am quite good at ducking out of the way if someone else wants to take this baby and run with it.

Thanks for all the input

S

[Little Feat]

Hey Scott,

I'm loving this. It's working out great. We can get more exposure for it by building some web pages for the Feat site and I can put the links right on the home page.

I'm up to my ass in alligators at the moment but when I get back from NOLA we need to hash out some of the details.

Rick

[Mike]

Scott said:

This is a good start, but it seems that other criteria might be considered.

Some also suggested that venues and promoters be included in this recognition award. This may be a good idea, but in my experience, it is generally easier to start small to see how things work before attempting to take on the whole world. However, if someone really wants to take on the venue/promoter category, let me ask a couple of questions: How would we be able to compare various venues and promoters in order to make a good decision? How would we compare venues and stations? Or do we provide different "categories" of awards?

Thanks for all the input

S

I agree on starting small and generate. I think with "categories", we wouldn't have to compare stations to venues, or promotors. It would be difficult to arrive at a voting for awards method tho. Need lots of input from local Tomatoheads.
Feat played here (Dallas) last nite, and the stations were as tired as usual, but with "some" promo. I don't even care to mention any station names as turnabout is.... The venue on the other hand, The Granada Theater, bought very nice half page ads in both Fort Worth and Dallas music rags, which really helped out with a Tuesday nite crowd. I know there are much more aggressive venues and promotors around the country, as we are sort of re-learning to bop around here, but this kind of feedback is what would be needed. It's my understanding that the Tucson promotors let a good show die on the vine. TEXTTEXT