About MMF... I do hear what you all are saying. And for the record I am not disagreeing with any of you. I am simply saying that not all of MMF was bad and maybe we can focus on some of the good stuff a bit. I am also saying that we can't forget that this was a first and we should maybe give the benefit of the doubt and cut slack just a little.

Feel free to call me a naive optimist. I usually am too gullible and stupidly trusting anyway. But I *want* to believe that the things that could have been done better with MMF were accidental oversights. I think that this was the first time this was done and they were trying to feel it out and make it up as they went along and so flubs were inevitable. I guess I am *choosing* to try to focus on the good a little bit more than most.

I feel absolutely terrible for all the bands that were not sponsored and played. All they wanted was a chance to be heard and now all they keep getting are constant write-ups about how amateurish all the un-sponsored bands were. Yes maybe some of them were a bit green but we all were at some point. And I really did see some really good bands at MMF. And most of the ones that blew me away were not sponsored. MMF was a humbling experience for me because some of those guys are thinking so far outside the box with their music that I was just in awe. The guys playing the big company showcases had lots of money backing them up. They didn't impress me as much as the little guys. We have an a lot of talent here in Miami. Most of it is raw, underground or unknown and in need of support. I think we should consider those guys a bit whenever we talk about MMF.

I have friends in bands who paid to play and were rejected and lost their money. Really good bands all who work hard on their music. I felt for them. I also have a lot of friends who did play. Some were sponsored and some paid. Some of them had bad experiences and I heard about that from those bands too. I sympathize with them all. The difference between them and me is nothing more than luck. Maybe I was just lucky and got the good sound guy and the nice people to deal with. I guess it's possible. I know this. But because none of that bad stuff happened directly to me I cannot complain. My only really bad MMF experience was the parking.

Performers were told that we would have free parking while we played. Most of my friends that played MMF had to pay for parking while they performed. I had to pay to park too and that upset me because I had a very little cash on me. None of my band members expected to pay to park so no one had money and I paid for all our cars. There went my food and drink money for the night. But that was the worst of my MMF experience. For me everything else went pretty smoothly. Again maybe I was just lucky.

Stefano,
I do frequent local events and shows pretty regularly actually. That's why I know so many local bands. I practically lived out of Jazid and Churchill's once and when I was younger I was a regular at havens like Button South. I started getting organized and promoting and getting known in the last few years but I have actually been in the scene for over 12 years. Both as a performer and as a supporter and audience member. Believe me I am familiar with our scene. But I still came across new faces and voices at MMF that I had never heard of before. I have no idea where they've been hiding but they were great. And I discovered them at MMF. And I appreciate that. For that I am grateful.

Queen,
I don't think you should feel bad about anything. You are the voice of the local independent artist without representation. You say what many of them probably wish they could but feel that they can't or shouldn't. I read your article. I don't think you were so negative. I took it as constructive criticism that could only be used to make future events like this in Miami be better. And how can that be a bad thing? I think that very few people know the Miami live music scene and its inner workings as well as you. If anyone is fit to point out shortcomings at any music event in Miami it is you. And I agree with you about the MMF brochures and website. It could have offered a bit more info about us bands and helped promote the scene a bit better with links and band descriptions. That is why I printed mailing labels with my performance slot information and website url and spent a few hours sticking labels onto the MMF promo cards I was given. That's how I promoted. And one last thing. Thank you so much for taking that video of me and my band and posting it to your YouTube channel. You rule.

C,
Also agree. Prices for MMF could have been lowered a bit. Maybe that would have helped attendance numbers. Everybody that I spoke to about the event had no idea it was happening until I told them. This includes friends of mine in the local music industry. Even one friend who works for SONY had no idea what I was talking about. But again, this was the first year. Next year will not have any of these problems. You'll see.

Ric,
What you say is also true. Because even though I am choosing to stay optimistic, truth is truth. And the truth is that if my band had not been invited to play and had not gotten sponsored we would not have played MMF. We don't play for free either. Again, we were lucky.

Peace all, have a great holiday!

Albert

I'm not saying I could pull something like this off on my own. I know it was not easy. but had they gotten the right people involved and not looked like a shady pyramid scheme, it could have been what we all hoped it to be. and if it failed, at least we'd know we tried. but now it just seems like miami failed. we were represented in a bad way.

Considering the very basic failures of communication between the venues, promoters and bands that seems like a far shot =/

I personally want to hear more about Transit's involvement etc as there have been a lot of rumors circling that

And that's cool.. that stuff happens frequently and you go on and kick ass anyway.. the sad thing is that I know a few friends' bands (including a side project of mine) that simply did not get to play because clubs were apparently over booked, and in some cases admitted to simply not having enough equipment to support all the acts (forcing places like Club Mekka to close a whole room Saturday so the show got so delayed that 5-6 bands went home partly because, despite acts being booked AT 2am to play, the Club managers insisted the place closes at 2am...). Apparently some other people had experiences like that but that's just my own.

I can imagine how those that payed for the 'experience' felt

But then again I played 2 great sets over that weekend too, but those were at miami-staples like Tobacco Road so hopefully at the very least people got to network at some potentially new venues that they hadn't been exposed to prior?