Dear Nitetrotters,
Nitetrotter.com has been on a brief summer hiatus. We are returning soon with a new website, and many new sessions.
There has been a lot of talk all of 2010 in the Quad City music community about Daytrotter and Nitetrotter. Lets take the time to clear some facts up.
Nitetrotter is not anti Daytrotter. We see ourselves as a more locally oriented free format diy reaction to Daytrotter. Our name is indeed a play on their name but Nitetrotter is not anti Daytrotter and does not wish any disrespect on their fans or employees. We just saw what we were doing as seizing the means of production and giving credit where credit was due.
Daytrotter has done nothing but try to blatantly blacklist those formally or non-formally associated with Nitetrotter. We find this to be wrong and counterproductive. Blacklist those individuals who may have said mean things about you but please not all our friends and family.
We will be involved with the opening of a venue with recording studio in East Moline again. It is called the Nite-Castle and is located in the building owned by the Human Aftertaste. The Lazer Warehouse will also be doing shows again, this time with a different name. So Weirdtown is not dead!
We plan on recording more bands in both East Moline and Chicago. We also are trying to figure out where we will host Nitetrotter Fest in 2011. It is going to be in Chicago but we plan on doing an East Moline version as well.
We look forward to posting a lot of new sessions for all our Nite-Heads!
Sincerly,
Mr Nitetrotter
when might the new space in the QC be opening? ...
ReplyDeletei think 'the hideout' would be a good location for a noise fest like nitetrotter-fest...
Hey Justin, the Nite Castle's first show will be on Halloween weekend.
ReplyDeleteAs someone unaffiliated with Daytrotter and who's into some of your sessions, and who wants to see a vibrant local music scene, this open letter is an insult.
ReplyDeleteYour brand is a rip-off/mockery and intentionally hostile towards Daytrotter, despite your claims otherwise. We have a pretty small music scene here, and Daytrotter puts on a lot of shows that would simply not happen here otherwise. They just happen to not be your kind of shows. So what?
You want to claim the high ground here about how you're about DIY but Sean created something out of NOTHING. And it's still a far cry from mainstream rock radio. Daytrotter has a particular aesthetic you seem to dislike, and therein is most of your justification.
I've been around the block and I've seen this sort of pissant thing before. You're like a whiny teenager who thinks you're fighting the man when all your doing is wearing an angry tee-shirt. Give me a break.
You are riding coattails, and you know it, from your name to your format and so on. This is particularly true when you go to other sites (as per the Austin session news) and send people here (and posting as Sean, super-classy, and yeah, not anti-Daytrotter at all, yep).
Nobody is blacklisting you, that's just ridiculous, but why in THE HELL would anyone associated or supportive of what Daytrotter is doing want anything to do with people that mock them. There's a difference between conspiracy and common sense. And you lack the latter.
Try creating an original identity that isn't based on tearing other good people down. Then we can talk about what's "counterproductive."
Hey misterbatz, thanks for checking out our sessions, I think. We will be continuing to have shows in in conjunction with our sessions. As always, these shows/sessions will be supported by local acts, and without corporate monetary backing, in our own venues. We will also keep trying our best to bring bands who wouldn't have played here otherwise. Plenty of people we actually like continue to support us, and associate with us. Your criticism of our "format" is like our "open letter", which is an opinion that you are more than entitled to.
ReplyDeleteMisterbatz,
ReplyDeleteWe've definitely been blacklisted. Even Bambi told us herself. She is of course the ambassador at Daytrotter.
We support Daytrotter bands!
Thanks for your comments.
Mr Nitetrotter
P.S.
ReplyDeleteBambi from Daytrotter also told us we could of gone to Sean with this idea and he would of supported us. If that is true, whats the problem? We just did it without his approval. If it was legally a problem wouldn't they sue us by now? I thought they were doing really well. Bambi said that Daytrotter doesn't even pay attention to us and we are a minor blip on their radar. So whats the problem?
Thanks
MR. N
I'm not going to speak for or about anyone over at Daytrotter, just for myself.
ReplyDeleteMy last post was maybe a bit too self-serious, but I'll stand behind it.
When I first started checking Niterotter out, I thought it was kind of funny, and I was actually really excited to find something that was showing off some bands that just don't fit in with what they're doing over there. And, yes, I read it as a bit anti-Daytrotter, but intended in a punky tongue-in-cheek way.
But when I read your letter, it pissed me off because there are a bunch of little passive aggressive swipes in there about local, corporate, etc. Nothing openly hostile, but it's seething from the inside and pretty damn disrespectful.
What bothered me most was how much you want it both ways: you want to take shots at them, and cop their format, and build your entire identity on top of what they've spent a lot of fucking sweat to build up from nothing, but at the same time you want to claim some sort of moral high ground and whine about blacklisting and so forth.
I don't think it's about suing or anything, it's just about respect. And you clearly don't respect what they're doing.
And I think that's just sad because the real enemies are the dudes in suits, far away from here, ruining the world with their corporate rock radio. It's like, really, *these* are the people you feel the need to tear down?
As I said before, my main problem is that I think we have too small of an independent music community for this kind of divisive bullshit. I think you're trying to show how much more punk you are, when you guys should be on the same team building something meaningful.
I want to be wholly supportive of what you're doing, and not put in a position to choose. But you don't make it easy.
Mr. Batz,
ReplyDeleteWe arn't trying to please everyone, thats Daytrotter.
They are corporate. Wolfgangs Vault spent a million dollars on 49% share in their organization. They constantly tote major label bands as "Indie".
We really don't have a uniform ideology just rather provide a platform for people with very different ideas.
We want to be on the same team as Daytrotter, they wont let us. They are the ones that stopped talking to us, having us blacklisted etc.
Bambi said we stole their business plan(except we really dont make money) and you keep talking about a format. Hate to break it to you guys but they have a podcast. They did not invent the podcast and we did not steal it.
The only thing we did is poke fun by using the trotter. They are just made because of how much cooler nitetrotter sounds.
We have never threatened any of those people with violence but we have been threatened numerous times.
If you have a problem with this site please don't read it.
Thanks
Mr Nitetrotter