NEKTAR has a European tour planned

[Casey]

I don't often go to the Nektar-Facebook site but, for want of anything Nektar, I did & noticed that a tour is in the planning stages starting January 2014. This can only be good news.

[Cats On Glue]

this past tour was great in my opinion. seems like hes got a stable band stuation now and they are sounding as classic nektar has ever sounded.

[gibberish]

Saw Nektar in Milwaukee last year during the Nektar/ Wishbone Ash tour. Twice during the set, Roye mentioned, see you next year.

[Mick]

The anchor gig on January 8th at the Borderline in London was posted well over a week ago on
http://www.thenektarproject.com/geew...013-tour-dates
it was simultaneously mentioned on page 8 of that same thread.
A European tour is presently BEING planned for January into February,
so as soon as more Nektar dates are announced, they will head a new dedicated tour thread for 2014 over at The Nektar Project.

[Casey]

Thanks, Mick.

As always, on top of your game & out front in promoting Nektar.

Ever think of changing professions?

[Casey]

Thanks, Mick.

As always, on top of your game & out front in promoting Nektar.

Ever think of changing professions?

[rapidfirerob]

San Francisco Bay Area awaits, once again.

[Mick]

Speaking of Nektar tours, I came across these You-tube vids from their recent Mexico trip...
First up are clips from Chihuahua...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS1JblwFKKs and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FNBzf3Uh3Y (short sections of Recycled).
Once on You-tube, there are more Nektar clips, but NOTE..
ALL the Chihuahua clips are listed as "Wishbone Ash Fest", NOT Nektar.

In a video from Ciudad Juarez, it seems that Klaus is center stage on a riser and Ron is over in a corner behind Randy in the shadows...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rInFCVKJSTg
but it was from a phone-cam shot off center, because from a different vantage angle, the stage balance is better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNSK6Wm9MNc


Both Mexican sets were comprised entirely of only "Classic" pieces, (see setlist on http://www.thenektarproject.com/geew...013-tour-dates) probably due to Randy Dembo being onboard just for that weekend.
Anyway, that was Mexico... with some interesting arrangements in "Cleff notes" (sic) form.
It also seems that both these shows were recorded for a future playback on Mexican Television.

[Mick]

Thanks, Mick.
As always, on top of your game & out front in promoting Nektar.
Ever think of changing professions?

Casey... Promoting Nektar was another objective of my light show, so I even took it a step further today by inviting Ron Howden on live radio with me. We were chatting and playing Nektar tracks both classic and new on air for over an hour. WE'RE still family.. lol.

[doneg]

Casey... Promoting Nektar was another objective of my light show, so I even took it a step further today by inviting Ron Howden on live radio with me. We were chatting and playing Nektar tracks both classic and new on air for over an hour. WE'RE still family.. lol.

Mick, it was great hearing you guys today. I've been listening to Mikes show for years, he's one of the few playing Nektar on the radio. I understand there's a European tour coming up, any plans for more US shows in 2014?

[Mick]

any plans for more US shows in 2014?

Let's see what happens, Nektar audiences here are dwindling, wheras (as you heard) Latin America is far more receptive right now. As Ron & I discussed "off the air" today, people cannot want something that they know nothing about, and in the case of music, they cannot like a band unless they've heard (of) them. It's a new generation with new technologies, so any band has to be on the same page.... and there are so many bands, so much music and so many pages to choose from.
These PE pages are a great place to be tho'...lol.

[doneg]

Let's see what happens, Nektar audiences here are dwindling, wheras (as you heard) Latin America is far more receptive right now. As Ron & I discussed "off the air" today, people cannot want something that they know nothing about, and in the case of music, they cannot like a band unless they've heard (of) them. It's a new generation with new technologies, so any band has to be on the same page.... and there are so many bands, so much music and so many pages to choose from.
These PE pages are a great place to be tho'...lol.

Yeah, since most of the 70s prog fans are in their 50s and 60s it only makes sense that the audiences are dwindling, people have families, other responsibilities, and of course financial situations that don't allow them to freely go to any event they choose, so to sustain a significant audience this long you need to pick up new generations of fans and with the over abundance of choices here I guess that's difficult unless your lucky enough to already have the recognition, then it easily gets passed on to future generations. One example is a band like Pink Floyd and with a band like Yes being somewhere in the middle and unfortunately with Nektar, they never reached those levels in the US. But why does 70s prog still have such a large audience in Latin America? But anyway, I hope Nektar can at least do some shows in the US where they still have a reasonable following, possibly the NY/NJ/Philly areas.

[Casey]

Thank you, Mick.

Did you discover from your off-air conversation, if there is a reluctance to promote Nektar of if the approach is not up to the task? For the life of me I cannot fathom why promotion hasn't received the attention it needs.

[ronmac]

By no means am I an insider to know why they aren't promoting more vigorously. But, I'm sure money has something to do with it. However, there are many more options these days that cost more time than money.

Also, people tend to be too close to their work expecting it to sell itself. I run into this all the time with clients. They tend to live inside of their own bubbles, thinking that what they're seeing is being seen by the masses. This is nothing new and human nature, to some degree. Of course, many times, egos play a bigger role than anything.

For example, someone decides that they need a web site for their business. They build it and then wonder why business hasn't increased. Well, you have to be where people are looking. Yesterday's shotgun approach of promoting your business doesn't work anymore, because people have an ever-growing number of information streams. So instead of trying to reach them, you have to be where they're looking. So, all those businesses that put up web sites, but don't ensure that it ranks in Google searches, for example, are like standing in a room with the lights off. You're there, but nobody knows it.

[bobert]

I heard the interview and it was cool to hear from both Mick & Ron . Also nice to see a DJ set up an interview and play some Nektar music, he went out of his way to promote the new album by playing 2 songs from it as well as the classic period stuff that was played. Any recognition is a good thing, especially these days.

I hope Roye appreciates what Mick is doing for Nektar , I know that we all do.

[Mick]

....and meanwhile, someone, somewhere, is being PAID to do PR, but they don't... at least AFAIK.
I 'spose they'd first have to believe in something to be really passionate about it.... lol.

as for DONEGs question..... why does 70s prog still have such a large audience in Latin America?....
I'm trying to figure that out.... I thought that "Sao Paulo Sunrise" may have been a point for Nektar, but the overall 70s prog demand is a mystery.... maybe it just took a while and it finally caught on there.
I will say that if any prog band ever translated their lyrics for a Portuguese or Spanish language release, they'd be set for life there!
(of course visual song interpretations transcend language barriers too... hmmm, let's give THAT a serious thought...lol)

[gibberish]

I saw Nektar in Milwaukee with the Space Invasion tour. There were about 150 in attendance. Saw them last year with Wishbone Ash and I'm thinking there were about 200 at Shank Hall. I think that there is still a market for Nektar. I will certainly go see them again if they come to town.

[Mick]

I think that there is still a market for Nektar. I will certainly go see them again if they come to town.

...and even more would come if more people in the venue areas knew FOR SURE they were coming about two months prior.
Much has to do with the number of advance ticket sales at the anchor gigs of a tour, other promoters hold off to see those numbers, which then delays filling dates in-between the anchor gigs and simultaneously upsets the tour routing.
It's not easy selling any concert these days, so a fair balance between projected attendance and pricing is difficult, fewer bums on seats means each seat must cost more to break even. More bums on seats means a lower entrance price, and a sell-out causes more promoters to step forward with reasonable pricing. Yes. it IS all about money, because tours are not cheap to run or easy to arrange.
The FIRST plan of attack on any area is the music, which first has to be played (to be heard) which leads to the band being wanted.... which is why Nektar is being played NOW in Northwestern NJ.... which should create a demand for next year. We'll see.

[Casey]

Ron has opened my eyes a bit in understanding current trends in successful marketing. One has to know where your potential market looks to get it's musical information, & then tap into it.

I keep thinking of Steve Hackett. At the risk of offending some folks, I have to say that he strikes me as a niche artist. But a very successful niche artist. Can the powers who oversee Nektar learn something there? I cannot imagine Nektar, in any incarnation, will be around for much longer given its current business attitude & aptitude.

[ronmac]

While social media is a HUGE and cost0effective way to promote music, I would bet that the inherent challenge for bands like Nektar is that a good portion of their audience is not likely using Facebook.

[Mick]

the inherent challenge for bands like Nektar is that a good portion of their audience is not likely using Facebook.

Abolutely true Ron... especially "older" Nektar fans. However by covering all PR bases, those, plus new and younger fans (who DO use social media) will hopefully become aware... eventually.
Maybe it is already too late, because , as Casey said "I cannot imagine Nektar, in any incarnation, will be around for much longer given its current business attitude & aptitude".
Cleopatra has supported the band wholeheartedly with their re-releases and tours for a few years already, again, without seeing a whole lot of return for their effort, so there may come a time when they'll simply decide to cut their losses.
Riding on the coat-tails of the classic Nektar "name" over the past ten years has not only worn those coat-tails through, but the reputation for the concept Nektar once presented is also not what it used to be, thus many aspects need to be addressed before it is too late.

[Casey]

Bittersweet, to be sure. But, should Nektar go the way of the do do bird, then maybe the established fans can finally get a taste of classic live Nektar that has been lovingly preserved.

When one "Door" closes, another "Door" opens...

[ronmac]

Though not classic Nektar, the current band is certainly viable. There's still an opportunity to move forward. The new album is great.

[rapidfirerob]

Nektar played in Santa Rosa, Ca. on a Thursday evening. If they played in the Bay Area and not
Santa Rosa, I believe there would be a larger audience.

[Casey]

I wholeheartedly agree. Their new album is quite good. I just wish they would use it to capture a new audience. If the old fan base is going to be put off, it's going to be because of band mismanagement & inertia. When that happens, it's good night nurse.