The Music Of JC Harris
“positively the most intelligent progressive rock on this here planet”
W
e regularly receive questions about why we tour where
we tour, and why not here? Whether it is Detroit or Dublin, the answer is pretty much the same:
The Band Thing
However, many countries/regions/cities are simply not always financially viable to reach. This is a complex balance of issues. First of all, there the whole 'band' issue. Which gigs do we bring the whole show vs. going solo? JC will happily rock the house for fifty devotees. But to bring the entire band and all the requisite gear requires not only at least 200 tickets, but obviously a larger venue.
The Popularity Thing
Shocking but true, not everyone thinks this is the greatest act in the history of live entertainment. Overall popularity is an important factor too. Solo or band, we can't charge you 250 each for a ticket! (this ain't Cirque Du Soleil, pal.)
And it's not always about money! Even more frustratingly - sometimes a show in your town might make perfect sense financially, only for us to discover that there is no venue (of a sensible capacity) available on the days we can get there. Grrr..
The Grasping Hand Thing
When you look at the booking schedule you'll immediately see a precipitous drop over the past few years with gaps of many months between shows. The state of JC's health has been discussed to death many times. Unfortunately, it looks as though his arthritis and hands are an ongoing issue which makes hard touring difficult at times.
The Grasping Club Owner Thing
This is such a drag, we hate to bring it up, but lately, we've noticed that a lot of places we'd like to play have started charging up to 33% for concessions. In other words, they want 1/3rd of all the JCHMusic swag: CDs. T-shirts. The lot. Now all venues (quite reasonably) charge artists no-small-amount to hire the place, provide security for the show, and cover venue staff and running costs. And they get all the revenue from liquid refreshments from thirsty patrons we brought in the door. But to then ask for more? Yeah, it's a recession, but fer cryin' out loud! In short, we won't book gigs at such establishments.
SO, in a nutshell, it's complicated!
This doesn't mean we'll stop trying to find other ways of coming to you, because we want to—but many of the routes we do try often fall apart under scrutiny. Please remember, that we're not intentionally not touring. It's certainly not 'personal'; it's simply a matter of timing, economics and geography. Just as there are many fans who cannot find the resources to travel to see JCHMusic, in the same way, We can't always find the resources to come see you.
There are always several solutions to a problem, and we will continue to try to make a gig happen somewhere close to you. If you really want to help?
That's All Very Well, But I Just Saw A Completely Unknown Band Play In My Town Last Night, But JC Harris Can't Make It Work?
Maybe their costs are lower (if it's a venue where we'd bring the band, we do need a lot of technology to do the show) and maybe they have a record company covering their losses. (We've been there too, but the record labels only spend money for a couple of years and, ultimately, you gotta give it back!). And maybe the bass-player's dad's a billionaire. Or (more likely), maybe they'll be broke and have split up in a year's time. JC's in this for the long run—and that means never playing gigs that lose money!
There are always tours, gigs, and festivals that we are working on every week that you never hear about, because we don't want to announce plans that may fall through. This is why we only post fully confirmed dates on our website.
We would love to come and see all of you - and we're working on it.
We hope this helps you to understand our situation.
See you soon... Really!