Upwards, onwards

Over a year ago, I sent an email to all the musicians I knew in DC, and some I didn't, about a "Music party idea." I described it as a house concert with about ten bands, each playing 3-4 songs, mostly comprised of one-off bands that "form just for this event, practice together a couple times, and maybe come up with a goofy name for themselves." I wanted to meet more musicians and I wanted a house show where the bands could have as much fun as the audience because they didn't have to play the whole time. That process led to what you now know as the Flashband Project.

Flashband events have been a lot of fun and the community of musicians they've built - even with only four DC events so far - has been incredible. They've also been a lot of work. I had big ambitions to do full events (40 musicians) quarterly, with smaller 5-band events in between. But even with the addition of Caleb Astey and Amanda Kirby helping with the website and events, I've still only managed to pull off four Flashband events in the past year. With a full-time job, music playing, and a handful of other activities it was stressful trying to follow up with musicians, find venues and organize logistics for the meet-and-greet. About December, I started thinking - I either need pick up the pace and commit to growing Flashband, or stop doing it.

Flashband gets official

So I'm picking up the pace. A month ago, I quit my job - making room mentally and time-wise to explore how to grow Flashband. Part time work at ICF, where I worked a few years ago, gives me a bit of a parachute - but my goal is to make it into a sustainable organization that can support me and whatever staff needed to scale it. Obviously it's always a bit scary to start something new like this, but very exciting at the same time. I've been thinking and scheming about this for over a year now - and I'm really happy to be giving it the shot it deserves. 

What does this mean for Flashband?

We're going to be growing - upping the frequency of events in DC, learning how to run them better and easier, making the website into something that really helps the process, and moving Flashband to new places. We may be in a different place in six months, but for right now that means: 

• Getting organized - Incorporating as an official organization, tracking finances, and improving the website.
• More frequent events - Starting with DC, we'll be working to grow the network of musicians and do events more often. Our best way to do that will still be friends telling their friends, so if you love Flashband spread the word and put us in touch with connectors you know. 
• New cities - We're doing our first test drive of a Flashband event in a new city, in my hometown of Wilmington NC on June 8. Over the next 6 months we'll slowly start a few more cities, probably near to DC, while we figure out how to run the events better. In the medium-term, we hope to spread much wider than that. 

What does this mean for me?

Growing Flashband is going to take a lot of work. I'm doing this because I love it, and because musicians keep telling me how much it means to them. But while I'm bootstrapping along, I kindly, humbly, ask for your help - any kind you can give me. If you're willing to throw in a few dollars to help  pay our server fees, bus tickets to visit a new city, and help my savings last a little bit longer, I'd be most appreciative - you can find a link on our new donate page. 

More valuable than that, though, is your expertise. From marketing and legal tips, to help running events, to contacts for "useful to know" people in new cities, a little can go a long way and there's lots of areas where you know more than I do. Email me any time with ideas - you can always reach me at humphrey.neal@gmail.com.

Keep in touch

We'll be updating this blog weekly, with everything from cool tools for musicians to progress on the project. I'll also be sending out a monthly email summary - if you haven't already, join the Flashband mailing list to get these and make sure you're the first to find out about show announcements.

Thanks to all the Flashband musicians for great times so far, to Caleb and Amanda for their help getting Flashband established on and offline, and to all of you for your support. 

-Neal