Coming to Your Town
A few people have asked me if I have any plans to play in their area. No matter where you live, the answer is probably no. Not because I don’t care about you, not because I want to keep an air of mystery, not because I was horribly disfigured by a chemical accident that made me into a hideous monster with superpowers. Here is why: I am lazy, that’s one problem. The other problem is that I live in NY and not anywhere else. So when somebody says “Hey JoCo, you should come play in Orlando,” I don’t have any way of knowing if I’m going to go to the trouble of setting up a gig and flying to Orlando only to find that it’s really just that one guy who’s interested in seeing me play. Sure, it would be fun for that guy, but it would be kind of a drag for me.
So here’s an idea: I just ran across this site called Eventful that lets you create events that don’t exist yet, and allow other people to demonstrate their desire for that event to take place by “demanding it.” I am not explaining this well at all, it’s really very simple and will make complete sense if you click on that pretty blue box over to the right. The signup process (I know, another one?) seems to be minimally invasive, and I think it might be an interesting addition to our little experiment in making me famous. It might also be embarrassing when we find that it really is only the one guy in Orlando…
Comments
Chris Radcliff says
Fantastico! I'm that one guy in San Diego with the first demand in the system, so I thank you for noticing it.
One thing you can do to help (aside from the actual singing part) is to post a message on each demand with the number of people who'll need to demand you before it's worth the bother to go. For instance, 15 people in San Diego might be enough, but Moscow could require at least 10,000 screaming fans. (with blackjack! and hookers!) That way we know how many fake accounts to create, errr, friends to encourage in order to make something happen.
Thanks!
Dave says
OK, now I feel like a tool...
JoCo says
No, no, no, nobody's a tool. I want to hear from you all if you want me to come play somewhere. I think eventful can help bring all the love together in one place. And then we have superlove.
Glenn says
Ack. It wants my password! And... creepy... it already knew where I lived.
Brian says
It wants your password? Where'd you see that? To join a demand it just needs an email address so it can verify you're a real person (you get sent a single email validation message) and so the demand can actually be counted (otherwise it'd be so easy to "stuff the ballot box", as it were).
Or, you can join a demand by becoming a user of Eventful, in which case it asks you to sign up (with an existing Eventful name and password if you've already signed up) or register (if you're new to Eventful).
As for your location: It guesses where you are based on your IP address, that's all. So actually, it's guessing the location of your Internet Service Provider, not where you are exactly. Most often, your ISP is located in the town you're in, so it guesses correctly. Once in a while it guesses wrong (because the ISP is based in New York, or somethig, or worse, it just shows "United States" or "Great Britain").
Eric Ginsberg says
Look into NACA (National Association of Campus Activities). It's right up your alley. You would need to get a booking agent that is a NACA member, and they take care of the rest. It's guaranteed pay/travel expenses and you're not responsible for all the promotion. Check it out.
C Ya,
Eric
Bob says
Nice! According to the site, JC is the #4 most demanded performer!
He's behind only Wil Wheaton, some band named "Sinch" and "Impeachment of George W. Bush" :-)
OZ says
I'm the #2 demander for Pittsburgh. My cat would be #3 but he's a Luddite and so refuses to utilize modern conveniences such as email and the toilet. Which reminds me, I have to clean the litter box.
Keep up the great work, JoCo!
(PS: My wife will likely add another tick to the demand counter when she gets my email about this. That's not ballot box stuffing since we'd both be paying attendees. :) )
Randal C. says
This'll work great until we all start sharing and trading demands, so you end up with 58 (at the present count) demands that you play everywhere.
Dave says
Anybody else interested in seeing JC's contract rider?
Brian says
The demand stuff'll only work if each demander finds a friend, family member, etc who would like for this event to happen too, and signs up for the demand. Then that person needs to go find someone *they* know to do the same, and so on. It's a pure grassroots word-of-mouth effort.
Dave says
Exactly, Brian. And that's why I made the following post on my blog.
http://wingsforwheels.blogspot.com/2006/03/help-bring-jonathan-coulton-to-dc.html#links
Josh says
If it makes you feel better, if you came to Orlando, I'd come to see you too and convince several other people to go as well.
That would make at least 5 or 6.
Paul says
It's too bad that there's not a way to nominate a general area, like say I wanted to indicate that I would attend an event if it were within 100 miles of Tampa. (Though for you, JC, I'd make it 200.)
I'd also like a way to UN-nominate an event, now that I see that the RNC is contemplating coming here in 2008 for their convention.
Nathan says
I think JC and Hodgman owe us in Wisconsin a visit anyway. We cannot be held responsible for the marauding eagles once again.
Luke says
Go crazy, come to Sydney! Sit on the beach at Bondi & strum the guitar! If it feels like a drag, I'll make the seagulls clap...
Eric Ginsberg says
Re: Coming to Your Town
Will you help me "party down"?
Juldea says
Added a Bostonian demand!
Len says
I think you and Wil Wheaton should co-headline a world tour. The Coulton/Wheaton Express? Hmmm...the possibilities.
hgh says
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Thought says
You should go on tour with someone like They Might Be Giants as an opening band. You're guaranteed crowds when you arrive, and payment as well! (: