Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this thread and for commenting.

Thanks Ian – that’s pretty well what our provisional set looks like – 4 covers and 3 originals.

Bupper – thanks for the warning. Yes I have seen the various ‘scandals’ reported on the internet by disgruntled artists. To these, I would say:
- perhaps their expectations were too high
- Emergenza have been very upfront and honest as to how their business model works and how their competition functions
- you can find virulent criticism of pretty well everything on the internet if you look hard enough (with the exception, of course, of Peter’s fine computer based music software)

There is indeed a fee for taking part in the competition, which we knew about and have paid. Nobody forced us.

Bupper, hope you can make it to the Gibus for the 17th – we need all the support we can get.
(PM me for a reduced price ticket!)

Thanks John (Silvertones). It could indeed turn out to be a waste of time (we will have wasted a couple of evenings – there is a technical meeting 2 days before) and the modest entry fee. But against that, we will have had the experience of playing, albeit briefly, in a ‘known’ city centre music venue and of seeing just how much support we can drum up.

Thanks for the warning Mike, but I don’t think credibility will be much of an issue. I can’t really see any of our customers (typically local authorities, private bookings and café/restaurants) not hiring us because we have played Emergenza.

Bob – yes of course Emergenza has an extensive web presence.

Thanks Brian for sharing these impressions – the pattern sounds familiar. We have 5 minutes set up, followed by a 25-minute set. Everyone uses house gear even to the extent that drummer’s cannot instal their own cymbals.
If nothing else, it will get us into the habit of not wasting time between songs!

Marc