Perhaps I should write a letter.

Postering (Or rather, the act of putting up posters) is done largely by musicians and kids in the music community to advertise upcoming shows. These shows are put on by other kids, and good on them for that. It takes a lot of time, planning and money. But these shows are important, and are very very different from the big name shows like when Bob Dylan or Nickelback (groan) come though!

The bands that play these tiny shows are usually from somewhere around the area and could have all the talent in the world, but without the exposure (and the chump change these shows generate) they'll never get anywhere. You have to play somewhere before you make it big. And need I talk about the sense of community that these shows bestow upon our town? I've met most of my friends at local shows. Plus they're always a lot of fun!

Can you talk to Bob Dylan after he plays? Hell no. Fuck that. But I guarantee that after a band like The Perfect Trend, or Counting Heartbeats plays, they're gonna wanna hang out. See what you think. Talk about random junk. Oh yeah. And these shows cost about one one millionth of the price of seeing some egotistical jerk sing about outdated topics. And hey, what's cooler than saying you liked band 'X' before they were big? Fucking nothing.

But I'm digressing big big big time. My point is that small shows kick ass, are important and that you should go and have a good time. But lately our small shows have been getting smaller. And smaller. And smaller. They're still fun. So what could the issues be? Well, howabout a lack of advertising?

As I said just uno momento ago, one big way for the word to get out about shows is through posters. I love posters. I fucking have a good time making them (and I make them often enough, for sure). They're pretty cheap to print up (at least in black and white..) and walking around handing them out, enjoying the weather and talking to freaky hobos is something not to be missed.

Oh but wait. There's a problem with that. If postering is so great, what's this shit about a lack of advertising?

Putting up posters, except in a very small handful of locations is illegal. Not in Vancouver. Not in Saskatoon. But here. Just here. In Kamloops.

It's a silly, silly thing.

Having being caught by the bylaw before, I was told that putting up posters is the same as littering. How in the fuck? I don't see my posters laying in gutters. They're not being used as nests or whatever by animals. They are taped to fucking street signs. If a big city can handle it, with all their problems, why can't we?

Ooooh. Oh dear. I don't know how people can even walk around with all that litter. But wait, why don't we have a little perspective? In the race for the next mayor, candidates put up signs. Lots of signs. Much, much more than we'd ever put up for any show. Numbers go into the double digits when looking at JUST one street corner.

Gee. That looks like an awful lot of litter. What more can I say? We try and we try, but Kamloops is a terrible place for the arts. The laws are unfair, biased and I'd like to see one of these candidates step up to the challenge of fixing it. Kamloops could be a great place for a music scene.