Scene and Heard

While the online version of Tom Lounges' Dec. 26 Local Scene column in the Times doesn't map with what ran in the paper, his "Say You Want a Resolution? Then, Stick to It" piece offers some music scene advice worth considering:

Show courtesy to your musical peers. Arrive early and stay late to show support for the other bands on the bill.

Stop being greedy with your fans. Encourage fans to experience other artists on the bill.

Date and marry people who understand your dedication to music.

Give a "baby band" a hand up.

Never date someone within your band. When romances end, usually so does the band.

Keep your sets fresh. If your set list gets stale, even die-hard fans will stop coming out.

Promote your band and your events.

Live up to your word and your handshake.

Think of music first, drinking last. Stop making your first statement, "How many drinks tickets do we get?"

Buy a watch and use it. Get to gigs on time. Start sets on time.

End sets on time. Don't cheat the next band of its time.

The Anchormen used to joke that we put the "punk" in "puntuality," so I can really resonate with the last two items. And most of Lounges' resolutions also make a lot of sense. If you agree to a show, keep the commitment. There's no reason to duck out the week of a show -- and there's absolutely no reason not to show up at all, especially without calling ahead. I laughed a little at the keeping sets fresh comment -- you should always be writing new songs. At the last Anks show, we debuted a song we'd finished the night before -- and it might be our last show ever.

And the first two are especially important. Don't just promote your band's time slot. Promote the other bands. Mention the other bands during your set. And for gosh sake, stick around for the entire show if at all possible. There's nothing worse than an opening band not sticking around after they play -- and there's really nothing worse than a band coming and going with all of its friends. If you want people to hang out and see you play, model that behavior: Hang out and see a band play. People who've seen your band perform will take notice.