Early on, we hoped that, despite the odds, lightning would strike twice.
Getting ready for the Sunday Afternoon Surf Party and CD Release at the Capitol Bowl was going way too easy. But that did not mean that the stars were aligned for a full house or topping the 100 or so folks who showed up last time.
In the lightning does not strike twice department, our several emails to the media were not creating buzz or any real press at all. The Sacramento Bee -- the local mainstream newspaper -- was kind enough to reply to our email. That was impressive. But the message was not as hoped, “We already have a full slate of events for that weekend.”
The Sacramento News & Review -- the local weekly -- did not respond to our emails. Hope springs eternal however. So I grabbed an issue from the newsstand and scoured it. No mention of our event was to be found. We were not in the “8 in 4 days” highlighted events, the listings of gigs, or the music column. The News & Review also had its usual stuff: Medical marijuana ads, escort ads, and exotic dancer ads. But it had nothing about either the Pyronauts or the Lava Pups.
The Sunday Afternoon Surf Party and CD Release apparently was not newsworthy. Our sending pictures of The Pyronauts or the show poster and trying to shift the focus to their new CD did not get the attention of the print media.
We were not getting any help from the press. No serendipity was happening this time.
Without the power of the press, our hope to catch lightning would be a buzz among fans, friends, family, and the curious. But the Capitol Bowl was the fourth of four gigs by the Pyronauts. Two of three earlier gigs were open to the public and in the foothills -- the Pyronauts’ backyard. No matter how much you love a band, would you go to three shows in three consecutive days?
So we were not generating buzz in the press or among the Pyronauts’ longstanding foothill followers.
Even the elements were working against lightning striking twice. Temperatures started climbing during the week before the Sunday Afternoon Surf Party and CD Release. On Friday (West Sac Manhunt Day), the Sacramento area hit 80 degrees for the first time this year. Pushing 90 on Saturday. This was a weekend for gardening, visiting the Zoo, playing in parks, and frolicking on the rivers. Add in Picnic Day at UC Davis and Earth Day. And the forecast for Sunday was more of the same.
By Saturday night, the writing was on the wall and read: “Lightning Was Not Going To Strike Twice.”