The thing is, this is actually a really cool venue to gig at! Awesome green room, nice staff, great sound.

But trying to get people in there is like pulling teeth. Personally, I try to avoid Federal Hill on the weekends at all cost, because it’s a madhouse. But for the right show, at the right price, I’ll deal with the parking nightmare and puke on the sidewalks.

To be fair, they do have their $5 for 5 nights on Wednesdays, where you can pay $5 to see 5 local bands who are just starting out. Definitely not a bad deal, but I’d like to see the same sorts of deals on the weekends, when people actually want to stay out until 1-2AM listening to live music.

AND VENUES: YOU HAVE TO HAVE DRINK SPECIALS!!! It’s simple economics: people will drink at home or at another bar and show up drunk if you’re pricing your booze too high. Better to get them in the door early in the evening with a low cover and drink specials and keep them there and drinking your booze all night. Then you’ve allowed people to have a fun evening solely at your venue, and that means they’ll walk away from the night with good memories of your place and will continue to come back and spend more money. Some places get this, and those places are doing well for themselves.

-"Father" Ryan

The 8X10 seems to be living on the prestige it established in the late 80′s early 90′s when The Allmighty Senators, Jimmy’s Chicken Shack and all of the great bands of that time we’re packing house. Times have changed, kids can get on Youtube to see how their favorite band plays live. So there is no more mystery to a "live" rock and roll show.

If the 8X10 can get their collective heads out of their butts, they should realize that the folks that want to support the local music scene would be more willing to do just that, if the price was equivalent to the product they put on stage. I went to see a friends band that no one has heard of they charged $10 at the door and I laughed when I asked how much a draft beer was. In fact I left, went to another bar, had a drink and came back.

I am also a musician and stopped playing this venue about 10 years ago because of this very reason.