Member Since: 1/14/2006
Band Website: http://www.mochamayas.com
Band Members:
Tickets for John Hampson are $12 advance/$14 at the door. Only 50 seats for this show!
Email Newsletter Sign up: We have a weekly email newsletter that we are quite proud of. Please go to our official website, www.mochamayas.com and enter your email address in the little box on the bottom left of the homepage and you will get updates on all of the events going on here, coffee and anything else we can reasonably squeeze into it. Cheers!
Please check out our YouTube site that has clips from many of the great shows we've had here! Just go to http://www.youtube.com/user/MochaMayas and check out all of the great videos!
Influences: ATTENTION: MUSICIANS!
We are currently in the process of reconfiguring our booking process. We hope that when it is all said and done we will have a much more efficient streamlined process that will be to the benefit of both applicants and our booking staff. In the meantime we ask that you bear with us while we work on this and continue to work out the kinks. Likely it will come in stages as our ultimate goal may very well revolutionize the process for many other venues than just our own and any musicians that interact with us and the program we are developing. Thank you all in advance for your understanding, patience and interest.
I'll try to keep this as brief as possible, but there is a lot of info to relay about booking a gig here, what you can expect and what we expect.
INITIAL CONTACT:
Our preference is to be emailed at [email protected]
Contacting us through myspace, by phone or by other means are acceptable but is not preferred.
Please tell us about yourself and your credentials and where we can check your music out (Links to any websites where we can review your music, look at images, read reviews and otherwise check you out are preferred as it is the fastest and easiest way for us to review and get back to you.) You may also send press kits and or CD's to our venues address (see below) or stop in and fill out an application. We will get to these submissions as fast as possible but typically the process is slower than if you have a website for us to look at. Also be aware that any discs sent to us become the property of Mocha Maya's and will not be sent back. Please include contact information so we can readily get back to you.
It is also very helpful for us to determine where we might fit you in if you let us know a few things... How long of a set can you play? Will you be coming alone or with accompaniment? Do you mind opening for another act or having one open for you depending on the particular situation? We rarely have single performers go on after multiple instrument acts - it just doesn't flow that well energy wise. We also work very hard to pair acts with complimentary acts in hopes of maximizing exposure to each performer. So answering these questions is tremendously helpful!
If we book you the first thing we'll ask for is a bio, a high resolution image or two (300 dpi is what we are looking for) and an mp3 that we can post to our myspace site to help generate interest as the date draws near. So we are encouraging applicants to go ahead and do this with their initial contact, since we will not finalize a booking until required materials are provided.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
Currently we have two choices in terms of compensation:
1. Performers play for gratuities. If we have more than one performer in an evening (as we frequently do) each performer takes the tips generated after their own set unless other arrangements are made between the two acts in advance.
2. If we agree that we have a good chance of selling out our venue we will gladly sell tickets for any event. Proceeds from the ticket sales will compensate the act. Terms/percentages of the take are negotiable.
We are working toward the possibility of another option or two for compensation but at this stage cannot offer anything other than the above options. 95% of our performers perform under condition 1 at this point. And we are grateful to what they are contributing to our establishment
Our venue is small holding approximately 50 people max. The acoustics in our room are very good and it is possible to play completely acoustically if desired. Most acts perform with some sort of amplification though. We do not adhere to the stereotype of an all acoustic coffee house music scene. While we ask that acts be mindful of the room, volume does not scare us. Rock bands are welcome, and they are welcome to play electric shows! (the volume might be less than larger venues but we rarely ask acts to turn down.) Just play to the room and we'll all be good.
We currently have a small in house 5 channel PA, with Phantom Power. You can check out the specks here: CLICKHEREWe have one Shure Cobalt (58 Style) mic, one gooseneck mic stand and one XLR mic cable (very short). Bands are welcome to use our system or bring their own. We are in the process of upgrading our system to a much nicer permanent in house system, but are not sure when that will be in place yet.
We have stage lighting that will be set up and ready when you arrive. Improvements on the lighting are also in the works.
We do everything in our means to get the word out about every event at our place and ask that the musicians or their representatives help us do the same. To this end, once you are booked we will provide a list of local press sources. We will also provide you with a list of possible places to stay if lodging is required and can, upon request, also provide a list of other venues in the region you can look into.
We have also been filming most of the shows at our venue. These shows are likely to be aired on Public Access TV, will likely get passed to other markets and some have already been sent to be aired on the equivalent programming in Europe. Clips from these shows are posted to our YouTube site as well. If anyone does not want a show filmed please let us know in advance.
Free coffee is provided for all musicians on on the night of their gig.
We provide a professional yet laid back experience and strive to make the experience for the musicians a comfortable, enjoyable and memorable one.
WHAT WE EXPECT:
We ask that all musicians be ready to perform at the time scheduled. We certainly understand that sometimes things come up to make you late that are beyond your control. That being said we are professionals and require the same from the artists and musicians we work with. So if you need an hour to set up and get a sound check in, please be at our place at least an hour early. If you need two hours then make it here accordingly. (Thank you in advance for respecting this and making it happen.)
Musicians are welcome to set up their own table to sell CD's and T-Shirts or whatever during a show and can keep the proceeds. Musicians interested in having us carry their CD's on a long term basis can do that as well. Our current arrangement is that we take $1.00 from any CD priced $10.00 or less and $2.00 from any disc priced over $10.00. So price your CD's accordingly. Any CD's we carry in store will also be put into our in store rotation of music played, which is a great way to get further exposure.
Sounds Like:
ABOUT OUR COFFEE: It is roasted by an independent, artisan roaster committed to the notion that "gourmet" coffee should be just that. No robusta beans or inferior grade arabicas. No mass-produced coffee or computerized roasting. No water quenching or vacuum sealed bricks. So we hand roast to order using the time honored traditional dry roast/air cool method. Only the finest of the world's arabica harvest, roasted with paramount concern for the unique character and full development of each varietal, and shipped within 24 hours...while even the most subtle flavor distinctions can still be appreciated.
All of our roasting is done in small batches (up to 50 pounds of green beans at a time) using the traditional dry roast/ air cool method to insure maximum consistent quality. We roast only to order, so our coffee is shipped within 24 hours of roasting, giving you the freshest coffee possible. In addition, all of our coffee is certified Kosher.
All of our coffee is certified FAIR TRADE as well! Fair Trade is an innovative approach to empowering Developing World farmers who are typically disadvantaged in conventional trade. Through fair prices, direct trade, access to credit and environmental stewardship, Fair Trade helps farming families improve their nutrition and health care, keep their kids in school and re-invest in their farms. Fair Trade guarantees these farmers a minimum price per pound for their harvest, regardless of the volatile world coffee market. Furthermore, Fair Trade coffee is grown by artisan farmers with a tradition of excellence going back generations. Fair Trade enables these farmers to continue giving their crops the care that produces quality, even during times of market instability.
We offer a full line of 100% certified organic coffees, grown with absolutely no herbicides, pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. The growers of these arabica coffees are organized into farmer cooperatives in an effort to ensure premium prices for their crop. Moreover, most of these organics are connected with social and economic programs in the growing regions. These programs provide such benefits as rural improvements, modern roads, credit banks and agricultural assistance. Organic farming, or sustainable agriculture, helps put an end to the long range effects of synthetic chemicals on the environment and its ability to sustain us.
All of our coffee's are also shade-grown, that is, grown under a canopy of sun filtering shade trees. This preserves migratory bird routes, restores habitat diversity in tropical forests that are endangered by development, controls land erosion and provides diversity of crops for the farmers, helping to improve their income and diet.
As for our Decaf it is all Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee 99.9% Caffeine-free, 100% Chemical-free. We have chosen to offer only Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffees. This is a completely chemical-free process, using only water and carbon filters. The Swiss Water Process has been fine-tuned to deliver all the flavor characteristics and body of each coffee with virtually no caffeine.
In the Swiss Water Process, green (unroasted) beans are soaked in water to remove the caffeine and many of the coffee's oils and flavor elements. The water is passed through carbon filters to extract the caffeine. This yields "flavor-charged" water -- saturated with flavor components but free of caffeine. This first batch of beans is discarded. Next, the coffee beans to be decaffeinated are soaked in this flavor-charged water. The water draws out 99.9% of the caffeine from the beans, but the oils and flavor components can't pass into the flavor-charged water, which is already saturated with these components. The beans are then removed from the water, polished and dried.
All decaffeination methods, including chemical processes, use water. So a "water-process" Decaf does not guarantee a chemical-free Decaf. Look for the "Swiss Water" Decafs to guarantee a 100% chemical-free Decaf with the flavor and quality of our selection and roasting.
Record Label: 47 Bridge St., Shelburne Falls, MA 413.625.6292