gettin shows

I am not sure how useful this would be to you, but check out coverbandbook.com. A friend of mine who has been playing in bands since the mid 60s wrote it. He has made his living in music since high school with at least a third of his income coming from being in a group that played regularly. (and no, I don't get any kick back on sales.)
 
Make lots of friends. =D Get to know bands, promoters, venue owners, etc... make good friends and keep massaging the business relationships. Really, if you're connected with people who are doing shows, just ask, and you may even just be asked to play on some bills as well. Or, you could just book them yourself. Get a few bands on board talk to a venue, advertize (!!!!!!), and if things go well, you too could be on the road to lots of shows (heh).

Schmoozing is highly underrated, and it can really really do wonders for getting shows, and other oportunities.
 
lot's of phone calls.. lots of emails.. lots of building up your name with people...


it's tough out there though.. hardest part is not to get discouraged...
 
eeb said:
lot's of phone calls.. lots of emails.. lots of building up your name with people...


it's tough out there though.. hardest part is not to get discouraged...
Click to expand...

yup. exactly. Just keep at it and you'll eventually get your name out to all the right people in your area, and then it'll be a lot easier..the hardest part is just getting to that point, but it's totally doable as long as your music doesn't totally suck, or you are not a total asshole or something. :)
 
playing music of an avant-garde style my band has played alot of house shows and obscure venues and finding most of these was word of mouth. as I have noticed one show leads to another so if you can play a couple shows you'd be surprised with the amount of people who come forward offering shows or leading you to others who can get you shows.

there is also alot of venues that are impossible to find through conventional means because the location is ether not a full time business or the venue is rented out to people who organize shows and don't get the advertising.
 
here's a different twist on this..


for some odd reason we're finding it super hard to FIND a band to play with us...

we've emailed over 20 bands from kitchener (near toronto) to play with us.. the venue we're playing at booked us expecting us to do 3 sets.. we don't have 3 sets worth of material at this point so we figured hell it should be easy to find a band to play with us..

wrong!

no one has even gotten back to us.. we might actually have to cancell the show.. I think bands are turned off from the fact that there's no garontee for money.. we're doing a little burst of shows ( 4 shows .. wouldn't exactly call it a tour) and are from outta town.. it would suck to lose the show.. i just think it's wierd that no one wants to play.. i guess toronto folk are to full of themselves to open for another band. (that's a generalization .. sorry but you know what i mean)

i just thought that most bands are eager to play.. and want as many gigs as they can.. maybe that's not how to "make it big" in toronto? hahaha
 
I think that most bands that are prepared to play have 3 or 4 sets worth of material, and don't feel a need to share stage time or $$$ with an act that doesn't.

This kind of situation also has the certainty of logistics challenges and disagreement between the two bands about just about every damn thing. Not worth the effort.
 
But to answer the original question:

Work up enough material for three sets. Put together some kind of promo package - containing a decent demo tape (reflective of what you would actually sound like), a picture, contact information, and maybe a sample flyer.

Look in the papers for every venue around that books acts like yours. Hit the pavement and check in with every one of them. Talk to the manager. Carry a small boombox or iPod docking station so that you can play a bit of your demo tape, if given the opportunity. Leave a promo package at every place you visit.

Good luck! :)
 
Zaphod B said:
I think that most bands that are prepared to play have 3 or 4 sets worth of material, and don't feel a need to share stage time or $$$ with an act that doesn't.

This kind of situation also has the certainty of logistics challenges and disagreement between the two bands about just about every damn thing. Not worth the effort.
Click to expand...



I have to add my 2 cents to this comment..

Although we don't have 2 or 3 sets worth of material that has nothing to do with not being prepared to play.. We don't cover anything.. it's all our own material (the band is fairly new so we really only have one set worth of stuff.. our ep + a bunch of songs not on it)

It would be absoluetly rediculous to say that because we don't have 5 releases out or the equivalent amount of material it take to play for 3 sets that we shouldn't be playing..

to be quite honest I absoluetly hate watching a band play for more than 40 minutes (even if they're good) unless of course they can play for that long without throwing a bunch of filler in.. When you're an up and coming band the worst thing you can do is play for too long by adding filler just so you can play for longer.. leave the audience wanting more... make them want to come see you again.. throwing together a few more songs and learning a bunch of covers won't make a lasting impression.. i'd rather have a cut down set of only good material that's well thought out then 3 sets worth of okay stuff with a few gems here and there..
 
eeb said:
I have to add my 2 cents to this comment..

Although we don't have 2 or 3 sets worth of material that has nothing to do with not being prepared to play.. We don't cover anything.. it's all our own material (the band is fairly new so we really only have one set worth of stuff.. our ep + a bunch of songs not on it)

It would be absoluetly rediculous to say that because we don't have 5 releases out or the equivalent amount of material it take to play for 3 sets that we shouldn't be playing..

to be quite honest I absoluetly hate watching a band play for more than 40 minutes (even if they're good) unless of course they can play for that long without throwing a bunch of filler in.. When you're an up and coming band the worst thing you can do is play for too long by adding filler just so you can play for longer.. leave the audience wanting more... make them want to come see you again.. throwing together a few more songs and learning a bunch of covers won't make a lasting impression.. i'd rather have a cut down set of only good material that's well thought out then 3 sets worth of okay stuff with a few gems here and there..
Click to expand...

To add upon that "3 set" recommendation:

The longest we've EVER managed to play out here in Boise is 45 minutes, and that was HEADLINING our own show! If you're new, chances are most people will only hear your stuff once. Get a good hour's worth, and work on material while you gig. That's at least what we do...
 
Every band I've ever been in has had enough music prepared for a full 3 hours of performance time, and every club I've played in has expected it. Some even want 4 hours.

I'm not suggesting that by not having that much material, you aren't "prepared" except in the sense that you just don't have enough to fill out a night's worth.

Different venues have different expecations, I'm sure. My experience is with clubs that want a full night from a single act. Your mileage may vary.

In any case, good luck with the gig hunting! :)
 
what the hell venues are you people playing in? I've never played or even been to a show where a band played for 4 hours...the closest I've ever come to seeing that was when I saw Zappa Plays Zappa for 2 and a half hours, but with them it's a different deal. An hour is about the longest set any band normally gets, with national touring acts sometimes playing for an hour and a half up to MAYBE 2 hours for a long set. (usually bands with shitloads of material).

I'd go about insane listening to a band play for 4 hours. By the end I'd want to shoot myself with a fucking sawed off shotgun right in the mouth.

I've never heard of having to play that long even if you're the only act. What kind of scene are you trying to get into? What kind of bands are you approaching? It sounds like musical snobbery to have bands not want to "share the stage" and refuse a paid gig just because the other band doesn't have 10 studio albums and a set so long that it borderlines on inhumane torturous endourance tests for the audience's ears and sanity.

*confused*
 
When I was doing full-time road work in a rock cover band, and at other times as a weekend thing, I was playing in rock clubs in Texas and Oklahoma and I think one or two forays into New Mexico. Some were large clubs, some were small. All of them booked bands for 3 sets and some for four sets per night. Some of these were one-night gigs and many were 5-and six-night gigs. Obviously it's not a continuous 3 or 4 hours of performance time - 45 minute sets with 15 minute breaks, and normally the last set would be a full 1-hour ballbreaker.

When I was doing it full-time, we had an agent out of Austin that worked us so hard that we had to beg for time off, so it's not like these were isolated clubs.

Now, all this was back in the late '70s to mid '80s so maybe this isn't the norm anymore. But around the corner from my house, there is a BBQ joint that has a biker night every Thursday evening when weather allows, and there is always a band that starts around six and plays until 9 or 10. I think that most of the bars that have live music around here expect a full night's work out of a band.
 
I might add that, having had this type of performing experience, I wouldn't even consider packing a band's worth of equipment into a truck, setting it up, and breaking it down for 45 minutes worth of play time unless I was getting a very big paycheck or had the chance at a significant career break. At that point the fun factor is pretty low. More stage time = more fun. :)
 
dude that's cause you were a cover band. Different scene. A cover band is hired to basically be a jukebox for the night. Totally different scene to doing original music live. Original music live is like 2 3 or 4 bands they all play 45 min to an hour at the venue.

Were you playing at like resturaunts? I can't imagine people standing staring at a stage for 4 hours with the same band playing the whole time. I'd go batty.

I guess the fun factor is different when you're playing original music. I'm on a cloud for a week after playing an hour set of my own music. Also, the payscales unfortunately are in the favor of cover bands instead of original music.
 
TerraMortim said:
dude that's cause you were a cover band. Different scene. A cover band is hired to basically be a jukebox for the night. Totally different scene to doing original music live. Original music live is like 2 3 or 4 bands they all play 45 min to an hour at the venue.

Were you playing at like resturaunts? I can't imagine people standing staring at a stage for 4 hours with the same band playing the whole time. I'd go batty.

I guess the fun factor is different when you're playing original music. I'm on a cloud for a week after playing an hour set of my own music. Also, the payscales unfortunately are in the favor of cover bands instead of original music.
Click to expand...



exactly right...

and unpacking and packing up the equipment for a 45 minute set is totally worth it to get your music out there... maybe sell a few cd's

we actually just got added on a bill and played last night.. we played for around 40 minutes.. got paid 140$ and sold a bunch of cd's. and i'd do it all again a million times over before i'd play 3 hours of covers and potentially make a little more money.. but that's just me.. it all depends what you want out of it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with cover bands if that's what you wanna do..
 
TerraMortim said:
dude that's cause you were a cover band. Different scene. A cover band is hired to basically be a jukebox for the night. Totally different scene to doing original music live. Original music live is like 2 3 or 4 bands they all play 45 min to an hour at the venue.

Were you playing at like resturaunts? I can't imagine people standing staring at a stage for 4 hours with the same band playing the whole time. I'd go batty.
Click to expand...
OK, that's cool.

Haha, restaurants? Hardly. Usually pretty large clubs with several bars, lots of tables, big dancing area. So it wasn't like the audience was held captive by the band. They could disengage to some point. But as the music was pretty fucking loud most of the time, that wasn't always entirely possible. ;)

But regardless of size, the scene in these clubs tends to be with the purpose of socializing with your friends, having a few (or a lot of) drinks, and maybe getting lucky enough to hear a decent band play music that you know and like. It's not particularly creative work but it does require disclipline and the long nights really tire you out.

For sure, cover bands are a jukebox. I guess the jukebox is supposed to go all night. And I can see why people wouldn't be able to take more than 45 minutes of original music, particularly if it's music with which they're not familiar.
 
Oh, and I would have loved to have been performing original music during that time. But at that time and place and set of circumstances, the best way to actually work and make a self-supporting income was to work your ass off in clubs playing covers.

(Also, I didn't know anyone whose original music was worth a crap. :D )

Good luck to you!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top