Bluewine

One thing that had a significant impact on live bands started way back in the 70s when we raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. What's the legal drinking age in the UK? Blue

Overall, at least for my band the bars that book bands every week and have a good reputation for live music are the most fun to play. The patrons come there specifically to see bands. To me that's key. I'll never understand the landlords that occasionally book bands when they know their clientele has no interest. Blue

Space is an issue for all of us that play bars and pubs. If there's a cool atmosphere with a crowd familiar with a band and supportive I can deal with small space. Blue

If you can pull this off live , your in a pretty accomplished band. Blue

I think it shows your good enough to play along to high level pro backing tracks. Actually playing with pros might be a different story. Blue

Understood, If there's one thing that really angers me it's when someone "stiffs" a band. Blue

We're you paid anything for the gig? Blue

We've all experienced this, pubs with noise meters. What do owners think when they hire a rock, pop or blues band. If they have issues with volume, hire an acoustic jazz trio. Blue

How about Legion Hall gigs? The pay is good and the staffs are always nice. But all those 4 prong walkers and oxygen tanks make the atmosphere a little weird. Blue

Seen that many times. Blue

It was ok. The band was sounding pretty good. We played a biker Road House, but is was some sort of an event. They raffled off a Harley. There were a lot of people and they had bars set up outside. Some people were into us and some not. It is what it is., a 4 hour bar gig, 3-7. Blue

They're from Milwaukee, Yeah! Blue

Ok, not what I was thinking at all. Although as " hard up" as I am, even a beating from an attractive lady might not be all that bad. And I have no idea where the invisible bear is. Blue

Neither do we. We still play some bad places, we just don't play the really bad places anymore. Blue

Yeah, the no audience thing is a big one. First of all, it's no fun. We're so lucky, we don't have on stage talent collecting are fee. We have a young lady that does marketing stuff, sells merch, and manages our web site. She also collects and distributes the money. She is very business like and a little intimidating. She doesn't mess around. Blue

Ok, you got me on this one. Can anyone tranlate this into Yankee talk? Leathering? Is it something I might enjoy? Blue

Don't temp me, I'm quite 'hard up", haven't had much action lately. Blue

I'll start. First of all there are not many places we've pulled out of and decided not to play. I can only think of 2 over the last 7 years.. 1. Jimmy's, we stopped playing Jimmy's because of the distance. Too far to drive ( an hour one way ) for what what we charge. 2. The Goose & Hog, we stopped playing there for several reasons. A. The hours, 9:30 - 1:30. B. We raised our rate and the owner could no longer afford us. C. To be honest the place was in a bad area. The neighborhood and clientele scared the hell out of me. Definitely not the kind of neighborhood you'd want your vehicle to break down in. Blue

Are there any venues ( clubs & pubs ) your band has decided not to play anymore. If yes, please share your story and why the band decided not to play a specific venue or venues. You don't have to reveal the venue name. I think it will be valuable to some, to learn why we pull the plug on some places. Blue

My position and comment, not so much of a comparison of me to others, more of a general point of interest. Blue

Very cool pic. Blue

So interesting how we all have different needs, wants and requirements. I couldn't afford to join a band that didn't have several months of weekly gigs booked. I'd even want to review the history of bookings from the past year. I couldn't afford to join a band that didn't own and manage there own sound and lights. It's always partially the fun and creative outlet but mostly commerce for me. I prefer it this way. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority where I depend on the money. Blue

Even the Fender Bass was not a great instrument when it was introduced. Neck, action and intonation was a constant battle. However it was the best you could get at the time and was a huge innovation. Blue

Don't get discouraged, building business is not easy. Blue

Thats a great case for the 5 string. Blue