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Anybody played The Cavern recently?


ead
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As per the title really. We've done all the introductory stuff and could sell the required number of tickets but it's a bit of a hike and the prescribed backline seems a bit limited. As far as I can detect you have no idea where you'll be on the bill either.

As we're definitely not in it for the £££/fame/wives/drug rehab. etc. etc. is it worth it? It's not even the real Cavern for that matter!

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We're playing there tomorrow night and played there about 2 months back. The back line in the back room is actually quite good, Blackstar stuff and a good Orange bass rig. It depends what the night is but it's usually a good laugh. It's not exactly the number one spot for live music in Liverpool but it's a good place to play if you're in the back.

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Yeah, the Cavern is a bit out of the loop of the unsigned original band scene - it's main focus is the cover band circuit these days. The in house backline has been replaced (fairly recently I think) with the stuff risingson mentioned above (they used to have an Ashdown stack that I never got on with).

The back room is a nice big stage and the sound is usually pretty good in there, so it's not a bad gig to play in that sense. If you can shift the tickets then go for it and have a boss one!! :)

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My brother's old band used to play in the free bit regularly, the supplied bass amp was a Fender 2x10, but it was always DI'd. The sound in there is good, full and there's a dude on the desk. Not sure about the big room out back, but the others above seem to have that covered!

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Sorry for derailing the thread - where is good to play in Liverpool at the moment? My band is struggling to get gigs. Pay to play is really killing us. We are an originals band but not particularly well supported - unfortunately. Any suggestions (Sorry Ead - I hope you don't mind!)

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[quote name='burno70' post='1234330' date='May 17 2011, 02:24 PM']Sorry for derailing the thread - where is good to play in Liverpool at the moment? My band is struggling to get gigs. Pay to play is really killing us. We are an originals band but not particularly well supported - unfortunately. Any suggestions (Sorry Ead - I hope you don't mind!)[/quote]

The Kazamier, The Shipping Forecast, The Masque, Static Gallery, The Academy, Mello Mello, Magnet, Heebies do band nights sometimes as well. The pay to play thing is easily avoided if you know who to speak to promotions wise.

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Thanks man. Apart from the Zanzibar, are any of these pay to play - sell 25 tickets etc?

[quote]|The pay to play thing is easily avoided if you know who to speak to promotions wise.[/quote]

That could be were we are going wrong - what would you recommend?

Edited by burno70
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[quote name='burno70' post='1234362' date='May 17 2011, 02:44 PM']That could be were we are going wrong - what would you recommend?[/quote]

I would recommend getting friendly with promoters in town who are interested in putting music on for the joy of doing so. There has to be a degree of legwork on your band's behalf as well to ensure people are coming down to your gig because it will highlight that you're worth putting on a bit more regularly and also you'll be making them money on the door. If you have a look at promo companies like Kong, Me & Him, Glasswerk, Wax & String and find out their contact details, get in touch with them and have your music ready on Bandcamp, Myspace etc. Once a promoter finds that you're drawing a good crowd, putting on a good show and being reliable and not messing around by turning up late and not bringing required gear then with a little bit of luck you'll start to stand out.

Also, look outside of Liverpool. The gigging community in the city is quite insular and I've seen loads of bands get stuck playing the same old gig month in month out. If you're willing to travel then you should be looking to try and get over to Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield as well and doing the same thing there. The pay to play schemes are rubbish, and it's always worth remembering that there are people out there who put on gigs for the love of it and not as a two-bit way of squeezing money out of you. Ultimately the money has to be made somewhere though so most of the time it's up to you to be promoting hard to your fanbase to make sure you get a good turnout. :)

Edited by risingson
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[quote name='burno70' post='1234433' date='May 17 2011, 03:27 PM']Cheers for the detailed resopnse!

We've worked with Glasswerk before but will definately look up the others you mention. Thanks![/quote]

No problem. Glasswerk can be a bit funny and it's worth reading their T & C before committing to anything with them. If they work for you then cool, but there are certain restrictions you might not want to flout with them.

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