Germany Calling

[Low End Bee]

The Jetsonics have decided to do 3 or 4 gigs in 5 days in Germany in April 2012. Our guitarist is fluent in German so it makes sense to go there.
I have been advised a lot of the 'Irish pubs' in Germany have in house PA's and are up for a bit of noisy rock n roll and to maybe try and get booked in them rather than specific music venues. We'll be going on the ferry and don't want to drive stupid distances between shows. I thought of maybe going to the smaller cities/large towns and be bigger fish in a smaller pond. We'll be hiring some kind of van and probably taking our part time sound man/road manager who also speaks German along for the ride making it 4 of us travelling.
Any hot tips?

[Linus27]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='1348721' date='Aug 23 2011, 09:32 AM']Any hot tips?[/quote]

Drink lots of beers and when waiting for the ferry, don't challenge the England female netball team to a game of netball or football like we did as you will lose very very badly

Edited August 23, 2011 by Linus27

[Low End Bee]

[quote name='Linus27' post='1348767' date='Aug 23 2011, 10:25 AM']Drink lots of beers and when waiting for the ferry, don't challenge the England female netball team to a game of netball or football like we did as you will lose very very badly [/quote]

Some people would pay to be humiliated by a netball team

[stevie]

My hot tip: be very sceptical of anyone who says they are fluent in German.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='stevie' post='1348891' date='Aug 23 2011, 12:21 PM']My hot tip: be very sceptical of anyone who says they are fluent in German. [/quote]

Except for Germans of course.

[Low End Bee]

[quote name='stevie' post='1348891' date='Aug 23 2011, 12:21 PM']My hot tip: be very sceptical of anyone who says they are fluent in German. [/quote]

I've heard him conversing to Germans and he did his degree in the language so I'm fairly confident.
Not a problem anyway as I am fluent in pointing and talking very loudly in patronising English should he fail.

[Clarky]

[chris_b]

Just remember Einbahnstrasse isn't a road name!

[Monckyman]

Apart from a few villages east of Magdeburg most Germans delight in showing their English language skills, and in an Irish bar where you might expect a high incidence of foreign customers it`s considered essential for the staff.
What cities are you going to be doing?
I`d just say take care driving, don`t break any stupid laws and park up properly. German Police are not people you want to annoy.If only to avoid wasting time filling in forms etc.
I`m not sure if you need an emissions sticker for some cities or not,might be worth checking.
Apart from that I can`t see why more bands don`t do the same thing.The German music scene isn`t as tied to fashion as our music scene is and as a result more people listen to a wider range of music imo.
Also, I don`t believe they have the repressive entertainments licensing for bars that we do so more pubs are up for it.
I`m not sure that avoiding the bigger cities makes sense, because that`s where most of these pubs will be, along with a large contingent of expats who might make up the main part of your audience.
A musician i work with has a band called Surfquake (guess the style?) and they did a week of German dates in smaller bars last year. he said he enjoyed it immensely and they made a little money also.
Let us know how you get on with bookings etc. please it`s an interesting topic.
MM

[Low End Bee]

No firm idea where we're going to play just yet. But We have decided it will happen and with the three of us that means it will. I see your point about the big cities MM. Driving and regulations will not be an issue. One of the band is very, very clued up on all this.
Next stage of the plan is meeting up with an old friend who does regular European mini tours with his old punk band to get agents and venue details.

Any help from anyone will be greatfully received. If rock n roll fame and fortune aren't forthcoming at least there's always adventure and the craic.

[chris_b]

Germany is a great place to play, as is Holland.

You can play in small villages and wonder where all the people came from! I've always found German audiences to be very enthusiastic and the promoters usually look after the musicians very well.

[Low End Bee]

Venues, promoters and such like. Hit me up people. Help me make it happen. <determinedsmiley>

[janmaat]

Well I live in Berlin now... after 6 years of UK, and I am fluent in German (hey, I AM German)

Don't become drunk and disorderly - drunk, yes, but drunkenness does not excuse disorderly or noisy behaviour here, I found that a serious cultural difference. Don't - mention the war (nobody except Brits does on the continent ever). Apart from that, enjoy!

As for gigs & stuff, well paid gigs is hard... having a laugh is not... And you should really go to Hamburg... There are one or two Irish / English pubs on Reeperbahn & surrounding streets that sometimes feature live bands.

The coolest place to rock in Hamburg is Lehmitz - where bands play on the bar (no kidding) if that's your thing.
[url="http://www.myspace.com/lehmitzreeperbahn"]http://www.myspace.com/lehmitzreeperbahn[/url]

[Carld]

I did 2 x 10 day runs over in Berlin which included an Irish bar. I do a lot of Irish bars over here and yes they all tend to have a PA in. You might be wise to get an agent who can guarantee the gigs that way you just need to sort out a van and your gear as the agent will sort out accom. Are you playing your own material or covers?

[JTUK]

We always used an agent or promoter close to the record company so I wouldn't know where to start without one.
And to get one of these would depend on what product you had to sell.

Not sure about the pub scene and whether the economics of doing those will work with a van and travel costs etc from the U.K.
You will probably have to subsidise it from your own pockets unless you can get into the clubs where the promoter/club normally put you up in hotels and and provide evening/breakfasts.
That way..your only cost will be daytime meals.

But it is true that european tastes are far less influenced by the latest fad from London/UK, IMO. They like what they like and will support that.

[janmaat]

[quote name='JTUK' post='1349487' date='Aug 23 2011, 09:05 PM']But it is true that european tastes are far less influenced by the latest fad from London/UK, IMO. They like what they like and will support that.[/quote]

true - Germany's neighbours include Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Swizerland, Italy if you want, France of course, Luxemburg, Belgium, Netherlands. And then, there are also Sweden, Norway, the UK, Spain, Russia, Ukraine... Yes, the UK is just one of many, and we don't know much about it on average (just like vice versa).

[Low End Bee]

To answer the above. We treat gigs professionally. The guitarist and drummer hardly drink at all and I will restrain myself if we've got shows to do. I'm a convivial drinker anyway.
Hamburg looks like it should be on the list. We've got an ex St Pauli player at the football club I support and supporters links are beginning to be established!
We'll be playing 100% original material. It's power pop/garage rock so it's not 'difficult' music for people who like rock n roll. We've good songs and put on a damn fine energetic live show too. It's just not very fashionable in the UK . Particularly as we're all a bit past 25.
We're looking to try and tie up with a promoter on some kind of basis if we can. We probably have enough in the band kitty from gigs and CD/download sales to cover costs. It would be nice to earn some of those back while while we're over though.



Excellent replies all. Keep them coming.

[janmaat]

ska venues:

[url="http://www.allska.de/locations/body_locations.html"]http://www.allska.de/locations/body_locations.html[/url]