Bands playing original music

[rOB]

There has been plenty of discussion around covers and tribute bands recently which is interesting no matter what kind of band you're in but sometimes things seem to differ in the world of original (as much as that term can ever be applied) music. Might be worth sharing some experiences and ideas?

So recently I've put together a new band to play existing tunes (written by me for previous recording projects) and write new ones with the reasonably modest ambitions to play maybe a gig a month in our city and maybe travel to other cities once in a while, record some songs and perhaps self release an e.p.
- What is your band aiming for? How are you going about it?

Getting gigs has been reasonably simple so far through existing relationships with promoters and venue managers and/but they are all in local established music venues with PAs and engineers rather than pubs and clubs.
- How are you approaching booking gigs? What types of venues are you playing? Are/how much are you getting paid?

Promoting the band and gigs - we're focusing on social media (facebook and twitter) mostly at the moment.
- How do you go about promoting?

Recordings - we've struggled with finding a cheap way to record the band so far and are using some solo recordings I made at home to give promoters, venues and other bands an idea of what we sound like.
- thoughts, experiences and ideas?


Anything else you want to discuss relating to running your original bands?

[DogHammer]

Hi rOB,

I actually find it a bit difficult finding promoters to get gigs under.

We have played a few originals gigs, 1 under a promoter, and some under pub landlords, event managers.

I find that around where I live, alot of the promoters seem to be purely for Metal bands, and we simply wont fit on their shows. But then again I'm thinking that we just need to 'get around a bit' and get known and I'm sure it will get better.


Plus im sure getting a proper recorded demo disk to give to promoters would be the best thing to do. We have badly recorded stuff, but something half decently recorded would be good. Very expensive though....

[joeystrange]

Here's something that loosely comes under the promotion umbrella...

After the gig don't sit at the merch table and wait for people to come to you. Grab a box of CDs and walk around every single person in the venue, have a little chat and see if they want to buy a CD. Some people will knock you back but as long as you don't take it personally and don't let it get to you you'll be fine and I almost guarantee that you'll sell 10x as many CDs as you will if you sit and wait for people to come to you.

I've never done this before this band but we've recently been making £100-250 per gig on merch alone with sometimes only 20 or 30 people at the gig.
That often makes up for the little money we get paid for the gig itself which isn't always enough to cover petrol money.

[jaydentaku]

We are lucky, as my friend is a sound engineer and producer. We get work done very cheaply. We have been together for a year now and we have not been fervently looking for gigs, but we have done about 10 so far.

If we are offered money after a gig, its a welcome surprise, but we find that most places seem to think they are doing us a favor to attract more punters into their pubs and this is disheartening for us. We have made, between us about £20 in 12 months. LOL.

We are now looking to record some new tracks and have them produced rather than the rough demos we have previously had recorded, looking to network and approach new promoters and venues.

We are in the throws of having a music video filmed, again we are lucky as I am friends with a troop of independent film makers and that is free.

We had a pro photoshoot done last week for free as I have friends in photography also.

One of us is a DJ on a local FM station, so we have been on their, promoting the band and we are on facebook. Ina year, we have managed 156 likes, which I think is fairly pathetic. But we haven't been concentrating on promotion, just having fun.

I think a dedicated website is a must and luckily, that's what I do for a living.

All in all, this makes me realize how easy we have it and yet we haven't gotten very far. When we do concentrate on promoting ourselves, hopefully we will make some waves.

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='rOB' timestamp='1346870566' post='1794335']we've struggled with finding a cheap way to record the band so far - thoughts, experiences and ideas?[/quote]

A long while back my son's band hit a dead spot. They were building a reputation of sorts but that was it. They played a gig in an Edinburgh club & I asked the sound guy to put a metal tape in his desk for free beers for the night. It wasn't perfect but they had a rep as a live band, so I had the tape made up into 1000 CDs which they sold at gigs & used as promo.
To tell you how far back this was John Peel had them as band of the week & the song he chose was on the BBC site for over 2 years.

[JTUK]

We do this on the back of the covers band which goes by the same name... so we use what set we want to and as we deem it appropriate.
This way the Venue have heard of you so you get past those initial issues and nerves on their part.

Most of the time, it is less about what you play, but that they know what they are going to get...
Our rates will not change just because the set is original... and we may well even charge more.
What you charge really depends on what the venue can afford ...and if they aren't well funded or organised
they will not pay much regardless of what you end up playing.

[rOB]

Does anyone have any good ways of promoting gigs? Does anyone do flyers before gigs? Does anyone advertise gigs?

[funkypenguin]

As far as getting gigs is concerned, look up everywhere that puts originals bands on and get on it and get your details and recordings to them. Be persistent! Most pubs want you to chuck covers in as well as originals. Get posters up in the venue, around the venue and on social network sites (FB etc.). Payment very much depends on where you are getting gigs, most pubs pay between £180-£300. Most clubs where ive played in originals bands havnt been paid gigs (though we usually get a drink or two) so unless you can do 2 sets and pull in alot of people dont expect to be paid on those types of gigs.

Recording wise....depends what you want. If you're looking for a cheap and cheerful EP, it will sound cheap and cheerful. If you want quality recordings done in a quality studio with great gear and with a good engineer, be prepared to pay good money for it. Golden Rule - You get what you pay for. This goes double for production and mastering

If you're hell bent on only doing originals, be prepared to do ALOT of leg work to keep the band going

Edited September 6, 2012 by funkypenguin

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='rOB' timestamp='1346870566' post='1794335']
There has been plenty of discussion around covers and tribute bands recently which is interesting no matter what kind of band you're in but sometimes things seem to differ in the world of original (as much as that term can ever be applied) music. Might be worth sharing some experiences and ideas?

So recently I've put together a new band to play existing tunes (written by me for previous recording projects) and write new ones with the reasonably modest ambitions to play maybe a gig a month in our city and maybe travel to other cities once in a while, record some songs and perhaps self release an e.p.
- What is your band aiming for? How are you going about it?

Getting gigs has been reasonably simple so far through existing relationships with promoters and venue managers and/but they are all in local established music venues with PAs and engineers rather than pubs and clubs.
- How are you approaching booking gigs? What types of venues are you playing? Are/how much are you getting paid?

Promoting the band and gigs - we're focusing on social media (facebook and twitter) mostly at the moment.
- How do you go about promoting?

Recordings - we've struggled with finding a cheap way to record the band so far and are using some solo recordings I made at home to give promoters, venues and other bands an idea of what we sound like.
- thoughts, experiences and ideas?


Anything else you want to discuss relating to running your original bands?
[/quote]

Don't kid yourself. You may be playing original music, but the rest of the band didn't write any of it, so are mere cover players.

[rOB]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1346955916' post='1795365']
Don't kid yourself. You may be playing original music, but the rest of the band didn't write any of it, so are mere cover players.
[/quote]
mmm don't really want to open that can of worms again!

Come on, how do people promote their gigs?

[rOB]

[quote name='funkypenguin' timestamp='1346954711' post='1795343']
As far as getting gigs is concerned, look up everywhere that puts originals bands on and get on it and get your details and recordings to them. Be persistent! Most pubs want you to chuck covers in as well as originals. Get posters up in the venue, around the venue and on social network sites (FB etc.). Payment very much depends on where you are getting gigs, most pubs pay between £180-£300. Most clubs where ive played in originals bands havnt been paid gigs (though we usually get a drink or two) so unless you can do 2 sets and pull in alot of people dont expect to be paid on those types of gigs.

Recording wise....depends what you want. If you're looking for a cheap and cheerful EP, it will sound cheap and cheerful. If you want quality recordings done in a quality studio with great gear and with a good engineer, be prepared to pay good money for it. Golden Rule - You get what you pay for. This goes double for production and mastering

If you're hell bent on only doing originals, be prepared to do ALOT of leg work to keep the band going
[/quote]

Posters, yes good point we've been a little slack on the physical tools.

Recording - mmm well said. I think we're edging towards a day or two in a studio, there are a fair few near us so hopefully we'll have some decent options. Has anyone gone the home recording route?

Re: leg work keeping the band going. You're absolutely right, originals is hard work but for me (and I suppose others) the fulfillment of playing music you wrote to people and having them enjoy it is worth it.

[rOB]

[quote name='DogHammer' timestamp='1346919958' post='1794749']
Hi rOB,

I actually find it a bit difficult finding promoters to get gigs under.
....
I find that around where I live, alot of the promoters seem to be purely for Metal bands, and we simply wont fit on their shows. But then again I'm thinking that we just need to 'get around a bit' and get known and I'm sure it will get better.
[/quote]

Hey DH, yeah it can be tough if promoters aren't putting on suitable shows. Could you maybe contact other local bands of a similar genre to you and see if you could put on some shows yourselves? Are there any local venues that put on shows of your genre? Maybe they'd be the ones to focus on?

[quote name='joeystrange' timestamp='1346920591' post='1794760']
Here's something that loosely comes under the promotion umbrella...

After the gig don't sit at the merch table and wait for people to come to you. ....
[/quote]

Very good idea. Now just need to get some merch to sell!

[quote name='jaydentaku' timestamp='1346920678' post='1794762']
All in all, this makes me realize how easy we have it and yet we haven't gotten very far. When we do concentrate on promoting ourselves, hopefully we will make some waves.
[/quote]

Wow, you've definitely got friends in the right places. Best of luck to you.

[BigRedX]

I've started answering this thread a couple of times and realised that most of my knowledge was either out of date or pretty much only relevant to my current band. However thinking about it a bit more then maybe there is some useful advice I can pass on...

Firstly, and most important is make sure that all the members of your band are on the same page as regards ambitions and commitment. It doesn't matter if you are doing it for a bit of fun with the occasional gig or you want to "make it" (whatever than might mean nowadays) just make sure that all the members of your band feel the same, and if you are going to be asking them to put in big commitments in terms of time and travelling and anything else to do with the band they are both willing and able. Nothing splits a band quicker than members who can't or won't put in the sort of time and effort that the others are doing, or conversely someone who wants to be doing far more than a fortnightly rehearsal the occasional gig. If your band isn't stable and basically committed to the same goals then it's ultimately doomed and the rest doesn't matter.

Next use the resources within your band. If you are playing originals you're likely to have people with a higher level of creativity in the band that may well extend beyond music. Utilise their talents for recording, graphic design, web development, video making etc. Even if your unlucky enough to have people who only do music and songwriting as bandmates the chances are they will know people who do have the resources and abilities you require. Use them. If they like you and your band the chances are they will help you in ways that go beyond what someone who's simply doing it because you are paying them. It's the ability to tap into these kinds of talents and get the most out of them that is likely to help set your band apart from all the others.

Know your music and know your audience. Of course you want to be completely new and original producing something that's never been heard before. However the public likes labels. You don't have be exactly like the bands you are going to identify with, but if your audience can fit you into a pigeon hole without having to squint too hard it can make life easier for you. If one of those labels come with an audience with an extra interest in new bands that doesn't hurt either. The Terrortones aren't strictly speaking a psychobilly band, but we're close enough for most psychobilly audiences to get us. We also sort of fit into punk, garage rock and goth niches too which all have ready made and enthusiastic audiences as well as their own fan networks that can spread the word. These days its permissible to like all kinds of music so the need to be part of a "current" scene is far less important than it used to be.

Seek out other bands that fit into the same genres as yours to do gigs with them. Try and avoid those horrible 4 or 5 band gigs where none of the bands have anything musically in common with each other. Gigging is all about promotion and growing your audience. These sorts of gigs rarely do either. You are unlikely to see the other bands or the people who came to watch them ever again. Playing with bands who do have something musical in common you are not their to steal their audience but to add your band to the"list" of bands they like.

Be entertaining. As much as some would-be musicians would like to think otherwise, just playing the songs is not enough no matter how musically accomplish you may be. If that's all an audience wanted they'd be content to play your music loud at home where the beer is cheaper and they are less likely to stick to the carpet. However you've enticed them out of their comfy living rooms to some dodgy venue and maybe even charged them an entrance fee, so give them something worth coming out for and watching. You don't have to go as far as Mr Venom, but at least acknowledge the audience is there and engage them. Unless of course your stage demeanour is cold and aloof, in which case be properly cold and aloof and no smiling at the back there (see my first point). If gurning like a rock god isn't your thing or doesn't fit the music you are playing then look for something that does. The important thing is to make sure your band comes across like a band.

If your home town doesn't want you then play somewhere that does. One of the great things about living in the Midlands is that most of the big music cities in the UK are within a four hour drive. While we're lucky in that there is a pretty good audience for the Terrortones in Nottingham, there are actually even betters ones in Newcastle, Liverpool and London. These days with the internet, your biggest potential audience might not even be in the same country as you. So long as you can make it financially viable it's easier than ever to discover where your fan base(s) are and travel to play to them. Which brings me to my next points...

Get paid for the gigs you do. At the very least ask. The worst that can happen is that the venue or promoter says no and then you have to decide if it's worth doing the gig for free. We decided pretty early on that the Terrortones live show was worth paying for and consequently it has to be very special circumstances for us to play for free these days. Good gigs pay more than enough to cover our travelling costs as well as providing food and drink for the evening and if necessary put us up for the night.

Have stuff to sell and be pro-active about it. IME if you are entertaining audiences like to buy stuff to remind them of the gig. In this digital age by all means have your music up on iTunes etc - in fact it's so cheap and easy to do you'd be a fool not to. However we sell far more actual CDs then we do downloads. Make sure that your CD is well enough presented to have additional value for your audience over just the music from iTunes. Also have cheap stuff like badges which you can give away if necessary. Remember everyone wearing a badge or a T-shirt is a walking advert for your band. Have flyers with your web addresses on them to give away at gigs - people might not have enough money left for your CD at the end of a gig but if they have your web details they well buy on on-line later.

Promote everywhere you can. On-line Facebook is the obvious one right now. ReverbNation is worth a look too. If you have any ambition I would recommend getting a domain name and a simple web site up. Even if it's mostly links to your other web presences it shows that you have a bit more about you (after all anyone can make a Facebook page) and stops someone else cyber-squatting on your name. Update at least your Facebook page once a week. If necessary keep stuff back from busy weeks to use to maintain the interest on weeks when you might not have anything new to say. IMO there's nothing to looks worse than band pages that haven't been updated for a while - it make you wonder if the band are still going. If you have the time and resources do an email newsletter. Yes all the information will probably be somewhere on your website but it's an extra touch and a useful way to remind your fans of upcoming gigs, or new music being released.

And then think about the less obvious places on the internet. Music forums like this one are a good place to start. Just make sure that you maintain an on-line presence on all the ones you sign up for. No-one hates it more when somewhen comes onto a forum or message board just for the purpose of spamming - and bands are no different. Keep your band plugging to an enigmatic signature in your posts until you've established yourself in a forum before being more overt. Don't just limit yourself to music forums - if you are interested in something there's a good chance that other people on that forum will be interested in your band. Just keep it subtle to start with.

I think that's all for the moment. If I was to sum it all up it would be to make the most of your resources and opportunities and if you don't ask you'll probably not get. Get out there and be entertaining!

[rOB]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1347825903' post='1805558']
I've started answering this thread a couple of times and realised that most of my knowledge was either out of date or pretty much only relevant to my current band. However thinking about it a bit more then maybe there is some useful advice I can pass on...

......

I think that's all for the moment. If I was to sum it all up it would be to make the most of your resources and opportunities and if you don't ask you'll probably not get. Get out there and be entertaining!
[/quote]

Wow, what a lot to take in and some excellent points. Thanks for taking the time to put all that down and share your experience.

Being entertaining on stage and doing everything you can to promote the band sound like excellent things to focus on.

[Ziphoblat]

My band went down the DIY recording route. The prices for even the cheaper studios is ridiculous for the quality of the finished products (at least around here), and for the price of a few hours in the studio we managed to pretty much buy everything we needed to record ourselves. We went down the computer interface route (got a Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56) and a cheap drum mic set from a budget brand (Samson, I think it's a re-branding of Stagg or something, think Bugera/Behringer, may be wrong there). We used one of the condensers from the drum mics to record the vocals, and the bass and guitar were both just recorded direct in and run through amp simulators and other digital processors. The advantage to this approach is that whenever we want to record more material we're able to do it cost free. It's more work on your part - the mixing process can be arduous (especially when you're trying to compensate for budget mics), but I prefer it this way. We already had a lot of the necessary equipment (mic stands, XLR cables and what have you) from our live gear.

As an originals band it's definitely worth learning some covers too. I find for one thing that it helps strengthen the way you work together musically as a band, and it opens plenty more avenues. In my band we've always been first and foremost concerned with our original material, but we still have a catalogue of over thirty covers (ranging from hits to more obscure numbers, anywhere between the 60's and the other month). This means that as well as being able to play all the unpaid music venue gigs (the ones we do for enjoyment) we can also play your standard pub gig to get a bit of money in pocket. At these sort of gigs we usually throw our original material in there amongst the covers too, and the punters usually love it (we're usually told those were our best songs, I suppose the fact they're the ones we play for enjoyment shows in the playing and stuff). At function gigs we'll usually leave them out unless requested otherwise. We've played gigs from the standard sort of £15-250 range right up to £600 on occasion, so it's not a bad little earner on the side and paid for our recording gear. We quite frequently end up booking more gigs from these pub gigs too, people in the audience who ask us to play at their wedding/party/birthday/third-cousin-twice-removed's-friends-Bar-Mitzvah, and sometimes other opportunities too such as radio, festivals, more music venues etc. It's definitely worth expanding into as many areas as you can in my opinion.

[rOB]

[quote name='Ziphoblat' timestamp='1347912330' post='1806625']
My band went down the DIY recording route. The prices for even the cheaper studios is ridiculous for the quality of the finished products (at least around here), and for the price of a few hours in the studio we managed to pretty much buy everything we needed to record ourselves. We went down the computer interface route (got a Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56) and a cheap drum mic set from a budget brand (Samson, I think it's a re-branding of Stagg or something, think Bugera/Behringer, may be wrong there). We used one of the condensers from the drum mics to record the vocals, and the bass and guitar were both just recorded direct in and run through amp simulators and other digital processors. The advantage to this approach is that whenever we want to record more material we're able to do it cost free. It's more work on your part - the mixing process can be arduous (especially when you're trying to compensate for budget mics), but I prefer it this way. We already had a lot of the necessary equipment (mic stands, XLR cables and what have you) from our live gear.
in my opinion.
[/quote]

mmm something to think about. We've tried self recording but we'd need to really pull our socks up to produce anything decent.

[rOB]

Ok, finally arranged a date for a friend of the drummer to come down to help us do some recording. Quite a relief to finally have it in the diary. Just need to borrow some drum mics from somewhere.

Working on some material to play as an acoustic duo with my guitarist as well. The idea is to play an open mic night maybe twice a month, make sure to plug the band's name and see if we can get the name out a bit. Bit of fun with maybe some advantages for the band. More practice for my singing voice too.