Pbassred Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 We have a 5 piece funk band hat I want to gig with a lot. What would be the best way to get pub/club gigs. Turn up and try to speak to the manager? Phone? Post out a demo? If so, demo of what? Audio only? Studio takes? Live? Video clips? Web site? Myspace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galilee Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Just send a picture of the hat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Yes - it's as simple as going and asking. It can help if you send them some promo stuff in advance. A CD's good. Websites/myspace are invaluable these days. If you're cold calling - go early on a night when there's a band on. From experience - but purely a personal opinion - the pub manager probably hasn't the first clue if you sound good on CD or not but will be impressed if you have one , and is more likely to book you on word of mouth recommendation than anything else. He/she wants to know one thing - if you're likely to fill his cash register or not. Bullshitting them is very likely to work. You have to respect the fact that they are running the joint and are your prospective employers but they probably won't deserve any more respect than that and will talk absolute bollocks. Nod and smile. Of course there are many pubs not like that , interested people who truly want to promote good live music. They are a rarity in my opinion though. I've done hundreds of pub gigs and I don't think I'm being over cynical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 The above advice is all sound. Go see the manager early evening with some kind of demo [even a not-so-polished live demo is okay]. Tell 'em that all your mates/family/colleague will come to the gig. Be clear about when all the band is available as they may want to book anything up to 15 months in advance. Have reliable contact details ready and a MySpace page at the very least. Listen and look interested as Dr.Dave said above. Offer to join in any charity all-dayers for free as these can get you excellent publicity and a foot in the door for a 'proper' gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Calling pubs on the phone can often be helpful, especially if you're not local. We've scored gigs in london based on cold phone calls and our myspace page and/or posting a demo. Lots of pubs will have a designated gig-promoter (more of a putter-onner and f*cker-offer) or an agency that you will have to deal with instead, and the pub will give you the relevant phone number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayfan Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 [quote name='Galilee' post='226759' date='Jun 25 2008, 03:46 PM']Just send a picture of the hat?[/quote] Joking aside - a well produced demo CD, biog and pic of the band should do the trick. Call and speak to the person that books the bands then put it all in an envelope to them. Drop it off in person if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born 2B Mild Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I bought "[i]Gig-Getter: How to get more gigs than you can play[/i] is a brand new step-by-step guide for amateur or semi-pro bands and musicians." from [url="http://www.gig-getter.co.uk"]http://www.gig-getter.co.uk[/url] It's not rocket science, and like most guides and seminars, you realise you knew most of it already. However this guide serves as a focus and a check list. What's more it is a UK publication, only £15 and is written by a bass player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I'd just start phoning around and talking to as many landlords/bookers as possible. As soon as you have done one or two pub gigs, it will become easier to get more. Also,I have never been asked for a CD or bio when booking pub gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Just one point. Be wary of Landlords asking for 'shop windows'. In other words a freebie gig with the promise of paid work if it's a success. Of course , you need to use judgement here rather than hard and fast rules. A short set at an all day charity event - no problem. A support slot to a name band and the publicity that comes with it - maybe. A full gig on a band night.......hmmmm. We are not here to line others pockets - if our contributions help make money for a business man we must negotiate our share of that. It's a question of putting value on our time and our skills. Consider this too. If I walk in to the Dog and Vomit , Huddersfield and say my band will play next Saturday for nothing because we all have good jobs , plenty of cash ,nice fancy equipment and are well past wanting to be rock stars. Then a young band wanting to play the following week walks in 5 mins later who need cash for decent equipment and to make demos to try and get some record company/management interest......... Why would the landlord want to pay that young band when he knows he can get bands for nothing?? We have responsibilities folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Good point Dr, one of our band members really doesn't need the money, but when they take bookings for the band they always agree an average or above fee. Partly because the rest of us all do need the money to pay for fuel etc, and partly to make sure pubs pay a going rate - and many of the us covers bands do stick up for each other regarding rates of pay etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Buy a pub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 If I remember rightly there was quite a good article in the last BGM. I have a biog, and a CD of mixed live songs (ie multitracks not a boom box set up in front of you at a gig) If you can get a good result with the boom box - and I know we have in years gone by - then go for it, but nowadays you will be up against much better produced stuff with modern recording equipment available. I tend to ring the pub and chat to whoever does the bookings. If they are looking for bands / have spaces available and are willing to pay what we are asking then we move on to whether we can put something in the book on rep, or they want a CD. If you send a CD find out the best night to call and say you will post one and give the booker a call in a week. As the good Doc said don't fall for the "free try out". We refuse those as a point of principle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 1 Find someone who has always wanted to be in a band but has no discernible talent. 2 Bestow the position of "manager" upon them. 3 Sit back (rehearse) while they do all the phoning and flyers. This will reap dividends for about 6 months to a year when they finally figure out that being in a band is not really all it's cracked up to be and can actually be hard work at times. 4 See step 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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