Gig hunting

[Deep Thought]

Our drummer's been off in India for a month, and me and the guitarist's job is to use the time to chase up some gigs whilst he's away. Guitarist hasn't been much use, so looks like it's down to me. I'm about to start a full-on offensive against the pubs of Cornwall, how do you fellows go about getting gigs?

[Protium]

Have a demo CD of 2 or 3 tracks with your contact details included. Go to pubs and ask if they are looking for bands, leave a CD with the landlord etc. Have a decent myspace that is checked and kept up to date regularly. And just the right amounts of persistence and patience

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='Protium' post='286805' date='Sep 18 2008, 07:24 PM']Have a demo CD of 2 or 3 tracks with your contact details included. Go to pubs and ask if they are looking for bands, leave a CD with the landlord etc. Have a decent myspace that is checked and kept up to date regularly. And just the right amounts of persistence and patience [/quote]

100% correct.

And - and this isn't a gag - lie. You've done this, that and the other and it was packed. Twice.

Give landlords the respect they deserve as business men and posssible employers. Unless you're very,very lucky though - don't expect them to know anything or give a monkeys toss about music.

Trust them? Trust has to be earned and can soon be spent. More important to know them.

[OldGit]

Get a copy of this absolutely excellent book/ebook on how to do it, and then how to get booked back.
It will be the best £15 you've ever spent on anything to do with your playing, no question.

[url="http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm"]http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm[/url]

Don't be put off by the marketing. Oh and the Web advice is a bit crap but the "personal approach" to pubs bit is right on the money.

[TheRev]

Promise that you'll bring twenty mates who are heavy (but polite) drinkers.

[Protium]

[quote name='OldGit' post='287305' date='Sep 19 2008, 02:15 PM']Get a copy of this absolutely excellent book/ebook on how to do it, and then how to get booked back.
It will be the best £15 you've ever spent on anything to do with your playing, no question.

[url="http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm"]http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm[/url]

Don't be put off by the marketing. [b]Oh and the Web advice is a bit crap[/b] but the "personal approach" to pubs bit is right on the money.[/quote]

A decent myspace (done properly not cluttered up with pics, slideshows, top 8000 friends etc) - you can have everything on one page, music plays while they read your bio, dead easy to navigate, dead easy for people to get in contact, [u]massive[/u] online network with other bands/fans etc, and it's FREE! Doesn't seem too crap to me

[thepurpleblob]

If you don't have a CD.....

Have a nicely printed set list / information sheet. The venue wants to know what sort of stuff you'll play, how horrible you look, and if you'll fit. Don't forget contact details that actually work. Have business cards too.

Go in looking like you mean it. Try and be a bit presentable :-) As to speak to the person who books bands. If they're not there, and they never are, get their name (write it down), when they are in and leave an information sheet. However, always always always go back and speak to the right person.

Ask for a gig - just ask, "we are a great band, you'll like us, and we'd go down great in your pub. Can we have a gig please?". When they say they are fully booked ask if you can leave your details in case of cancellations. If all that fails, go back in 3 months and try again.

Around here, the good pubs are booked up a year in advance and it's hard to get on the circuit. Being available for cancellations can make the difference. This all assumes that you are not crap when you do get to play of course

Couple more thoughts.... don't go at stupid busy times or when other bands are playing. Again, if anything like around here, avoid big cities. Central Glasgow, for example, is just full of places that basically want you to pay them to play (sell tickets to your mates). The choice venues are all in the "burbs".

Edited September 19, 2008 by thepurpleblob

[Adrenochrome]

Network network network. Have a decent MySpace, have a normal webpage as well, hand out flyers at gigs, offer your band for non-paying charity gigs. Go support the kinds of venues you want to play, then review those gigs for other people's websites and/or your own website. Be a visible presence on forums that bands and venues use.
We did all that and now we don't chase gigs at all.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Protium' post='287322' date='Sep 19 2008, 02:29 PM']A decent myspace (done properly not cluttered up with pics, slideshows, top 8000 friends etc) - you can have everything on one page, music plays while they read your bio, dead easy to navigate, dead easy for people to get in contact, [u]massive[/u] online network with other bands/fans etc, and it's FREE! Doesn't seem too crap to me [/quote]

Protium,
Sorry, you misread my note.

The web advice [b]in the book I'm recommending [/b]is crap - it says "don't list your gigs on your website, if you feel you must have one, as rival bands will get ideas for places to play" and crap like that.

I'm a total, and very vocal, advocate of both websites and Myspace .. Check the link from my sig

[OldGit]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='287334' date='Sep 19 2008, 02:35 PM']If you don't have a CD.....

Have a nicely printed set list / information sheet. The venue wants to know what sort of stuff you'll play, how horrible you look, and if you'll fit. Don't forget contact details that actually work. Have business cards too.

Go in looking like you mean it. Try and be a bit presentable :-) As to speak to the person who books bands. If they're not there, and they never are, get their name (write it down), when they are in and leave an information sheet. However, always always always go back and speak to the right person.

Ask for a gig - just ask, "we are a great band, you'll like us, and we'd go down great in your pub. Can we have a gig please?". When they say they are fully booked ask if you can leave your details in case of cancellations. If all that fails, go back in 3 months and try again.

Around here, the good pubs are booked up a year in advance and it's hard to get on the circuit. Being available for cancellations can make the difference. This all assumes that you are not crap when you do get to play of course

Couple more thoughts.... don't go at stupid busy times or when other bands are playing. Again, if anything like around here, avoid big cities. Central Glasgow, for example, is just full of places that basically want you to pay them to play (sell tickets to your mates). The choice venues are all in the "burbs".[/quote]

+1 on all that.

if you can promise to bring 50 people (and then actually do it) you will get gigs and re-books.
Be careful with your BS ... Don't pretend you have a following and then bring no one to your first gig. If you do that the venue booker (and his booker mates on his emailing list in the local booker network) will not trust you again. Just say "we can bring 50 people" and then bring 50 people.

Try for gigs in places that have bands like yours.

Go and watch the good ones to see how the venue works and how the band does their gigs.

Any band that fills a venue is worth watching as they will be the sort of band the venue is looking for not just the tunes they play..

If you are starting out and don't have 3x45 mins sets plus extras, offer to do support slots at prestigious venues. If you get one you'll only need 45 mins and then you can truthfully say "we played [name of venue]" and it will be true, plus support gigs can generate a following (and you need that for good venues)

Set your payment expectations realistically. Some gigs will pay a flat fee (find out from other bands how much that is - just ask them, before you go for your meeting) Some will pay an amount based on beer takings that night - up to you if you trust the pub to do that fairly but it has been known for a full pub to say "we didn't make much, here's £20 for the whole band) that's up to you.

Some will pay you if you sell tickets only or give you 100 tickets to sell where you keep £2 per ticket sold or whatever.
That's not "pay to play" by the way, it's just the venue sharing the responsibility for drawing a crowd with you. Someone has to cover the costs of putting your band on.
Get it right and you can make a decent amount of money on that basis. If you think they should provide you with an audience and a fee with you doing nowt in the way of marketing and following building, then you may be disappointed and you should go for the flat fee pubs.

Plenty of previous discussions on the subject of "pay to play" on here.

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='TheRev' post='287309' date='Sep 19 2008, 02:17 PM']Promise that you'll bring twenty mates who are heavy (but polite) drinkers.[/quote]
+1. Drop into conversation that you've "got a pretty big following" whether you have or haven't and round up friends and family for the first gig. Landlords generally organise band nights to make money, not because they're music lovers.

+1 on the first answer about getting a CD and some sort of website. lemonrock.co.uk is a good one if you don't have your own. better than myspace for cover bands, I reckon.

[bassbloke]

Make a point of saying if they're ever let down by a band last minute you'll try your hardest to help out.

There's only one thing worse for a landlord that a band that pulls in no punters and that's no band at all. They can kiss the possiblity of any passign trade goodbye, the place will look miserable and he'll be paying a soundman to do nothing.

I've gotten good gigs on the back of helping out a promoter at short notice. Doesn;t change the fact that I think they're all w*nkers though

[Protium]

[quote name='OldGit' post='287351' date='Sep 19 2008, 02:57 PM']Protium,
Sorry, you misread my note.

The web advice [b]in the book I'm recommending [/b]is crap - it says "don't list your gigs on your website, if you feel you must have one, as rival bands will get ideas for places to play" and crap like that.

I'm a total, and very vocal, advocate of both websites and Myspace .. Check the link from my sig [/quote]

Woops totally misread, sorry

[elom]

[quote name='OldGit' post='287305' date='Sep 19 2008, 02:15 PM']Get a copy of this absolutely excellent book/ebook on how to do it, and then how to get booked back.
It will be the best £15 you've ever spent on anything to do with your playing, no question.

[url="http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm"]http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm[/url]

Don't be put off by the marketing. Oh and the Web advice is a bit crap but the "personal approach" to pubs bit is right on the money.[/quote]

Can't recommend this highly enough. Helped me no end when I was starting out getting gigs - in fact there is a quote from me on the web site as one of the satisfied punters.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='287400' date='Sep 19 2008, 04:02 PM']+1 on the first answer about getting a CD and some sort of website. lemonrock.co.uk is a good one if you don't have your own. better than myspace for cover bands, I reckon.[/quote]

lemonrock is brilliant for cover bands. We have been contacted by a number of pubs who have found us via lemonrock plus the gig diary is available as a feed for your web site. It's also a great place to find the gigging pubs in your area.

The only Cornish gig we have played was at the Lifeboat Inn in St Ives, nice pub and a good gig. Ask for Jon. Also, we played at the Creek's End Inn in Kingsbridge last weekend and they were asking if we knew of any other bands. It's one of our favourite venues and maybe not too far from you, depending on where in Cornwall you are.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='286769' date='Sep 18 2008, 06:04 PM']Our drummer's been off in India for a month, and me and the guitarist's job is to use the time to chase up some gigs whilst he's away. Guitarist hasn't been much use, so looks like it's down to me. I'm about to start a full-on offensive against the pubs of Cornwall, how do you fellows go about getting gigs?[/quote]

I was thinking about this.
One thing we may have missed .. if you are going BACK to places you played before - and the drummer usually does the calling - you just have to say "[drummers name] is away and asked me to call you for some more dates"
That should do it, assuming you went down well/filled the place last time..

[OldGit]

[quote name='elom' post='291370' date='Sep 24 2008, 11:57 PM']Can't recommend this highly enough. Helped me no end when I was starting out getting gigs - in fact there is a quote from me on the web site as one of the satisfied punters.[/quote]

Yeah me too
"Best I’ve read on the subject” – Simon C. Cardiff (www.jellied-reels.co.uk)

He's a smart marketeer - but I got an inbound link from it ..

Edited September 24, 2008 by OldGit

[Deep Thought]

Thanks to all, chaps-I've ordered my copy of Gig Getter. We're basically after first-time gigs, not having been established for too long. The idea was that whilst the drummer's away, as we're not doing much else we can use the time to chase gigs. To my shame I've put it off for quite a while because I confess I'm not good at this this type of thing-self-promotion is not one of my fortes. He's due back soon and I want to have something to show for it! A problem we have is that most of our work mates have seen us a few times at Ambulance Service do's, and most of them aren't big blues fans, so getting them to turn out to see us in large numbers now the novelty's worn off is difficult. I'm planning a bit of a road trip, handing out demos/press packs to likely venues, although I'm stuck at home with my daughter and her chicken pox at the moment! I'll add the Lifeboat Inn to my list. Cheers lads.

Edited September 25, 2008 by Deep Thought