Waiting Cosmic Alignment to book gig

[Quilly]

Me and the lead guitarist generally do the gig booking and it seems like we need the planets to align to get all members and gig available on the same night and then there are last minute cancellations that are an annoyance I’m sure to pub landlords.  We’ve missed so many gigs it’s not funny. Is this normal ? 

[Woodinblack]

We put all the days we can't play in the calendar, then all other days are free to book. We have virtually never cancelled a gig barring major illness.

[BrunoBass]

We have an online band calendar where, in theory at least, we book out the days / weekends we can’t do, so we plan gigs around that. There are only three of us, and (apart from my solo gigs, which are usually weekdays anyway) none of us are in other bands.  
 

In the four and a half years I’ve been in the band we’ve only had to cancel one gig, when the singer got laryngitis.

[Maude]

Same with the band diary. We just use Google calendars and you book out any unavailable days. If we get offered a gig and the diary's free then it's booked. No cancelling unless it's something drastic. 

[Silvia Bluejay]

We use Lemonrock for both The Junkyard Dogs and Damo And The Dynamites. We manage each calendar by asking all members to let us know their unavailable dates as soon as possible, and anything that's left, marked in green, is available for gigs on a first come first served basis.

So far we've only needed a dep for one band once.

The advantage of those calendars is that landlords and venue bookers can see them too, should they so wish, and know which dates the band can do even before making a call to offer us a gig.

Edited November 4, 2019 by Silvia Bluejay

[Mudpup]

32 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

We use Lemonrock for both The Junkyard Dogs and Damo And The Dynamites. We manage each calendar by asking all members to let us know their unavailable dates as soon as possible, and anything that's left, marked in green, is available for gigs on a first come first served basis.

So far we've only needed a dep for one band once.

The advantage of those calendars is that landlords and venue bookers can see them too, should they so wish, and know which dates the band can do even before making a call to offer us a gig.

This.....

[paul_c2]

Christmas is always a busy period. There's a 3 week period everything gets squished into. All the bands and groups play, social groups meet, etc etc. Too early if its before December, too late if its just a few days before.

If you think your organisation is complicated, try doing it with a group of 25!

[Happy Jack]

41 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

The advantage of those calendars is that landlords and venue bookers can see them too, should they so wish, and know which dates the band can do even before making a call to offer us a gig.

But you need to emphasise to the venues that you keep your 'Free' tab on Lemonrock accurate and up to date. So few bands actually use this facility that most bookers won't bother to check it unless you point them at it.

[Monkey Steve]

for all the excellent suggestions made, it all boils down to the individual band members actually using whatever method has been agreed.  And quite often they don't.  I know @Quilly's pain - musicians generally behave like petulant toddlers who expect somebody else to do everything for them, refuse to play gigs or rehearse on days when they can think of anything else to do, won't respond to e-mails and texts or use band calendars and then whinge that the band isn't playing very much like it's somebody else's fault.

Typical exchange:

BL - Everybody's been using the band calendar and marking off dates you can't make?

Band - Yes, of course, it's easy, don't treat us like children

BL - Great, so we've got a gig next month on the 12th, it's free on the calendar and I've booked it.  We're supporting a reformed Led Zeppelin at Wembley stadium

Lead Guitarist - Sorry, I might have something on that night, I should know for certain by about the 10th

BL - *head explodes*

Time for a serious sit down band discussion.  The band members who will not commit to dates, or who agree to them and then cancel, need to know that they are a problem that is ruining the band for everybody else. If they want to be in a band that plays gigs then they will actually have to show some commitment and agree to play some gigs.  If they don't, can't or won't then it's time for them to move on, whether by their own volition or not

You might want to dress that up a bit and not start with the threat of a sacking, but you need to be clear that they all need to pull their socks up and show some commitment.  And if they don't, well it's never going to improve so if you're not happy about it then maybe you and the guitarist need to do something about finding a band who can play as frequently as you want

[Quilly]

Cheers for the ideals I need some sort of shared calendar

[Silvia Bluejay]

Doesn't need to be shared. In fact, ours aren't. Jack and I manage them; the band members text or email us their non available dates, and I enter them in the calendar. Job done.

[Woodinblack]

We just use google calendar, you can just knock up a free account and subscribe to it from anything.

10 hours ago, Monkey Steve said:

Typical exchange:

BL - Everybody's been using the band calendar and marking off dates you can't make?

Band - Yes, of course, it's easy, don't treat us like children

BL - Great, so we've got a gig next month on the 12th, it's free on the calendar and I've booked it.  We're supporting a reformed Led Zeppelin at Wembley stadium

Lead Guitarist - Sorry, I might have something on that night, I should know for certain by about the 10th

BL - *head explodes*

Yeh, I wouldn't be doing that.

They want to be in a band or they don't, so either they leave or I leave, I can't be bothered to put up with that attitude, I would just go and find a band that wanted to play. There is enough hassle being in a band without that.

I admire anyones patience if they put up with that more than once.