getting gigs - nightmare?

seaner

Hey all,
this is an ad for a huge gig planned somewher...I WISH!
But rather, its a plea. A plea for for your help?
How do I get gigs??? I'm at the end of my teather!! It seems every pub I go to is 'booked up' or they don't handle the booking of gigs anymore and an agency do. WTF?

I'll be honest, i'm in a 4 pc band...we're good! and i know this,i ain't deludin myself, but i'm so diheartened. everywhere we go, says 'no'!

seriously , any tips/advise for a band starting out??
BTW we play 60/70/80/90 and mostly today's music......

Steve01

I'm in a 4-piece band and a 6-piece band. Generally if you can earn a reputation as a decent live act in one pub, more gigs will follow in other pubs. Its all about building up a reputation and it looks like you're having problems getting started. Two important questions

Are you over 18?
Do any of the publicans know you personally?

res1

email your contact details always looking for new bands might be able to help!

Savman

seaner wrote:

Hey all,
this is an ad for a huge gig planned somewher...I WISH!
But rather, its a plea. A plea for for your help?
How do I get gigs??? I'm at the end of my teather!! It seems every pub I go to is 'booked up' or they don't handle the booking of gigs anymore and an agency do. WTF?

I'll be honest, i'm in a 4 pc band...we're good! and i know this,i ain't deludin myself, but i'm so diheartened. everywhere we go, says 'no'!

seriously , any tips/advise for a band starting out??
BTW we play 60/70/80/90 and mostly today's music......

Explain what you're doing and maybe we can help diagnose what you're doing wrong.

seaner

yeah we're all over 18...i've been in a band before...and we got plenty of gigs.
Now the band I'm in is even better, it just seems that live music is dying!

At the moment currently what i'm doing is ringing around all the pubs, calling into them....I've got so much enthusiasm but there's only so much rejection we can take!! and whats not fair, is that we're not even getting the initial gig...so at least you could say, oh well they've made up their minds, they're just not into us. We can't even get our foot in the door.

We're prepared to drop our fee for the first 2 gigs,so that they can see what we're like. We're confident enough that once we get in anyway we'll go down well. But we can't get in anywhere!

From the wicklow area...willing to go dublin, wexford area too. We have transport, our own rig, etc etc.

ChainFireMetal

Try contacting promoters on myspace, there are generally a few free slots to be got on myspace every week

seaner

seaner wrote:

We're prepared to drop our fee for the first 2 gigs,so that they can see what we're like. We're confident enough that once we get in anyway we'll go down well. But we can't get in anywhere!

That might be your problem there. You need to go to VERY busy/rich bars for that. A bar-owner generally would think why pay x-band when I can get Y-band for cheaper/get them to rent the room out.

Unfortunately we live in a very much pay to play City

Savman

seaner wrote:

yeah we're all over 18...i've been in a band before...and we got plenty of gigs.
Now the band I'm in is even better, it just seems that live music is dying!

At the moment currently what i'm doing is ringing around all the pubs, calling into them....I've got so much enthusiasm but there's only so much rejection we can take!! and whats not fair, is that we're not even getting the initial gig...so at least you could say, oh well they've made up their minds, they're just not into us. We can't even get our foot in the door.

We're prepared to drop our fee for the first 2 gigs,so that they can see what we're like. We're confident enough that once we get in anyway we'll go down well. But we can't get in anywhere!

From the wicklow area...willing to go dublin, wexford area too. We have transport, our own rig, etc etc.

Covers or originals or wha?

crosstownk

We used to have the same problem a few years back, but as Steve01 said "Its all about building up a reputation". This is certainly true. Be careful that you are not charging to much. I found it better to find out how much the venue is prepared to pay rather than name our price. It's better to play and build a reputation rather than get paid well. Once your reputation builds you will be in a better position to ask for a higher fee.

Initially we went down the agent route but found it to be rather frustrating. Eventually we approached pubs ourselves and it seemed to work. After we did one gig we asked about more and found that we were getting gigs booked 6 or 7 months ahead. We, thankfully, are now regular in about 6 pubs which we rotate so as not become stale and usually do about 5 or 6 gigs a month - enough for us as we all have full time jobs and families. But the whole process took the best part of 3 years so just stick with it and try not to get too disheartened. There were plenty of times when we thought we should just jack it all in but we stuck it out.

We are a 5 piece and do more or less what you do - remember that there are lots of other bands doing this too so competition can be strong.

My advice is just keep at it, and at it - if you are good enough (as you say you are) then thing should work out.

Best of luck!

seaner

i just realised i got moved....my post about gigs apparently wasn't supposed to be in the gig forum. Riiiiight...:p

Anyway i'll keep on trying, as I love playin music. And I can't imagine not gigging.

We don't charge an arm and a leg. We're very reasonable compared to what some bands charge!

When this whole malarky of being booked through an start up anyway? I don't see how that can work out. I mean yeah in the short term is saves the pub manager a lot of grief, but how do you go about giving local bands a break?

Sabre0001

Do something inventive - play one gig for free (or really cheap) and recruit a truckload of people using myspace, bebo, website, etc...If you get a good crowd who get into it and increase bar revenues they will be clinging on to you for dear life!!!

Only problem with this strategy is if they want to peg you as a free band.

seaner

Sabre0001 wrote:

Do something inventive - play one gig for free (or really cheap) and recruit a truckload of people using myspace, bebo, website, etc...If you get a good crowd who get into it and increase bar revenues they will be clinging on to you for dear life!!!

Only problem with this strategy is if they want to peg you as a free band.

I like your thinking! might give this one a try!!

One thing i need to get through to the lads in the band though is keeping it tight!! THey are the worst for dilly day dreaming between songs!! I feel like throwing bricks at them to wake up sometimes!!!

Anyway thanks for all the advice!

Sabre0001

Practice as you want to play - quick turnaround time between songs, ending on one chord and starting on same, banter, presence, etc...

Don't give them the time to start feck-acting around...Go to see bands, watch DVDs of concerts and show them what is needed.

...And good luck!

crosstownk

seaner wrote:

When this whole malarky of being booked through an start up anyway? I don't see how that can work out. I mean yeah in the short term is saves the pub manager a lot of grief, but how do you go about giving local bands a break?

I imagine most pubs like to be booked ahead so they can advertise - especially if any given band draws a crowd. What the pub want is people buying drink and a band is just a way to attract punters. Try leaving your details with a few pubs so they can contact you if a planned band cancels.

Savman

For the love of god, do not offer yourself free to any pub or agent. That'll do nothing except guarantee you never get the gig at all. When you quote your fee, do not say "oh but that's negotiable" - let them ask. Always quote 10-20% more than your minimum and never go below your bottom line. That means you have to be prepared to walk away. These people can smell your desperation for gigs a mile off, don't be anyone's doormat.

Get some business cards from www.vistaprint.ie and when you visit always leave your card. During the course of the year, these pubs will always get let down and need bands at short notice. You'd be amazed at the number of times you can get a foot in the door without them knowing feck all about you, but you have to be prepared to do the gig at a couple of hours notice. If your bandmates like their saturday nights out on the town, forget about it because it's a straight forward clash.

Be as professional as you can be, always think of the bands that are on the level directly above you and observe what they do and how they operate. If you are serious about gigging you have to consider the band as a business and start thinking along those lines. Don't be so quick to talk down agents, chances are you're better gigs will involve them so you have to lose any preconceptions you have about the money hungry middleman, they are there for a reason. Bars like agents because they assume full responsibility for the bar's live music, including paying the bands and it means the bands who arent registered for tax (which I would imagine is most) don't have any financial dealings with the bar directly. This is where bar managers cover their ass.

If you dont fancy gigging the arse out of the band for 2-3 solid years you should consider a different occupation.

But this is a good topic

Mick Shrimpton

Savman wrote:

For the love of god, do not offer yourself free to any pub or agent. That'll do nothing except guarantee you never get the gig at all. When you quote your fee, do not say "oh but that's negotiable" - let them ask. Always quote 10-20% more than your minimum and never go below your bottom line. That means you have to be prepared to walk away. These people can smell your desperation for gigs a mile off, don't be anyone's doormat.

Get some business cards from www.vistaprint.ie and when you visit always leave your card. During the course of the year, these pubs will always get let down and need bands at short notice. You'd be amazed at the number of times you can get a foot in the door without them knowing feck all about you, but you have to be prepared to do the gig at a couple of hours notice. If your bandmates like their saturday nights out on the town, forget about it because it's a straight forward clash.

Be as professional as you can be, always think of the bands that are on the level directly above you and observe what they do and how they operate. If you are serious about gigging you have to consider the band as a business and start thinking along those lines. Don't be so quick to talk down agents, chances are you're better gigs will involve them so you have to lose any preconceptions you have about the money hungry middleman, they are there for a reason. Bars like agents because they assume full responsibility for the bar's live music, including paying the bands and it means the bands who arent registered for tax (which I would imagine is most) don't have any financial dealings with the bar directly. This is where bar managers cover their ass.

If you dont fancy gigging the arse out of the band for 2-3 solid years you should consider a different occupation.

But this is a good topic

Amen.

DSB

Rent out venues yourself. Expecting venues to pay you with them having little or no grasp of what you are like live is naive.

Savman

DSB wrote:

Rent out venues yourself. Expecting venues to pay you with them having little or no grasp of what you are like live is naive.

That kind of talk doesn't happen in the world of covers, you don't "rent out" a pub just so you get to play in it and hope the management ask you back and pay you money.

DSB

Oh cover bands, enough said.

seaner

DSB wrote:

Oh cover bands, enough said.

I thought my firt post was quite clear that we're a covers band. (60/70/80;s and today's music)
And i'm quite happy doing this. Like playing music, like the craic we have at gigs, so i don't understand your need for snottiness.

crosstownk

Seaner, I think that DSB is agreeing with Savman's post That kind of talk doesn't happen in the world of covers. I don't think he is being snotty!

Savman

Sounded snotty to me too, maybe we're just sensitive

seaner you don't have to explain yerself, most of the best musicians in the country play covers as it's a source of income. Period.

Also, do yiz have a website? Reason I ask is because if I had a way of hearing yer band and contacting yiz I coulda passed ye on for a gig last Saturday. Apparently the bar got let down by the band at 4pm Saturday afternoon and I immediately thought of this thread, maybe its time for a little shameless plugging

seaner

Savman wrote:

Sounded snotty to me too, maybe we're just sensitive

seaner you don't have to explain yerself, most of the best musicians in the country play covers as it's a source of income. Period.

Also, do yiz have a website? Reason I ask is because if I had a way of hearing yer band and contacting yiz I coulda passed ye on for a gig last Saturday. Apparently the bar got let down by the band at 4pm Saturday afternoon and I immediately thought of this thread, maybe its time for a little shameless plugging

Yeah i'm going to try and get a website together, and put up some of the songs we do. Getting our business cards done up today, so my plan is to go around loads of places just handing out our cards and hopefully we'll get into a few places just through cancellations!

Played in a place last fri, and got a wedding out of it! So we're delighted!!:D

crosstownk

seaner wrote:

Played in a place last fri, and got a wedding out of it! So we're delighted!!:D

And the ball starts rolling............. Nice one!

Savman

Good shtuff. I hope ye charged 'em accordingly!

seaner

Yeah - we're getting a decent amount. And the drummer in the band also DJs so she's getting a band and a DJ....she's delighted and we're delighted!!