Getting The Gig

These guys have heard it all. They aren't even impressed by CDs anymore. Maybe a video of a live show might sway them, but for the most part, keep it to just talk if possible.

Don't call them too many times. The one's who bug too much usually end up on the bottom of the list to call back. But don't just call once and expect a call right back either. The magic number seems to be about three times. Spaced out over a slight stretch of time, say about two weeks to just under a month. That way they haven't forgot about you, they are just curious how willing you are to work for it.

Only call them once, and they won't remember your band's name by the time they click the off button on the phone. Call then a second time and they will probably remember and make a note that you called. The third time they will likely have already had a date in mind.

You should be able to distinguish people's personalities. If you have a problem with this or if you don't have very good people skills, you should look into having someone with you to talk to the owners.

Be friendly and sociable. No one really cares how much you know until they know how much you care. Be a friend first and a band owner second. Even though they probably won't reciprocate.

This is another area where building a brand and a following are extremely important. Many times you might be asked by an owner, "How big of a following do you have?" In other words, how many people are you going to add to my patrons the night you will play? How much money will I make by having you here?

They are thinking in terms of money, so you should be thinking in terms of it as well. So often, a club or bar will put up with a crappy band, just because they have a possible following of 50 people and 35 of them show up.

When introducing yourself to an owner don't forget the business card. A basic card should have your genre, the contact person's name and number, and at least the social networking site (MySpace, Beebo, FaceBook) and also a website or blog. Add the current band members if you aren't going to loose someone in the future. Give them something tangible, that they will be able to look at after their night of drinking. Other good items are tee-shirts, koosies, key fobs, ink pens, things that they will hang on to because they can use them later.

Also, don't forget the Press Kit. A simple press kit should be a picture of the band's current line up, a sample CD with usually no more than 3 songs, a cover page - not a treatise, make sure you can fit your short spiel on only one page. They probably won't read the page. They probably won't listen to the CD. And they will only glance at the picture.

The first time you call anyway. By the third call, they've been to your website on your card, they've heard the CD that was under the tax papers on their desk, they are pretty sure they have the names right on all of your band members, especially if you left clues as to who plays what in your photo, and they will have probably sought you out online several places.

If you just tell them your name, they will again, likely forget.

Owners often won't even consider you until you frequent the establishment yourself. You showing up and being friendly to other patrons will speak volumes toward getting you booked. And what better way to present your press kit?

Some places have solved the stressful booking by holding an open mic night. You come in and play a couple of songs and they can make a decision based on their patron's response to you. That takes loads of stress off of their shoulders for bringing in a band that has no real show value.

This is another place or even another direction you can take. Don't even mention your band. Frequent the establishment as much as possible. Become a Cheer's cast member. Then when you're gone playing at another venue, they will ask where you were. Seems obvious to me what the next step is...

Also, be careful of places with house bands. They hardly ever bring in another band unless someone is sick. Of course that could also land you a spot as an alternate, so use your own judgment there.

Photo courtesy of mensatic

Playing events can be one of the most rewarding aspects of being in a band. Craft Shows, Charity Events, Holiday Celebrations, Music Festivals, College Weekends, Arts and Crafts Fairs, State Fairs, County Fairs, Opening For Other Bands, many different events can be had if one digs deep enough.

Event Organizers can run the gamut of people. Many times they are a volunteer or have been volunteered to do the job. It would be good if you could take some of their load off. If they get a lot of help from you as far as promotions, they will tend to remember you for the next event.

The more time you save them, the more time/better time slot/more payout you could stand to make. In other words, if you are just starting out, or even trying to branch into a new venue, offer to help out some.

They are usually people who really have no clue about how to manage the band affairs. Many have been thrown into this situation. They are only looking for entertainment value. Give them a good reason to look for you again.

Talk up the event. Events are made possible by attendees. The more attendees, the more money the event tends to take in.

Design fliers or help distribute to other areas that the event organizer may not have thought of. Schools, art clubs, garden clubs, factories, store fronts, etc. Or maybe the organizer doesn't have time or even access to some of the places that you can. Volunteer yourself. But don't step on any toes. If the organizer already has hired someone to take care of something, don't step in unannounced.

Photo courtesy MSJC - audio tech

Don't volunteer the band without consulting your guys first. Scheduling problems have ruined many band's reputations with clients. Make sure they can all make the event/venue/gig before you book. That saves embarassing callbacks later.

Always double check your dates with a check up call. This can prepare you for headaches that could ruin you.

One instance: False Hope was set up to play a gig at a grille on a certain date. We called two weeks before to confirm. This certain date was three days before our lead guitar player was headed out of the country. The owner had written us down on the wrong date, and booked over the original date.

We had to scramble to figure out our song list revisions to cover our guitar player's key songs (he sings, Skynyrd's "Needle and Spoon" and Clapton's "Mustang Sally" and is the key lead on "Sweet Home Alabama" and our two Eagle's songs and two of our originals) that we can't play as a four piece. We also have had to scramble to rearrange quite a few songs to fit the emergency line up.

We thought about bringing in a pinch hitter, but with two weeks left of rehearsals, that didn't seem practical. So we had a week left to finish our stuff.

The problem with being a four piece now, is we don't have the power that we do as a five. As a five piece, we have room to play around. As a four piece, we have to stay next to our mics and stomp boxes. So our stage show suffered a hit.

But we recognized that it was going to be a problem, so we were proactive about it instead of letting it bite us the night of the gig. And we made more money that night because the split was smaller being only a four piece.

As with everything, practice and preparation are the keys to success.